Blogmas 14 – Magical Lantern Festival

Welcome back to Blogmas. Have you read yesterday’s post reviewing my favourite festive Yankee Candle scents? Today the kids and I went to the Magical Lantern Festival at Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens.I had had a long day at work but we couldn’t make it on Sunday because Shivam was a little under the weather and it was pouring with rain. So we postponed our trip to tonight. Thankfully it didn’t rain while we were there and wasn’t as cold as I had expected either.I drive past the gardens every day after work and during the festival it’s been really busy. We were lucky to arrive just after 5pm when the festival opens for the evening, so we didn’t have to compete with lots of crowds waiting to get in.There are lots of food vans in the area just before you enter the festival so if you’re after a few snacks, a full-on meal or a hot drink to keep you warm, you’ve got a great choice. There are some stalls in the actual gardens too. I treated the kids to some churros with chocolate as we walked through.I haven’t been to the festival before so I was quite excited about having an evening out with the kids. We walked slowly around the gardens and enjoyed seeing the different displays.You see Christmas-themed lanterns upon entry and there’s an opportunity to see Santa if you wish to pay extra. I offered Shivam the chance but he said he’d already seen Santa at Hatton and asked for his gift and so decided to give it a miss!The festival is a fusion of art, heritage and culture and you then follow the trail around the gardens, seeing beautiful displays of flowers and animals. The lanterns have been designed and made in China and were brought over to Birmingham especially for the event.There are penguins and snowmen, pandas and fish. There’s also a really cute gingerbread house.We had a refreshing walk in the winter breeze and Shalini enjoyed taking a lot of the photos you see here.My parents used to take my sisters and I to the illuminations in nearby Walsall every year when we were children. This brought back so many find memories for me and I loved that I could now share a similar experience with my kids.It’s open till the 1st January so there’s still plenty of time to get down there.