Community centre hosts special grotto
A SPECIAL Santa’s Grotto experience is opening next week at the Greenway Centre in Southmead. Mr and Mrs Claus will be reading Christmas stories and giving a gift to every child who visits.
Community Business Manager Natalie Bailey said: “It’s the first time in many years we’ve offered a Christmas Grotto but because our Greenhouse Café was so popular with children in the summer visiting our Gromit sculpture we decided to put Mr and Mrs Claus in his place!”.
The Greenhouse Grotto is open from Monday, December 17, to Saturday, December 22 and offers four slots each day to book for your child’s visit. Tickets cost £4.50 and as well as having a story and a gift, each child will be encouraged to write their present wish list and send it to Santa’s HQ.
Southmead Youth Team Leader James Creed added: “Usually the public Santa’s Grottos are a bit of a drive away and a bit too expensive. We’re delighted to be able to offer something so close to home and at a very reasonable price.”
Ttickets for the Grotto and for the Greenway Centre’s Christmas Panto Beauty & The Beast, on Saturday have been subsidised by crowd-funding and donations from local organisations.
Natalie added: “We are very fortunate to have raised enough money to be able to offer affordable ticket prices for all our Christmas activities.
“The financial pressure on families is enormous at this time of year. We hope that by providing low-cost activities our families can tick off a few of those otherwise expensive options.”