On Saturday we got up bright and early

To head to London on the train

Not to go shopping

Thanks to PayPal this year I am doing all my shopping online

We were not going shopping

We were on our way to Sadlers Wells’ Peacock Theatre

To see The Snowman

The Snowman is very special for us as a family

I watched it with David on our very first Christmas together

The second year we went to see a special screening with the music played by a live orchestra

And now we watch it every year with our children

We very nearly had the music from The Snowman and The Snowdog

Played at Tilda’s funeral

The music from both films will always remind us of her

We arrived at the theatre early and were well looked after by the staff there

We got Esther and William each an inflatable booster seat for £2

They love them because they have a snowman on

We settled in our seats and watched the snow falling on the stage

I showed Esther and William the pit where the musicians were

As the house lights went down and the stage lights came up

I felt the emotion that I feel when I perform

I miss acting very much and going to the theatre always makes me emotional

So with this being such a special show …

The first set was the house

It was brilliantly done and cleverly used

By James, his Mum and Dad

The wonderful dance set to familiar music

Told the story we know so well perfectly

Esther and William loved the rolling snow balls

That got bigger and bigger across the stage

William and I were telling the story to each other as we watched

William narrates real life so was not unusual for him to narrate the show

And to ask questions

It was wonderful watching Esther and William’s faces as the magic began to start

As The Snowman came to life

The exploration of the house by James and The Snowman was brilliantly done

Esther and William loved the nose testing scene

And we were all taken by surprise by the dancing fruit coming out of the fridge

I think the bit that Esther liked best was when the ballerina from the playroom music box

Came to life

Esther wants to start ballet

I am going to take her in the Spring

She loved the beautiful ballerina

For William it was all about the motorbike

There was a real motorbike on the stage!

William thought it was wonderful

And now all that he wants for Christmas is a toy motorbike

And a real one that he can ride!!

For me the highlight was the flying sequence

And hearing that familiar music

That to me means Christmas

Memories of magical Christmases past

Hope for Christmases to come

As the music began to play

As James and The Snowman leapt into the sky

I cried

I was standing at the back rocking Bea

And the tears just fell

Such beauty in a story

So many memories

So much meaning

It was beautiful and I smiled as I cried

I am sad now that I did not hear William asking Daddy

‘Why are they on ropes?’

My children were not as moved and inspired by the flying as I was!

The second act was as spectacular as the first

Father Christmas was awesome

Such great moves!

We all loved the anticipation of the arrival of Jack Frost

And how he tried to woo the ballerina

And spoil her beautiful friendship with The Snowman

We all loved the penguins

Who bumped bellies as they danced

As James and The Snowman began their return home

I knew that William was going to find the ending hard

My beautiful son cries at sad stories and unfair situations

I knew he was going to struggle with The Snowman melting away

The ending was handled so sensitively

James curled up in bed

Dreaming of his amazing journey

As silhouettes danced back and forth across the stage

We were naming the characters that we recognised

As they appeared in James’ dreams

We did not notice The Snowman fading

Only that he was gone

James was sad a moment

But then the snow began to fall again

And our hearts were filled with hope

And we were able to dry our tears

Knowing that one day

James would meet his Snowman again

The show was wonderful

Beautiful

Magical and memorable

I am so so glad that we were there

And I think the experience will stay with us for always

Or until next year

When I hope we might go and see the show again

If you only see one festive performance this Christmas

Make it this one

Make it The Snowman

It is the stuff childhood dreams are made of

We were given free tickets to The Snowman for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own.