There are many Santa Claus experiences in and around Swindon, but perhaps none as unique as The Flight Before Christmas at Cotswold Airport.
The festive event has families helping Father Christmas, who has had a problem with his reindeer and can’t fly his sleigh, to commandeer a massive British Airways Boeing 747 Negus jumbo jet to save the festive season.
The magical event is aimed squarely towards children, but with something for the adults as well, and takes families through check-in and customs where the little ones get their passports, and everyone must go through the ‘naughty or nice’ metal detector before boarding the flight.
On board the imaginatively transformed plane are several elf helpers desperately trying to get the impressive vehicle ready to deliver Santa’s presents.
The plane is split into sections and the children must sing a song to increase the magic enough to be able to move onto the next one. One cabin comes with an ‘elf and safety’ demonstration, another has two elves buried in a pile of presents.
Once the magic has risen to a sufficient level you can see the jolly man himself in a full-fledged Santa’s grotto where he talks to the children, sings a song or two and hands out all important presents.
But the fun doesn’t end there as you then step off the plane into the Toy Workshop, where the kids can select a build-a-bear style teddy and fill it with stuffing (and a heart) before then moving on to visit Mrs Claus to decorate gingerbread people. Adults are also treated to a mulled win and a mince pie.
The whole experience lasts up to an hour and is extremely well done – the young children in the group that I took part in, were positively enraptured by the whole thing from start to finish, with the two little ones in my family, George and Amalie Davis particularly loving it when the naughty and nice detector said I was naughty, and I had to do a little dance to be allowed on the plane.
Santa’s elves, Father Christmas and Mrs Claus were all superb at guiding the group along and interacting with the excited children. Amalie has been on the verge of not believing in Santa but was positively shocked and won back around when he was able to tell her what she got for Christmas last year.
Another moment saw George being asked by Santa not to tell Mrs Claus that he had eaten two gingerbread people earlier without her knowing. But, of course, the moment he was face-to-face with Mrs Claus he told her – which led to him being given an extra gingerbread biscuit for his honesty.
On top of all of that, you also get to explore Cotswold Airport. It’s a working airport that often has small planes taking off and flying regularly as well as a number of really interesting static planes to take a look at and its surprisingly close to town.
One other fact that had not dawned on me until after the event was that the two young children I went with had never been on a plane before, so this was their first time being on the inside of the jumbo jet, as well as a fun experience meeting Santa.
That being said, the whole experience was truly enjoyable and dare I say it – magical. The children loved it and the adults loved it too.
Every man and his dog will have their own Santa experience because he’s a busy man, but if you’re looking for something slightly more unique and off-the-beaten path then this is definitely one to consider!
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