Castle Quay's free grotto opens 28 November, 5 and 22 December, 11am to 4pm, no booking. The Mill's Dear Santa is £18; Bicester Avenue's grotto is from £22.
Five Santa visits in the Banbury area are confirmed so far, and two are free. Castle Quay’s grotto opens on Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December and Tuesday 22 December, 11am to 4pm, with a free gift and no booking. Father Christmas is also at the town’s lights switch-on on Sunday 29 November. The Mill’s show Dear Santa, from 14 December, ends with a grotto visit and a gift for £18. Bicester Avenue garden centre’s grotto is on sale, from £22 for one child and one adult, and Fairytale Farm near Chipping Norton runs a live Christmas adventure with a Santa visit from 21 November.
The quick answer
- Free: Castle Quay’s grotto, opposite Calendar Club, Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December and Tuesday 22 December, 11am to 4pm. No booking, and every child gets a free gift.
- Free: Father Christmas at the Christmas lights switch-on, Banbury Market Place, Sunday 29 November, 11am to 6pm.
- Dear Santa at The Mill, Monday 14 to Thursday 24 December, £18 a ticket, with a grotto visit and a gift after the show.
- Santa’s Grotto Experience at Bicester Avenue garden centre: £22 for one child and one adult, about 30 minutes, gift included.
The options side by side
| Where | When | Price | Gift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Quay Grotto, opposite Calendar Club, Banbury | Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December, Tuesday 22 December, 11am to 4pm | Free, no booking | Yes, a free gift |
| Christmas lights switch-on, Banbury Market Place | Sunday 29 November, 11am to 6pm | Free | Not stated |
| Dear Santa, The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury | Monday 14 to Thursday 24 December | £18 a ticket | Yes, for every child |
| Christmas with the Clauses, Fairytale Farm, Chipping Norton | Selected dates, 21 November to 24 December | Child with gift £25.99, adult £18.99 | Yes, on a gift ticket |
| Santa's Grotto Experience, Bicester Avenue garden centre | Dates shown when you book | From £22 for one child and one adult | Yes, chosen by the child |
Father Christmas at the lights switch-on
Banbury Town Council’s switch-on is on Sunday 29 November, from 11am to 6pm, in the Market Place. The council says that every year it invites “a special guest from the North Pole to welcome everyone to the event”.
This is a stage appearance at a busy public event, not a booked one-to-one visit. The council has not said what time he appears. The fireworks are planned for 5pm. More on the day is on our Christmas lights switch-on page, and the stalls are covered in Banbury Christmas market.
Dear Santa at The Mill
Dear Santa is a 50-minute stage show for ages one and up, at The Mill Arts Centre on Spiceball Park. After each performance children meet Santa in his grotto, and the theatre says every child receives a gift.
- Dates: Monday 14 to Thursday 24 December
- Times: 10am, 10.30am, 1pm, 1.30pm or 4pm, depending on the day
- Price: £18 a ticket, with £1.50 off each when you book four or more
- Babies: babes in arms go free
- Box office: 01295 279002
You cannot book the grotto on its own. It comes with the show. The rest of the theatre’s December programme is on our Banbury pantomime and Christmas shows page.
Santa’s Grotto Experience, Bicester Avenue
The garden centre on Oxford Road, Bicester, OX25 2NY, has its grotto on sale now. The visit lasts about 30 minutes. Children mix reindeer food, meet Santa one to one, choose a gift in the “Present Room” and decorate a gingerbread biscuit.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| One child and one adult | £22.00 |
| Two children and two adults | £40.00 |
| Three children and two adults | £60.00 |
| Four children and two adults | £80.00 |
| Additional child | £19.50 |
| Baby under 12 months | £6.99 |
| Additional adult | £3.50 |
Photographs are extra, at £8.99 or £13.99. The ticket page shows the available dates and times only once you start a booking, so we cannot list them here. The garden centre’s number is 01869 208 160.
Castle Quay’s free grotto
Updated 6 November: Castle Quay has announced its Christmas programme, with a free grotto on three dates.
Castle Quay shopping centre published its Meet Father Christmas dates on 5 November. The grotto is opposite Calendar Club, and the centre says children can share their wish lists, take a photo and take home a free gift.
- Dates: Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December and Tuesday 22 December
- Times: 11am to 4pm
- Price: free
- Booking: none, you join the queue
Saturday 28 November is also the first day of the Banbury Winter Market, so expect the town centre to be busy.
The same grotto hosts Victorian letter writing and storytelling on Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 December, 11am to 4pm, also free: children write a letter to Father Christmas with a quill, and there are live readings from A Christmas Carol. The centre’s normal opening hours are 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays. It has not published Christmas hours.
Christmas with the Clauses, Fairytale Farm
Fairytale Farm at Southcombe, near Chipping Norton, OX7 5QH, runs Christmas with the Clauses on selected dates from Saturday 21 November to Thursday 24 December. The farm describes it as a live, interactive Christmas adventure made with TaleGate Theatre Productions, ending with a personal visit to Santa in his grotto. The ticket also covers farm admission, the illuminations and the Alice’s Wonderland ride.
- Child, with a gift: £25.99
- Adult, senior or older child, no gift: £18.99
- Under 2, with a gift: £12.99; under 2 without a gift and registered carers free
- Booking: online only, for a check-in time
Opening is 10am to 5pm on most dates, 9am to 5pm on Christmas Eve and 9am to 7pm on the weekends of 5 and 6, 12 and 13 December and from 19 to 23 December. Quieter sensory sessions for children with SEND run 5pm to 6pm on 28 and 29 November and 11 and 18 December, and all day on Wednesday 16 December.
Also in the diary: Bicester’s Santa Fun Run
Bicester Town Council’s 2026 events schedule lists a Santa Fun Run on Sunday 6 December, 10am to 1pm. The venue is still shown as “to be announced”.
Still to be confirmed
- Castle Quay’s Christmas opening hours.
- Session dates at Bicester Avenue, which the ticket site shows only during booking.
- The Santa Fun Run venue in Bicester.
If you are driving in, see parking in Banbury and the current roadworks.
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