Moose and I can often be found at Sacrewell farm. He absolutely adores the place. Whether we are running around in the maze, spotting peacocks or saying hello to the Pigs, Moose always has lots of fun! So when we were invited to visit Father Christmas here we were only too happy to oblige! 

 

Our day

Booking in advance means that you are given a time to visit. This is a great idea because small children are bad enough at being patient at the best of times let alone when Christmas is involved! We arrived 2 hours before our allotted time. You are welcome to arrived as early as you like but I felt that Moose might be a bit too tired if we came along any earlier. On arrival I paid for our tractor ride and after a little play with the trains in the foyer we made our way into the farm. 

Our first stop at the farm is always to say hello to the goats. Then we moved on to the rabbits and after that Moose was a little cold so we popped into the play barn so he could burn off some energy in the warm. 

The play barn is included in the off peak £4.55 farm entry fee for children and when you consider that is less than the price of some soft play admission it does make it a bit of a bargain! 

Father Christmas 

Father Christmas at Sacrewell this year has his grotto in Hutton barn. Having no previous experience of Sacrewell at Christmas I have no way of being able to tell you whether this is the best place for him but I loved it. The winding walk up to barn was lit with fairy lights and the stable outside had been commandeered as a craft activity area which was a great idea. 

Inside the barn were lots of Christmas trees and fairy lights. There was also a table with some story books and mince pies to pass the time as we waited. I can confirm that the mince pies were yummy.

Further along was another crafting table and some Christmas themed photo props which were great fun. 

 

I am always a bit anxious about taking the children to see Santa. I am a self confessed Santa snob. I want the big man to be authentic. I want him to be THE Father Christmas. A young lad in an obviously fake beard who rushes the little ones through is my idea of Christmas hell. We only have a few years when our little ones truly believe so this stuff is important! 

Moose froze

He was so excited while we were waiting to go in to see Father Christmas (see above for photo evidence) but unfortunately as we entered, Moose’s shy side kicked in and he stood frozen to the spot.

Father Christmas not only looked the part but he was so lovely and patient with my shy boy. Even producing from his pocket a chocolate coin to try and win him around! 

He chatted to him for some time about what he would like to receive at Christmas and Moose managed to murmur that he would really like a Batman costume. Santa then gave him his gift and Moose happily accepted it. I cannot stress enough what a big deal that was – I had expected him to run a mile. This Santa clearly knows how to play his role and I was really impressed! 

Sacrewell is not the cheapest Father Christmas to visit. The price is £7.50 per child in addition to the cost of entry. However, there is a lot to do (even in December) at the farm. You can easily spend many hours here. Especially if your children are perhaps a little older. 

Moose has played with his tractor every day since he received it from Father Christmas! We really enjoyed our visit to Sacrewell and cannot wait to see what 2018 brings for the farm.  

We were invited to visit in exchange for an honest review. If I didn’t think it was a great grotto I would tell you – even at the risk of being added to Santa’s naughty list