The festive season has arrived at Southside Shopping Centre, with a series of family-friendly activities taking place in November and December. In line with the season of giving, this year the Wandsworth shopping centre is embracing a Christmas of kindness with special acts designed to spread the love and share that feel-good feeling with visitors whilst they shop.
Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the magic, excitement, and enchantment of Christmas, and embark on a festive journey to discover Norbert the Reindeer, Finn the Fox and all their forest friends throughout Southside. Shoppers can uncover their heartwarming stories and capture picture-perfect moments across the centre.
In the run up to Christmas, Mrs Claus will be making some very special appearances at the centre. Little ones are welcome to partake in a memorable interactive experience with Mrs Claus in her kitchen and enjoy story time and get creative in decorating two gingerbread biscuits – with one of each pair designed to be gifted to a friend for an added touch of sweetness. Mrs Claus’ kitchen will open on November 25th and December 3rd, 9th, 17th, 22nd and 23rd. Entry to the grotto is priced at £8 per child. Pre-booking is advised and to purchase tickets, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/761059398147
To find out who’s been ‘naughty or nice’ in the lead up to Christmas, Santa has set up Elf Surveillance at Southside, and stationed eight Kindness Elves to quietly observe everyone’s acts of kindness. Each Elf represents an act of kindness and guests are invited to search for these Christmas visitors who are hiding in secret locations within the mall and once found, undertake or promise to carry out a small act of kindness to collect a stamp. When all eight stamps have been collected, participants will be able to collect a reward from the Kids Space as a token of appreciation and a reminder to always be kind.
On Saturday 25th November, Wandsworth Town BID will be hosting its annual Christmas Festival at Southside. Visitors will be able to enjoy captivating stage performances and embark on a magical Nutcracker trail to find the four Nutcrackers hidden throughout the centre to win some festive prizes. During the day, Santa himself will be making a special appearance in his sleigh to add to the holiday excitement, and as the evening falls, guests are invited to witness the Christmas tree illuminate the piazza during a special lighting ceremony.
In a bid to spread their own act of kindness this Christmas, Southside Shopping Centre is supporting St George’s Hospital Charity and sponsored 50,000 ‘By Your Side’ Christmas cards. The people of Wandsworth are invited to make a patient’s stay in hospital brighter this Christmas by writing a kind message in one of the 50,000 Christmas cards which will be delivered to residents within Wandsworth and Merton, before mailing them back to the hospital in time for Christmas.
To simplify Christmas shopping, a gift-wrapping station will be available from 14th – 16th December, offering guests an opportunity to have their gifts nicely wrapped by volunteers from St George’s Hospital Charity for a small donation. All proceeds will go to help St George’s Hospital support patients and their families.
Pieter Strömbeck, Centre Director at Southside Shopping Centre, commented: “The festive season is a time to spread the love and share that feel-good vibe, which is why we wanted to spread some special acts of kindness that will delight our visitors as they shop, eat or have fun in the centre.
“We hope our visitors enjoy all our festive activities, and join us in continuing to spread goodwill not only in Wandsworth, but beyond this Christmas.”
For more information, please visit https://southsidewandsworth.com/southside-christmas-2023