'Grotto Off 2015'! Hillmount Garden Centre Belfast, One of the Largest Grottos in Ireland!

Round two of this year's 'grotto off' took us to the Castlereagh Hills where a winter wonderland lays nestled in Hillmount Garden Centre. 

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Their  mega Christmas grotto is one of the largest in Ireland and features a magical walk through attraction before your one on one with the big man himself.

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Children receive a snack and juice, and there is a quiz to take part in as you travel through the various Christmas scenes, with a gift voucher for one lucky winner.  I can imagine weekends being very busy, given the scale of the attraction, so perhaps an afternoon visit like we just had would be less chaotic, with shorter waiting times for tiny ones.

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Part of the quiz involves blind boxes & guessing what you can feel! 

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This was my favourite part. A little window in the floor with a birds' eye view of what Santa would see from his sleigh.

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There's also a cute dolls' house display, with a teddy family which is just too cute. 

The whole walk through attraction is very well done and would be totally magical for kids. It's the sort of memory you are making that they'll talk about with their kids when they are all grown up. 

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Santa photographs are extra on top of your visit, but your child will receive a present from Santa as part of the grotto cost. I found the photo prices a bit steep, with one copy being £10, or 3 for £20. I think it's due to a third party company doing the photographic work, but prices could be more competitive I feel. 

We chose the mini photo in a snowglobe which costs £15

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At the end of the grotto visit is an open area with a reindeer, donkeys and Pygmy goats. This part seems to be free to visit for anyone shopping at Hillmount. They have a good arm's length bumper barrier between the animals and the children, which as an animal lover, is always a relief to see. I can imagine many poking little fingers on a Saturday would end up being distressing for the animals, but as it is they are happy and even come over to try to give you a sniff! 

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After the grotto fun we browsed the store a bit. It's similar to the gifts I posted a few days ago from their Bangor branch, but with the Belfast store being bigger the range of gifts is even better. 

The Christmas decoration department is absolutely huge with every colour scheme and tree theme imaginable. 

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I loved this little fella, a singing Christmas tree. 

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Hillmount are well known for their fantastic food and the restaurant part has been extended over the years to accommodate the ever increasing clientele. 

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We had some sweet treats. 

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Huge lemon meringue, the staple dessert of the garden centre. It was superb. 

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So! The scores!

Display- ⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

Actual rating for Santa-  ⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

Price- ⛄️⛄️⛄️

Gift - ⛄️⛄️

Photo quality- ⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

Photo Gift Option- ⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

Queue time- ⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

Hillmount Garden Centre, Bangor: Christmas Gift Guide 2015

Visit Santa

Visit Santa

We popped along to  Hillmount Garden Centre, Bangor's Ladies' Night 2015 this evening to take advantage of 10% off across the whole store, as well as many other discounts.

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There is a free to view lovely little winter trail of moving figures downstairs

There is a free to view lovely little winter trail of moving figures downstairs

So is it worth making a visit for your own Christmas shopping? 

Well Hillmount is one of those garden centres that sells everything for the whole home too. I don't know if these places are just a middle class, Northern Irish phenomenon, but you'll get candles, Cath Kidston everything, cookware, jams, all sorts stocked there too.  

Also available Yankee & Woodwick

Also available Yankee & Woodwick

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My prime  'oh my word they've got those!' moment was discovering they stock Powder Socks and Accessories. Menary's in Bangor have the socks, but Hillmount have the muffs, gloves, headbands and even the gift bags.

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Ladies' night off to a bustling start

Ladies' night off to a bustling start

If you challenged yourself to do ALL your gift shopping under their one roof, you might just do it. They've a great toy selection for all age ranges, and Smix added to his Christmas wish list rightly! 

Pixar's Good Dinosaur merch in stock

Pixar's Good Dinosaur merch in stock

Seatbelt covers for comfier journeys

Seatbelt covers for comfier journeys

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Crafters and bakers are also well catered for with two healthily sized sections catering to each hobby. 

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You are spoilt for choice Christmas decoration wise. They've fake trees, real trees, fibre optic trees and absolutely reams of stuff to put on any of them. I was tickled by these Stormont & Harland and Wolfe baubles, hand painted £8.99 each.

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Anyone for a tea pot tree? 

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Your sweet tooth is all set with these stocking sized classic sweet packs. 

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And finally, something a bit gardeny 

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Hillmount Garden Centre Ladies' Nights: Get Christmas Shopping Underway

Hillmount Garden Centre are holding their annual Ladies' Nights, with the Belfast event tomorrow night, and Bangor's Centre hosting on Monday.

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Between 5pm and 9pm you can partake in Christmas food tastings, with discounts throughout the entire store to help your gift buying budget spread a little further. Admission is free and there is a drinks reception.

There will be live music, and you can even visit Santa!