I Opened A Black Santa's Grotto For This 1 Very Important Reason

This magical grotto is celebrating Black British culture.Growing up, Charlotte Lewis loved everything about Christmas. “My mum always made Christmas very special for myself and my siblings – it was something that was quite important to her,” the 37-year-old recalls. A former primary school teacher, her mum would decorate the house and take them all, wide-eyed and excited, to see Santa. Lewis recalls that coming from a Caribbean background, there was always a huge focus on food, too.“That was such a big part of what Christmas is all about – it was a real amalgamation of what is typically British and Caribbean mixed together,” she says.But entering adulthood, and especially after having a daughter of her own, Lewis realised there was something missing from the Christmas experience: she and her family didn’t feel represented in a lot of the mainstream celebrations, from the festive merchandise found in shops to the Santa at their local grotto. “I took my daughter to a couple of really nic