Visiting Father Christmas at Royal Albert Hall
In the last couple of days I’ve had three keys in my bag. House keys, car keys and the key to Father Christmas. The key to Father Christmas is a cardboard key with the Royal Albert Hall logo. It’s a very important key that four-year-old Big Girl received when going on the Father Christmas at the Hall experience on Tuesday.
We had been invited on the tour, and Big Girl was excited to go to meet ‘the real Father Christmas’. When arriving at Royal Albert Hall we were met by an enthusiastic tour guide–a Victorian doorkeeper dressed in a top hat and morning suit–and there was a table for children to sit at to do colouring to keep them entertained while waiting for the tour to start.
When the experience started, our guide took us on a mini tour around the Royal Albert Hall, stopping in three different rooms where there were new clues to help us find Father Christmas.
There was a song to sing, crowns to make and a floor puzzle to complete before the group made it to the final destination, which was almost like walking onto a stage set.
There was a large Christmas tree, snow falling from the ceiling, a very Instagrammable Royal Albert Hall cake, Christmas cards to colour, complimentary hot chocolate and mulled wine and charming props to mark where Father Christmas lived.
Big Girl looked star struck when it was our turn to sit down with Father Christmas in his cozy living room, and I helped her remember what she wanted for Christmas. Father Christmas gave her a wooden flute to take home and reminded her to continue to be good in the run up to Christmas.
I think the historic setting and the magic of Royal Albert Hall makes for a believable Father Christmas experience for kids, and I would particularly recommend it to school-age children who will appreciate the opportunity to see some of the rooms at the Hall and learn a few facts about the building while also meeting ‘the real Father Christmas’.
A unique Father Christmas experience with a historic twist!
The experience takes up to 1 hour, and tickets are £26.50 per child and accompanying adults go free. It is aimed at children aged 2+. Buggies can be parked at the beginning of the tour, and they are then transferred to the exit area. The tour starts from door 12 and finishes at door 9.
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