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A Guide To Celebrating The Holidays At Disneyland

December 24, 2017 / Anaheim, California, Disney Travel, Disneyland, Travel, USA / 0 comment

The most magical time of year at the happiest place on Earth is the period between November and January (check dates as they change annually), when the Disneyland Parks receive an enchanting makeover. Celebrating Christmas at Disneyland is a must-do experience for young and old.

Visiting Disneyland at Christmas can be an incredible experience but also takes some planning and preparation. The tips in this guide will help you create a magical trip for your whole family.

Plan your dates wisely
By very careful planning, we were able to avoid the bulk of the crowds who head to Disneyland to celebrate the holiday season.

Check the following before booking your trip:

*US school holiday dates
*Australian school holiday dates (there are a lot of Australians who make the trek each year!)
*Annual Pass Blockout Dates (obviously it’s good to go when annual pass holders can’t!). Check them here.
*The busiest days according to the previous year on a calendar such as this. Weekends are always the busiest so I suggest avoiding them.

Book a hotel near the park
We always book a very budget hotel that is extremely close to the park. Our last trip we stayed at the Grand Legacy At The Park and found it to be extremely convenient.

A full review of the Grand Legacy At The Park can be found here.

Pack wisely
My daughter is too big for a stroller this year, so I took a backpack to put in water, food and small purchases and keep my hands free. Clothes-wise, mornings and evenings can be cool at this time of year while the middle can be super warm.

We were comfortable in jeans and tees during the day and added a light jumper/sweater for the mornings/evenings. Shoes are so important at Disneyland when you’re walking 22K steps a day: go for comfort! My daughter and I wore extremely comfortable sneakers ever day.

If your kid fits into a stroller then by all means take one or hire one from the parks. I saw kids who were aged seven in them being pushed around, so there’s no shame in it if it’s what you need to do to get the kids through the long days without tears.

Download the Disneyland App
It’s invaluable for planning your day – character meet-and-greet times and locations, show times, ride wait times, view and make dining reservations, see your Disney PhotoPass pics, and even buy your park tickets app. Plus it’s a must-have if you’re planning on upgrading your ticket to include a Maxpass (the below).

Get more info on the Disneyland App and download it here.

Purchase Maxpass
Upgrading our passes with a Maxpass (they cost $10 per person, per day) was the best decision we made. Maxpass does two things:

1. Provides digital FASTPASS to rides (A FASTPASS lets you take a ticket with a specific time printed on it so you can return to the ride at a later time and skip the queue.)
2. Provides access to download all PhotoPass images taken by Disneyland photographers each day.

If you like to get lots of photos taken then the Maxpass is fantastic value for the photos alone. While you can still get FASTPASS without a Maxpass, it does require walking a lot more all over the park to get the paper ticket from the machine and then return again later. A Maxpass lets you book your FASTPASS selections on your phone from anywhere in the park. It was a game changer for us.

Only one member of your party needs to purchase the Maxpass if photos are your goal rather than digital Fastpasses.

Plan your Disney days
I’m a big believer in schedules, particularly at Disneyland where timing is important. I created a spreadsheet in advance and researched the events that would be taking place each day, such as parades, fireworks, shows, character meet-and-greets, tree lightings and so forth, to slot them into the time we had at the parks.

Go early!
Not a morning person? Your experience at Disneyland will be vastly improved if you are! Mornings are the best for rides as it’s when the parks are quietest, so we would arrive each morning between 7 and 7:30am and be one of the first few people inside the park when it officially opened.

This meant we had from 8am-11am each day with basically no queues for rides as a result, and used the Maxpass to schedule the top rides for throughout the day to get them in several times.

Take a break for lunch in the middle of the day to early afternoon, and then enjoy the special Christmas entertainment.

Check out the holiday decorations
Both parks feature a stunning 50-foot-tall Christmas tree, wreaths, baubles, and more, festooning the lampposts, rooftops and window displays.

Two of the Disneyland’s rides get a holiday makeover as well: The “It’s a Small World” ride is lit by over 50,000 lights and video projections, while the Haunted Mansion is taken over by the cast Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, including Jack Skellington.

The town of Radiator Springs (AKA “Cars Land) in Disney California Adventure Park was given a makeover on our recent visit, including the actual cars themselves, plus the ride Mater’s Jingle Jamboree.

If you get time, check out the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel, which is decorated beautifully for the holidays.

Catch the holiday entertainment
Disneyland has a twice-daily Christmas Fantasy Parade (check the Disneyland website closer to your visit to check parade times) featuring traditional Disney characters plus Santa, dancing gingerbread men, prancing reindeer and twirling snowmen.

We also highly enjoyed the Disney Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure Park, which featured seasonal celebrations from around the world. Our particular favourites were the Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party, where mariachi and samba musicians and 12-foot-tall mojiganga puppets took to the streets, as well as Princess Elena of Avalor’s Grand Arrival, where Elena arrived on a float several times a day and sang her famous songs live. This was my daughter’s favourite live show of our trip.

Watch out for fun roaming entertainment in both parks, such as the drummers in California Adventure Park and carol singers in Disneyland. The festive fun is literally around every corner.

Meet the characters
We love meeting the characters anyway, but they’re that little bit extra special when dressed in holiday garb! We brought an autograph book with us (it’s a great ice breaker) and hunted down our faves throughout the day.

We especially loved Mickey and Minnie in their festive clothes, meeting Jack Skellington and Sally from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and watching the Disney characters dance in their ¡Viva Navidad! attire. You can locate the characters using the Disneyland app on your phone.

Eat all the food!
The Disney Parks employ a wide variety of exceptional pastry chefs and confectioners, so I highly recommend trying some of their seasonal treats.

Disneyland Park features peppermint Mickey Mouse beignets, festive candy apples, gingerbread men, snowman-shaped cookies, snowflake and Jack Skellington cake pops, and handmade candy canes that take three hours to make each batch. Watch them being made on Main Street; it’s mesmerising!

Disney California Adventure Park has a large Festive Foods Marketplace where you can try holiday favourites from around the world.

The popcorn is a fave of ours (for some reason, it tastes really amazing!) and we love to pick up a holiday-themed or limited-edition popcorn bucket to take home as a souvenir.

Watch the park light up when the sun goes down
Since we are such early birds at the park, we rarely make it to evening and always miss the nighttime lights. The benefit of visiting at this time of year is that sundown is earlier so the lights come on earlier, and we get to see the magic before bedtime!

The earliest display to watch is Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle which, at 6pm each evening, transforms into a shimmering display of 80,000 lights. Dazzling to watch!

Two special evening shows are presented if you can stay up late enough to watch them (we never made one, our eyes just wouldn’t stay open!):

The “Believe…In Holiday Magic” Fireworks Spectacular in Disneyland Park and World of Color – Season of Light in Disney California Adventure Park, which is a a show featuring videos projected onto screens formed by fountains.

Last thoughts on Disneyland during the holidays
Our time at Disneyland was magical. I would go every year if I could. The crowds weren’t as bad as when I have visited previously in summer (note: this might be because I planned the days we visited so carefully), and we found the temperature perfect for long days at the parks. I highly recommend this experience to families of all ages.

We received Disneyland Park tickets courtesy of Disney. All opinions our own. We are life-long lovers of Disney.

Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular

December 29, 2016 / Australia, Hunter Valley, NSW, Travel / 0 comment

If you’re visiting the Hunter Valley over December and January, you simply must see the gorgeous Christmas Lights Spectacular at the Hunter Valley Gardens.

What started as a small display of lights in Australia’s largest display garden six years ago has turned into the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest and most breathtaking display of over 2 million lights.

The show is designed with families in mind, with roaming entertainment, a Christmas Lights Fun Zone with inflatables, jumping castles, an arcade alley and 35 metre long Super Slide, Santa’s Workshop (open until New Year’s Eve) and nightly performances by children’s musical group Little Scallywagz.

This year’s light displays feature world landmarks, a 6 metre giant present tree, north pole and nativity scenes, Cinderella’s castle, the Mad Hatter’s Tea party, an under water scene, with the absolute faves for us being Candy Land and the Fairy Garden.

Observant visitors will notice a few new additions in the gardens – animatronic dinosaurs who are on display to tell people about the new Mega Creatures display coming to the Hunter Valley Gardens from Jan 2 – so if you visit in Jan, you’ll get both displays at the same time.

Tips for visiting the Christmas Lights Spectacular

Buy your tickets in advance to avoid the queue.
Arrive when the gardens open at 6:30pm. This will give you plenty of time to walk around the gardens while it’s still light enough to see the actual garden, get some food, and play in the fun zone until it gets dark enough for the lights to truly shine.
Keep a close eye on kids in the fun zone. We had no problems but there can be lots of big kids on the inflatables at the same time as the little ones.
Enjoy the roving entertainment! Our daughter loved this the most, especially the hula hoop lawn in front of the waterfall section.
Walk around the gardens for a second time when it’s dark. The lights are completely the focus when it’s dark and are really spectacular!

More information

Christmas Lights Fun Zone
Open from 6:30pm – 10:00pm, $7.50 per person
Slide is for children over 120cm tall.

Food & Beverage Area
Open from 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Food includes woodfired pizza, pasta, German kitchen, snack foods, churros, coffee.

Roaming Entertainment
From 6:30pm – 9.30pm

Little Scallywagz Show
7:30pm & 8:30pm

The Christmas Lights Spectacular is on display 4th November – 26th January 2017
Cost: Family Pass (2 adults + 1 child) – Night Only
$72.00, Family Pass (2 adults + 2 children) – Night Only
$92.00

Gates open 6.30pm – 10.00pm
General Gardens open 9am – 4pm during the Christmas Lights Spectacular

Hunter Valley Gardens
Address: 2090 Broke Rd, Pokolbin

Where to stay
We highly enjoyed staying the night at the nearby Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens. The hotel is a very short 7-minute walk from Hunter Valley Gardens. The large, bright and clean rooms feature satellite TV, Wi-Fi (paid), minibars, fridges, tea and coffeemaking facilities and balconies. The pool in the centre of the resort was extremely popular with families.

Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens
2090 Broke Rd, Pokolbin
mercurehuntervalley.com.au
Get Directions

We were given complimentary tickets to see the light show at the Hunter Valley Gardens. We loved the display and all opinions are my own. We also received a media rate, which is a slightly reduced rate, when staying at the Mercure Resort. I was under no obligation to write about either the light display or hotel.

A Merry Christmas with Minted Holiday Cards

December 4, 2016 / Product Reviews / 0 comment

Every year since Cheese was born, I’ve printed photo Christmas cards for our friends and relatives. I love receiving gorgeous photo cards from our friends, and hope that they, similarly, enjoy receiving our holiday wishes for them in the mail.

This year, I designed our cards with Minted, a US company specialising in gorgeous stationary.

Minted has some excellent features that I really like and wanted to share.

1. A large variety of cards to choose from
There are hundreds of cards to make a selection from. Literally too many to look through!

2. A personalised card preview tool
You can easily upload your own images to see what the cards will look like with your favourite shots in them.

3. Photo manipulation
It’s super easy to zoom in and out and crop the images to suit the cards, and there’s an option for “auto enhance” too.

3. Customisation options
Add foil, change the colours, change the text from “holiday” to “Christmas” greetings. There are so many options for each card.

4. Save and review later
One of my fave features, you can save all your designs and then view them all at once so it’s easy to compare them and choose your favourite.

5. Free recipient addressing
It’s really easy to upload a spreadsheet with your family and friends’ addresses in them, and they are printed on the envelopes FOR FREE! My handwriting is appalling, so I really appreciate this.

6. Digital proofing service
This is great for the nervous orderers among us – when you’re printing a lot of expensive cards, it’s reassuring to know there is someone looking over them and checking you haven’t made a silly mistake. If you choose not to use the proofing service you get a $10 discount and get your order 2 days faster.

7. Frequent discount offers
When I ordered mine they had a 20% off sale, with the code in a banner across the top of the site.

8. The quality is gorgeous
I’ve ordered from Minted before and the quality is just stunning. When you compare them to much cheaper places you can get cards from, there is no quality comparison at all. You get what you pay for – which is, in this case, gorgeous cards your family and friends will keep long after the holidays are over.

9. International shipping
I was stoked to see they shipped to Australia! It costs $20 for their standard international mail, but that’s pretty regular for getting something shipped all the way Down Under.

I can’t wait to get my cards! I will show them off on social media when they arrive.

Wanting to order your own gorgeous holiday cards? Make sure you do so while there is still time at Minted.com.

Thanks to Minted.com for the complimentary voucher to try their card ordering service. I’ve ordered from Minted in the past and have always been extremely happy with their quality and service so was more than happy to share my experience with others.

Christmas in Sydney 2015

December 24, 2015 / Cheese, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Christmas in the Southern Hermisphere is a funny time of year. It’s gets crazy hot, and we have wintery decorations popping up all over the place. It never feels as festive as it did when we were living in New York, but it certainly has its own charm that I love.

In Sydney, this is what Christmas looks like around the city:

David Jones shop windows are usually a festive highlight. They were a bit of a let down this year however, so fingers crossed for a better display next time.

The Swarovski tree in the Queen Victoria Building is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

Post a letter to Santa on the top floor – he actually writes back, too!

The best Santa photo in Sydney in the Queen Victoria Building.

The free Christmas kick off concert in Hyde Park. The City of Sydney has a whole series of these free concerts at the beginning of the season. Despite the rain we had a wonderful time singing Christmas carols and dancing with friends.

Life-sized gingerbread House at the Shangri La Hotel by master pastry chef Anna Polyviou.

The Christmas Tree in Martin Place runs digital messages all over it, so you can SMS a personal message to loved ones and see it on the tree.

Circular Quay Customs House tree is a tree with an amazing view of Sydney Harbour.

Merry Christmas friends! What does Christmas look like in your city?

Sheraton On The Park Christmas Edition High Tea

December 11, 2015 / CBD, Sydney, Sydney Food / 1 Comment

A high tea at the Sheraton on the Park, Sydney, is always a special event. On this occasion, we were sampling the new Christmas Edition High Tea, which promised to get us feeling festive (and full!) in time for the holiday season. Christmas is only 2 weeks away, so I’ve been embracing the holiday spirit this week, starting with an amazing high tea.

The Christmas High Tea comes with scones, sweets and savouries, and your choice of tea, hot chocolate (made with Lindt chocolate) or coffee. I chose the English breakfast, which arrived in a cute glass pot, and made at least three cups of tea.

Scones
Freshly baked chestnut scone and plain scone with strawberry jam, pure double cream and butter
Fois gras – apricot brioche

Savoury
Avocado, mozzarella, tomato open turkish sandwich
Vegetable wrap (vegetarian alternative)
Sandwich with cranberry, tomato, cheese (vegetarian alternative)
Fruit and cheese tart (vegetarian alternative)

Sweet treats
Gingerbread mille feuille with cranberry cream
Pistachio macarons
Orange tart with campari jelly
Black forest trifle
Lemon berry yule log
Warm cinnamon, orange chocolate drink
Almond stolen (on the scone tier)
English fruit cake (on the scone tier)

I really enjoyed the scones at this high tea. Sydney scones are often small and biscuit-like, but the Sheraton ones are bigger and fluffier than most. The jam was tart and not too liquidy (hey, I’m a mess jam-spreader!) and the cream was nice and thick.

The savouries were especially made for this vegetarian, which I always appreciate. I enjoyed the avocado and mozzarella on turkish toast best (which is on the regular menu too), with the delightful hidden pesto giving it a pop of flavour. The vegetable wrap had creamy sweet potato inside, with fresh greens, and the little sandwich has really fresh fluffy bread – again with a surprising spread of cranberry inside that made the flavours that bit extra vibrant.

There were a lot more sweets on this platter than on most high teas. I managed to fit one of everything in somehow (yes I’m still feeling full the day after), with my favourites being the very chocolaty trifle and lemon berry yule log. The trifle had three tiers of components plus grated chocolate on top, all of which, when scooped up together, made for a perfect chocolatey mouthful. The lemon berry yule log had one of my fave combinations of lemon and berries, wrapped in a little scroll shape.

The chocolate orange drink was a tiny sip of heaven (I love chocolate and orange together), and the gingerbread mille feuille was just divine. The crispy gingerbread wafers combined with the cranberry cream made for a light and refreshing treat – as well as being extremely pretty.

I also enjoyed the macaron with its fresh berry centre, and the little slice of fruit and nut Christmas cake, and the “almond stole”, which was kind of like a tea cake with almond inside. Light, fresh and sweet.

I highly enjoyed the Christmas high tea, and would strongly recommend it for a special outing in the lead up to Christmas. It’s only available until Dec 24, so get in quick!

The Christmas Edition High Tea Stand includes one coffee or tea per person. $109 for two. Additional cost for sparkling wine

The Christmas Edition High Tea is served Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-2pm and 2:30pm-4:30pm until December 24th.

Sheraton On The Park High Tea
161 Elizabeth Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9286 6000
Prices: $$$
Get Directions

Thank you to Sheraton On The Park for hosting us.

Christmas Gift Guide for Little Jetsetters

November 23, 2015 / Family, Kids / 10 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Christmas always seems to sneak up on me, does it feel the same to you? To help you find some fun gifts for your little jetsetter, I’ve rounded up the super cute gifts below. I’ve focussed on something a bit different this year instead of just toys. Instead you’ll find ideas for something to play, explore, read, share and wear.

1. Play: Bratz Study Abroad Dolls
Bratz dolls have been re-imagined with this new “Study Abroad” range. The dolls explore countries around the world by adopting the culture’s traditional fashion and styles and incorporates them into their own wardrobe. Example countries include Mexico, China, Brazil and Russia. I do like this new remake of the Bratz dolls as they focus on teaching kids about other cultures and encourages that “need to travel” urge from a young age.

US: Amazon from $10.78 (USD)
AUS: Toysrus.com.au $29.95 (AUDon sale at time of print)

2. Explore: Little Passports
The perfect way to encourage a love of travel in little ones as well as enjoying the excitement of a monthly package full of fun, engaging travel-themed products. Choose the adventures and subscription plan that’s right for your child – Early Explorers (ages 3-5), World Edition (ages 6-10), USA Edition (ages 7-12) – and your child’s destination-specific kit will arrive in the mail each month filled with letters, souvenirs, activities and more.

Little Passports ships globally: $15.95 USD per month plus shipping

3. Read: Lonely Planet Books
Little explorers will love planning their next adventure with these new Lonely Planet books designed to bring the world to life for junior jetsetters. I particularly like the Lonely Planet Kids’ special edition atlas, Adventures Around the Globe, which is full of activities and stickers (for kids three years-plus). Kids aged eight and over can journey through every country in the world via The Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book.

Adventures Around the Globe – World Atlas: AUD $16.99, USD $12.99
The Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book: AUD $29.99, USD $20
You Rule!: AUD $19.99, USD $14.99

4. Wear: Peter Alexander PJs
I love Peter Alexander PJs because they’re so soft and comfortable, plus their wash and wear extremely well. Their new Paris range is perfect for little travellers to fill their heads with big dreams about their next adventures.

Peter Alexander Paris Collection: AUD $59.95

5. Share: Card games
Spot It! Is a popular travel card game that now has a Spot It Jr! line especially for ages 4 to 7 – this animals one is particularly cute. Spot it! is a travel-friendly matching game can be played five different ways. Each card is decorated with 6 different animals of varying sizes. Here’s the amazing part: there is one, and only one, matching animal between any 2 cards.

Spot It Jr! US: Amazon $8.87, Aus: Myshopping.com.au $19.95.

Disclaimer: Affiliate links have been added in this blog post. Thank you for supporting me and the site!

Chrissie Gifts Sorted at the Myer Christmas Giftorium

November 15, 2015 / Indoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 1 Comment

The holiday season is my favourite time of year. I admit to going a bit overboard with the festivities – I just can’t help myself. This past weekend I was invited to the opening of the Myer Christmas Giftorium in Sydney. The Giftorium is more than just a store, it’s a really one-stop Christmas destination in Sydney where kids can meet Santa, write him a letter with their wish list, ride a mini train and also check out the hottest gifts for the whole family.

The Frozen and Disney section was a very popular section of the store, particularly the Elsa singing gloves and Anna and Elsa dolls. Still a hit, almost two year on. This is also the area where you’ll find Toy Story, Minnie & Mickey, Cinderella, Marvel Avengers and Inside Out toys.

The talking storm troopers in the Star Wars pop up were also extremely popular. We have a Star Wars lover in our house so I think we will be revisiting this section shortly…

Myer have really upped their personalised gifts this year, which are MY personal favourites. The Peanuts pop up store is particularly cute. Choose your artwork and name, et voila, custom artwork.

Preschoolers will love the array of Peppa Pig toys.

This Toy Story booth is a cute photo opp for kids to pretend to be a toy on sale for Christmas.

Arty kids are covered with a particularly big arts and crafts area, including brands like Crayola and Seedling.

Another hit with the preschooler set is this huge Thomas the Tank Engine and toys.

A bit of face painting fun at the craft station.

The most popular item at the Giftorium this year – personalised Nutella jars. For only $12, it’s a gift that is unique, cheap and delicious. Myer is the only retailer in Australia to offer this service in-store. It’s available in all stores as well as online from November 6.

Christmas decorations abound with plenty of ideas for making your home look jolly.

Right in the back of the store is a mini train that gives free rides to kiddies.

Next to the train depot is this little indoor play area. Perfect for letting kids run their sillies out with one parent supervising while the other does some sneaky Christmas shopping.

Santaland is next door to the train – beat the queue by booking online. This year Santa has brought his reindeer with him – kids can give the slumbering Rudolph a little pat when they visit.

Another personalision service available at the Myer Christmas Giftorium – custom Santa sacks and Christmas stockings.

My two favourite takeaways from the Myer Christmas Giftorium.

Are you excited about Christmas too? What’s on your Chrissie wish list?

Christmas Day with the family 2014

December 27, 2014 / Cheese, Family, Kids / 6 Comments

We had a really special Christmas this year for a few reasons. Firstly, Cheese is now the right age to “get” Christmas, so she’d been getting more and more excited over the past few weeks, building up to a fever pitch on Christmas Eve. She’d run into no less than five Santas over December, who, this year, was a celebrity spotting rather than a scary weird looking person when Cheese realised he was going to give her presents.

It was also the first Christmas we’ve spent back in Sydney since Cheese was only four months old. As fun as it was celebrating in Hawaii and New York, spending it in Sydney at my childhood home, with all of my family traditions passing down to Cheese, was really special.

Christmas Eve – can you tell that Santa came?

Christmas morning.

My mum’s brother and his partner joined us for Christmas lunch this year. Due to my uncle’s ill health we rarely see him, and it was the first time he’d met Alec and also Cheese. It was a really wonderful lunch – simple and full of laughter and great conversation.

My parents had a wonderful day with Cheese. Seeing the big smiles on their faces really made this whole move worthwhile. After the big scare in January when I thought I’d never get another Christmas with my dad again, it was doubly special this year to have the chance for one more (and hopefully many more!) Christmases with Dad.

Merry Christmas to and from my loves. I hope your Christmas was equally joyful with your friends and family.

Christmas in Sydney 2014

December 24, 2014 / Cheese, Family, Kids / 2 Comments

This year is a special Christmas – it’s our first back in Sydney since Cheese’s first, when she was only four months old, and it’s also the first one where she’s really “gotten” Christmas and is excited by Santa, reindeers, Christmas trees and carols. We’ve had a really fun few weeks checking out all of the Christmas cheer around the city, including our favourites below.

The Queen Victoria Building is always beautiful at Christmas. The Giant Swarovski tree in the centre is just spectacular, with 144,000 glorious Swarovski crystal ornaments and 60,000 twinkling lights. I really love that on each floor of the building you get to see a different part of the tree.

On the very top floor is where Santa holds court at Christmas. The QVB Santa is popular, so we got in early this year to avoid queues. He’s the happiest Santa I’ve ever seen, and I also really liked his helpers, who made Cheese laugh and feel comfortable enough to go and sit with Santa on her own for the first time since she was a tiny baby.

The bottom of the Swarovski tree is basically made of lights. It’s a magnet for small kids and selfie-takers alike. This is actually a really sentimental spot for me and Alec from our own dating history, many Christmases ago now.

Nearby in Pitt Street mall is the Lego Christmas tree – built entirely of Lego bricks. It features a surfing Santa, very appropriate for an Australian Christmas.

For the first time this Christmas, I took Cheese to join friends at a Christmas evening concert in Hyde Park. I wasn’t sure how she’d go with the late night, but she had a fantastic time at the concert, watching the kids’ performers like High 5 singing Christmas songs, making a craft Christmas tree, and dancing with her little friend.

We’ve been such Christmas nomads for the past few years, with Christmases in Hawaii and New York, that it’s really nice to be back home with our family and friends this year.

Christmas Gift Guide For Preschool Girls

November 10, 2014 / Family, Kids, Shopping / 10 Comments

How is it possible that Christmas is upon us already? I’m actually really excited for Christmas this year as Missy E is finally the right age to “get” it, so if her excitement over Halloween was anything to go by, she is going to be out of her mind with anticipation for the big event of the year.

It’s only been lately that Missy E has started to ask for things that she wants, too, so I’m excited to be able to get her a few things that her tiny, enthusiastic heart desires. If you have a princess and pink loving little girl at home or in the family to buy for, here are a few things little Miss E would very much like for Christmas this year.

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics
These magnetic letters attached to the fridge and play the sounds of the letters when you put the letters in the bus. It also plays songs like Wheels On The Bus and ABCs. Great for teaching early vocabulary. (RRP $29.95 AUD)

Smiggle Goodies
Every kid who is headed to daycare or school needs an adorable backpack. The Konnichiwa backpack (RRP $44.95) from Smiggle one is great for day trips as well – it’s a fantastic size to throw in everything little kids need, with lots of compartments for putting things like wipes, extra clothes and toys in so they won’t get lost. Bonus: the adorable kitty design is fun and girly without being too “baby” for E. I also love the Smiggle media pouch (RRP $14.95), keyring mirror (RRP $7.95) and double-decker lunchbox (RRP $24.95).

Cabbage Patch Kids Twinkle Toes
I loved my CPKs when I was little so it’s really cool to see Miss E enjoying them too. This particular model is so cute, with replica Skechers shoes that light up. The CPK range is great as they’re not too pricey but are fantastic quality. (RRP $89.99 AUD)

Anna and Elsa Singing Dolls
Missy E’s life is all about princesses, particularly Anna and Elsa. These singing dolls would blow her mind. (RRP $39.95 USD each)

Madeline Tea Set
E loves playing pretend tea parties of late, and this 24-piece set is just adorable. Each piece is illustrated with characters and scenes from the Madeline series. The set includes a tray, teapot, four cups, saucers, plates, spoons and napkins, plus a tablecloth, in a cute little carry box. We will be taking our tea party on the road with this one. (RRP $35 USD)

Kinetic Sand
Sand play without the mess. Kinetic Sand is 98% sand and 2% magic, where the ‘magic’ a bonding agent that causes the sand to stick only to itself in a soft clump. (RRP $29.95 AUD)

Disney Princess Magiclip
E is obsessed with the magiclip toys. She already has an Anna and Elsa magiclip and she plays with them obsessively. When she saw this princess set with Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Tiana, she flipped out. The dresses clip on and off and can be switched between the dolls. Literally hours of entertainment here. (RRP $39.95 USD)

Rapunzel Tower Play Set – Tangled
Like most three-year-olds, Missy E is really into doll sets and doll houses. She’s been begging for this one for a while now and even I have to admit it’s pretty cute and looks like it wouldn’t take up too much space. (RRP $49.95)

Farm Duplo
A huge set of lego with plenty of bricks for building (unlike a lot of small sets which are limited in terms of the general bricks included). Included are cute characters like cows and farmers. ($89.95 AUD)

Olaf Pillow Pet
This is a double-whammy toy favourite – it’s Olaf, so, duh, and it’s a pillow that folds into a toy. An instant hit with the preschool set. (RRP $34.99)

What do your kid want for Christmas this year?