Has anyone actually been to Santa's Grotto in Dulwich Park?

[rebeccaben]

Yes, I know it is overpriced and there is a whole other thread dedicated to questioning that. However, that thread has veered off into a million other tangents and I'd just like to know if anyone has been to this and is it any good? And what is the actual (additional!) cost of the photo with Santa? I have to say that I found the elf on stilts (um, antithesis of elf?) outside hawking for business a bit off-putting, but I do like the idea of reindeer and not queueing for hours!

[littlemoo]

We went this morning as frankly I could face a schlep out of London, or to a shopping centre with a very hyper 2.5 yo. I have to say I thought it was very good.

You arrive and are in a nice small group (5 kids in ours I think). You then meet the Reindeers which is lovely, next step is a decorate the ginger bread man which W loved. You are then taken upstairs to a room with vintage toys, where the lovely lady from Whippersnappers did face painting for those who wanted it done but played games and blew bubbles with my rather overwhelmed toddler. Father Christmas wasn't the most convincing I've ever seen but he was fine (better than last years version at Selfridges. The photo was taken (my very reluctant toddler took a few attempts) but they persevered. You get to choose, and it costs ?5 framed so not earth shatteringly expensive.

At the end you go and collect your gingerbread man and get given a cake pop, and have a chance to buy some vintage toys (weekends only aparently as I asked if you could go back to buy out of the gaze of the toddler). My only complaint was that the gift was a bit old. A plaster of Paris kit to make dinosaurs. But it's a good quality item.

So overall I'd say it's really good value in the end, but I did leave the baby at home as frankly ?18 for a 10mo is ridiculous!

Hope that helps.

[rebeccaben]

Thanks so much, that's really helpful.

[minder]

Thanks for that littlemoo.

How were the elves? Did you see them on your travels?

[missi-m]

I have visited the grotto with my child and we found it a memorable and most enjoyable experience. In addition to the above, mulled wine was given out (to the adults) and we were given free mince pies to eat too. My daughter was fascinated by the whole experience, especially the reindeer. Santa was suitably friendly and showed a good interest in the child. Her face was painted beautifully by the Christmas fairy whilst we waited for our turn to see Santa in an atmospheric, period, dated sitting room with traditional toys around for the children to play with. I would say that the entrance fee is not unreasonable considering what you get out of the experience. There is no schlepping across town to a big department store or huge shopping centre. Plus, parking is free! It is a very special quality time activity for you and your toddler to enjoy together.

[tomk]

missi-m Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have visited the grotto with my child and we

> found it a memorable and most enjoyable

> experience. In addition to the above, mulled wine

> was given out (to the adults) and we were given

> free mince pies to eat too. My daughter was

> fascinated by the whole experience, especially the

> reindeer. Santa was suitably friendly and showed a

> good interest in the child. Her face was painted

> beautifully by the Christmas fairy whilst we

> waited for our turn to see Santa in an

> atmospheric, period, dated sitting room with

> traditional toys around for the children to play

> with. I would say that the entrance fee is not

> unreasonable considering what you get out of the

> experience. There is no schlepping across town to

> a big department store or huge shopping centre.

> Plus, parking is free! It is a very special

> quality time activity for you and your toddler to

> enjoy together.

What a lovely recommendation!

Almost as lovely as your Whippersnappers recommendation.

Is it the same teenager you took to Santa's Grotto?

C'mon, this is embarrassing. If its good enough the price will be acceptable. Lots of people on here are telling you it's not.

[curlykaren]

yes tomk, I have also started to cringe at the not too subtle pushing of this event.

[littlemoo]

Guys.

There is no need to be snide. I have no affiliation to Whipper snappers. I used to attend their class as part of the sure start programme but have only been once or twice in Dulwich Park as I think it's quite expensive.

There is no harm in people recommending a local activity for children.

If you don't want to go, don't. If you don't want to hear about it, don't read threads with it in the title!

[peckhamboy]

In fairness littlemoo, I don't think any of it was aimed at you. Another poster seems to be pushing it quite heavily and in a way that sounds more like advertising than experience, and has a history of promoting whippersnappers activities...

[rebeccaben]

Okay, I have been now and all I can say is that I wish I hadn't bothered. This is so completely disorganised and not worth the money.

I went on the basis that it is my toddler's first visit with Santa and I know she is very impatient (as most 2.5 yo's are) so I figured if I paid for it, it would be a smooth and entertaining experience. You start out being ushered into the back garden of the house to look at two reindeer in what is basically a cage (poor reindeer). There is no one with you to explain what is going on or to try and get the children engaged with the experience. We stood around in the cold with the children getting impatient for about 15 minutes.

We were then ushered inside for gingerbread man decorating. This was sweet and well-organised and the kids all seemed to like it. Next we went upstairs to "wait" for our turn with Santa. I was shocked to see a room literally FULL of children and parents/carers with about 5 toys strewn around a playmat (where there was barely room to sit down). I asked an 'elf' if they were all waiting and she said that some were and some weren't but then couldn't give me any idea of how many were still waiting and how long it might be until our turn. Our booking was at 11.45 and it was now 12.15 (the website says the experience should be 30 minutes). Then another elf came out and called a child to see Santa and I could see on the slip that this child was in the 11am group! So basically, we had at least another 45 minutes to wait which is outrageous.

I asked to speak to the manager who said that the website said that there could be delays and that a nursery group had booked in before us which is was why is was taking longer (then why did they take more bookings??). In any case, she ended up letting us queue jump to see Santa which made me feel terrible for the other children but I couldn't walk away with my little girl without having seen Santa (which in fact only took 30 seconds as she was terrified of him and we had to leave right away).

Total nightmare and waste of money, but now I know! I'm sure some other people have had better experiences if it was less busy and if they had more patient children but I still would not recommend it.

[The Nappy Lady]

RIP(off) Dulwich Santa Experience.

What a shame - It could have been so good & affordable @ still made them money.

Instead it's a Lose lose situation. :-(((

[minder]

Hi rebeccaben - quite hard to read your post as it was one big block but sorry you had a bad experience.

Have you been Nappy Lady? Sounds like they've been very busy.

[rebeccaben]

Hi minder - sorry for the original block of text but it was kind of one big rant. Have broken it up a bit for ease of reading. Still a bad experience though! ;-)

[minder]

No worries!

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Minder,

Actually, unbeknown to me my 4 year old got taken there by her Godmother this afternoon.

She said they almost had the place to themselves, it was well organised & ran to time & my daughter

Really enjoyed it. The gingerbread man is cute & they got lovely photos of her with Santa (who was

Very good apparently).

The toy she got was pretty rubbish, a small & very plasticky doll. I'd have preferred a book - especially

Given the entrance fee, but other than that it sounds pretty good.

However, I still think they are charging too much for it - sorry! For a typical family of 4 it is just

Too expensive. As a special treat by a fairy godmother it was wonderful. :-((

Molly

[minder]

Glad your daughter had a good time!

[dulwichmother]

We went last weekend(no affliation at all with anyone or anything there) and our children were very happy.

On the day we went we spoke to the reindeer handler, the Father Christmas had the best "Father Christmas" voice I've ever heard, it saved a schlep into town, present was good - plaster of paris figures which both have done endlessly, I had to buy more plaster so a real hit. It was a fun craft, not a book so children happy. Mince pies, hot chocolate, mulled wine all available.

We had to queue to see Father Christmas - but when don't you? School Fairs, Harrods etc - all long queues - he's a popular figure!!!! Children happily tried the games, face painting, bubble blowing and quite frankly have to learn that in life, sometimes you just have to wait a bit.

Also he really engaged and spoke to them both in turn, so we felt despite the higher cost, it all went well.

Can anyone remind me who made the cake pops? Please let me know.

[Indiana]

We went on Thursday with two 3 year olds. Well organised and on time - they loved it. I know it's slightly expensive but we didn't mind as it saved a trip into town and we were there over an hour in the end. They loved decorating the gingerbread men and having their face painted.

[lucyA1308]

I imagine that this suits slightly older children than younger ones, and parents have to bear in mind the unpredictability of a toddler's mood.

My 3 yr old saw Father Christmas in Wimbledon today, but, although intrigued, was still too scared to get too close, like last year. I know that paying out for this event is not for her, but that is no fault of the event.

Older children will enjoy the crafty present, and the activities inside, and it would be worth the entrance fee. A younger child won't always understand it all, but it sounds like fun for those who can get more out of it.