"Tucked away in a quiet corner" of the North East there's a Winter Wonderland which is believed to get even the biggest bah humbug into the festive spirit.
Here you will find the Grinch, Santa's grotto, an ice skating rink and funfair rides, as well as a tipi and an alpine lodge style bar, plenty of food vendors and lots more.
The event, which opened last month, is located at Rainton Arena on Mercantile Road, in Houghton-le Spring. And it is believed that people travel from all across the region to visit the grounds.
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So TeessideLive reporter Miriam Goodman visited Rainton Arena's Winter Wonderland to find out what all the fuss is about and shared her experiences of the event. Here's what she thought:
Even the Grinch would struggle not to feel a little joy when visiting this magical wonderland - he was even there and seemed pretty happy to me.
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Houghton-le-Spring, between Sunderland Durham city, it's an unusual spot for a festive event. You would expect to find something on this scale in a busy town centre where passers-by can stroll in, but it is a location that needs to be sought out - like a Christmas treasure hunt.
Now, admittedly, the weather wasn't great when I arrived on a soggy and drab Wednesday afternoon, but I would advise sensible footwear to deal with the mud-riddled car park. There was an attendant on site to guide you to the best spot, but it could have benefitted from a few more flood lights to help you wading through to the main site in the dark.
The entrance to the site was a little bit inconspicuous, but when you walk onto the main grounds, the sky is alive with the colourful fairground ride lights. There is something quite magical and Christmassy about strolling around on a dark night with the lights, the Christmas tree and the ice rink.
Event-goers were wrapped up for the wet weather but that didn't stop their enjoyment, with one person telling me "the kids are absolutely loving it, I might not be able to get them home". There were lots of fairground rides and attractions on offer with whirling waltzers, dodgems and a huge flying claw on site.
I was pleasantly surprised that the rides weren't as expensive as I had expected, with the most pricey at just £3 per ride - I had imagined that would have gone up significantly since I last visited the fare. This was the case for the food though, and I did think I was going to have to take a mortgage out on the two single cheeseburgers I bought which cost a whopping £10.
It was the same for the freshly prepared deserts, four small sugar donuts topped with Nutella for £5. However, they did taste great and the smell of hot donuts, hot chocolate and mulled wine really does add to the Christmas feel.
I stood and watched as a gaggle of kids enjoyed the skating rink, hanging on to little bunny aids for dear life while one woman expertly skated around them - I felt like I was rink-side at dancing on ice. For those looking to get inside away from the cold, there was a tipi and an alpine lodge style bar complete with fireplaces to keep you warm.
The most magical part of Rainton Arena's Winter Wonderland had to be the Grinchmas Christmas trail, which I was surprised to find was fun for all of the family. The activity event, which is aimed to give the little ones an amazing festive experience, was quite expensive at £22 a ticket per child and £11 per adult and I was apprehensive about whether it would be worth it.
I went with my two-year-old nephew who is just starting to really understand Christmas and I wasn't sure if it would be lost on him - but he loved it. We entered a small building on the site to find Cindy-Lou Who asleep in her bed and our first activity was helping her tidy up the clothes that the pesky Grinch had littered around her room.
We then made our way through to the post office, where the furry green character had made a mess of the Christmas cards, so we sorted them out before moving on to help Cindy-Lou save Christmas and get the Grinch in the festive spirit. Now, this is usually the sort of thing that I wouldn't enjoy, but the actors were brilliant and there were a few risky jokes that the characters made to keep the adults entertained along the way.
With Cindy making a joke about not being able to buy another present for her mam with the wages the post office pays and the Grinch even proclaiming "you thought Boris Johnson was evil, well you ain't seen nothing yet." There were plenty of laughs and kids of all ages seemed to be having a great time.
Overall, I'd definitely say that this charming Winter Wonderland is worth adding to your Christmas list. I would pack a lunch or take a trip to McDonalds on the way to avoid the crazy cost of food, but the event is free entry and will certainly have you feeling festive.
You can find out everything you need to know about Rainton Arena's Winter Wonderland here.
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