Santa and Buddy the elf entertain children at Bury Tesco

The big man in the red suit was in his grotto at the supermarket at Woodfields Retail Park on December 16 and 17 to bring joy to youngsters.

Tesco community champion Wendy Howarth teamed up with Tottington and Bury West Rotary Club to host the free attraction for parents who may be struggling financially to pay for their children to see Santa this year.

With decorations for the grotto donated by events company Nissa’s, named after the woman who runs the business, the attraction looked very festive for the children who visited Santa.

The Christmas attraction was a hit with families (Image: Bury Tesco)

The Santa's grotto attraction was a hit with customers (Image: Bury Tesco)

Nissa said: “I’ve done things for Wendy before and when she contacted me I couldn’t say no.

“It’s incredible, this is (cost of living) a crisis isn’t it and I’ve been there with my own children and and to know that we’re doing such an amazing thing."

Tesco Bury regularly run community events, such a recent toy drive at the store, having received a huge amount of donations.

A store spokesperson said: “I think it’s great for the community because the cost of living crisis is hurting lots of people.

“People who might not have traditionally struggled in the past are now, and if we can help by offering this space for such a great grotto then we should. It's well received by the community, kids love it and parents love it."

Also in attendance at the grotto was Buddy the elf, the main character played by Will Ferrell in the film Elf. He was depicted by Mukhtar Mirza, the community champion at Burnley Tesco.

Buddy helped to offer visits to the grotto to children who were visiting the store as well as performing some famous scenes from the classic Christmas film.

Buddy the elf was also in attendance (Image: Bury Tesco)

Buddy the elf (Image: Bury Tesco)

Mukhtar said: “I’m all up for putting a smile on peoples faces, especially children and if I can make their day, that’s what I’m all about.

“It’s such a pleasure doing this, you get so much satisfaction from seeing people happy and the idea is that they come into the store, and we send them away a little bit happier than when they came in. That’s my motto.”

Families loved seeing Santa (Image: Bury Tesco)

Mrs Claus also made an appearance to give Santa a break and a chance to catch up on some toy making.

A child with Mrs Claus (Image: Bury Tesco)

A child with Mrs Claus (Image: Bury Tesco)

President of Tottington and Bury West Rotary Club, Pat Wall, was also there to make sure that the day ran smoothly.

He said: “We get a tremendous amount of support from the community.

“We have a sleigh which goes out every night but this is the first time we have done a grotto at Tesco so it’s a big experiment for us. But people are so supportive and all the money we raise goes back into the community by way of grants or fund appeals.”