Swan Lake

Christmas morning, in the tutu from Santa.

Twas the night before Christmas....

The first item on the agenda was creating a three generation Christmas cake.  It was baked, many weeks ago by my mum, then I made up some icing and Bea decorated it. 

Then we headed off to the Odyssey to meet up with some friends and see Arthur Christmas.

Feeling rather festive, some elves arrived to help with the North Pole Party.

It was a particularly nice touch of Joshua to bring his rudolph blanket.

And Josie sported some very pretty pyjamas...

We decorated Santa cookies for the big man himself...

Then we discovered a letter from S.C. in the fireplace.  He suggested we make some reindeer food...

So we did...

Then it was snack time, and on Christmas Eve you can only have cookies and milk*

*unless you don't like milk, then the juice delivery boy brought orange juice...

The we gathered around the Christmas tree to sing jingle bells....

Then it was time to head home (for some, via the RVH)

and remember to leave out your milk and cookies for Santa.

The tragedy of Cindy Lou

We have an elf.

She appears daily to monitor behaviour.

We love her a lot.

Thus it was rather unfortunate when Cindy Lou Who (our elf, named in tribute of that festive chronicle 'the grinch') appeared one evening in a lamp.

Daddy switched the lamp on.  Mummy switched it off.  Several hours later, just as Cindy Lou was about to fly off to the North Pole, she discovered that she was stuck.  Her legs had melted.  One was no longer attached to her trunk, but stuck to the lamp.  The other was only partly severed.  

Mummy pealed Cindy Lou off the lamp and carried her gently upstairs to perform reconstructive surgery with the super glue.  

As a testimony to the dangers of lamps, Cindy Lou has a rather burnt bottom (and one leg is slightly shorter than the other).  Her cute little polar fleece skirt is also slightly charred and the jaunty red snowflakes have melted into red blobs.

I think Mrs Claus will have to get her a new skirt for next year.  If she dares to return.

This near fatal tragedy discouraged Cindy Lou from playing any tricks in the Seath household this year.  Who knows what 2012 will hold for Miss Who?!...

Visiting Santa

We knew Santa was close by because we spotted two of his reindeer.  We were then ushered into a tent, where we were offered some hot mulled punch and Mrs Claus's shortbread.  Santa's helper, Barney then came to show us which path to follow....

The path was beautiful, lit by thousands of twinkling lights.

We passed the giant gingerbread man, the donkeys and the toasted marshmallow dell before we spotted....

...the snow family....  then we were ushered along Sleet Street...

...at the end of which we encountered Santa.

Who obviously terrified Bea.  She was just about able to remind him that she wanted a 'swimming pool Barbie' before accepting a gift, an apple and a packet of seeds from the jolly elf....

We were then handed a hot sausage from the bar-b-que before having a spin (or not) on the carousel.

We then popped into Santa's workshop and stroked one of his Shetland ponys before heading home.

Ho, ho, ho!

The Elf on the Shelf

Seven days ago a little elf appeared in our house.  We had been expecting her, perhaps quietly hoping she might appear, and so when she did we cheered and promptly named her Cindy Lou Who.  The reason for our expectation was that we had been reading "The Elf on the Shelf".  This book, in beautifully illustrated rhyme, attempts to explain how Santa knows who has been naughty and who has been nice.  Apparently, he sends out his elf helpers and they hide in your house and at night, report back to the North Pole.  It is vitally important that you do not touch the elf if you spot it, because then her magic might go and she wouldn't be able to fly back to the Arctic in the evening to tell Santa how good you have been!  The next morning, she appears somewhere different.  This continues until Christmas Eve when Santa confirms his naughty / nice list.

Obviously elves must obey Santa's laws, and he says "No talking" so although she may listen to our stories, she can't talk back.

The arrival of the elf has exposed Bea's desire to follow the letter of the law if not the spirit of it.  She knows that she is not allowed to touch the elf, so on the first day of her arrival, I saw Bea poking her with the end of the attic steps getter downer stick!

I have heard that elves can get up to all sorts of mischief when they come to visit you, but aside from a suspicious tumbling event on the stable roof, I haven't seen any sign of that yet.

When she is going to sleep, Bea will be incredibly quiet, occasionally holding her breath as she tries to listen for Cindy Lou Who flying back to the North Pole.

The saga continues.....

Barnyard Birthday Bash

So,  this is how you host a fabulous farmyard birthday bash.  First you get a cherubic curly haired birthday boy.

Then you get a veritable farmyard of pom poms to allow the development of fine motor skills and the creation of pom pom animals.  Of course all the girls are going to make pigs, as they are pink!

Make sure you have enough animal straws for everyone and hokey it up with a bit of green gingham! (FAB)

Display the birthday cards, making sure they accent the fabulous tea set.

A cow print table cloth stays in theme, but is exceptionally funky!

Farm yard buns made from Percy Pigs and Pals.  A stroke of genius.

Then invite hundreds of little people, toss in some farmyard paper plates and cups and a giant cow balloon...

...serve hot dogs (yeah haw)

And create a farm yard in the garden....

The little farmers are then sent out in their wellies to herd up the animals and put them in the correct pens.  Pink balloon pigs in the pig pen, white sheep in the sheep pen and yellow chicks in the chicken coop.  At this point it may be useful to mention doing this in December makes the balloons so cold they pop on contact, but great fun ensued regardless.

Then rustle up all the kids and bring them back in for buns and desert.

A perfect farm themed birthday cake

It helps that the birthday boy chooses to bring an on theme toy with him to blow out his candles.  He may be young, but he knows how to work it!

Create a big red barn, with a farmyard of animal balloons poking out of the top....

and fill it with rustic wrapped parcels.

I don't know which excited Bea more, the balloon or the parcel.

Anyway, we had a fabulous time at Joshua's party...well done his Mummy and Daddy!

12 hours in the life of Bea

8 am - breakfast with the doggies

9 am - admiring Christmas trees in Victoria Square

10 am - shopping in St Georges Market

11 am - a snowman meringue snack

12 - Visiting the dome in Victoria Square

1 pm - destroying playing with Mummy's Doll's House

2 pm - zzzzzz

3 pm - networking at Joshua's 2nd Birthday Party

4 pm - time for party food and party games

5 pm - consumption of Percy Pig buns

6 pm - teaching Granny Leona how to play on the iPad

7 pm - waiting for Snow White to come on stage

(It was illegal to take an 8 pm photo)

9 pm - schmoosing with the celebrities