From Friday 19 November, thecentre:mk will open its annual Christmas show the “Christmas Storyland Adventure” when Santa opens his grotto with a parade starting at 4:30. The parade will feature fun costume characters as they make their way down the malls to open the Grotto. The “Christmas Storyland Adventure” will also feature, an indoor Ferris wheel, a double decker carousel, ‘Wishlist Lane’ selling seasonal goods, and a variety of Christmas scenes designed to celebrate the yuletide including a magical snowman setting, a crystal forest, and an enchanted wish tree setting.

However, there’s now no need to wait to book your ticket to see Santa in the run up to Christmas, if you visit www.thecentremk.com you can now book online to avoid any disappointment. The Grotto Opening times are 9am-6pm Mon-Sat in November, 9am-7pm Mon-Sat in December, 10am-5pm Sundays throughout November and December, Christmas Eve: Santa's Grotto closes completely at 1pm whilst everything is closed on Christmas Day. After all, Santa needs a day of rest after such a busy period.

There are also ways to get involved before then, you can email Santa and get updates on the latest North pole antics at his Facebook Page “Santa Atthecentremk”. Also via his Facebook page, you can submit requests for virtual grotto visits – The Virtual Grotto uses YouTube to host personalised videos where Santa will talk directly to the intended recipient going through their wish list, how good they’ve been this year and confirming if they’re on the good or bad list. To take part people need to email Santa with their name, age, hometown, the present they’d most like, the second best present they’d like and telling Santa a nice thing they’ve done this year. Santa’s elves will then film the personal message host it on YouTube and send the link back to the person who requested the visit.