I went to Winterland Wolverhampton's VIP night and found festive fun and food - but also things to improve

Winterland Wolverhampton has officially opened its doors.

A glittering Christmas tree stands tall in the centre adorned with festive decorations, and Santa and his elves are ready to meet and greet the visitors. The square was dazzling with colours and bright lights everywhere. 

I was invited to come and have a first glimpse of Wolverhampton's own Christmas wonderland, and had high expectations.

Although we had fun, some aspects made it more like a Winter blunder-land.

As we walked in we were offered a mince pie and a hot chocolate from one of Santa's elves, which was a lovely touch. I think he needed a little more training at the North Pole though, as he didn't seem to know the answers to any of my questions - are there any food and drink stalls? Are there any toilets? He didn't know.

I did actually find the toilets - a row of six portaloos, which you can imagine are quite difficult to navigate in the dark and also quite smelly. But they did the job.

Now onto the fun. The highlight of the fair had to be the ice-skating rink and the wonderful shows that were put on there by the Telford Ice Skating Club, who were extremely talented and great to watch.

Later on in the evening the rink opened to visitors, which was met with lots of excited children. Ice rink admission for kids costs £12 each, and £15 for adults.

There were some fun rides, similar to what you would find in your regular fair like a fun-house, dodgems, and a mini rollercoaster - and of course there were the classic hook-a-duck and hoop-throwing games too.

There could have been much more in the way of games, in my opinion.

A range of food was also on offer, from stone-baked pizza and pasta to the classic summer fair burger vans and Nutella doughnuts. There was a German market-style bratwurst station too with a swinging grill full of big, juicy-looking sausages.

Entry to Winterland Wolverhampton is free, which gives a wonderful opportunity if you just want to go and walk around and enjoy the lights.

Food and rides were not cheap - with rides costing around £5 per person, per ride - but it was good fun.

The first night saw what seemed like 100 visitors, but that is sure to pick up on the weekend. I recommend going down in the afternoon or early evening and having a go on the spinning chairs and the ice rink.

Winterland Wolverhampton is open every day from Friday, November 29. Visit on weekdays between 3pm and 9pm, and weekends between 12pm and 10pm.

It is also open between December 20 to 29, apart from on Christmas Day, from 12pm to 10pm, and December 30 to January 5 from 12pm to 9pm.