Let there be lights!

It's become traditional for us to go and see a spectacular street full of lights in the run-up to Christmas, mainly because we lived near an amazing one in London (Lower Morden Lane if you ever want to visit, it's awesome!). So when we moved to Dorset, we had to find somewhere similar - and luckily for us, we live not too far from the famous Runton Road, a cul-de-sac in Poole where most of the residents light up the nights leading up to Christmas for charity.

Ho Ho Ho!

We visited last year and loved it, so decided to take our annual trip last week. And it was still just as magical. We walked around with huge smiles on our faces, taking in all the spectacular sights. Even D2, who's only one, was impressed, pointing at all of them and saying "Wow!". It was a fantastic way to start the final week before Christmas and a lovely thing to do as a family. And full credit to the residents, who didn't bat an eyelid as people traipsed up and down their driveways - even while they were eating their dinner!

Runton Road residents have been lighting up Christmas for the past 23 YEARS. Wowsers! There are almost 50 houses lit up - some with simply stunning, subtle white displays, while others have gone for the Full Monty and are covered in brilliant bright colourful characters. The houses have collection tins outside for charity donations - and last year the street raised a whopping £3,720. Amazing! Not sure how much it cost the residents in electricity, but what a fantastic way to give a little something to others at this time of year.

The generosity of one homeowner was further demonstrated by his coming to the door with two boxes of candy canes and telling a group of children to make sure that every child in his garden got one to enjoy. Such a simple, kind-hearted act, but fully appreciated by all.

So I'd like to say a big thank you to Runton Road for spreading some Christmas cheer – not just to myself, my family and the other visitors, but to those who benefit through their kind and charitable act. Merry Christmas to you all!

To find out more about the Runton Road lights, see https://www.facebook.com/RuntonRoadChristmasLights

Santa Claus came to town!

This is always a busy time of year, especially when you've got children. What with school fairs, carol concerts, parties, catching up with friends, preparing for the big day - it's no wonder most of us end up ill and exhausted in December!

But there are some things that can't be missed - and seeing Christmas lights being switched on and meeting the man himself are two of those. Which is why we've braved some cold weather for those very reasons. 

The first foray into the festive season saw us watching the lights being switched on in Poole. We've decided to try and see it being done in different places each year, so last year we went to Christchurch to watch, this year we stuck closer to home. It was on a Thursday night and I don't know if this had an impact on the crowd, but there really wasn't many people there. It was a very low-key affair - sponsored by local children's hospice Julia's House, the lights were turned on by their patron, actress Debra Stephenson. Except not all of the lights actually came on – and there weren't many to turn on in the first place. But it did feel festive, with Christmas songs being played by Fire Radio, and schoolchildren singing carols. I wouldn't rush to watch it again unless it was on a bigger, better scale, but it was a nice start to the Christmas countdown.

And so on to the next tradition, which involves seeing the man in the red suit. We haven't taken a trip to a grotto yet (it's on the cards, never fear), but we did head down to Poole Quay yesterday to watch the Santa Parade. 

There's been a bit of controversy about this event - it was cancelled due to Health and Safety fears (or Elf and Safety as my DH likes to quip… Groan!) but was then reinstated on a smaller scale after a public outcry. It basically involves Santa arriving by lifeboat at the Quay before travelling by land train up and down and finally him doing a walkabout. We didn't see the arrival so I can't comment on that, but the actual parade bit was good fun. There was a Spiderman band (if anyone can shed ANY light on that, please do!) and a marching band. I do love a bit of big band action at Christmas! The train had elves, stars of Robin Hood (Poole's panto for the season) and FC himself on, all cheerily waving to the crowd. Sainsbury's were giving out sweets, everyone was in good spirits, and it was just a really nice local celebration of Christmas. Sadly we didn't wait for Santa to reach us on his walkabout as it was cold, but I'll definitely be back there next year.

I'd love to hear what you've been doing to get in the festive spirit. To help inspire you, here's a few pics from yesterday…