It's November so I'm officially allowed to talk about Christmas!

And I'm officially allowed to start celebrating. It turns out Intu Lakeside were also ready to start rocking around the Christmas tree too because they were kind enough to invite me to their Christmas #intuVIB (very important blogger) event which I am so grateful for!

The event took place in Intu Lakeside's stunning ice rink and cozy Christmas village. I had never been to the Lakeside shopping centre before but let me tell you, I was more than impresses! It is positively massive and full of all my favourite shops!

Upon arriving at the shopping centre I was greeted by a magical glass dome full of fairy lights and tinsel. The perfect place to retreat to on a windy winter's evening. 

The dome was even more beautiful inside, hosting a bar, ice rink and cozy lounge space. Surrounding the dome is the Christmas village. Unfortunatley, Santa's elves hadn't finished building it in time for the event, but I'm sure it'll be full of Christmas cheer next time I go. 

The bar offers a range of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. And what Christmas bar menu would be complete without some mulled wine! Although, warm spiced wine is perfectly stereotypical for a Christmas event, it's not really my thing so I opted for a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. 

Honestly, it tasted alot better than my amatuer GIFs make it look. I slurped down my hot chocolate pretty quick and mingled with my new-ish found blogger pal Pao (who is a complete babe by the way and who you should totally follow)! Lucky for me Pao is a pretty popular lady and introduced me to her blogging buddies Gemma  and Kirsty.

Then it was time to get out on the ice, which as you can see I was pretty excited about (what's your childish excitement face?). I used to skate a lot as a teenager however it took me longer than expected to get on the ice. I took about ten minutes trying to get my boots on and taking excited snaps like the one you've been blessed with above. Snaps taken and boots strapped, I was ready!

Except, I really wasn't because I was down right awful. I blame my height and higher centre of gravity (it totally has nothing to do with the fact that I'm clumsy). However, I made it round a handful of times and still had a really fun time!

After a few circuits, I hung up my skating boots and headed back home with the best festive feeling. I'm so ready for Christmas now and I'll definitely be back to Intu Lakeside to explore their Christmas village, that is once Santa's little helpers have placed the very last piece of mistletoe.    

P.S if you liked my use of GIFs in this post please do let me know. It's just a new little feature I'm experimenting with instead of photos.