Well, survived the grotty grotto experience, just - and it really was grotty.
On previous years you got to decorate a biscuit with icing and sweets, make a decoration and do 1 other craft thing before seeing Father Christmas. This year you could make a paper robin which involved gluing 4 pieces of precut coloured paper onto a piece of card and adding some googly eyes and that was it. Ds2 didn't want to do it as he was too shy to sit at the table and ds1 was probably too old for it but did it anyway.
FC was the grandad of one of ds2's closest friends and tbh was totally rubbish. He didn't have the patter downpat, didn't know what to say to the boys (who were just stood there shy and speechless) and to cap it all the PTA helper's toddler was running in and out of the grotto trashing the decorations, yelling and screaming and bumping into my boys while FC was trying to speak to them. (Proper one boy/3 year old wrecking crew on a mission he was too!) £9.00 I paid for that and I bet the gifts are rubbish as well. BAH HUMBUG!
Twas better last year for me. We didn't have to go because ds2 was in hospital, so the teachers wrapped up some lego kits for the boys instead.
Sorry for the grump, but am also that because half the class was out at an interschool basketball match this afternoon, the remaining students were allowed to 'play' on the computers (dressed it up as ICT, but basically it was free play on a computer). Ds1 went on the Dr Who site at the insistence of some other boys from his class and frightened himself. I am really cross. I don't let him watch Dr Who and certainly wouldn't let him access stuff about in on the internet. From what he has told me, there was little or no supervision involved.
And b r e a t h e ...
HKZ, you definitely deserve a shopping accident. You are waaay overdue for a treat. Will try and have a scout about for snowsuits later this evening if I get a chance.
I have heard that about door bouncers and baby walkers (the sit in and walk kind) etc as well.