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Ian Waller and his family enjoy a winter wonderland full of elves, adventures and fun

What an adventure! Christmas at Avon Valley is a wonderfully festive family experience that combines crafts and story telling, with elves, skating, presents and, of course, a visit to meet Santa Claus himself. And we absolutely loved it!

At out pre-arranged time we were ushered by a very helpful elf to meet Evergreen, surely the most energetic and excitable of all of Santa’s little helpers. Evergreen was an absolute joy and a star at getting the whole family into the Christmas spirit, asking us all what we were looking forward to from the big day and even inviting us along on a visit to the North Pole.

Then we were then soon off on a magical submarine ride to Santa’s very own workshops, meeting more elves along the way and even taking in a meeting with Mrs Claus, complete with a demonstration of the hi-tech methods she now uses to track Santa during his busiest night of the year. And then it happened, the chance to meet the main man himself, Santa Claus. What a jolly old fellow his is too, sitting resplendently is red clothes and boots, and making a careful list of the children’s present wishes, before handing out some very impressive early presents of his own.

From Santa we moved on to a zoom around the Glicing rink, a trip on the Santa Express, a Christmas story from more friendly elves and the chance to decorate some gingerbread men. In between we visited the elves post room, met a couple of real reindeer and enjoyed a warming hot chocolate.

We’d first enjoyed a Christmas visit to Avon Valley last year and we have to say, it’s the best grotto around. No, it’s not cheap, but the effort that has been put into transferring this corner of Saltford into a real winter wonderland is superb, with a great cast of characters, really decent pressies for the children and plenty of activities which will keep you all busy for a good hour and a half. And then, of course, you get to enjoy every else that Avon Valley has to offer at no extra cost.

If you’re looking for an extra piece of festive fun to really get your family into the Christmas spirit, we can absolutely recommend a visit to Christmas at Avon Valley.

www.avonvalley.co.uk