Just got back from a short break and wanted to let you know about a great afternoon/evening we had out as a family. I know this relates to something that isn't going to happen again for 12 months but if I don't write this now I never will!

The first thing that surprised us was that the Spanish Christmas day is the 6th of January which confused the hell out of my kids!. On a downside the shops are rammed with last minute shoppers but on the upside there are some really cool things to get involved in to join the celebrations. For me, the best of those things was the Festival Of The Three Kings in Marbella on the evening of the 5th January. In thi festival you basically line the streets and watch a number of floats pass by who throw sweets at you - great fun as an adult, paradise if you're under 10!

Here are the do's and do not's based on our experience:

Do's

Turn up early and get a good spot - we got to Cafeteria Marbella at about 5pm, got comfy with a few beers and managed to get frontline before the groups started arriving (about 5.30ish). It does get really busy and the crowds were about 5 deep by the time the parade arrived at 6.45pm.

Take a plastic bag - as odd ask it sounds, when the floats start throwing sweets out, if you have a couple of enthusiastic kids like us you will soon be juggling hundreds of the things, a simple plastic bag solves the problem.

Go for a drink/food after the parade - The parade finished at Cafeteria Marbella at about 7.15pm and as you can image with the roads all closed it is chaos. Save yourself a frustrated hour in the car and go and relax somewhere. Things ease up about 8.30ish.

Do Not's

Can't think of any really. It's a nice relaxed atmosphere and pretty much anything goes. Just get there early and enjoy!

(P.S. Massive thanks to Len and Jen for sorting out all the details!)