Santa's Grotto Barnet: Free at the Fayre, Sunday 6 Dec

Only one Santa’s grotto in Barnet has been confirmed for Christmas 2026, and it is free. Santa’s Grotto is part of the Barnet Christmas Fayre on Sunday 6 December, which runs from noon to 5pm along High Barnet’s High Street. Last year it was inside The Bull Theatre from 12.30pm to 4pm, with free entry and optional donations. The Grotto at Brent Cross, last year’s paid option at £27 a child, has not announced a 2026 season: its page on the shopping centre’s website has been taken down, and Brent Cross’s own Christmas 2026 list does not include it.

The quick answer

• Barnet Christmas Fayre grotto: Sunday 6 December, free. The Bull Theatre lists Santa’s Grotto among the parts of the 2026 fayre it is seeking sponsors for. Hours and venue for this year are not yet published (The Bull Theatre, Barnet Christmas Fayre 2026).
• The Grotto at Brent Cross: no 2026 date. It opened on 29 November last year, at £27 a child and £9.50 an adult. Its operator’s 2026 season is in Manchester only, so far (The Grotto).
• RAF Museum Elf Cadets: 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, £7 a child aged 4 and up. Children help Santa’s elves get the presents out; the museum’s page does not say Santa himself appears (RAF Museum, Elf Cadets).

Last checked 29 October 2026.

Barnet Christmas Fayre grotto: Sunday 6 December, free

The Bull Theatre organises the fayre with a volunteer committee. Its 2026 page asks local businesses to sponsor five parts of the day: “our Main Stage, Christmas Courtyard, Climbing Wall, Santa’s Grotto or event booklet”. The grotto is therefore planned again. The same page says council funding is lower this year and that sponsorship starts at £250 (The Bull Theatre, Barnet Christmas Fayre 2026).

The fayre itself is confirmed for Sunday 6 December, 12 noon to 5pm, in High Barnet town centre. The Mayor of Barnet has been invited to open it on the new Main Stage near Barnet Church.

What the grotto looked like last year, from The Bull’s 2025 fayre page:

• open 12.30pm to 4pm, inside The Bull Theatre on the High Street
• free entry, with optional donations towards the fayre
• in through the front gate, along the path at the side of the building, and in at the Studio and cafe door, with step-free access
• two of Santa’s elves also appeared in LEON’s Magic Show at The Bull, a separate ticketed show at £5

The 2026 grotto times, and whether it stays at The Bull, will come with the full programme. Full fayre details, the stall list and the road closure are on our Barnet Christmas Fayre page.

The Grotto at Brent Cross: not announced for 2026

Last Christmas the shopping centre hosted The Grotto, a paid, walk-through experience run by the company that stages the same show in Manchester. Its 2025 ticket page gives the details: a 15 to 20 minute route through several rooms with elves and “festive missions”, ending with Santa in his cabin, a gift for each child, and a professional photo on sale at the end (The Grotto Brent Cross 2025, ticket page).

Every booking needed at least one adult and one child, with no more than five people per group, and a service fee was added at checkout. It sat in the Centre Showcase on the lower level, opposite Vision Express, between Krispy Kreme and You Me Sushi. The ticket page opened sales for a season starting 29 November 2025.

For 2026 there is nothing yet. On 29 October:

• the grotto’s page on brentcross.co.uk returned “page not found”
• Brent Cross’s own guide to Christmas 2026, “Things to Do in North London at Christmas”, lists ten outings, including the ON ICE rink, Topsy Turvy soft play and free days at the RAF Museum and Golders Hill Park, and no grotto (Brent Cross)
• The Grotto’s own website advertises a single 2026 season, at the Corn Exchange in Manchester from 20 November to 24 December (The Grotto)

That is not a cancellation. Last year’s season started in late November, so an announcement could still come. This page will be updated if it does.

Elf Cadets at the RAF Museum: from 5 December, £7

The RAF Museum in Colindale runs Elf Cadets on Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December in Hangar 1. Children aged 4 and up take on four small challenges “to help Santa prepare to deliver gifts all over the world”, then add a label they have made to the museum’s display. Sessions last 30 minutes, starting at 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 12.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm. Tickets are £7 a child; adults do not need a ticket but must stay with their children (RAF Museum, Elf Cadets).

The museum’s description is about Santa’s elves; it does not promise a meeting with Father Christmas, so do not book it as a grotto. Entry to the museum is free. More on its Christmas opening is on our RAF Museum London at Christmas page.

Places we checked that have nothing for 2026

• The Spires, Barnet: its 2026 events so far end with the half-term Pumpkin Patch Party. Last December it gave out candy canes on fayre day and ran Winter Wonderland with two Ice Princesses on two Saturdays, not a Santa.
• Belmont Farm, Mill Hill: its events page lists Halloween and party hire, and no Christmas visit.

If you run a grotto in the borough that is booking now, the newsdesk will add it once we can read the details on your own page.

Getting there and parking

The fayre falls on a Sunday. Moxon Street car park, directly behind The Bull, charges Monday to Saturday only, and Church Hill Road in East Barnet is free every day. Barnet Council has charged on December Sundays in past years, so check the signs on the day: full details on our parking in Barnet page. High Barnet station on the Northern line is at the top of the hill. Stalls line the High Street on the day and the road closure has not been published yet. Works and closures that week are on our Barnet roadworks and travel page.

For the RAF Museum, Colindale station on the Northern line is the nearest.