The Mart Theatre panto spectacular that's set to fill us all with festive cheer! (oh yes it will...)

December is almost upon us and we are full of festive cheer after a little robin told us that The Mart Theatre is treating Skipton's Young Carers Group to a trip to this year's panto spectacular Peter Pan
 
We didn't think we could love the vibrant Mart Theatre, based at Skipton's auction mart, any more than we do already but the news they're generously putting BIG smiles on  the little faces of children who care for family members in very challenging circumstances, is the icing on the Christmas cake.
 
We'll be blogging about Skipton Young Carers soon to give you more information about their amazing work but we can't wait any longer to share the low down on the fantastic Peter Pan panto! The same company that produced last year's amazing show to rave reviews from MooBaaKids (and further afield!) is back with a bang!
 
You'll no doubt all know that the swashbuckling adventure of  Peter Pan is about a mischievous boy, who never grows up. He and his Fairy Tinkerbell, visit an Edwardian London house and meet the children of Mr and Mrs Darling – Wendy, John and Michael. The story continues as they follow Peter to the Lost Boys hideout on the small island of Neverland meeting Mermaids, Indians, a Crocodile and Pirates…oh and a rather nasty Captain Hook who despises Peter Pan and by hook or by crook wants to rid the world of his arch enemy. It's traditonal panto fare with vivid characters, slapstick fun and adventure with bags of audience participation. Prepare to forget you've grown up yourself and laugh along with your kids!

Directed by George Critchley with a full professional cast supported by The Zoe Taylor Dance Academy (Blackburn), this looks set to be another colourful riot to get the whole family in the mood for Christmas. It looks like word has spread about the top quality of the productions on at the mart as some of the performances are already close to sell out. We cannot support the Mart Theatre enough or on past performance recommend the panto enough! We've bought our tickets and tucked them away safely...we suggest you get yours sooner rather than later and look forward to the adventure!

Tickets only £8 adults, £6 children and £24 family (4 tickets)

Show times:

Thursday 20th December at 7.30pm

Friday 21st December at 7.30pm

Saturday 22nd December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Sunday 23rd December at 1.30pm and 4.30pm

For more information please click HERE

Christmas at Kilnsey Park brings reindeer to the dales!

There's an absolute cracker of a festive family weekend planned on 8 and 9 December as Kilnsey Park launch their first Christmas under the Crag celebration. We are very excited!

A great day out at the best of times (we love the Kilnsey trail and are always partial to the food from the farm shop) this special weekend promises to be a real highlight of all the local Christmas events, with real life reindeers Comet and Blitzen joining in the fun.

Saturday (8 Dec) sees the beautiful setting host the Winter Real Ale Festival and live music, 6pm till late. Kilnsey Park is set to sway to the live sounds of blues prodigy Bluesbeaten Redshaw, who played Glastonbury and Montreux Jazz festivals aged just 19. There will be hot food cooked on the fire and the entire park will be illuminated.  It's absolutely free but donations are welcomed to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

It sounds like the perfect evening to us and is topped only by what's in store the next day! Sunday (9 Dec) looks like an incredible way to spend a day in the dales with the little ones. We cannot imagine their excitement on hearing that Father Christmas will be in attendance with two real life beautiful reindeer!

Alongside this there will be a special illuminated Christmas Trail with Santa's Grotto, hot food cooked on the fire, Christmas craft workshops, 'make your own snowman' and pony rides (for an extra £2.50). There will be festive food in the (child/baby-friendly) café, mince pies and mulled wine, carols from local schoolchildren, plus stocking and hamper fillers galore available from the Estate’s well-stocked Farm and Gift Shop. All this and a fantastic Christmas market in a marquee. 

Entrance to the Park, Estate Shop and Cafe will be free. Tickets for the special Christmas Trail experience - including the illuminated walk, meeting the reindeers and a visit to Father Christmas including special present - are: Children (under 14) £5, Adults £4 and Family £15. Opening hours are 10am-8pm and there's no need to book just turn up ready to have fun!

We think this sounds like the hot ticket this year and we cannot wait to enjoy Kilnsey Park's first Christmas celebration. With the line-up they've planned, we're already hoping it won't be the last! See you there...

 For more information please visit www.kilnseypark.co.uk

The 12 Ways of Christmas

December is racing by with calendar doors popping open all over the place and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! You recently all shared your top tips with us for making Christmas especially exciting. We had some *brilliant* suggestions for sprinkling extra magic over the festive fun and so (along with a few of our own) we thought we'd post a round up here! So here’s our ideas for The 12 Ways of Christmas!

NSPCC Letter from Santa

1. Write and post a letter to Santa - and get a FREE reply courtesy of the Royal Mail - visit www.royalmail.com/letters-to-santa for details (your letter needs to be sent by 14 December 2011 to get a reply by Christmas Eve). Or why not donate to the NSPCC in the process - click here for how. Or if you're lucky enough to have an open fire - let your letter get sucked up the chimney (just like magic!) - but don't forget to arrange your own 'reply'!

2. Visit www.portablenorthpole.tv to get a FREE personalised video message from Santa for your little one. By all accounts, they are AMAZING!

Gingerbread People

3. Get creative in the kitchen - seek out some festive child-friendly recipes on the web - we like the look of these gingerbread people! And if they turn out ok why not bag them up and give some of them away as gifts?



4. Cosy up on the sofa (perhaps with some new PJ's courtesy of an early surprise gift from "Mrs Claus") and watch a classic Christmas movie/cartoon - The Snowman, Home Alone, Disney's Christmas Carol and The Polar Express are just a few of our favourites!



5. Read a Christmas-themed story each night before bedtime in the run up to the big day - we like One Snowy Night, The Grinch and the ever enchanting ‘Twas the Night before Christmas!



6. Take your little one to meet the man himself - Santa! There are so many places to visit Santa in and around Skipton you really are spoiled for choice - you can see him on a train, on a boat, in his grotto, in a caravan in the woods or even in a cave! Check out the MooBaaKids Events page for our pick of the best places to see Santa during December.

Reindeer Dust!

7. Get your Christmas Eve ritual sorted before they go to bed:


* Let them sprinkle some "reindeer dust" (aka dry porridge oats mixed with glitter!) outside your front door so that the reindeer know where to land!
* Put out a mince pie, a glass of your favourite tipple and a carrot for Santa and his reindeer.
* Put out your "Santa Stop Here" sign
* If you don't have a chimney and therefore have trouble explaining how Santa gets in - leave a special "Santa key" out for him (which is any old key - obviously don't use your actual door key - with a bit of red ribbon tied to it!) so that Santa can let himself in
* And if you really want to go to town (and have a helpful volunteer) - with the little ones safely indoors get a friend to dress up as Santa and shake some bells outside the kids' window. Let the little ones listen out for the bells and then let them have a look out of their window to see him for themselves - you could even let them take a photo as 'proof' for years to come! * Don't forget to 'track' Santa on Norad as he delivers presents all around the world on Christmas Eve!

Enchanted Forest at Stockeld Park nr Wetherby

8. Take your little one along to a local festive performance and soak up the atmosphere - could be a pantomime, nativity play or carol service. There are lots of suggestions on our Events page! For a special treat you can't beat The Christmas Adventure at Stockeld Park nr Wetherby. With an enchanted wood (featuring talking trees and twinkly lights), a real ice rink, a magical maze, Santa's grotto, festive cafe and a shop filled to the brim with festive decs, you simply can't go wrong! You can also select and bring your own Christmas tree home with you.



9. For younger ones why not get together with some friends and arrange your own little Christmas party and share the burden - all bring some food, music and arrange a secret santa gift exchange for the kids



10. Put any leftover wrapping paper across the door to your living room and on Christmas day morning let the kids burst through it to discover what Santa has left for them.

Santa's footprints!

11. To PROVE that he exists, sieve some icing sugar over a pair of big wellies/boots by the fireplace / front door to make Santa's snowy footprints (and you can do miniature ones using your little one's shoes for the elves/fairies!)



12. For slightly older kids - slap on some Christmas tunes and let them help decorate the Christmas tree. Or for added excitement and maybe for younger ones, let the "elves" visit at night and put up the Christmas tree while they are alseep in bed - a lovely treat for them to wake up to in the morning!



Whatever you do with your little ones to make the magic countdown special and the big day sparkle, enjoy! Don’t forget to have your camera to hand oh, and be good or Santa will know! x

Aladdin And His Magic Lamp at The Mart Theatre, Skipton - two dates only!

ALADDIN AND HIS MAGIC LAMP – two dates only!
The Mart Theatre, Skipton - 23rd and 24th December, 2011
11.00am & 2.30pm each day


We are so excited (Oh, yes we are!) about the two-date pop-up panto that’s heading to The Mart Theatre, Skipton. Aladdin And His Magic Lamp is set to get families across the area feeling really festive in the run up to Christmas.


Starring former Eastender Mark Homer (Tony Hills) as Abanazer and a cracking cast, the show promises to be a riot of comedy and wonderful foot-tapping songs and beautiful costumes all in the brilliant atmosphere of the auction mart.


George Critchley for PMA Productions brings the Middle Eastern folk tale to life in a magical way. The show retells the life of a young poor boy Aladdin (Alex Beaumont) who lives with his mum Widow Twankey (Neil Bromley), and brother Wishee Washee in a Chinese City (thought to be Peking) who is recruited to find a Magic Lamp by his mysterious Uncle Abanazer.


Everyone is invited to come and find out what happens when Aladdin is double-crossed and finds himself stuck in the booby-trapped cave of wonders.
Meet the Genie (Jack Lewis-Slatter) who lives in a Lamp, his sidekick The Slave of the Ring (Rebecca Charnley), Sophie Michaels as Princess Yasmin, in this new production for all the family.


Along with a full supporting troupe of dancers from Karen Heritage Dance Academy (Stockton-on-Tees) and all the traditional ingredients of a fun-filled, family pantomime, this is sure to be a festive treat for any age.


Tickets: £7.50 adult, £5.00 child, £20 family ticket (must include one adult) Book online at www.themarttheatre.org.uk
Or call the box office: 01756 706460

Rudolph takes a break as Santa takes to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal!

When Santa comes to Skipton town he’ll be swapping the skies for the canal and giving the reindeer a rest! Pennine Boat Trips are all set to welcome him and your little ones on board each weekend in December for a magical adventure.


We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again (and again)…we are incredibly lucky to be bringing our kids up in Skipton where there’s so much to do. The canal is such a big part of the town’s history and identity that it’s never too early to introduce them to it.

Pirate Nick!

These fab boat trips with Father Christmas really caught our eye in the Christmas countdown as a fun way to get into the festive swing. The journey starts at the Canal Basin where there’s a Pirate magician to entertain passengers. Five minutes into the cruise and Santa is waiting on the towpath fast asleep! If the voices of Skipton’s nippers are in good form he’ll be woken with a start and jump on board the Cobbydale to call up all the children by name to the front of the boat.


After he’s had a little chat with them dropping in some snippets about what he knows about each of them (courtesy of who ever is accompanying them!) it’s time for him to give them all a gift from his sack of presents. As the children enjoy the merriment, the accompanying adults will be treated to a hot drink and tasty mince pie while they take in the views.


Children are invited to come dressed in their pirate get-up and the best will win a prize! The trips last 75 minutes and run every weekend in December up to the 20th. There are 3 trips a day (depending on demand) at 11.30am, 1.00pm and 2.30pm, at £12.00 per ticket. These trips are really popular so please book now to avoid disappointment. Boarding from the wharf, at Waterside Court, Coach St (next to the Ultimate Outdoors).


There are also special festive trips for the grown-ups planned too – we like the sound of the Christmas dinner cruises and the Sunday roasts (phew - no duck on the menu!), and their luxury dayboat hire! For further information call 01756 790 829 or visit www.canaltrips.co.uk/santa_trips.php

Father Christmas takes up residence at Bolton Abbey!

With the Christmas countdown now officially on we’re delighted to let you know that Santa himself is in residence at Bolton Abbey throughout December gearing up for the busiest day of his year!


Magical enough at the best of times, Bolton Abbey Estate cannot wait to host the visits from Father Christmas, Mrs Christmas and the elves to enchant little ones from across the area.


After a 4,000 mile journey from the North Pole, he will be resting in an old Romany caravan nestled in Strid Wood on the 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th (fully booked), 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December between 10am and 4pm.


You’re invited to wrap up warm and follow a trail of presents from Father Christmas' sleigh (parked outside the Cavendish Pavilion) to find where he is hidden in the woods (Only a 5 minute walk from the Cavendish Pavilion – suitable for pushchairs). Once you find him – you’ll also find that he has presents suitable for all ages, being sorted by Mrs Christmas and a merry band of elves!

To keep queuing to a minimum, the elves have devised a system giving each family a booking time. The visits by Father Christmas are always incredibly popular so it’s recommended you book now to avoid disappointment. The Estate Office can be contacted on 01756 718 000.


Tickets are £4.50 per child and normal admission to the estate applies. For those visiting Father Christmas, the Cavendish Pavilion will offer a free children’s hot drink with each full paying adult hot drink. There’s much to tempt you to keep the chill off – delicious hot chocolate or a yummy babychino for the little ones – frothy milk with chocolate sprinkles.


Also on at Bolton Abbey is the Winter Wonderland Christmas Gift Fair (3rd and 4th December) and the 12 Days of Christmas Trail (25th December – 5th January).