Published: 18 July 2025 | Updated: 12 July 2026

Farmer Ted’s Christmas Experience: Honest family review

Just so you know: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a booking or purchase, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Farmer Ted’s is about 15 minutes from where we live, and we’ve been going since our daughter was tiny. We’ve booked their Christmas event twice now. Younger kids love the farm; it’s close to home, and the walkway to the grotto is the best I’ve seen in Liverpool. We took our eldest daughter, aged 2 and 3, and I have no doubt we will take our baby when she reaches that age, too.

This is a full Farmer Ted’s Christmas experience review, covering things like what’s included, how much it costs, how it works on the day, and whether Farmer Christmas near Liverpool is worth booking for your family.

If you’re looking for more farms near Liverpool year round, we’ve covered those in detail on our Liverpool farms guide.

Farmer Teds Christmas elf

What is Farmer Christmas at Farmer Ted’s?

Farmer Christmas is the name that Farmer Ted’s have given to their Christmas experience at their adventure farm in Ormskirk, Lancashire. It runs on selected dates throughout the festive season, and includes a walk through Christmas grotto, with a visit to Santa in his log cabin, a gift, reindeer dust mixing, gingerbread decorating, and more. Plus, you get full access to Farmer Ted’s, including the animal barns, soft play, and the Christmas cinema before and after your grotto slot.

It’s a half day out rather than a quick Santa photo and out. We have been twice and usually spend four to five hours there in total.

How the day works

You can arrive any time on your booked day, meaning there’s no set arrival time for the farm itself, just for the grotto. Farmer Ted’s recommends arriving 20 minutes before your allocated grotto slot, but we tend to get there one to two hours before to make the most of the animals and soft play first.

We always head to the animals first and the soft play after. So by the time the grotto slot comes around, the children have already had a good run around, and we’ve usually worked up an appetite by then, and we grab some food after, which is also where the soft play is.

The car park is large and completely free, and the farm is easy to find on Flatman’s Lane in Downholland, just outside Ormskirk.

The Christmas walkway and grotto

When it’s your turn to enter the grotto, you first walk through a lit walkway, which is lined on both sides with hundreds of Christmas trees draped in warm white lights, with white picket fencing guiding you through. The floor has artificial snow with actual footprints in it, and the purple UV lighting adds to the atmosphere in certain sections and gives it an immersive feel. The elves have a walkie-talkie system, ensuring you get this whole walkway to yourselves. There are no other families around you, and so there’s plenty of opportunity to take its of photos.

There are scenes along the way, too, from Santa’s bedroom, the toy workshop where the elves make everything, and various Christmas tableaux, which are all before you reach the waiting area just outside Santa’s cabin. Again, thanks to the walkie-talkie system and the organisation of the staff, you get the grotto entirely to yourselves. We went with friends and chose to go through together as one big group, which worked great as we had a group shot with Santa, but they gave us the time to break up and get individual family shots too. You could split into separate family groups for the entire walkway if you preferred, but going together meant the children had each other for company along the way, and we could all take photos without other families in the background.

While you wait just outside Santa’s cabin, the elves do a great job of keeping the children entertained. Shaun the Sheep has made appearances on both our visits, which is a nice touch given it’s his home turf. When the group ahead is through, the elf opens the door, and you go in.

Farmer Teds Christmas grotto

Meeting Santa

Santa is waiting for you in a proper log cabin, complete with dark wood panelling, a lit log burner in the corner, a tartan rug on the floor, antler decorations on the wall, and Santa in a leather armchair. It looks exactly how you’d want it to look, and the fact that it’s a real cabin rather than a decorated gazebo makes a real difference. He’s chatty and takes his time, and you take your own photos throughout. There are no professional photographers, which means no pressure to buy anything afterwards and no strangers in the background of your pictures.

Farmer Teds Christmas sleigh

Collecting the gift

After you’ve seen Santa, you go to the toy workshop, which is a separate room where an elf hands over a wrapped gift across a white picket fence from baskets of presents.

There’s also a sleigh in this room for photos, which we make a point of doing every year.

The gift is age appropriate, they ask for your child’s age there and then so the elf knows what to pick. It’s a wrapped present rather than a selection box or token gift. Our kids decided to open theirs whilst still at the event.

Making reindeer dust

Once you’ve collected your gift, next up is the reindeer dust station, labelled ‘Top Secret Reindeer Food Mixing’, which is lit up under UV lighting with a row of mixing bowls along a long table. The children are invited to follow the instructions on the sign, scooping different ingredients, including reindeer cornflakes and oats into their bag to take home and sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve. It sounds simple but children take it very seriously and it’s part of our Christmas Eve tradition.

It’s also the closest thing to a reindeer experience near Liverpool that younger children are going to get at this age, and so scooping food to leave out for them on Christmas Eve feels very exciting.

Decorating gingerbread

Just around the corner from the reindeer food station is a separate room lined with tables and chairs where the children can decorate their own gingerbread men. The tables are laid out with Christmas wrapping paper, and each child gets their gingerbread man and a kit of icing pens and decorations. There’s no time limit here, families can sit down and take their time.

Nothing about the whole day feels rushed at all. You can move through each section at your own pace and each section from the walkway through to the gingerbread station sits comfortably within the grotto time slot without feeling squeezed.

You’re child comes away with lots of goodies from the day too, they have their gift, the gingerbread biscuit and the the reindeer dust, which fits perfectly into a Christmas Eve box if you want to make the most of it.

What about the usual Farmer Ted’s activities?

Something which is worth knowing before you book is that the usual Farmer Ted’s timetable doesn’t run during Farmer Christmas. When we have visited outside of the festive season, there are shows, sheep racing and lots of outdoor demonstrations. But these are all off, and most of the animals are inside in their barns rather than out in the fields.

To be honest, we didn’t mind this at all. If anything it would have felt like too much to have everything else running alongside the Christmas experience. What’s on offer is all Christmas focused which is much better. The soft play is still open which we did after all the Christmas stuff.

If you’re visiting Farmer Ted’s for the farm experience and the timetable of activities, then this isn’t the right visit for that. But as a Christmas day out near Liverpool, it’s one of the best we’ve done.

How much does Farmer Ted’s Christmas experience cost?

For 2025, the tickets were £16.75 for adults and £27.75 for children over one, with under ones going free, unless you want them to receive a gift from Santa, in which case a ticket is required. For a family of two adults and one child, that comes to around £61.25 before booking fees.

Prices do change year to year so check the Farmer Ted’s website for the latest prices when booking opens. Tickets go on sale well in advance and it usually sells out, with weekend slots going particularly fast, so I’d book early to avoid disappointment.

If you’re an NHS worker or blue light card holder, then discount codes and blue light card are not valid for the Christmas experience. I checked before booking for myself and it’s clearly stated in the terms and conditions that vouchers and promotions don’t apply to special events.

Practical information

Getting there
The address for Farmer Ted’s is:

Flatman’s Lane in Downholland, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 7HW

It’s about 15 minutes from Liverpool. You need a car to get there as it’s in the middle of the countryside with no realistic public transport options. The car park is huge and completely free.

How long does it take
We usually arrive one to two hours before our grotto slot and spend time with the animals first. Then we do the whole Christmas experience when our slot comes around. Then afterwards er head to the soft play area inside and grab some food. In total we’re usually there for four to five hours.

When to arrive
You can arrive at any time on your booked day, you just need to be at the grotto check-in point 20 minutes before your allocated time slot.

What to wear
The grotto walkway is covered and indoors, but Farmer Ted’s itself is mostly an outdoor site and so dress for the weather and wear sensible shoes. It can be cold and quite exposed even on a decent December day.

Animals at Christmas
The animals are all inside in their barns during Farmer Christmas rather than out in the fields, but you can still see them. The usual schedule of shows and demonstrations don’t run during this event.

More Christmas days out near Liverpool

If you’re planning a full December of Christmas days out, these are worth knowing about alongside Farmer Christmas:

Storytime with Santa at Liverpool Town Hall – an intimate Santa experience in the city centre, maximum 20 children per session, with a book to take home.
Lapland UK Manchester – the full immersive Christmas experience at Capesthorne Hall, worth it at November prices.
Enchanted at Knowsley Safari Park – a Christmas light trail through the safari park, good for all ages.
Magical Woodland Northwich – a toddler friendly Christmas light trail in Cheshire.
Bolesworth Castle Christmas – a family Christmas experience just outside Chester.

For more days out in and around Liverpool, head to our UK travel guide.

Farmer Ted’s Christmas experience FAQs

Yes, and we’ve been twice to prove it. At around £60 for two adults and one child it’s not cheap, but for everything you get – the full lit walkway, the Santa visit, an age appropriate gift, reindeer dust mixing, gingerbread decorating, plus full access to Farmer Ted’s before and after, makes it genuinely good value for a Christmas Day out near Liverpool. The walk way leading up to the grotto itself is the best we’ve been to, and the one group at a time system means it never feels rushed or crowded.

For 2025, adult tickets were £16.75 and child tickets £27.75 for children over one. Under ones are free unless you want them to receive a gift from Santa. For two adults and one child that’s around £61.25 before booking fees. Prices vary year to year so check the Farmer Ted’s website when booking opens for current Farmer Teds Christmas tickets prices.

The ticket includes full access to Farmer Ted’s Adventure Farm, the Christmas walkway and grotto, a visit to Santa, an age appropriate wrapped gift, reindeer dust mixing, gingerbread decorating, a Christmas story time and a letter to Santa writing pack. The Christmas cinema is also available before or after your slot. Full access to the soft play and animal barns is included too.

It’s one of the best Christmas experiences for toddlers near Liverpool. We visited with our eldest daughter at age two and three and it worked perfectly both times. The walkway is fully covered and indoors, it’s a lovely and relaxing pace, and each section is short enough to hold a young child’s attention. The gingerbread decorating and reindeer dust mixing are particularly good for younger children. Pram access is possible in most areas though some sections are compact.

Tickets are available exclusively through the Farmer Ted’s website. They go on sale well in advance and so follow Farmer Ted’s on social media to be notified when booking opens. Weekend slots sell out fastest so book as early as possible. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

No. Discount codes and blue light card discounts are not valid for the Farmer Christmas event. This is clearly stated in Farmer Ted’s terms and conditions and vouchers can only be used for general admission and do not include special events. It’s worth checking before you book rather than finding out at checkout.

The grotto section itself takes around an hour to work through. We usually arrive one to two hours before our slot to see the animals and use the soft play, and stay for a while after too. In total we’re usually at Farmer Ted’s for four to five hours, making it a proper full afternoon out.

The experience works well for a wide age range but it’s particularly good for younger children. We found ages two and three to be a lovely age. They’re old enough to engage with Santa and enjoy the activities, and young enough to be completely absorbed by it all. Older children will still enjoy it, particularly the walkway and Santa visit, but I personally think the activities are pitched toward younger ages.

In our experience, yes. The one group at a time system, the proper log cabin for Santa, the lit walkway with artificial snow, and the range of activities included in the ticket make it stand out from a standard Santa’s grotto near Liverpool. It’s a walk through Christmas grotto experience rather than a queue and photo setup, which makes a real difference.

Discount codes are not valid for the Farmer Christmas event for 2025 or 2026. If you’re looking to save money, booking early secures your spot before prices increase, and keeping an eye on the Farmer Ted’s website when tickets first go on sale gives you the best chance of the lowest prices.

Looking for more Christmas inspiration? See my blog posts below: