£65 for an hour with Santa? The race to rip off parents at Christmas gets worse each year

A few days ago, I booked my family’s first Christmas event of the year in a mild panic .If you don’t have young children, you might be surprised to learn that tickets for such events are available as early as spring – and some have already sold out., which is in Swinley Forest near Ascot, went on sale in March and were swiftly snapped up, for example. Its guests will enjoy four hours of performances and activities, and time with Santa.

You might find the more traditional “meet Santa” event at, say, a local garden centre, but beware of the bill. Take Ruxley Manor in Kent. To meet Father Christmas, it is £9 for each child under one, £18 for children aged one or over and £5 per adult. That’s £46 for two parents and two children aged one or over.

The event I’ve booked – which includes a child-friendly afternoon tea, a performance, a meeting with, and gift from, Santa in the Mansion – at Leeds’s Roundhay Park, would have come in just shy of £90 had we had a second child. Despite the add-ons, Santa is the main event, and why I parted with that £65.

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