This day I love.......

We were invited along to the preview event and provided free entry to William's Den.

There is a sense of magic in the air. December has arrived and Christmas is just around the corner. Each year I try to make Christmas as magical as I can for my children, and with three children from 3 years old up to 9 years it can often be a little tricky. My 3 year old has just begun believing in Father Christmas and my eldest child is now questioning his existence, which means wherever we go to visit Father Christmas it must be an authentic and enjoyable experience that will cater for both the new believer and those who are doubting.

An invite landed in my inbox and I let out a small squeal, one of my children’s favourite places was inviting us to the preview of their Christmas Den Experience. Whatever I had in my diary got quickly moved and I replied as fast as I could to say, Yes. I had to pinch myself that the email was real and that it was intended for me and the girls simply jumped up and down when I told them.

William's Den is adventure play attraction and in my personal opinion it lets kids be kids. It gives kids the chance to play and explore and discover the world about them just as I had done in my childhood. There are trees to climb, rope bridges to swing across, rocks to jump over, water and sand to play in. My three children adore it and there is a free range sense of freedom and fun the second you walk through the door. You can read more about our first visit to the Den here.

Our journey to the Den encountered very little traffic so we had time to get changed in the car, we had driven straight from school and spend some time playing in the Den before our Christmas Den Experience began.

A friendly elf collected us and took us to the elves workshop. A secret knock on the door, and the workshop was revealed. Simply magical. What a workshop indeed. We had been transported to the North Pole, piles and piles of presents lay in front of us either side of a giant Christmas tree. A log fire and comfy chair sat at the back of the room. The children all rushed to find a seat.

The children all sat and listened to how the elves made the toys and were even shown some of the magic that goes into it. The children were called to the front and they all helped the elves get the presents ready for Christmas before singing a song. After an elf pledge they were all made elves and given a certificate.

Mother Christmas arrived as it was the elves snack time and each child was given a gingerbread to decorate along with icing and smarties. My three got very creative with their decorations. Mother Christmas and the elves kept coming round to each table to talk to every child and see how we were getting on.

Can we eat it? They all asked after they had finished decorating it. Of course I replied. As they tucked into their gingerbread Mother Christmas treated them all to a story. The elves sat and listened too.

It would appear that the smell of gingerbread appeals to Father Christmas as he came in the workshop next. The children's eyes all lit up and he gathered them round the fire to talk to them and find out what they would like for Christmas.

Father Christmas agreed that the children had all been good and because they were all elves now they could help make a very special toy to take home with them.

We returned back to our seats to begin making our bears. My three year old struggled with his sticky fingers to push the stuffing in the bear so I gave him a helping hand. Father Christmas gave each child a heart which is the heart of Christmas to place inside each of their bears and once finished the elves came and tied a ribbon on.

The whole experience lasted for 45 minutes. Everything seemed to just flow and at no point did we feel rushed or left wondering what to do. Everything was just at the perfect pace, even for a three year old. My youngest daughter even asked for more gingerbread afterwards as she said it was lovely and soft and some of the tastiest she has tried. I wouldn’t know I didn’t get to eat any as they all ate theirs far too fast!

The Christmas Den Experience was truly magical. This really was an experience and so much more magical than simply visiting Father Christmas in a Grotto. My children all enjoyed it and certainly created some amazing memories, it has made William's Den just a little bit more special to them.

For full details of the Christmas Den Experience and to book tickets please visit this page.

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This is a featured post with Wicked Uncle

As Christmas approaches I often wonder if I have got the presents right. My children change their minds so often that what they want one minute they often don't like the next, and so it got me thinking. What makes a toy a top toy and what are the best toys for Christmas. There are great websites out there like Wicked Uncle who organise their toys by age as well as categories to help you find the perfect present. You can check out their gift guide for the best presents here

My son is three years old and when asked what he thinks makes a top toy he replies ‘diggers!’ I am not sure at three he fully understands what I mean, but for him his top toy would be a digger. He loves them, as I think most of his friends do and we have a wide collection of diggers. Everything from ones he can sit on to electric ones, he just adores them. He even has a soft toy one which he cuddles. It doesn’t just stop with diggers, he seems to love all vehicles. I guess you can never have enough toy cars, diggers or emergency vehicles. His imagination is fantastic as he plays with them, pretending to go on adventures and save the day.

At seven years old, my youngest daughter has a love of all things rainbow colours, and of course the shiny or sparkly the better, so what makes a top toy for her? She would like an animal of some description, that is fluffy and pink with white spots. It would have to be very cuddly and small enough to carry. As you play with it it grows older and bigger until it becomes an adult. There would be lots of sequins on it to make it very sparkly and it would also have hair to brush. The animal would also be interactive allowing you to sing and dance with it. She says she would also like to be able to bath it and feed it, so it would need to come with some food. I have a feeling I have seen toys similar to this and can think of a few existing toys that would match some of these ideas.

My eldest daughter is very different to her sister. At nine years old she fully believes in her head that she is a teenager. When asked what she would like for Christmas she answers with a phone, and has even come up with a plan on how to make money so she can pay for credit to use it. She has even been round the local shops to price up a handset so she knows exactly how much to save up for. When I asked her what makes a top toy she replied with it has to have a remote control, and be able to fly or you have to be able to make something with it. Two very different ideas for a toy. Yet it also shows off her personality. She loves to build things, and can often be found hoarding cardboard and other materials to make something with.

Asking my children what makes a top toy and finding out what they think makes a toy great has given me a great insight into their likes. From this I can now figure out and find toys to match their needs rather than asking them for specific toys and give them their top toys!

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Loch Ness marathon has been on my bucket list for some time and when the entries opened for this year I was one of the first to sign up. We made a weekend of it and traveled to Inverness on the Friday night.

Staying a short walk from the finish line, which is also the park for the local parkrun meant Saturday morning my daughter and I collected our letter I on one of the flattest parkruns I think I have ever done before collecting my race number.

An early start on Sunday morning for race day. The race is a point to point race so the start line is 26 miles away and as a result coaches are arranged to transport you to the start. There are plenty of porta loos at the finish line, which is where you collect the bus from, and getting on the bus was straight forward. Once on you instantly try to get a little bit of sleep or rest as the early morning and windy roads begin to take their toll on all the runners.

We arrived in what can only be described as the middle of no where. Open Scottish highland, the wind blowing and the rain coming down. It was freezing. We joined a queue, turned out it was a queue for free tea. We joined another queue, this one was for the toilet. Just over an hour of queuing in the cold and all our joints had frozen but it was finally time to start.

The bagpipes played and the race was underway, the Proclaimers playing 500 miles started pouring out the sound system and I crossed the start line. The pace was comfy but it was ever so crowded that it was difficult to get into a proper stride and relax into it. A downhill came but it was hard to capitalise on it and instead I just held back and ran as best I could.

The course profile on line looks to be downhill for the first half, then flat with a few bumps followed by a hill at mile 18 before descending into Inverness at mile 21. I can tell you now that this is all lies. The whole course is undulating and by that I mean hilly. Short sharp and little nasty hills that just zap your energy. Just as you have recovered another one approaches. My legs ached, but my word the scenery was beautiful.

Mile 17 and we hit a beautiful village with loads of support and I knew the big hill was coming. My right leg was cramping up and it was beginning to feel very tight, almost like a rubber band about to snap. I stopped to stretch and try and ease it off. It worked but then the hill came, and the hill kept going and this did not help. Instead my leg got more and more painful and so I knew I had to run and walk so as to not cause myself injury.

Not the race I had wanted but I knew that even doing this I was on for a PB, and figured this was a great achievement. The last few miles once you hit the Tesco feel like they go on forever. The support from here is fantastic and the worst part is you run past the finish on the other side of the River Ness.

Crossing that bridge and coming into the home straight was such a relief. A PB was on the cards and a sub 4.30. My kids were in the crowd cheering me on and as I crossed the line I felt so much relief. I had finished.

Loch Ness marathon is incredibly well organised and there are sections of support which are fantastic. I can safely say it is the most beautiful marathon I have ever done and would love to do it again. I would however train more on the hills to get used to the undulation of the course and I would highly recommend taking some warm trousers and a top which you can leave at the start line as it is a long wait early in the morning on the exposed Scottish Highlands!

After the marathon my right leg was incredibly sore and my left ankle. I attempted a recovery run the week after but both my ankle and leg were far too painful so I abandoned the run. Another run a week later resulted in even more pain so I decided the best plan was to rest before New York and not attempt to run again in October.

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September started with a warm up race and the last race before my next marathon in October. A 6 hour timed challenge in York organised by See York Run York, Turpin challenge. I had wanted to break the 3 hour marker for 20 mile and knew I could do the pace needed to do this. The race however just didn’t go quite to plan in that sense.

The route went around the race course and then up into some woods before starting over for the next lap. I had had pancakes for breakfast, which my eldest daughter had made specially for me, the problem is my stomach does not get on well with pancakes and so I paid for it during this race. In fact I had problems early on but decided to keep going.

I might not have hit the sub 3 mark but I absolutely smashed my 20 mile PB and my 10 mile PB and had enough energy to walk a final lap to round it up to a full marathon. The race was well organised and there was a good supply of cakes at the end, but my stomach unfortunately wasn’t in the right mood for one.

There was no rest and training continued the next week. My watch started playing up and recording runs as running 1km in 25seconds, I can assure you this did not happen and so now all my strava records are completly wrong. I ran to feel and training was going well.

Towards the end of September I attempted a parkrun 5km with the aim of a PB. My PB at parkrun was 27.30 and I knew I had it in me to beat that time. I went to Goole, as the course is relatively flat and minimal turns which I thought would help. I literally ran with my heart and just focused on that finish line. I achieved a new PB of 25.03 and could not have been happier. Although those 3 seconds are now bothering me so I need to break the 25 minute barrier now

Taper then began and my weekly miles started coming down. This doesn’t make training any easier for me, although it is quite nice to be able to go out and get the run done with the majority of my day left. Not long to go now until Loch Ness marathon and I am really looking forward to it.

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