A POPULAR garden centre group welcomes back Father Christmas to its three stores across Dorset and Hampshire this festive period.

Stewarts Garden Centre have announced details of its Santa’s Winter Wonderland attraction for this year, with early bird tickets going on sale at 9am on November 1.

Families will be greeted by Santa’s friendly elves, who will guide visitors through a magical snowy walkway to meet him in his grotto.

The garden centre company are hosting festive events at its store in Christchurch, Wimborne and Fareham and have urged parents to double checking their bookings ahead of their arrival.

In a statement published on their website, Stewart Garden Centre said: “Have your photo taken with him and, if you’ve been good this year you might even get a present along with an activity pack.

“Please ensure you bring a valid ticket to the correct location on the day of visit. Stewarts will refuse entry if the ticket presented does not match the location or time slot.

“This year, to limit the size of groups, customers can only book up to a maximum of four babies, four children, and two adults per booking.

“Each booking will go in to see Santa separately so please do not make multiple bookings and ask to go in together, this will not be possible.”

Children must be accompanied by an adult during their visit, and adult tickets must be purchased with at least one baby or child’s ticket.

Dogs are not permitted to enter Santa’s Winter Wonderland, except from assistance dogs.

The attractions at Christchurch and Wimborne are open from Saturday November 20 with the Fareham store opening its grotto a week after on November 27.

Children’s tickets are priced at £12.50 with adults and babies able to go for £2 and £2.50 respectively and can be purchased online or in store only. Photos can be purchase separately.

To find out more, visit https://santa.stewarts.co.uk/.