This weekend is one of my favourite of the year. There are a lot of local events which take place over the weekend, the Christmas tree festival which we visited on Thursday after school, the Christmas market and then the Scouting and Guiding candlelit carol service on Sunday evening. It’s a weekend focusing on community and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling.

Little Miss and I were up early on Saturday morning to help set up my school’s market stall. We were selling our eco themed goods which the students have been busy making in our enterprise hub. We are a special needs school but every single student contributes in some way to the product and we are really proud of their work. The public agreed and we had a very successful day. It was fun being a market trader, to be honest our goods sold themselves but many people were interested in our project and it was nice to talk about our school. The market is great for meeting up with friends and neighbours and lots visited our stall. The Christmas market is one of those community events where everyone does make a real effort to pop down and with it being a mild day there were lots at the market. With delicious festive food and drinks, live music throughout the day and lovely craft stalls the Christmas market really is a highlight of the season.

Whilst I stayed on the school stall, for the first time Little Miss was allowed to go off on her own with two friends to do their Christmas shopping. They were so happy and came back with their top secret shopping bags and feeling very grown up! Mr S and Little Man explored the market too and Little Man spent his pocket money after much consideration on fudge!

Another highlight this weekend was the candle lit carol service for the town’s guiding and scouting groups. It’s set in a beautiful church and with so many candles lighting the service, no other lights are needed. There’s a good mix of well loved carols played by musicians and appropriate readings and fun for the children. I was very proud that Little Man was the flag bearer for the cubs. The service is very well attended and again is a time for the community to come together and celebrate. After the service the children serve tea and warm mince pies to the congregation, providing another opportunity to relax and chat to friends and acquaintances. This is what this weekend is all about, community events for us all to meet and celebrate Christmas in a relaxed and warm atmosphere.