Centre Parcs at Christmas?

[Parkmama]

Anyone been to Centre Parcs over Christmas? Can I have your experiences please? Was everything open? Well staffed? Festive feeling? Which one did you visit?

Hi , we went to whinfell last year in December . The winter wonderland was lovely!
Real reindeer's
Horse and carriage rides
Fake snow
A Christmas village with Santa's workshop

Inside the leisure complex there was also giant fake reindeer's which my 2 year old loved !
We didn't really see many staff floating around.
On the walk from our cabin to leisure complex the path was beautifully lit . Ile include some pictures !

@Parkmama

Ive been wanting to go but my husband is a boring old shit.

Go and enjoy!

Yes it's great, really festive!

We go every year to Whinfell - it’s amazing! All twinkly lights, and festive activities for the kids. There are fireworks too. Go, go, go!

The whole site is decorated with fairy lights, huge Christmas trees, enormous angel statues and sparkling silver reindeers. And it's not uncommon to see an elf strolling by leading a Shetland pony decked out in tinsel.
A designated Santa's Woodland Workshop is set up with Christmas characters in little wooden huts and real reindeers to meet. There was a (free) talk at 12pm about the reindeer which we found interesting.
The Santa visit was lovely. There was a little queue but there were things to look at as we waited.We also did the Little Elves Party Hour – a mini Christmas celebration especially for toddlers with parachute, games, entertainment and sweets.
The Boxing Day party was fantastic with great food, a great magician for the kids and a live band who were fantastic! Don't recommend the panto though, it was painful, say no more!! We ate out in Cafe Rouge Christmas Day which was nice but we were the last sitting so the staff were cleaning up and finishing as we finished, so sadly lacked a little atmosphere, however the staff are all SUPER friendly. It was great to go swimming Boxing day, made a real change and the pools and slides weren't too busy either.
One activity I highly recommend is going for a walk in the dark around the woods especially near the village centre. Everything is lit up, lights are twinkling and there is a lovely, magical feel in the air
You can order a Christmas tree and decorations to be delivered to your door, so make your lodge feel all Christmassy for your stay.

Please tell me how expensive it is at Christmas??

Fireworks are phenomenonal.
Raffy would the price not depend on how many of you there are and what accommodation u choose? You'd need to look On the website as they have loads of different accommodation options

Ive been wanting to go but my husband is a boring old shit.

Sorry but this made me LOL!

It's amazing but so so expensive. We were about £1300 for 2 days

We've been a few times and it's so good for kids (and adults too)!

We've been a couple of times too and love it. I wish we could afford to go every year but it's too expensive ☹️

We've stayed at both Elveden and Woeburn. Elveden is my favourite for the Winter Wonderland. There's loads to see and do.

I would think twice about booking Christmas dinner at one of the restaurants. We haven't so don't have direct experience but both times we've been when we've eaten out on Boxing Day families have been complaining about their Christmas Day meal. When we went to Woeburn the waitress said it had been a disaster and they were giving people who asked for it their money back. This may have been a one off but it's put me off.

I also wouldn't recommend doing the carriage rides at Elveden. It was a lot of money for a short ride that didn't feel that christmasy. I think you'd be better spending your money for your child to have a solo riding experience. Any other questions I'd be happy to help.

One other thing I forgot to add which annoys me slightly is that although the Father Christmas experience is great the gifts are terribly sexist. They split them into boys and girls. My daughter was given a little chest with hair accessories. She went in at the same time as our friends who came out with a fire engine. I've subsequently heard you can have a little chat with the elves as your going in and out a request in for what you'd like. My daughter was fine but was a bit like why would Father Christmas think I'd want that?

Do It!!!!

We went as a family when I was about 12/13 and I have very strong, very good memories. It was sooooo much fun. We had Xmas day dinner at home and then went for a swim!

We accidentally went to Woburn at 'Christmas' last year as it starts early November. It was amazing, just as pp said and the Father Christmas experience was the best we've done. We didn't get gendered toys either - board games which are played with regularly.

If the cost puts you off for actual Xmas, you could go early???

Sounds amazing. I might see if we can afford it in two years time.

We’ve not been for actual Christmas but will be going for our third pre-Christmas grip with friends in November this year. It’s really magical with the lights and lovely winter wonderland village. Santa experience followed by fireworks was great! Also the elf hunt is very cute for toddlers.

I’m trying to get our family to do this, have been told by someone who works behind the scenes and I hear it’s very good.

It's absolutely brilliant, so magical. You'll pay through the nose for it so be prepared. We keep the cost down by only eating out once or twice and taking food and snacks with us