Santa’s grotto at the Museum of London

It’s the time of the year when parents across the world are taking their children to visit Santa. This year, we were invited by the Museum of London to send one of our team to visit Santa in his Victorian Grotto – based in the museum’s Victorian Walk, a unique recreation of Victorian era London. This rather special ‘old world’ experience was attended by our Expat Round-up Editor Maria Tumolo and her family. Here she shares her story of their day…

We visited on the second day of the grotto’s opening and it was a delightful experience. Santa’s grotto at the Museum of London will give patrons a taste of a Victorian English Christmas full of magic, nostalgia and wonder.

As guests of the museum we were treated to lunch prior to our visit to Santa’s grotto so we enjoyed pizza and chips at the London Wall Bar & Kitchen. The food was exceptional – the pizzas were the best I’ve ever had outside of Venice, Italy and the chips were twice fried making them absolutely delicious – we each had a fruit juice with the meal. The restaurant itself had a cosy rustic ambience which is family friendly and would also be perfect for Al Fresco dining and after work drinks!

After lunch we made our way into the museum and on to the Victorian Walk gallery. The gallery is a life size recreation of a Victorian London street, which includes original shop fronts and objects from the museum’s collection . Santa’s grotto is at the end of Victorian Walk, and on the way there I bumped into fellow BritMums Round-up Editor Ann who writes the SEND Round-up. We talked about how visiting a grotto might affect a child with autism but my own kids don’t like too much noise and crowds either. Some festive events like this can be loud and claustrophobic, but this particular grotto experience was pleasant and calming. I had big hopes for Victorian Santa and he didn’t let me down!

When we got to the big guy, the area was spacious, and elegantly decorated. It was not fussy or excessively sparkly. From the queuing spot each family would have their turn to walk a few meters into the grotto to meet Santa. When my children got to Santa, he was the best. Very warm, friendly and funny. As you’d expect from a toy expert, he was up to date on the current toys on the market and made the children laugh at his apparent mishearing of their requests. He set them at ease, so much so when asked ‘have you been good?’ Angelo confessed that he and his sister had been cheeky! Santa was understanding and told them they deserved a present for their honesty. They were both gifted with Victorian inspired Christmas gifts wrapped in brown paper with string and before leaving the museum we visited the Great Fire of London display because the children covered it recently in class so we made our day fun and educational.

All in all it was an entertaining Sunday afternoon at the museum and highly recommended if you are looking for a taste of a Victorian English Christmas full of magic, nostalgia and wonder!

Further details

Victorian Santa’s grotto at the Museum of London runs from 15-23 December 2017 (inclusive), from 10:30am -5pm.
The booking fee is £10 in advance. Each child who meets Santa will receive a gift, with the option (for an additional cost of £8) to take home a photograph.
Visit the Museum of London website for further details and to book tickets for the grotto.
Entry to the museum is free.
Museum of London is at 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN

Are you or have you visited a Santa’s Grotto this year? Tell us about it in the comments!