Events & Experiences
The Sidings in Waterloo set out to launch its first-ever Christmas Grotto, with the aim of creating a standout festive experience that would attract families, increase footfall, support tenants, and raise the centre’s profile both locally and across London. A key objective was to drive strong pre-bookings, deliver memorable in-centre engagement, and amplify reach through social media and digital content.
The Sidings partnered with Great Grottos to deliver a magical festive experience that combined a traditional Christmas Grotto with interactive, centre-wide activity. Open for 20 days, the Grotto quickly captured demand, selling out in just 14 days — the fastest sell-out in the history of the 300 Grottos hosted by Great Grottos. Momentum peaked with a record-breaking 450 bookings achieved in a single day.
To extend the experience beyond the Grotto itself, families were invited to take part in a Christmas Trail around the centre. The trail involved eight Sidings tenants, encouraging exploration of the scheme and increasing dwell time. Participants completed the trail before visiting one of the participating tenants to collect their prize, creating a fun, engaging journey that connected festive activity directly with occupiers.
The festive atmosphere was further enhanced with well-attended choir performances, generating strong in-centre activity and highly shareable video content across social platforms.
A comprehensive social media strategy supported the activity from launch through to close. Multiple competitions were run to drive interaction, including a Kiehl’s competition that alone generated over 1.4K entries. Four influencers were invited to attend and share their experiences with their audiences, including Londonkidventures, Adventureswithaunty, Southbankfoodie, and Morocco_the_cavapoo, helping to extend reach to families across London and beyond.
Alongside social media activity, thirteen web articles were drafted throughout the campaign, ensuring consistent digital storytelling and supporting SEO performance during the key festive period.
The Sidings’ first Grotto was an outstanding success. Over the 20-day period, 2,582 children visited the Grotto, with additional families accommodated around bookings. Including adults, the Grotto welcomed a total of 5,422 visitors, reaching 109% of capacity. The busiest day was Tuesday 23rd December, highlighting strong demand right up to Christmas.
Bookings were made by families from across London, demonstrating the broad appeal of The Sidings as a festive destination citywide. Social media performance was equally strong, with an additional 1,208 followers gained across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok during the campaign, alongside consistently positive feedback and comments.
Influencer activity and festive content helped amplify reach, while choir performances and the Christmas Trail created engaging moments that translated seamlessly into social video. Digital performance was also boosted, with the thirteen supporting web articles contributing to a 22.17% year-on-year increase in website users for the month.
Through a combination of immersive festive experiences, tenant collaboration, and strong social and digital amplification, The Sidings successfully delivered its most impactful Christmas campaign to date — firmly positioning the centre as a must-visit festive destination in Waterloo.