the tots100 christmas party

If you didn't know all ready, 

then I'm not sure where you've been hiding 

because I've been looking forward to it so much that I could have burst, 

but this weekend I went to the Tots 100 Christmas Party

at Butlins in Bognor Regis.

This weekend away was met with a mixture of nerves, fear and genuine excitement

which is on a par with the first day back at school;

you want to go and see all your friends,

but you're also a bit worried because you're not sure what it will be like.

Well I needn't have worried because I had an absolute ball.

I had already met the lovely Katie from Mummy Daddy and Me Makes Three 

at a Kiddicare event a few weeks before.

But other that her, I knew nobody.

Actually I say that I knew nobody,

but some of the people who were going to the party

I speak to on a daily basis.

They know the ins and outs of my life

and I know theirs

through the lovely medium of blogging.

But meeting them in real life would be different surely?

And strange?

Not. At. All.

On the Saturday afternoon,

a large group of women started to gather in the reception of The Ocean Hotel.

It became quickly clearly that we were all nervously waiting to meet different people

but that we were all going to the same event.

The Saturday Meet and Greet.

Some slightly awkward introductions were made

in which we all mumbled where we blogged and exchanged 'real names'

and realised that we were all in fact human

and pretty normal.

No one with two heads in sight.

Then we were off to The Shoreline Conference Centre

where more meeting and greeting ensued.

That and a bit of competitive Christmas tree decorating

which meant that I revealed my ugly competitive streak to everyone.

I'd been sort of hoping to keep that under wraps until maybe a fourth or fifth meeting!

Needless to say that The A Team 

(Mammasaurus, Snuggle Bubby, Actually Mummy, Tired Mummy of Two, 

New Mum Online, Romanian Mum, Being A Mummy and I) 

were robbed.

But then we did have one of the bigger, white trees

which I think made our challenge harder right from the start.

And I think that our dog angel definitely should have earned us a runner-up award.

It was great to meet up with everybody for a little bit earlier in the day

because it meant that when the real party started later on

we all felt like we knew each other a little more.

The evening started with everyone meeting in Bar Rosso,

dressed in their glad rags

and ready for a Christmas cocktail.

This was the first alcoholic drink I'd had in more than 18 months ago

and it was very yummy.

(We ordered a special non-alcoholic one for Hannah 

- that's Mummy and the Beastie to you - 

and her bump.)

Then we headed on to Turners

where we had a yummy meal

with a random dessert 

which I feel we'll all still be talking about at BritMums Live! in June.

There was lots of nattering, gossiping, laughing and down-right cackling where I was sitting.

I got to have some lovely chats and giggles

with The Boy and Me, Multiple Mummy, Mum2BabyInsomniac, 

The Crazy Kitchen, Mummy Mummy Mum, Mummy Mishaps 

as well as more chats with Katie and Hannah.

It was really great to get to know better

all these fantastic women who I regularly speak to on Twitter.

After the meal we went on to have another drink in the hotel bar

before retiring from the exhaustion of all that talking.

Although I know that my Love Blogs family members 

(Annie from Mammasaurus and Helen from Actually Mummy)

stayed out until the very early hours getting up to mischief with some of the really hardcore partiers.

All in all I had a great time at my first real blogger event.

Everybody was so kind and friendly

and Sally did a great job of organising it.

I really hope that there is one again next year

because I could see a weekend in Butlins with some lovely bloggers

being a great addition to my Christmas traditions from here on in.