Santa’s Grotto is returning to Busy Bee for the first time in years, with youngsters set to meet Father Christmas, make their own reindeer food and choose a present to take home.
The festive favourite will make its comeback at the Brading Road garden centre in Ryde this Christmas, following Blue Diamond’s takeover of the much-loved Isle of Wight business last year.
The grotto will open on Saturday 21st November and Sunday 22nd November, before returning the following weekend. Further sessions will be held on Friday (4th), Saturday (5th) and Sunday (6th December), followed by Thursday (10th) through to Sunday (13th).
Father Christmas will then return from Thursday 17th December, with the grotto open every day through to Christmas Eve on Thursday 24th December.
The experience begins at the North Pole, where children will be able to mix up their own reindeer food to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve. They will then make their way into Santa’s cosy living room to meet Father Christmas and share their Christmas wishes. The experience finishes in Santa’s Present Room, where each child can choose a toy to take home.
Tickets are priced at £16.99 per child, with accompanying adults admitted free of charge.
A festive photograph can be taken during the visit and purchased separately, with an 8×6 photo in a book wallet costing £7.99 or a boxed glitter frame photograph priced at £13.99.
Also coming to Busy Bee this Christmas is Santa’s Virtual Reality Sleigh Ride, costing £5 per person. The immersive 4D attraction returns and will see visitors join DASH to help test Santa’s brand-new sleigh on a trial flight around the world ahead of Christmas Eve.
The ride is suitable for those aged 3 and over, with children required to be accompanied by an adult. Spaces are limited and pre-booking is essential.
The return of the grotto fulfils an ambition revealed by Blue Diamond to Island Echo earlier this year. The Guernsey-headquartered garden centre group acquired Busy Bee last year following the retirement of founders Chris and Mary Leslie, who established the business in 1987.
Blue Diamond has since invested £1.2million in transforming the site, including the addition of a new food hall and fashion department, a revamped restaurant and changes throughout the store.
Despite the changes, the company made clear from the outset that Busy Bee’s well-known Christmas World would remain.
Speaking exclusively to Island Echo in March, Blue Diamond’s Group Garden Centre Operations Manager Michael Stephanou said the company wanted to build on the Christmas offering already established at Busy Bee – including bringing back Santa’s Grotto.
Michael said:
“We don’t plan to ruin Christmas World like everyone has said. We believe we can bring more value to it.
“If anything, we plan to build on what Busy Bee has already established and make it even better. We are certainly not going to take anything away – we are just aiming to enhance what is already here.
“We would really like to bring that back for the Isle of Wight and for our customers. We are known for doing Christmas well at Blue Diamond, and we want to build on the Christmas foundations that the previous owners have already created here.”
Christmas celebrations at Busy Bee will also include a Christmas Preview Shopping Evening on Thursday 22nd October between 17:00-21:00.
Bookings for the festive experiences can be made online at https://events.bluediamond.gg/event-tickets/80044?catID=66025&ref=ed_direct.
