Enjoy magical Christmas at Twycross Zoo

Sisters, from right, Sophie, aged 10, Rebecca, five, and eight-year-old Jessica Ball enjoy a selfie with Santa in his sleigh at Twycross Zoo.

Famous for being home to an impressive collection of primates, the Leicestershire zoo has pulled out all the stops this year to create a Christmas experience to remember.

Christmas at Twycross offers children the chance to cross paths with Santa several times in one day instead of just one quick meeting.

Visitors to Twycross are given a timetable of activities involving Santa and his elves as well as all the usual zoo talks and animal feedings.

Storytime with Santa in Twycross Zoo's Explorer Cafe is popular.

The day starts with a chance to pose for a photo with Santa in a special sleigh near the zoo entrance, then there’s just enough time to look at a few animals before a special Christmas-themed storytime in the Explorer Cafe led by the big man himself.

Other activities include seeing Santa at the penguin feeding, helping him take the zoo’s donkeys for a walk around the Explorer Zone and making magical reindeer dust to sprinkle in your garden at home.

Towards the end of the day, the elves lead a seasonal singalong and children can also hang a magic key on a special tree to make sure Santa can make it into their homes with their presents when it comes to Christmas Eve.

The one thing you won’t get at Christmas at Twycross is an individual meeting with Santa and a present to take away.

Visitors have the chance to feed lorikeets at Twycross Zoo.

However, it’s a great alternative if you’re not a fan of the grotto experience or if they’ve already had a meeting with Santa but want to see him again before he flies off around the world on his sleigh.

There are enough Christmas-themed activities to keep the family busy for most of the day, but, of course, there’s also plenty of other things to see as well.

Earlier this year, the zoo welcomed two new inhabitants – a pair of critically endangered Sumatran tigers, Jahly and Sialang.

With less than 400 Sumatran tigers left living in the wild, the couple are a rare sight and a real coup for the tourist attraction.

Sophie Ball, aged 10, gets up close to a lorikeet at Twycross Zoo.

Twycross is hopeful that the tigers will breed in the future in a bid to help conserve the species in captivity.

There are also a number of zoo babies to spot, although in the colder weather most of the animals can be found huddled up indoors rather than enjoying the full expanses of their outdoor enclosures.

For tickets and details, see twycrosszoo.org/