Dear Mummy, we were lucky enough to be invited to Marwell Zoo to see Father Christmas. It’s our second time enjoying Marwell’s Christmas Experience and the perfect opportunity to feel festive and see the animals. We walked up to the … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, at the beginning of the year we had an amazing amount of snow fall! I remember making snow angels and building snowmen. So we wanted to recreate the feeling of playing with snow (minus the cold and wetness) … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, we had a really good giggle with a ‘jiggle’ recently when we were sent a Jitterbug to review. Jitterbug is a game from University Games and its a large plastic jittery spider which jumps around. The aim of the … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, I’ve been obsessed with all things Disney ever since I watched my first Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Junior when I was three! Along with all the amazing feature films like Snow White, through to Beauty and the … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, it’s not often we head into the big city but we had the pleasure of attending the UK launch for #imagirlybrand. It’s a brand new Swiss fashion doll that celebrates diversity with realistic proportions and a range of hair … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, it may come as no surprise to you, but daddy is hiding a secret from me. It’s been going on for some time, with wrappers being stuffed down the side of the sofa. My daddy is addicted to … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, while eating our Sunday roast in front of the telly we were watching BBC Countyfile, it was a special show following the adventures of the presenters leading rambles across the UK, joined by viewers and youngsters to help … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, we had the spooky pleasure of visiting Paultons Park for their Halloween event. We’ve been many times before and it certainly is a park for all seasons and never disappoints. It’s great for young families and hosts an immersive … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, you can’t believe how much I’ve grown in the last year and you’ve been searching high and low for a car seat that was practical, stylish but most importantly safe. There are loads of places to find car … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, it seems strange to think about Christmas in the middle of October, however a damp weekend recently led us to Haskins Garden Centre. We were invited down to the West End store in Southampton to check out their … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, we’ve been toying with Vlogtober and Vlogmas for a really long time, debating our participation in daily vlogs since the summer. So we’re going to give it a shot! Oh yes, like a marathon of home movies we’re going … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, I’ve always wanted a fluffy bunny as a pet so I was over the moon to get one to review, not a real one but a ROBOT one. Yes, a robot bunny with fluffy ears and fuzzy tail … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, we’ve been a bit lapse with our weekly photos on the blog recently BUT we’re making amends this week. We’re joining in with Darren at photalife by selecting one of our favourite snaps taken this week. Yes, it’s cake! … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, last weekend I enjoyed some daddy daughter time while you headed up to Manchester for BlogOnToys 2018, one of the highlights of your social calendar. BlogOn is created by bloggers, for bloggers and that’s why you love it. … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, hold onto your horses! We’re out of the starting gates and reviewing some brand new Schleich horses from the Horse Club range in our garden. We were sent four horses to play with and I couldn’t wait to saddle … Continue reading
Dear Mummy, we were lucky enough to be invited to Marwell Zoo to see Father Christmas. It’s our second time enjoying Marwell’s Christmas Experience and the perfect opportunity to feel festive and see the animals.
We walked up to the lovely Marwell House and were ushered inside right on time and took a seat to enjoy the atmosphere. With a mince-pie and shortbread Christmas tree biscuits plus a glass of mulled wine for mummy and daddy and squash for us kids, it really was a lovely start to our adventure. This year the theme was Peter Pan, so the entrance room had been transformed with a London backdrop and a Peter Pan shadow flying above our heads, lots of trees and sign posts plus a big interactive screen showing the names of those on the naughty and nice lists, there were lots of panto-type baddies including Simon Cowell!
After a short wait and being well looked after by Mother Christmas and the helpers we were taken to another room full of Peter Pan props and characters, including Tick-Tock the crocodile! We were greeted by Tinkerbell and Mrs Claus in Pirate Cove. Once we were all settled (along benches for adults and tree stump cushions for us little ones) we were treated to some of the story of Peter Pan, with some puppets, songs, lighting and some awesome audience interaction too.
Once the story was finished Tinkerbell knocked on the magic door and a Pirate appeared to usher us through into the craft room, where we were given a printed cloth sack and lots of fabric pens and stickers so that they could decorate them. The room had been decorated with a big christmas tree with big Candy Canes (which daddy tried to eat) and a big warm fire backdrop. I had lots of fun colouring in my bag with help from my grandma, mummy and daddy. It really was a family effort though I think the adults got more carried away than I did. Once I was done I wrote a letter to Father Christmas and posted it with the help of a friendly elf called Tinsel who played games with me until it was time for me to see Santa.
When it was time for us to go through to see Father Christmas I were SO excited, I ran in to see him and he knew my name already I had no problem settling down on the stool and chatting to him about what I would like for Christmas though I was worried that he might not come if I woke to go to the bathroom. He said he would let me off as long as I went straight back to sleep. It was lovely to see him and even though he said he was busy he made lots of time for me. Even better still, I was given a beautifully wrapped gift which he helped me fit in the sack I had just made so I felt like Father Christmas too (it also made it easier to carry the present as I didn’t want to give it to mummy or daddy.
Flicker, the elf photographer, was on hand to snap some pictures and once we were done we went though to Father Christmas’s temporary control centre where we could see his route, plans and our pictures. There were a couple of options but Daddy opted for the £15 selection where we received prints of our favourite 3 pictures as well as a high-resolution photo sent to my daddy’s email address so we can share them with friends or family.
Once we had finished with Father Christmas we went for a walk around some of the enclosures on route for a lovely bit of lunch. Mummy and Daddy carried on our festive day with a roast turkey dinner at Cafe Graze, which looked tasty and I tucked into my favourite kids snack box with Sandwich, drink, crisps and fruit (mainly because I like the animal boxes they come in). After lunch I took daddy outside to play in the 2 play areas and then on to see the tropical house (I think because the adults were getting cold!) It was lovely to see the different animals there but even more so to see my favourite animals the Leopard and Cheetahs.
The Christmas at Marwell experience gives you full access to the zoo and play areas as well as meeting Father Christmas and his elves, but be quick, dates are selling out fast and there are various slots right up to the 21st December 2018! The experience lasts around 60-80 minutes and is well worth the ticket price of £25 per adult, £28.50 for children (3-16yrs) while toddlers and babies have cheaper entrance tickets.
Love Bella x
Disclosure: We were invited to Marwell Zoo in order to review their Christmas Experience, all thoughts and festive carol renditions are our own! (see the vlog)
