Christmas came alive when I relived my childhood memories at the popular Chessington Garden Centre’s Grotto, where I interviewed Jamie Port, Events and Marketing Manager, the man behind the magic.
Young and innovative, Jamie took up this role in March when the process began. This advance preparation demonstrates the magnitude of thought and planning that goes into the grotto, making it a rewarding job; watching people on a busy day and hearing the good feedback he says is very fulfilling. He’s fortunate enough to bring children joy and belief in Christmas.
The build phase started in August, followed by staff recruitment and training with the grotto going operational in late November. With strict timeframes the first few days are key for the team to make any changes and Jamie thrives “on the day experience of an event, because 9 times out of 10 things will go wrong, but I quite enjoy the problem of fixing it” and as we walked around Jamie was still correcting displays, his attention to detail was inspiring. Therefore, unsurprisingly, Azkabar is his favourite section, whilst it isn’t one of the traditional Christmas scenes, it’s the most intricately designed and original, something he’s clearly proud of.
It isn’t spatially possible to make the grotto any bigger moving forward, so the aim is to create a more “immersive experience”. The new Christmas market has been added to make it more appealing to the entire family as a winter experience, with some travelling from up to 2 hours away.
One of the major changes implemented this year is that instead of receiving a gift, Santa gives you a ticket to the “magical workshop” to pick a present, this prevents age or gender gift stereotypes and avoids “taking the risk of upsetting someone, and has been really well-received.”
Jamie explained how marketing is now mainly via social media, with people sharing pictures at the #CGCChristmas, and “it’s quite a community-based area which means word of mouth here and consistency of expectations means people will keep coming back…you’ve got to make it better for those people that have come previously”, and the changes made have been extremely successful with 48,000 visitors already this year!
The true spirit of Christmas hasn’t however been lost! With charity (Yorda Adventures) donation opportunities, and this year the grotto’s been trialling SEN children sessions; dimming the lights and noise so it won’t be so chaotic, rushed or pressured. Jamie wants everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the grotto and all that it offers. The team at Chessington Grotto are truly bringing the magic of Christmas to all.
By Bethan Massey, Rosebery School
