On Tuesday night, Little I was allowed to stay up a bit past her bedtime to join in the Chinese New Year celebrations at our local Boscombe Chine Gardens.

She’s such a big fan of Rapunzel and the Disney movie Tangled, and for those of you who’ve seen it you’ll know that there’s a part where hundreds of lanterns are lit by the King and Queen on Rapunzel’s birthday. Little I talks incessantly about that part of the film, and so when I saw that the Gardens were to be lit with hundreds of lanterns, I was very keen to take her along.

When I told Little I about the event, she was incredibly excited. She asked if her best buddy H could join us. I prayed that it wouldn’t be raining or too cold.

It was actually freezing, but we put on lots of layers and I made Little I promise she would keep her hat and gloves on for the duration!

On arrival we were greeted with an impressive Chinese dragon. It was hard to take a good photo as so many people were crowded around it.

The gardens looked truly magical and we wandered through the sea of beautifully lit lanterns, while the sounds of Chinese dancing could be heard in the background.

Sometimes it takes a little bit of effort to get out of the house on a cold February night, when it’s late and everyone has had a long day. But I’m so pleased we did it as I’m sure Little I will treasure the memories for quite some time.