Last weekend we took the kids to Wyevale garden centre in Poppleton for a Christmas breakfast and to meet the big man himself – did they enjoy it?
Of course they did!
We arrived for our breakfast and we were greeted with a lovely festive table which had crackers, gingerbread men to decorate and confetti. There was a little bit of a glitch to start with as our booking was under the wrong name (blogger problems eh?!) but we were told to take a seat and let the staff sort it out while we just enjoyed – I don’t think you can say fairer than that right?
We were treated to a full English breakfast which I have to say was delicious – the kids were all given a child’s version; sausages, beans, egg and hash browns. Yum. As is standard in parenting, Roo stole my bacon in trade for a bit of his egg… I’m not entirely sure that WAS a fair trade but he convinced me. One of the things I really loved was that the kids were given the gingerbread men to decorate AT the table, which made life so much easier for me, I didn’t have to keep getting up and down while wrestling with Edith. They loved it too and it kept them busy until the food arrived.
Once we’d eaten we were taken to meet Santa. My only complaint was that, having been to quite a few garden centre Christmas experiences, I expected something perhaps more festive. There were few decorations is the actual café and I really expected to head around the corner to the grotto style area, but we went over to the conservatory seating instead – which was, of course, adorned with Christmas décor but it wasn’t what I had pictured in my head. When Santa came out he spoke to the children and then they were invited to come and choose a present from a big sack. I did and didn’t like this idea. I loved that the kids got to pick their own present, however I didn’t like that they weren’t wrapped up which meant two little boys (who were being super cheeky and naughty while their mums just stood and laughed) kept shoving the other children out of the way to “swap” their toy or have a second rummage. The toys were pretty cheap and not of the best quality but I wouldn’t expect anything more from a garden centre and after the lovely breakfast I thought it was fair, you don’t expect something long lasting, just something to enjoy for a few days!
After the kids chose their presents we went back to the café to finish our coffees and then headed to the back of the store to look at the fish! I remember Wyevale being the place I bought all of my tropical fish as a teen when I had a beautiful tank. It was a perfect ending to the morning as the children loved seeing the vibrant colours and the boys even had a chat with the staff who let them hang decorations.
On the whole, I would wholeheartedly recommend the experience, it was a super fun morning at a really great price.
H x
