Iola Palmer-Stirling tells the Times about her family’s magical winter wonderland experience meeting Father Christmas and his elves at ‘Christmas at Bewl Water’…
We recently visited Bewl Water for its ‘Christmas at Bewl Water’ experience. It was a magical event for the whole family and really helped us all to get in the festive spirit. There is lots of fun for the whole family, with refreshments for the adults and activities for the little ones.
Our son, aged four, was the perfect age for all the Christmas crafts and magical moments the elves created along the way. Our daughter, aged two, really enjoyed making a mess during all the activities and playing in the sheltered play area.
The first activity for the children was decorating gingerbread men with icing and sweeties. The kids loved the fact that they came home with a biscuit which they tucked into shortly after leaving. Father Christmas’ elves were amazing at interacting with them while they were decorating their gingerbread men, helping to bring the experience to life.
Next was bauble decorating, which included lots of glitter, glue and tissue paper, much to my two-year-old daughter’s delight. There was also the opportunity to make food for Father Christmas’ reindeer, ready for Christmas Eve and, finally, the children wrote letters to Father Christmas and posted them in the on-site post office.
The elves also treated us to a Christmas story about Rudolph, which got lots of laughs from both children and parents, alike. After the performance, the kids were invited on stage to take photos with Santa’s helpers.
After the four Christmas activities, it was our turn to meet Father Christmas in his grotto. Again, the elves were amazing at building the excitement for meeting Father Christmas and at helping the children feel at ease. This meant that when they met him, they were happy to answer all of Santa’s questions and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.
The kids left feeling even more excited about the holidays and they were each given a special gift from Father Christmas in anticipation of when he visits in a few weeks.
Grown-ups will be pleased to hear that mulled wine, mulled cider and coffees are available at stalls along the Christmas trail, as well as hot chocolates for the children. We also purchased some marshmallows from a stall which the kids then enjoyed toasting over a fire with the elves.
We really enjoyed our Christmas experience at Bewl Water and we would recommend it to families wanting to bring some Christmas magic to life for their little ones during the holidays.
Running until Christmas Eve, tickets from £40 per child and £15 per adult, which includes parking. For special offers please visit: Christmas.bewlwater.co.uk. Use access code ‘XMAS20’ for 20% off children’s tickets until December 24.
