On Wednesday the children and I were invited into central London to attend the evening performance of Elf The Musical at The Dominian Theatre. I didn’t tell them where we were going, just that we were off to something exciting, as I know Florence has been itching to see it ever since the posters arrived on the tubes.

We met some other bloggers for a mulled wine reception and as Jimmy climbed over my head repeatedly and Florence moaned that she was tired I started to wonder if I’d done the right thing by bringing them both out late in the evening. Especially as none of the other bloggers invited had brought their little ones…

We chatted, ate food, I tried to take pictures but had little people also trying to grab the camera for a shot and talked about the show we were about to see. It was delightful to meet Emma from Joy Of Five and hear what it’s like to have a big family at Christmas but where everyone else was able to relax into the wine and be calm, I definitely didn’t have a minute’s peace with old Jim-bob in the picture!

By the time Jimmy locked himself in the toilet of the pub and couldn’t get out I was absolutely ready to throw the towel in and give up. It was not working out as I had hoped but then Florence managed to crawl under the small gap beneath the door of his cubicle and as we fell about laughing I thought, well, we’re here now and it’s late anyway, in for a penny and all that.

We followed the others to the Dominion Theatre and took our seats waiting for the show to begin. Jimmy, who has been going to the theatre since he was two week’s old sat quietly and calmly eagerly anticipating the show and Florence’s tiredness waned. They are well versed in the theatre my two and always behave impeccably while there as they enjoy it as much as I do – it was a relief to have Jimmy sit still I can tell you! I took Florence to see ‘Wicked’ when she was just three and it’s something she’s remembered ever since. She knows it’s a prequel to ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ which is what she’s chosen to be her birthday party theme this year and I feel sure she wouldn’t have been such a fan if it hadn’t been for ‘Wicked’ and the songs we love SO much from it!

And then it started. And we loved it!

We’ve not seen the film yet so had no idea of the story but it’s absolutely brilliant and when I was in doubt that I should have brought the children while sat in the pub beforehand, I knew without doubt I’d made the right choice in the first scene where Santa comes to tell the story of Buddy the Elf who, as an orphan, crawled into his sack one night then grew up with the elves on the North Pole.

Buddy comes to New York when he finds out he has a real Father, in search of family and love and the story is both enchanting and adorable.

Ben Forster who plays Buddy is utterly endearing as well as equally funny and loveable while Kimberley Walsh is just as sweet. LOVED the ice skating scene, LOVED the romance, LOVED the songs and LOVED the show. Joe McGannis also in the show and plays the perfect Walter Hobbs.

This show is most certainly for children and I absolutely wasn’t the only one with little ones in tow when we actually got into the auditorium. My fellow bloggers might have chosen to have a grown up night out but I’m so glad that I took mine with me. Their eyes were wide with wonder for the whole production and when the snow came down from above us at the end of the show, the magic of Christmas was in full force! We also learned that if you don’t have the Christmas Spirit then Santa’s sleigh cannot fly so it might be worth making a trip to the show simply to just get into the spirit and make sure all the toys get delivered this year!

The adults in the audience were very appreciateive of the perfomrance too and with ‘over the head of tiny ones’ jokes it made it even more funny. I loved Buddy talking about his ‘special hug’ at the end! We thought the show was so good and we simply MUST get the film on DVD now so that we can watch that too!

The show is only on from now until 2nd January 2016 and tickets are selling fast. You’ve got to be quick but make sure you DO get in there because it’s absolutely brilliant!

To book tickets and find out more about the show see www.elfthemusical.co.uk.

We were invited to review Elf The Musical.

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