Christmas wouldn’t be complete without taking your children to visit Santa. Visiting Santa at Hamleys is one of the most iconic experiences. The world’s most famous toy store transforms into a winter wonderland every year, and children are invited to step inside a cosy grotto for a magical experience and to meet Father Christmas himself.
In this post, I’ll share our review, tips on how to get tickets for this experience (they sell out quickly!), what it’s really like to visit the Santa Grotto at Hamleys, what’s included in the experience, and whether it’s worth it for families planning a festive day out in London!
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How to Get Tickets to Visit Santa at Hamleys
Up until 2024, the date tickets would go on sale was announced in advance. In 2024, tickets went on sale at 10 am on the 10th of October. I logged on to the website a few minutes early. At 10 am, I was assigned a random space in the queue, as was everyone else who joined early.
You’re greeted with a screen telling you your position in the queue and the wait time. After about 35 minutes, I was able to enter the booking platform and purchase our tickets. There still seemed to be good availability, but tickets did sell out that day.
In 2025, there wasn’t as much advance warning of the sale. Hamleys announced on Instagram that they would be launching in the morning, then I got an email that booking was open. This was on the 1st of October. Again, they sold out quickly, with the weekend in the run-up to Christmas being the most popular slots.
Update on 23rd September 2026: This year’s tickets have just gone live. There was no warning, just an email to my inbox. Click here to book!
Top Booking Tip: I booked an early slot as the store gets busier throughout the day. An evening slot will also likely be quieter.
Tickets can only be booked directly through the Hamleys Website, linked here.
Screenshots from the booking tickets to Santa at Hamleys process.
How Much Are Tickets for this Iconic London Santa’s Grotto?
The ticket prices vary, with peak times being more expensive.
For 3 people, prices start from £75-£120. A family of 4 will cost £100-£145, and so on for a family of up to 6 people. (These prices have just been updated for 2026).
So, this is not a cheap activity. In my opinion, it was worth it as my boys had such a good time! You also get a lovely gift from Santa, which I will talk more about below.
What to Expect from your Santa Grotto Hamleys Experience
We first visited in 2024, when my children were aged almost 2 and 4. I couldn’t really find anything when I booked about what to expect (which is why I really wanted to share this review!)
I was concerned I had paid a lot of money to simply go in to see Santa and get a gift, which was how I remember visits to Santa as a child. Of Course, Hamleys is the most spectacular Santa’s Grotto in London, so it was a much more exciting experience!
You’re greeted by one of Santa’s elves. When your turn arrives, your family elf takes you through to a magical workshop. Our elf was really great at engaging with my children, saying things like “If I wasn’t magic, how would I know you like trains?” He knew because I’d put it on the booking form, but my son was very impressed!
Waiting to see if he’s on the naughty or nice list & helping make a teddy in the toy maker.
You then go through to begin your Santa at Hamleys experience. You get a private workshop, so just your family goes in! They check if you’ve been naughty or nice on their special machine. Then you help them light up the toy machine, and out pops a special Hamleys Christmas teddy bear for the children to take home.
Then, the phone rings and Santa asks to meet the children in person. Pulling a book off the shelf opens a secret door, and you go through to Santa. Kids can then tell him what they’d like for Christmas, and he gives them a special gift to take home.
(This was our experience; I can’t guarantee it will be exactly the same every year.)
The boys being given a Christmas gift & our family photo with Santa.
What’s in the Gift Bags from Santa at Hamleys
Our kids (aged almost 2 and 4 years old) received slightly different gift bags from Santa. They both received a giant lolly, a Christmas hat and a lovely Hamleys Christmas teddy bear. These bears were on sale in the store for £24 each.
My eldest got a set of pens that change colour and a magnificent bubble pack; these are meant to last longer than regular bubbles.
My little one got a plastic bubble gun which didn’t work very well, so that was disappointing!
These are really nice gifts compared to other Santa’s grottos we have visited.
The gift bags my 2-year-old and 4-year-old received from Santa at Hamleys, London.
Our Review of Visiting Santa at Hamleys
We had so much fun visiting Santa at Hamleys in London. The experience felt really magical, and our kids loved it!
It is a lovely additional touch to go into the elves’ workshop before meeting Santa. The children probably enjoyed this experience more than actually talking to Father Christmas himself!
They both received a lovely gift bag, which made the experience feel like much better value overall. I mentioned the cost earlier in this post; it’s not the cheapest activity, but I think, for our family, it was worth it for a special festive treat!
The only negative I have from this experience is that the lighting was very poor and the photos came out with very strange colours and bad quality. I wonder if this was to encourage you to buy the professional photo, which I did, for an additional fee!
Other Tips for Enjoying Christmas at Hamleys London
Hamleys is a popular, therefore busy store. We arrived just before 10 am (which is opening time), and there were already people queuing outside. I was glad we booked the 10:30 slot to see Santa; it gave my kids a little time to look around before it got too crowded, and it also meant the line for Santa’s Grotto wasn’t too long. Even though you book a time slot, I imagine the wait gets longer throughout the day.
There is a lot to see in Hamleys. If you’re visiting with young children, head to the first floor where you’ll find the preschool toys. They have lots of things on display for children to play with.
Be prepared that kids will want to buy things! We had some family that had asked for gift ideas, so I was happy to let them pick some things out. A tip if you’re not looking to purchase is to take a photo of things they like to send to Santa!
Thank you so much for reading our review of visiting Santa at Hamleys. I hope it has got you excited for your visit to this magical London Santa’s Grotto!
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Happy Exploring,
A London mum sharing stylish, family-friendly travel guides.
I In our travel guides, I show you that you can still travel as a family and create beautiful memories, even when trips aren’t full of kid-centric activities.
When I’m not planning our next adventure, I also share timeless style inspiration and ideas for living more thoughtfully and sustainably.