Santa’s Fantastical Post Office: The Mall Blackburn

One of my favourite things about Christmas is undoubtedly the build up. As much as I love the day itself, the real magic for me lies in the days leading up to the big event – writing letters to Santa, decorating the tree, baking gingerbread and of course, visiting Father Christmas himself!! And this year we were so excited to be invited to a local shopping centre, The Mall at Blackburn, to visit Santa’s Fantastical Post Office! Unfortunately Megan was unwell again and couldn’t come with us this time but I’m hoping we can squeeze in a visit before Christmas so she doesn’t miss out.

 As we arrived at The Mall we enjoyed a hot chocolate and festive gingerbread whilst the children wrote their letters to Father Christmas. Eva is desperate for roller skates this year while Harry just wants all the LEGO toys! After writing our letters we headed to the upper floor of The Mall to the Fantastical Post Office and I was instantly surprised by just how impressive it was! Our experiences of shopping centre grotto’s haven’t always been positive and so seeing just how grand the outside was, we couldn’t wait to step inside!

Inside it felt as though we had entered into a whole new world and as the Post Master, Bauble, greeted us with the most enthusiastic welcome, the looks on the children’s faces were completely priceless! Each of the children took it in turn to hand their letter to Bauble who folded it up, put it inside the special capsule, and then sent it to the North Pole before our very eyes!

After a fun interactive show from Baubles another set of doors opened and there, surrounded by twinkling lights and festive music, was Father Christmas! I’m not going to lie to you, I always feel so nervous before we visit Father Christmas incase his costume isn’t right, his beard too fake, he’s not old enough, or his belly not big enough, and yet honestly, he was absolutely PERFECT!!!

As he talked to the children about what they would like for Christmas. and reminded them to leave out a mince pie for him and a carrot for Rudolph, I could see that they believed in every word he said and I could have cried with how happy they were in that moment. There is nothing quite as magical as that belief in Father Christmas and standing there, beaming away as he gave them their presents, they could not have been happier!!

Even better, as the children opened their presents as we returned home they were absolutely delighted with them. Harry received a game we could all play together as a family, Eva a fairy lights craft set, and Megan a Make Your Own Teddy Bear set, all of which were so well received. I think the quality of the gift, and the authenticity of the experience, is worth every single penny of the entry fee and then some. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Santa’s Fantastical Post Office to any of you!

You can book your tickets, priced at £9.95 per child (with two adults admitted free) over at The Mall website here and see more of the experience in the video below.

** We were invited to The Mall to visit the Santa’s Fantastical Post Office in exchange for our review. We were compensated for our time. **