Haddon Hall at Christmas

haddonhallWow the last few weeks have been busy! My kids seem to positively collect Christmas events and every year there’s even more places they need to be. We’ve had parties galore, dance recitals (the rehearsals were constant!) plays, sleepovers and more! So when a rare non booked day presented itself last weekend I grabbed the opportunity to visit the wonderful Haddon Hall at Christmas time.haddonhall7

For those not in the know (I like to pretend that I am) Haddon Hall is a fortified Medieval house in Derbyshire owned by the Dukes of Rutland. If it looks familiar to you though that’s probably because it features regularly on film and TV. It’s used for just about every production of Jane Eyre (they might as well rename it Thornfield at this rate) and it even featured in the cult classic The Princess Bride!haddonhall3

For the festive season however Haddon has been celebrating the year of the bard with Shakespearean themed decorations (we now have Will Shakespeare hanging on our tree thanks to the giftshop). haddonhall9

haddonhall5Even more festive is the fact that their chapel is dedicated to good old St Nic himself. You can even spot the big man (looking more svelte) saving babies from being eaten in a time of famine amongst the outstanding paintings that adorn the chapel walls. Some of his other laudable (and perhaps slightly less gruesome) deeds are represented as well.haddonhall1

The hall while lovely at any time of year really comes alive at Christmas thanks to the decorations and general jollilility (made up festive word there) that seems to abound.haddonhall2

In between chatting to staff about stunt women throwing themselves off the battlements and just how polite Micheal Fassbender (or Micheal ‘Gorgeous’ Fassbender as they refer to him) the kids had some lovely festive poems read to them while seated on a genuine Tudor bench. haddonhall4

We even caught a performance by the Royal Northern College of music.

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One lovely little addition this year was the opening of the normally shut gardener’s cottage as a Christmas pop up shop, I love the topiary outside 🙂haddonhall10

It’s such a fabulous place to visit and I hope my pics do the hall justice at least a little bit. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re in the area next year.haddonhall8

Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas Review

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Drayton Manor reopened yesterday resplendent in Christmas finery. We’d been counting down the days (in a super excited style) and can now finally bring you our Drayton Manor’s Magical Christmas review.DChris

We arrived just after lunch and made our way through to Thomas Land. Everywhere you turn there’s snow (the non-melting, permanently fluffy variety) glittery lights and Christmas music.DChris4

The kids were particularly excited to try out the indoor ice-rink (called Slide & Glide) and had oodles of fun whizzing (& falling) round the rink. It isn’t a real ‘ice’ rink but one of the plastic gliding kind (I’m not sure if there is a technical name for that kind of rink) but that did nothing to damper their enthusiasm. The ice-rink is one of the few attractions that has an extra charge (£2 per person for 15mins) but it’s certainly a lot of fun.DChris3

Thomas the Tank has had a festive makeover and his track has been strewn with snow. Take a trip on his carriages and you might even catch a glimpse of Santa’s reindeer at the farm park!

The 4d cinema is playing a special 15 minute version of the Polar Express complete with snow that splashes you in the face!

Then every half an hour the large Christmas tree at the centre of the park plays a wondrous light show which looks fantastic once the daylight fades (see the vid below).DChris6

Of course the main event has to be a trip to see Santa in his Castle of Dreams! We had a bit of a wait but thankfully the queue has overhead heaters and there are TV screens playing Christmas songs to keep you amused.

Once at the head of the queue we were greeted by a jolly elf who gave each of the kids a fabulous medal from Santa. Then we went into the castle to meet the big man himself.DChris9

After some very important present talk, Santa took a pic and gave each child a giftbag (I’ll leave the contents a secret!)

After saying our goodbyes (until Christmas Eve) we left to view the pics. Incidentally all photo orders come with a free digital download which I thought was a really nice touch.DChris8

Before the exit there’s an area with seats, various props and crafts, there’s even some Princesses sitting on thrones!DChris2

But our day wasn’t over yet, we made our way to the lake and waited with anticipation for the festive fireworks. I love the fact that they end every day with this festive display, it really ends your time there with style.DChris10

Given that we had high expectations before our visit (which is sometimes a recipe for disaster) we loved our day at Drayton’s Magical Christmas. There’s a fabulous atmosphere in the park and despite the larger rides being closed there’s so much on offer (we missed the snow shows and various performances due to lack of time). See my previous post to get an idea of what else there is to see, I’ve also made a little video which gives you a sneak peek of features like the Christmas tree light show.

The event is on until 31st December For full details and to book tickets visit Drayton’s website.

 

 

 

 

Mike The Knight: A Very Knightly Christmas DVD Review

A Very Knightly ChristmasMy kids are all dedicated Mike the Knight fans so when we heard there was a brand new festively themed DVD called Mike The Knight: A Very Knightly Christmas’ we were first in line to review it!

Mike the Knight: A Very Knightly Christmas

‘It’s Christmas Eve in Glendragon and one of Santa’s reindeer is sick. Mike makes it his mission to save Christmas and does everything he can to nurse the reindeer back to health, making sure he is included on Santa’s ‘nice’ list. Meanwhile, Mr Cuddles is sent on a wild toboggan ride, Squirt gets stuck in a giant snowball and Mike learns that Vikings like to have fun in the snow too.’

This brand new DVD features six fun and festive episodes that my children thoroughly enjoyed. For a parent it is a little hard watching them one after the other (or is that just me?) but if a little quiet time is needed while you sneak away to wrap some presents then I think this is sure to suit. Mike saves Christmas in interesting and ingenious ways as one of Santa’s reindeer gets sick or he’s accidentally spread presents far and wide. As is usual with the program each episode has a happy and heart-warming conclusion. My youngest knight had this to say about the DVD:

Sir N – ‘I love it, it’s cool and very nice too!’

Even better there is also a special bonus DVD in the pack called:

Mike’s Hidden Treasure

This bonus disc contains six additional episodes which are sure to delight Mike fans far and wide. They are not festively themed in anyway but you might well find that a relief!

The RRP is £12.99 but if you’re quick I saw it priced at just £3 on Amazon.co.uk. I think this DVD set would make a great stocking filler or child occupier as it contains over two hours of footage.

Details

For more details about Mike the Knight and his chivalrous adventures visit him online at www.miketheknight.com.