Santas grotto price increases this year?! 😒

[RisenWhine]

DD has been coming home asking if we’re going to see Santa before Christmas as all of her friends are. I’ve been meaning to book something but everything I’ve looked at just isn’t in my price range. I can’t find anything relatively locally for under £60?!

also why are adults tickets being forced out with mince pies and mulled wine? That’s great as an optional extra.. but I don’t want to buy an adult ticket for £12 because it comes with a mince pie (which is a heinous festive creation) and mulled wine (I’m sober).

I’m stressed. I clearly wasn’t prepared enough for the price increase this year and need to do better next year.

anyone else frustrated at the price of grottos now?😒

We did Polar Express last year from Kings x, it was actually a bonus Christmas gift from my employer as God only knows how much it would have cost. It was fun (but extremely busy while you wait/disembark) I doubt it was worth whatever they charged. They have a Santa, guard and elves deployed per carriage, and they just sort of do their thing with the songs and storytelling (and the loos are all out of use as they use them for costume changes 🤣) and they do a big song and dance with a hot chocolate. (Harrrrrrrrrttttt chaaaaaaarrrrclattteee I should say) and you don’t get a gift you get the little bell. Up to Watford junction then you shunt back again. 💯 it’s for the ‘gram and photo ops! Glad to have done it but wouldn’t feel the need to do it again.

I live rurally too and around here you can see Santa on the Rotary Christmas Sleigh in the local town and he also does the rounds in well publicised streets for the whole of December in the evenings. It's all free with a collection box if you want to donate. But the children get to speak to Santa and get some sweets. I also saw an advert for Santa at local Christmas fair for £2 per child including a small gift.

I never indulged my children in expensive Santa experiences.

Since when was santa grotto visit compulsory?

By about 8 or 9 most kids have cottoned on it doesn't add up. Ive never bothered, i just told my kids the real santa is busy in the north pole in december

It’s not, and we didn’t go to one last year. But this year DD is asking to go.. she’s 5, DS is 3. Prime Santa age.

Don't look at Lapland UK, you'll faint 😂

And it's really hard to get tickets, they sell out in the blink of an eye.

Garden Centres
Shopping Centres
Book Shops
School Fair
National Trust places
Farns

There's LOADS of Grottos if you just want to meet Santa and only pay for the token gifts

I agree with above, Facebook local groups is often very useful to get info

It's not, and if you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

They can be lovely, Santa experience with little kids are a lovely day out. Its an easy way to occupy a weekend and doing something different, little kids love it. I miss that time

well don't take the whole family then! just take the kids and one adult.

If DS isn't that bothered don't take him either, it's unlikely he'll remember it at 3, and you can take him when DD has aged out of it so it will all work out in the end. They'll probably enjoy separate outings out with just them and one parent (even if your DS just goes with your DP to the park and mcdonalds or something) as much as the santa part.

I have little sympathy to be honest. Its just another example of making it more and more commercialised. 40 years ago it was a bloke dressed in a suit and wig in a big tent with a christmas tree and a pile of little gifts worth £1 each. You queued and you got to tell santa what you hoped for christmas. Over the decades its got bigger and bigger. If there isnt huge festive displays with raindeer and professional santas & elves its not worth it. The price is according to the BUSINESS investment they make.

Personally we never went in for them with our kids. They were a rip off 15-20 years ago and they just get worse. We always had the local round table sleigh getting pulled along on a trailer around the houses with music played. Kids would go out with £2 donation and get some little token gift from 'Santa'.

I’m not sure what my DS will be able to remember from age 3 but he w
as 3 last Christmas and fully into it. Could communicate all about it and sing Christmas songs. Excited about light switch ons and decorations and what not. Just because they might not remember it into adulthood it doesn’t mean they don’t love it in the moment.

However, it is prime age to get away with the cheaper options re grotto- church hall or library one for example. 4-6 generally they appreciate a few more bells and whistles.

I absolutely loved rotary Santa as a child and my boys looked forward to it every year. Sadly this is the first year it's not running in our area due to lack of volunteers, a sign of the times! Everyone I know works full time or more and, dc packed sports schedules means no time for extra volunteering, I'm so grateful to those who did it for us. They are also saying it is the local food bank that will suffer as all of the donations went to them and another local children's charity, usually in excess of £10k each.

@TartanMammyThat's so sad. The volunteers here are getting older and I'm not sure how many younger ones are coming through to take older. They raise money to provide a Christmas dinner for the elderly with the money collected here. It would be very sad if that ended.
I have fond memories of DCs in their PJs with coats over, eagerly waiting for Santa's sleigh to appear in the street - you could hear the music from neighbouring streets so the excitement and anticipation was very real.

That's tough, if you're children are asking. Luckily, mine haven't mentioned it, so am hoping they forget! As we can't afford it. Not sure what we'll do if they remember 😬

Thanks for the suggestions, I didn’t think of garden centres and one not too far away is holding one for a much more reasonable price (£12 per child and adults free)

I agree Christmas is far too commercialised now. I fell into the trap for the first couple of Christmases after DD was born. But the last 2 years we’ve massively cut down our spending, I’ve even downsized the kids sacks 🤣 they used to have great big hessian sacks that I felt pressure to not leave half full.. I’ve swapped them out for little stockings now and our Christie’s have become a lot less stressfull.

I’m that DD isn’t spoilt, I do buy her a lot.. not just at Christmas but she does generally get lots brought for her. But we’ve had loads of talks about the less fortunate and she enjoys doing a ‘Christmas prep’ of her room every November, where we go through and take all the stuff she doesn’t want or use anymore to the charity shop. She wrote in her Christmas letter last year that she wants Santa to take some of her gifts to the boys and girls who don’t have any at Christmas.

So I have no issues treating them, but for grotto I just can’t afford to spend a bunch of money for 5 minutes of a barely-believable Santa 🤣

I don't mind paying the price when it's a full day out. Of course it's commercialised, but when it's well done, it's totally worth it.

Disney is commercialised too, and it's a brilliant holiday - just too busy, and Christmas the worst time to go, but it still a great holiday for kids.

Nothing wrong with things being "commercialised" when you get your money worth. l

Our primary school and the local secondary are both having Christmas fayres with Santa's grottos for a couple of quid, including a selection box as a gift - might be worth seeing if there's similar at any local schools? We're paying £28 for both kids together at a local garden centre which looks beautifully decorated. I wasn't going to but my eldest is 10 and I suspect it'll be our last year ever going.

I find d the best way to hear about things is Facebook. I follow all or local community pages on there plus follow all the independent coffe shops and cafes, garden centres etc as lots of them do Santa themed things. There are 3 coffe shops in our area offering breakfast with santa every weekend and one doing supper with santa as well. Both local garden centre have a grotto that is about £5 and our town Christmas light switch on is holding a grotto and craft area in one of the shops. All the primary schools nrar us do a Christmas fair with a grotto for a pound or two and the local scouts group runs a Christmas fair with grotto also.

Ours will be close to £200 but it is more like a day out as it includes a Christmas show, santas grotto, ice skating and soft play.

The ''experience'' ones are always super expensive.

out of interest how old are your kids? That’s a hell of a lot going on in a short space of time, mine is 4 and completely neurotypical but he’d be really overwhelmed and overstimulated by all that. Bet there’ll be a lot of crying, misbehaving kids there and stressed parents.

Our garden centre has one for £12 and school for £5 and the fire station for £5.
I do feel guilty I'm not taking dd to the exciting winter wonderland themed one locally but I can't justify over £40.
Took me a while to find cheaper options but I did. I'll take her to the wonderland which is free and just swerve Santa.

Ageee with Library, shopping centre, churches etc. we are paying £5 with a council run event this year. You need to get on your local fb community group!

You can space it out to have time for lunch, breaks etc if you book the times carefully. DS is 3 in a few weeks and twin DD's are 19 months.

They are generally fine if things are planned carefully, especially with two of us as DH is coming too and of course, the twins are too young to ice skate so DH will ice skate with DS and they will have an extra break with me during that time as well.

It will probably include some screaming kids, most days out with young kids do. 😂

Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be a Debbie Downer on it 🤣 I’m sure it’ll be a grand day out!

I missed the part where OP said it was compulsory or did you make that bit up yourself to have a little dig at OP?

Not compulsory, but it’s been a “thing” for years.

My parents had / have fond memories of seeing Father Christmas at a grotto in their local department stores when they were young, so around 75 years ago…