Father Christmas sails into Snape Maltings UK
The historic Thames sailing barge smoothly brought Father Christmas into the Quay at Snape Maltings.
He arrived to excited families waving as a local band played Christmas music to the crowd. After Santa disembarked, he walked to his grotto to meet the children.
It was like a little parade as we all qued up behind and followed him.
Luie did not mind waiting in line, as he was anxious to talk to Santa. He was anxious to tell Santa that he wanted a robot.
Then Santa told him to please leave out some carrots for his reindeer, a mince pie, and a glass of sherry for him!
Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out Santa’s snack choices in other countries as well? I bet Santa gets a lot of diversity on his busy night.
First time I’ve seen Santa, i.e., Father Christmas coming by boat. Loved it. I didn’t know mince pie was such an English tradition.
Thanks Susan! Mince pies are everywhere. And of course we had to try them. They are so little and cute. They are also pretty rich. I plan to do a blog post about the mince pie, since they are a part of the Christmas tradition.
I wonder where the name Snape Maltings comes from. Thanks for the great photos and stories. It is a great gift you give us here at home.
Thanks Bonnie. That is a great questions, so I did some research. The little village is named Snape and the set of buildings called Snape Maltings is the area where they used to make malted barley for use in making beer. The buildings and area are now full of little shops, galleys, and eateries. It is right next to the River Alde, which is how Santa sails in.
Father Christmas in UK and Santa Claus here in Texas must shop the same clothier. They could inter change and no one could tell the difference until they started talking; the vocabulary would, I’m sure, be a give away difference. MERRY CHRISTMAS is the same. SO, MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL. GOD BLESS YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!!!
Thanks Paul. We are loving beautiful England and all the traditions we are learning about. We spent a great Christmas visiting with our new new friends.
Merry Christmas to you all! This was an interesting post. We grew up having mince pie every Christmas at my Grandma’s house. She canned her own mince filling with venison, apples, raisins, spices, etc. My dad still likes a good mince pie, though I was never very fond of them.
Enjoying your posts!
Sue! Thanks for sharing that story. The mince pies here no longer have meat, although they did many years ago. Mince pies seem kinda rare in the states. Although maybe that just depends on the family.
LOL I see I wrote this on the wrong post – thought I was still on the mince pie post.
That has happened to me too. Doesn’t matter though, it is all about the Christmas holidays! Thanks for your comments, it is great to hear from you!
That’s cool stuff
Thanks! We love all these unique experiences. Great memories!