As DADLG closes down over the Christmas holidays, we aim to make the weeks leading up to the big day as much fun as possible for children and young people with SEND and their families. This Christmas season we’ve had some briliant social and leisure actvities on offer, from meeting Santa Claus over breakfast at the Crow’s Nest in Seaham to our fantastic Christmas Party in Durham.
We started the autum celebrations (yes, we start early!) with a trip to Fun Shack in Seaham. This brilliant soft play centre offers DADLG exclusive use for the evening so everyone can be themselves and have fun. Not only do we have the place to ourselves but children and young people of all ages are welcomed to our SEND only session, and we even get dinner thrown in as part of the deal! Everyone had a fantastic time as always and we can’t wait to go back.
During half-term, we ventured out of Durham with a day booking at the wonderful Alan Shearer Centre in Newcastle for a day of relaxation, therapeuric play and a session in the stunning hydrotherapy pool. On Tuesday we welcomed Animal Antics back to our base at Gilsgate. The demand for spaces was so high we decided to have two sessions instead of one, so more people could benefit from handling cute animals and not so cute (to some) creepy crawlies! The following day we enjoyed the October sunshine on a halloween day out at Adventure Valley in Durham, followed the next day by Halloween Crafts at vane Tempest Hall.
Christmas fun started on the last day of November, where we held one of our ever-popular Christmas pottery painting sessions facilitated by Rosebud Ceramics.
Breakfast With Santa for our younger members took place on the Saturday of the following weekend. That evening we were back out again for our annual panto trip to see Jack and The Beanstalk at the Gala Theatre in Durham which was a huge hit (and sell-out). On Sunday morning we were up and out early for our brilliant coach trip to Leeds Christmas Market. Despite the rain and cold, everyone had a fantastic day out. As well as exploring the market, families ventured around Leeds City Centre, had a go on the ice rink and visited the surrounding museums. I have to say, the Leeds City Museum was a welcome shelter from the weather and had some amazing exhibitions. Who knew there were so many Roman ruins and artefacts in Leeds?
Our final event of the season was our annual Christmas party at Bede Lodge Social Club in Durham. The venue was great and families had a wonderful time, however we’d like to say a special thanks to the DJ company, a family whose own children have SEND. They were brilliant at interacting with the children and facilitating the games and dancing.
All in all, we’ve had a fantastic autumn season. If you like the sound of what we do, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter full of fun actvities.
