Author: kiddy@admin

Family days out for little historians

Posted on by

York, Yorkshire

This picturesque town, located in North Yorkshire, is the perfect place to bring your budding little historians! Head to the York Castle Museum to get an insight into Edwardian and Victorian life in York, or pay a visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre to discover why they’re so popular. It’s also a must for chocolate lovers with the fab York’s Chocolate Story! If you’ve got a little thrill seeker in tow, be sure to check out Lightwater Valley to take on Europe’s longest rollercoaster; The Ultimate!

Cardiff, Wales

This beautiful town offers lots of varied and entertaining fun for all of the family! Explore Cardiff Bay on The Open Boat; a lovely steam boat that offers amazing views of the harbour, or head over to Cardiff Castle to learn all about this town’s fascinating medieval history. Fans of Doctor Who will love the Doctor Who Experience for an immersive journey through space and time!

Lymington, New Forest

For those after an escape to the forest, Lymington is the place to be! Situated on the edge of the New Forest, this port town is renowned as a sailing resort and is home to lots of lovely independent boutiques… perfect for budding little fashionistas! For those after a slice of culture, head on over to St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery to marvel at amazing artwork and have a go at one of their family friendly trails. Hiring a bike and exploring the nearby woodland is also a must for active families looking to work up a pre-pub appetite!

Dartmouth, Devon

If you’re looking for active filled family day out with a spectacular backdrop, Dartmouth is your one stop destination! From cycling, walking and an array of outdoor activities, you really are spoilt for choice. This is as well as amazing historic houses, gardens, castles and museums, such as Dartmouth Castle. If you’re looking to delve deeper into the countryside, the Dartmoor National Park is only a short drive away from the town centre!

Falmouth, Cornwall

If you’ve got a budding surfer dude or dudette in tow, or are a lover of the seaside, Falmouth is the place to be! With a stunning beach that offers a variety of children’s activities such as rock pooling, sailing, snorkelling and SUP paddle boarding, your little beach bums won’t know where to start first. Head on over to the National Maritime Museum to find out all about this lovely town.

 

Beaches to explore

Posted on by

Luskentyre Beach, Scotland

Luskentyre Sands, located on the west coast of South Harris in the Outer Hebrides, is a stunning beach boasting beautiful white sands and amazing green-blue water. You’d be mistaken for thinking you’re in the tropics! Luskentyre is a dog friendly beach.

Montrose Beach, Angus

This famous beach runs north from Montrose to the mouth of the North Esk River with beautiful clean sands. With a short promenade and lots of parking available, as well as a Seafront Splash play area, this beach makes for a lovely family day out! The beach also has a shop, amusement centre and family run cafe nearby.

West Cliff, Yorkshire

This picturesque Blue Flag beach is the perfect seaside escape. With free and pay and display car parking available nearby, as well as Whitby’s train station a short walk away, this beach is easy to get to… after a stop for fish and chips in the town centre that is! West Cliff has cafes, toilets and a lost kids centre, as well as a first aid post. See if you can spot the famous Whale Bone Arch!

 Druridge Bay, Northumberland

This seven mile stretch of glorious sand has lots of sand dunes and rock pools to explore, as well as the 100 acre Ladyburn Lake with surrounding woodland. Pop into the nearby cafe (open on weekends and during the summer holidays) or their visitor centre for more information on the fascinating wildlife you can spot in Druridge Bays many nature reserves!

Formby Beach, Liverpool

This beautiful beach’s dunes are a certified Site of Special Scientific Interest! You can even spot some prehistoric human and animal footprints and visit a red squirrel reserve… the last one of its kind in the UK! Ice creams, snacks and drinks are available from vans on site during peak periods.

Barafundle Bay, Pembroke

With crystal clear blue waters, this popular National Trust owned beach is the perfect place for a more relaxing day out. It’s your very own staycation Mediterranean escape! There’s no direct road access to the beach itself, but this allows you to take in the beautiful surroundings on a fifteen minute walk from the car park to the coastline.

Constantine Bay, Cornwall

Whilst more commonly known for being one of the most popular spots for surfing in the UK, this stunning beach has lots to offer for families! With unbeatable views of the Cornish coastline, this beach also has lots of rock pools… perfect for exploring and discovering how many beach critters you can spot! Dogs are allowed all year long.

 Botany Bay, Kent

This Blue Flag beach offers amazing views of the white cliffs and impressive chalk stacks! When the tide is out, it’s perfect for fossil hunting and rock pool exploring. There are kiosks on site selling ice creams, or you can pay a visit to nearby cafes offering hot food and drinks. Dogs are not permitted on this beach from 10am to 6pm from May 1st until 30th September.

Studland Beach, Dorset

This National Trust owned beach, located a short five minute chain ferry journey from Poole Harbour, is a lovely family day out! This beautiful beach has four miles of protected golden sands and a stunning view of Old Harry Rocks and the Isle of Wight. It’s perfect for a variety of watersports and for exploring lots of exciting wildlife, including deer, insects and birds! For rumbling tums, visit the Knoll Beach cafe.

 Bournemouth Beach, Dorset

This famous activity and events packed beach is great for children’s entertainment and offers something for all of the family… even a zip wire from the pier to the stretch of seven glorious miles of sand! Hosting events such as the Bournemouth Air Festival, Arts by the Sea and more, you’ll be spoilt for choice! Head to one of the many cafes and restaurants nearby, including West Beach and Harry Ramsden’s for traditional fish and chips by the sea!

 

Fun garden games

Posted on by

Let’s go outside and make the most of the sun,

Play some garden games and have lots of fun!

From quoits, frisbee and hopscotch too,

You’ll be spoilt for choice at which one to choose!

1.Quoits (Hoop throwing Game)

This game involves throwing a rope or rubber hoop over a distance and land it around an object maybe a plastic peg that is coming out of the ground. Players take it in turn and the player with the most hoops around the object at the end wins.

2. Garden Golf

Garden golf is a very easy game where all you will need is a few plastic golf clubs or bats. Placing 9 or 18 cricket wickets or any sort of stick into the ground and number them using paper triangles (get the kids to make these)

Place objects throughout the course such as grannie in a chair or a teddy bear’s picnic making it into a challenge.  Get the children (the big kids as well) to take it in turns to putt the ball and hit each post.

3) Popcorn Drop

This easy relay race can work at a children’s birthday party or a family fun day with any number of players. It’s most fun with four to eight players.

First, you’ll need to make two pairs of shoe cups. Use a pushpin to poke holes in the bottom of plastic cups. Push a wide rubber band through the holes, and secure it inside the cup with a paper clip.

To play: Split the players into two teams. The first player straps cups on their shoes and fills them with popcorn from a bag at the starting line. Then going from the line head to the other end of the course and dump the popcorn into a bucket, after the popcorn is dumped head back, and tag the next teammate.

The race is over when one of the bags of popcorn is empty. Measure the popcorn in the baskets to see which team actually got the most in.

4) Frisbee noughts and crosses

Supersize tic-tac-toe is perfect for an outdoor children’s party. Flying disks and a shower curtain transform into an easy party game.

Use duct tape to block out squares on a shower curtain liner. Use more tape to mark which disks are Xs, or use colour to divide the teams.

Players stand behind a throw line and follow the rules of tic-tac-toe. If the disk lands off the board or in an occupied square, the player can throw again.

5) Hopscotch

An oldie but a great game none the less, just need some chalk, somewhere to draw and something to throw such as a beanbag or a small stone.

6) Pretend to be pirates

Let the kids imagination go wild with a bit of imaginative play. Dress up, put some blue sheeting down for ‘water’ and some cardboard boxes for ships and let the adventure begin.

7) Make Mud Pies

Let the kids imagination go wild with a bit of imaginative play. Dress up, put some blue sheeting down for ‘water’ and some cardboard boxes for ships and let the adventure begin.

8) Make your own Tin Can Alley

Collect up your recycled tins (with no sharp edges) and make your own tin can alley against a wall, throw either a small bean bag or ball. See who can knock over the most.

9) Garden Waterslide

This may be one for the long summer days but you never know, a super warm day may be just round the corner ? Set up this water slide in the garden for hours of fun for all the family. If your kids are ‘thrill seekers’ like mine, put this at the end of a garden slide for maximum slipping!!! Race down the slide using the swimming floats or on your tummy.

10) Children’s Croquet

Get this adorable croquet set for the lawn (it can be brought indoors in winter too). A great way to learn how to play croquet

 

Get close up with animals

Posted on by
From tigers, penguins, monkeys and more,

There’s lots of amazing animals to meet and attractions to explore!

Let’s go on a safari, head to the farm or zoo,

You’ll spoilt for choice with these fab places waiting for you!

Marsh Farm Animal Adventure Park – Chelmsford, Essex

With special events all year round Marsh Farm is a different experience every time you go. Have a go on bouncy pillows, mini tractors and join them to enjoy the Pesky Pet and Magic shows!

Paradise Wildlife Park – Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

An award-winning experience that lets you get up close and personal with animals from all over the world. Although don’t get too close at the big cat enclosure!

Liberty’s Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre – Ringwood, Hampshire

One of the best collections of birds of prey, reptiles and creepy crawlies. This is one of our favourite rainy day activities!

ZSL London – Regent’s Park, London

Set in the wide open space of Regent’s Park you’ll find gorillas, tigers, armadillos and more at ZSL London.

ZSL Whipsnade – Whipsnade, Bedfordshire

Explore over 600 acres and see over 2,500 animals at ZSL Whipsnade. With multiple play areas, a steam train and a farm yard you’ll have to drag them away at the end of the day!

Longleat – Warminster, Wiltshire

For a real safari experience Longleat is second to none! This drive-through experience allows you to get closer than ever before so your kids can get a real sense of the wild.

Welsh Mountain Zoo – Colwyn, North Wales

Be captivated by the birds’ flying displays, meet a family of chimps or watch the penguins waddle along.

Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park – Edgbaston, Birmingham

Committed to protecting and improving the welfare of animals the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park is able to work with some endangered species of lemurs, monkeys and more.

Walby Farm Park – Carlisle, Cumbria

An award-winning, all-weather Farm Park in the North of England you can meet a whole host of rare breeds, raise your adrenaline on the fun 24 demon slide or bounce around on the trampolines.

Farmer Palmers – Poole, Dorset

The complete farm experience with everything from a bumpy tractor trailer ride to cow milking!

Cannon Hall Farm – Barnsley, South Yorkshire

So much more than just a farm, Cannon Hall offers outdoor and indoor adventure playgrounds, restaurants and working farmyard machinery!

Bristol Zoo Gardens – Clifton, Bristol

Get up close and personal with the gorillas, feed the lion or even adopt your favourite animal at Bristol Zoo. Find out more.

Vauxhall City Farm – Central London

Nestled in the buzz of London Vauxhall City Farm is peaceful escape with fun and educational activities for children to see and interact with a wide range of farmyard animals.

Edinburgh Zoo – Edinburgh, Scotland

Set in 82 acres of parkland and home to over 1,000 rare and endangered animals one day just isn’t enough to see everything at Edinburgh Zoo.

Hobbledown Children’s Farm – Epsom, Surrey

For a more magical and mystical animal experience Hobbledown is the number one place to be.

Church Farm – Stow Bardolph, West Norfolk

Meet and play with tame animals and your kids can even meet the little ones at close quarters.

Bucklebury Farm Park – Reading, Berkshire

With over 70 acres to explore in the stunning Berkshire countryside the Bucklebury Farm will keep the whole family entertained all day.

 

Bug hunting

Posted on by

Let’s go and find some creepy crawlies in the great outdoors,

We’ve pulled together this handy guide to help you explore!

Whether they’re hiding under rocks, shrubs or even up a tree,

You’re sure to be surprised… who knows what you will see!

What You’ll Need:

  • Viewing pot with a lid and air holes
  • Tweezers
  • Camera or Sketchbook
  • Hand wash
  • Magnifying Glass

Choose Your Location

The first step of making a fun filled and non disruptive bug hunt is deciding where you’re going to hunt for little critters! There’s plenty to be found in your very own back garden, but there’s no harm in making a fun day out at your local park, garden or even forest. You could even bring along a picnic too!

Be Considerate

Before you start your hunt, be sure to remind your little explorers about how to handle and approach wildlife to make sure you avoid any nasty stings and bites, and how to disturb your surroundings as little as possible! This includes only handling a few of each species and replacing any of the wildlife’s environment (e.g. overturned logs and stones) as you leave.

Get Hunting!

Now that you’ve chosen your location, it’s time to make a start! The best places to find some beautiful bugs are usually shrubs, trees, rotting logs, large and small stones, flower heads and grasses… but the list is endless!

What Bugs Can You Hunt?

Here are some ideas of different type of bug that your little ones can look for.

  • Woodlice

  • Stag Beetle

  • Ladybird

  • Cabbage Butterfly

  • Ant

  • Shield Bug

  • Centipede

  • Worm

What Can You See?

Once they’ve found their bugs and have carefully placed them into their viewing pots, be sure to get them making note of what they’ve discovered! Get them either taking or drawing a picture and noting down any features that really stand out. For example, what colour is it? How many legs does it have? Where did you find it? How big is it? And so on!

Let it Go!

Now that they’ve made a note of everything they can, get them returning their new friend to its home and, as mentioned earlier, be sure to replace anything they might have moved to find their critter!

Make some Memories!

Once they’ve completed their bug hunt, it’s up to them how to combine their findings! If they took or drew lots of lovely pictures, why not get your kids making a fun mini booklet to remember their hunt by and impress their teachers? This is a great rainy day crafting activity for kids on those showery summer days!

 

Great gardens to explore

Posted on by

Here’s our favourite gardens for you to explore

Discover plant’s, parks, history and more

Beautiful colours you will see

alongside beautiful butterflies and maybe even a bee!

Trelissick Garden, Truro, Cornwall

This tranquil garden, which is home to an array of stunning exotic plants and four summerhouses waiting to be explored, is the perfect place to bring kids to blow off some steam! Head to The Roundwood Quay, where you can watch the passing wildlife and boats. In the gallery you can discover work from Cornish artists and craftspeople too!

Plas Yn Rhiw, Pwllheli, Wales

This organic garden, which is brimming with a variety of plants and is framed by over 1/4 mile of box hedges, is a feast for the senses and is sure to fascinate your mini budding gardeners! In spring you’ll find magnificent magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, daffodils, tulips and so much more!

Dunster Castle, Minehead, Somerset

Not only is this fascinating castle a fab visit for days out for little historians, but their gardens alone offer lots to see and do! Pay a visit to The South Terrace, which stems from the Victorian period, to learn all about its microclimate which allows tender plants such as Chusan Palms to grow!

Dunham Massey, Altrincham, Cheshire

This beautiful Georgian house, set within a deer park, is the perfect place to bring kids after a challenge! You can complete a fun quiz, with clues hidden in the beautiful garden, where you’ll be sure to spot lots of interesting wildlife!

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, Ripon, North Yorkshire

Explore the ruins of this stunning and history rich 12th century abbey, it’s amazing water garden and deer park, which is home to three different types of cute deer! Kids will also love the play area, which is situated near the Visitor Centre.

Scotney Castle, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

This glorious estate is sure to be a hit with little ones and their family looking to brush up on their history! Take a visit to their stunning garden, which is landscaped with many plants, flowers and secret parts to explore. There’s also a Natural Play Trail, Discovery Room and building dens in the Wilderness Camp!

Stourhead, Warminster, Wiltshire

Come and see this world famous 18th century landscape garden, which is truly breathtaking with a beautiful lake at its centre and fascinating temples and grottoes to explore! Pay a visit to the house, stunning interiors and interesting history, being one of the first houses built in the fashionable Palladian style.

Fenton House and Garden, London

This 17th century house and garden, which is a hidden treasure within London’s bustling streets, offers a retreat for and lots to explore! Discover the Walled Garden, which features a formal lawn and terrace, sunken rose garden, kitchen garden and historic orchard… home to 32 different varieties of apples and pears!

Polesden Lacey, Dorking, Surrey

This amazing house and garden, which provides stunning views of the Surrey Hills, is one of the best places to see some snowdrops in spring. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother also spent part of their honeymoon here! You can also spot a sea of bluebells as you walk throughout this gorgeous garden.

Mottisfont Abbey and Garden, Romsey, Hampshire

These picturesque gardens are perfect for letting your little ones blow off some steam! Find rivers, see rolling hills and even spot an artist in residence or two working iín one of the studio huts. Kids will love the Wild Play area and children’s activities, as well as the chance to follow a fascinating trail to learn all about Mottisfont history.

 

Roller skating party idea

Posted on by

This party was inspired by a family who hired out a hall for a roller skating party, loads of fun was had by all and of course it wore everybody out!!

Invitations:

Invitations were homemade and drawn skates on each piece of card shaped into a ‘roller-skate’. The time and venue were written and also the duration etc.

The venue;

A hall at the local gym is able to accommodate ‘roller-skating’ and because it was a council run sports centre it was really reasonable as in price.  It was £50 for an hour and we had to include the food etc. 40 Children were invited and the children’s party venue was just the right size – not too big and not too small.

Glow necklaces were purchased for each child and as the lights dimmed everyone’s glow sticks started to glow.  They played the standard skating rink games of limbo and the dice game and each winner was given a “prize”. They skated for 1 1/2 hrs and then it was time for cake.

Food:

They had pizza delivered and had a cake. For the cake they made a girl with blond hair and blue eyes out of fondant. It was made sure she had on a pair of skates and an outfit to match what the birthday girl was wearing that day.

At the end the guests got downloaded pictures of the day and on the pictures read ‘Thank you for sharing in my 6th Birthday’.

Toddler parties

Posted on by

We all want our kids to learn their ABC’s but it always seems to be not that fun in learning them. Why not create an ABC party and bring the fun back into learning!!

Decorate your party room with punched out letters (you can buy these in any stationary shop and even supermarkets.  Use primary colours on tableware, tablecloths and balloons to match your primary coloured decorations. On each balloon spell out each child’s name attending the party, using sticky letters.

Kids Party Food

For the children make letter cut-out sandwiches (tuna, egg, or ham using white and brown bread to add colour. Serve alphabet cookies and make a cake to resemble a big alphabet block. If your child has a four or five letter name put one letter on each side of the cake with the first one on top if he/she has 5 letters!

Party Bags

Buy brown paper bags with handles and make the front of each bag look like an alphabet block by painting a thick border around the perimeter with a cut-out letter pasted in the front, the first letter of each guest’s name.  Fill the bags with a word search book (according to age of child); or an alphabet book; or you could buy fridge magnet letters and make sure the child’s name is in their bag.

Games/Crafts.

Buy white t-shirts and iron on transfer paper for your computer. Find a program that will let your print alphabet letters.   Print each child’s letter on paper and then iron on to the front of each shirt; the day of the party of each child find their letter and have them imprint their hands on the back of the shirt (using fabric paint).  Do at the beginning of the party so hopefully they will be dry before they go home.

You could also play a game ‘what letter am I?’ Place a sticky letter on your guest’s forehead and he/she has to ask questions about the letter, for example what words do my letter come in? It may seem easy to you and I but a 3 or 4-year-old may find this a bit tricky, but on the other hand it’s a great learning game without them even knowing!!

 

Cat party themes

Posted on by

Is your child ‘Cat crazy?’  It could be anything from Hello Kitty or the cute furry things themselves. Why not create your very own cat party for your child?  Here are a few ideas that other people have done and we hope you are inspired to follow:

For the invitations you can always find pretty stationary with cats on them, you can write invitations on these and will be a lovely keepsake for anyone loving cats.

When your guests arrive why not face paint the guests as cats? You could paint a nose and whiskers and also think about headband ears made of felt and glitter, or get your guests to make a pair?

Now, what about games? You could play ‘pin the tail on the cat?’ or as cat’s love string you could create a sting maze. Attach a toilet paper tube to both end of 7 pieces (for approx. 14 guests) of string or wool, on one end, the tube has a picture of a cat, the other tube has a picture of a mouse. Maze them around the room, underneath chairs, tables and benches and each child has to find who is on the other end of their string.

For crafty children’s birthday party ideas you could buy a set of paper white plates with black card, pipe cleaners for whiskers and googly eyes, guess what these are going to be make into? Yes, you have guessed it, cat faces!!!

For food, make it fun with little sandwiches cut into goldfish shapes.  If you are feeling adventurous food bowls could be decorated with cat ears and whiskers!!  And don’t forget to serve milk!!

For the cake, you could obviously buy your own, but why not make a cake similar to your kids favourite kitty? Hello Kitty is a favourite, but if he or she has her own special cat why not model the cake around this?

Party Bags can be filled with chocolate cats or mice and cute cat stickers and anything you like that involves cats. This is sure to be a success and at a reasonable price too.

 

Ice-skating party

Posted on by

My daughter’s tenth birthday party was fastly approaching and we needed to plan a children’s birthday party that wouldn’t require too much money. That is when my daughter asked if we would be able to do an ice skating party. Of course, I thought this would be a great idea since it was not our home, so we wouldn’t need to clean up or plan much. So, the next day I called up the local skating rink and they told me I could rent a party room for 3 hours for only £80. This was great!

Then, my daughter and I picked up some nice stationary from a hobby craft shop and wrote all the information down on a piece of it – one for each guest (we invited 12).

The day of the party, we went to the rink early to set up the tables and decorations, and to rent the skates (we had called everyone in advance and asked what shoe size they were). The skates were complimentary with the party room.

An hour later, almost all of the guests had arrived so they got their skates on and met up with one of the rink instructors who would be leading the party. For about an hour, she showed them tricks and they played a variety of skating games.

Later, they were called to lunch where they were given their choice of pizza, hot dogs, or chicken nuggets. We also laid out hot chocolate so they could come back from skating to get some whenever they wanted.

When they finished lunch, they went back to skating and there was disco lights and music playing! They all had great fun and skated to a light show for about 30 minutes, when they got tired and decided to come back in and open gifts. Before they knew it, it was time to go.

They were each given their goodie bags which were supplied by the rink. They were a plastic bag with an ice skate on it, an ice skate keychain, sweets, ice skating pencil, and other traditional party bag treats.

This party was great – they had fun, there was no clean up, it was extremely inexpensive, and it required about 30 minutes of planning!