If you’re not in the Christmas mood yet, don’t worry. There’s one sure-fire way to get in the spirit of the season: a visit to Santa. Wondering where to take your little ones to see the big man this year? Here are 5 festive places you can find him in and around Bristol!
1. Shopping centres
The easiest way to fit in a visit to Santa is to combine it with a day of Christmas shopping. Bristol is hosting Santa in a few shopping centres this year, including Winter Wonderland at the Mall in Cribbs Causeway, where Santa will be waiting in his Enchanted Ice Castle to give a gift to every child who visits. You can also find him in the Galleries in the city centre, where he’ll be based on the ground floor and roaming around for little ones to meet.
Winter Wonderland Santa: Daily until 24th Dec, tickets cost £5.50
Galleries Santa: Daily 17th-24th Dec, free of charge
2. Avon Valley Railway
Sometimes Santa wants to take in the local scenery, so on select dates in December you’ll find him riding the Avon Valley Railway in a steam train! Fellow passengers will ride for an hour through the beautiful Avon landscape and will be treated to tasty festive snacks by Santa’s helpers. Then Father Christmas himself will pass through the train, talking to every family and handing out presents. Full steam ahead!
Avon Valley Railway Santa: Selected dates, tickets from £10/£5 for infants under 1 year
3. Bristol Zoo
Why not make a day of your visit to Santa and go to see him at Bristol Zoo Gardens? He’ll be in his grotto, handing out gifts and talking to each child one by one. But that’s not all! Included in your child’s Santa’s grotto ticket is entry to the zoo, so you can take a look at the animals, as well as the decorations and animal-shaped lights that are scattered throughout the gardens. There’s also festive arts and crafts, and your little one can write a letter to Santa and post it to the North Pole!
Bristol Zoo Santa: 2nd-23rd Dec, book in advance, tickets from £6
4. Longleat
If you’re planning to visit Longleat this winter to soak up the Festival of Lights, why not go the extra mile and book yourself a trip on the Santa train? At the Festival of Lights you’ll see lots of impressive Chinese lanterns shaped like fairytale characters and wild animals. After soaking up the magic, hop on the Santa train, which will take you right to the doorstep of Santa’s grotto, where you’ll meet St. Nick himself and visiting children will be given gifts. It’s a wild ride!
Longleat Santa: Every day in Dec (except 25th), tickets from £6 (on top of Longleat entry)
5. Wild Place Project
We all know about Santa’s grotto, but have you ever heard of Santa’s yurt? That’s where the big man will be hanging out at Bristol’s Wild Place Project, chatting to the children, adding them to his ‘good’ list and handing out presents. Santa’s reindeer will be visiting too, and whilst you’re there you can take a look at all the other exciting animals, from lemurs to baboons to wolves!
Wild Place Santa: 2nd-23rd Dec, tickets from £6
If you’re in Bristol and would like to let out a property, contact Gough Quarters today for assistance.
Image sources:
Santa by srikanta H. U on Unsplash
Avon Valley Railway Train by Lee via Flickr under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License
Longleat Festival of Lights by Adnan Saulat via Flickr under Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License
