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An Interview With Clare
Tell us about the initial inspiration behind what has developed into Elfland UK?
We both love Christmas and had been enjoying the festivities in December last year when Siena became intrigued and concerned about what all the elves got up to when they weren’t making presents and bringing the magic of Christmas to life.
With true childlike innocence, Siena asked whether I thought that elves ever had time to relax and unwind? And if they did, what might they get up to? Did they like to hang out with their friends and make magic or mischief?
It certainly got us both thinking and using our imaginations.
How did that intrigue and innocence lead to you developing Elfland UK?
While looking for outdoor festive activities to get involved with over the Christmas holidays we came across the local woodlands ‘Enchanted Christmas’ event which was exactly what we were looking for. A magical outdoor setting with activities and a nature and adventure theme.
We had discovered these local woodlands and gardens the previous year, and it is somewhere we had always found quite magical. It also happened to be a firm favourite of our family dog, Buddy! He loves an adventure just like the rest of the family!
After the event, Siena confided in me that she’d made a very special wish that day…she wanted to create a special place where elves could go to visit, relax, unwind, and play when they weren’t working hard making all those Christmas toys. She thought that a woodland wonderland would be the perfect place. So, we spent the next 24-hours huddled together and coming up with a crazy plan to create an outdoor adventure concept, which could become the very first home of our Elfland Adventures, and so started the creation of the enchanting and magical world of Elfland and our story of The Lost Wish. More on that later!
What makes the perfect location for Elfland and tell us more about Elfland Adventures?
I love the outdoors and believe there is nothing better for the body, mind and soul than being active and amongst nature. Woodlands have such a magical feel and are the perfect place for children to explore, learn and use their imagination. Our concept is to create the very first Elfland Adventure experience at our local beauty spot but also encourage families to use their own imagination at their local park or woods where kids can embrace being outdoors, being at one with nature as they embark on a range of wholesome activities such as treasure trails, building stick mazes, making leaf art, making boats and sending special messages down streams.
Elfland can be anywhere, and it is what your imagination makes of your surroundings that makes it magical and unique.
Elfland Adventures is where we are bringing our idea to life, a place where children can visit and be guided through our activities. We have collaborated with a local forest school and worked together to ensure all our activities have a focus on creative imagination and wellness.
How did the concept grow from there and
take on its wellbeing message?
Working in the spa industry, wellbeing is at the core of what we do every day, so it was natural for this to be on my mind when we started the Elfland journey. Always one to embrace a challenge, and keen to encourage Siena’s creativity, I wanted to help more children unlock the power of their imaginations through outdoor play and could see how this could benefit their wellbeing in a positive way.
At first it was about bringing something to life that Siena and her local friends could enjoy, to encourage them to get away from their screens and enjoy fresh air and outdoors adventures. But our initial ideas just snowballed and took on a new life as I envisaged the home of Elfland Adventures as the location for an enchanting and magical children’s book.
This was to become The Lost Wish and is without a doubt the most exhilarating and rewarding adventure I’ve ever been involved with, perhaps more so because I’ve been on this crazy journey with my daughter.
So just how did you go about writing The Lost Wish? They do say everyone has a book inside them!
When Siena and I started to explore the imaginary concept of Elfland Adventures we were thinking about what a visit there might look like, what characters we might meet along the way and the adventures that could unfold.
Our creativity was on fire!
It was December 2021 when we first started to write down our ideas and just 3 months later, The Lost Wish book, with a little inspired help from some friends along the way, was bought to life!
So are Siena and yourself both keen readers and writers?
I was certainly never academic as a child and in fact, struggled throughout school with dyslexia, so I hope that the story behind how The Lost Wish was brought to life becomes a hugely inspirational one for children and parents in a similar position. It’s all about belief.