Harrods

A few weeks ago I met J and the kids at Harrods after work.  We had tickets for Santa's Grotto so we decided to have dinner at the Disney Cafe beforehand. 

I was skeptical, but I have to give the Disney Cafe two thumbs up.  There were Disney characters sprinkled around the dining area and a few different Disney movies playing on the walls.  We were near Toy Story 2 - J jockeyed for the seat with the best view.

The food was decent but best of all was that there were only families dining.  The possibility of crying or whining was not going to disturb anyone.  What a relief! 
Once we ordered, the waitress brought over minnie & mickie ears for the kids - a nice bonus surprise.  K pretty much slept through the entire meal but C enjoyed herself.
After dinner we made our way to Santa's Grotto.  I had bought tickets months ago and by the time I did there were hardly any left.  We were warned that we might have to wait 45min to an hour before seeing Father Christmas which I was dreading since we were bordering on the kids bedtimes.  But when we arrived there was hardly any line so within minutes the kids were being asked their names and the four of us were being led through the secret door.  Into a big hall with more secret doors.  We were told to stand in front of one. Then the door opened and we were ushered into a tiny room where Father Christmas sat on his family-size throne.

K was a bit startled at first (as was I - definitely not what I was expecting) and would likely have been reduced to tears if C hadn't been so casual about it.  Father Christmas greeted both kids by name and had them sit next to him so that he could give them each a pin.  C asked for a 2-wheel scooter for Christmas (she has a 3-wheel scooter that she loves but apparently all the big girls at school use 2-wheel scooters - hence the upgrade request).  K didn't ask for anything particular so we just started suggesting things...planes, trains etc.  He said 'yes' to them all.  Smart boy.

Having J & I in the picture was not really planned for but when it was suggested we decided 'why not' and it just happened to be the best picture of the lot. Definitely a great smile on K.  Before we left, the kids also received a Christmas book about Henry, the electric van and a piece of chocolate

On the way out we met the sugarplum fairies, two characters from the book.

Our last stop was the toy department.  The kids had fun playing with all the toys that were out.  It was waaaay past bedtimes at this point, but as a result, the place was practically empty.  K didn't venture too far from the Thomas the Train section.


A fun way to spend the evening.  And a reminder of what an awesome store Harrods is.  This is the first time we had visited since we moved to London.  J and I vowed to return again soon.