The Santa and Elf Grotto at Fun Street is a Christmas experience on the upper level of Silverburn in Glasgow that runs alongside a full hour of soft play. Your child meets Santa one to one, meets his Elf, joins in with festive games and stories, goes home with a gift, and then plays. Total time in the building is one hour and thirty minutes.
That last part is the bit that separates it from most grottos. A shopping centre grotto is usually a queue, ninety seconds with Santa and a walk back to the car park. Here the grotto is the start of the visit and the play frame is the rest of it, which is why families tend to book it as the Christmas outing rather than as a stop on the way to somewhere else.
What is included in a grotto ticket
Everything below is part of the same ticket. There is no upgrade path and nothing is sold separately once you are inside.
- A one to one meeting with Santa. Your child goes in on their own or with you, not as part of a group of twelve, and gets to say what they actually came to say.
- A gift for every child. Santa hands it over at the end of the meeting.
- Time with Santa’s Elf. The Elf is the one who does the warming up, and for shy children the Elf usually matters more than Santa does.
- Festive stories and games. Group activities in the run up to the grotto slot, which is what stops the wait feeling like a queue.
- One hour of play. Full access to the soft play zones, the toddler areas, the themed frame and the storybook playhouses.
Adults come in with their children as normal. Erina’s Kitchen is open across both floors, so a coffee while the play hour runs is part of the deal rather than an extra trip.
Check grotto dates and tickets
How the visit runs, start to finish
Sessions are timed and they run to time, which is the only way every family gets the same experience. The shape of it is the same every day:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 10 minutes before your slot | Arrive and queue to the left of the entrance. This is the single instruction people miss, and it is the one that keeps the sessions running on time. |
| Your slot starts | Check in, shoes off, socks on, into the festive activity area for stories and games with the Elf. |
| During the session | Children are called through to the grotto in turn to meet Santa one to one and collect their gift. |
| The rest of the ninety minutes | One hour of play across the frame, the toddler zones and the playhouses. |
| Any time | Erina’s Kitchen is open for food, coffee and the inevitable hot chocolate. |
Dates, tickets and when to book
The grotto ran through December last year and it is the busiest thing we do all year. Dates and tickets for this December go live on the booking system ahead of the season, and that is the place to check rather than a listings site, because the sessions sell in the order they are released.
Two frank pieces of advice about timing. The weekend slots in the fortnight before Christmas go first, usually well before December starts. And the quietest, calmest grotto sessions are the weekday morning ones early in the month, which are also the ones people book last.
Which age gets the most out of it
The grotto is set up for children from around one year old to twelve. That is a wide span and the experience is genuinely different at each end of it, so here is what we see.
| Age | What the visit looks like | Worth booking? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Very little interest in Santa, complete interest in the toddler zone and the lights. The photograph is for you, not for them. | Yes, if you want the picture and a play session. Do not expect a conversation. |
| 3 to 5 | The sweet spot. Old enough to know exactly who Santa is, young enough that it is entirely real. The Elf games land perfectly at this age. | Yes. This is the age the whole thing is built around. |
| 6 to 8 | Still delighted, more talkative, more likely to have a prepared list. Plays hard for the full hour afterwards. | Yes. |
| 9 to 12 | Varies enormously by child. Some are in on the joke and enjoy it as a family tradition, some would rather skip straight to the frame. | Ask them. If Santa is over for them, a normal session plus the cafe is the better buy. |
If you are bringing children at both ends of that range, the older one is generally happy because the play hour is the same play hour they would come for anyway. It is worth saying that out loud to a ten year old before you arrive.
When your child will not sit with Santa
This happens at every grotto in the country and it is not a failed visit. A two year old who has been talking about Santa for a fortnight can still freeze at the door, and staff here have seen it several hundred times.
- The Elf goes first. Children who will not approach Santa will almost always talk to the Elf, and the handover from there is much easier.
- Nobody is made to sit on a knee. Standing next to Santa, holding your hand, or staying by the door and waving all count. The gift is handed over either way.
- You can go in with them. Parents are welcome in the grotto, and for a nervous child that usually settles it in seconds.
- The play comes after. Even if the grotto part lasts forty seconds, the hour in the frame is still yours, and that is often the part they talk about on the way home.
Scotland’s only fully air conditioned, climate controlled soft play centre.
The climate control matters more in December than people expect. A grotto in a shopping centre in the middle of a Glasgow winter means coats, hats, heating and a hundred excited children, and the usual result is a red faced toddler melting down twenty minutes in. The temperature in here stays where it is set, all the way through, which is also why families whose children find heat and noise difficult tend to book the earliest slot of the day.
Grotto visit, normal session or Christmas party
Three different things get booked here in December and they suit different plans. This is the straight comparison.
| Grotto experience | Standard session | Christmas party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Santa, Elf, gift, games and one hour of play | One hour and thirty minutes of play | A private party room with a package per child |
| Time in the building | 1 hour 30 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes | 90 to 120 minutes of play plus room time |
| Best for | The Christmas outing itself | Burning off energy on a wet December afternoon | A birthday or a class group in December |
| Cost | Ticketed separately, see the booking system | From £10.99 midweek for a child aged 3 to 12 | From £19.50 per child |
| Book ahead? | Essential | Sensible at weekends and in the holidays | Always |
For reference, standard entry is per person and the weekday and weekend gap is wide enough to plan around:
| Who | Weekday | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| Adults, 13 and over | £1.99 | £2.99 |
| Baby under 6 months | £1.99 | £2.99 |
| Infant, 6 to 12 months | £5.99 | £7.99 |
| Toddler, 13 to 35 months | £9.99 | £14.99 |
| Child, 3 to 12 years | £10.99 | £15.99 |
Party packages run Ruby £19.50, Gold £23.50, Diamond £26.50 and Platinum £29.50 per child, with Build Your Own from £21. The full list sits on the prices page, and a soft play party in December is a separate guide if that is what you are actually planning.
What to bring, and what to leave at home
- Socks, for everyone going into the play areas. Adults included. This catches people out more than anything else on the list.
- Layers you can take off. The building is climate controlled, so the coat and the woolly hat are coming off at the door whatever the weather outside is doing.
- Your phone, charged. You take your own photographs in the grotto and nobody rushes you.
- A change of clothes for the little ones. Standard soft play advice, no more true in December than in June, but still true.
- Not a packed lunch. Erina’s Kitchen covers food and drink across two floors, with allergy friendly and vegetarian options.
Getting here and parking
Fun Street is on the upper level of Silverburn Shopping Centre, Barrhead Road, Glasgow G53 6AG, just off Junction 2 of the M77. Parking is free, which in December is not a small thing. Full directions and the public transport options are on the How to Get There page.
One December specific warning: Silverburn car park fills up on the Saturdays before Christmas in a way it does not the rest of the year. If your slot is a weekend afternoon in mid December, leave fifteen minutes more than you think you need.
The other Christmas things we run
The grotto is not the only festive booking here, and the others suit different weekends:
- Brunch with the Grinch, which is food led rather than grotto led and lands well with children who have grown out of Santa.
- A Christmas soft play party, for a class group or a December birthday.
- Winter birthday party themes, if the birthday itself falls in the Christmas fortnight.
- Rainy day activities in Glasgow, for the two weeks of the school holidays that are not Christmas Day.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in the Santa and Elf Grotto ticket?
A one to one meeting with Santa, a gift for every child, time with Santa’s Elf, festive stories and games, and one hour of play in the soft play zones. Total time in the building is one hour and thirty minutes.
What age is the grotto for?
It is set up for children from around one year old to twelve. Three to eight is the age range that gets the most out of it. Under twos enjoy the lights and the toddler zone more than they enjoy Santa, and some children over nine would rather go straight to the play frame.
How long does the whole visit take?
One hour and thirty minutes in total. That covers the festive games, the grotto itself and a full hour of play afterwards.
When should we arrive?
Ten minutes before your session, and queue to the left of the entrance. Sessions run to time so that every family gets the same experience, which means a late arrival loses part of their own slot rather than pushing everyone else back.
When do this year’s grotto dates go on sale?
Dates and tickets are released on the Fun Street booking system ahead of the December season. Weekend slots in the fortnight before Christmas are the first to sell.
Does every child get a present?
Yes. Santa hands a gift to every child at the end of their meeting, whether they sat with him, stood beside him or waved from the door.
What if my child is too shy to meet Santa?
It happens constantly and it is not a problem. The Elf usually breaks the ice first, parents are welcome to come into the grotto, nobody is made to sit on a knee, and the gift is handed over either way.
Can we take our own photographs?
Yes. You take your own pictures in the grotto and nobody hurries you along.
Do we need socks?
Yes, for everyone going into the play areas, adults included. It is the thing most families forget in December because they are thinking about coats rather than shoes.
Is the grotto suitable for a child with additional support needs?
Many families tell us it is. The building is fully air conditioned and climate controlled, the play zones are separated by age, and scent diffusers help with the smell. The earliest slot of the day is the quietest. Our guide for families with additional support needs covers what to expect in more detail.
Where is Fun Street and is there parking?
Upper level of Silverburn Shopping Centre, Barrhead Road, Glasgow G53 6AG, just off Junction 2 of the M77. Parking is free. Allow extra time on the Saturdays before Christmas, when the centre car park is much busier than usual.
Can we book a Christmas party instead?
Yes. Party packages run from £19.50 per child for Ruby up to £29.50 for Platinum, with a private room and a package per child. Private hire of the whole venue is also available for up to 40 children and 40 adults.
Fun Street is Glasgow’s climate controlled indoor soft play on the upper level of Silverburn, open every day from 10am to 6pm for children aged 0 to 12. See prices, the soft play zones or party packages.
