Madhouse diaries : Christmas in Dunkirk

Braving the winds of Storm Caroline (called Storm Xanthos in France) yesterday afternoon, we headed into Dunkerque town centre to see the Christmas decorations, starting at the Forêt Enchantée.

Following the pathway through the forest of Christmas trees, we peered into each of the wooden chalets.

Each chalet presented a different scene, from schoolroom and woodland scene to carpenter's studio, each one with animated figures.

They were pretty and the festive music and smell of pine needles added some extra Christmas spirit, but we didn't think it was quite as good as previous years when they featured moving teddy bears.

 There were still some nice surprises hidden around corners though.

After seeing Santa working through the Christmas mail with his band of merry elves, we came across the man in red himself. 

The organisers announced that they were closing the forest as a safety measure because of the wind, but we just had time to see the rest of the display on our way out.

 Choo choo ... from one train to another, as we headed into the town hall opposite to see a demonstration of model trains.

The town hall had had the Christmas decorators in too, but we were just as impressed with the big stained glass window, representing the history of Dunkirk and the local hero, privateer Jean Bart.

 From the top, the Christmas tree looked even bigger. Meanwhile, Sophie was whispering sweet nothings in the polar bear's ear !

We headed down to the Christmas market in the main square but they were being forced to close as a safety measure too. We just had time to buy a chocolate pancake before heading home. I've no doubt the Madhouse grandparents and Auntie Em weren't looking quite so smiley a couple of hours later. Due to the wind and an earlier ferry accident in Calais, there were humungous delays on the Channel Tunnel on the way home. (Three hours at time of writing.) I hope they had a good day all the same.