Picture perfect Christmas

Every year I have this vision of a perfect Christmas and then stress myself out trying to achieve it. I get grumpy when no one is working towards the same vision as me and sob into my Baileys with cries of "it's all gone wrong".

One year, after a huge strop, Stuart banned me from ever cooking Christmas dinner again as I was unbearable. He stuck to it for a year and duly cooked dinner for 8 adults 2 teens and 4 little ones. This year, (there have been a couple of Christmases at my parents in between) he has handed the reins back to me.

Away from the situation I can see how ludicrous it is for me to behave like I do. It is so out of character for me. I'm really not usually that highly strung but some sort of Christmas madness comes over me.

We have once had the perfect Christmas though.

Callum was about 1. After a small stocking, we got up and went downstairs for scrambled egg, smoked salmon and champagne, as is our tradition. We then opened tree presents. Following which we headed to the local for a bit of Christmas spirit by their lovely warming log fire. After a couple, we walked back home and Stuart started on the starter of goats cheese and red onion tarts. I cooked the main of roast duck and roast veggies. The gravy reduction didn't turn out but it didn't matter, all was chilled. A while later we had pudding. I don't remember what we did that evening but I do remember feeling chilled out and really enjoying it. So much so I want to try to recreate it this year.

This does worry me as we all know it's impossible to identically recreate an event second time round so I'm trying to tell myself to relax and to have an idea of what I want to achieve but ultimately to remember the reason why it went well was because I was relaxed.

To also remember, it's not about me anymore, it's about the kids. It's about making sure they enjoy it. That the day is full of happy memories and magic for them.

 

What is important is that I am with the people I love and that is all it really takes to make a Christmas perfect.

Visit to Santa

Today we went to see Father Christmas. We've been to a few over the years.

We first took Callum when he was about 2 and knowingly too young to understand about Christmas but my reasons at the time were to kind of introduce him to Santa early enough to get used to him in the hope he wouldn't be scared of him later on. It was in our local garden centre in Godalming and was very awkward following Santa's opening line of "well think this visit is more about Mummy and Daddy rather than you" followed by some uncomfortable small talk! 

My least favourite Santa was the following year where we payed £15 for Callum, followed by £5 each for Stuart and I, to go to see him at Loseley House nr Guildford. The actual event was ok, few animals in the yard in a kind of nativity scene, but the visit itself didn't stand out enough for me to remember it but what I do remember is the rubbish present Callum got. It looked like a dog toy, it was a soft toy monkey (I think) rattle squeaky toy thing. Something you would expect for a baby not a 3year old and it barely cost a fiver. It was not representative of where our £20 had gone. I saw other boys walking around with these kind of noise maker toys, the kind you used to get a football matches I think. They spun round and made a racket. Don't get me wrong, what parent would wish for one of them but it certainly would've been more age appropriate for Callum. But bless Callum, he loved that monkey dog toy because Santa gave it to him. Our expense didn't stop there either as we foolishly splashed out for a polystyrene cup of hot chocolate and a mince pie which set us back a small mortgage too. Think the whole disappointing event cost us £30.

Since then, I won't settle for a mediocre Father Christmas, and tend to go on recommendation or previous experience. 

The first year we moved to Bournemouth we were told how great the Father Christmas was at Adventure Wonderland, the nearby low level theme park. The tickets were expensive but we got discounted tickets so couldn't complain. We went with much anticipation and excitement following my mum and sister's glowing reviews and an insistence from my elder sister that it really was the real Santa.

She informed me after the event that it wasn't the same Santa as usual and both my mum and sister agreed it wasn't as good as when they had been before. Again, Callum's present was a bit meh, but my nephew got a good gift. 

(It hits me at this point how materialistic I sound but the bottom line is that I expect to get what we pay for, with a gift that represents the amount we've paid for tickets (or would've paid if we paid full price) and a Santa that looks the part and tries to engage with the kids - we still build it up and follow it through for Callum even if I do consider them substandard, and he has never complained though did look envious of his cousin's marble run that year).

Anyway, the next year we went to a different place I'd heard so much about. Stewarts Garden Centre in Christchurch. This time it didn't disappoint. Father Christmas was great, the elves were lovely and really took the time to speak to Callum at his level, there was a winter wonderland scene while we waited and he got a great present, a helicopter where the propeller rotated when you pulled the string. Perfect for 5 year old Callum. And the reindeer, how could I forget? They had real reindeer!

So thrilled was I to have found a fab Santa's Grotto, I couldn't wait to book it the next year. But every other Dorset parent appeared to have had the same idea and got there before me so we didn't visit Santa that year.

This year I was determined not to miss Santa again so, in the last week of November, I though I would see if the tickets were being advertised. They were and, incredibly, every weekend running up to Christmas and the few days before Christmas were already fully booked. I'd missed out again. Gutted!

Bit all was not lost because a twitter friend told me they had managed to get tickets for their other store 20 minutes away in Broomhill. I held my breath as I looked online. Success! I managed to get the last 2 weekend tickets. 12.30 and 12.45 the next Saturday coming.

Would it be just as good as we had experienced before in the Christchurch store? 

We needn't have questioned it. It was great. The Father Christmas didn't look as perfect but he was very nice and sounded great (though Millie wasn't so sure). The gifts were excellent. They had real reindeer too and the elf was just as lovely.

Below are a few photos from today's visit and also a photo of the photo they took last time we went and one of the lovely elf from that same visit. We didn't purchase the photo this year because Millie was a little unsure and so I was trying a little too hard to get her to feel comfortable (I looked deranged). This post isn't in anyway sponsored and is just a post off my own back but I would definitely recommend either location of Stewart's Garden Centre for next years Santa's Grotto. Just don't book until I've got our tickets!!!

Silent Sunday

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Its getting to that time of year again. Christmas! I blogged about my thoughts on Christmas over on t’other blog which is here if you want to read it.

Like the majority of children that celebrate this time of year, I loved Christmas growing up. When my siblings and I were kids the excitement started on Christmas Eves when we would have a bath and get dressed in our brand new Christmas ‘jimjams’, eat our chocolate money in front of the Christmas tree while my Mum took her annual catalogue of photos for the Christmas album.

Then we used to go to bed nice and early (had to be before midnight or Father Christmas wouldn’t come) and lay there willing ourselves to sleep so he wouldn’t pass our house by but the excitement being all too much.

On Christmas morning, it would be a competition to see which of my brother, sister or I could wake up first and whoever it was would run into the others’ bedrooms shouting “he’s been, he’s been” wielding our stockings. It used to really annoy me that I could never wake up first and my brother or sister always used to win until the year, I finally woke up first…but because my brother and sister are 7.5 and 8.5 years older than me, respectively, by this stage they were well into their teenage years and used to start the ‘cheer’ on Christmas eve and lay in as long as possible on Christmas morning. So there’s me running in to wake them up and they weren’t bothered any more and shooed me away!

Then, as we all grew up and moved away from home, Christmas lost a bit of its magic for me. Instead of sharing it with my family I chose to share it with my friends and/or my boyfriend for a few years.

But now that magic is back – now that we have our own children. Especially this year, as Callum will be 4. Christmas meant something to Callum last year, he got the excitement and Father Christmas but this year is even better because he remembers last year and knows what is about to happen again. On top of that, he has a baby sister to share it with – not that Millie will have a clue what is going on or will remember for next year.

We have already taken Callum to see Father Christmas. We took him to see him at Stewarts Garden Centre in Somerford, Christchurch, yesterday. It was the first year that Callum hasn’t been scared of him. He was a little shy but he stood there on his own in front of Father Christmas (we were about 2 ft away in the room with him) and nodded to all of his questions. He happily went to sit next to him for a photo and said “and then you’ll come to my house” as we were leaving. He voluntarily spoke to Father Christmas! This is huge! Callum was absolutely thrilled with his helicopter present too!

Aside from the bar humbugness of the Christmas shopping (which I’ve very nearly finished thankfully) and the fear of whether I am going to survive cooking Christmas dinner for 11 (6 adults, 2 older children and 3 younger children), I can’t wait for Christmas day and seeing Callum’s excited eyes once he has seen Father Christmas has been, eaten his mince pie and drunk his Baileys (yes, Baileys in this house!!) and filled his and Millie’s stocking full!