Harlequin Shopping Centre approached us last year with the following brief: to establish Harlequin as the festive destination for families in Watford during the Christmas period.

The campaign needed to: drive footfall, increase dwell time, boost social engagement, and support retailer performance.

There was just one challenge. Previous Christmas experiences had been hosted in the centre’s main mall space, which had since been overtaken by commercialisation. Our new location? An empty cold-spot unit next to the post office.

Rather than seeing limitations, we saw opportunity. We pulled up our elf socks and transformed this unlikely location into something extraordinary!

We designed a fully immersive, story-led experience where visitors became active participants in a festive adventure, helping save Christmas by fixing Santa’s sleigh!

Every element, from props to costumes and set design, was carefully crafted to transport guests straight into Santa’s North Pole repair shop.

The empty unit was transformed into a bustling festive environment, filled with bespoke design elements: from the workshop blueprints and tools lining the walls, to the main event, the UK’s first all-moving, lit-up, noisy, singing, dancing sleigh, which was brought to life by the children themselves after successfully repairing it, delivering a show-stopping WOW moment!

Central to the narrative were Santa’s top Elves: Walter Wrench, Sally Sparkles, and Cora Cogs, who each guided visitors through challenges and interactions. And of course, no Christmas grotto would be complete without Santa himself!

The custom-designed sets, props, and costumes brought the story vividly to life, turning a familiar festive activity into something memorable, shareable, and completely unique.

The sold-out Christmas experience recieved outstanding feedback from both parents and tenants. The centre saw a 9% uplift in footfall during the campaign period, with retailers commenting on the significant positive impact the grotto had on customer traffic and Christmas sales across the centre.

Niamh, Head of Marketing at Harlequin, said:

“We received an overwhelming number of positive comments and emails from centre guests about the experience. Parents were impressed by how immersive the experience was, and how quickly their children became engaged and excited to take part.”

Beyond the commercial success, the event also delivered meaningful community impact, with 100% of proceeds donated to Watford’s Home-Start charity.