Last night, my husband and I had the pleasure of being invited to the official launch of the new extension at Showcase Cinema de Lux Bluewater. This saw four new state-of-the-art screens officially opened. We were really looking forward to it (and not just because it was our first child-free night together in a while!)
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Meeting Farmer Christmas at Broadditch Farm
On Monday, Autumn, Dave and I went to meet Farmer Christmas at Broadditch Farm. Yes, that’s right. Not “Father Christmas”, FARMER Christmas! I’ve been to Broadditch in Southfleet, Kent (near Gravesend) before for their Halloween and Easter events. They’ve been fantastic and there is also a wonderful farm shop I enjoy visiting. However, I’d never taken part in any of their Christmas activities before.
The best Santa’s Grottos often sell out weeks or even months in advance, so I quickly booked us in at the beginning of November. Funnily enough, it was the first Santa’s grotto I booked into, but the last one we’ll actually visit before Christmas! We saw Santa at a local preloved sale at the beginning of last month and again at Bluestone the following week.
Please excuse the quality of the photos in this post. It was dark and I only had my phone’s camera with me!
Rochester Dickensian Christmas Weekend 2017
A couple of weekends ago, we went to Rochester Christmas Market. We chose that particular weekend, as it was also the Dickensian Christmas Weekend. Charles Dickens lived locally in Higham and many of his novels were inspired by the surrounding area. This is one of two festivals in Rochester throughout the year in which Dickens enthusiasts, re-enactors and many others gather and celebrate Charles Dickens with members of the public.
We arrived just in time for one of the first parades of the day. It’s always such a delight to see so many beautiful outfits and smiley faces. It’s great fun and feels very festive!
Christmas at Bluestone: Day 5 (and some tips!)
On the Friday, we woke up to bright sunshine again. It seems to be a recurring theme that every time we go to Wales, the weather perks up just as we’re leaving. Typically, sun was forecast for at least the weekend afterwards.
As Dave was packing up everything, I took Autumn for a walk down to the village to see the advent countdown. There were notably fewer people and a fairly sombre mood. I could have happily stayed at Bluestone for far longer. I actually was on the brink of tears when we were leaving.
Making cocktails with Lambrini
Christmas party season is definitely upon us. Around the country, people scour the alcohol aisle in their supermarket for the best Christmas tipples. With just a few bottles of Lambrini and some other ingredients you can make a whole array of cocktails! I was recently sent some samples of their different flavours to test them out with my family ahead of Christmas dinner.
We usually stick to the same choices of wine, Baileys and snowballs. It’ll be nice to have another option on the table this year!