Little Vikings - Issue 47 - Christmas 22

York for kids

Hello!

And welcome to our special Christmas issue, a celebration of all things festive around York! There are more events and activities going on than gifts in Santa’s sack, from sparkling pantomimes to fairytale days out, ice skating to woodland illuminations. There are loads of place to meet Father Christmas, too, so take a look at our pick of the best (but be quick as many will sell out early).

While you’re working through your Christmas list, why not give your favourite familyfriendly businesses a Christmas gift too? It’ll cost you nothing to vote for them in this year’s Little Vikings Awards but it will mean the world to them. Please hop over to our website and take a few minutes to vote. Thanks so much to all our readers and followers for your support over the past year. Have a wonderful Christmas with your friends and family, and here’s to a brilliant 2023!

Big festive hugs, All at Little Vikings HQ x

Since last issue, we've….

• Had a preview of Christmas at Castle Howard - it really is a fairytale family day out

• Seen King Charles in the city! Did you spot him?

• Been to the new Decathlon shop at Monks Cross, brilliant for kit for active families

• Visited Stockeld Park to see their new indoor play area, The Play Hive, which is excellent

Little Vikings was founded and is run by a York family. Contact us at hello@little-vikings.co.uk. Content © Little Vikings 2022. Little Vikings is a registered trade mark. Every effort has been made to ensure that this guide is up-to-date and accurate, but some things are liable to change. Always check details before you travel.

Now

Old Granny Goose at Grand Opera House York

Scarborough ice rink returns

The Yorkshire Coast is really lovely at Christmas, and Scarborough’s ice rink is a good reason to head down the A64. As well as the rink, there’ll be a bar and roaring fire in the tipi. If you prefer a quieter skate, look out for relaxed hours for a low sensory experience. scarboroughicerink.co.uk

Our bespoke curriculum encourages

Girls explore their imaginations, ask questions, experiment, take risks & draw their own conclusions.

Thor’s Tipi returns!

Cosy, Viking-inspired Thor’s is back in the gardens of The Principal Hotel again this Christmas (11th November to 24th December). Head to the Winter Alpine Hall for mulled wine, boozy hot chocolate, cocktails by log fires and food by YUZU Street Food (our favourite). thorstipi.com

The Winter Hutte launches

New for 2022, Parliament St will be home to York’s first Swiss chalet! At the heart of York’s St Nicholas Fair Christmas market, this twostorey bar and restaurant will serve seasonal drinks and street food downstairs while upstairs you can treat yourselves to a fondue or raclette and imagine that you’re on the ski slopes! 17th November to 1st January Winterhutte.co.uk

Little Vikings Award finalists announced

Thanks so much to all of you who nominated your favourites for this year’s Little Vikings Awards! We had TWICE as many nominations this year, which is incredible. Take a look at who made the finals and head over to our website to vote for who you think should win.

Into the Woods at Castle Howard

Castle Howard becomes a wonderland of happily ever afters, fair maidens and magic for Christmas 2022. Expect to be enchanted by theatrical installations and projections that bring to life your favourite fairytales as the sounds of glass slippers on ballroom floors and horse-drawn pumpkins echo through the great halls via state-of-the-art soundscapes.

12th November 2022 to 2nd January 2023 - castlehoward.co.uk

Christmas at York Minster

York Minster has a selection of fabulously festive activities that children will enjoy, from a Christmas Tree Festival to the York Minster crib service. The Christmas Tree Festival runs from 3rd December to 5th January, with 40 trees on display in the stunning Chapter House. Yorkminster.org

Visit

York’s Christmas Market

York’s popular Christmas market, St Nicholas Fair, is set to return for 2022 with local businesses selling an array of gifts and treats. While children might not fancy the shopping element, they’ll love the twinkling lights and tasty food and drink on offer.

17th November to 23rd December 2022

The Christmas Experience at Lotherton 2022

There’s a variety of festive experiences on offer at Lotherton’s Christmas Experience for 2022, from a one-onone meeting with Father Christmas to a shorter experience for younger children or just a Christmassy day out including a new winter woodland walk.

Thechristmasexperience.co.uk

Festive Afternoon Tea at The Grand, York

Enjoy afternoon tea with a festive twist at The Grand, Yorkshire's only five-star hotel. Filled with Christmas delights and even served with a festive cocktail, it'll be a sparkling experience to remember. There's even an option for a special children's menu.

thegrandyork.co.uk

Sewerby Winter Woodland

This fantastic event returns to Sewerby Hall and Gardens in Bridlington this Christmas. An all-new spectacular display of lights, sounds and special effects will bring the grounds to life, and the house itself will be filled with decorations, lights, trees and cheeky elves hiding in the rooms.

9th to 23rd December 2022 - sewerbyhall.co.uk

Christmas at York Castle Museum

Wander through the famous Victorian street, Kirkgate, as Christmas arrives with a blanket of festive snow on the historic cobbles. Enjoy the charming period trimmings that adorn the street and take a peek at an exciting range of historical decorations and objects, all from the museum’s collection, in the stunning shopfronts.

19th November to 4th January - yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk

Winter Illuminations at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Experience the park after dark as you explore illuminated enchanted realms at Yorkshire Wildlife Park this festive season! The Winter Illuminations feature over 2,400 metres of illuminated trails filled with giant awe-inspiring hand-crafted lanterns. Explore the illuminated lands of Fairytale Kingdom, Animal Adventures, Under the Sea and much more. Selected dates - yorkshirewildlifepark.com

Fabulous

Illuminationg

on selected dates in december

Children £18, adults £10 www.murtonpark.co.uk/murtonsanta

JORVIK Viking Centre are owned by York Archaeological Trust, a registered Charity in England & Wales (No.509060) and Scotland (No. SCO42846)

Where to meet Santa

If your kids are keen to stay up late on Christmas Eve to sneak a peek of Santa, why not take them along to one of these lovely Father Christmas experiences instead?

On the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Santa Special

The ever-popular NYMR Santa Special is back this Christmas! Climb on board and enjoy an enchanting Christmas experience to see Mr Claus and his jolly helpers. They'll pass through the heritage carriages, giving children a chance to meet the man himself and receive special gift. It's a magical, hour-long return journey that will sell out fast so don't delay. Nymr.co.uk

In the Christmas village at Mother Shipton’s

Let the twinkling lights draw you into the wonder of Mother Shipton’s magical, memory-making Christmas experience. See the enchanted Christmas Village, take a photo inside Santa’s beautiful sleigh, sit upon the magical throne, then visit the Elf Mail Post Box to post your letters to Santa and meet the man himself.

mother-shiptons.co.uk

In the courtyard at Castle Howard

The whole of Castle Howard is venturing Into the Woods for a Fairytale Christmas and the Grotto has its very own elves! They’ll meet you in their workshop with a festive tale before meeting the main man himself… SANTA!! He’s looking forward to seeing you all, sharing a laugh and having a photograph and giving a lovely local gift. castlehoward.co.uk

On a boat with City Cruises

Climb aboard a City Cruises boat this Christmas to meet Santa on the Ouse. See his grotto, meet an elf or two and receive a personalised present from the big man in red. Tickets include a glass of wine and mince pie for the adults, a drink and novelty biscuit for children and a one-hour cruise.

Selected dates in November and December 2022. cityexperiences.com/york

At The Web Adventure Park's Christmas Festival

Enjoy a magical Christmas Experience at The Web Adventure Park, a wondrous event that includes an audience with Father Christmas himself, a few cheeky Elves, and Father Christmas's real reindeer, Donner and Blitzen. Your ticket gives you access to the rides, the park and live magic shows too

Webadventurepark.co.uk

Make chocolate with Santa at

York's Chocolate Story

This December (26th November - 23rd December 2022), York’s Chocolate Story will have a Christmas make-over as Santa himself takes up residence. Meet Santa on the specially themed tours and even make festive chocolate lollies with him! Filled with festive fun, children will discover incredible seasonal secrets.

Yorkschocolatestory.com

Thanks to all of you who voted in this year’s Little Vikings Awards (twice as many as last year, in fact!). Without further ado, here are the all-important shortlists. Many congratulations to all who’ve made it through to the finals - competition was tough!

Now it’s back over to you to vote for who you think should win - hop over to our website before midnight on New Year’s Eve to have your say.

LITTLE VIKINGS EAT AT… Pho

Welcome to York, Pho! It’s taken 17 years for Pho to bring a branch of its small chain of Vietnamese kitchens to our fair city, but who’s counting? We’re just glad that they’ve finally opened the doors, fired up the playlist and are busy luring hungry Yorkies across the city with the promise of a warming bowl of noodles.

With some trepidation - our children aren’t known as adventurous eaters - we went along to try their new place on High Petergate and it was a surprise hit. The menu is two pages of temptation, with something for all weathers and moods. Although best known for its pho (noodle soup, the national dish of Vietnam), there are fragrant curries, fresh wok-fried rice bowls, and much more on offer. All very exciting for anyone who likes the world on their plate, but we couldn’t help wondering if we’d be making our children some toast once we got home.

It turns out that parents don’t know everything after all: the two youngest tucked into their kids’ noodle and rice dishes with enthusiasm, and the big one really enjoyed his pick of a veggie noodle dish from the adult menu. We grown-ups were impressed with our steaming bowls of veggie pho, and it was nice to be able to customise them with the beansprouts, lime and herbs on the side. The starters were great too, and it was a rare treat for us vegetarians to have prawnless prawn crackers.

By the end of our meal, our kids - who are prone to request ‘just pasta with grated cheese, please’ - were taking turns to slurp the broth and twizzle the big flat rice noodles from my bowl (avoiding the veg, admittedly). Next time

we might just order them a pho of their own. As for the puddings, the children haven’t stopped talking about their green pandan (not panda!) waffles since. There are lots of vegan and veggie options, and the kids’ menu is good value at £5.95 for a meal and a drink.

We really enjoyed the whole Pho experience: portions are generous, the flavours are fresh, it’s a nice relaxed environment and the service was really lovely. And it’s always fun to see who can pick up anything with their chopsticks too! Metal cutlery is, thankfully, available…

Pho, 75 Low Petergate, York, YO1 7HY - phocafe.co.uk

LITTLE VIKINGS BAKE... mince pie chocolate cookies

These cakey cookies are just festive enough to get that Christmas vibe going, but chocolatey enough to please people who claim not to like mince pies (the monsters). This recipe makes around 14, depending on how large you'd like them to be.

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c/160c/gas 4.

2. With a wooden spoon or using a food mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg, vanilla and mincemeat and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until it forms a sticky dough.

4. Spoon blobs of the mixture onto lined baking trays, leaving enough space between each as they will grow as they cook (we used two baking trays).

5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minuteskeep a close eye on them as they cook very fast - then leave to cool on the trays.

Ingredients

• 75g caster sugar

• 180g plain flour

• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 4 tablespoons of mincemeat (widely available from supermarkets)

• 180g butter

• 1 egg, beaten

• A pinch of mixed spice (more if you like)

• 100g chocolate, broken into pieces (we used a mixture of milk and dark)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Zest of one satsuma (optional)

• A pinch of salt

Catkin & Co. is a York-based small business that creates nature-based kits and resources for children. Visit catkinand.co

As seen on Channel 4, book at castlehoward.co.uk

Little Vikings Book Club

What better time of year to curl up with a good book? They’re the perfect stocking-filler too, so why not head down to your local independent book shop? Here are three recommendations from The Blue House Bookshop, York’s only independent children’s book shop.

York for kids

Grace and the Christmas Angel by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker (7+)

The Christmas instalment of the Guardian Angel series features a little girl, Grace, and the Christmas guardian angel, Hope. It’s an endearing tale that conveys the ideals of Christmas, and it’s part of a wider series about angels with stories that link to moments in all our lives when a little help would be nice.

Wren

by Lucy Hope (9+)

Escape to an old castle in the Welsh countryside where you’ll meet 12-year-old Wren who’s on a quest to make her way in the world after a tumultuous start. It might be set in the 19th century, but this is an inspiring story with a refreshingly strong female character at its heart.

Adoette

by Lydia Marks (4+)

Based on something that happened here in Yorkshire, this is a story about a street and one of its oldest residents, Adoette. Adoette has seen many changes over nearly 100 years, and has seen the street go through good and bad times. But all is not as it seems. This is a powerful story of community and neighbourhood.

F i r s t b u s

c o

C a t c h i n g t h e b u s f r e e s u p m o r e t i m e t o d o t h e s e a s o n a l , f a m i l y a c t i v i t i e s y o u l o v e ! U p t o 5 a d u l t s / c h i l d r e n c a n e n j o y u n l i m i t e d t r a v e l a l l d a y w i t h o u r £ 9 F i r s t D a y G r o u p t i c k e t .

D o w n l o a d t h e F i r s t B u s A p p t o p l a n y o u r j o & b y o u r m T i c k e t s !