Photos with Santa at Britannia Mine

Photos With Santa is the Christmas-themed event at the Britannia Mine Museum. It takes place at the historic site on a couple of weekends in December.

In 2023, the event took place on the weekends of December 9th and 10th and 16th and 17th.

At this event, visitors to the former copper mine get their pictures taken with Santa Claus. Admission also includes hot chocolate as well as access to the lower museum exhibits and gold panning.

Note: With Photos With Santa, you can pay just for the Photos With Santa experience (which also includes hot chocolate and access to exhibits in the lower level of the museum, like the gold panning). If you pay for regular admission to the entire site, however, like you would on a regular day, the photos and hot chocolate are included at no extra charge!

For details about the event and to book your spot next Christmas, visit the Britannia Mine Museum website.

Photos With Santa at Britannia Mine

In December each year one of the buildings at the Britannia Mine Museum gets decorated with Christmas displays. There are lots of beautiful Christmas trees and other decor to admire. Inside the building is also where visitors can visit Santa Claus and get their photos taken.

To see Santa in 2023 visitors had to book a five-minute timeslot. Guests reserve their Photos With Santa experience when paying online, but that doesn’t include the underground mine tour or Boom! exhibit. Access to those attractions only comes with general admission to the museum.

In 2023, if you paid for regular admission to the museum on the Saturdays and Sundays of December 9th, 10th, 16th or 17th, you got the Photos With Santa experience for no extra charge! If you just wanted the photos (and complimentary hot cocoa and access to just the lower site exhibits at the museum), however, you could pay for just that. You could choose.

For the attraction’s official website, click Britannia Mine Museum.

Where is Britannia Mine?

The museum’s address is #1 Forbes Way in Britannia Beach. It’s about 40 minutes north of West Vancouver and 15 minutes south of Squamish.

The Photos With Santa activities typically take place in the Machine Shop building which is located not far from the outdoor gold-panning area.

How Much Does it Cost?

In 2023, on days when Santa was on-site, admission to Britannia Mine cost either regular admission or $35 for a family.

If you didn’t want to do the tour and see Boom!, the Photos With Santa experience cost $35 per family of up to five people this past Christmas. Each additional person in the group cost an extra $5. For this price you could spend up to about five minutes with Santa Claus and take a free photo. There were also complimentary cups of hot chocolate. After visiting Santa, for the $35, you could explore the museum grounds and try panning for gold as well.

We highly recommend the guided tour and Boom! To do these, however, you need to pay full admission.

For tickets and the attraction’s official website, click Britannia Mine Museum.

Museum Admission Rates

Regular admission to the museum (as of December 2023) is the following:

Adult (ages 18+) – $39.95
Senior (ages 65+) – $35.95
Student – $35.95
Youth (ages 13 to 17) – $30.95
Child (ages 5 to 12) – $21.95
Family (two adults and three children or youth) – $140.00

Children ages 4 and under enter for free. Parking is also free.

Machine Shop at Britannia Mine Museum — The Machine Shop

When Is Photos With Santa?

In 2023, Santa Claus was on-site at the Britannia Mine Museum between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm on December 9th and 10th and 16th and 17th. The museum itself is open seven days a week from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm.

What to Expect at Christmas

Don’t expect to see Christmas decorations and lights all over the grounds of the museum. It’s a huge place and decorating the entire venue wouldn’t be practical. Instead, Britannia Mine typically decorates one of its buildings – the Machine Shop. Inside you’ll find Christmas trees, holiday lights and various Christmas-y displays.

To learn about this and other events at the museum, visit Britannia Mine‘s official website.

Tips & Advice

Below are some suggestions and extra information to help you make the most of your Christmas experience at the Britannia Mine Museum.

Things to Know about the Christmas Activities

TIP #1: If you go to Britannia Mine in December, and you have young children, then go when the Photos With Santa event is happening if you can. For the regular price of admission you can usually get a photo and hot chocolate when offered. The mine is worth visiting any day of the year. It’s not every day though that you get to see Santa, and receive the extra perks.

TIP #2: If just seeing Santa and exploring the grounds, expect to stay for between about 30 minutes and an hour at the museum. If doing everything, expect to stay for between about 90 minutes and two-and-a-half hours.

An Underground Mine Tour at Britannia Mine

Things to Know about the Museum in General

TIP #1: If you get the chance, visit the museum. It’s highly recommended any time of the year. It’s a great museum. Both the underground tour of the mine and the Boom! exhibit are exceptional.

TIP #2: Go on the underground tour and see Boom! if you can. The tour is very informative. On it you’ll go down into the mine and learn all about the mine, its history and mining in general. It’s a fascinating experience! Boom!, meanwhile, is both educational and entertaining. With it you also get to go inside the massive Mill No. 3 building which itself is pretty incredible.

TIP #3: If you don’t want to do the underground tour in December, it’s good to know that you still get access to a lot of the sights at the museum with regular admission. After visiting the big guy in red, you can go into a number of buildings and see the exhibits. You can also watch a short film and try panning for gold. The main things you normally can’t do are go on the tour, go into the mine itself, go into the Mill No. 3 building or see Boom!

TIP #4: Britannia Mine is worth the drive from Vancouver just to see the museum. It’s also a great place to stop when travelling between Vancouver and Squamish or Vancouver and Whistler. To learn about things to do in Whistler, visit the website WhatToDoInWhistler.ca.