Tots100 and little tikes are hosting a blogger giveaway to relive your favourite Christmas memory.
For my favourite festive memory there is one that sticks out, Christmas 2012. In the space of 6 months I had given birth to Jack, spent some time in hospital due to problems breast feeding, lost my Dad and moved house. So that Christmas morning was one filled with many emotions but my focus was on my boy.
At only 6 months old most of Christmas went over Jacks head but he enjoyed opening his presents (just the opening mind) and staring at the sparkly Christmas tree.
Santa had been very kind to little Jack, with a brand new baby walker, a massive pile of books, a big snuggly teddy bear and lots of other goodies nestled under the tree.
One of my favourite photos are of him waiting patiently for his first taste of Christmas dinner, he really enjoyed it and was happily chewing away on a parsnip for most of the meal.
After so much stress it was wonderful to spend the day helping Jack explore his new toys, his cheeky grin washed my troubles away, even if it was only temporary. It really helped to put so much focus into making Jack’s Christmas the best it can be and make all his dreams come true. Two Christmases later and I am still on my mission to make his Christmas a magical one.
We spent the evening snuggled up in our new pyjamas watching festive movies and if I am honest I was a little sad when J’s bed time rolled around but my little boy was all tuckered out and didn’t need much fuss on his journey to dream land.
As a child we never want Christmas to end and that Christmas neither did I.
Do you have any Christmas memories that hold a special place in your heart?
“Merry Christmas! This post is my entry into the Tots100/Little Tikes 12 Days of Christmas competition.”
With all the trouble and strife happening in our lives at the moment, festivities haven’t really been thought about.
Daddy works four days a week and stays at his parents house to save on petrol, so our time together as a family is precious. So when we saw that the local Christmas fair was in town on one of Daddy’s days off, we jumped at the chance to let away worries float away for some good old fashioned family fun.
We told Jack we were going to see Santa and all the way into town he sat in the back of the car chanting “Santa, Santa!”.
That was of course until we had parked up, queued for 20 minutes and paid our donation to the Rutland fire service, then came the tears and “Mummy don’t leave me” (even though we all went to see Santa together). Still I guess this years picture with Santa is an improvement on last years.
Grumpy Christmas photo 2013.
After his terrifying experience with Saint Nick, the very next thing Jack saw lifted his mood straight away, a merry go round with a big shiny red car. Jack has never been able to go on any rides as he has always been to small for the ones at Grantham’s fun fair, but this time he was a perfect fit.
Naturally he chose the shiny red sports car over the bus, taxi’s and strangely ducks (a man of taste in my book) and with Mummy crouched beside him off we went, brum brum!!
Now from my point of view it was a pretty boring 5 minutes of going round and round and trying to look excited as we raced past Daddy for the 17th time, but for little Jack it was heaven. He whooped and zoomed and beeped the horn, and the smile on his face was a picture.
As you can imagine he took a little coaxing to climb off and explore the rest of the fair but soon he realised it wasn’t the only ride there.
Soon J was zooming down the helter skelter, once with Mummy and then with Daddy, scanning all the goodies on the stalls and enjoying freshly baked cakes with gingerbread latte.
A little further up was a shooting game, you know the sort ‘knock all the targets down to win a prize’. Usually we walk straight past but Jack spotted the Spider man stuffed toy they had and that was that.
“Daddy, Daddy, Spider man!!”
Spider man cost 10 tickets so that meant Daddy had to have 2 goes and hit every single target, the challenge was on.
With Jack and I cheering him on Daddy hit the first 5 targets without a single miss, on his second turn a crowd was starting to form with Jack reminding them all,
“That’s my Daddy!”
5 more targets down and one happy boy clutching his brand new Spider man stuffy, Daddy was most certainly the hero of the day.
Next we rode the Disney express and Spider man and Brewer were treated to their own seats while we chugged round and round. We were lucky enough to sit right at the front, so Jack was able to ‘drive’.
By now all this excitement and new experiences had left us all a little hungry and J quite tired, so off we went in search of some food. Jack and I shared a hot dog and Daddy had a massive burger, they had reindeer burgers but it just didn’t feel right eating Rudolf in front of now very festive toddler.
At every 10 minute interval we would pass stands selling light up swords and light sabres but one set up next to the burger stand caught Jacks eye, a stand selling a light up Mickey mouse, fibre optic, noise making object that cost 5 whole pounds! Naturally she sold it the moment she handed it to him when she noticed him staring, clever move lady.
With our pockets feeling considerably lighter and a very tired boy we set off back to the car, with a small break to dance with a giant Brewer we found.
As we trudged back past Santa, we noticed that he had now been joined by some real life reindeer, which captivated J. Having just given Jack a few lessons in Christmas 101 (Who is Santa, what does he do and who are his reindeer), he looked the reindeer straight in the eye and said “Hello Blitzen!”
Cue many awww’s and adoring looks from the crowd surrounding the reindeer.
Back home we had to peel a sleeping toddler out of his car seat and straight into his pyjamas and up to bed, not forgetting spider man of course.
I suppose this post is just a small reminder that no matter how stressful life may be, try to make some family time, believe me its worth it.
So our friends over at Toadstool have set a challenge to bloggers to write their children’s Christmas list and explain why they would like each item. Those who participate will be in the running to win £300 worth of toys for Christmas and the opportunity to become a toy tester in 2014.
So with that in mind here is Jacks Christmas list.
I have always been a lover of wooden toys even as a child myself. They last longer, survive the many drops and bashes that come with being a childs toy and are much more tactile than plastic toys. Toadstool pride themselves on their eco friendly toys and as an extra bonus all their packaging is recyclable.
As a 1 year old boy its pretty obvious that Jack would be fascinated by everything that goes and his favorite is trains. Brio are a brilliant company that make excellent quality toys and their train sets are second to none. The Brio farm set is a great starter set for Jack as it incorporates two of his favorite things, trains and animals. And lets face it, what is Christmas morning without watching your toddler play with a train set? :). Encouraging creative play and nurturing imagination this toy would be perfect for Jack and his cousins to play with for hours and hours.
Another great wooden toy that is robust enough to withstand a toddlers heavy handed approach to play. With a pirate crew, treasure chest and cannon Im sure Jack will be perfecting his ‘ay ay Captain’ and forcing Mummy to walk the plank in no time. This toy would be perfect for my water obsessed son who loves role play and creating his own adventures and I am safe in the knowledge that he is learning fine motor skills and widening his imagination at the same time. This would be the perfect toy for keeping my little man occupied after Christmas dinner.
As a toddler Jack loves nothing better than pushing and pulling and toys that feature balls and tracks are perfect. The HABA my first ball track – basic sounds pack would appeal to Jack as it features a bell in the ball, a metallophone connecting block and a sound tube block meaning Jack can make music as he plays. Jack has inherited my love of music and making sounds and can explore the different tones and notes he can make by rolling the ball over and over. This would be perfect for Christmas morning fun with his cousins although it may send the rest of the family a little loopy after a while.
With 3 magnetic carriages and chunky, tactile animals Jack can spend Christmas day developing his imagination and creating many adventures for the barnyard animals. Whether they are exploring his travel cot or discovering a lost brussel sport under the dinner table Jack is sure to be entranced with this train set. Janod trains are compatible with bigjig and brio train sets meaning Jack can have endless adventures far beyond Christmas morning.
Jacks grandma is a paramedic and has even taken Jack to the ambulance station and shown him the lights and sirens (which he loved). Every time we see a ambulance Jack shouts ‘nee’ as in nee naa and my mum is referred to as grandma neenaa. With all that in mind it should come as no surprise that Jack has no less than 4 toy ambulances, some which have lights and sounds others that are pull back and go. The wonderworld mini ambulance would be a lovely addition to our every growing ambulance station with its realistic tyres, chunky driver and non toxic paint. Made in Thailand under fair trade rules its lovely to know my sons fun is not at the cost of another childs hard graft. At 9cmx13cm the mini ambulance would fit perfectly in Jacks backpack or even to be carried along during our post Christmas dinner walk or toddle in Jack’s case.
Along with his love of trains Jack is also fascinated by diggers, trucks and constructions vehicles. The wonderworld mini loader allows Jack to use his imagination and role play many adventures. The mini loader could deliver a cow from the Janod barnyard train to the brio rail farm or be used to scoop snacks from the Christmas evening picky bits platter. Made from 100% sustainably farmed rubber wood and packaged in 70% recycled paper with non toxic, environmentally friendly water based paints I am safe in the knowledge that we are caring for the environment and toadstool are caring for my son.
With 7 chunky pieces Jack can improve his dexterity and ability to problem solve with the Janod wooden chunky vehicle puzzle. Bright and engaging this is sure to keep Jack entertained while Mummy puts her feet up after a busy Christmas morning. Each piece is 100% wooden with non toxic water based paint meaning I can rest easy if Jack decides to have a little chew.
Every toddler should have a shape sorter to discover how objects fit into others and to learn to match a 3d shape with the hole it belongs to. The Tidlo animal shape sorting cube allows little one to match the animals on the outside of the cube and feed them their favourite food. With 25 piece Jack can mix and match the animals themselves creating whacking variations such as a dat or a canda. Jack can work on his problem solving and fine motor skills while his cousins are busy being teenagers on their phones or consoles.
I am a great believer that babies and toddlers learn more about their world through messy play and being allowed to touch, smell, taste and discover than they ever will from books or being taught something. Jack loves nothing better than getting stuck in with messy play items or discovering a new texture or taste. The HABA feeling and touching game encourages learning through play and can be used in free play as well as in the game. With 2 ways to play Jack can explore, imagine and role play while working on his language skills and observation. This game would make a lovely wind down activity for the evening while we cuddle in our pajamas.
My little music maker loves nothing better than making a racket with my instruments, he loves drumming, twanging my guitar strings and even has a little go on my thumb harp. Unfortunately I can’t leave those out for Jack to explore when he likes for fear of injury, however the day might be saved by the HABA big sounds workshop. Featuring a mini magic sound flute, a drum, a mini metallophone, 2 beaters, castanets, a rainmaker and 4 acoustic blocks (squeaking, rattling, a bell and tinkling) Jack can drive everyone crazy, erm I mean delight everyone on Christmas morning.
What would you choose?
This is my entry into The Toadstools Blogger Christmas Wishlist Competition. You can find out all about it here!
Jack and I love to craft but it can be tricky with a 16 month old. I am restricted to things he either can’t eat or isn’t harmful if he does. So today we made some Christmas cards for aunties and uncles, nanny and grandad and grandma.
Mummy folded the card and drew some Christmassy images on an a3 piece of paper and Jack colored them in. Then Mummy cut them out and stuck them to the front of the cards. Simple enough and no mess.
What other Christmas crafts can we do? We made salt dough foot prints for Mother’s Day and hand print paintings for Daddy’s birthday.
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The adventures of Jack Jack 