Snowman & Snowdog Grotto Trafford Centre

Trafford centre Grotto

The Trafford Centre is not only home to some of the best shopping that the North has to offer but until the end of the festive period it is also home to the Snowman and his Snowdog (I know, how exciting!).  For me the Snowman was always the highlight of all things Christmassy.  Even watching it today, from the start when you first hear the music, I feel like a 5 year old and can’t help but feel festive.  So we headed off to the Trafford Centre to see how this experience compares to the others.

On arrival to the Grotto, you are greeted by lots of cheery, smiling elves who are all full of jolly and general festive merriment.  They all commented on the children’s christmas jumpers, lots of high fives were given and were all really engaging which is always nice to have that level of interaction with the children.

The first stop is the cinema.  Here you meet Billy’s mum who explains what magic happened last year on Christmas Eve.  Slight note to be wary of here, you are told that if you make this particular wish, then magic will happen and snow will fall.  Since our return from the Grotto I have spotted Maya trying her utmost to make the wish come true again as she wants to make it snow at home.  But anyway, the setting, video and the whole 10 minutes you are in the small cinema was really lovely.  Even our youngest Zayn was enchanted with the screening and was happily watching.  It was just the right length for all the children.

Following the end of the show you are told to go in the garden where the magic continues.  You are led on to a short walkway which has several different ‘snowmen/women’ there to  meet, it was fun trying to guess where each one was from.  Maya touched the snowman and declared them to be “fake” but for the smaller children it was really nice as our 3 and 1 year olds really enjoyed it.

Snowman

The final stop before meeting Santa was a desk to write the letters to santa.  They have the old style school desks and all the little adventurers had a go at writing their letters.  There is also a post box there to post your letter to Santa, think it may be nicer for the children to take the letters with them to give them Santa when they meet him but my adventurers insisted on posting them.

 

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So you are ushered in to meet santa.  The santa was very jolly but there is lots of noise in the background from the people who were leaving the area, so it made it a little difficult to hear.  Also, i think this part of the experience is slightly rushed and could do with being a little longer as the rest of the experience was just the right length.  I think its also a shame that you are not able to take your own photos with santa.

Overall though, I have to say it is a very nice Santa/grotto experience.  Younger children those 5 and under will really enjoy the experience as seeing the snowman still has an element of them being real.  In addition, the length was just spot on for younger children as the experience last for about 40 minutes and theres enough change/activities to keep them engaged for this time.  For £4.50 a child and £2.50 per adults I think its excellent value for money.  Given the premium location of the experience (in Barton Square in the Trafford Centre) and ideal to combine with christmas shopping, it really is a good deal.

Have you visited this experience?  We would love to hear from you.

Nisbah

I am a traveller, mother and blogger. We love to go on adventures (big and small, near and far) and strive to show our children how amazing and beautiful the world is! I caught the travel bug many moons ago and despite having three little adventurers, I still suffer from "itchy" feet. We love the great outdoors and one another. Come and join the fun :)

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