Meeting Santa at St Enoch Centre

We were super excited to meet Santa yesterday at the St Enoch Centre. 

Due to the Santa Dash, which I didn't realise was taking place that morning, we had our own dash to get there on time as I couldn't get the car parked anywhere near! 

Running along Argyll Street along side heaps of Santas!!

We arrived at the Grotto just after 10am and there were already a few families waiting to see Santa Claus. He's a popular chap! 

Waiting in the queue. I'm wearing a festive jumper that Becky let me borrow a few years ago - I love it!

Eldest wearing his Santa shirt (Primark) and bow tie (also Primark).

Littlest was wearing her Elf pyjamas (Primark again!). She can hardly contain her excitement!!

Santa was so friendly (lots of Ho, Ho, Ho's!) and we didn't feel rushed at all. He chatted away with both my son & daughter, and we had a photograph taken too. The kids also got a present (dinosaur sticker book for my son & a box of animal puzzles for the littlest).

By the looks of things it's a busy little grotto & to avoid disappointment I'd highly recommend that you book a slot in advance, particularly if you are making a trip into town with the sole purpose of seeing Santa. You can book online here at the St Enoch Centre website, you'll also find the opening hours here too. A trip to see Santa and his elves starts at £4.50, which includes your gift.

The grotto is on the upper floor of the Centre and after our slot, we headed to BHS to pick up a few essential bits & pieces - new boxers & socks for the kids. We also chose a few Christmas presents for Rhubarb & Crumble, our kittens. I used to work in BHS when I was a teenager & remember the long shifts we used to pull to get all the Christmas stock out. The store always has lots of great gifts at this time of year. I particularly like this ceramic popcorn tub (but where would I store it in my teeny kitchen?!).

Afterwards we then sauntered along to Ed's Easy Diner for some brunch (also on the upper level).

The kids & I each had a plate of pancakes & they were yum! There wasn't a kids option for pancakes so we all had to have adult sized plates. The kids didn't manage to finish theirs, but this just meant I got an extra pancake! ;-)  

Think it was £4.95 for the three pancakes with one scoop ice cream and either maple syrup or chocolate sauce. The Fruit Shoot that the kids had was £1.

Overall we had a great morning at the St Enoch Centre. The highlight of course was meeting the big man himself...

Just wished the littlest had smiled :-/ Lol!

We received complimentary entry for two children at Santa's grotto including a photograph. As always, opinions are honest and are my own.

{#ShareAdvent - "O star of wonder, star of night"}

"O star of wonder, star of night" is today's #ShareAdvent prompt.

Did you know that at Glasgow's Science Centre, there is the chance to fly forward in time to 1 minute to midnight on Christmas Eve and help Santa find his way home after delivering all the presents by finding the North Star?

Santa's Starry Adventure

{image source}

I remember going to visit a planetarium as a child and found the experience to be magical. 

There's something amazing about outer space, and I'm sure this performance will capture the imagination of pre-schoolers and adults alike.

There are also lots of other activities happening at the Science Centre as part of the Little Explorer Days. Check out the information here.

{Santa, It's Santa!!!! I know him!!!}

It's no secret that I'm really excited about Christmas. So when the kids and I were invited along to be VIP guests and have a sneak preview of the Santa's Grotto at the St Enoch Centre, I was delighted!

I thought I would dress for the occasion, and so stuck on my new Santa jumper and hat from New Look!

The centre looks really Christmassy and I love the gigantic fairy light reindeer that are dotted about the levels. 

The grotto is really easy to find and is on the first level outside Debenhams. 

It's open daily from 8th November until 24th December and it costs £4.50 to visit Santa and receive a gift. Unlike other grottos that we've been to, I thought the gifts were well considered and we'll actually use them. I won't share what they are here in case I spoil the surprise if you go. A digital photograph to remember the experience is £5. Santa was really friendly although the littlest took some time to warm to him, hence her shy expression in the pic below! By the end when we spotted him at Hamleys she was waving at him wildly and shouting 'Santa, it's Santa' - cue my impression from the movie Elf! (Does everyone else watch Elf when they put there tree up? It's one of my traditions each Christmas!)

You can book your visit in advance online at www.st-enoch.com.

We then were whisked to Hamleys to have a look at the top 10 toys for this Christmas.

Eldest being shown the LeapFrog LeapPad by Santa's elf, £90

The Furby Boom Stripes, £60

Chasin' Cheeky monkey - race him around the room and toss the rings onto his tail, grab his banana and watch him do a victory dance! £25

The Monster High doll was a big hit with both the little ones. Dolls are £17 each.

The kids weren't that taken with the robot dog, Teksta Puppy, for £64. But I rather liked it and think aside from the Lego (always a winner!), it was my favourite toy!! It's a life-like robotic puppy that responds to your voice, physical gestures, lights and sounds. I put my hand out and said something to it, and it walked right over to me....cute!!

Maybe it should go on my Christmas wish list!

The Hamleys staff are so helpful and I'm always impressed when I visit the store. The selection of toys is also amazing! I could get lost in there for hours browsing it all.

After Hamleys we hit the Food Court. Food Court meals to me are always MacDonalds or Burger King. I didn't realise there was a Di Maggio's in the St Enoch Centre, so the kids and I had some macaroni cheese, pizza and garlic bread after our Santa visit. I actually enjoyed it and the kids wolfed the pasta. Thumbs up from us!

We had a complimentary visit to the grotto followed by a meal in the Food Court and took home a goody bag. Opinions are my own and are, as always, honest.

{Snow, Santa & Sledging - Xscape Glasgow}

I was very kindly invited to take the kids along to Xscape for the morning to check out their soft play area, Gambado, visit Santa at his grotto on the slopes and have a bite to eat at the newly refurbished Bar Varia cafe.

I'd never taken the kids to Xscape before, so I was interested to see what it was like for young children (bearing in mind my little ones are 3 years and 1.5 years). I invited their dad along to join us for the morning. He was yet to take them to see Santa, and I thought he would appreciate the experience (and I also was thinking that I'd need a spare pair of hands to keep on top of the two kiddies in such a busy complex). He is also of the opinion that we should spend time together with the children even though we are not a couple anymore, whereas I feel the opposite - more on this later!

Anyway, on with the review! Xscape is great in terms of its location - easy to get to from the motorway and we got parked with no issues (we visited on Sunday and arrived shortly after 9.30am).

This was my first time at Gambado, and I have to admit I wasn't overly impressed. I think perhaps this may be down to the ages of my little ones, as the soft play area was so spread out that I had to keep moving around to keep track of the location of them! No sitting around to enjoy my cup of tea!! We purchased some breakfast rolls from the cafe... the service was poor, the two rolls took 20 minutes to arrive and they managed to get the order wrong too. There were a lot of ride-on machines located in the centre which you had to pay for (cue shouts from son for 'more pennies please') and I found my two spent more time climbing on these than in the actual soft play sections.

On a positive note however, the go-karts were great fun (no extra fee was needed either) and my 3 year old had a blast on the blue motorbike, and he did have a couple of shots on the massive slide which he also loved!! I particularly liked the sensory area and the role play area with dressing up clothes, kitchen etc.

I wouldn't be comfortable taking the kids there on my own, I would definitely need an extra pair of hands for assistance! I'm sure though that the soft play would be great for parents of slightly older children that are a bit more independent. My son did proclaim that it was the best soft play ever!

Trying out the arcade games!

On the go-karts!!

After Gambado, we rushed along to the Snow Factor to be met by Santa's elves. There was an area set-up in Bar Varia where we could colour pictures of Santa and write our letters to him whilst waiting for our turn. We didn't wait long before being taken then onto the slopes to Santa's grotto. We had a family photograph taken with Santa (slightly awkward!) and then I sledged with my son back down to the centre with our gift stockings in tow! I think the Santa at Eden Mill was better (less rushed) but this experience was made more special by the fact that we were on the snow (& I secretly loved the sledging part afterwards!). 

Checking out the snowman on the way to the grotto.

Sledging after our Santa visit!!! (hopefully this works ok - my first video on my blog!!)

We then had half an hour or so to wait before lunch was served at the Bar Varia cafe. The staff were great though and brought us over colouring sheets and crayons to keep the kids amused. As soon as it got a bit nearer midday, our waitress came over to take our order (without me having to ask her, which was fab - very impressed with the staff) and our food arrived really promptly. I ordered a chicken burger with chorizo, and it was yum.

Lunch :-)

No relaxing lunch for me then!!

Overall, we had a lovely morning and although I may not take the kids back to Gambado until they're a bit older, I would certainly go back to the Bar Varia cafe and check out all the other activities that are available at Xscape (bowling, cinema etc).

That afternoon I was kiddie-free and I left the kids to spend the rest of their Sunday at their dad's house. Thankfully my daughter was asleep, but I had to leave my son screaming for me not to go. I'm of the opinion that by spending time with their dad I'm just confusing them and that we should be doing activities like this separately. I don't understand why he seems to think it's better for us to do things as a 'family'. Yes, when they are older and understand the situation we might be able to do things together, but for the moment I think it's a bad idea. Having to leave a screaming child has just reinforced this. When we have a swift business-like changeover there are not normally that many tears and/or tantrums. 

What are your thoughts, and have you checked out the activities on offer at Xscape?

The morning of activities was organised for me and we received free entry into Gambado, our visit to see Santa and lunch as part of the review. As always, opinions are my own.

{My Life in Photos}

We have been busy bees in the Glasgow house these past few months! Here are some of the things that we've been up to...

Getting dressed up for Halloween - my fairy princess and Superman!

Ten Pin Bowling with Becky

Bowling was a big hit with both my little ones - I'd highly recommend it if you haven't been. And I thoroughly enjoyed it too - was ages since I had been bowling! (I also managed to get a higher score than Becky!!)

Soft play!

Babycino and cupcakes

My sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby girl

Lots of cups of tea in bed!

Snuggles and Disney movies

Bunches for the first time!!

We visited Santa at Eden Mill

Loving the reindeer & other farm animals

Mulled wine in the slow cooker!

We decorated the house and filled our advent calendars with chocolate coins

The Christmas tree (which I insist on being all gold!)

My Christmas fairy helping with the washing up!

My Christmas tree bunting which I picked up in the sale from Laura Ashley at the start of the year. Looks perfect in my green and red kitchen.