How I saw my family enjoy a winter break to remember on Portsmouth's doorstep

So there was some reticence about our chances of adding to the Cross clan’s photo album, as we made our way along the A27 under leaden skies with the temperature gauge plummeting for our latest getaway.

With the regular game of car-pack Jenga which accompanies these breaks completed and such essentials as an armoury of toy swords and every piece of unicorn paraphernalia imaginable on board, Seal Bay Resort in Sussex was our destination.

Jauntily jutting into the Solent in Selsey, the award-winning holiday park is actually much less a holiday park and more a holiday town: IT IS HUGE.

Made up of three distinct areas, you could spend a fortnight traversing the vast array of activities, entertainment and eateries on offer across the mile of beachfront and 117-acre site.

In the event we had a weekend in which to enjoy the fruits of the £75m invested on facilities since 1993, so as we settled into two-bed caravan (caravan’s another misnomer when the bedroom with en-suite is bigger than what you have at home) there was plenty of planning required.

The first destination was always going to be The Oasis, a leisure pool where £5m of the huge owner outlay was committed to the 25m pools, lazy river and slides fit for a thrill-seeking teenager or aspiring four-year-old adrenalin junkie.

Next up was a five-minute shuttle to the White Horse to the most recent and impressive development which hosts an outdoor lido, bowling alley, cafe, arcade, pottery studio and 900-capacity entertainment venue.

Nestled at the back of the £18m building was our target, however. The Dockyard was surely our best hope of slowing a pair of hyped offspring, with its array of climbing walls, crazy golf and adventure bounce play.

Alas, they emerged thrilled but unbowed from a frantic afternoon of action, but relented enough to let their parents enjoy a highlight at one of the three restaurants and host of food-to-go options on offer.

We chose dinner at Smugglers, a family-friendly venue with unspoilt sea views where we tucked into fillet steak, chicken and ham pie and enjoyed a glass (okay, a bottle…) of Pino Grigio.

Now if parenthood has taught us one thing apart from the importance of wine as a coping mechanism, it’s the value of evening entertainment.

And this happens to be where Seal Bay excelled, despite us being present late in the year and with summer high season a distant memory.

The entertainment team attacked the evening with admirable intensity, which gave us parents enough respite to notice the resort counting down to a Christmas build-up which had the family calling for an immediate return.

In fact it will be a veritable festive extravaganza commencing from December 13, with an array of Yuletide activities lined up along with a pantomime, ice skating, Christmas market, shows and even a visit from Santa and his reindeer ahead of the big day.

The significance of being able to generate that special festive family feel without additional costs was an appeal, especially when the alternative is remortgaging for a Winter Wonderland visit.

We didn't want to disappoint the children with a lump of coal and satsuma, so a Christmas Seal Bay comeback is now actively being discussed.

That will offer the chance to settle the score on some family feuds, with the activity dye cast for the weekend and the competitive juices flowing.

That was built on a diet of zorbing, laser tag and archery accompanied with a sprinkling of build-a-bear, family bingo and an evening dash or two of gin and Guinness (not together) for the recharging parents, of course.

And all without the need to extensively brave the descending winter chill, as our home for the weekend did indeed provide us with a number of late additions to the 2024 family album.

Seal Bay are offering Christmas breaks from £349. For details contact 0333 996 7888 or click HERE