What promises to be the most elaborate Christmas grotto in Norfolk was conceived to keep the memory of a man's much-loved daughter alive.
Graham Laycock, from Easton, is planning the grotto for the Railway Tavern in Dereham, which will raise money for the charity Sudep Action and the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.
Mr Laycock, 66, lost his daughter, Claire, to Sudep - sudden unexpected death in epilepsy - when she was just 28.
She was five months pregnant when she was found dead at her home in 2017.
Mr Laycock said: “If I didn’t do this, I would be angry all the time, it's a good coping strategy, to turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
“My daughter loved Christmas, she could not wait for Christmas every year and I think all these crazy ideas I have is what she would do.
"Plus if we spread awareness for Sudep then she did not die in vain.”
Mr Laycock's 91-year-old father will travel from Watford to play the role of Santa.
Children will be able to take part in games and quizzes with prizes on offer before meeting Santa in his grotto.
Thanks to Mr Laycock's planning, Father Christmas will already know the names of the children and their parents' names.
They will have the chance to take a photo with costumed characters in the snow.
This is not the first immersive experience created by Mr Laycock, who is a taxi driver for school children.
During the pandemic, he created a pirate trail around Easton and ran a Christmas grotto from his front garden in 2020 and 2021.
Paul Sandford, landlord of the Yaxham Road pub, said: “My grandson had life-saving surgery as a baby at Great Ormand Street Hospital and they are an amazing organisation.
“My best friend's life was saved by Great Ormond Street 50 years ago so we have a very strong connection they are incredible.”
Tickets cost £15, with £5 going to each charity, with the remaining £5 to the running costs.
Text 07765555170 to book.
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