A little bird told me that Santa would be dropping by intu Derby shopping centre this Christmas and asked if we would like to pop along. The girls are so excited about all things Christmas this year, I knew they would love a trip to see Santa and to visit the Elf School.
intu Derby
It was also a chance for me to pop along and see the shopping centre. I have never been to intu Derby, but I’ve heard people rave about it so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to check it out.
Our visit with Santa was for 11.30, so we arrived and got parked in the first carpark we came to. I think it was the basement carpark, but it turns out there are 3 all together. With 3,600 spaces there’s plenty of room for everyone. The prices were reasonable too with 4 hours costing £5.
En route to Santa and his grotto, we met some elves. They were incredibly tall and a little over bearing for the girls, but when they offered them chocolate coins, they were soon won over.
With a pocket full of chocolate, we carried onto the second level to find out where Santa was meeting everyone. He’d managed to take over a shop in intu Derby, so all the children could take a class with the elves too. This was going to be a lot of fun.
Visiting Santa
We were treated to a lesson at Elf School and some tips in Elf Magic. The children really enjoyed Elf School and there was some funny jokes and chances for the children to get involved with the tricks. It was a really lovely introduction to seeing Santa, and made for a more enjoyable experience for all the children. Elf school lasted about half an hour, which is quite long enough for any excited child to sit still before their date with Santa, it was just the perfect length.
After Elf School, we headed through to the waiting area so the children could collect their Elf School certificates and hats and wait for their turn to see Santa. We didn’t wait to long at all, as intu Derby keep the numbers going to Elf School at a reasonable size so they can get through everyone.
We headed into see Santa after having a quick chat with the elves, and he was very excited to see the children. They were keen to tell him they would love a baby doll this year, and Santa was convinced the elves had some ready made for them. We had our photo taken before heading out to collect our gift and have a look at the snaps.
Afterwards we popped along to the food court for some lunch at Bagel Nash and the girls had ran around in the play area while Mummy checked out some new shoes. It’s a shopping centre I will definitely be going back to, whether Santa is there or not!
All in all we had a lovely experience with Santa at intu Derby, and would be happy to recommend seeing him to any families in the area. Hurry though, he’s only there until 24th December and a ticket will cost £6.
We were invited to intu Derby to see Santa in exchange for this post but all thoughts and opinions are our own.
