In the middle of this year’s Christmas market in Rochester, a winter wonderland has been created for little ones.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the fairground rides and food stalls in the Castle Gardens is the Children’s Christmas Village. The village is new for this year so we went along to find out more.

We are greeted by two elves who chatted to the children and help build up the excitement.

There was time to pose with the giant gingerbread man before another elf appeared ringing a large bell and it was time to go inside.

We stepped into Mrs Claus’s living room, complete with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree and a cosy fireplace (not a real one).

The children sat on long benches in front of the fire to listen to Mrs Claus tell a story - The Gingerbread in the Night.

In true festive style there was some audience participation - the young audience had to yawn and shout in the right places. The children looked enthralled by the story and kept their little faces firmly fixed on Mrs Claus as she was talking.

When the story was over it was time to step into the next tent which was set up with craft tables covered with red and white checked gingham tablecloths.

There were lots more elves there to greet us and help the children with the next task - making a Christmas bauble.

The children could stick, colour and stamp decorations on their cardboard bauble. My daughter loves this sort of thing and got stuck in making hers and then went to proudly show off her creation to one of the elves, who had been walking around to help and also be a bit silly.

For the final task, the next tent was set up ready to decorate gingerbread men. Each child had a biscuit, icing and little pots of sweets and sprinkles to use. All of the children seemed to love this and put lots of effort into creating hair sprinkles, icing boots and sweet buttons.

Each child was given a paper bag to take away what they had made. Then it was time to wave goodbye to the elves and head home, feeling just that little bit more Christmassy than we did before.

Tickets cost £10 per child and the experience lasts around 45 minutes.

Adults do not need a ticket. No more than two adults can accompany each child because of space restrictions.

The village opens today (Saturday) and runs until Sunday, December 10 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Find out more here.

The Christmas market also opens today and runs until December 10. It is free to enter.