AD - Invited.
Edit - Wyevale garden centre Gosforth has been taking over and is now a British Garden Centre.
This year I am so excited for Christmas as it is the first year my little two (aged 3 & 4) have properly understood what Christmas is all about. They have already written their Christmas lists for Santa, they keep asking when we can put the Christmas tree up and they are amazed by the twinkling lights from the shopping centre decorations. They truly believe in Santa and the magic of Christmas and it is heart-warming to watch.
As a family we have a rule that the children only visit one Santa Claus each year, to make it that bit more magical for them. So we decided to book the children in to see Santa early this year and on Saturday we went for afternoon tea with Santa at our local Wyevale garden centre in Gosforth (near the racecourse).
We had attended afternoon tea with the Easter Bunny at Wyevale Gosforth a couple of years ago which the children really enjoyed, but we had never attended a Christmas event at the store and had no idea what to expect.
As you can imagine the garden centre was all decorated for Christmas. The afternoon tea event was taking place in the restaurant towards the back of the centre, we were greeted at the entrance to the restaurant by Mrs Claus who was extremely welcoming and who the children took a real shine too. An area of the restaurant had been reserved for the event with tables with crackers on and a Christmas tree and an area set up ready for the children to meet Santa.
When booking the afternoon tea children get the choice of either a hot meal or a picnic box with cold items in (both priced at £10 per child), we decided to get the children the picnic boxes. The picnic boxes had a ham sandwich, packet of pom bears, some Jelly and a satsuma. Beakers of juice were already on the table waiting for the children.
Adults can select either tea and cake (£4.50 per person) or an afternoon tea (£8 per person), we opted for the afternoon tea. Which consisted of two finger sandwiches each, a cheese and chutney and a turkey, stuffing, bacon and cranberry sauce one. It also came with a scone with cream and jam, 3 cakes each and a pot of tea - amazing value.
The food was already on the tables for us when we arrived, meaning the children (and us adults) could tuck in straight away. There was also colouring sheets and crayons on the tables for the children and they could decorate their own gingerbread men with everything they needed - icing pens, sprinkles and marshmallows on the table for them.
After everyone had ate Mrs Claus called all the children to the front where she read them the classic children's story 'The Night Before Christmas' and sang some songs with them. Every child, even the really young ones were captivated. Before long we could hear sleigh bells and Santa Claus himself had arrived, my little boy was so excited his whole face lit up. Santa said hello to every child before asking them to return to their tables with their families to finish colouring so he could speak to each child on their own.
As we had arrived at the event first we were the first family to be called to the front to speak to Santa, the children got to tell him what they would like to receive on Christmas day and we also got some great photos. Santa Claus was really lovely and he was brilliant with the children, asking if we had a chimney or a magic key and telling them where to leave a carrot for Rudolph.
After speaking to Santa the children were shown to a table which was filled with a range of gifts and the children were able to pick whichever one they wanted. My son picked a toy tractor and daughter an art set. They had quite a few of the same gifts so hopefully, children further down the queue to see Santa wouldn't miss out on the gift they wanted.
After everyone had seen Santa it was time for us all to head home, the event lasted about an hour and a half and we all had a really lovely time. Santa and Mrs Claus were lovely and so good with the children, the children were entertained throughout and the food was delicious. It was such a lovely afternoon that I know for certain we will be rebooking again next year as I think it will be our new family Christmas tradition.
Afternoon Tea with Santa costs £10 per child, which included a hot or cold meal, biscuit decorating, stories a visit to Santa and a gift off Santa. Adult prices are £4.50 for tea / coffee and cake or £8 for afternoon tea. You can also book breakfast with Santa if you prefer and again this is priced at £10 per child and includes a cooked breakfast and all the activities we experienced, adults cost £8 for a cooked breakfast or £4.50 for tea / coffee and a pastry or bacon bap. You do need to prebook which you can do either online or in store, breakfast or afternoon tea with Santa will be running until the 24th December.








Ah I like that there weren't too many families there so it was a more intimate experience - I guess that's one of the benefits of booking early. Looks like everyone had a fab time x
ReplyDeleteIt was great, I would never have normally visited this early but I am glad we did as it was so much nicer being a small group x
DeleteLooks like Wyevale have made a huge effort with this, which is great to see. It's such an important part of Christmas for little ones.
ReplyDeleteIt was truly magical for them x
DeleteOh, this looks lovely. I can't wait for my one-year-old to start understanding and enjoying Christmas
ReplyDeleteIt is magical when they truly understand x
DeleteThat's such good value for money and I like that there are so many different experiences within it too :)
ReplyDeleteIt was great value, we were really impressed x
DeleteI have only just figured out where our wyevale garden centre is, will have to check it out as this looks fab
ReplyDeleteIt was brilliant, such a lovely event and great value too x
DeleteLooks like a wonderful day out - the decorations are really nice too!
ReplyDeleteThe decorations were lovely x
DeleteOh it looks like such a nice afternoon. I'd love to take my little girl to something like this.
ReplyDeleteIt was brilliant, I hope you manage to get booked xx
DeleteSounds magical! Though I do wish there were more places that still have a department store Santa you can just go and say hello to and have your photo taken with, at no cost. But everywhere just seems to be doing grottos these days.
ReplyDeleteI remember that from my childhood, I don't think my children would queue though x
DeleteThis looks like such good fun and really magical. I did something like this years ago with my children and I think I need to look up details at out local Wyevale.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have one close by as this was a brilliant event, so well organised and the children were captivated. xx
DeleteThis looks a lovely afternoon tea with santa. I love garden centre displays
ReplyDeleteIt really was x
DeleteThat looks amazing and really fun for the little ones. I am still undecided where to book up for my boys, I think I need to get a move on! x
ReplyDeleteI really recommend this one if you have a Wyevale near you x
DeleteThis is great value for money, a nice looking Santa too! We loved our breakfast with the Easter bunny at Wyevale and so I'll keep this in mind when we book our Santa visit
ReplyDeleteWe had afternoon tea with the Easter bunny a few years ago and enjoyed that too x
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