Uncle Jumbo’s is a yearly Christmas party that has been going since I was little. Even so, this was the first time I attended so Aidan and I essentially experienced the whole thing together.

Uncle Jumbo, Noddy and his friends from Toyland put on a show, along with Father Christmas, Tinkerbell, a marching band, and numerous other characters. here is what we thought about it with tips for the Newbies like us…

You are picked up at the gate by tractor, right after handing over your child’s gift to one of the assistants. (The gifts are given over in the dark so make sure you mark it well).

You get dropped off at a “magical castle” and an array of characters entertain and interact with the kids.

Notes to Newbies:
– Bring food, they do have snacks available for purchase and since it is for charity it is a good idea to support the stalls, but there isn’t much variety so pack that picnic basket.
– You stay there for quite a bit so pack a jacket for when the weather turns.
– Your kid is going to want a glow stick, they go for R25 each
– Mark your kid’present clearly so it doesn’t get lost
– Charge your phone for plenty of pictures

Aidan and Caleb were awestruck

My sister, Caleb’s mom, joined us for the party

Aidy stayed pretty close to me for the dancing and playing but once he settled in, he could not contain his excitement.

Aidan and Karis (Luchae from My Spreadsheet brain) with Uncle Jumbo

Aidan went in to full interview mode (I have found that if a journalist and a detective have a child it’s basically a question machine – and apparently, we are not shy to go right up to people to question them).

– We sat on hay bales and he asked why we were sitting on horse and cow food.
– He asked if the Fairy Godmother’s  grey hair made her a Fairy Granmother.
– He asked Spiderman if he was the real one from the TV.
– He asked Elsa why she didn’t bring Olaf and if she could just use her magic to bring him.
– He asked Uncle Jumbo why the dog wanted a cat (referring to the Farmer in the Dell nursery rhyme they sang).
– He asked another visitor why she (a grown woman) liked blue and choose a blue glow stick like he did.
– He asked how the marching band got all the way there with their instruments.

At the end I had to stop my shy kiddo from running into the castle to meet Santa shouting…”it’s me Santa, over here”.

I honestly thought he would hate it because he does not do well with big groups but he really surprised me. I sat with tears in my eyes as Aidy sat with stars in his.

Although I did feel that the party was a little drawn out (my attention span has never been great) I enjoyed it and will definitely be back.

This picture is from their Facebook page do check it out for more info, seriously click on the picture 🙂

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