This year's Christmas Grotto at the Trafford Centre will have an extra special guest - with Paddington Bear joining the fun for the first time. The shopping mall has announced that it will open its Christmas with Paddington Grotto Experience as part of the Tinseltown festive extravaganaza.
Centre bosses say the Christmas Grotto will be "bigger and better than ever before with Paddington's arrival". Paddington is loved by families across the world, and has had a new lease of life in recent years with his two big screen outings.
Now the character will be part of what is promised to be a magical grotto journey through Paddington's home with the Brown family - with lots of fun photo opportunities for all ages along the way. The experience will launch as part of the full Tinseltown event at the Trafford Centre from November.
Read more : Manchester Christmas Markets 2022 - dates, locations, and everything you need to know
As well as meeting Paddington, children will also get the traditional meeting with Santa in the grotto to talk all things Christmas - before geting a Paddington-themed gift to take home. Bookings for the Grotto open to the public from Wednesday, October 26.
The Trafford Centre announced the news today, saying: "Tinseltown at Trafford Centre is set to be extra-special this year as Santa will be joined in its iconic Christmas Grotto by a special friend, Paddington™. The Christmas with Paddington Grotto experience at Trafford Centre Manchester will be open November 16 until December 24 for families of all ages to enjoy a memorable festive experience - expected to be bigger and better than ever before with Paddington’s arrival.
"Visitors will be invited to enjoy the special Christmas with Paddington experience, curated by award-winning experiential events company Bakehouse Factory. It will include fun photo opportunities for all ages, travelling through snowy festive trees and scenic street scenes, also including a mesmerising interactive doll’s house featuring Paddington’s famous attic window.
"Children will then be invited to tiptoe across the Christmas night-time rooftops of the beautiful Windsor Gardens, before being transported to the hallway of the Browns’ house to finally meet Paddington himself. After pausing for a photo, families will be guided in individual family groups to meet Santa, a delightful festive adventure."
Every child will receive a Paddington book as a special gift from Santa, and families can then enjoy browsing a pop-up Paddington shop for memorabilia and gifts to end the magical experience.
On weekdays in November, the Christmas with Paddington experience will also be open for story-telling sessions specifically designed for pre-school children, schools, and nurseries. The Night Before Christmas at The Browns’ House is an interactive story-telling session aimed at groups of young children and will include the chance to also meet Paddington.
Bruce Gardner, Brand Experience Director at Trafford Centre said: “Christmas with Paddington is a central feature for Trafford Centre’s Tinseltown campaign this year and is set to be a wonderfully festive and unique, hand-crafted experience for the whole family.
"We are expecting over 40,000 people to enjoy this immersive experience with the national treasure that is Paddington, and we are confident it will be a huge success for the centre as we provide a Christmas experience to remember.”
Kate Statham, Managing Director, Bakehouse said: “It is an absolute pleasure to create something extra-special for Trafford Centre this year. We have nearly 40 people currently working on the event, designing, and building the set, creating interactive elements, writing scripts, and amazing costumes, and by the end of December we will have employed around 100 people to bring the magic of Christmas to the people of Manchester and the surrounding area.”
Tickets are available for both Santa’s Grotto and The Night Before Christmas at The Browns’ House Story Sessions via the Trafford Centre website with priority booking available for Pulse members when in the Trafford Centre from October 25. General ticket sales will go live from October 26 here and visitors are advised to book their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
Christmas with Paddington has been designed and created on license for Trafford Centre by award-winning experiential events company, Bakehouse Factory. Each element is being lovingly crafted by a team of artisan makers, scenic designers, scriptwriters, and costumiers especially for this magical Christmas experience.
Dates, times and ticket prices
The Christmas with Paddington Grotto experience is open every weekend from 16 th November and every day in December until the 24 th December 2022. For further information and updates, visit the Trafford Centre website here.
Christmas with Paddington Grotto Ticket Prices : £15.00 per child, £5.00 per adult
Story Telling Sessions Prices : £7.50 per person
For more of today's top stories, click here
Read next:
- The festive lights events you can book now across Greater Manchester and Cheshire
- All the confirmed Christmas events taking place in Manchester for 2022
- Why Manchester Christmas Lights Switch-on event is OFF for 2022
- UK's biggest outdoor and indoor heated Winter Festival returning to Manchester
- Places to go ice skating in Manchester for Christmas 2022
