the tots100 christmas party

If you didn't know all ready, 
then I'm not sure where you've been hiding 
because I've been looking forward to it so much that I could have burst, 
but this weekend I went to the Tots 100 Christmas Party
at Butlins in Bognor Regis.

This weekend away was met with a mixture of nerves, fear and genuine excitement
which is on a par with the first day back at school;
you want to go and see all your friends,
but you're also a bit worried because you're not sure what it will be like.
Well I needn't have worried because I had an absolute ball.


I had already met the lovely Katie from Mummy Daddy and Me Makes Three 
at a Kiddicare event a few weeks before.
But other that her, I knew nobody.

Actually I say that I knew nobody,
but some of the people who were going to the party
I speak to on a daily basis.
They know the ins and outs of my life
and I know theirs
through the lovely medium of blogging.
But meeting them in real life would be different surely?
And strange?
Not. At. All.

On the Saturday afternoon,
a large group of women started to gather in the reception of The Ocean Hotel.
It became quickly clearly that we were all nervously waiting to meet different people
but that we were all going to the same event.
The Saturday Meet and Greet.

Some slightly awkward introductions were made
in which we all mumbled where we blogged and exchanged 'real names'
and realised that we were all in fact human
and pretty normal.
No one with two heads in sight.
Then we were off to The Shoreline Conference Centre
where more meeting and greeting ensued.
That and a bit of competitive Christmas tree decorating
which meant that I revealed my ugly competitive streak to everyone.
I'd been sort of hoping to keep that under wraps until maybe a fourth or fifth meeting!

Needless to say that The A Team 
were robbed.
But then we did have one of the bigger, white trees
which I think made our challenge harder right from the start.
And I think that our dog angel definitely should have earned us a runner-up award.

It was great to meet up with everybody for a little bit earlier in the day
because it meant that when the real party started later on
we all felt like we knew each other a little more.


The evening started with everyone meeting in Bar Rosso,
dressed in their glad rags
and ready for a Christmas cocktail.
This was the first alcoholic drink I'd had in more than 18 months ago
and it was very yummy.
(We ordered a special non-alcoholic one for Hannah 
- that's Mummy and the Beastie to you - 
and her bump.)


Then we headed on to Turners
where we had a yummy meal
with a random dessert 
which I feel we'll all still be talking about at BritMums Live! in June.


There was lots of nattering, gossiping, laughing and down-right cackling where I was sitting.
I got to have some lovely chats and giggles
as well as more chats with Katie and Hannah.
It was really great to get to know better
all these fantastic women who I regularly speak to on Twitter.


After the meal we went on to have another drink in the hotel bar
before retiring from the exhaustion of all that talking.
Although I know that my Love Blogs family members 
(Annie from Mammasaurus and Helen from Actually Mummy)
stayed out until the very early hours getting up to mischief with some of the really hardcore partiers.

All in all I had a great time at my first real blogger event.
Everybody was so kind and friendly
and Sally did a great job of organising it.

I really hope that there is one again next year
because I could see a weekend in Butlins with some lovely bloggers
being a great addition to my Christmas traditions from here on in.

12 comments

  1. oooh yes, if we did it every year, that would be fab! Maybe we should anyway :-)

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  2. It was lovely to meet you Lucy and that's a lovely photo of you with Hannah & Katie - the glamorous trio!
    x

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  3. It was lovely - you were lovely and your photos are lovely. Oh yes and dear beautiful boy was lovely - and his daddy too for helping me open my door!

    A whole lotta lovely! x

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  4. you three are soooooo glamourous and def yummy mummies :)
    it was great to met you even if i didnt get to see your beautiful boy in the real, non blogging, world. be great to make this a yearly even t wouldn't it?
    xx
    ps. PLUMS!!!!!! lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely time and really enjoyed chatting with you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like you all had a fantastic time! Well Jel! lol xx

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  7. That photo of the three of you is gorgeous. Shame I didn't get chance to talk to you properly and to meet your beautiful boy.

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  8. I hope there is one next year too, although I will have a hard job persuading Dad2BabyInsomniac to return! It was lovely to meet you and I'm looking forward to Britmums! xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Super photos and yes we were robbed. I'd never buy a white tree :-0
    Thanks for the mention/link.
    I will also write about the comp and will link right back - I envisage I'll have done 5 posts about Butlins by then.
    Liska xxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. It was a fab weekend and Mads enjoyed spending time with Little Man xx

    ReplyDelete
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