Santa has made the long journey from the North Pole and is now ready to spread festive magic in Aberdeen.
Santa Claus and his helpers have set up their new home from home in the Bon Accord centre, and their winter wonderland grotto will be open to the public from tomorrow (Saturday, November 21).
For the first time in the mall’s history, all proceeds from the winter grotto will be donated to charity partner CLAN Cancer Support, which has helped organise the festive event.
The shopping mall’s support of CLAN is the latest in a host of events and activities that it has completed on behalf of the charity after it selected it as its chosen cause for the year.
Santa will be in his grotto ready to meet children and their families between 10am and 4pm on Saturday (November 20) and Sunday (November 21), as well as November 27-29, December 5-6, 12-13 and 19-24.
Santa’s Grotto – located on the upper mall of the Bon Accord Centre – holds pride of place in a snow filled seasonal scene. Children are invited to visit the centre to meet Santa and receive a gift from the man in red.
Craig Stevenson, manager of Bon Accord & St Nicholas, said: “The centre has a fantastic relationship with CLAN and we are delighted that proceeds from our Santa’s Grotto will go towards the invaluable work they carry out throughout the north-east.
“Santa and his elves have been very busy getting ready and are looking forward to meeting families in the run-up to Christmas. At Bon Accord & St Nicholas we work hard to make the festive period an enjoyable one for shoppers in our malls and what better way is there to get into the Yuletide spirit than by visiting Santa.
“Children are already getting involved with helping decorate the grotto’s walls through our festive picture drawing competition, which we have had a great response to. We are all looking forward to what is naturally our busiest time of the year – and we are sure Santa will be the star of the show.”
Colette Backwell, chief executive of CLAN, said: “Bon Accord & St Nicholas have given us tremendous support this year and we are absolutely delighted to be working in partnership with them on Santa’s Grotto.
“The festive season is an exciting and busy time for all of us at CLAN, and we are looking forward to playing our part in helping out at the Santa’s Grotto. I am sure those visiting the grotto in the build-up to Christmas will thoroughly enjoy it.
“We are so grateful to the people of the north-east, who are supportive of our efforts throughout the year, and we hope they take the time to pop along, meet Santa and help us continue our crucial work by making a donation.”