Whither November?

December descended swiftly on us this year. The whole month of November zoomed past, overflowing with fantastically fun activities right after Big Bee's exams.

With the Bees growing older so quickly, I can now scour for more holiday activities that they can both attend together. I wanted drama to be a fundamental part of their lives as it is a wonderful way to foster confidence and empathy in children. So, we bought tickets for a musical and a play in November - Duck and Dive by iTheatre, and The Jungle Book by SRT.

The girls liked the 2-hour musical Duck and Dive, dazzling them with lovely showtunes and beautiful costumes. But they loved The Jungle Book, which cleverly ended in just one hour, so that the Bees were still entranced when the play ended. They were enthralled by the catchy tunes and hilarious acting, and were fascinated by the array of different jungle animals and their costumes. Back home, they continued acting out scenes from the play late into bedtime, indicating how impressed their little minds were.

With the cast of Duck and Dive. Big Bee was thrilled to be standing so close to the characters, and Little Bee could not draw a line between reality and play. She was hiding in my shoulders because she was terrified of the witch character (first character from left)! 

We also immersed ourselves in the magically clad streets of Orchard Road that are now resplendent with brilliant Christmas lights and glorious symbols of the season. This year, I find the decorations too bright and colourful for my liking but we are still touched by the Christmas ambience, loving the sights and sounds of splendid Christmas trees, nostalgic Christmas carols, twinkling fairy lights and gorgeous seasonal gifts all around us. We also bought a karaoke disc of Christmas carols, and the Bees are singing to these tunes frequently! 

In mid November, we put up our Christmas tree - and the Bees decorated the entire tree themselves! It was so heartwarming to sit back with Hubby and just gaze at the busy bees, fussing over which shiny decorations to hang over which branches. They completed the task within half an hour, gleefully rejoicing over their beautiful creation.

More activities are lined up in whirlwind December. With the Christmas mood lightening up the air, I am certainly looking forward to a month of love, splendour and fun!

Busy Bees at work - the theme of this year's Christmas tree is still "Baubles and Bells" like last year's!

The completed tree, minus the ribbons and lights which Papa will put up soon!