Santa Claus still coming to town

A first for Hillmount, online booking will help ensure a safe visit for families to the magical grotto.

Renowned as one of Ireland’s largest garden centre grottos, Hillmount sees visitors entertained by elves and Mrs Claus as they journey through the winter wonderland, collecting festive treats and taking part in a fun, brain-tickling quiz, before meeting Santa himself.

Robin Mercer, Managing Director, said: “We want to make our Santa’s Grotto as enjoyable and accessible as it has been for more than 20 years and that’s why we have opened online bookings for our grotto at Hillmount, Belfast for the first time.

“We have given careful consideration to the need for keeping numbers in the grotto at any time to a minimum while maintaining social distancing and ensuring that safety is paramount for visiting families, some of whom have made visiting Hillmount Santa’s Grotto a yearly tradition.

“We appreciate that we are having to do things a little differently this year and we expect the slots to sell out so we would encourage people to book sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment as we adhere to restrictions around COVID-19.”

All children visiting Santa will receive a unique Hillmount keepsake gift and, while families are welcome to take their own photos as mementos of their visit, a professional photographer will also be on hand to document the special occasion and pictures can be purchased on departure.

Santa’s Grotto will open on Friday December 4 and Santa will be in residence until Wednesday December 23. Before he jets off to the North Pole to collect gifts for his Christmas Eve deliveries, he will host Santa Paws for pets on Thursday December 24. To book online, visit: https://hillmount.co.uk/santas-grotto/