An Afternoon at Santa's Workshop

It has been a while since my last post.  I spent the last remaining weeks before giving birth doing  a series of mini field trips with our eldest. I thank God, my husband, our parents and our relatives (some even from abroad!) who made our extended babymoon extra memorable for her.  I printed out colorful photobooks so she'll forever remember this stage in our lives, just in time for her baby brother's arrival.

These days, I spend much of my time entertaining my eldest while recovering from childbirth.  Special thanks to my mother-in-law who holds fun slumber parties with my daughter in her room every now and then just to make her feel a tad more special.  

It's a bit challenging to have alone time with my daughter these days as the new baby feeds on demand.  So this weekend I urged my dear hubby to bring out the newborn stroller and stay for a while in a quiet restaurant nearby with the baby as my toddler and I enjoyed a couple of hours at Santa's Workshop at Ogalala in Shangrila Mall.  

Leji is actually scared of Santa with his heavy belly and bushy white beard. I'm actually grateful Santa just stayed in the lobby outside for photo ops while listening to children whisper their Christmas wishes. My daughter excused herself from the line of hopefuls saying out loud: "Ayoko (kay) Santa. Mas pogi Daddy kay Santa." 

She had more fun at the workshop itself, mingling with older kids at the table.

Twinning with my toddler: Matchy matchy Elle bow bands!

She felt so proud of herself when one of the moms said that the shoes she designed with paint and colored pens were lovely.  She got quite excited and dipped her fingers in different colors then smudged off the hearts on the right shoe :/ "Rainbow paint, Mommy!!!" she squealed with glee.

The brilliant purple and pink turned into murky khaki but my daughter seemed to like the effect of what she did, showing off her work to all the photographers (and even to the waiters after the event!).  At least the artist was able to express herself, right? :p

She got to experiment with different coloring materials, creating various effects on her shoes!

My little artist at work

I didn't mind that she smeared some of the paint on her clothes and the table as everything from Crayola is safe and washable.  They have coloring materials created for every age range.  She colored away without distractions.

She couldn't get enough of coloring so we decided to try mess-free colored pens with special paper at home. I was thinking of getting more for travelling as these pens don't damage/ accidentally mark other surfaces (Eg. tables, floors, bed sheets). We'll come back next time to get more colors and hopefully get to participate in more workshops after the holidays.