Today, the Ministry of Fun assembled its elite cohort of professional Father Christmas performers for their final, intensive pre-season training, as dozens of Santas took over the site of a former department store. Established in 1999, the UK’s original and most prestigious Santa School has spent the last 28 years training and preparing performers to deliver the ultimate festive magic.

Hosted at x+why Arding & Hobbs in Clapham Junction, the choice of training ground marks a historic homecoming for Father Christmas. The exact site hosted iconic Christmas grottos for over a century, welcoming generations of Father Christmas performers to what was previously Arding & Hobbs, Allders and Debenhams.

The gathering represents the final step for the country’s top seasonal performers before they are officially dispatched to prestigious retail, heritage and leisure sites across the UK. Dressed in their iconic red suits, the Santas gathered in the boardrooms and co-working spaces of the beautifully restored Clapham landmark to complete their professional preparation and review the newly released ‘State of Santa’ annual report.

The delegates began the day warming up their voices to perfect the ultimate, chest-booming “Ho, Ho, Ho” and learning how to sign “Merry Christmas” in multiple languages including British Sign Language (BSL), so that every single child feels included. The class also studied this year’s most anticipated top toys to ensure they can talk to tech-savvy children with ease, whilst practicing how to answer tricky, or just plain random, questions from curious minds with warmth and patience.

Performers also analysed Ministry of Fun’s State of Santa report, which highlights key shifts in how British families interact with Father Christmas:
Bookings for Mrs Claus have jumped by 32 per cent, with venues and families increasingly demanding her specialised storytelling and festive hosting alongside the traditional grotto experience.
Whilst 60 per cent of children still post physical letters, digital channels are growing rapidly. Letters sent to Santa via email have quadrupled, climbing from 3 per cent in 2024 to 12 per cent this year.
Mince pies remain the ultimate Christmas Eve snack, appearing on 77 per cent of plates. However, modern health trends are slowly creeping onto the mantlepiece, with Kombucha making its first appearance on 2 per cent of tables, alongside a 9 per cent increase in Brussels sprouts left out for the reindeer.
The average grotto visit has lengthened to 3 minutes and 45 seconds, showing a clear national trend of venues prioritising deep, meaningful, and calm interactions over high-speed queues.

Matt Grist, Managing Director of the Ministry of Fun and lead Santa Trainer, said: “Father Christmas can’t be everywhere at once, so every year he trusts us to train his helpers, and he’s very particular. People think it’s all about the red suit and the beard, but the real skill is in those few precious minutes with a child. His helpers need a ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ that lasts until Christmas Eve, an answer for every question a five-year-old can dream up, and endless warmth and patience. We take fun very seriously. Returning to a building with over a hundred years of grotto history for our final pre-season briefing makes this year’s training truly special.”

Maisie Denning, Brand Marketing Director for x+why added: “Our brand is built around showing how professional focus, social culture and creative play can successfully mix, and we are delighted to host the ultimate professionals in seasonal joy. Seeing the Ministry of Fun Santas preparing so meticulously for their nationwide deployment has brought incredible energy to Arding & Hobbs today, beautifully honouring the rich festive history of this iconic Clapham building.”

Graduates of the Ministry of Fun’s Santa School will now begin their deployments, fully briefed, highly trained, and ready to deliver the magic of Christmas across the country.