From Saturday, November 23 to Tuesday, December 24, very merry visitors can dash through a Whipsnade winter wonderland, as Christmas at Whipsnade Zoo spreads festive cheer across the UK’s largest zoo.
As the big day approaches, join the conservation Zoo’s keepers for the 12 days of Christmas countdown, where a different animal will be celebrated each day through festive animal talks and demonstrations.
Along with daily reindeer talks, visitors will learn about a different amazing and threatened species and what ZSL, the conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo, is doing to protect animals in the wild.
For those wanting to be Santa’s little helper, they can help spot his nine runaway reindeer! Could they be hiding with their cousins, real reindeer Regnar and Solen, who are grazing up above the Chiltern hills?
For an extra sprinkling of Christmas magic, families can peek inside Santa’s Christmas lodges, decked to the halls with decorations, create some festive crafts, and Meet Santa* in his magical grotto, before receiving a very special early Christmas gift to take home. Little ones can also take a crash-course in animal gift-giving, by helping Whipsnade’s elves prepare Christmas treats for some of the 10,000 animals that call the conservation zoo home, then head on a tour to watch them get stuck into their festive gifts.
For extra early risers, there’s the opportunity to start a festive day out at Whipsnade Zoo with a VIP Breakfast alongside Mrs Claus and the elves, enjoy extra craft activities, and feed the endangered African black-footed penguins their breakfast, before heading to Santa’s grotto to meet the man himself.
For those wanting to get their Christmas gifts in early, they can join the hunt for the lost Christmas pudding, which if found can be exchanged for a prize, or they can head down to the farm to play some festive bingo for a chance to bag a festive goodie.
At the end of their magical day out, families can report back to our Polar Post-boxes, and send letters with their Christmas wishes to Santa.
With 2024 proving to be a bumper year for animal births at the conservation zoo, visitors can see the two baby southern white rhinos, Sally the baby camel, Myra and Timba, the newborn giraffes, and the flock of young flamingos, discover the magic of Christmas for the first time this year.
With over 600 acres to explore, a visit to Whipsnade Zoo and the 10,000 animals that call the winter wonderland home is the perfect Christmas day out this December. Every festive visit will help to support ZSL’s science and conservation work to protect and restore wildlife around the world.
To find out more and book, visit the Whipsnade Zoo website.
