Families can enjoy tucking into a meal with Father Christmas at Chester Zoo this year.
A Dine with Santa experience is opening at the attraction, with a grotto inside The Oakfield pub at the heart of the zoo.
Visitors can choose from either breakfast with Santa or a turkey dinner, with vegan offerings at both times.
"Enjoy a delicious full English breakfast or traditional Christmas lunch prepared by Santa’s helpers, in our stunningly festive Garden Room with views overlooking the zoo," says the zoo's website.
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"Each child will get a personal meet and greet with Santa. Children will also receive a special gift, all the way from the North Pole."
The experience is available Friday to Sunday from November 24 to December 17, excluding December 10 and then daily from December 19 to 23. Tickets cost £25 for adults and £35 for children and can be booked online. Zoo tickets need purchasing separately.
It comes as the zoo has revealed details of some new additions to its Lanterns and Light event this year.
The zoo has teamed up with Sony Music to add festive soundscapes and a selection of 'groundbreaking' new installations.
Taking centre stage will be a giant, four-metre-tall, interactive 3D woolly mammoth hologram which will be appearing at the zoo in a world first.
Other sparkly new features include an ultraviolet walkway with luminous animal faces, colour-changing rainforests, illuminated dolphins that seem to leap from moats and waterways, a huge fire garden, as well as a variety of fairground rides and Christmas market stalls.
Father Christmas himself will also be there spreading his festive cheer. While not an actual meet and greet experience, he will be in a workshop with his elves and greeting people as they go past.
Gemma Wright, senior admissions and membership manager at the zoo, said: “There are only three weeks to go until we kick off the festive period with the biggest, brightest and most spectacular light trail ever staged at Chester Zoo.
“This year we’ve incorporated some of the latest 3D technology and we’ll be debuting a world first hologram that’s been specially created just for us and our guests. Visitors will be in awe as they come face-to-face with a giant, life-sized woolly mammoth along with all of our exciting new additions.
“We’ll also be bringing back some family favourites from years gone by, including hundreds of colourful animal lanterns, joyful interactive puppets and Father Christmas himself who will be spreading his festive cheer!
“Importantly though, Lanterns and Light is not only a fabulous way for people to make incredible memories while getting into the spirit of Christmas – it helps our charity zoo continue to ensure some of the world’s most threatened species survive and thrive for generations to come.”
Tickets are now on sale for Lanterns and Light which is scheduled to run across 33 evenings from Friday, November 17 to Sunday, December 31, with entry slots from 4pm to 8pm. To book tickets, coting from £12, or to find out more, visit the website.
