Finding the right candidate to play the part of Santa (when the real one is too busy preparing for the festive season) can be a tricky task.
But a popular festive event at one of the finest medieval halls in the UK has had to offer refunds because its new Father Christmas was not considered up to scratch.
Some visitors have said this year’s model at the Great Hall in Winchester, Hampshire, has a “blatantly fake beard” and “cheap red suit” and have called the experience a “shambles”.
Matthew Fernandez, 38, who visited with his children River, nine, Lennox, six, and Winter, four, said the new Father Christmas was “nothing like the last one”.
He said: “This was just a guy dressed up in a cheap red suit with a blatantly fake beard and he wasn’t very talkative at all – he didn’t seem very jovial. It ruined the experience.”
Fernandez said the previous Santa had been much more authentic. He said: “My children were polite but as soon as we left they were in tears regarding the situation and said they knew he was a fake.”
The event promises to offer a “magical experience” for children and is not cheap. Tickets cost £18.50 a child and £6 an adult.
Lisa Catherine, who visited with her newborn granddaughter, complained online: “Honestly I wanted to laugh, I’ve seen better Santas rolling around town on their way to Christmas parties.” She said the organisers ought to “close this shambles down”.
Another said: “We unfortunately got the fake Santa!! It was so awkward to be honest. No hohoho, no merry Christmas, nothing.”
Hampshire Cultural Trust sounded abashed that its Santa had gone down so badly. It said on its website: “We are aware some of our customers have expressed disappointment that the Santa’s Grotto at the Great Hall is a different experience to the one offered last year, particularly that the Father Christmas is not the same one who has greeted children previously.
“This year’s Santa experience is brand new and does offer some great new additions which expand the offer. At no point have we suggested that this year’s experience was the same as that delivered by the previous operator and we absolutely refute suggestions that it has been mis-sold.
“As a gesture of goodwill for any customer who has not yet visited and who booked tickets on the assumption that the experience would be the same as previous years, we are offering a full refund.”
