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From 7 November Middleton Hall at thecentre:mk will be transformed into a magical woodland set which aims to delight young and old alike. The Christmas display will run until 4 January and will feature the return of Santa’s Express train ride, the traditional carousel, a nativity scene and the ever popular Santa’s Grotto which will open on 17 November.
The announcement of the theme for thecentre:mk’s Christmas show is always eagerly awaited by the local community in Milton Keynes. Every year it becomes more and more difficult to come up with a theme to top that of the previous year for the award winning Christmas show, however, with the magical woodland set, thecentre:mk believes it has come up with a winner.
 After a break of several years there’s a welcome return of Santa’s Express train ride. Customers of all ages will be able to take a route along Christmassy woodland scenes and through a rocky tunnel and rustic gateway. This year Santa will be sharing his grotto with customers for the train ride as it will be an old fashioned station from which Santa’s Express will depart. Alongside the railway track will be a meandering passageway of cute magical shops to walk through. Selling everything from wizard cloaks, to potions, owls and broomsticks, the shops will provide everything needed for the budding young Wizard or Witch. Familiar branding of shop names will have a magical twist to keep things light hearted and everyone amused.
There will also several animatronic features on display including an oak tree waking every half an hour which will chat away and invite everyone to sing along with him and a fabulous giant dragon snoring (sometimes noisily) alongside a crafty old wizard. Like the tree, the wizard will be animatronic and will perform every half hour, singing, chatting and telling tall tales of daring do and reminiscing about his younger days as a dashing young wizard.
This year’s theme draws inspiration from modern culture
commented Jackie Tracey, events manager at thecentre:mk.
The popularity of films such as ‘The Polar Express’ and Harry Potter mean that Christmas isn’t just about the traditional tales we grew up with but new stories for a new generation. This year’s display reflects these influences giving a greater resonance to today’s young audience.
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