Tag: planning

10 family days out in North Yorkshire

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1.Wensleydale Creamery

By far the best known attraction in Hawes is the Wensleydale Creamery, home of Wensleydale cheese. The centre offers cheese making demonstrations, a small museum and viewing gallery, cafe and shops. The creamery has a lot to thank Wallace and Gromit for; the animated duo helped increase production at a time when sales were slowing. Nowadays the creamery sells a cheese named after them, I bet it’s a popular choice for visitors.

Wensleydale creamery

The best part, for a family day out, is the cheese shop. It’s full of samples, even for those people who don’t like Wensleydale cheese.

You can visit the cheese shop for free; a family ticket (2 adults and 2 kids) to the museum and cheese making area costs £7.50.

2. Hardraw Force waterfall

Hardraw Force is England’s highest above ground single drop waterfall, with a plunge of 100 foot. It’s a short easy walk to the waterfall through the grounds of the Green Dragon Inn. We visited during a dry spell; I’d imagine it’s even more impressive after heavy rain.

The waterfall is open daily from 10am. A family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) costs £7.50.

3. Hawes Ropemakers (Outhwaites)

Outhwaites Ltd, Ropemakers, Hawes

Located in the town this traditional ropemaker is worth popping into for 20 minutes or so. It’s mesmerising standing in front of the machines watching rope being made. There are machines making braids of all thicknesses and lengths from church bell ropes to skipping ropes. And if you’ve got a dog, their leads are available to buy and very popular.

Entrance is free.

4. Sheepdog demonstration

Countryfile have resurrected “One man and his dog” over the last couple of years which may account for the popularity of this evening out.

Sheepdog demonstration, near Hawes

Run by a local farmer, Richard Fawcett holds weekly demonstrations in a field just outside Hawes throughout the summer season.

Visitors are introduced to the dogs and watch them working the sheep. They make it look easy even if the sheep don’t always behave according to plan!

Tickets cost £5 for adults, £1 for children.

5. Dales Countryside Museum

The Dales Countryside Museum is a small local museum that focuses on the Yorkshire Dales and its people. Housed in the old railway station you’ll find exhibits ranging from Bronze Age spearheads to a Victorian smithy. Outside there are railway carriages with activities for younger children.

Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes

The Dales Countryside Museum is open daily except over the Christmas period and throughout January. Admission is £4.50 for adults, kids are free.

Harry Potter Children’s party themes

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Transform your child and his or her guests from Muggles to wizards with our Harry Potter Party Ideas! We have suggestions for everything from invitations to activities that will ensure a mystical birthday bash no one will forget!

Harry Potter Children’s Party Planning & Invitations

In addition to basic magical kids party supplies, like plates, cups, napkins, and decorations, you may want to consider purchasing, borrowing or renting the following items for your Harry Potter party:


  • Harry Potter movies, soundtracks or video games

  • A Selection of Magic Tricks

  • Wands

  • You may also want to consider hiring a magician to come perform for your guests.


Invitations are an important part of your planning because they give the first impression of your children’s party to your guests. If you have the time to make your own invitations, here are a few ideas to consider for your Harry Potter Birthday party:

  • Fold a piece of cardstock in half to create a top-fold card. If you are artistic, draw the Hogwarts crest on the front. Underneath the crest, write, “You are Invited…”

  • Punch a hole in the corner of a card-style invitation and attach it to a magic wand. Ask your guests to bring their wand with them to the party.

  • Create a top-fold card and divide the front of the card into four squares. Write one of the Hogwarts house names in each square (i.e. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff).

    Harry Potter Decorating & Food

Transform your party area into a page out of the Harry Potter series with some ‘mystical’ decorations:


  • Make a “Sorting Hat” by cutting a cone shape from a 24″ x 18″ piece of purple poster board, as shown below. Roll it into a cone, and tape or staple it closed. Cut out star and crescent moon shapes from yellow construction paper, and glue them onto the hat. As each guest arrives, put the hat over his or her head and announce that they have been chosen to the [child’s last name]’s house! Then, use the Sorting Hat as a centerpiece.

  • Hang two or three stuffed owls from the ceiling of the party area.

  • Cut a large lightning bolt out of white poster board and spray paint it silver. Hang it on the door leading to the party.

  • Create placemats that represent the four houses of Hogwarts using plain white construction paper and coloured markers. Write one of the house names on each placemat, and decorate them with the appropriate colours:

    • Slytherin: Green and Silver

    • Gryffindor : Scarlet and Gold

    • Hufflepuff: Yellow and White

    • Ravenclaw: Blue and Silver


When it comes to children’s party food, your guests would most likely be perfectly happy with pizza or hotdogs. However, if you would like to include some Harry Potter themed snacks, consider these ideas:


  • Serve “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.” We suggest using Jelly Belly brand jelly beans because of the wide variety of flavors available.

  • Make chocolate frogs using chocolate chips and gummy frogs (available at candy stores). Microwave one cup of chocolate chips for one minute or until melted, and stir. Dip the gummy frogs in the melted chocolate, and then place them on wax paper to cool. Keep the frogs chilled until you’re ready to serve them.

  • Serve “magic potion”. Freeze cranberry and grape juice in ice cube trays before the party. Serve a colourless soda at the party, such as ginger ale or lemon-lime. Let your guests select their ice cubes, which will “magically” change the colour of their drinks.

  • There are a number of treats from the Harry Potter stories that are made from everyday products, such as Butter Beer (root beer), Choco Balls (chocolate covered strawberry mousse balls), Fizzing Whizbees (sherbet balls), Rock Cakes (randomly shaped cakes with raisins), chocolate eclairs, and licorice wands.

    Harry Potter Party favours

Put a smile on your guests’ faces by sending them home with party favours that fit your theme. You could give one large favour, such as one of the Harry Potter novels or movie tickets; or combine smaller favours such as:


  • A magic wand

  • A book of magic tricks

  • Harry Potter stickers, pencils and stationery items

  • Plastic Harry Potter glasses

 

Skylanders party

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Step onto the Portal of Power and save Skylands from the evil Kaos with a Skylanders themed children’s party!
With Skylanders multitude of characters and plotlines, your party will include something that every single one of your guests can enjoy. Your son or daughter will love transporting themselves into their favourite video game when you accessorise their party with Skylanders themed decorations, food, tableware, and activities. Get ready to choose your elemental category and become a brand new playable character when you have your Skylanders party!
Skylanders Party Planning & Invitations
In order to throw the best children’s party possible, you need to plan appropriately! One of the most important planning decisions to make is where your children’s party venue will be. Your home, your garden, or an arcade would all be great places to host your Skylanders themed party. No matter where you choose, we offer a wide variety of Skylanders dinnerware, decorations, and other accessories for your convenience!
Some items that may go well at your party are:
Your Playstation, Xbox, or Wii along with your Skylanders figurines so that your guests can play their favourite video game during the party
Skylanders plush characters
Skylanders masks
Printed badges of the eight elements so that your party guests can wear their favourite
Skylanders costumes so that your guests can dress up as their favourite character
Invitations definitely don’t have to be boring! Make sure your friends and family know how great your party is going to be by sending them some awesome invitations. Invitations are also a great way to show off your creative side; if you’re feeling crafty, make some of your own Spyro the Dragon invitations using the following steps:
Cut out pieces of paper in the shape of Spyros head
Fold the pieces of paper in half to make a card-style invitation
Colour it purple and orange to match Spyros classic look, or decorate it in whatever way you would like
Include a fun poem to invite your friends to the party:
Skylanders need help It’s time to defeat Kaos At Gina’s Party! Just because you’re not creative doesn’t mean you can’t have fun invitations! If you’re looking to write your own message to your guests, you can buy our Elements Force Personalised Invitations. For easy yet still stylish pre-made invitations, take a look at our Skylanders Invitations and Thank You Set. No matter what your preference is, you’ll be sure to find or make the perfect invitations for you and your party!
Decorate your home with Skylanders signature figurines.
Bring the Skylanders to you! Create your own vines using brown string and brow, golden, and green tissue paper that you can cut into leaves. These can be hung anywhere around your party venue.
Bake your kids favourite type of cake and put Skylanders figurines on top.
For the undead among you, create some Skylanders Undead Bone Pretzels! Simple poke a piece of popcorn on each end of a skinny pretzel stick and dip in melted white chocolate until set.
For a healthy snack, buy some watermelon–after all, it heals and rejuvenates the Skylanders, so it’s the perfect way to give your party guests a boost of energy!
Sheep are included in every Skylanders game, so make sure you include them at your party with these Skylanders Sheep Cupcakes! Frost cupcakes with white frosting and cover with mini marshmallow use a chocolate donut hole for the head and give it eye with frosting.
Skylanders Party Favours
Your guests took time out of their day for you to come to your party. Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate that by giving them each a Skylanders goody bag at the conclusion of your party! We offer a variety of items, both Skylanders themed and not, that would go great in your goody bags! If you’re looking for a Skylanders themed goody bag.
Skylanders favour cups
Skylanders stickers
Skylanders 3D erasers
With all of these options, you can mix and match until you create your perfect and unique goody bag for you guests. The possibilities for your Skylander favours are endless!

Minecraft parties

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Minecraft has swept into the hearts and devices around the world, and you’re tasked with creating a Minecraft world in your own home for a kids birthday party. But have no fear! Minecraft is a great children’s party theme, with tons of opportunities to make your Minecraft party shine. With such a blocky style, it’s easy to build your party area into a one of a kind world for your birthday gamer.

Personalisation

Personalise your party to show off the special day you are celebrating. Customize messages on invites, labels, activity mats, bag tags and more.

Decorations

Minecraft is a world made of coloured blocks so your decor will mostly contain square-shapes. In the game, there are many different worlds you can create and explore, so getting an idea of which worlds you’d like to include in your party will help you tackle the decor aspect much easier. Whether it’s snow, desert, water, grass, or sand, you’ll find some great tips to throwing a one-of-a-kind Minecraft party in your home or outside.

 

  • You can coordinate solid blue, green, and black tableware and decorations with Minecraft brand elements to pull the whole look together.

  • Make a Minecraft party backdrop by taking square shaped paper plates and sticking them to the wall with sticky tack or non-damaging tape.

  • Use our stone wall backdrop to set the scene.

  • Take or make cubed cardboard boxes and cover with duct tape, construction paper, or tissue paper grass. Poke two small holes in the top and hang them from the ceiling with fishing line.

    Party Favours

Party favours are a part of the party fun, and with a Minecraft themed party, you’ve got lots of options to choose from. You can even make it a personalised gift, with either a themed name tag or another individual character. Carry your theme through your party favours to make it feel complete.

 

  • Use coloured paper bags or boxes and glue or draw Creeper, Golem, or Ghast faces on them.

  • Fill smartie tubes with red, green, and blue bubblegum labelled as “TNT,” “Diamonds,” or “Slimeballs.”

  • Small blind bags of Minecraft collectables also make great favours.

  • Make your own Minecraft boxes to fill with small favour items with this simple template.

  • For older children party poppers labelled TNT make a great party favour as well!

  • Paint or tape Creeper faces on lime green buckets so your attendees can take a character from Minecraft home!

    Party Games and Activities

While your party is in full swing, throw in some fun activities and games to keep the energy going. Keep the hands busy after meal time by having stations or times for different games.

 

  • Make a cookie decorating station for dessert. Use these Minecraft cookie cutters to make a batch of sugar cookies in advance.

  • With adult supervision, have kids make mini swords or Minecraft characters out of Hama beads.

  • Pinatas are a party classic, and making your own Ghast Pinata isn’t too hard!

  • Pin the tail on the pig is another fun game you can make incredibly easily with construction paper, scissors, and tape!

  • If you’re feeling extra handy, make a Minecraft beanbag toss with cutouts like a Creeper face.

  • Set up a photobooth with a few props. Like these Minecraft masks, and swords in front of a stone wall covering.

    DIY Crafts

Minecraft is all about building a world, so why not include some building creativity during the party? Having the kids (and adults) create a make-and-take craft is a great  way to keep them entertained and add one more keepsake to the pile of party favours

.

  • Duct tape bracelets are a fun craft that’s quick and easy!

  • Pick up some inexpensive blank T-shirts and have the party attendees make their own Minecraft shirts use heat transfer vinyl or fabric paint.

  • With a little pre-planning, you can make some fantastic Minecraft creatures from simple items such as toilet paper rolls and small boxes.

Have a Shopkins party

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Shopkins are the hottest toys right now and quickly becoming the most popular children’s birthday party theme for girls. What is great about a Shopkins themed party is that there are so many options and ways to incorporate a lot of characters.

Invite your guests to Shop ‘Til You Drop with colourful Shopkins children’s party themed invitations.

Shopkins Party Decorations

Crepe paper streamers are great crepe paper streamer tassels are even better! They are really easy to create and can be made well in advance of your party. One of the best things about these is that you can choose all your own colours, unlike many of the packaged tassels where colors are limited.

Paper lanterns don’t always have to be hung. Use them to add colour and dimension to the bottom of your tablescape which can help complete the overall look.

Decals are not just for walls! Mount the vinyl decals onto foam board and cut around the image. You can place the mounted decals on the wall, on the table, or on the floor as shown above. Once the party is over, carefully peel the decal from the foam board and use to decorate the birthday girl’s room.

Shopkins Party Food

There are so many foods to choose from within the Shopkins theme. Poppy Corn is one of the most recognizable characters so you can serve popcorn in a popcorn box made to look like her.

You can search through the list of Shopkins and find more food to feature. What makes Shopkins so appealing to kids is that they are small, cute, and collectible.

Shopkins Activities & Favours

Create a small shopping area on your table and let your guests go shopping! Here are some fun ideas for your shop:

  • Purple boxes decorated with pink ribbon looks like Miss Pressy

  • Bubble Gum scented nail polish looks just like Polly Polish

The great thing about this activity is that once your guests have loaded up their Shopkins shopping bags, they are ready to leave with favours in hand. Of course another big hit is the photo booth. The Shopkins photo props are such fun and your guests will love them. They could easily double as favours as well. If you want to create an additional activity you can play Who Am I? with the props.

Hand each guest a prop but tell them not to look. Have them hold it up and ask the others questions about who they are. Whoever guesses who she is in the fewest amount of questions wins!

Shopkins Costumes

Help your birthday girl look just like a Shopkin! The Strawberry Kiss costume is adorable and will be the talk of the children’s birthday party. A perfect gift would be matching accessories.

Easter Entertainment

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Here are some brilliant Easter themed children’s activities for indoors and to give the little Kids a break from scoffing a pile of Easter Eggs!
 
Egg Decorating
 
Egg decorating is so much fun and keeps children entertained for hours. You can use paints, glitter, stickers and anything crafty that you can get your hands on but first you need to blow out the contents of the egg. Here’s how to do it –
 
Pierce a small hole at both ends of the egg and blow into the egg (do this over a bowl) and the contents of the egg will come out.
 
If the egg appears stuck, then swirl it around and blow again.
 
Finally hold your finger over the bottom hole and place the top under running water, shake the egg and blow again.
 
Leave the egg to dry and then they’re ready to decorate.
 
Indoor Egg and Spoon Race
 
The key for this child friendly activity is to use coloured plastic eggs, or if you are heading down the more traditional route then boil the egg first so that it’s hard boiled otherwise this could end up as quite a messy children’s activity. Arrange the children at the start line with an egg and a spoon each, and when you say go the children race to the finish line without dropping their egg. If they drop it, they need to start again! You could make the race more difficult by adding obstacles!
 
Springtime Easter Nests
 
This Easter recipe is so simple for the children to make and requires no oven! My favourite bit is licking the bowl afterwards…yum yum!
 
Ingredients:
 
150g Shredded Wheat (Cornflakes or Rice Crispies are just as yummy)
 
250g chocolate
 
3 tbsp golden syrup
 
1 bag of Mini Eggs
 
How to make:
 
Melt chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat
 
Stir in syrup and and rice crispies – watch out for taste testers!
 
Spoon mixture into cake cases, top with a Mini Egg (or two) and leave to cool
 
Enjoy!

Free days out in Liverpool

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If you’re looking for some fab (and free!) days out in Liverpool, look no further! Check out this handy list full of great children’s attractions and activities that all of the family will love, whether you’ve got a budding artist, little bookworm or explorers in town.
Merseyside Maritime Museum

 

Merseyside Maritime Museum is a fantastic day out with the family! Here you’ll find a fascinating array of different exhibitions displaying Liverpool’s maritime history. There will always be lots to see and do as they regularly have activities and workshops for families. There’s also a ‘Sea Urchins’ play area for kids under the age of 8!

The World Museum

The World Museum has world-class shows and displays, including the Planetarium and Aquarium to the fascinating Clore Natural History Centre. You will find lots of exciting objects including Egyptian mummies, Samurai armour, casts of dinosaur bones, meteorites and many more treasures. Throughout the year they have many family events and many different temporary exhibitions so keep an eye on their regularly updated calendar!

Tate Liverpool

Tate Liverpool has many exhibitions displaying various artists and their work. There is a lot to offer visiting families, including events and workshops! You can make your way around the gallery at your own pace and start wherever you want.

Sefton Park

This beautiful park has some great facilities for all of the family to enjoy. There’s lots to explore, including the Grade 2 listed Palm House, fountain, grotto, boating lake, fairy glen and lots more! There’s a playground for the children to let off some steam and plenty of walkways ready to be explored.

The Bluecoat

The Bluecoat, known as Liverpool’s creative hub, is home to an array of art, theatre, music, dance and lots more! It is the most historic building in Liverpool and hosts many temporary exhibitions. It caters for families, offering creative activities every Saturday so your little budding artists can make their very own pieces of art.

Liverpool Central Library

This imposing historic building has been thoroughly modernised and is a fantastic place to bring the family! There is a children’s room where you will find brightly coloured interiors with lots of books and hidey holes. There are excellent facilities including an Xbox 360, computers, iPads and lots more.

Walker Art Gallery

Walker Art Gallery is a great place to bring the family on a day out! They offer an array of activities including the Big Art for Little Artists gallery, which can be found on the ground floor. There are often events and workshops taking place, which kids can get involved in.

Liverpool World Heritage Site

The port area of Liverpool is listed as a World Heritage Site, which stretches along the waterfront. In the Pier Head area you’ll find the grand historic buildings of The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool building. There’s also the modern building of the Museum of Liverpool (free entry) and the chance to watch narrow boats pass through the Canal Link. You will also find the modern district, Mann Island, where there are restaurants galleries and cafes.

The Elves and Shoemaker

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Join Full House Theatre at The Civic on Sunday 23 April on a high jinks journey of joy and rediscovering of the past in their family fun show The Elves and The Shoemaker.

In this topsy-turvy re-telling we meet Geoff, a lovable retired shoemaker. Now in his twilight years Geoff struggles with his memory and the patchwork of his past.

One day at the bottom of his garden he is visited by two magical friends who help him to recall the old days in the shoe shop, reliving the hard times, the good times and the magic! The Elves help Geoff to remember his glorious past and eventually he realises that a little bit of elf magic is all he needs to give his wife the only thing she’s ever wanted, just in time for her 90th Birthday.

The show features original toe-tapping music, laugh out loud characters, puppetry and even a little bit of real magic! Just like a comfy old slipper, The Elves and the Shoemaker is a story sure to make old and young alike feel all warm and cosy inside.

The Elves and The Shoemaker is at The Civic on Sunday 23 April at 2.30pm. Tickets are £8 full price, £6 concessions and £5 children.

The Civic, Barnsley

A multi-purpose theatre and art gallery based in Barnsley, The Civic presents world-class accessible performances and exhibitions throughout the year, to audiences in the heart of South Yorkshire.

Opening times

Gallery: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-5pm (last admission is 15 minutes prior to closing time)

Box Office: Monday – Friday, 10am-6pm / Saturday, 10am-5pm / Sunday, 10am-4pm (on family performance days)

Plan a party for your little princess

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A Frozen Birthday Party is what most little girls want at the moment and were are here to help with inspiration on how to decorate your home or children’s party venue to make it that extra bit special.

Costumed characters are always a big hit; these characters call also entertain the children whilst you get on organising the food.

Make sure you have table cloths that look ‘Frozen’ for example you could have silver foil laid out with blue plates and don’t forget to have plenty of ice in jugs for decoration to really make it look authentic, or if your budget allows why not hire an Ice Sculpture for your centrepiece.

If you know of any singers in the family or friends, then they could sing a few ‘Frozen songs’ but if you don’t then why not hire a solo singer preferably one that can be Elsa or Ana for a few hours.

It’s all about the ‘wow’ factor when your little girl walks into the venue you’ve booked, she and her friends want to be transported into the world of ‘Frozen’.

Fairy lights can transform any dull church hall into something magical if it’s done in the right way. Battery powered tea lights are also very effective and safer!!

Tissue paper pompoms, honeycomb balls and paper rosettes also offer a great cost-effective solution to decorating any space. They pack the wow factor without much effort or cost.

Why not hire or make a Sledge where a photo opportunity would be great keepsake for all your guests.

For DIY party decor, a few tissue paper pompoms can help bring life to any table or theme.

When it comes to budget-friendly favours, we believe a party activity where guests create something to take home is ideal! It’s not only practical, but it’s also a lot less work for the hostess. And the kids will love something they actually made as opposed to something shop-bought. A jewellery- or snow globe-making station would be a great way to incorporate the theme into your activities.

​Another cool idea is to use white Christmas lights you may already have at home to create the “Frozen” atmosphere. And don’t forget the cute goodie bags or packaging to match your theme!”

‘Sing’ the movie

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“SING” is released across UK cinemas on the 21st & 22nd of January 2017 and it’s a perfect way to entertain children and adults alike.

The main character is a koala called Buster Moon, voiced by the rather lovely Matthew McConaughey, who is obsessed with “making it big” with his completely run-down theatre.

In a desperate last measure to save his beloved theatre, he decides to hold a talent contest, with a prize of $1000.  Unfortunately his rather elderly assistant, Ms Crawley, (a half blind lizard!), voiced by the very clever Garth Jennings, manages to add two extra “00s” to the prize fund on all the leaflets…..

 

So, of course, every animal under the sun turns up for the auditions and the main characters of the film emerge as the final show performers.

These include Rosita the pig, who is a housewife and mum to 25 piglets, (the mums in the audience will identify with her 100%!), voiced by Reese Witherspoon.

Meena the elephant who is terrified of performing in front of an audience and prefers to stay back-stage if she can, voiced by Tori Kelly

Johnny the gorilla, who was most definitely our favourite character of the bunch, voiced wonderfully “Eastender-ish” by Taron Egerton.

Ash the punk-porcupine, who is more or less, the “moody-teenager” and flits between heavy metal to love songs, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

The baddy of the crew is smarmy ole Mike the mouse, voiced very cleverly by Mike MacFarlane: you can’t help but hate him as soon as you see him!

Gunter the pig, who is paired with Rosita to choreograph a dance routine with her for their joint performance, voiced by Nick Kroll.

And then there’s Buster’s faithful friend, Eddie the sheep, who stands by him in all his efforts to keep the theatre up and running, voiced by John C Reilly.

Eddie has a hugely famous opera singer grandmother, Nana Noodleman, voiced by our very own Jennifer Saunders, who does help to come to the rescue in the end…..

Without revealing too much of the plot, it all goes horribly wrong and all ends up fabulously good!

As the name suggests: it is very music orientated, so if that’s not your little one’s “thing” – this film is not for you, but who doesn’t like music?