New Christmas Tradition

This is our 7th Christmas as  parents.....wow, how did that happen?

And 7 years in, I've thought of a new tradition for our kiddies. Each year as a present they'll get their very own 'expereince'. A ticket that entitles them to do something (either with a parent or as a whole family) that they love doing at that time.

This was our first time doing it and it was a roaring success.

Seth got a ticket that entitled him to a family zoo trip (cool that we all got to get in on his present). We did it before Christmas because Daddy Joe wasn't taking much time off work and we didn't want to keep putting it off.

The kids were excited to take their umbrellas but we only needed them once. It was perfect....not to hot, not too cold.

When we finished it off with McDs afterwards I really felt like we should have left them in a monkey enclosure at the zoo.....they are so terribly behaved....or should I say 'full of beans'?!?!?!

These are the girls 'experience tickets' that were under the tree on christmas morning....

Strawberry picking and nail salon

Go to the movies to watch Annie and have Nandos (which she's wanted forever and I always so no when she asks)

Daddy Joe had a Friday off two weeks ago so he did Faith's date (hence the lack of pictures!) And it turned out being Big Hero 6 cause we took so long to get around to it and Annie had finished. Lucky they both LOVED Big Hero 6!

Nandos and Spirulina for lunch.....so nice for a change

And I won the prize for taking this little Madam on her date. And what a date it was. I almost came home broke, and what I thought would take 2 hours max, took 5 hours!!!

We had a little pit stop at the Outdoor Furniture in the warehouse so I could take our her plaits and take silly selfies

Pretty awesome for Aunty Natty to walk in out of the blue.....from Australia!

It was roasting at the Strawberry picking but we really enjoyed strolling around together.  It wasn't really about the strawberries afterall cause Daddy Joe came home with 10 punnets the night before, so it was more about hanging out together. I felt really sorry for the family in front of us cause they looked really shocked when the bags they'd picked came to $38. I'm sure they hadn't intended on spending that much money.....ours only came to $2.30!!!!!!

Then we finished off our date with a wander through the Look Sharp  Store in Westgate. Gosh I could've stayed in there for a few hours but I'll have to go without the kids cause all I heard was 'Mum can I have this one day', 'Mum can I have this for my birthday'....

Just had to take a pic of 'Creep with Mo'!!!!!! For some reason I could imagine Uncle Pete pulling off this look. Maybe cause he's white and I feel like he'd be game enough to do it. No offence Pete!

And just when I thought we were all finished, I came in to make dinner while Daddy Joe had the other kids out on their own snorkel shopping expedition, Ella got into her new Frozen leggings and insisted I do her makeup. Once that was sorted I asked if I could take a picture but she was all shy and kept saying no. Then I realised Australia's Next Top Model was on TV so I told her to do some poses like those girls. She was a little reluctant at first but once she warmed up I couldn't stop her!!

One on one time with the kids is soooooo valuable and enjoyable. Wish I could get it more often, but I think we'll all that what we can get in that regard. It's so rare and precious to whoever's lucky enough to get it.

Already thinking about what next year's 'Christmas Experiences' might be.