It’s beginning to look a lot like … that time of year when everything gets covered in tinsel and people dress in their PJs for no apparent reason!
We LOVE Christmas at the nursery and go all out to spread festive cheer throughout December, starting with the compulsory daily Christmas attire from 1 December to help the children, parents and visitors get in the Christmas spirit.
We’ve been sharing the Christmas Story as the story of the month at circle time, so the children understand what the celebrations are all about. The older children are also planning to make Christingle candles from oranges to symbolize the Christian story.
On Friday 6 December, Santa paid us a special visit to kick off our ‘Twelve days before Christmas’ calendar of activities for each room, starting with the Reindeer Run. After introducing himself and singing some festive songs, Santa invited the children to put on their antlers and red noses and follow him around the garden in the popular Reindeer Run. It was so much fun.
The children enjoyed a mouth-watering Christmas lunch on Wednesday 11 December, lovingly prepared by Chef Lynda and Elf Jess in the nursery’s 5-star rated kitchen. Turkey and all the trimmings was followed by a scrumptious homemade chocolate pudding and chocolate sauce. All staff and children including those from the Babies Room ate together in the decorated Christmas lunch hall, with festive music playing in the background. The food was so yummy that many of the children went back for seconds – some even went back for thirds. Well done Chef Lynda!
The following day, we celebrated ‘National Christmas Jumper Day’ in style. The staff looked fabulously festive and some of the children dressed up too. Christmas jumpers were a key focus for Babies last week, but that’s all we can tell you for now … we wouldn’t want to spoil the Christmas Day surprise, other than to say that all the children have been as busy as elves making hand-made gifts all month, and have even made their own Christmas wrapping paper. We hope you enjoy opening your special gifts on Christmas Day.
The big man himself made a return visit to the nursery last Friday (13 December). Santa visited each room and chatted to the children in the morning. In the afternoon, all the children enjoyed some one-to-one time and a photo with Santa. They were beyond excited, especially as they received a special gift to open on Christmas morning. Pre-school children also had the chance to share their last-minute Christmas wish lists with Santa. To keep our Pre-school parents in the picture, we’ve made a note of your child’s must-haves on the noticeboard outside the Pre-school Room, just so you know what Santa is planning to bring.
To mark the last day of term on Monday 23 December, we’ll be jumping into our best Christmas pajamas – and would love the children to do the same. There’ll be hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, Christmas music and a festive tea to round off the day.
Remember we re-open on Thursday 2 January 2025. In the meantime, we’d like to wish all our families a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
See you in 2025.