December 1st arrived and with it came a letter from the Elf on the Shelf, to say he is back, sent by Father Christmas to check on the grandchildren. For those not in the loop, the festive toy began as a children's book in the US in 2005, telling the story of how Father Christmas sends a "scout" elf to check whether children were being "naughty or nice".
Every day in December, once the children are in bed, the elf gets up to mischief and then pops up somewhere new when they wake up in the morning. Children can chat to the elf but can't touch him otherwise he will "disappear forever".
These elves are having far too much fun.
Caroline makes the best mincepies - orange juice in the pastry - must get the recipe.
A favourite with the grandchildren in December - Reindeer Pancakes.
And talking of food. We have had so many delicious meals out this festive season with our lovely friends and family. I won't bore you with all of them, but Phil treated me to an extra special meal at Vervaine in Milford-on-Sea. We went with Alan and Janet and had the six course Christmas tasting meal. What an experience! This was our first visit, we had planned to visit many times but were not sure if it was a fish shop or a restaurant. You walk through the fish shop to a lovely dining room at the back. I won't give away the secrets of the individual dishes but we started with "thermal mulled wine" - hot and cold at the same time and ended with licorice ice cream and sherbet - try it!!
Presentation was superb and David Myke's imagination is amazing. Trademark idiosyncratic originality, conjuring the traditional flavours of Christmas in quite bizarre formats - a memorable meal but NOT cheap!
So lucky to be lucky in the draw to win tickets to see the Nativity plays. I think Nativity plays are more entertaining than any other live performance.
Emmie was Mary, and such a beautiful Mary, Chloe an innkeeper, a pivotal role and Jamie a cow - all dressed up in wonderful costumes. When my children were small, old tea towels (for the head) and nighties were all that was required, whatever the role. Nobody bought Three Kings outfits online or even camel outfits! As a mother, and now a Nanna, I have had more entertaining and emotional experiences watching nativity plays than almost any other live theatrical event. I've seen bored shepherds poking each other with their "crooks". The unpredictability of very young children always guarantees a laugh. Well done. Sorry no photos - you know the rules!! We also enjoyed Emmie's school carol concert. I do love a good carol concert.
Grandad missed a lot of Alun and Caroline's Nativity and Carol Concerts because of working away but he is quickly learning the ultimate Christmas concert rules. The grandchild and compatriots climb onstage, and then shower you with a smile that makes it all worthwhile, then the little boys and girls sing their hearts out - Brava and Bravo. Over the years, I have accumulated a deep and profound wisdom on how to survive your children's and grandchildren's school Christmas concerts. The key to the whole event is seating. Let's face it, if you are standing at the back of the gym, up against the wall, the delight and pride of your life will be but a vague blob in the distance, and you may wind up waving madly to someone else's child because you cannot find your own. So get there early. Some experts would advise forty-five to sixty minutes before the start times and discuss which side you should sit, and double check left and right with drawings!!!!!!
Every December, a row of seven terraced houses on Byron Road in Barton-on-Sea is transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland. The Christmas lights on Byron Road certainly are a remarkable sight. The residents spare no expense in decking out their homes from roof to ground in lights. Musical, moving figures adorn the front gardens, which are open for all to explore. A trip to see this extraordinary display of festive love was a priority for us. The road was full of children, gaping at the illuminations and dancing along with singing Father Christmases or polar bears. The good folks of Byron Road have raised over £50,000 for various charities with their Christmas lights and the display has attracted visitors from all over the world. Dancing snowmen and polar bears, interactive nativity scenes and musical reindeer are just a few of the pleasures to experience on this fun-loving terrace. It really is a festive assault on all the senses.
We met up with the family for a visit to see Father Christmas at Kingston Lacy. There was Christmas music playing whilst we waited our turn and then the excitement of actually meeting Father Christmas. Magical. It was then time to visit the house. The decorations brought it to life and we enjoyed playing at living there. Everywhere was beautiful with Christmas trees in all the rooms. The volunteers are all really friendly too. You could really imagine a wonderful cosy family Christmas, and we all enjoyed the complimentary sherry with shortbread and gingerbread. We had a game of cards and the crafts were very popular with Emmie and Chloe.
We then wandered outside at dusk when the Christmas lights were turned on. Very pretty and we all enjoyed our illuminated walk. The grandchildren loved the fernery and we followed a path with fairy lights along it looking for wooden reindeer.
A new craze sweeping Bournemouth - Paint, Hide and Find a Rock, spread the love and paint a rock!
Nanna did these - who will find them?
And some we found whilst out walking.
And then it was Christmas Eve. So fortunate to be invited to Alun and Gemma's and to share the excitement with Emmie on the night before Xmas.
Such a good girl, slept until 7.45 a.m. so Father Christmas left her soooo many toys.
For us another stunning, fabulous Christmas Day experience. Gemma cooked a truly delicious meal with lovely little touches on the table making Christmas Day special. It was such a fun day and Gemma and Alun worked so hard. Thank you. We really enjoyed our Christmas Day and appreciate the effort you put into it.
On Boxing Day it was off to Caroline's for another excellent meal and fun with the grandchildren and their toys. We decided to go for a walk to feed the ducks and Caroline said "I have read you should only feed Ducks lettuce instead of "junk food". I said OK but let's take something else as well in case they don't like lettuce. It was hilarious. They swam so quickly towards us but as soon as they saw the lettuce, especially the drakes, they actively started peddaling backwards and turned away from us.
Well we tried. Ducks obviously have food preferences just like children. The drakes prefer burgers and fries!!!!!! They all turned up their nose (er...beak) at lettuce.
CHRISTMAS just wouldn't be Christmas without a good old, family pantomime. Jack and the |Beanstalk at Bournemouth's Pavilion Theatre was just that. No panto would be complete without an all-star cast, and this year's included S Club 7's Rachel Stevens - lots of appreciative applause from the Dads in the audience! Children's TV presenter Derek Moran and Coronation Street and Holby City actor Mark Moraghan. It must be hard to come up with new tricks when staging these traditional pantos year after year, and there's no doubting the audience love the familiar jokes and routines. But new ideas are also welcome and one of the highlights of the 2017 production was the clever 3D section, which had children and adults engaged in equal measure. Pure feel-good family fun.
Just after Christmas Caroline and Mike were invited to a wedding in Wales so Chloe and Jamie and their bikes came to stay for a couple of days. To work out some of the Christmas excitement we took them to Dudley Avenue Recreation Ground in Hordle. There is an enclosed play area with the usual swings, slide and climbing frame (all crafted out of wood) but next to the play equipment is a small track for little people to cycle around. They adored this track, especially as it has been kitted out like a proper road, complete with pedestrian crossing, petrol filling station, police car, a stop watch (for timing yourself round) and road markings. There is also a BMX track at the back of the large field and Chloe and Jamie loved running up and down the hills. They were the only children there. To find this hidden gem, head to Stopples Lane in Hordle Village. Once you've turned down Stopples Lane, you'll find Dudley Avenue about halfway along. The playground is right at the end of Dudley Ave. It was then back home to watch Frozen as they were exhausted. Result.
Storm Caroline brought lots of snow with her for Katie in Birmingham but sadly none in Bournemouth.
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