Wundrful World of Christmas

Long gone are the days when a British grotto meant a quick sit on the knee of a boozy-smelling man with an obviously fake beard in the backroom of a mid-tier department store. In the age of immersive theatre, London’s grottos have spun off into all sorts of esoteric forms that now typically involve a lengthy ‘adventure’ prior to finally meeting Old Saint Nick, whose knee you are very definitely not allowed to sit on because of woke.

The oddly named Wundrful World of Christmas is billed as an immersive experience rather than a grotto, and indeed in its native Australia that may be fair enough – do they even have grottos in the land of beach Christmas?

But here it is basically a posh grotto, and probably London’s biggest this year, with an expensive marketing campaign and fancy location in Borough Yards.

It begins with us ‘boarding’ what my notes say is a flying lift, which – as conveyed via computer generated vista we see out of its ‘windows’ – is piloted by a slightly fractious group of elves all the way to the North Pole.

There we encounter… more elves, who are hanging out in a cluster of rooms so Christmassy they almost provoked a seizure when I visited in mid-November. Each has a little skit or bit of patter, and all the children involved - including my own - were delighted and entirely sold on the fact that yes, this was now the season to be jolly. Aimed at ages three to eight, there are light interactions and even a small problem-solving task – it’s hardly taxing but they always have something to do.

It’s not exactly a cheap experience: for a family of four you’re looking at a little shy of £100. But it is fundamentally nicely done: the CGI is a bit ropey in places, but the IRL stuff looks great – it even smells great – and the cast are enthusiastic about their roles. Spoilers, but each child gets a cookie around the two-thirds mark, and a physical photo of your inevitable encounter with Santa is included with entry, which is something a lot of places might try and sting you for as an extra. Santa himself was a perky American guy – I liked him! If you’re only going to meet one Santa this Christmas, he’s a solid example.

The fact Wundrful World of Christmas has come all the way from Sydney to entertain us does raise expectations that it’ll show us something wildly different. And it doesn’t really. But it’s certainly a solidly theatrical grotto experience that’ll do as the focal point to an afternoon out during the Christmas period. Do check our grottos list for all the many, sometimes quite bizarre opportunities London has to meet Father Christmas, but certainly Wundrful World of Christmas ticks the tinselly box.