The Santa Spectacular At Willows Activity Farm 2018!

Willows Activity Farm in St Albans is a mega day out whatever the time of year but come Christmas it really does come into itself! Placed in a rather handy location for London dwellers (it used to take us half an hour to drive there but is also accessible by public transport) it’s also on the doorstep for many other southern postcodes so no wonder it’s always busy and full to the brim with smiling faces. We live a good two hour drive away now but it absolutely doesn’t put us off going and that in itself should give you an indication of what a great family day out this farm is!

Yesterday we set off for our annual Christmassy fun day on the farm which we always coincide with the Mummy Endeavours team – that’s how we roll now… Willows for the Santa Spectacular with some of our very best friends of all and we highly recommend that you do the same because we know that you won’t be disappointed!

So let me give you a little idea about the farm in general… You pay once to get in and that’s it. Once inside, everything from tractor rides to crafts to slot games like the water target sprays are included in your ticket price and there is always plenty on offer. A regular Willows day out includes access to all the play areas including the two very immersive and interactive Peter rabbit areas, a HUGE outdoor equipment site with sand, water and obstacle courses and an indoor play area of dreams with sections for all ages – here you will find massive slides for the dare devil big kids and ball pits and soft play for the younger. It’s awesome and there’s free WiFi for the parents – win! You will also be able to see the shows, watch the animal races, go to animal talks and pat some of the pets too. We love the llamas, shire horses and pigs the best and the indoor petting area is our favourite! As well as all of this there are traditional fair ground rides, bouncy castles, trampolines, the tractor ride and a superb indoor JCB area for smaller tots.

At Christmas time there’s all of this PLUS… Ice skating, a 3D experience, a REAL animal nativity, gingerbread decorating, making your own teddy bear, the elf academy, the festive stamp trail and… of course, a visit to Father Christmas! This is our favourite Father Christmas experience ever and as you queue to see him you’re treated to beautiful displays where you can take your picture with the kiddos before meeting him in his own little log cabin. Yesterday we got to speak with him for a while before he gave us each a key to his toy shop to go and unlock the door and choose a treat to take home. This is a treat on top of the teddy, on top of the ginger bread man and on top of all the fun we had! Tickets aren’t cheap as chips but actually, when you know how much you get for your money I wouldn’t mind betting that it’s one of the best value Father Christmas experiences going! At our local zoo, where we are annual pass members, it would cost us (as members) about £30 just to go and have breakfast with the big man and then spend a day in the zoo we are already members of. At Willows a ticket to the Santa Spectacular is £33 for a child if you book in advance. It’s an absolute bargain and I’d encourage all my friends to make this their festive treat over anything else!

We loved it, as always, and as always have come home wondering how yet again they’ve managed to top last year?! Every year we wonder how they could possibly have gone that bit extra and think there’s no way they’ll exceed it again next time but somehow they always do! The whole place is decorated from top to bottom with Christmas trees and lights and it feels especially magical at Christmas! This place is something else, truly it is!

We usually go a little bit earlier in the season but tummy bugs got in the way meaning we visited on one of the busiest weekends of the year and I was staggered by how many cars there were in the car park yesterday morning. I literally couldn’t believe the volume of people on the farm but it’s run so well that we didn’t really have to queue outrageously for anything and we got a table in the soft play area after only a few minutes. They have it down at willows with the levels of staff and I suppose why wouldn’t they when they’ve been doing it for years! Here are some top tips for a festive day out at Willows!

• Save the Father Christmas and teddy bear workshop experiences towards the end of the day when the queues will have died down making the wait even shorter!
• If eating in the cafe get someone in your party in the food queue and another on table watch – alternatively (and it is a shame as Willows food is REALLY good and the new pizzas looked immense) take a winter picnic! We take a flask of soup, another of tea and one more of hot chocolate!
• Wear wellies – it’s a farm and it’s muddy!
• Dress festively and you can get some gorgeous Christmassy family shots, the place is an Instagrammers dream!
• Plan to be there from opening until close because there’s so much to do you STILL won’t do anything (Mishka the husky and Elf Academy had to be missed for us yesterday and we were there until the bitter end being the last of the customers being politely said goodbye to in the soft play area, Woolly Jumpers)!
• Tick the things that you most want to do on your guide and make a plan so that you don’t miss them!

The Santa Spectacular is on at Willows Activity Farm until the 24th of December and tickets can be purchased in advance (for the best price) by visiting their website www.willowsactivityfarm.com.

We were gifted our day at Willows Activity Farm.