My husband has had a couple of days off in the run up to Christmas, so we wanted to have a nice day out as a family. With Oliver still being so young, we didn't want to be travelling very far, and with Hatton Country World being just a 20 minute drive from our home, it seemed like the perfect place to go.
Before deciding which day to go, we decided to have a look at the prices, and what was on. Last week Hatton had their "Winter Weekday" prices, which meant that it was a lot cheaper to go, at just £4.95 each for me & my husband, and Oliver being free as he is under 2. This week, however, saw them transform into the Enchanted Christmas Kingdom. Whilst the activities they had on (check them out here) looked really good, there wasn't a lot extra that a child of Oliver's age would've been able to get involved in. So, as magical as it would've been to see the Enchanted Kingdom in all it's glory, it wouldn't have been worth paying triple (£10.95 for adults, £9.45 for under 2's), and we decided to go on Friday instead. I think we'll definitely be visiting the Enchanted Kingdom in a few years!
Once we'd finished in soft play and worked up a bit of an appetite, we sat down for lunch. Whilst they did have some baby food jars available in the shop, we decided to provide our own lunch for Oliver. My husband & I, however, did decide to eat in the cafe located in the same building as the soft play. We both opted for pizza and chips. At £6.45 each, I did worry it was a bit overpriced for essentially canteen style food, but the portions were absolutely huge, I struggled to finish mine!
Once we'd eaten, it was off to see the animals. Oliver seemed to really like the sheep and goats, but I really can't wait til he's old enough to join in with the feeding and handling small animals - the guinea pigs looked so cute! On the day we went, there was a sheep that was in labour, and we were told she had been for two days already - poor thing!
Everything was really nicely decorated for the festive season, it was difficult to appreciate in the daylight. I think if you have slightly older children who are able to take part in more of the activities available , and therefore able to make more of a day of it, the decorations and lights would've looked beautiful in the dark.
Before we left, we took a look around the shopping village. We went into a shop called Lily Anne, which had lots of gorgeous trinkets and gifts, as well as some beautiful Christmas decorations. They had a really nicely decorated tree on display in the middle of the shop which created a nice festive feel. We decided to pick up a new decoration for our tree. The picture above really doesn't so it justice, it's lovely and sparkly.
Next door to Lily Anne was a sweet shop. I'll be honest, as lot of the stuff in there was very expensive, so we didn't go mad, but the fudge looked gorgeous, and was fairly reasonable at £2.35 for 100g. I opted for the chocolate & caramel flavour, which was amazing, and was all gone by Saturday night!
It was really nice to have a day out as a family, we don't get to do it often. Whilst we still enjoyed our day, it's really opened my eyes to just how much we can enjoy it in a few years time, when Oliver is able to join in with all the activities, and appreciate the magic of Christmas. I'd definitely recommend popping along if you're looking for something to do this week, or at any time of year in fact!
No comments :
Post a Comment