With the children now back at school and the summer holidays a fading memory many parents are turning their attention to the festive season, a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the team at LaplandUK – the award-winning magical Christmas experience in Kent.

After Father Christmas and his team of helpers announced they would be opening the door to his Arctic homeland between December 4 and 24 at Bewl Water, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, his postbag has been bulging with bookings.

Ticket sales for the multi-million pound interactive theatrical production, which has become a favourite destination for families seeking the ultimate Father Christmas experience here in the UK, are 33 per cent up on the same time last year.

Mike Battle, Founder and Managing Director, said: “It is testament to the quality of LaplandUK that nearly half of the bookings to date have been made by previous visitors. Families understand the importance of creating magical childhood memories for their children and trust LaplandUK to deliver their dreams. We take this responsibility very seriously and provide a day out that is on a par with a West End musical in terms of the creative and professionalism of the production.”

LaplandUK has also signed up SEE Tickets, the renowned national ticket agency, to manage all ticketing for the event this year and give all its customers festive peace-of-mind.

Mr Battle added: “More than 120,000 visitors have stepped into the magical kingdom of LaplandUK since we first opened in 2007 and the feedback has been phenomenally positive. Conscious that families are still keen to visit us in these challenging economic times, we have surveyed our previous visitors and taken their suggestions on board. As a result, we have been able to significantly reduce ticket prices (up to 40%) through operational savings now that we will be staging the event for only three weeks instead of seven and by removing the inclusive meal from the ticket price to allow families greater dining flexibility on the day itself.”

Every child visiting LaplandUK will have the opportunity to decorate gingerbread in Mother Christmas’ kitchen, go ‘ice’-skating, meet husky dogs, see the reindeer, send a postcard from Father Christmas’ working North Pole Post Office, work with the elves on a new activity in Father Christmas’ toy factory and meet the Sami people.

The event is also being seen as a welcome boost to the local economy. Mr Battle added: “LaplandUK will be a festive boost for Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding area. We are employing 250 people and many of our visitors are travelling from more than a 100 miles away – a large number will be staying overnight at local hotels.

A personalised visit to Father Christmas in his snowy forest home completes this unique day. Thanks to the magic of the booking system Father Christmas will know everything about his little guests and present every child with a beautiful high quality gift. And the tradition at LaplandUK is that the children will each receive LaplandUK’s new annual collectable husky puppy soft toy, this year called “Joki” (which means River in Finnish). Regular visitors each year are collecting their own husky sled dog team.

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