Parenting | Edspire

Last Wednesday we had a magical day with Save The Children.

We went on the fast train all the way to London to visit their pop up Woolly Wonderland at Westfield Stratford.

We donned our Christmas jumpers and our festive finery and were on our way.

We were all very excited about the train and the possibility of meeting, The Gruffalo!

Esther and William adore The Gruffalo. For their birthday in the summer they had a lovely Gruffalo garden party with a Gruffalo Hunt. The prospect of meeting a real life Gruffalo was just a dream come true.

On the train on the way to Stratford, William and I reread the story and captivated the whole train with his knowledge, understanding and obvious enjoyment of the story. One passenger exclaimed, ‘That was so good and he is sooooo cute.’

When we arrived at Westfield shopping centre we found the Woolly Wonderland pop up just outside John Lewis and began to adorn ourselves in tinsel whilst admiring the woollen ball trees.

We were made to feel so welcome by Chris and her team.

There was a lovely warm festive glow at the Woolly Wonderland. It was, well, wonderful.

After some fun festive photos we took our seats on lovely soft cushions ready for the storytelling.

Esther and William were entranced from the first word, even with mini Maltesers to munch!

The storyteller was very good and the children watched and listened

Until …

Oh help! Oh no! A Gruffalo!!

The magical creature, exactly as described and depicted in the book, was right there, before our very eyes!

Astounding!

Esther and William were just bubbling with energy and excitement. They were squeaking and squealing and giggling and desperate to get up close.

The storyteller politely asked The Gruffalo if he could please borrow his voice to finish the story, which he did, and The Gruffalo joined in with actions.

It was a magical retelling of the tale. We were all hooked.

At the end of the story there was a chance for cuddles and William was on his feet and in The Gruffalo’s arms before anyone else. He launched himself and held on so tightly with such adoration in his eyes.

Esther was a little more hesitant but her love for this giant, cuddly, fictional creature was evident too. One of the things I love most about writing my blog is making memories like these for Esther and William.

They deserve all of this and so much more after the year they have had this year, and after their own traumatic start to life.

They deserve all of this and so so so much more.

But today was not about us, it was not about cuddling The Gruffalo, though that was a most magical bonus

Today was about launching and promoting the Save The Children Christmas Jumper Campaign.

Did you know?

Friday 13th December is officially Christmas Jumper Day!

We will be wearing our cool yule characters again and having a special Snowman party!

We will be joining in with the Twitter Party

Here are all the details so that you can too!

How Can You Join In With #XmasJumperDay?
Buy, borrow or make your own Christmas jumper ready for Friday 13th (get family members involved – is there anything cuter than a baby in a Christmas jumper?)
Join us at 1pm on Friday 13th, wearing your Christmas Jumper, maybe with some antlers on your head, mince pie and mulled wine at the ready
Take a selfie and share it on Twitter then have a nice natter about all things Christmas – pop it on instagram to0!
Pay your pound!
Text TEAMTHINLYS to 70050 or pay in here
Use the hashtag for all your #XmasJumperDay tweets so we can see them

If you live in or near London then you too can go to Westfield and visit the Save the Children Woolly Wonderland.

I am very tempted to go back again this Friday to listen to Dom Joly reading Elmer. I am a huge Dom Joly fan, as is David, and Esther and William LOVE Elmer who says BOO!

The Woolly Wonderland Pop Up is at Westfield all week for Save The Children.

There are lots of festive activities for all the family and you can read all about them here.

If you cannot get to London then you can still join with Save The Children through social media or by wearing your Christmas Jumper this Friday and donating your pound.

Please do join us as we try to ‘Make the world better with a sweater’.

Christmas is a time of merriment for many, a time of happiness and joy.

But that is not the case for everyone.

Some of us are making magical memories with our living children while grieving for those we have lost.