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You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / Christmas is coming – the Devon edition

Christmas is coming – the Devon edition

November 29, 2016 by Molly Leave a Comment

Christmas in Devon is something else. It’s a myth that Devon is only for summer – the area comes into its own at this time of year (there are far fewer caravans on the road, for one thing). There are so many options for festive days out in Devon that although we’ve lived here nearly three and a half years there’s still a huge amount we haven’t yet had a chance to experience.

In the summer of 2013 we packed our bags and moved over two hundred miles down the road from Berkshire to this little corner of English coast and moor. At the time I was nervous, excited and more than ready for a change. We had some lovely friends in and around London, but had never felt settled there. They say time moves faster the older you get – they’re right. All at once I can so clearly picture our old life in Berkshire before we relocated, but it also feels like we’ve been in Devon forever.

Some of the best things to do in Devon at this time of year are absolutely free. A walk along a windy beach with a thermos of hot chocolate, a wander around some Christmas markets, a hike on Dartmoor (followed by more hot chocolate and cake) – none of these cost a thing. And then there are the big events, the festive days out in Devon that get booked up weeks in advance but are worth splashing out on as a treat: the steam train rides, atmospheric nativity plays and Santa meet and greets. Festive days out in Devon can range from coast to moor, city to village. That’s what I love about it.

As this is the fourth year we’ve lived in this neck of the woods we’ve started to build up some traditions which I come to look forward to just as much as the kids. We always go iceskating at a special ice rink in the run up to Christmas, for example (our new favourite is the rink at Cornwall’s Eden Project which features a high canopy ceiling, lots of twinkly lights and the advantage of many festive activities to get involved in afterwards around the site), and we like to indulge in a spot of carol singing in the village on Christmas Eve.

Then there’s the big festive event – the first year we were here I booked tickets for the Polar Express in Okehampton, which was BRILLIANT. Last year we went to the lovely nativity play at Pennywell Farm (featuring real animals, sing-along carols and costumes for the kids to get involved and take part in the play itself) and this year we’re off to the Santa Steam Train in Buckfastleigh.

Interspersed amongst those are the cute little festive days out in Devon – the breakfast with Santa at our local garden centre (we’re doing that this weekend so I’ll let you know how it goes!), the smaller Christmas markets (there’s a great looking one at Ullacombe Farm near Haytor on Dartmoor this weekend) and the obligatory National Trust property visits.

I can still remember this time of year as a kid and relishing the build-up to the Christmas holidays when both my (teacher) parents would be off work and we’d mix up days out and wintery walks in between afternoons on the sofa in front of a festive film and a roaring fire. I even looked forward to this period as a teenager, when it was officially uncool to be excited over anything, least of all spending time with your family.

This last weekend marked the first weekend that we’ve started to feel really festive. We never put our tree up until December (is it just me that feels a bit depressed when all the early tree-putter-uppers take all their decorations down by lunchtime on Boxing Day? It’s not over yet!) because, as my six year old keeps saying, “It’s not Christmas until December!”. But, this weekend, we bought some new candles, went on a wintery walk and got stuck into some festive crafting for Frog’s school fayre on Friday. I vlogged it all here, if you fancy a watch…

What are your pre-Christmas traditions for family days out? Do you have any places you love to visit in the run up to Christmas?

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: Christmas, days out in Devon, Family days out, family days out in Devon, family life, family traditions

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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CELEBRATE YOUR BODY ❤️ This book by @sonyarene CELEBRATE YOUR BODY ❤️ This book by @sonyareneetaylor is just the most joyful book to help girls understand and embrace their changing bodies. My eldest is 10 and she read it cover to cover, and it’s sparked so many gorgeous, open, curious conversations about puberty and periods and hormones and emotions and all the things. 
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@thebodyisnotanapology
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[ID: Celebrate Your Body book by Sonya Renee Taylor]
Tonight should be our first night on holiday in Sp Tonight should be our first night on holiday in Spain. Made up for it with a meal outside at the village pub and a “late” bedtime (any evening out past 8pm is late for us!). Devon is heaven ❤️ #mumlife
ALL children have the right to feel good about the ALL children have the right to feel good about themselves and their body - not just the ones who “look healthy”. Children are being taught at a younger and younger age that their body is a problem that needs to be fixed. 
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The current climate of intense body shaming disguised as health concern is creating policies which actively damage the relationship children have with their bodies. There is a huge amount of evidence showing that the better kids feel about their body, the more likely they are to make choices that make their body feel good - like taking part in movement or eating in a happy, intuitive way. 
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Making health all about weight not only damages kids’ body image, making them either feel like their body is “wrong” or fear it becoming “wrong”, it also gives a free pass to the diet industry to aggressively market their products at children, under the guise of health. Ironically, encouraging kids to engage in dieting and habits which are actively bad for their health. This culture affects ALL children.
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And of course this version of health, and this focus on making kids’ bodies the problem, lets the politicians off the hook. Easier to put the nation on a diet instead of investing in policies which will reduce inequality and give everyone access to the things needed to live a full and healthy life.
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There is a silver lining though, because we can choose to be part of the solution. We can say no to diet culture at home and challenge it when it pops up in the spaces kids should be safest.
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If you’re a teacher our Body Happy Kids workshop is an intro to this subject with tools for creating body happy spaces for the children in your care. Find out more and sign up via my bio. ❤️ #BodyHappyKids
To lift the mood after the last week, here’s a t To lift the mood after the last week, here’s a throwback to this time last year when I roped my husband into filming me for an alternative Love Island title sequence. Out of shot: a packed beach full of people confused why a woman is doing multiple bikini changes under a towel and instructing her husband on different camera angles while her bemused children look on 😂. The video was an alternative title sequence for if Love Island was filmed in Devon and featured a mum the “wrong” side of 35 and the “wrong” side of a size 10. 🔥 HAPPY BLOODY FRIDAY you lovely lot 🥂🥂🥂 #BodyHappyMum #MumsGoneWild
[Stat from @themilitantbaker’s brilliant TED Tal [Stat from @themilitantbaker’s brilliant TED Talk] 
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Poor body image and weight stigma are serious public health issues. These are complex, far reaching issues that impact us on an individual and societal level in many ways. This thread isn’t to say that each of these things alone accounts for the fact kids as young as three are feeling bad about their body, but combined, they create an environment that makes it really tough for children (and adults) to like their body just as it is, regardless of what it looks like.
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If you care about health you need to be aware that weight stigma kills and poor body image has serious health implications. Want kids to eat more nutrient dense food and move their body? Stop shaming them and teaching them their body is wrong, because research shows body hate is NOT a long term motivator for treating a body with care or respect. 
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And then realise that even when kids ARE eating more nutrient dense food and moving more this will not guarantee their body will shrink. And this doesn’t mean they are unhealthy, despite what the headlines might tell you.
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Kids’ bodies don’t need “fixing”. Society needs fixing. Give every child access to good food and safe spaces to move and play. Eradicate inequality and discrimination, challenge stigmatising language. Raise awareness in the mainstream media of what many health professionals already know: health is complex, multi-faceted and is hugely impacted by socio-economic conditions. Saying it’s all down to “personal responsibility” lets the politicians off the hook. 
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Maybe then, as a nation, we can have a fair crack at good health. Until then I’d argue it’s not about health at all, it’s about money. 
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#bodyimage #BodyHappyKids
In an alternate universe I’d be packing for a ho In an alternate universe I’d be packing for a holiday to Cantabria in Spain right now. Yet here we are. This summer is brought to us by Argos (paddling pool) and Monki (cozzie). FYI I’m still bikini all the way, but prefer a cozzie for when I get serious doing lengths at the pool 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️ #bodyhappymum
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