Here is what we did during a magical family trip to Blackpool this winter, including seeing the Illuminations and visiting The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse

It’s a real nostalgia trip for anyone travelling from East Lancashire, especially at Christmas time when the promenade is decked out in twinkling lights. I look back fondly on my childhood visiting Sandcastle Waterpark with my grandparents, or Blackpool Pleasure Beach with my parents and sisters, so it was lovely to take our three-year-old son to the seaside resort on his third birthday and start new traditions.

My main memories of Blackpool are from summers long ago but there is still plenty to do on bitterly cold days.

Our first port of call, on a freezing Tuesday in November, was family arcade, Coral Island. Being midweek and term-time, it almost felt like we had the whole venue to ourselves, which meant we could flit from game to game as we pleased, which was pretty handy when chasing after an excited toddler. For him, the arcade was a sensory feast. He loved all the old-school attractions like the 2p slot machines but, being car-mad, his favourite was Fast and Furious, an immersive and action-packed driving game with Thrill-D motion, and ultra-high-definition screens. He was entranced and could have happily spent the entire afternoon navigating supercars through back-to-back secret missions.

What’s great about this arcade – the town’s largest indoor free admission family attraction – is the range of activities, with something for everyone from fun fair games and seaside favourites like Camel Derby to family rides and an adult casino.

We idled away the hours before wrapping up and heading back out to walk Blackpool Illuminations as darkness fell. Unfortunately, we picked a particularly blustery day to walk the lights so we had to head back to our hotel earlier than planned as the winds picked up speed. But we loved what we saw and a cone of chips and tray of hot donuts helped to take the edge of the chill. It was brilliant to be transported back to our childhoods, spotting the lights we remember from way back when like the good-old Sooty and Sweep themes, as well as capturing some treasured family photos against newer Instagrammable displays.

The next day we headed to The Gruffalo and Friends Club House, Merlin’s £2.3m play area beneath the Sea Life Centre on Central Promenade. This fabulous attraction with its multiple play zones – inspired by favourite characters like Zog, The Gruffalo and The Highway Rat from books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler – was a hit with our little one. There was laughter all around as it bustled with children journeying from The Gruffalo’s deep dark woods to Princess Pearl’s castle in Zog. You could tell all the staff love their jobs as they brought buckets of enthusiasm to their roles and even managed to encourage the adults to dance during the woodland show. This should definitely be on your list of places to visit with the kids if you’re planning on a Blackpool trip sometime soon.

We might not have picked the best day weather-wise to visit the town – with the waves battering the coastline and the winds sending a chill down our spines – but it didn’t matter because Blackpool always fills you with a festive glow at Christmas, not matter your age.