A Visit to Santa’s Winter Wonderland at Stewarts Garden Centre Broomhill

A week before Christmas we headed to the Stewarts Garden Centre in Broomhill to meet the big guy in the  red coat for ourselves! We had 2 very exited children who obviously dressed up festive for the occasion and couldn’t wait to meet Santa to tell him all about their favourite toy they would love to find underneath the tree on Christmas morning! I have booked the Santa’s Winter Wonderland Experience on the back of  some recommendation of some local friends seeing that we have only been living on the coast for the last 8 month and we are yet to explore all of what Dorset has to offer!

Tickets for Santa’s Winter Wonderland at Stewarts were 8.95£ per child and 1£ for each Adult. At the time of the booking it will ask you for your children’s sex and age so when they get to meet Santa he will have a lovely (age appropriate) present on hand to gift to them!

Upon arrival at the Garden Centre we found signs pointing us towards the direction of the “North Pole” into a little area where a busy Elf scanned my e-tickets on my phone and asked the children for their name and ages which she handed back to me to give to Santa’s Elf. We entered the Winter Wonderland which was done up really nicely full of blue and glittery lights colourful light protectors as well as a different animals from penguins to birds and reindeer’s and even some eating badgers who were all covered in snow:

Finn and Molly-May loved discovering all the different animals as well as beautiful mushrooms and an Igloo inside the Winter Wonderland:

At the end of the path there was the door leading into Santa’s Grotto where we waited for our turn to be welcomed inside to meet Santa:

Whilst waiting we took it in turns to take some rather rare Mummy/Daddy – kids pictures and the kids might have also started a little snow fight with each other after this picture was taken:

Then it was our turn to enter the Grotto! Molly-May was a little bit shy and refused to sit down next to Santa first of all (when I asked her later why she was shy she responded with: “Because of his eyes, did you not see his eyes Mummy? And his big long beard which is scary.”) but eventually joined her brother sitting down either side of Santa. He asked both Children what they would like for Christmas assuming they where on the good list of course! Finn asked for a Hoover board and Molly-May said she would like some clothes and sparkly hair clips! He then asked them if they would like to have a present from him right now which the kids of course did not refuse and happily posed for a picture with him afterwards. Santa then also asked us parents to come and join him and the kids for a picture which we weren’t prepared for at all which defiantly showed on our faces when we looked at it on the digital screen outside! I will remember that for next time!! I did bring my big camera with me thinking I can take some pictures myself but they didn’t turn out as good as I wanted them to be so Mr. C. roped me into buying a 10x8cm print which they sold at the photo booth for 14£ (you could also get a 8x6cm print for 12£).

Once the children said goodbye to Santa and his Elf’s we exited the Grotto and were greeted by not 1 but 2 reindeer’s munching away on some food whilst having a rest! I loved the little detailed such as all the reindeer’s names above a closed hatched window it looked very festive:

We decided to finish off our visit to see Santa in the Cafe inside the Stewarts Garden Centre where the kids indulged into some cute little ginger reindeer’s and mini hot chocolates whilst us adults enjoyed a festive gingerbread cupcake and a kit drink to go with it! Of course the kids where eager to open up their presents from Santa whilst waiting for Daddy to return with the food and they where delighted to find a Giant Naughty Joke Box Set for Finn and 4 Princess Sticker Activity Books for Molly-May:

We will defiantly be visiting again next year and I am looking forward to returning to Stewarts Garden Centre on my own to explore it because it had a rather lovely selection of gifts and cards and other nic nac’s  to explore!