Do you believe in Santa? If so, here are some of the places across the Winchester district and beyond where you’ll be able to spot him and say hello.
He’ll be springing up in shows and making special appearances like never before. Make sure to write him a letter. Or if you’d rather dress up like him, make sure to sign up for the charity run and you’ll see nothing but Santa everywhere you turn!
From 4 December Father Christmas will be making special appearances at Marwell Zoo on weekends and selected dates. There will be festive scenes dotted about the park where he’ll be sat, ready to say hello and receive Christmas letters – with a template ready to print out from the zoo’s website, to personalise and pop in one of his post boxes. He will also be making his way around the zoo on one on their buggies, to wave at visitors and the animals (perhaps).
Throughout December Santa becomes the star of the show at Winchester Science Centre – where he’ll be swapping his bright red coat for a lab coat to pop up in their Science Dino-mite shows – to help the experts discover what happened during Christmases past (of the prehistoric era).
Or if you’d like to dress up as Ol’ Saint Nick yourself, get your own red coat, white beard and Santa sack at the ready and register for Winchester’s Santa Fun Run (5k), taking place on 5 December – and support local hospices Naomi House and Jacksplace.
Also, on 28 November, Beaulieu Motor Museum’s VW Santa Run is back for its seventh year, with a chance for VW camper, van and motorhome owners to dress up in festive costumes and decorate their vehicles before driving convoy-style across the New Forest in aid of children at the Piam Brown unit at Southampton General Hospital. Father Christmas will also be ‘out and about’ at Beaulieu from 18 – 26 December.
Plus, if you live in Winchester, make sure to look out your window between 6pm and 8pm, from 2 to 20 December, and you might spot Santa travelling down your road on his sleigh – with his friends from Winchester Round Table. Find out here which date he’ll be passing your way and if you can spare a bit of a change for the charities that Santa’s volunteers will be out collecting for, they would be most grateful. Watch his travels live online with the Winchester Santa Sleigh Tracker.
Finally, if little ones want to write to Santa and get a special reply, they need to post their letters to his Grotto in Reindeerland by 10 December. Read here for more information. Don’t forget a stamp!
