I am a massive Dickens fan! He seems, for me at least, to capture a level of understanding of us in society through it's highs and lows!
I had read all of his novels by 16 (if not earlier) and there is always that underlining darkness that creeps the corners of each page but equally, by the end, we are left with some happiness.
With it being Christmas we are all in that time for merriment and with that we will all be sitting back at some point and watching a form of Dickens creation The Christmas Carol. Admittedly, my favourite is the Muppet version, I mean who doesn't enjoy that?
Whichever version is your favourite you have to admit that a story created 173 years ago has become a staple ingredient to our Christmas time!
Locally, the council and shop owners have created a Christmas Carol themed Trail to run around on. The idea is to follow the map and collect all the hidden words that are found at certain locations!
With the map in hand it was off we went!
It took us up to the Castle Keep.
To Rochester Cathedral.
And at each stop we found a clue card and a word to complete the activity!
I loved the fact that we got to visit some of the local shops too!
For example we had to go inside, investigate and hunt down the Dickens section in Baggins Books, the largest second-hand bookshop in the country.
and along the trail we would find more shops and more cards all hidden in different places. Some of the cards were themed with Carol items and some were just festive!
We even stopped halfway at the Deaf Cat and grabbed some hot chocolate to keep us warm!
One was really hidden within the children's library area which gave us a great opportunity to explore there too!
These are just some of the cards and shops that we visited! We didn't want to show you all of them as it may ruin the surprise for you!
We absolutely loved it! It was a great activity and one that took us out into the fresh air, despite it being quite fresh and cold, and allowed us to take part in the fun as a family!
The fact that we were out hunting made the game fun for the boys but the different places and people taking part made it a unique experience that showed local businesses standing together as a community.
The boys took time in the quieter shops to explore and interact with the shop owners to find out what they sell. (Some of the shops are very unique, quirky and fun)
By the end of the trail our hard work was paid of with a lovely certificate to show that we completed all 25 stops!
This, besides the community feel, was a great way to reintroduce the story that isn't in a cartoon or Muppet form for the boys. I would hope activities like this will spark their interest to read the books when they are older!
I am going to end with a little fact about the Christmas Carol:
As bloggers, many of us will know the annoyance of writers block. Charles Dickens was no different and it was often recorded that he would struggle writing. However, it only took him a month to write A Christmas Carol. (I know, makes a blog post a day feel like nothing) He also used to stop writing or at least trying to write by 2pm where he would frequently go off for extremely long walks!
Why is this helpful now? Well, if you are like me then you may feel a tad intimidated by this but I see it as quite hopeful. As a persistent writer he has produced some of the worlds most famous works and this one in particular is now a staple feature of our lives every Christmas AND all within a month. We can do anything! Just like this trail, writing can be a little adventure too!
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