At the moment, I've got about three different recipes that I'm just trying to get right before sharing on here, I'm sorry that there aren't many new ideas on here. They're on their way!
We had the most incredible time at Bognor Regis Butlins over Christmas. It's something that we really decided to do quite last minute, only making the definite booking a couple of weeks before going.
I'm not going to lie, it's not the cheapest way to spend Christmas but it is the most entertaining and involves the least hassle (well, apart from the journey there).
We didn't tell D where we were going but his eyes lit up as we arrived and he worked it out. Here he is enjoying the carousel.
We opted to stay in the Shoreline hotel and opted for the hotel dining package - meaning that we had breakfast and dinner covered. One of the nice things about the hotel dining package is that you can opt to have your dinner at any of the restaurants on site - although vouchers towards food at Turner's don't necessarily cover the whole of the meal. Having said that though, we've not been very impressed with Turner's on our visits there, so we don't mind forgoing it.
We managed to eat in Shoreline's restaurant, the Deck (the restaurant for the Wave) and Kaleidoscope. All of them were similar in terms of style - they all have a buffet and offer a three course menu. They do a lot better on a range of vegetarian options than I remember when we holidayed nine years ago which is brilliant. Particular favourites were the grilled Moroccan vegetables at the Deck and the vegetable curry at Kaleidoscope.
The three restaurants offer different things but we were particularly fond of the Deck - where the buffet areas are all hidden by a wall, so you didn't feel like you were in a canteen situation. The decor (and the staff) in there were the best by far. Shoreline's hotel was a little less attentive and felt a little less organised - we asked for a cocktail pitcher, were told that they didn't have the ingredients for this, ordered another, same thing, then finally chose one they did have ingredients for and got a glass... Nice to share a glass I suppose but not quite what we were going for!
D really liked the little bowls of pasta made up for him - the fresh cooking of these in front of you is a highlight.
There were many other things that were amazing about the visit - the snow storm in Skyline was brilliant. D had lots of fun throwing around the 'snow' after and we were there for a good half hour after just doing that. A magical bit of time.
Then there was the snow globe available for pictures - here we are!
And the really rather lovely lit-up Christmas tree.
We also really enjoyed the fireworks on Christmas Eve. I took hundreds of photos of these and only these two came out.
A visit to see Father Christmas was also very good and we got a great photo of him with D in a snow globe. D told him that he wanted a 'pyowning car' and was elated to receive a stunt motorbike!
Below are a couple of favourite presents: -
Neverland pirate pyjamas that he loves
His present from us - a Microscooter. He loves it. He's also rather fond of his Fireman Sam helmet (and even got to show it to the actual Fireman Sam while we were there). Turns out that the best place to scoot is around Skyline - so flat!
Then the obligatory pony picture - we have a lot of these from our times there.
All in all, it was a very good holiday. We had been wanting to do something totally different this year and it really was. We'd consider going again and definitely recommend it if you are considering it.
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