Grotto At My Door

In the name of Saint Nick, what is this all about?!

A Christmas visit like no other: a mischievous elf, and the big man himself, all from the comfort of your own home! Bespoke visits tailored to meet the wishes of each child.

20 minutes of pure enchantment: a lost Elf arrives on your doorstep – can you help her do the Magical Elf Chant to summon Santa from the North Pole? It worked! Naturally we recognise the children from the Nice List and proceed to show them a photo of themselves, and impress them with our insider knowledge! A little song and dance, perhaps a story, or some general silliness and Christmas build up – it’s up to you! And of course plenty of opportunities to photograph those priceless reactions!

A personalised grotto experience for a maximum of 10 children, wherever you choose, be it the doorstep, the living room, the garden, the kitchen or a hired venue.

From £100 (up to two children) for 20 minutes

£25 per extra child (5 minutes extra time given per child – i.e. 25 minutes for three children, 30 for four etc.)

Due to having our own little elves and a reindog too, we have very limited time and very specific bases, so we can only offer visits in the following areas:

North East London: Leyton, Leytonstone, Wanstead, South Woodford, Walthamstow, Highams Park, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton

Essex: Harlow, Roydon, Epping, Waltham Abbey, North Weald, Nazeing, Broxbourne, Hoddeson, Cheshunt

Hertfordshire: Hertford, Ware, Stanstead Abbots, Sawbridgeworth

If you require a visit outside of these areas, a mileage surcharge will be applied

Please note for Christmas Eve bookings we ask for £100 extra per booking.

Check out our facebook page Grotto At My Door for all our marvellous reviews 🙂

But who the snow-angel are you?!

We are Grotto At My Door, a seasonal branch of NMT Automatics Theatre Company, usually found touring the country with our dynamic and mythical productions, bringing ancient stories to life for modern audiences. Or, more commonly known as husband and wife duo, Jon and Jen. With a combined professional experience of over 30 years in the entertainment industry, including children’s parties, events, pantomimes and theatre; not only is My Magical Christmas Visit the perfect surprise for your little ones, it also provides much-needed support to local artists who promise to charm and warm hearts in equal measures.

Sleigh, what?! But how much will it cost? Will it be very….deer?

It’s £100 for a 1 or 2 child household, and £25 per child thereafter. The maximum number of children we can visit is 10, which would cost £300 and last 1 hour, giving families and friends the opportunity to club together for a little party. If you would like a visit on Christmas eve, we ask for £100 extra per booking.

You are welcome to have unlimited adults, big siblings or baby siblings in the room too at no extra cost- but we can feature no more than 10 names per party on our “Nice List” so if they are of believing age please make sure they are counted 🙂

One part of the experience is that the children discover that they are on Santa’s “Nice List” which features a collection of personal details and their photo (how on Earth did we know – it must be the real Santa!), so as soon as you know who the lucky children are, please do return the relevant form: https://forms.office.com/r/79veVvVHS5

We are more than happy to give out presents you have bought yourself – they can either be posted to us, or left in a secret hiding place that we can pick up outside the house, without being seen, on the day.

Or…

For an extra £10 per child, you can purchase a bespoke gift bag including:

• A personalised certificate from the North Pole
• A small bag of nature-friendly reindeer food (made up of oats & edible glitter – so no danger to local wildlife or pets)
• A magic key pendant for Santa to let himself in
• A handmade gift (this may differ from the picture – however, we always try and source handmade, small-business craft gifts from suppliers selling at local markets or on Etsy – we can send you some choices if you want to go with the gift bag option, but we’d need to know sooner rather than later as these take a while to compile).

I’m merry, merry keen, how can I book?

Please WhatsApp message Jingles the Elf (Jennie) on: 07926030821 to get the (snow)ball rolling!

Anything elf? What do yule need from us?

Once you have made your booking, please, please fill out the personalisation form as soon as you can: https://forms.office.com/r/79veVvVHS5

• In addition to this, please do share any important information about the children you feel we should know (disabilities, sensitivities, anxieties etc); we are aware that two strangers turning up on your doorstep in fancy dress might spook even the most confident child, so it is very important that we know to tone things down/take things slower for any neurodiverse/SEN children, as the last thing we want is tears at Christmas!
• Surprise! Please keep our visit a total surprise for your children for the maximum magical effect 🙂

Bark the Herald Angels Sing! Where is Suki Sparkles this year?

For those of you who have booked us before, you might be thinking, where is Suki Sparkles the Reindog? Well, much though she loved her time in antlers, since the birth of her less fluffy brother, she has handed in her notice at The Pole and works now as a full time guard dog.

Let it snow! (and drizzle and sleet and wind and hail and tornado and…)

We will be with you whatever the weather, and will be delighted to be welcomed into the warm, but if you want us to keep the visit outside, that’s okay too, just please give us advance warning so that Santa and Jingles can come sporting umbrellas/extra layers. Fingers crossed for some festive flurries but rain or shine, we cannot wait to meet you!