Burnley Leisure and Culture's Santa's Grotto devoting a day to children with special educational needs

And while boys and girls will be able to share their Christmas present wish lists and receive a gift from Santa every weekend until Saturday 23rd December, there’s a very special day being lined up earlier in the month when the grotto will only be welcoming children with special educational needs.

In preparation for the big day on Saturday, December 9th, Santa, Mrs Christmas, Buddy and all the elves will be fully trained in Makaton to make sure their visitors enjoy a quieter, calmer experience. Makaton, or ‘key word signing’, is a simple and easy way of communicating using signs, symbols and speech used by more than 100,000 children and adults in the UK. There will be a British Sign Language translator on hand too.

This is the second Christmas for the New York themed grotto following its popular debut as part of Burnley town centre’s weekend festivities in 2022. It is run jointly by Burnley Leisure and Culture (BLC), the Charter Walk shopping centre and Discover Burnley.

Festivities on switch-on day begin at 11am and culminate in a lantern parade around the town centre at 4pm leading into a 5pm countdown and lights switch-on with snow cannons creating extra Christmas cheer. There is also free crazy golf, a range of characters including Anna and Elsa from Frozen, cheeky elves and a polar bear. Burnley Alliance Silver Band and choirs will be performing.

Details of how to book the grotto are available on the Burnley Leisure and Culture website.