It's not every day that you get invited for breakfast with Elves but that's exactly what I did yesterday and I got to meet Alison and Mike Battle, creators of LaplandUK and authors of a brand new book - Lapland, The Untold Story of Father Christmas.
Arriving at Somerset House yesterday morning I was greeted by Sage, Eeko and Conker the magical elf folk from Lapland.
Spring restaurant was festively decked out with beautiful toys and merchandise which are available to buy in the Elf Emporium - I can't wait to tell you more.
Alison and Mike Battle set up LaplandUK 10 years ago after the disappointment of visiting naff Santa's Grotto's with their four sons. Alison said: "Father Christmas was young with a joke shop style beard and my son cut his finger on the toy he got." They wanted to keep the magic of Christmas alive for as long as possible and thankfully, for us human folk, they have set up the most authentically beautiful experience at LaplandUK.
It's become an amazingly popular event in the festive season, the best pre-Christmas event ever, with celebrities such as Elton John and the Beckhams' and even royalty visiting the Berskhire attraction.
This year is set to be extra special with the launch of their book. “Lapland: The Untold Story of Father Christmas,” it tells the story of how a humble toymaker became Father Christmas, it's published by Bloomsbury and beautifully illustrated by Lauren A. Mills. I read it to my children last night and it is an enchantingly, magical story. My eldest has hit an age where I'm not sure how long the magic will continue, she's 11 now, whereas her brother and sister, at 6 and 9, are still firm believers in Father Christmas and elves and fairies.
Lisa Snowdon introduced us to the authors yesterday, Lisa is a huge fan of LaplandUK and she described taking her niece and nephew there last year saying it was so amazing that it brought a tear to her eye.
It was great getting to see what will be on offer in the Elf Emporium, from cuddly huskies to Zauber's lights there will be plenty on offer.
I totally loved meeting the elves, those who know me well will know what a fan I am of anything enchanting and magical - I even have my own pair of elf ears.
I met Sage, Eeko, Conker (he's the cheeky one), Pixie Mixie the sweet maker, Wish and Whittle the toy maker. I also got some yummy breakfast too, the warm apple muffins were delicious.
If you've booked to go to Lapland UK this year - enjoy - I hear even the invitations that the children receive in the post have a special, mystical twist this year - but I don't want to spoil the surprise.
This is certainly a book that we will treasure for years to come - thanks you Alison and Mike for keeping the magic of Christmas alive.
