Following on from the success of last year’s some unusual Christmas gift ideas, I decided to do some more unusual Christmas gift ideas this year. So here they are:
Remember not to get into debt for Christmas. Just spend what you can afford to spend.
Christmas was great. The best thing about it is always the precious time spent with loved ones. The food, drinks and presents are just huge pluses. This year I must have been extra good because I didn’t get any coal (the traditional gift for the naughty) and instead got lots of lovely presents:
Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (1).
Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (2).
MPR is magical, musical and all-round marvelous. It had a number of brilliant cameo appearances by: Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.
My Christmas was finished off by seeing Adam Lambert perform Believe in tribute to Cher. A gorgeous man with an amazing voice. This performance made me cry the first time I saw it. I have watched the performance numerous times since.
The Christmasaurus is a children’s book that combines two of my favourite things: dinosaurs and Christmas.
In this review, I am reviewing The Musical Edition which includes the fully illustrated (illustrations by Shane Devries) hardback book and The Soundtrack that Fletcher wrote and recorded to accompany the story.
The Soundtrack includes 14 tracks, that currently are only available by buying The Christmasaurus – Musical Edition. Singers on the soundtrack include: Fletcher, his wife, his sister and even Santa! What’s great about the CD is that the book prompts you when to play each track.
The unique combination of written story and music, really does add to the experience.
You’ll also enjoy playing the CD on its own. Here’s the track list:
It Must Be Christmas Time
Dig, Diggedy Dig (The Digging Song)
The Christmasaurus
Thin Ice
Someone More Than Me
The Nice List
I’ve Been a Good Girl
I Believe It Could
I Ho, Ho, Hope It’s Santa
I Love Creatures
Christmas Makes Me Sick
Afraid of Heights (my absolute favourite song on the soundtrack!)
Don’t Know What It Is
If You Believe
Now, back to the book. The characters include: William Trundle (the main character who is wheelchair enabled), Bob Trundle (William’s dad), Santa, Lots of Elves (who speak always in rhyme), Brenda Payne (I nicknamed her Brenda The Bully at the beginning of the book), Brenda’s mum, Hunter and his dog Growler, Stuffy (a toy made by Santa) and of course the one of a kind Christmasaurus.
The plot is imaginative, brilliantly described and magical. It’s a bit predictable for an adult, but young children will be captivated and plead/beg/demand another chapter is read after the last. The illustrations are superb, detailed and provide support to children’s imaginations.
The Christmasaurus is the ideal bedtime story for young children in the run up to Christmas. It is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
