This year we’ve been trying to include some treats in the run up to Christmas that are ‘experiences’ rather than food or actual items. With so much on in terms of school, the usual activities, but with a myriad of parties added in – I’ve really just wanted to ensure that we are actually spending time as a family too.
This weekend, we were lucky enough to be invited to Fort Kinnaird to check out some of their Christmas Activities. Which provided the perfect opportunity to grab a meal together and to take Thomas to the cinema for the first time!
Take an ‘elfie selfie’
Our first task before anything else was to try and track down some of the Fort Kinnaird elves. We knew that Fort Kinnaird had a competition to win a £250 voucher – but were delighted to find a number of shops joining in with the fun.
Katie was delighted to be informed on arrival in Sketchers that she could win a prize for simply finding their elf – so immediately shot off to see what she could spy. Whilst Thomas was a little more reticent they were kind enough to give Katie TWO prizes so that she could share!
We knew that to be in with a chance of winning the £250 voucher, we needed to take a selfie with an elf and post it to social media using the hashtag #ElfAtFortKinnaird. We thought we had it sorted after a visit to Hobby Craft – but then were fortunate to find a whole troupe of elves as we left the shop!
They were very sweet – taking time to chat and dance with Katie – and I’m sure she wouldn’t have objected to just spending the day with them instead!
Five Guys
I think I’ve been completely late to the party with Five Guys. I’ve heard people absolutely raving about it but some how had formed a completely false impression in my head. I was expecting to struggle to get a table as thought it was more formal – I was delighted I was entirely wrong though!
On arrival, you order at a counter as you would at a typical fast food place – but for novices like me – the choice is quite vast! For each burger, I could choose extras like mushrooms or peppers, along with a choice of sauces. But I could also choose between different sizes – essentially deciding between one or two burgers in a bun.
Mike and I both went for a double, with the kids having a single each, but the chip portions were the same regardless of burger. Unusually, the chips were booked in peanut oil which gave them a very distinct flavour – but seemed to go down really well with the kids who scoffed the lot.
Time for a movie
After a meal together, we headed a few doors to The Odeon cinema. After a hectic morning of swimming lessons and Parkrun, I was glad to grab a Costa to take into the film. And of course, the kids were delighted to have get a kid’s box with popcorn, water, and two packets of sweets!
Thomas had never been to the cinema before, so I was excited to see how he would respond to seeing something on such a big screen. As it turned out Frozen 2 was the perfect film – and one I hope that he’ll remember!
I enjoyed the first film but Katie had been seriously scared in parts – and Thomas had never seen it. But whilst Katie did get worried at parts of this film – it was more at thought provoking moments rather than anything that just made her jump. And Thomas, who spent most of it curled up on my knee, just seemed to enjoy the whole experience!
We left the cinema to find that the daylight had vanished, and had been replaced with dark clouds and torrential rain. It was rather tempting just to turn round and go back for a second film!
