Winter Wonderland 2014

The festive season continues as today I finished work early so that we could pick the boys up from school and head over to Bluewater for the Winter Wonderland. We had pre-booked our tickets to see Santa and to do some ice skating. In addition to this the boys went on the indoor snow slide, a carousel, some trampolines, plus all 5 of us went into a giant snow globe. We had an absolutely amazing time and all three kiddies seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. 

 

Brandon wearing his Xmas jumper and posing in front of some of the outdoor Xmas lights at Bluewater.

Joshua wasn't so much interested in the reindeer lights as much as he was trying to establish if they allowed swimming in the water!

We arrived at Bluewater in good time and had some time to kill before our 5pm booking to see the big man in red. So we armed ourselves with a load of tokens and headed off into the Winter Wonderland. First stop was the giant indoor snow slide. Last year I got to ride shotgun with Brandon, no such luck this year as he wanted to go it alone. So for today I was just a spectator. 

Joshua and Brandon on the indoor snow slope.

And they are off, Joshua takes an early lead.

All smiles at the bottom, until he realises the ring has got to be carried all the way back to the top of the slope for another go.

After the snow slope we managed to sneak in to see Santa a little bit earlier than our booking due to it being fairly quiet over there. As per last year the ice palace was pretty amazing and the Ice Queen and Elves really did a great job of interacting with the children prior to them going in and seeing Santa. 

The Ice Palace looked just amazing.

Joshua in a large Father Christmas size bauble.

Brandon in a penguin bauble.

And not to be left out, Holly in a Mrs Claus bauble.

Great shot of all 3 kids in the giant baubles in front of the Ice Palace.

A lot of thought had gone into creating the settings around the Ice Palace.

Joshua pretending to be a snowman.

Then Brandon's turn.

Within no time at all we were in Santa's grotto and the boys were having a good conversation with Santa about being good and what it was they wanted for Xmas. Joshua asked for a West Ham calendar and Brandon asked for hi karaoke machine. Santa gave all 3 of them a really nice cuddly toy reindeer before we got a family picture taken. Amazingly Holly was not in the slightest bit scared of Santa which was surprising given how petrified she was of Blackbeard when we were on holiday.



King Family 2014 - Father Christmas Grotto picture.

After Santa our next activity was a round of Christmas crazy golf!!! I think Joshua won the game in the end and he even score a hole-in-one.

Joshua, Brandon and a large toy soldier.

2nd hole and Joshua sinks a put passed the penguin.

Brandon about to tee-off under the rocking horse.

Joshua lining up his putt.

Me and the kiddies in front of a giant sized Santa.

After the golf Joshua wanted to go on the high trampolines whilst Brandon went on the carousel. Unfortunately Holly could do neither. The trampolines looked really cool as they were located right in front of a a giant Xmas tree and overlooked the ice-skating rink.

Joshua almost reaching the dizzy heights of the Xmas tree using the high trampolines.

And back down to earth...................

Brandon on the festive carousel.

Holly had to miss the trampolines and carousel so she sat in her buggy and cuddled in new reindeer teddy from Santa.

Next on our agenda was our hour slot which we had booked for ice skating. We booked a family ticket this time so that me and Tina couldn't alternate with going on the ice with the boys whilst the other person sat on the sidelines and entertained Holly. Brandon was by far the better skater out of the two boys and very quickly got the hang of the ice skating without the need for one of the balance penguins.



Duck to water, well Brandon to ice.

Joshua didn't quite have Brandon's confidence on the ice and remained pretty close to the barrier at all times.

Nice action shot of Joshua/

Joshua, Tina and Brandon on the ice.

Towards the end of the session a couple of penguins became available so the boys decided to have a go anyway. If nothing else it allowed them to get more speed as opposed to when they are free skating.

Joshua seemed much happier with a penguin. He wouldn't accept that Brandon was a better skater than he was.

The last activity on our agenda before heading over to the food court for some well earnt grub was the giant snow dome. All 5 of us entered into the dome and had an absolute blast chucking the fake snow over each over. Or at least we were having fun until Joshua somehow swallowed some or got some stuck in his throat and was almost gagging. The fake snow got absolutely everywhere, down your shirt, in your hair, stuck to your socks....... I am going to be picking up bits of fake snow around the house for the next few days!!!

Holly and Tina in the giant snow dome.

Brandon bouncing around in the snow dome.

Joshua trying to wipe some snow out of his mouth. We kept telling him to keep his mouth shut whilst he through handfuls of the snow up in the air (or on my head).

Holly seemed to really enjoy the snow dome and was fascinated by the fake snow. Lets hope she gets to see the real stuff this year.

Brandon starting to look a little tired and ready to hit the food court.

Family picture of all 5 of us in the snow dome. Lovely shot of Holly looking up and trying to grab some of the snow.