Christmas is not Christmas without …
For us it is The Snowman
I have so many magical memories
Mixed up with this famous Raymond Briggs story
From childhood to motherhood
The Snowman has been part of my festive season
I used the wordless story in my classroom
As a teacher
Getting children to write their own stories
Based on the stunning snowy scenes
While listening to the soundtrack
When I met David we watched
The Snowman together on Christmas Eve
Before we had our children
On Esther and William’s first Christmas
One of my highlights
Was holding them in my arms
As they watched The Snowman for the first time
We have lots of different versions of the story
And we watch The Snowman every advent
And every Christmas Eve without fail
It is part of our family festive tradition
And Christmas would just not be Christmas
Without James and The Snowman and Father Christmas
In 2012
Tilda’s first Christmas
Tilda’s only Christmas
The Snowman and The Snowdog was released
We watched it so many times
Tilda died on the 2nd February
And we nearly had the music from the show
At her funeral
The Snowman and
The Snowman and The Snowdog have such a special place
In my heart
In our hearts
And I ALWAYS cry
Every time we watch it
This year is the ten year anniversary
Of the release of The Snowman and The Snowdog
It is also 10 years since our one Christmas
With our beautiful Baby Tilda
A whole decade without our daughter
At the most wonderful time of the year
This Christmas is going to be a tough one
After Tilda’s death
We discovered The Snowman Ballet
Performed each year at
Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre
It has become a tradition
For us to travel to London
To see The Snowman
To begin our advent celebrations
Our Advent for Tilda
This year I was only able to take
William and Edie
As the older girls were at stage school
We had a very stressful rail journey into the city
But all the strain magically melted away
As we entered the theatre
And took our seats
As you enter the auditorium
The stage is set and looks like a snow globe
My children absolutely love the theatre
And for all of them
The Snowman is where their love of theatre began
Edie did not remember seeing the ballet at the theatre
We missed two years through the pandemic
It was so good to be back and to see Edie soak up
All the magic of the theatre and the ballet
The Snowman is the perfect first ballet
For young children
A magical story filled with festive fun
A tale most children are familiar with
We love everything about this show
The set
The wonderful music
The beautiful dancing
My children adore the playroom scene
With the music box doll
The teddy bear and the toy soldier
They love the fridge fruits playing limbo
They adore the flying scene
Set of course to Walking In The Air
Which always makes me cry
The second act of the show
Is full of festive fun
Lead by a pair of playful penguins
And of course, Father Christmas
We love the dancing reindeer
And Edie is mildly terrified
By the always awesome
Jack Frost
There is so much to love about this
Brilliant ballet
I cannot imagine a Christmas
When we do not travel into the city
To see The Snowman brought to life
To join James and his snowy friend
On their magical icy adventure
If you are looking for a seasonal show
For all the family
I cannot recommend The Snowman enough
It is simply stunning
A timeless classic
And this year
Is dedicated to creator of The Snowman
Raymond Briggs CBE 1934-2022
