Santa Claus and the Night before Christmas at the Arts Centre

If you are not quite in the festive mood yet then you certainly will be after you see Santa Claus and the Night before Christmas, which is currently on at the Arts Centre.

This 45-minute production is every child's fantasy as it's full of songs, stories, magic tricks, two cheeky elves and Santa Claus himself.

The show starts on Christmas Eve, with us meeting a young girl called Emily. She's not quite sure she believes in Father Christmas as she can't fathom how he can deliver presents to all the boys and girls in the world and get down a chimney when he is so big.

Elves Charlie and Kara make it their mission to prove that Santa Claus is real before it's time to board Santa's sleigh and deliver the presents to the children.

It was a lovely moment when Father Christmas first introduced himself as you could hear some excitable gasps from the audience. The adults were also amused when he made reference to the delights we have on offer in the town - including the Steam Museum and the Magic Roundabout.

My five-year-old daughter was literally on the edge of her seat during the entire performance as she was instantly sucked into the storyline.

There was lots of shouting out by the little ones in the audience and the adults that were there were also smiling and giggling as the show went on.

This was a totally interactive show which included one magic spell that involved little red lights, one that released many bubbles in the air and another that saw snowflakes fall all over the audience.

My family especially liked it when everyone in the audience was passed a fluffy snowball and we all then got to throw it towards the stage.

It was the type of cute production that made the kids squeal with happiness when each new magic trick was revealed and watching my daughter be so caught up in the moment was truly heart warming.

The children were even more excitable when they realised that they would all get to meet Santa after the show and would get their own present. There was a chance for each parent to take a photo of this priceless moment.

If you have time over this busy period, make sure you catch this performance because it's the perfect addition to the festive season.

There are several shows left as it runs until Christmas Eve and you won't regret taking your children or grandkids to this feel good, family production.

Kelly Jobanputra