A popular UK Christmas event failed to capture the magic of the festive season after children were left in “tears”, with furious visitors even being offered a “full refund”.
There is nothing like the excited squeals of children during the festive period when they go to visit Santa and finding the right candidate to play the main man is no easy task.
The first thing when playing the role of Santa is to be cheerful, get your best red suit and beard and master your “ho ho ho”.
However, a Father Christmas impersonator at the Great Hall in Winchester, Hampshire left visitors unimpressed with his “blatantly fake beard” and “cheap red suit”.
Matthew Fernandez, who visited with his children, said the experience was ruined thanks to the new Santa not being very talkative, which left his family in floods of tears.
He said: “This was just a guy dressed up in a cheap red suit with a blatantly fake beard and he wasn’t very talkative at all – he didn’t seem very jovial. It ruined the experience.
“My children were polite but as soon as we left, they were in tears regarding the situation and said they knew he was a fake.”
Lisa Catherine, who visited with her newborn granddaughter, branded the event a “shambles”.
In her online complaint, she said: “Honestly I wanted to laugh. I’ve seen better Santas rolling around town on their way to Christmas parties.” She said the organisers ought to “close this shambles down”.
Taking to social media to voice concerns, Claire Partridge accused organisers of “selling out” and “ruining a magical experience”.
The event promises to offer a “magical experience” for children and is not cheap. Tickets cost £18.50 a child and £6 an adult.
Southampton mum-of-two Kirsty told the Southern Daily Echo she will “no longer attend” the Christmas event after the awful reviews and has “so far been refused a refund”.
Hampshire Cultural Trust acknowledged its Santa had gone down so badly and those “who booked tickets on the assumption that the experience would be the same as previous years” are being offered a “full refund”.
The statement read: “We are aware some of our customers have expressed disappointment that the Santa’s Grotto at the Great Hall is a different experience to the one offered last year, particularly that the Father Christmas is not the same one who has greeted children previously.
“This year’s Santa experience is brand new and does offer some great new additions which expand the offer. At no point have we suggested that this year’s experience was the same as that delivered by the previous operator and we absolutely refute suggestions that it has been mis-sold.
“As a gesture of goodwill for any customer who has not yet visited and who booked tickets on the assumption that the experience would be the same as previous years, we are offering a full refund.”
