How To: Take Toddler to their first Playgroup Christmas Party

1. Get ready for playgroup
2. Toddler lost their jandles 
3. Decide to put Toddler in gumboots instead
4. Get to playgroup - first lot of people there
5. Find out that it's a surprise Christmas party for all the kids
6. Offer to help while Toddler is on playground
7. Put up lots of Baloons
8. Find out that there will be a face painter, magician and Santa later
9. Keep an eye on Toddler
10. Other kids turn up
11. Have a chat with a few Mums and caregivers
12. Face painter turns up
13. Sit in line with Toddler watching the face painting
14. Toddler gets bored and goes off to play (we're next in line)
15. Watch Toddler play for a bit and when the line for face painting goes down, take Toddler back
16. Toddler waits for a bit then gets bored again
17. Magician turns up (it's a clown magician with a suitcase as his magic bag etc)
18. Toddler sits down and watches for a bit
19. Toddler gets bored
20. Toddler goes into Magicians Magic Suitcase
21. Toddler starts throwing items from suitcase over the back of his shoulders
22. Poor Clown Magician trying to collect items and do the show at the same time
23. I manage to finally navigate my way between all the little people between me and Toddler
24. Help collect the magical items and put away
25. Take Toddler by hand and take them back to the face painting station (no one in line now as all trying to watch the magic show)
26. Face painter decides to make Toddler a pirate
27. Toddler wiggling too much so they only manage to do a mo and a scull and cross bones on the face
28. Toddler tries to eat paint brush while mo is being painted on
29. Toddler licks off half of his mo before paint can dry
30. Toddler then runs back up to the clown magician (who is doing a slight of hand trick)
31. Clown Magician makes a squishy ball in his hands disappear, he then asks the kids where it went
32. Toddler runs up to the Clown Magician and reaches into his back pocket "Here you goes" (yes, he really pulled the squishy ball out of his back pocket and gave it back to the clown magician!)
33. Clown Magician states "Well, I haven't had that before! Thank you sausage!"
34. Other kids are laughing and tell the Clown Magician "He's not a SAUSAGE!"
35. Max says "Bye!" and goes back onto the playground leaving the poor Clown Magician to do his bit (Found out later that his name was "Popcorn the Clown")
36. After a while of playing and Popcorn the Clown going home, there is a shared lunch
37. Toddler goes inside and plays with the toys and piano in there
38. Santa turns up ("Santa" is a very young lean guy with a pillow stuffed down his front - that really looks wrong when he sits down)
39. Toddler so engrossed in playing the piano, doesn't even notice Santa at all
40. Santa sits down, has each child on his lap and hands out presents
41. I go over to Toddler when the line to Santa is almost finished and ask them "Do you want to get a present from Santa?"
42. Toddler gets down off the piano and walks round the corner to where all the other kids are sitting down in front of Santa opening and playing with their presents
43. Toddler stands there looking at all the kids presents with WIDE eyes
44. Toddler looks at me and says "WOW! Presents Mum!" 
45. I point to Santa and say "Go up to Santa, I'm sure he has a present for you too" 
46. Toddler walks up to Santa and stands next to him with hands behind his back
47. Santa says "Oh Hello! Do you want to sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas" 
48. Santa reaches for Toddler to pick him up
49. Toddler steps back
50. Santa puts down his hands and says to Toddler "Ok, that's fine. You don't have to sit on my lap, but would you like a present?" 
51. Toddler stands there and looks behind Santa's chair for the present
52. As Toddler is doing that, Santa gets the present out of the present sack
53. Toddler looks back at Santa with wide eyes "THANK YOU!" 
54. Santa hands present to Toddler
55. Toddler won't take the present
56. I end up taking the present and giving it to Toddler "Thank you! Mum, go home now?" 
57. Tell Toddler we can and we head home with Toddler holding un-opened present in his hands
58. On the drive home hear Toddler say "WOW! Mum look!"
59. Pull over and look at Toddler
60. Toddler has opened his present - it's a cool set of fire fighter vehicles! (exactly the type of thing he loves to play with)
61. Get home and spend rest of afternoon watching Toddler play with his new toys