Parents being priced out of Santa’s grotto
You’d better watch out! Cost of visiting the man in red another expense
A CONSUMER champion has hit out at the ‘extortionate’ prices being charged for children – and their parents – to visit Santa this year.
A sample survey of venues across the country suggests even Father Christmas is not exempt from the cost-of-living crisis, with parents being charged at least €6 just to accompany their kids to meet the man in red.
Consumers’ Association of Ireland chairman Michael Kilcoyne accused Santa’s grotto operators of exploiting families already struggling to cope with rising prices and household bills.
Mr Kilcoyne told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s extortionate. Bear in mind that kids haven’t been able to go to see Santa for the last two Christmases because of Covid and that means that there will probably be extra children going this year. In effect, the people who are running these operations clearly have no idea how tight many families are this year in terms of energy, heating for their house, their food...
‘But it’s difficult to say to parents not to bring their children to see Father Christmas, when that child has been talking about it for the last three months.’
Dunnes Stores this week announced prices for its Santa’s Magical Cabin, which returns to its outlets in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Ennis and Portlaoise. For a cool €13 each, children will meet their ‘elf guide’, visit Santa in his cabin, receive a gift and learn how Saint Nick, his reindeer and his elves prepare for Christmas.
Parents who do not want to leave their child unaccompanied will have to fork out an extra €6 – which does not include, it is specified, a gift. If they want a photo to commemorate the experience, it costs an extra €16 and €12 for any additional copies.
At the County Arms Hotel in Birr, Co. Offaly, the price to meet Santa is €25 per child – which manager Barry Kennedy said represents ‘super value’. The entry price includes a photo, a gift and a children’s meal.
Mr Kennedy told the MoS: ‘Last year our Santa’s grotto was a sellout event over six days, and it is looking very much like this year will be the same.’
Crag Cave in Co. Kerry also charges €25 per child, as well as €10 per adult and €15 for babies.
Each family visits Santa in his grotto, where he shows them his post office, and receive a gift from the chief elf. Children are then allowed to play for one hour in the venue’s soft play centre.
A photo is taken of each family in the grotto by one of the elves, which can then be purchased – with the disclaimer that Santa’s elf is not a professional photographer.
Leahy’s Open Farm in Midleton, Co. Cork, charges adults €18.50, children €26.50 and babies €15, with photos at €10, which includes entry to the farm – normally €11.50.
A spokesperson from the farm said ‘adults are charged an additional charge to take part in the Santa experience, creating memories with their families’.
At Ardmore Open Farm in Co. Waterford, tickets to the Winter Wonderland are €111 for a family of two adults and three children, or €26.95 per child and €17.50 per adult.
‘No idea how tight it is for families this year’
‘These operations will charge what they like’
Director Denis Collins said they have enjoyed ‘exceptionally strong bookings to date’ and was expecting to be ‘totally booked out well in advance of the opening date’.
At the Causey Christmas Experience in Co. Meath, an ‘immersive Christmas experience’ costs €29 per child, €19 per adult and €10 per baby. Photos are €15 each.
When asked how they could justify their price, a spokesperson for Causey Farm said the hour-anda-half experience is ‘not just a grotto’, and that the operation employs more than 100 people.
Responding to the prices being charged to families, Michael Kilcoyne called for community-run grottos to be subsidised by the Government so that all children can get a chance to visit Santa – and introduce more lower-budget competition to the market.
He told the MoS: ‘Local communities should be able to avail of grants to invite Father Christmas along. Unless there is competition at the lower end, these operations will charge what they like.’