Welcome back to Blogmas. Have you read my post on how we do Christmas in my house yet? Today I’m writing about our day at Hatton Adventure World on Saturday. I’ve already mentioned Hatton in my post about Christmas In My City.
It was quite breezy on Saturday and fairly wet when we set off around midday. Hatton is about 40 minutes from where we live but the drive is mostly along country lanes, so it was quite scenic.
It was fairly busy and it took a few minutes to get our tickets and head in to the park. I was keen on getting my hands on some of the gingerbread straight away but Sukh suggested we visit the animals first.
The kids are quite fearful of most animals and Sukh had hoped they would finally conquer their fears.
However, they refused to feed any of the animals or even pick up the guinea pigs. To show them it was very safe and that guinea pigs are harmless, I picked one up and cradled it in my lap.
I think he quite liked my faux fur jacket as he snuggled up fairly close.
Both Shalini and Shivam were quite keen to complete the Reindeer Quest. We love treasure hunts, trails and puzzles in my house, so we immediately began looking for the nine reindeer around the property.
We managed to tick them all off the list and handed our sheets in to the kiosk in return for a chocolate.
Shivam wrote a letter to Santa and handed it to one of the elves who assured him it would reach Santa on time.
I promised not to read it but couldn’t help noticing the words PS4 on it! He should be so lucky!
We stopped to say hi to a reindeer on the way to Santa’s grotto, but he was too busy snacking to greet us.
Shivam said he was getting his strength up as he has a lot of work to do on Christmas Eve and so not to disturb him too much.
The queue to visit Santa in his grotto was quite long but manageable. You’re given a time slot and there’s plenty to do in the line while you wait.
The 3D glasses are quite clever. You use them to look at all the lights throughout the queue. Through the ones I had, I could see reindeer everywhere, Shalini’s showed up snowmen and Shivam could see presents.
Once we were sat beside Santa’s cosy fireplace, Shivam immediately asked for a PS4! Santa reassured him that he was on the nice list and that he could get what he wanted if he continued to have a good December.
I’m not too sure about that yet Santa!
Santa handed Shivam a gold key which unlocks the Toy Shop. I think it’s great that the kids get to choose their own gift and there is quite a range to choose from.
There are toys for all age ranges including arts and crafts, games and puzzles. Shivam chose a Zombie science set.
We then went over to decorate gingerbread with Mrs Claus.
Shivam of course smeared icing paste all over his and then decided Shalini had decorated the best one and wanted to eat hers instead! The kids polished theirs off straight away.
There are a few funfair rides but the kids are too old for these now, so we decided to call it a day. There are a couple of shows in the Family Theatre but we didn’t stop to watch these, as we had plans in the evening.
We stopped by some of the shops, which are always nice to browse.
I can never resist the quaint little sweet shop at Hatton and usually spend way too much money on childhood favourites like Pineapple Rock and Cola Cubes.
There were Christmas markets in the village and carol singers too. The lovely lady outside the farm shop was cooking up sausages as tasters and we tried a few different flavours.
They were so delicious, we bought a few packs from the farm shop. I’m looking forward to the spring onion and ginger ones the most!
Once you’re done with the festive entertainment, the kids can get busy in the indoor play area and there are a few cafes to treat yourself to a warm meal or afternoon tea.
All in all, there is plenty of festive fun for a morning or an afternoon.
Read my Blogmas post about Christmas makeup looks here.
