'You could see the joy on their faces': Santa's Grotto at the National Ice Centre

Each year kids up and down the land delight in their traditional visit to see Santa in his magical grotto. It's their chance to have a one to one chat with the big man to tell him all their wishes, plus a chance for Santa to check if they are on that all important naughty or nice list. He’ll be checking it twice after all!

Did you know that this year Santa will be making a series of special stops at the National Ice Centre before his hectic Christmas Eve shift?! And his grotto is looking magnificent! It's a snowy scene of cosiness that no doubt Mrs Claus had a hand in preparing - she has an eye for detail, you know. Here you can book your audience with Santa, over a series of dates up to and including Christmas Eve, with just enough time before he has to get the reindeers ready and fires up the sleigh for the long night ahead!

This weekend we had the pleasure of meeting Santa, Mrs Claus and the Elves at the National Ice Centre and loved every minute! The children, aged 7 and 8, found it really magical, greeted in person by Mrs Claus and the elves. We were then taken personally to meet Santa. You could see the joy on their faces as Santa asked them what they’d like him to bring for Christmas and if they had been behaving! It was a lovely exchange to watch between Santa and the children. We were also encouraged to take lots of photos, as Santa himself reminded me it is all about the memories after all! The children both received a beautiful Christmas themed book as a present, which again I thought was a lovely touch, something that can be kept and cherished.

But that’s not all…following our visit, it was time to take to the ice on the magical indoor ice-skating rink at the National Ice Centre. Lit up with flashing disco lights and complete with a giant glitter ball, it looked beautiful. Christmas songs and disco music delighted everyone from the littlest skaters to the oldest! Skating doesn’t come naturally to any of us but we all had a whale of a time, especially the children. It was a fantastic two hours of laughter, wobbling and Christmas fun.

Each child was also given a token for a hot chocolate or a soft drink from Santa so we went straight to warm up post skate in Encore Bar…we can confirm that the Elves at the arena make a cracking cuppa!

We had such a magical and fun afternoon with the National Ice Centre. For anyone with children, looking to create some special Christmas memories we couldn’t recommend this Santa experience and festive skate more highly. So, get your Christmas lists written and be sure to book in to see Santa, he won’t be around for long!

For more information about Santa's Grotto at the National Ice Centre, click here. For more information about the other festive events they are hosting this December, click here.

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This blog was written by Anna Scott for Visit Nottinghamshire.