The last Monday before Christmas is painful.  There’s no beating around the bush.  I feel so close yet so far from my little staycation.  Especially after another one of those lovely weekends I tend to have this time of the year.  A weekend full of friends and festive spirit.

Yes, work is quiet and everyone’s in a lovely pre-holiday mood but it would also be great, right about now, to be kicking back at home getting ready for Christmas at a leisurely pace.  But it is what it is and the week is going to fly by anyway with the morning tea and lunch plans we’ve got.

Thankfully Preschooler SSG is now fully recovered from his virus.

He slept for Australia over the weekend.  Next to this shipping carton bed box he made for his stuffed toys.  Using one of my pillows.  My other role aside from lending out my favourite pillow was to prepare a breakfast tray of wooden fruit and juice so that ‘the children’ would have a healthy breakfast for when they woke up the next day.

The shipping carton previously contained this.  It’s Assembly Square, the tenth anniversary Lego Creator set released earlier this year.  Assembly Square is definitely where I will be spending my non-family and food time this Christmas.

On Saturday, we beat the heat at a mother’s group bestie’s fifth birthday party.  

We began with a pre party walk around the amazing jungle themed Christmas decorations featuring birds draped in lights and baubles suspended above us while giraffes sedately dotted the walkways.  Their red velvet ribbons and bells were too much of a temptation for Preschooler SSG.  He just had to see if he could reach them on his tippiest tippy toes.

Zara was full of love for rainbows and sequins. I came this close to trying that middle ensemble on.

They also had this embellished faux fur coat on display.  Its charms were calling me siren style despite the heat but I walked away and kept my eyes firmly on the prizes of both the post-Christmas sales (which I shall be doing online with a glass of something cold and bubbly by my side) and LA in around five weeks(!!).

Chipmunks is a well-oiled machine in the world of indoor play centres and children’s parties.  Sitting in the dining area was a bit like being at the airport.  PA announcements were made periodically to announce the start of food service in one of the three party rooms.  Unfortunately, other more mundane announcements had to be made regarding the safety instructions for using the slide, the need for socks to be worn at all times and the need for parents to supervise their children.  We were a smug bunch sitting in a row and thinking that it wasn’t one of us … yet.

After lunch, I sat myself in front of the slide for slide watch.  Or more precisely, ‘blurry shapes of what I think are five-year-old boys in socks on the slide’ watch.

We finally managed to gather the children for the start of their time in the party room.  There were a few false, excited starts as the boys kept opening the doors of the other party rooms to see if it was their turn yet but we got there in the end.

When the party finally did get started, it was loud.  Who knew the humble paper trumpet blower could be so loud and played so continuously?  Where do five-year-olds get their energy?  Do they perhaps leach every drop of it from ourselves which we then attempt to replenish in the am with our double shot coffees and endless cups of tea?

On Sunday, we braved these ominous looking skies to get to the Opera House for Jay Laga’aia Christmas Concert for children.

Jay was amazing and had great rapport with both the children and their accompanying adults.  I clapped and sang along without shame.  I am only familiar with Jay’s work as an actor and had no idea of the depth of his passion and skill in teaching musicality to young children.  I’m planning to track down Jay’s children’s albums for Preschooler SSG.  He’s reached that age where he’s too old for The Wiggles and he seemed to really enjoy Jay’s concert.

Backed by a live mini-orchestra, Jay took the children on a frenetically paced adventure packed full of familiar Christmas carols as well as the songs of preschool.  There were light sabres, there was dancing in the Opera House’s preschooler mosh pit and a run around the stage as Jay led the children on a bear hunt.

Preschooler SSG was all over it from the first song.  He was singing, clapping, dancing and following all the actions with passion.