MUMMY TO THE MAX

Last year we started a new tradition of creating Maxwell a Christmas Eve Box. I wanted to make it into a tradition to make Christmas that little bit more exciting. As always I wanted to do Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box on a budget this year so I shopped for bargains and decided to reuse some of the bits that we had from last year.


In Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box 2014 you will find:

Orchard Toy Christmas Surprises Game: I bought this around July this year and I payed just £4 for it. Maxwell is now at the perfect age where he can start enjoying games and he adores the Orchard Toy Games. They are great to help with learning and development. This item will feature in many more Christmas Eve Boxes.

2 Snowman and Snowdog Crackers: I picked up a pack of these for £1 in the January sales this year and I have saved them for Maxwell to enjoy this Christmas. I shall save the rest of the pack for next Christmas as I think 2 is plenty for Maxwell to have in his Christmas Eve Box.

Disney Pjs: These were a bargain which I picked up in Tesco. Tesco has been one of my favorite clothing shops this year due to there highly reduced items. These Pj's normally are priced up to £5 but I spent just £2.50 on them. They are themed with Maxwell's favorite Disney character and I think he will love wearing these on Christmas Day.

Santas Magic Key: No box is complete without a key! I have always taught Maxwell that it is important that we lock the door behind us when inside for safety. I would hate for Maxwell to grow up thinking Santa was a intruder. This was in our Christmas Eve box last year so of course this year it cost us nothing.

Peppa Pig Chocolate: Maxwell adores Peppa Pig still and watches her daily so I knew she would need to feature in Maxwell's Christmas Eve box. Upon wondering around the 99p store a few weeks ago I spotted the Peppa Pig chocolates and I knew I had to grab a box to include in Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box.

Numberjacks And Smurfs Christmas DVD'S: This year Maxwell has not been interested in Christmas TV. His favorite film which has been on TV has been the Railway children and he has also loved watching the pantos on Cbeebies. These were the 2 Christmas DVD's which I purchased Maxwell last year, he loves Numberjacks and the smurfs so I am hoping he will enjoy watching one tomorrow.

Santa's Coming To Southampton  Book: This was a buy last year which I adored. Since buying last year I have seen a lot of people have now purchased them for their children. I have to say the book is magical and the pictures are amazing. The book goes into detail about local places Santa will visit this Christmas and includes illustrations of local places as well. I think I payed around £6 for it last year and it is well worth the money. This book will be used for many more Christmas's.

Christmas Dish: This was a buy from the 99p store last year and  I think it is perfect to add nibbles into but also to eat Christmas dinner out of. It is simple, childproof and a little bit of fun.

Soft Toy Santa: Maxwell is very much into soft toys at the moment so I thought this would be a nice little extra to add into his box. It is a simple soft toy from the 99p store and he is super soft. Maxwell adores talking on the phone to Santa this Christmas so it will be nice to tell him that he can talk to Santa on  Christmas eve and Christmas day as he has his own soft toy version.

Magazine: I won a few magazines in a recent competition and I decided to save one for Christmas. Maxwell loves looking through magazines and he enjoys sticking all the stickers in the magazine once he has had a look through it so this is going to be a popular item in his box this year.

As you are able to see, Maxwell's Christmas Eve box cost me under £10. I didn't feel the need to go mad on his Christmas Eve box this year and I thought it was nice to keep it simple for him as he is still very young and I did not want to overwhelm him. I am looking forward to seeing his face when he opens his box Christmas Eve morning.

On my Birthday this year, we thought it would be nice to take Maxwell somewhere that little bit magical. For weeks and weeks I had been planning on a nice trip and finally I came up with the idea of taking him to our local farm to meet Father Christmas.

The local farm is not that far away from us. It is around a 10 minute drive and is situated in Ashurst which is in the New Forest. The farm is called Longdown Dairy Farm. I had heard nothing but good reviews from other parents so I was excited to go and see what all the fuss was about.

Upon arrival we parked in a large car-park. The car-park was large and allowed many visitors to park in it. There were no set bays which enabled us plenty of space for Maxwell to get in and out of the car which I find is always important. From the car park the farm is a short walk across the road.

Once arriving at the farm we were shown into a marquee where activities were set out for children to have fun with. There were a long row of benches for people to sit down on and small table which let people buy refreshments. Maxwell loved the activities which were set out for him. One being a huge wooden standing cow with wooden boards that he lifted up and was able to see pictures of animals as well as facts about the farm.


After Maxwell had enjoyed the activities we were shown into the Christmas barn. First of all we were able to sit down and enjoy holding chicks. Unfortunately  Maxwell was not keen on them and we ended up putting the chick back however it was a wonderful experience and perhaps when Maxwell is a little older he will enjoy chicks more.


We then had the opportunity to meet a few other animals which included sheep, a donkey, goats and a turkey. Maxwell adored the donkey and spent a while touching him and stroking him. Maxwell was sad to leave the animals as he was called to go into Santa's Grotto by a giant elf.

Once in the Grotto we were able to sit next to Santa and we were given a small gift by the elf. Santa tried to talk to Maxwell however Maxwell seemed a little scared by him and was reduced to tears meaning we eventually had to leave Santa in his grotto however Maxwell was impressed with his present which was a lovely board book which will help him learn colours as he grows.

Overall we had a lovely time at the farm. There were a lot of things to see and do for children including colouring and dressing up and I would definitely reccomend it to families. We paid around £10 to get in which included 3 adults and 1 child which I found was quite reasonable.

I am hoping to take Maxwell again next year, hopefully he will no longer be scared of Santa!