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.