I spent £120 (£60 pp) on breakfast with Santa at SELFRIDGES in London. This Santa experience sells out every year, and with positive reviews, I decided to try it for the first time this year. I would say 90% of me loved it, but 10% was extremely disappointed, mainly because of the food.
A couple of weeks before the experience, I received an email asking for our preferences, providing options such as Bejewelled Christmas Tree Waffles, Toasted Bagel with Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs, Cinnamon French Toast, and Red Velvet Pancakes. I chose the Christmas tree waffles for my daughter and the cinnamon French toast for myself.
The experience started at 9 am, and after being checked in, we were seated. “Act one” included pastries, a mini Panettone, and 2 cups of raspberries. On our table, we found a menu, and my daughter had a letter for Santa along with an envelope to give to him later.
We patiently waited for “act two” and enjoyed entertainers with silly jokes and magic tricks. The disappointment came when the main breakfast arrived. My daughter found the Christmas tree waffles flavourless, only liking the Smarties on top. I barely ate the awful-tasting cinnamon French toast, despite my love for it under normal circumstances.
This let down the overall experience for me, especially since I expected Santa to interact during breakfast.
Mrs. Claus arrived with an elf, creating a festive mood, but she came after most had finished eating. Later, Santa and Mrs. Claus, with a pleasant singsong, helped salvage the experience. Every child had a one-on-one with them, making up for the disappointing breakfast.
My daughter received a gift bag from Santa and Mrs. Claus, choosing to open it immediately and being delighted with the contents. The staff also gave everyone a bag with a Baked By Steph DIY Christmas tree.
Lets look at the cost breakdown for the gifts:
With love from SELFRIDGES bauble – £16
Enchanting craft kit – £13
Crazy Aarons Glowbrights Mermaid Tale putty – £11
Magic Mixies Colour surprise cauldron playset – £30
Baked By Steph DIY Christmas tree – Price unknown, estimated around £10 each (given two).
Total: £90 for the Christmas gifts.
So, breaking down the costs, it turns out that breakfast was £15 per person, and considering the components, the price does seem justified. This calculation also incorporates the cost of the drinks we enjoyed. My daughter had a hot chocolate. I had a caramel latte and also orange juice.
While the experience fell short of expectations due to the disappointing food, I appreciate the positive aspects, such as Santa, the gifts, and the overall attempt at the experience.
Thank you for the honest review. I think drinks should be complimentary, it’s pricey. We’re going next week. At least you have tried it now, nice to try different Santa’s every year and compare.
Author
I hope you like it! If you booked the French toast, hopefully it’s not too late to change 😂
Wow thanks for that in-depth review outlining the good and the bad! The hot drinks at JL Tea with Santa are included for both the child and parent and that experience costs £20 in total! We also got the snapper cuddly toy worth £18 along with the advertiser cuddly elf. I appreciate the toys at Selfridges were worth £90…but I’d rather decide for my boy what toys he gets that are worth that much! Really appreciate the honesty and hope you get no censorship requests for this 😘
Author
We did the John Lewis one last year and that was so good, even though it was very clear Santa wasn’t real. One of the worst beards I’ve seen 😂
Haha!!! This one was at Westfield Stratford and his beard looked like the real thing 🎅🏽