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Greetings from Father Christmas in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the presents come from Father Christmas, on 25 December.
⏳ How many days until Christmas?Who brings the presents, and when
Father Christmas
25 December
Christmas gifts →
The free gift finder: who it's for, what they like, your budget in £ — ideas with the reason and a real UK price, plus guides for men, women, Mum, Dad, hampers, Secret Santa and more.
Christmas markets →
Every big Christmas market in the UK for 2026: dates, opening times, getting there — and the nearest one to you.
Christmas market breaks in Europe 2026 →
European Christmas markets within reach of the UK — Cologne, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Strasbourg, Bruges — with 2026 dates and distance from the UK.
Christmas lights in the UK 2026 →
Christmas lights and light trails across the UK 2026: Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, Blenheim Palace, Chester Zoo and more — dates and prices.
Letter to Santa / Father Christmas →
Letter to Santa and Father Christmas, free and with no sign-up: the Royal Mail address and 2026 posting date, a printable A4 letter and a reply from Santa with your child's name.
Elf on the Shelf ideas →
Easy elf ideas for every night of December, an elf door section, the 24-night plan and printable elf letters.
Secret Santa generator →
Free Secret Santa generator for UK offices, schools and families: keep partners apart, set a £ budget, send private links. No sign-up, no emails.
Christmas roast potatoes →
Crispy Christmas roast potatoes in grams: parboiling, hot fat, 220°C (gas mark 7), what to do ahead and how to freeze them.
Christmas dinner plan →
A Christmas dinner plan with timings: what to buy and thaw, what to cook ahead, and a countdown for Christmas Day.
Christmas pudding →
A traditional Christmas pudding for a 1.2 litre basin: soak, steam 6 hours without a steamer, store, and reheat on the day.
Mince pies →
Twelve homemade mince pies: easy shortcrust, a jar of mincemeat, 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes, and freezing raw or baked.
Christmas wishes →
Christmas wishes and card messages by recipient, tone and length: copy, send on WhatsApp or make a free card.
Christmas Colouring Pages →
76 free pages: print them with your child's name or colour them online on a mobile.
Christmas word search →
Play online or print on A4 with the answer key; make your own with your family's names.
Christmas quiz →
Free, no sign-up: UK Christmas quiz questions and answers in six rounds, from kids and films to a harder pub quiz. Play online or print on A4.
Services compared for the United Kingdom
18 of 18 entries below have been opened and checked by hand.
Video messages
The default answer, and the cheapest. Personalised in minutes, works right up to Christmas Eve, and watched on a screen rather than received. Prices are per video at most services and per household at a few — which is the difference that matters if you have more than one child.
My Santa Message
FromUS$2.99
- Free version
- No
- Signup needed
- No
- Photo in video
- Yes
- Call
- No
The cheapest video here at $2.99 for the short version, $5.99 for the longer one, and you can attach a photo. The catch is the name: Santa reads it from a pre-recorded library of about 2,400, so check yours is on the list before paying — an unusual spelling will not be. Delivered by email within about six hours, not instantly.
LiveImage Santa
FromUS$6
- Free version
- No
- Signup needed
- Yes
- Photo in video
- Yes
Six dollars for a personalised AI Santa video, $9.99 for the larger pack. Part of a greeting-card product rather than a Santa specialist, so the Christmas video sits alongside birthday and thank-you cards — which is worth knowing if you want somewhere to come back to in January.
Elfi
FromUS$7.99
- Free version
- No
- Photo in video
- Yes
Hey Santa
Free
- Free version
- Yes
- Signup needed
- No
- Photo in video
- Yes
- Call
- No
Free, no account, and it takes a photo and a few details rather than picking from a list — the video is written around what you type, not a stock clip with a name dropped in. It renders in a few minutes and is emailed to you, so it arrives in an inbox rather than on screen. Same company as the Figments storybook app.
Festive Studio
Not published
- Free version
- No
- Signup needed
- Yes
- Photo in video
- Yes
The long one: about ten minutes rather than the ninety seconds everyone else sends, built as a story — a North Pole tour or a broken sleigh to fix. Up to five children share a single video, which makes it the cheapest option per child in a big family and the only one here priced that way. Photos and details are added in a portal. The price is not published outside it; a free Santa voice note is.
Portable North Pole
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Photo in video
- Yes
- Call
- Yes
The largest service in this category and the one most people arrive at first. The free tier is a short trial, and it has historically closed around 19 December. Prices are not shown anywhere public — you see them by going through the flow.
Synthesia Santa
Free
- Free version
- Yes
- Signup needed
- No
Free, and no account is needed — but it asks for an email address to deliver the video, so the result arrives in an inbox rather than on screen. You pick a template and edit a short script.
CreatorKit AI Santa
Free
- Free version
- Yes
- Signup needed
- No
- Photo in video
- No
- Call
- No
Free and no account needed. You pick one of a few templates, type what Santa should say — there is a button that drafts it for you — and give an email address. It takes about seven minutes and lands in the inbox. AI-generated and it looks it, so it suits a message to an adult better than a small child who will study the face.
Talking to Santa live
Not a recording — a conversation, where Santa answers what the child actually says. The AI versions are free and open only in season; a live human performer on video costs about the same as a short home visit and books out the same way.
AI Santa by Tavus
Free
- Free version
- Yes
- Signup needed
- No
- Call
- No
A real-time conversation, not a clip — Santa appears on video and answers what the child actually says to him. Free, no account, and the closest thing in this category to the thing children imagine. It is seasonal: right now the page shows a countdown and says Santa is back next year, so check again in late November.
SantaAI
Not published
An app rather than a website — an AI Santa the child can talk to on a phone, pitched as a companion that is there through December rather than a one-off greeting. Sold through the App Store and Google Play, so the price is on the store listing and not on the site.
Letters and replies
A reply, not a printable template — the thing the child physically receives. Anything posted has a deadline in early December and nothing after it arrives in time; an emailed reply is the only version that still works in the last week.
EmailSanta
Free
- Free version
- Yes
- Signup needed
- No
- Photo in video
- No
- Call
- No
An instant written reply, first name only, no account. Letters only — there is no video and no call.
General AI video tools
These are not Santa services. They are general AI video platforms that publish a Santa landing page each December, and they take up roughly half the search results. Listed so you recognise them: the output is an avatar reading your script, "free" means trial credits on a subscription, and the account survives the season whether you use it again or not.
HeyGen
FromUS$24
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
An enterprise avatar platform with a Santa page bolted on for December. You type a script and an avatar reads it. The free tier is credits against a subscription that starts around $24 a month, and the output is watermarked until you pay.
Jogg AI
FromUS$60
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
An avatar and talking-photo platform. Same shape as the others — free credits, then a subscription in the region of $60 a month, which is a great deal more than any actual Santa service on this page costs.
ElevenLabs
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
Primarily a voice-cloning company; the Santa page is a lip-sync demo of it. The voice is the best of any tool here and the rest of the experience assumes you are a video producer, not a parent on Christmas Eve. Account required, credits metered.
Vidnoz
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
Gives away sixty credits a day, which is genuinely enough for a short video without paying — the trade is an account, heavy upsell banners throughout, and a watermark on free output.
Revid AI
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
A short-form social video tool aimed at creators publishing at volume. The Santa generator is one of dozens of templates on it, and the account is built for people making thirty videos a month, not one.
AI Studios
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
Two thousand stock avatars, one of which is dressed as Santa. Corporate training and marketing video is the real product; the free Santa generator is the top of a sales funnel for it.
Wondercraft
Not published
- Free version
- Limited
- Signup needed
- Yes
Ranks higher and across more Santa searches than most of the real services, which is worth knowing when you meet it at the top of the results. Underneath it is an audio and podcast production tool; the Santa generator is a landing page for it.
“Not verified” means we have not opened and checked it. It is never a guess.
Booking a visit
Father Christmas
£58 – £99
25 December
Santa comes to the house, has a conversation with the children, hands out a small wrapped treat and reads a story; the visit lengthens with the size of the group. A DBS check is the trust signal operators advertise, and it is worth asking for.
One regional operator publishes a full ladder: £58 for one child and up to twenty-five minutes, £79 for up to five children and thirty-five minutes, £99 for nine or more and forty-five minutes, plus £10 travel and £3.50 per extra child. The national agencies quote privately and publish nothing, so this is one operator rather than a national rate.
No lead time published. Note that the visiting season runs from mid-November to 23 December — that operator does not work Christmas Eve at all.
Common questions
- Who brings the presents, and when?
- Father Christmas, on 25 December.
- Is there a free way to send a greeting?
- Sometimes. Several video services advertise a free tier, but most ask for an email address before showing you the result, so it arrives in an inbox rather than on screen. The table above marks which is which.
- Video, letter or a visit — what can be sent?
- All three exist, and they suit different moments. A video is instant and works up to the last evening. A letter needs a reply, so postal deadlines fall in early December. A visit in person is booked weeks ahead and is the most expensive.
- How early should it be ordered?
- Earlier than feels necessary. Free tiers are seasonal and several close before the date itself. Of the 18 services listed here, 18 were opened and checked by hand — prices and terms in this category change during the season.
- How much does it cost to have someone come to the house?
- About £58 – £99. That is a performer in costume at your door, not a video — the most expensive of the three formats and the one that books out first.
- What if the date has already passed?
- A video still works — most services deliver the same day, and some within minutes. Letters and visits do not: postal deadlines fall in early December and visit slots are gone weeks before.
- Is it the same figure everywhere?
- No, and that is the point of this site. Fifty-six countries, sixty-five gift-bringers, eight different dates. A video from a red-suited Santa is simply the wrong character in a good part of Europe.