Magical Lantern Festival

An event I was waiting to go to since last year so when we got our tickets, I was more excited than the kids. So on Christmas Eve eve, we set out. If you are planning to get there by public transport... don’t. It was a nightmare to get to so where late to our allocated time but was reassured that time doesn’t matter. We finally got there and were faced with a huge crowd so took another 10mins to actually get in.

But once we were in it was nice. I wouldn’t say magical as I was expecting more. Maybe more wow and a more festival feeling like music? Chiswick Gardens is a beautiful setting and loved how the walking trail allowed us to explore the grounds although very dark. There was only one way so it meant we saw all the lights and don’t miss anything. The way they have created these designs is truly mind blowing. 

There were few stalls spotted around during the walk which allowed us to take a breather as the kids were a bit tired from another long day already. 

When we reached the end, we thought we could enjoy the funfair rides but disappointed that they were just 3 rides around so just did the swings and went. 

Overall, it was good and happy to tick it off the list but wouldn’t go back. My kids, aged 8 and 5, enjoyed some of it and just wanted to get on with it so not sure if it was more for adults than kids. 

Under the Christmas tree: our visit to Kensington Palace

Under the Christmas Tree: Celebrating Christmas at Kensington Palace

As you probably gathered, my eldest is a huge fan of history! So when I came upon this event where they get to see how Queen Victoria celebrated her Christmas, we had to go!

Located in Kensington Gardens just off Hyde Park, it was easy to get to from Harrow to Queensmead and a short walk from there. The tickets were cheap and so an educational day out when money is tight!

When we got there, we went straight to reception to ask what other activities there were on for the kids on the day. There was a trail which Mahi got really involved in and made him explore all the rooms. He was asking me lots of questions about what he saw so this was a brilliant way for little ones to engage. My not-so-little-one was in charge of the ‘Time Explorers’ bag which let her explore the King and Queen’s quarters and expand her knowledge and love for history.

When we arrived, the timing was great as we heard that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was going to make an appearance in the family room. Now, the family room was where Queen Victoria was born and while we were waiting, the kids played with some Victorian toys and Mahi was amazed at the huge doll house that Queen Victoria actually played with! Soon Queen Victoria arrived and we all had to bow for her. Both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria told us how they spent Christmas with their 8 children. We also got to play some games with them! Before you know 30mins flew past and off they went.

That also lead us to now visit the rest of the palace. Lucky was busy with her binocular to look for some answer to the ‘Time Explorer’ trail she was doing so me and Mahi were playing on old board games as well as watching Victorian ghosts dancing around.

There was also an arts and crafts activity going on from making cornupias and making zoetrope. It was such fun to make and right up the alley for Mahi who is the extremely arty/crafty person in our house! With our goodies, we visited the numerous rooms before heading to the Diana exhibition.

As me and Lucky are huge admirers of her, w head to see this exhibition which concentrated on her fashion and it for us all emotional. Reading the stories behind some of her iconic dresses and seeing them was  breathtaking. Even Mahi was choosing which dress he liked and was excited to show me around the dresses he loved the most! There was event a little film about Diana which I think if Lucky and me were left go see it for a long time, we would have been crying at the loss of her. A stunning exhibition.

Our whole mid morning was done. As it is a small palace  3 hrs was more than enough for us including all the activities that were going on. 

If you want to make a whole day out of it, you can play in Diana’s Memorial Park, go for a swim (if going in warmer weather)or boating in the Serpentine and explore Hyde Park. The Royal parks have always got events going on too so keep an eye on their website! Of the weather is horrid then there a nice indoor ice rink and bowling alley not too far from Queensway station! Queensway has also got plenty of places to ear offering various cuisines!

A great visit for people on a budget!

Golden Hinde Christmas Party

On Saturday morning, we went aboard the Golden Hinde for their Christmas Party! Located behind Borough Market near London Bridge, another piece of history is tucked away! 

This beautifully restored replica ship was an exploration ship captained by Sir Francis Drake and travelled to Asia and Americas. We loved reading the story behind this replica ship before we were welcomed aboard by sailors.

As it was a chilli morning, the crew warmed up the kids in a fun way which the kids loved. Children from all ages were there and getting involved. We were then invited on the main deck for storytelling and songs all about Christmas. Thanks to a very challenging treasure hunt, we discovered every nook of the ship which Mahi and Lucky enjoyed! I enjoyed it but my back didn’t since I had to duck most of the time to fit in places 🙈 Once we found the treasure, the kids had their prizes through a lucky dip! Once that was done, we went to visit St Nicholas in his beautiful cabin! He was dressed in his beautiful robes. He gave each child a present and had a very nice chat with the kids!

Throughout the whole party, there were snacks available and the crew kept the kids entertained by playing lots of games such as hot potato and Simon says. Overall, a great 2 hours was spent on board.

If you want to make a day out of it around the area, you can visit Borough Market which the kids loved as they were fish markets with live lobsters and lots of stalls with free sample. 

Just near the ship there’s a little museum called the Clink Museum linked to the London Bridge experience so not for the faint-hearted. We only found out about this museum when we were walking around so couldn’t fit it in but will definitely return!

The Golden Hind does lots of events during school holidays. If you are within a budget it’s the perfect place to go!

Mudchute Farm and Park

Nestled in East London, we visited this farm for their Christmas festivities over the weekend. Our family tradition is to visit a farm over Christmas and so when we stumbled onto this, we had to go. It was easy to get to and was also free!

Although the event was timed from 2-4pm, all the exciting activities were finishing at 3 which led to a lot of rushing around as we only arrived at 2./0pm. We had to see Santa who was very nice and we loved the whole setting. It was ticketed and came at a cost but also included arts and crafts with elves (we loved seeing little children dressed as elves). The arts and crafts involved card making and ornaments for the Christmas tree. The kids loved it. There was also entertainment from local dance school who were really good!

Once Santa was done, we went to ride on a donkey. It was also costed but reasonable. The kids has a blast on them!

There was fairground rides as well as a lovely Christmas market.

We then visited the farm animals who were a bit rowdy which made the kids laugh so much! We fed the sheep, we saw lamas and saw a variety of pigs including a massive ginger pig which looked like a cow from far! However, the real rowdy animals were the squirrels. Not only were they looking for food and eyeing you up, they also climbed on you! They were really naughty squirrels!

As a whole, we had a great afternoon and glad that we visited although the initial rush. It is worth a visit for when money is tight!

Christmas Bricklive

During the festive period, Lego Bricklive are running a special exhibition on the 2nd floor of the beautiful Saatchi Gallery so obviously we had to go!

With tickets priced at £15 each( £30 of you want to see Santa and get a goodie bag) and 2h15mins worth of fun, this event was great fun! 4 different rooms with 4 different themes, the event is a smaller version of the huge Lego Bricklive show! 

1st room involved lots of races as we get to build our own racing models. Me and Mahi easily spent an hour in there creating and racing against each other. The 2nd room was for us to build amazing, tall buildings. Mahi just wanted to see the models built entirely of white Lego.

The 3rd room was called the Star Wars room and so alongside seeing the models already there, we also built a few spaceships.

The final room was the marketplace but also had a Lego construction for a charity called Fairy Bricks with a small donation to them! 

Overall, the experience was great and once we were done with that we wandered around the gallery and around Sloane Square seeing the Christmas lights!