To make your visit even more magical this year we’ve upgraded our photography setup. Photos will be taken using a DSLR camera, providing exceptional image quality. Our trained photographer and new studio-grade lighting will ensure every moment is beautifully captured. 

Our Grotto visits will be operated solely through our reservation system, Humanitix. We will not be able to accommodate walk-in visits. You can find more details on our Events page here.

After your session, we urge you to take a photo of your QR code when you arrive at the kiosk to ensure you can access your digital photos. We advise that all photos are individually downloaded to ensure your photos are of the utmost quality.

Our Grotto visits will be operated solely through our reservation system. We will not be able to accommodate walk-in visits. You can find more details on our Events page here.

Booking cannot be made through our Customer Services team or any other portal. Bookings can only be made via our reservation system.

As you enter our Ballantynes Christchurch store, look for the grand staircase and proceed towards the lingerie department on the first floor to begin your magical grotto experience. As you arrive at the space, you will see a queue that leads to the experience where one of Santa's helpers will help check you in.

The maximum number of people per session is 8. If there are more than 8, we suggest booking a double/consecutive sessions to accommodate that.

Additional sessions cannot be purchased on the spot, and should be booked in advance through our reservation system (Humanitix).

You will receive a confirmation email from our reservation system Humanitix. Please ensure you check your spam/junk folder if you have not booked with us previously.

Due to limited availability, we may not be able to offer additional sessions once they are fully booked. Please do have a look at our event page to see if there any cancellations.

To amend or reschedule your booking please cancel the original booking and then rebook a new suitable time. Any new bookings will be strictly dependent on availability.

Please contact our Customer Services team at 0800 656 400 to arrange a refund (if applicable). Alternatively, feel free to check our reservation system to see if there's another available time you'd like to swap your session for.

To amend or reschedule your booking please cancel the original booking and then rebook a new suitable time. Any new bookings will be strictly dependent on availability.

Please ensure you arrive 15 minutes before your session at the Grotto located across from the lingerie department on the first floor of our Christchurch store

Each session can take up to 15minutes to complete. On arrival you will be greeted by one of our team who will check you in. During your visit you will be taken into the grotto where you will have your photo taken first and then you will have a couple of minutes to tell Santa what you want for Christmas this year. When you leave the grotto you will be given a QR code card which you will take to the kiosk to print your photo. Note there may be some slight delays as you wait for your photo to reach our kiosk. 

We encourage children to keep to toys/or any additional to one per child in order to have a comfortable session.

After your session, we urge you to take a photo of your QR code when you arrive at the kiosk to ensure you can access your digital photos. We advise that all photos are individually downloaded to ensure your photos are of the utmost quality.

To ensure the accessibility of your photos for a long period, we recommend you create and maintain a Magic Memories account, which means regularly interacting with it by uploading or downloading content.