As the costs vary so wildly for all the different opportunities.
DD is happily aware that some are FC's helpers, whilst other places have special visits by the real man himself.
So, where has been the best place, how much and why was it so good?
For 6y DD I think so far it was this year. She went with school on Monday to a farm live nativity. I was there as a volunteer (I help at school anyway).
For just under £10 (parents paid £5 each, school paid rest) the children got:
- to dress up
- to take part in the live nativity with live animals
- to cuddle lambs
- to have a donkey ride
- to have a drink and home made biscuit
- to visit Father Christmas and recieve a gift
The FC was the best by far. DD says he was definitely the real FC himself. He was so jolly, with ruddy cheeks, a nice round tummy, a shock of white curly long hair and beard and a lovely deep but gentle voice. He spent a long time with the children, asking them all about themselves, and aso telling them about his home in Lapland, and his reindeer, etc. He knew about things they'd been doing at school and apparently the head teacher had passed on good reports of them all so he had them on his "nice" list.
DD got a lovely age appropriate gift - a clay modelling kit. The girls got different gifst deending on their age range, and not all the girls in each class got the sae. there was a good range.
Altogether it was lovely. I got to go into the grotto with some of the girls and they all came out buzzing. Even the most sceptical of them seemed very pleased and happy afterwards, and it was all they could talk about o n the coach home.