Author Archives: Moira Blackwell

Binky Bear Posts his letter to Father Christmas

Three Ways of Writing to Santa

What better way to start the build up to Christmas than writing to Santa. Here are three ideas.

1. Make Santa a picture

For really young ones, all you need is a piece of card, a large envelope and some bright toy catalogues as well as glue and glitter of course and children can tear their favourite pictures from the catalogue (or kids’ magazines).   Everyone can join in with writing to Santa or it may be just two of you at the kitchen table.  Either way the letter will be a visual feast for Santa!  You may end up doing the writing but that’s fine as the fun bit is choosing and tearing out the pictures.
Writing a letter to Father Christmas

Writing a letter to Father Christmas

2. Write a Binky Bear Letter to Father Christmas

There are loads of freebies on line but the best one (of course) is the Binky Bear Letter to Father Christmas.  If your kids prefer colouring in, try this download which we gave out last year to all our Muddy Paws Club members.  All the children have to do is fill in the blank list at the top of the page and then colour in Binky and the rest of the picture. You can download your Binky Bear Letter to Father Christmas here: binky_bear_activity_colour_sheet_dec. december-colouring-sheet

3. Write a letter via The Royal Mail and Santa writes back!

The third way is to write a good old letter and you can send this letter to Santa via the Royal Mail and get a letter back.  In fact you can send any of these pictures and letters to Father Christmas via the Royal Mail and providing you send it to Santa's correct address you are very likely to get a reply. The Royal Mail ask that you send your letters by first or second class post to arrive by their deadline on Friday December 9th.  They don’t guarantee a reply but it is likely and it will be personally addressed.  Send your letters to: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ
Binky Bear and the red post box in Alresford

Binky Posts his Letter to Father Christmas.

For blind or partially sighted children

And the magic does not end there, blind or partially sighted children can write to Santa too and get a reply in braille, audio or large print.  The deadline for this is December 1st and send letters to: RNIB, Midgate House, Midgate, Peterborough, PE1 1TN. The closing date for letters is Thursday 1 December 2016.  You can find out more here. http://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living/family-friends-and-carers/resources-parents-blind-or-partially-sighted/letter-santa

Receive a letter from Santa

The NSPCC can arrange for Santa to send out personalised letters if you make a donation of just £5 (suggested).  So you don’t actually write to Santa but if you set this up for your kids they can each get a lovely personalised letter from Santa himself and the NSPCC benfits from your money. All you have to do is choose a template to suit the age of your child, add in a few details about what your child likes to do, (there is a drop down menu to help you: dancing, playing football etc) what their achievement has been this year (behaving for your teachers, tidying your room, etc) and you can name a close friend or relative they are close to and those clever people at the NSPCC will write a lovely personalised letter to your child from Santa himself or if you prefer from Father Christmas or Siôn Corn if you want the letter written in Welsh.
Little Elf

Getting Your Own Letter From Father Christmas Is Very Special

The deadline is December 16 and https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/make-a-donation/letter-from-santa" target="_blank">here is the link you need. th. So time to get out the glitter and glue? And if Binky Bear appears on a little person's Christmas List then all you need to do is click here and find out all about the World of Binky Bear.

Halloween for Toddlers

Halloween can be fun for everyone and just takes the tiniest bit of planning. We at Binky Bear have come up with a few ideas which are fun for the little ones without being too scary.

A Halloween for Toddlers Alternative to the Pumpkin

This year forget the torture of pumpkin-carving! Mandarin-pumpkins are so much easier to do with small hands. They also happen to be a Binky exclusive and no knives or metal spoons are involved. Plus, they’re healthy to eat afterwards but don’t tell the kids! halloween_1034_a-c You will need Mandarins/tangerines or similar and whole cloves. Give everyone a mandarin and about a dozen cloves for the jagged mouths and staring eyes. It may help the tiny ones if you prick holes in the skin as a guide. A tray of these combined with banana ghosts (skinned halved bananas with chocolate chip eyes and mouth) makes a sweet and healthy treat. halloween_1032_a

Ghostly Trail

Tailor-make your own Haunted Trail for the garden (or indoors). You can pitch this to just one age-group or a combination of older and younger kids. This may involve a bit of preparation for you but nothing complicated. We love these Spooky Eyes from Rust and Sunshine: http://www.rustandsunshine.com/2012/10/glowing-eyes.html And why not hang up a few scary signs:- On a piece of old wood or card-board hand write something simple enough for a 5-year old to read out loud to everyone “Don’t go into the woods!” or simply “Keep Out!”.

Get outside

spider-web-tree-branches-pattern-39494 Alternatively, search on-line for a spooky wood near you for a late afternoon spot of spookiness with all the family. Make a Chilling Check-list and tick them off: 1. Spiders’ webs preferably with spiders! 2. An old tree-trunk. What’s inside? 3. Footprints in the mud. 4. Rustlings in the trees – who’s there?

Kids In The Kitchen

With the Great British Bakeoff in full swing how about getting the kids in the kitchen and inspiring the next generation of bakers? Butterfly cakes for garden treats, bobbing boats to take to the beach. Making them with the children and grand-children - what better way to spend an afternoon as the holidays draw to a close or as younger brothers and sisters are left at home when the older ones go to school.Continue reading this article...