Countdown to Christmas: Ice Skating with my boy

In the countdown to Christmas there is always the speculation about whether or not it will snow and if we will have a 'white Christmas.' I'm a big fan of snow and love skiing, even though I'm not that good at it. I also love ice skating, although I'm pretty ropey at that too. I really want my son to try all the things I love to do, so I booked for us to go together for a special Mummy and Boy day out. 

When me and Hubbie were first dating we went ice skating at the Natural History Museum one evening and we had a great time. It was Christmassy, it was romantic and atmospheric. We bought the photo and it was one of our early memories of Christmas together. I decided to take my boy to the Natural History Museum for his inaugural skate as they do a specific session for parents and toddlers and it's a place we love to go to anyway so I figured that even if he didn't enjoy the skating we'd be able to go and see the dinosaurs to cheer him up.

Boy and penguin in perfect harmony

Actually he did really well and didn't fall over once, but for some reason when he was telling Daddy later he said I fell over and he "brushed snow off Mummy's bottom" which is so not true, but I admire his ability to tell a story ! He had the assistance of a penguin helper and it was really great to see how quickly he gained confidence on his skates. Especially as there was a school party there at the same time and they were tumbling onto the ice all around us.

Yum, hot chocolate

Ooh snow !

The session we booked also included a hot chocolate for both of us, but I changed mine for a cup of tea in the lovely cafe upstairs. It really resembles a ski lodge, complete with cuckoo clocks that my boy loved. He insisted I take his photo with the clocks to show Daddy (who is obsessed with clocks).

Cuckoo !

Holiday season

We had such a lovely time and did have a look around the museum afterwards with a few trips up the long escalator that takes you into the centre of the Earth to look at volcanoes and earthquakes. Then on the bus on our way home we saw some Christmas lights. It really is starting to feel like Christmas isn't it ? 

Admiring Christmas lights

This post is being shared on the #countrykids linky hosted by lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill

  

Penguins and Flamingos at Christmas ?

Checking out the winter wonderland

As you will already know we love doing outdoor activities with our boy and we also love the run up to Christmas so that it isn't all just about one day. Last year we went to Birdworld in Hampshire to see Santa Claus and we enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again this year. So this weekend we packed a picnic lunch and made our way to Farnham for a day of outdoor fun.

The elf is the one on the left

First up we went to see Santa and as we had a pre-booked visit we wandered round the winter grotto first saying hello to the reindeer - that was real - and checking out the skiing penguins - not so real. The twinkly lights of the model town were very pretty and we were greeted by a very helpful elf. She asked our boy what his name was and we watched open-mouthed as he spelled his name for her. We had no idea he could do that !

Feeding the (disinterested) ducks

After our meeting with the big man we had a quick stop for our picnic lunch. The Christmas experience includes a mince pie and mulled fruit punch for adults, but as I don't do mulled anything Hubbie got two helpings. Sustenance taken we decided to go and see what Birdworld was all about. As we were going in some lovely folks who were leaving donated us their leftover bird food and meal worm pots. I have to admit I wasn't too keen to hold the worms so Hubbie got that job instead.

Careful climbing

The birds didn't seem too bothered about being fed - maybe they get so much from visitors that they can be pretty nonchalant about it ? There were some exciting things to look forward to such as the safari train and the penguin feeding so we took a map and not even part way through exploring our boy spotted a playground and made a stop to play.

Love's young dream

He also made friends with an older girl who was playing on the climbing frame and they appeared to have a very short-lived (and entirely chaste) romance during our visit.
Girl: "Do you want to come for dinner ?"
My Boy: "Yeah, ok."
Hubbie: "Get yer bear son, you've pulled."

Daddy & Mummy penguin

I'm sure if you have little ones they are probably a bit obsessed with penguins at the moment. Our boy is and we made a beeline for penguin feeding at 3.30. Not before we stopped to pose for this elegant photo though. My boy took this one and I think he did a really good job. I mean we're both in the frame and everything !!

Penguin feeding

After all this excitement it was time to head home and we just had time to say goodbye to the Flamingos before we left. 

Bye bye flamingos

I would recommend Birdworld and the Christmas experience is also a nice touch. It's not too expensive and you can buy a ticket that includes entry to the park or not as suits you. I can see this becoming a regular seasonal activity for our family. 

This post is being shared with the epic #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill