Visit Santa's Grotto in Ilkley during the 2026 Christmas Lights Switch-On Event on Saturday 21 November

Father Christmas will once again be nestled in his grotto in Christchurch Ilkley, ready to hear everyone’s 2026 Christmas wishes!

After listening to families who had attended last year's Santa's Grotto and were frustrated by the long queue and wait times, Ilkley Town Council has decided to give everyone a half hour time slot this year, when Father Christmas can dedicate approximately 5 minutes to each family; this means that you won't have to wait for 3 hours to see the big guy in person and the longest you will have to queue for is 25 minutes. This is a FREE Santa's Grotto event and we hope that everyone who wants to come and meet him gets the chance.

If all of the time slots are full, you can still see Santa during the Christmas Lights Switch-On event when he will be waving and handing out sweets in the paddock area in front of Christchurch from 4:30pm. He will then be switching on the lights at 5pm, so do stick around to watch the magic!