Dannevirke pre-schoolers visit Santa at Fantasy Cave Christmas pop-up

Father Christmas arrives to meet the children of First Years Pre-school outside the recently redecorated Fountain Theatre in Dannevirke which is now the location for the pop-up Fantasy Cave. The cave will be open until Christmas.

The excitement level increased dramatically for more than 40 pre-schoolers from First Years Pre-school when they saw Father Christmas emerge.

Not from his sleigh but from a Model A Ford.

Just as he has for the last decade, he was there to open the Fantasy Cave’s Christmas Popup season in the Fountain Theatre.

Father Christmas had earlier toured all the town schools and kindergartens, the children out waiting to see him pass by and wave, but the luckiest were the local First Years Pre-School who had walked to the Fountain Theatre to visit him in his cave.

Once again the interior was magical, decorated Christmas trees lining the route around a castle containing Sleeping Beauty and onwards to Father Christmas sitting in his chair by a beautifully constructed open fire.

Father Christmas meets his first two guests Tamaki and Tamaia-Lee, during their visit to the pop-up Fantasy Cave, open until Christmas.

Guided by parents, grandparents, school staff and local pixies these children had lots to do looking through the peepholes to see Cinderella, looking at strange mirrors, finding different types of decorated Christmas trees, identifying items in a Bronze Novelty Box, having a picture taken in disguise, sitting in the train, putting their name on a leaf to be attached to a Christmas Memory tree and of course talking with Father Christmas.

He was a particularly kindly Father Christmas, gaining a remarkable number of cuddles, especially after he gave them a bag of sweets.

At the end of a fantastic hour at the pop-up Fantasy Cave, the children, staff and Santa all sang action songs

It took nearly an hour for all to make the visit to Father Christmas after which the children sang some action songs with Father Christmas joining in, particularly Pop, Bang Crack goes the Christmas Cracker.

All dressed in their hi-viz jackets, the children walked back to school hand-in-hand after a great morning and a perfect start to the new Christmas Pop-up which started officially on December 3 in the afternoons from 1-4pm and on Sundays 10am-4pm.