Bluestone and Kingdom of the Elves Review

When we were invited to Bluestone to review their Kingdom of the Elves experience I had no idea what to expect, but as I did my research on the event I got more and more excited.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your letter when you post it to Santa? – We were about to find out!

On Friday we set off from home and endured the most bizarre weather I think I have ever driven in.  The rain was torrential with intermittent dry patches and random fireworks thrown in for good measure.  4.5 hours later and a comfort stop later we arrived in darkness.  Thankfully the check-in was easy to find and I didn’t even have to get out of my car, which was a real blessing given the weather!

We were staying in a small 2-bedroom cabin which was bigger than I imagined.  Sadly hubby had to stay at home as he was working, so Kian and Isaac had the twin room and Eliza, Sebastian and I shared the double room.  There was a large open plan kitchen / dining / sitting room and a wet room with underfloor heating which Kian was most excited about.

We settled in for the evening, looking forward to exploring our surroundings the next morning.

The next day we were up and out the door by 9am, eager to have a look around.  I had been given a welcome pack the night before complete with activities you could book and a map.  The village was a short walk from our cabin and we found the spa, shops, a couple of restaurants and the booking office and I popped in to book the character dinner that was on that evening – sadly it was already fully booked so I booked craft activities for the Eliza and Isaac Woodland Warriors for Kian.  The kids then spotted the park, so we headed there next.

Once we had had enough playtime, we stopped in the shop for some supplies and some welly boots for Sebastian and splashed our way back to the lodge where we had some lunch before heading back out to take Kian to Woodland Warriors.

Woodland Warriors is laser combat – paintball fun without the paint and Kian couldn’t wait to get going.  Whilst we were there I got to have a look at their breathtaking zipwires and the high wire course and made a promise to myself that we would come and do these next year!

With Kian safely running around the forest shooting his laser gun, the little ones and I headed for the Adventure Centre for some Christmas Crafting fun!

The kids got to do 5 Christmas crafts, decorating a wreath, make a Christmas card, salt dough Christmas Tree decorations, making a star, making a snowman or reindeer which was then filled with sweet treats for them.  I don’t think I have ever seen Eliza covered in as much glitter, but they had a fabulous time and we have some sparkly new decorations!

Once we had finished we headed back downstairs to find the play area, which was packed full of fun activities such as climbing frames, a bouncy castle, crazy golf, LEGO tables and a large LEGO wall for the little ones and climbing walls, a high-line adventure and a winch swing for older children.

We headed back to our lodge before it got dark, stopping to order a takeaway pizza on the way back down.

You can hire a golf buggy to get around the site, but the distance is walkable and the little ones were so shattered they were in bed and asleep by 7pm, so Kian and I watched Strictly and X-Factor before getting our heads down for the night.

Sunday was Kingdom of the Elves Day!

We started the day with a splash in the pool at the Blue Lagoon, which is open to guests only between 9am and 10am.  There is a paddling pool area, large pool, rapids, water flumes and a splash pool area and it was lovely and quiet.  Once we had finished we headed back to the lodge and packed up as we wanted to leave straight after the Kingdom of the Elves so we didn’t get home too late.

We followed the signs and were greeted inside the door by Elf Sparkle and his friends and given coloured bands for our time slot.  They were running bang on schedule and it was soon time to head inside.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

The attention to detail was second to none and as soon as the door shut behind us we were transported to the Kingdom of the Elves.

I don’t want to give too much away but the first room is where wish letters to Santa arrive, get sorted and come true and we had to help Elf Wishy Washy get control of the wishes.  There were some jokes thrown in to keep the adults happy and Isaac and Eliza were given their very own elf employee uniform before playing some games.  The uniform has 6 pockets to fill and if you complete the challenge in each room you earn a special prize to put in them!

In the next room was U-Toypia where toys are not just dreamed up, they are made.  We were challenged to make Charlie the Elf toy he wished for, practiced some very special magic skills and watched as toys came alive and play before our very eyes.

Room 3 was the Fro-Zone and probably my favourite, with a very funky elf called Frosty.  She told the kids how to make the presents all shiny and new and they played games to help keep the room at the right temperature, including building a rather cool snowman, who had some pretty good dance moves.

Room 4 was the illusion room and Elf Smally Biggs had the best costume and conducted an experiment with the size and shape of toys with a lovely surprise at the end.

No toy would be ready to be delivered without some colourful packaging, so next we helped Elf Rubix with games and puzzles to make sure the toy will be happy inside the present.

Having completed all our missions to ensure Charlie got his wish, we got to go to an Elf party but not before we completed the checklist.  Elf Snazzy-Sneaks and D.J Elf Boy Slim taught us their best Elf moves before it was sadly time to leave.

It took almost 2 hours to complete our missions and the kids adored every single moment and were so proud when they were presented with their Elf hats at the end.  Without doubt, this is best Christmas experience I have ever been to.  Every single Elf made it their mission to make sure the children (and adults) were caught up in the magic.

Thank you for having us Bluestone, we had an amazing time with you!