25 Days Christmas Countdown Update (8th - 14th December)

Our second week of Christmas activities went really well.  We had a bunch of Christmassy fun!

8th December - Start special bedtime tradition of reading only Christmas stories from this date! (we have a Christmas treasury, Santa's Letters and The Polar Express book!

We have been reading Letters to Santa (not pictured), The Polar Express and everything in The Christmas Treasury (The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol etc).  It's lovely.  It's getting us totally in the mood for Christmas.

9th December - We are going to get the Christmas Express and go and see Santa!  So excited about this because this year Ollie really knows who Santa is and he ADORES trains.  It is taking place in W5 which is a science museum and they have a whole exhibition area set up as a winter wonderland which you go through by miniature train to get to Santa's Grotto!

Aaaagh amazing! This was so cool and the fact we got to go for free (because we have a season pass).... it was just fabulous.

Ollie and his friend Ivy, waiting in the waiting room!  A station master was beside us and warned the 4 of us to stand back as the train was approaching!

There was real fake snow (fake snow but it was icy cold!) falling and we passed a wonderland full of trees and then entered into a snowy icy cave complete with a penguin and a polar bear!

Around Santa's village.... Santa was waiting for us beside his grotto.  He was waving at us when we got round the corner.  Ollie screamed "Saaantaaaaaa" as soon as he saw him.

How good is the Santa here?  He was soooooo lovely and Ollie was super happy to sit on his knee.  The only downside of our visit was that the train ride was too short and Ollie got upset he couldn't get back on the train for another go.... there were other people waiting for a ride hehe!

10th December - Christmas Party at baby group!

Now quite as good a Santa as the previous one, but Ollie couldn't tell the difference and seemed to like this one a little bit more.  They gave him a great gift at baby group.... he got a little penguim soft toy, but he has a wheaty bag (and lavendar too) that you remove and pop in the microwave for a minute before putting it back inside the toy!  A warm penguin.  He loves it.

11th December - We need to make some more Rudolph cards as we only have 5 so far.... we need to make about 20!

We succeeded in making nearly 20!  

12th December -  Use cookie cutters and paint (stickers) and glitter to make a Christmas picture.

13th December -  Make snowflakes out of paper and glitter.  Hang them all up when they are dry!

I cut the snowflakes and Ollie gittered the cd that is behind them.  They really do look soooooo much better in real life!!  Ollie was impressed when I hang them up.  He kept talking about them sparkling!

14th December - Make a big snowman picture with cotton wool balls and black paint, buttons and anything else we might have.

Unfortunately we do not have buttons (they are in our house in Dublin... Ollie and I are currently in Belfast)... but we had a lovely time sticking the cotton wool balls to the snowman's body.... and Ollie saying "pat pat pat" to stick them down.  We also talked about all of the shapes used to make the snowman.