Ever dreamed of visiting a magical world of whirling on ice? Every year in Hyde Park you can do that very thing at the amazing Winter Wonderland, and some lucky competition-winners joined three partially-frozen Puffins and the lovely Linda Chapman last weekend to have a go on the famous Winter Wonderland ice rink!
While the Puffins gathered round big mugs of hot chocolate for warmth, fans of Linda's new series Skating School took to the ice while their Mums and Dads watched from the comfort of the non-slippery sidelines - some of the braver ones even had a go themselves!
Everyone got a chance to meet Linda and get their copies of Violet Skate Friends signed, followed by exploring the beautiful German Christmas market and exciting rides that Winter Wonderland had to offer.
Unfortunately, that was the last day of Winter Wonderland for this season, but it'll be back next year. Who knows, maybe we Puffins will have learnt to skate by then!
Hannah Flynn
Puffin Publicity and Marketing Assistant
There are so many things that make the festive season simply the best time of the year from being able to spend time with family and friends, getting time off school/work, seeing all the pretty decorations and coloured lights, opening exciting presents and eating lots of yummy food . . . and as if all of that isn’t enough, there are the cool outdoor ice rinks that magically appear out of nowhere!
I had just started working in the Puffin Publicity team, having told my boss in interview that my favourite thing about the job is doing events, when I found out that my first would be on a (freezing cold) Sunday during the Christmas holidays - not exactly when I would have chosen it! However, I soon stopped moaning once I realised that I’d be going along to London’s largest outdoor ice-rink at the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park – a must for any Dancing on Ice fan (of which I am a huge one!).
So, last Sunday the competition winners and a few pirouetting Puffins put on their skates to celebrate the launch of Linda Chapman’s brand new sparkly series Skating School. As the children arrived well prepared in gloves, scarves and fluffy earmuffs, I regretted not wearing my woolly legwarmers and snug Ugg boots. How was I to know that we would now be facing the coldest winter for nearly 30 years? (Yes alright Mum, your predictions were correct!). The afternoon flew by with goody bag giveaways and book signings before everyone finally headed out onto the ice to show off their impressive twists and twirls…and from what I witnessed we definitely have some Ice Princesses in the making!
(Just for future reference . . . being a Puffin does not necessarily make you accustomed to cold climates!)
The first four titles in the Skating School series are out now. For all the latest news, competitions and downloads, join the Sparkle Club today!
Jayde Lynch
Puffin PR Officer
Being a Puffin is simply the best! There are surely not many jobs where you get to spend a day at Winter Wonderland in London's gorgeous Hyde Park under the pretence of work! But that's exactly what 3 lucky Puffins got to do on Sunday. We may have grumbled as it was the last day of our Christmas holidays but this soon stopped when we turned up to the super Christmassey Winter Wonderland. With the smell of bratwurst and steaming hot chocolate everywhere you looked it really couldn't be a bad thing to be out in the cold even if we did get numb fingers and toes (note to self: wear more than one layer of socks in future!)!
All the winners turned up to meet Linda and received a green Puffin bag packed with goodies, including a free copy of Violet Skate Friends. But that's not all they were lucky enough to win, there was also another surprise in store, an hour of ice-skating! Now I'm not the most stable of Puffins, even on solid non-icy ground, so I didn't attempt to ice-skate (really who wants to see an ungraceful Puffin falling over every 2 feet?!). But from my position at the side whilst warming my hands with a lovely hot chocolate it looked like we had some budding ice-stars. Who knows, maybe they'll be whisked off to the Magical Land of Ice and Winter just like Emily and her friends in the Skating School series!
After a super fun afternoon of ice-skating all the winners and us lucky Puffins got to explore the rest of the Winter Wonderland, it was hard to decide where to start, should we go on one of the rides, get a nice hot drink to warm ourselves up or get stuck into one of the many yummy food stalls? What a dilemma! It's a hard job being a Puffin but someone has to do it!
Fiona Evans
Puffin Marketing Assistant
