We visited Where's Santa? at the arc Shopping Centre, in Bury St Edmunds, and this is what we thought

Where is Santa?

That is the big question being asked at arc Shopping Centre in the run-up to December 25 as – shock, horror – the big man has gone missing.

Along with illuminations, the carousel and craft cabins, the Bury St Edmunds shopping centre has welcomed a wooden Christmas Cabin this festive season.

The cabin is home to Father Christmas himself and his chief elf Älva, however there is a major problem: Älva cannot find Saint Nick anywhere.

Clara, my six-year-old daughter, and I visited the Christmas Cabin on Saturday to see Where's Santa.

After an efficient checking-in process we were welcomed into Santa's warm and cosy sitting room by Älva.

Stools (for the children) and comfortable benches (for the grown-ups) were provided for visitors during the 20-minute performance, with shows taking place every half-hour from 10am-5pm on performance days.

There's a lot to look at in Santa's sitting room, from a fireplace to his armchair and shelves bearing a multitude of boxes

Once we were comfortable the thoroughly convincing Älva told us – to gasps of shock from some of the younger children – that she had no idea where Father Christmas was as he had been missing since that morning... but asked if we could all turn detective to follow a few clues to see if we could reveal his whereabouts.

Now, it is important not to give anything away but let's just say a pair of slippers, carrots, Christmas wishes and a little dusting of magic all form part of the trail to Santa, while it also becomes clear that Kris Kringle likes chocolate. A lot.

When we did eventually track down the big man (again, his whereabouts cannot be revealed here however his appearance elicited squeals of delight from the children) he further revealed his penchant for sweets before the jovial character handed out a small bag of festive treats from Auntie Pam's sweetshop for each young guest.

Where's Santa is aimed at children aged two to seven and the performance is perfectly pitched for that age range.

Clara was fully immersed in the proceedings, 'helping' Älva at every turn by pointing out clues hidden around Santa's sitting room.

Meanwhile, at 20 minutes the performance is also engaging for the younger toddlers in the room, while not being too long.

It is important for visitors to know this is not your traditional 'meet and greet' with Santa, where children tell him what they want for Christmas before leaving with some sort of present.

No, this is something a bit different but so much more. It is an immersive experience where youngsters become part of the story and have the magic of seeing Santa Claus in his home surroundings.

With tickets costing just £8 for a child and one adult, you can see why it has already been a success, with co-organisers the Theatre Royal (in a partnership with arc Shopping Centre) saying many families had already given the experience five star reviews.

Where’s Santa is bought to life in superb fashion by professional actors Terry Molloy as Santa and Hatty Ashton as Älva.

Tickets are available at www.theatreroyal.org.

Remaining performances are on December 16, 17, 18 20, 21, 22, 23 and Christmas Eve.