Days 2 and 3 of the escape advent calendar
Following on from yesterday’s advent calendar opening, I have solved another two clues and opened two more windows.
Day two, 2 December
Solving this puzzle was much quicker and easier than the day one puzzle!
Inside the flap was a room with lots of pipes and a lever panel.
Day three, 3 December
Yes, I have skipped ahead and solved tomorrow’s clue as I know I have a busy Tuesday ahead of me so I solved the puzzle for fun!
This flap revealed the tailoring department, with mannequins, a sewing machine and bolts of fabric. For the first time, I found something other than a picture on a card, too so the puzzle solving was even more interactive. It was easy enough to figure what to do, although it took a little longer to get the third number of the code.
Do you prefer picture or something more tactile when solving puzzles?
An escape advent calendar
This advent calendar looked like a lot of fun – an escape room themed activity where you do a clue a day leading up to Christmas! This Exit game is about finding Santa and saving Christmas by solving riddles.
Escape advent calendar details
The set includes the box with windows for each day of the escape challenge, a story book, a help/instructions book and a decoder table. Inside each daily box you will also find items to help solve the riddles.
My escape advent review
So, the set is based on your workbench in Santa’s workshop at the South Pole (it is apparently a little known fact that Santa’s workshop used to be at the South Pole, closer to Australia!)
Start with the help/instructions book as it is clearly explains what to do and where to start.
I like that the story is told each day to set the scene and keep it Christmas themed rather than just some random puzzles and riddles. Clearly divided by date, the story book is easy to use although the font and content are not easy for young children – the 10 and up age recommendation is fair enough.
While they suggest you rip out the relevant pages each day, I am leaving the story book intact and just reading the relevant pages each day.
Escape advent day one = 1 December
Today, as well as dealing with the instructions and decoder table preparation, I read the introduction and the first chapter of our story so it probably requires a bit more time than the following days. The story is sufficiently detailed and interesting to gain attention – but be sure you pay attention, it is not just background!
I love the level of detail within the first flap – the sides of the box have related images. Inside, I found 6 cards, being one elf ID and 5 pictures of a lolly jar.
I could say I tried the help book just to see how it works for the sake of this review, but I actually needed to use it! There are three clues, giving additional hints, and you can try one hint at a time to see if that gets you closer to the solution. I am hoping that I now have a better idea of how things work so will need the hep book less on future days! I won’t give away the code and any hints, but will say that you need to take various things into account from the story and any imagery and notes around the story.
It did take me a few codes to get the correct code. I like that the symbols corresponding to the code can be checked to ensure you have to right answer before opening the next day’s flap.
Only flap one is numbered – the order for opening the other flaps is determined by the puzzles you solve. They suggest numbering the flaps as you go but I’m going to try doing this without marking the numbers so I don’t give too many spoilers and so the calendar can potentially be used again (even if not by me!) I’ll let you know how that goes!
Would I recommend Exit the Game escape advent calendar? So far, yes I would as it is challenging, fun and more entertaining than simple chocolate advent calendars! The fact that multiple people can enjoy it together is a great bonus, too.
Nugget is Dead ~ a Christmas story (movie review)
I quite enjoyed this Australian Christmas movie, Nugget is Dead, despite the title and ad turning me off a few days ago.
Technical details of this Christmas movie:
1 hour 27 minutes
released 21 November 2024
rated M
Stan, Australia
Cast includes – Vic Zerbst (Steph), Jenna Owen, Gia Carides, Damien Garvey, and Mandy McElhinney
Plot
Set at Christmas time, this is definitely an Aussie Christmas movie! It revolves around relationships – romantic, family and human-pet – and feels natural.
Steph hoped to avoid her family this Christmas and be with her much richer boyfriend instead, but hearing her dog was unwell, her plans were changed.
Review of a Nugget is Dead (a Christmas story)
Steph’s family is loud and chaotic – lots of personalities which we can all relate to! No vanilla, Hollwood perfect families in this movie 🙂 At first, I didn’t know who all of the relatives were, but it didn’t take too long (short cut – Steph had a mum, dad, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin and cousin’s fiancée – plus Grandma of course!)
Nugget, the family dog, is a key factor in the movie and leads to the vet and some humourous and sentimental scenes. Obviously well loved in the family and wider community, Nugget is about 14 years old and has a face like a human.
While annoyed by her family, I liked watching how supportive they were to each other. {Spoiler alert here!} Despite a faux pas by Steph and some incorrect assumptions, I love that her cousin took her to confront her boyfriend and that her family was untied when talking to Seb.
Is it Australian? Yep. From discussion slices of pav, differing opinions on how to BBQ meat, Grandma looking for bon bons, and the warm weather, it is clearly an Aussie Christmas. There is nothing overt or embarrassingly ocker, thank goodness!
There are many familiar faces in the cast. I found it interesting that some online cast lists leave Vic Serbst to the end of the lists despite being the central character.
It is not an action film, a comedy, or a romance, although there are elements of them all included. Older family members say some not quite politically correct things but from ignorance rather than malice – the family is quite open to different sexualities. It is done well enough that I don’t think young children need to be kept away from the movie. Of course, I’m also not sure our youngest movie watchers will follow the story or like the fact there is no Santa or obvious Christmas excitement.
Do I recommend Nugget is Dead? Yes, I do recommend this as a simple, refreshing Christmas movie set over the Christmas period in Sydney. Nugget, the family dog, is unwell and key to the story which may make the movie not suitable for all younger viewers.
Myer windows 2024 are open!
The windows in Burke St can now be seen! And the theme is Wildlife Warriors, featuring the Irwins and Australia Zoo.
Myer had scheduled to open the windows on Sunday but protests against the war in Palestine led to it being cancelled. Some people were in the mall chanting ‘while you’re shopping, bombs are dropping., whilst others were upset at people interfering with children’s enjoyment of the windows and Christmas.
The windows were quietly unveiled today so here is a quick sneak peak …
Bluey stars in the 2023 Myer Christmas windows
Christmas 2023 is coming, and Melbourne is excited to see Bluey the heeler in the Myer Christmas windows!
The windows show Bluey and the heelers in a series of Christmas scenes such as opening presents under a pretty tree, sitting around a family table for Christmas lunch and playing some beach cricket (exactly how I sent my childhood Christmas Days!) Plus I recognised some scenes from Bluey verandah Santa and Bluey – Christmas Swim.
Have you seen this year’s Bluey windows? How do you think they compare to previous Myer windows like Allice in Wonderland, little dog Christmas Wish, and Uno’s garden?
Visiting the Myer windows is a lot of fun and as always, the windows include a lot of details. I loved the colourful bonbon crowns, the pav, someone doing handstands, and even a cheesy grin for photos!
I am so glad that I went to see the Myer windows a week ago and mid-week, though! The queue today (a Sunday) as I went past went along the Burke St mall and up Swanston St – it nearly reached Little Burke St!! Always popular, I think Bluey has added to the interest this year!
Hooray it’s Christmas
Bluey and family open Christmas presents in front of the Christmas tree.
Christmas cooking
The kitchen becomes a hive of activity as final preparations are underway for Christmas lunch. Hopefully, the first aid is only needed for play!
I seriously think that Professor Inkling has dropped in from the Octopod for a visit! Does that Octopus toy make you think of the Octonauts, too?
Family lunch
A feature of any Aussie Christmas Day is sitting around a table, kids at one end, adults the other, and having a the table groaning under the food. And paper crowns are obligatory once bonbons are ripped apart!
Christmas swim
As the young heelers take a swim, I love the presence (and mention in the voice over) of the Creepy Crawly trying to tangle around legs!
Beach cricket
While Dad bowls to Bluey, other heelers are building sandcastles, relaxing on a chair or practicing handstands! Time on the beach is a great way to let lunch settle and just be together.
Merry Christmas
At the end of a busy day, Bluey and her family relax outside and look at Christmas lights. Merry Christmas Bluey and everyone!
A jigsaw advent calendar
I was very excited when I came across this idea – build a jigsaw day by day as an interactive advent calendar!
I love that a jigsaw advent is constructive, reusable and provides some mindfulness time each day. And, of course, I’d expect it to be a Christmas themed image!
Jigsaw advent calendar details
I cannot list the designer or manufacturer details because I can’t find them! There is nothing on the box or reference poster, nor on the original ad I purchased from – it’s very strange! So I can just say that I got this from Temu – ordering and delivery all worked well, see below for what I thought of the jigsaw advent calendar itself!
Final puzzle is 70 x 50cm and consists of 1,008 pieces.
The pieces are tight interlocking so you can pick up the completed puzzle without it falling apart – so says the promotional material anyway!
My jigsaw advent review
Inside the box is a set of 24 little boxes, numbered one to twenty-four. There is also a large fold out page – on one side is the image of the jigsaw and the other has numbers.
I assumed the numbers correlated to the days so you can figure out which section of the picture you need to complete each day. That is, I assumed each box would be a section of the puzzle to be done each day, then the sections will make the whole image.
However, I was very disappointed to discover that each little box includes a random collection of puzzle pieces. In day one, there were pieces from about 12 sections of the puzzle! So not only could I not complete one part of the puzzle as expected, I found many of the pieces from the same section were unconnected so very little could be joined. I opened day two hoping I was wrong, but it left me almost as frustrated. When I pack this away, I will be packing all the ‘one’ pieces into day one’s little box and so forth so next year I can create a small puzzle each day!
The picture on the paper and the puzzle pieces I’ve looked at so far show a low quality image, which is also disappointing. But maybe it will end up better than I think once the entire puzzle is put together…
As I progress through the puzzle, I will update this post but so far it isn’t too promising. For next year, I am thinking of using the 24 little boxes to divide up another puzzle to get the jigsaw advent experience!
Christmas in Auckland
Have you spent a Christmas in Auckland?
I haven’t, but our friend Jen is currently over there on a holiday and sent us back some photos and stories to give us a taste of an Auckland city Christmas!
Christmas in Auckland city
Auckland’s 328m Sky Tower makes the Christmas tree look small despite being quite tall itself!
Not only is this Christmas ornament huge, it is also squishy!
The surrounding, smaller baubles are rigid.
I love thus nutcracker! His face seems hay and smiling, and his colouring is stylish.
Walk or sit under colourful, cheerful Christmas shapes!
Another colourful addition of Christmas icons in the main city area – stars and Christmas trees atop pillars!
What about Santa?
If you had been to Auckland prior to 2020, you may have noticed Santa in Queen St. He was pretty hard to miss as he was 18 metres tall and weighted 5 tonne!
The huge Santa, with a winking eye and curling finger, welcomed Kiwi shoppers to the city for about 60 Years (minus a few years in the Manukau Shopping Centre during the 1990s). However, he was retired at the end of Christmas 2019. The fibreglass Santa and two reindeer was purchased for Wanaka’s National Transport and Toy Museum – at the princely sum of $1! But the cost and effort to transport him 1500km to the south of the South Island must have been huge.
So far, only Santa’s face has been fully restored – you can see him outside the fire station at the museum. The rest of Santa will hopefully be on view again in the future.
Have you ever seen Auckland’s huge Santa? If so, did you think he was creepy?
What type of Love Santa letter should I get?
This is a common question – which Love Santa letter should I order for the special children in my life? Are all Love Santa letters personalised?
Love Santa letter types
There are twelve different Love Santa letters each year, grouped into five letter types you can chose between. So, each child gets a letter to suit them – and that’s before the letters are edited and personalised.
All Love Santa letters include a laugh, positive messages and references to leaving Santa a snack and Christmas traditions (like elves, reindeer, boomers, and the North Pole). However, as different age groups have different perspectives so we write letter types accordingly.
| Letter type | Who it will delight |
| Baby | Aimed at new babies (ie under one year) and it has comments like ‘Merry first Christmas” |
| Child | This letter suits most children, even if they may suit another letter type! |
| Tween | Aimed at 9-12 year olds, with comments about being a bit older and still enjoying Christmas |
| Teen | Aimed at 13-18 year olds with slightly older content |
| Adult | Aimed at those aged 18 or older, with references about it being a busy season |
These are just guidelines, of course. For example, an nineteen year old with Downs Syndrome may be happy with a teen or tween letter and a mature 12 year could relate to a teen letter.
Note that each letter type has at least one alternative so that siblings will get different letters for the truly personalised delight. And Love Santa letters are written every year so they are different every time.
Every letter type is personalised with the same sort of data, although baby letters often include less (for example, a newborn doesn’t have a favourite colour!)
So, why not delight some special children now?
Bluey’s Christmas Swim – Christmas book review
Bluey – Christmas Swim
based on the ABC kids TV show
Penguin Random House, Australia, 2021
Age group: preschool
Format: 32 page hardback
I must say that I really enjoyed Bluey’s Verandah Santa book so it didn’t take much convincing for me to try this Bluey Christmas book!
The story
It’s Christmas Day and the heelers want a swim to cool off. Bluey has a new toy, Bartlebee, to introduce to everyone.
My review of Bluey – Christmas swim
It’s an Aussie Christmas Day, and kids will love sharing those familiar activities and traditions with Bluey and her family.
I found the Christmas Day celebrations were relatable, with Aussie traditions like a roast pork (and discussions about the crackling!), having a swim, avoiding the creepy crawly in the pool, and having wrapping paper everywhere as presents are opened.
It is an okay read in general, but much more enjoyable if you know the Bluey characters to better understand their behaviours and gifts – and why an aunt and uncle were overseas for Christmas (I suspect a honeymoon!)
The pictures are true to the characters in the TV series, so the book will be an extension of the shows kids love. 
Obviously this is cartoon where dogs have many human traits and actions. However, the anthropomorphism goes a bit far for my taste (Bartlebee is treated as a real character) – I think adults will cringe but young kids will appreciate the family accepting Bluey’s reality.
The book has a nice theme of welcoming, for instance Bluey’s new aunt is welcome as is Bluey’s toy, and the entire family accepts the child’s beliefs of Bartlebee as a living friend.
According to the back cover, there is also a Bluey – Hooray it’s Christmas book if you want more Christmas cheer for Bluey fans!
Would I recommend Bluey – Christmas swim? To be frank, it wasn’t as good as Verandah Christmas, but it was nice and will make any Bluey fan happy. So, definitely worth it for young Aussies!
A sunburnt Christmas (movie review)
I really enjoyed this Australian Christmas movie – A Sunburnt Christmas.
Technical details of this Christmas movie:
91 minutes
2020
rated M
Stan, Australia
Plot
Daryl looking up at the moon
An escaping criminal, Daryl (Daniel Henshall), ends up on a remote farm which is suffering through a long drought. The farm and family are managed by 15 year old Hazel (Tatiana Goode) as Mum is too grief stricken to do anything.
We first meet the family as the younger sister, Daisy (Lena Nankivel), fires a rifle into the air. She figures that clouds have water so shooting clouds will result in rain. It is cute and works well in the story, although such a younger child being unsupervised with a gun concerned me. When Daryl crashes in to their barn wearing a Santa suit, Daisy thinks she shot Santa out of the sky.
Gradually, the entire family knows Daryl. Daisy and her brother Tom (Eadan McGuinness) believe he is Santa – they never question his black beard!
Review of a Sunburnt Christmas
Of course, there are emotional and financial issues to be resolved (and as it’s a Christmas movie, it’s pretty easy for you to guess if things are resolved!) and a bad guy to evade. However, it has an Australian character and lots of laughs.
There is some swearing (although Santa tries to stop himself in front of the kids), violence and sadness in the movie so it’s not suitable for kids. I wouldn’t really show it to kids under 13. Hazel tells Daryl her Dad suicided – later we see he was shot.
It is clear to adults that Daryl is not actually Santa, but Daisy and Tom remain convinced. Kids may therefore believe this is Santa, or understand the plot enough to know he is not Santa. The plot has Daryl provide the presents so little kids may question why Santa didn’t come if Daryl is not Santa.
For adults, though, it is a fun, Australian Christmas movie well worth watching. Even my husband who is not so into Christmas movies enjoyed this one!
Daniel Henshall and his young co-cast members do a great job in this movie, showing a range of emotions and reactions to the situation and memories evoked in the movie.
Daryl and Fiona watch the windmill-Christmas tree
Do I recommend A Sunburnt Christmas? I found this to be a highly entertaining, funny Christmas movie that is very Australian – I thoroughly recommend this movie!
A Melbourne Christmas in 1956!
How amazing is this?
Melbourne in 1956
Trams. Olympic Games. TV launched. Burke St (not yet a mall). Milk bottle deliveries. Myer Christmas windows.
I recently spotted this video of Melbourne in 1956. I hadn’t seen this before and really enjoyed watching it. It showcases the era and a Melbourne Christmas.
Beautiful Melbourne footage from 1956 ♥️#Melbourne #Australia pic.twitter.com/Iiba6KisQR
— Melbourne, Australia (@Melbourne_vic1) August 31, 2023
1956 is before my time, but stories from my parents and grandparents made this video somewhat familiar. It is really interesting to watch, spotting things that are the same to my experiences and the things that are so different. Some things I noticed were
- trams! We have have more modern versions now, but trams have long been part of Melbournian life
- wide streets in neat grids with crowds of people – the clothing, shops and cars have changed, but it is unmistakably Melbourne. And compared to so many European cities which have (often much narrower) streets going in all directions, this is very home-like.
- a paddle steamer along the Yarra is something I have never seen!
- red letterboxes with curved tops along the street, just waiting for some letters to Santa – the actual boxes have changed but the overall look is the same
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Melbourne letterboxes – similar but different over 67 years!
- newspaper boys and police directing traffic (except in special circumstances) are long gone
About a third of the way through the video, there is a giant man standing on top of Coles’ awning. This is totally new to me so I had to find out a bit more about him. It turns out to be John Batman looking out across Melbourne in the 1830s. Behind the figure were some mechanised pictures, one showing Melbourne in 1830 (ie open land) and the other showing Melbourne’s 1956 skyline. This was art of the decorations for the Olympic games, and I can’t find how long it was there for.
Note this is a screenshot from the video – you can see it better in the Museums Victoria Collection.
A Melbourne Christmas in 1956
Watching the video, I realised it was filmed in the lead up to Christmas. I’m guessing it was in mid to late November as it looks like a warm Spring day rather than summer. It may have been filmed over many days/weeks though, so I could be completely wrong!
What astounded me was the HUGE Santa at the corner of Burke and Swanston Streets.
Santa was standing on the roof at the front of Foy’s, looking west along Burke St and south along Swanston St. I was completely unaware that Melbourne ever had a huge Santa like that. To be fair, I also don’t recall the name Foy’s either!
Melbourne’s huge Santa in all his glory above a tram in 1956
Note the above images are either taken out of the video to show specific elements of the video, or are taken by Love Santa.
Six degrees of Santa~ Christmas movie review
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Movie length: 89 minutes
Directed by Michael Kennedy
Premiered: 2022
The plot
A single mum helps in her family business and runs a Christmas gift program called Six Degrees of Santa. But should she keep Six degrees anonymous or not? And how will she keep the family business going?
My Christmas movie review
For starters, Six Degrees of Santa (the program) is a gift program where someone prepares a gift and gives it anonymously to a stranger or peripheral acquaintance (like your postie, the man you see on the train every day, the lollipop lady). That person enjoys the present for a day or two then also passes it on. This continues until the sixth person who gets to keep the present. Ideally, the present has special meaning to the original Santa, like a Christmas movie you love watching or favourite game or puzzle.
Harper arrives at her shop
So the movie starts with Harper (Kathryn Davis) explaining this program on a video for her website. Then she and her daughter pack their six degree boxes.
Six degrees of Santa (the movie) is a romance, and the ending is not exactly a surprise! But how they get there is less obvious.
Local entrepreneur and internet guru, Jason Sparks (Steve Lund), runs a number of enterprises, including one Harper used to work for. Currently, is focus is the Sparkle tree – a ready decorated Christmas tree you can order online. Harper doesn’t like the Sparkle tree as it is too commercialised and interferes with the tradition of choosing a tree from a farm. While I understand her sentiment, I think the Sparkle trees are pretty and no more commercial than artificial trees from any department store.
Jason ends up being the recipient of Harper’s Santa gift, and is so touched by the gift that he wants to meet the Secret Santa. Not wanting to tell him, but wanting to make a business deal with Jason, Harper gets a friend to pretend to e the relevant Secret Santa.
From there, we move through confusions, developing friendships, Christmas cooking, respectful and caring friendships between Harper and her ex, a wrapping competition, and social media marketing. We also hear of such happy stories where the six degrees of Santa reaches many parts of the world. And Harper struggles between keeping Six Degrees pure and simple, and sharing it more widely.
The credits do refer to some incorrect names! Look out for Harper and Dani – or their alternative names, Steph and Shani!
Would I recommend watching Six Degrees of Santa? It’s a sweet little movie that involves a book about an elf, the magic of Christmas, Christmas trees, Santa in a wrapping presents competition, and a lovely mother, daughter and granddaughter family. So, yes it is worth watching as a feel good movie.
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