New Zealand Entertainment

The Christmas Grotto Experience in Christchurch

Visiting the Christmas Grotto at Spreydon Baptist Church has become an annual tradition for many Christchurch residents - and visitors to the city also delight in this wonderful display. The Grotto was first set up in 2001, cost $1600 and had approximately 1600 visitors. In 2011 it cost $60,000 to set up and roughly 33,000 people passed through it.

 

The Grotto is hosted in the buildings of Spreydon Baptist Church and inter-leading rooms are transformed into amazing Christmas scenes. Some of the displays change from year to year while others remain the same. All of them are excellent and adults and children alike marvel at the detail and beauty. Some of the scenes are static while others include movement and sound.

  

In 2012, the opening scene is a life-size display of dogs and sled at the North Pole. This leads into two traditional Christmas scenes followed by a toy town complete with miniature railway and a sun that sets and rises. Other displays include a life-size waterfall with soft toy animals and live turtles, a candy cane room, Santa's workshop and a traditional nativity display.

 

 

 The Grotto runs from the 9^th to 24^th December 2012 and is open daily from 9:30am to 9:30pm. On Christmas Eve it will be open from 9:30am to 11:30pm. There is an entry fee of $3 per person with children aged two and under free. All the fees go towards the construction of the Grotto as well as the purchase of new equipment and development of new ideas.

 

 

It takes approximately 2000 man hours to set up the Grotto each year and it is manned by volunteers. Work on the Grotto commences in February each year and the result is always excellent. The Grotto website includes a photo gallery and facts and figures about this amazing annual event.