Daisy has just turned 10.
Time is flying by.
I cherish every day that she still ‘believes in the magic’.
We talked the other day about what we’d like to do this Christmas. Although we all agreed that we’d love to do something special and perhaps go away, it made me smile when she showed real concern about Santa not knowing where we were. ‘What if he comes and we aren’t at home? Who will put the carrots out?’ ‘Who will check for the fairy foot steps?!’ (She was always freaked out by the thought of a bearded man in the house at night so at our place the fairies bring the presents through the letterbox and take the carrots out to the reindeer)
I know it’s not long before someone spoils the magic for her. Perhaps this is the last year she will dream of fairies through the letterbox, reindeer’s on the roof and the distant sound of jingling bells.
I want this to be a Christmas they will always remember.
We started looking at cottages and special places to spend a memorable Christmas and I remembered Coombe Mill Family Farm holidays in Cornwall. It looks like such an amazing place for families and I’ve always really enjoyed the updates from Fiona (the farmer’s wife). Check out a few of their pictures on instagram and you will fall in love with it too.
Coombe Mill run competition each year for a chance to win Christmas in one of their gorgeous cottages or Scandinavian lodges. What a fantastic prize? So we thought we’d give it a go.
Why would a visit to Coombe Mill makes the perfect Christmas for us?
Personally, I’d love to escape to a gadget free place with room for everyone to be free. I’d enjoy long walks, visits to the breathtaking beach, and lots of fresh air through my dusty mind. I’d watch the kids run with no walls or roads and delight in the beauty of the countryside. I’d love to give them the gift of space to enjoy nature and the innocence of a carefree simple life I long for.
Most of all, I’d cherish every moment with my fabulous family and totally relax.
But enough about what I want. I sat with the kids for ages and explored the Coombe Mill website asking them to imagine spending Christmas there. They were just slightly excited and Hunny has already packed a bag!
She is only 5 but she amazed me with her description:
Underneath the bluest sky the snow is falling on my hair.
We are feeding the deers food and milk and making lots of friends
It would be cool if the lake froze. I would go skating with ducks and they would fall on their bums.
Our beds in the cottage are so snuggly wuggly do dah, I can’t get out of them.
But then I realise it’s Christmas morning and I run downstairs to give Santa his pie.
He’s not there. So I search the farm and find him in the fairy garden giving the fairies their presents.
I love watching all the baby animals. They are so tiny and cute and could fit in your pocket.
We are feeding little piggies with some bottles and they feel so warm like being inside in a storm.
Titch the goat is so funny.
Then Santa rides past with all his toys in the tractor.
– Christmas Holiday – by Hunny (aged 5)
When I asked the girls what their dad would like to do, Daisy thought he’d love the village pub, and Hunny said he might go fishing. (I think I know which is most likely, but you never know)
The girls both loved the sound of everything at the farm especially the craft sessions and making more treasure from trash. Hunny wanted to make something to bring for the fairy garden. Not quite sure what it is but here you go. Daisy picked some lavender for the fairies too. She really wanted to meet the Alpaca and give Winston the hairy donkey a brush.
So what does Christmas mean to my 10-year-old who is growing so fast?
Christmas is amazing,
Happiness is everywhere.
Roasting chestnuts on the fire,
In toasty fluffy slippers.
Snowball fights with new friends,
Taking turns to sledge.
My family all together,
A time to celebrate.
Santa is coming soon!
– Acrostic poem by Daisy (aged 10)
Christmas at Coombe Mill by Daisy (Huge butterfly added by Hunny when she wasn’t looking)
Good luck to everyone that enters #CoombeMillXmas. You can enter here. And If we are lucky enough to make it this Christmas and finally get to meet those peacocks you will read about it @afieldsomewhere.
Merry Christmas all. Where ever your happy place is this year, I hope it is full of magic and silliness.
I do believe in fairies!
a field somewhere 
Daisy and Hunny have wonderful imaginations and have clearly done their research with you on our website too. I can see you all being very happy here together for Christmas, very best of luck.