A family-friendly immersive experience designed to drive traffic into the Sheffield city centre over the Christmas period.
The challenge
Sheffield Business Improvement District (BID) commissioned Restless Forest Productions to design a magical Christmas installation in an unused shop unit in Orchard Square, Sheffield. They came to us to design an immersive experience giving children the opportunity to write and post their letters to Father Christmas. The experience needed to bring the incredible backdrop to life in a fun and engaging way.
THE CLIENT
Sheffield City Centre Business Improvement District (BID)
EVENT TYPE
Experiential Event
SERVICES PROVIDED
Event management
Immersive experience design
Supplier sourcing & management
Stakeholder liaison coordination
Crowd & queue management
H&S management
Live event delivery
The outcome
The set included an enchanted forest with bark flooring and Christmas trees hanging from the ceiling and a Santa’s study filled with festive trinkets, Santa’s desk, plus small tables and chairs for children to sit and write their letters.
We worked with an entertainment company to design the experience that would bring the set to life. Led by elves, children entered the enchanted forest for an interactive sing-along. They were then invited into the study to write, stamp and post their letters. In the end, they received a certificate with their name handwritten on it to confirm they had made it onto the nice list.
The whole experience included audience participation, such as singing and dancing, to make sure the children had a magical time from start to finish. We kept the experience adaptable to crowd numbers to ensure there was a constant flow of movement and the waiting time was kept to 10-15 mins.
We also worked closely with the client to design and produce all of the event stationery to ensure it tied in with the look and feel of the set.
Santa’s Study opened to the public during the last weekend in November and ran till Christmas Eve. It was open on Thursday evenings and Weekends, plus every day in the week leading to Christmas Eve. It was deemed a massive success with over 5,500 people visiting in total and some amazing feedback from families who attended.
“You & Us were a pleasure to work with on our Santa’s Study event. Their professionalism and experience in delivering high-quality events took away any day-to-day worries we may have had. They were instrumental in ensuring that a highly engaging, festive-themed, family friendly experience was delivered…one with a real wow factor!“
Richard Pilgrim, Project Manager, Sheffield BID
LOOKING FOR HELP PLANNING YOUR NEXT EVENT?
Let’s chat about how we can help
READ THE NEXT CASE STUDY