November 27, 2017 11.08 am This story is over 76 months old

Aladdin stars to welcome Santa to his Lincoln grotto this week

Santa will get an extra special welcome from the stars of the New Theatre Royal Aladdin pantomime when he arrives at his festive grotto in Lincoln. The grotto will be based at Waterside shopping centre, near to Next and H&M, from Friday, December 1 until Christmas Eve. Sandi Bogle from Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother…

Santa will get an extra special welcome from the stars of the New Theatre Royal Aladdin pantomime when he arrives at his festive grotto in Lincoln.

The grotto will be based at Waterside shopping centre, near to Next and H&M, from Friday, December 1 until Christmas Eve.

Sandi Bogle from Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother 2017; Andy Abraham, the platinum-selling soulful X-Factor star; and Chris Johnson from CBBC’s will welcome Father Christmas to Lincoln at 11am on Friday.

This year, Santa’s Grotto is housed in a magical Christmas tree.

An audience with Santa costs £4.50 plus booking fee and includes a gift and the chance to have a photo taken with him too.

Bookings can be made on the website here. 

As well as the grotto, Waterside will be welcoming a snow globe to the centre on Saturday, December 2, giving people the chance to step into their very own winter wonderland.

The globe is large enough to accommodate up to eight people, who can enjoy their own snowball fight and selfie time, with a free photo of their experience included in the cost of their visit.

The Waterside is also supporting its charity of the year.

On Tuesday, 19, Wednesday, 20, and Thursday, December 21, which are all late night shopping days, volunteers from St Barnabas will be offering to gift wrap presents purchased in the centre in return for a donation.

People can also buy a present to donate to Bridge Church, by placing it under their Giving Tree. All of the presents will be passed onto the people in need.

“Christmas is a magical time of year,” says the Waterside’s general manager, Dean Cross. “As well as giving presents to friends and family, Christmas is about that special feeling you get when you see a child’s face light up as they meet Santa.

“It’s also about helping those left fortunate than yourself, which is why we’re working with Bridge Church and also continuing to help St Barnabas.”