The HARIBO Holly Jolly Grotto runs 20 November to Christmas Eve outside the Orient. Children £20 off-peak, £25 peak; family bundle early bird ends 2 November.

The Trafford Centre’s Santa’s grotto this year is the HARIBO Holly Jolly Grotto, open from Friday 20 November to Christmas Eve. It is in a covered tent in the car park right outside the Orient, tickets are on sale now, and a child’s ticket costs £20 off-peak or £25 at peak times, plus a £2.50 booking fee per order.

The quick answer

  • Dates: Friday 20 November to Thursday 24 December 2026. Every November date is off-peak.
  • Children £20 off-peak, £25 peak. Adults £8 off-peak, £10 peak. Every child gets a HARIBO plush gift from Santa; adults do not, unless you buy an “adult with gift” ticket.
  • Family bundles at an early bird price until 2 November: £69 or £81 off-peak, £87 or £102 at peak.
  • Where: a tented venue in the Trafford Centre car park outside the Orient food court, M17 8AA.
  • About 30 minutes, including a private meet-and-greet with Santa. Booking ahead is advised; a few tickets may be sold on the day, card only.

All of this is from the organisers’ ticketing site and its FAQs, and the Trafford Centre’s own Play page, checked on 5 October 2026.

Who runs it

The grotto is produced by the events company Bakehouse Factory with HARIBO and the Trafford Centre. The Trafford Centre calls it “brand-new” for 2026. The idea is that children are recruited as Santa’s “Holly Jolly elves” to help him through his Christmas checklist, with HARIBO-themed challenges along the way, before a private meeting with Santa himself.

The organisers point out that the HARIBO shop in the centre has nothing to do with running the grotto, so take questions to the organisers by email instead (address below).

Prices

Prices from the ticketing site. A £2.50 booking fee is added per order, not per ticket.

Ticket Off-peak saver Standard (peak)
Child, with a gift from Santa £20 £25
Adult, 14 and over, no gift £8 £10
Adult with gift, for “big children” 14 and over £20 £25
Family bundle, up to 5 (2 adults, up to 3 children), early bird £69 £87
Family bundle, up to 6 (2 adults, up to 4 children), early bird £81 £102
Carer, SEND sessions only Free

Rules worth knowing before you book:

  • Every booking needs at least one child ticket (or an “adult with gift” ticket). Adult tickets cannot be bought on their own.
  • The family bundles are marked early bird, “available until November 2nd”. The children in a bundle must be 14 or under, and each one gets a gift. The site does not yet say what the bundles will cost after 2 November.
  • Babies in arms do not need a ticket when they come with a brother or sister. A baby who is the only child in the group needs a child ticket, and so does any baby you want to get a gift.
  • Up to 8 people per booking, at most 4 adults and 4 children. Bigger groups are split into separate Santa visits.

When off-peak applies

From the organisers’ FAQs:

Dates Off-peak saver Standard
20 to 30 November All day
1 to 18 December Weekday mornings Weekday afternoons and evenings, and weekends
19 to 24 December All day

So the cheapest visits are any day in November, or a weekday morning in early December. The organisers had not published the daily opening hours or session times when we checked; they appear in the booking calendar.

SEND sessions

There are separate quieter sessions for children with special educational needs and their carers, at the same prices, with a free carer ticket for anyone 14 or over, booked alongside a child ticket. The organisers say the grotto has no strobe lighting, no loud or sudden noises and no special effects, and that the venue is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

On the day

  • Arrive no more than 5 minutes before your slot. Arriving early will not get you in early, the organisers say.
  • Allow about 30 minutes in all, including check-in and buying souvenirs.
  • Photos: there are selfie spots on the way round, but no photos or filming are allowed in Santa’s main room. Professional photos are on sale at the end and can be reordered online for 180 days using the QR code card.
  • Pushchairs are welcome inside, but there is no buggy park, so you keep it with you.
  • No food, drink, smoking or vaping inside, and only registered assistance dogs.
  • Toilets and baby changing are in the Orient, the nearest part of the centre.
  • The what3words address for the tent is radio.with.order.

Changing or cancelling

Bookings are non-refundable. You can change the date or time online up to 48 hours before your slot, but only if you registered a DigiTickets account when you booked; otherwise email the team. If you are ill, the organisers say they will try to rebook you where they can. You can pass tickets to someone else, who just needs the booking email or reference. If the organisers cancel a session, they offer another date first and refund the ticket price, without the booking fee, if none suits.

The contact address is traffordtickets@bakehousefactory.co.uk, and the organisers allow up to 72 hours for a reply.

Getting there and parking

The tent is in the Trafford Centre car park, M17 8AA, outside the Orient. The organisers warn that parking “gets extremely busy” in the run-up to Christmas and ask you to leave time to park before your slot. The Trafford Centre Metrolink line is closed from 19 October to 1 November for TfGM’s works at Deansgate-Castlefield and Trafford Bar, but that is over before the grotto opens; our tram closure page has the detail. For anything dug up on the way from Altrincham, see our roadworks and travel page, and for parking in town before or after, our Altrincham parking page.

Still to be confirmed

  • Daily opening hours and session times beyond what the booking calendar shows.
  • Family bundle prices after 2 November, when the early bird offer ends.

We will update this page when either is published.

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