A MOTHER has revealed all on her recent nightmare experience at Winter Wonderland.
Not only was her six-year-old daughter left in tears after a tired Santa “turned her away” from his Grotto, but she was also shoved and forced to wait in two-hour queues.
Mum-of-three Courtney Bardell, 25, got candid on her “rubbish” trip to Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland and claimed her children were visibly “upset” after visiting the flagship market in London just days ago.
Courtney said that her family-of-five faced two-hour waits for rides and were also pushed and shoved in crowds.
Not only this, but the family forked out over £270 for the trip, which included attraction passes, food and travel costs.
The stay-at-home mum, who went to the festive extravaganza with partner Connor, 26, and kids Harlie-Mae, six, Lucia, four, and Essie, one, acknowledged that she will never go back.
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Courtney, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, said: “I expected it to be busy but I didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was.”
As well as this, Courtney claimed Santa had “had enough” and the elves reduced her eldest child to tears.
She continued: “I expected them (the kids) to see Santa and get a gift from Santa.
“It was advertised that Santa’s Grotto would be open until 6pm but we got there at about 3pm and the staff said ‘Santa’s had enough’.
“Harlie-Mae started crying because she wanted to see Santa.
“You could see through the glass that other children were getting to see him.”
Courtney confirmed that her family arrived at Hyde Park at 2pm and were immediately shocked by the size of the crowds.
She added: “The kids couldn’t even walk without getting pushed over.
We’ll probably just go somewhere local next time. It’ll save the disappointment
Courtney Bardell
“My six-year-old was asking me after half an hour ‘when are we going home?’.
“You also get advertised a meal which we assumed would be in a sit-down restaurant but there weren’t enough tables at all, so you’re getting pushed while you’re trying to eat.”
Money expert Gemma Bird’s hacks to help make your Christmas more affordable
UK HOUSEHOLDS are expected to spend around £1,626.46 on presents, food and decorations – a reminder of how quickly festive costs can add up. However, there are some hacks you can try to keep costs down…
1. Start with a Christmas budget: It sounds obvious, but many households skip it. Set an overall budget and divide it by category, for example, gifts, food, social gatherings. An easy way to do this is with a spreadsheet or try banking or budgeting apps to split money into pots for each category.
2. Shop early to beat price hikes: Many shoppers now start their festive shopping as early as September to avoid last-minute markups, but the biggest savings are still to come. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are prime opportunities to tick off your gift list with discounts on the lot.
3. Sign up for bank switches or cashback schemes: Free money sounds too good to be true, but it’s even stranger that you can get it from the bank. The big banks can offer up to £200 if you open an account with them. That’s a healthy amount to add to your Christmas fund.
4. Always check for discount codes: Before buying, always search for discount codes online. If your search comes up empty, here’s a hack: sign up to the brand’s newsletter. Many will offer a discount if you sign up. It’s usually around 10%, or an amount off with a minimum spend.
5. Embrace the four-gift rule for kids: To encourage the little ones to appreciate what they get, save money and reduce clutter, parents are embracing the ‘four-gift rule’: Something they want, Something they need, Something to wear, Something to read. Introduce the idea to your children, then allocate a budget for each to keep spending sensible and ensure gifts are truly appreciated.
Courtney has now forked out £35 to take her kids to a local grotto after Harlie-Mae branded her day at Winter Wonderland “rubbish”.
The frustrated mother explained: “We’ll probably just go somewhere local next time.
“It’ll save the disappointment.”
IMG Events has been approached for comment.
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