This is such an exciting Christmas for us. Cameo is almost three which means the world of Santa and presents is just opening up. His imagination is working at almost full speed and he kinda believes everything we tell him! So this year we went along to Intu Derby where they have a wonderful Festive Forest event for kids this Christmas.

The festive forest is basically Santa’s Grotto with a difference. Not only do they get to meet Santa himself in a gorgeous little cottage-like grotto but then they get to have loads of fun in the festive soft play! Double Yes!

When we arrived we were greeted by Elves who asked us to queue until our time slot, we are always early for everything! Then when we were allowed in we went and had a little seat and was told to wait for the bells. The Elves showed us some magic tricks and Cameo found it all hilarious! Finally, we heard the bells and another Elf came out to greet us and took us to see Santa. Now we all know that Santa IS REAL. But he has helpers in the lead up to the big day to help find out if all the children have been good. Right? RIGHT????? But this Santa was probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. I almost told him what I wanted for Christmas!

The boys had a little gift each – SPOILER ALERT – Well, actually, I won’t spoil the presents. But they were age-appropriate and wrapped up which was lovely. Then you have the option of buying a photograph, keyrings and all sorts of goodies with the pictures of your little ones on. We opted for a magnet because Marlo will eat it otherwise and it’s so lovely to get a memory you can keep.

The boys loved the soft play. They limit the number of children in at any one time so there’s lots of space to run around. I loved that the ball pit was filled with white balls and the slides were made to look like glaciers. It was all very festive. I love soft play, it really does get the boys running around and they sleep SO well afterwards! There is a charge of £6 to meet Santa, get a gift and then get to play in the soft play and I’d definitely say it was worth it.

It’s well worth signing up to the Intu family club so that you don’t miss things like this in the future. Intu does lot’s of fun and interactive family activities throughout the year and this is one way not to miss out on them!

 

  • This was an unpaid press trip and we paid for our own Santa pictures. All views are our own.