Category: Children

A stress free Family day out

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We’ve come up with some top tips for making sure everything goes smoothly and everyone has a day to remember for all the right reasons!

Plan ahead
Plan your journey to avoid the stresses of getting lost on route with excitable children in tow! It also helps to pack the bag you’re taking the night before to stop the morning scramble.

Pack some spare clothes
No matter how old your children are take spare clothes with you, then they can relax and get messy or wet even if it wasn’t in the plan. Take a unisex variety so that it doesn’t matter who ends up wearing them!

Snacks to the rescue!
You can never take too many snacks! Keep separate snack boxes/ bags for each child to avoid arguments! Even better if they can pop them in their own backpack.

Money Money Money
Take loose change with you, especially £1 coins and keep it handy. Many attractions have ‘extra’ children’s activities you can do such as; feeding animals or rides and often this costs £1 or so, plus there might be parking charges.

Take wellies/walking shoes
Some places might get muddy when it has rained and no one wants to get their shoes caked in mud. Also, take plastic bags to put the wellies in after so you can keep the car clean!

Sun protection
With the weather always being changeable it is a good idea to always carry sun cream, sunglasses and sun hats.

Ease your kids back into the school routine

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Bring back the Bedtime Routine
At least a week before the start of the new term, get the children back into their term-time bedtime routine. If they have become used to going to bed later, the easiest way to reinstate an earlier bedtime is to get them up earlier. Choose a time and stick to it each morning in the lead up to going back to school.

Reintroduce Reading and Writing
Do a little reading and writing practice each day which will get your little one back into the swing of things. It’s also a great confidence booster as they settle back into school.

Make a Memory Box
If your little one is sad that the holidays have come to an end, get them to create their very own fun memory box containing their favourite school holiday memories. Explain that they can look in the box at any time to remember all the fun times they had, plus this could be the start of a lovely tradition.

Plan something fun for October Half Term
Although we’re all feeling sad that the holidays have come to an end, the good news is that it’s not long until the next one. Why not plan a fun day out with your little one for the October half term which will give them something to look forward to!

Check for ‘Forgotten’ Homework
Quiz the kids and get them to check their bags/homework diaries for any forgotten projects and/or homework which needed to be done during the school holidays. Kids have a great habit of forgetting until the very last minute and then conveniently blaming their parents.

Talk about School
Start talking to your child about their new teacher/class. Remind them of names, where their new classroom is and what year group they are now in. This will help them to think about the changes ahead and will give them time to talk through any worries with you before they go back to school.

Be Positive
If your child worries about school, always try to talk to them about it in a positive way. Your attitude towards learning, friends and teachers will set the tone for your child as giving positive messages will build their confidence.

Tiny Knights

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Warwick Castle launches ‘Tiny Knights’ sleepovers designed for families with active toddlers and preschoolers. Over two full days of fun, little knights and princesses can discover first-hand more than 1,100 years of history and enjoy craft, songs and story-time as part of an enchanting stay in the mediaeval-themed Knight’s Village, located within a woodland glade in the Castle grounds.

With family-friendly accommodation in a cosy Knight’s Village Woodland Lodge, the package also includes two days’ priority entry to Warwick Castle with VIP access; a hearty breakfast for all the family in the Mediaeval Banquet Hall; two-hour playtime in the Tiny Knight’s Club, exclusive to Knight’s Village guests; and car parking.

Keeping young, enquiring minds and hands busy can be a challenge, but not at Warwick Castle. Easy to explore on foot, the Castle and grounds offer plenty to excite the imagination and retain the attention of the most active and curious little guests: the Horrible Histories Maze, complete with a Viking ship; the Pageant Playground; birds of prey swooping overhead in the Flight of the Eagles Show; and the ever-so-slightly spooky Bear Tower. During their stay, young guests will encounter memorable characters from history, experts at ensuring children of all ages enjoy stories from the Castle’s past. To run off some of that boundless energy, explore the Castle grounds and gardens, in full spring bloom, and home to the Castle’s famous peacocks.

Historical quests completed, families can return to Knight’s Village where their little ones can enjoy a free two-hour playtime in the Tiny Knight’s Club. Hosted by the Castle jester, it’s a hands-on play experience with children’s crafts, songs and storytelling.

Then, after a fun-packed day, it’s time to retire to a Woodland Lodge to drift off to well-earned sleep in either a travel cot (provided on request) or their own bedroom – adorned with a fun mediaeval-themed mural featuring the Castle. Whilst the kids sleep soundly, parents can relax in front of the TV or enjoy river and woodland views from their private terrace.

About Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is easily accessible from Junction 15 of the M40, just 40 minutes from Birmingham and 1 hour 40 minutes from London. Warwick Castle is easy to reach by train from London Marylebone in only 86 minutes. The Castle, set in 64 acres of grounds designed by Capability Brown, rests on the banks of the River Avon at the heart of historic Warwick.

Ideas for Kids Summer holidays

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Visit a theme park
The summer holidays is the perfect time to plan a visit to one of the best theme parks in the UK.

Go to a safari park
See wild animals roaming from the comfort of your own car, thanks to our safari parks UK guide.

Find your local beach
Feel the sand between your toes, build a sandcastle or paddle in the sea at one of the best beaches in England.

Play in the park
There’s loads to explore at your local park, from climbing frames to minibeast hunting. Don’t miss our tips for encouraging your kids to explore more.

Visit an ice cream farm
Days out don’t come much tastier! Find an ice cream farm near you now.

Complete a maize maze
See if you can find your way to the middle (and back out again!) at a maize maze near you.

Have a BBQ at home (probably in the rain!)
Summer and BBQs go hand in hand and we’d never let a little rain ruin our chance to cook al fresco! It’s one of our favourite things to do in the summer holidays.

Get crafty
With just a few supplies, you can make lots of kid-friendly arts and crafts this summer, without needing Pinterest-worthy skills. We’ve got loads of arts and crafts for kids on the blog, including toddler crafts, pom pom crafts, pottery painting and more.

Learn a new skill
Think about how much you could learn in six weeks! Pick up the basics of a new language, learn how to read a map, try a bushcraft survival skills workshop or even learn how to ski at an indoor slope!

Go on a family bike ride
Explore on two wheels this summer (don’t forget stabilisers for younger riders!) with our list of 5 traffic-free family bike rides.

Join the painted rocks craze
Brighten up your local walking route, by creating and hiding some painted rocks. Start by reading our ultimate guide to painted rocks!

Go to the cinema
The Incredibles 2 is top of our must-see list this summer, see our full list of new kids’ films you have to watch in 2018.

Go swimming
Pack your goggles and your cossies and make a splash this summer. For sunny days, find an outdoor swimming pool near you.

A-MAZING!!!

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Each year fun themed designs are cut into living plants just waiting to be explored, and this year you’ll find everything from dinosaurs and unicorns to Wonderland, with plenty of
surprises and fun ideas for children along the way.

So grab your team of explorers and get ready to put your skills to the test – lose yourself in one of our favourite things to do in the summer holidays: visiting a maize maze!

National Forest Adventure Farm, Staffordshire
14th July – 3rd September 2018

Take on the world’s first Escape Maize Maze at National Forest Adventure Farm! Put your spy skills to the test in Agent Academy themed maze, where the whole family will have to work together to solve a series of mental and physical challenges to collect the lock combination you need to escape. With 3 miles of paths, make sure you use the bridges and towers to help find your way out, and with Dr Von Steal’s Mini Maze that’s perfect for younger kids, it’s a perfect family day out this summer!

Cotswold Farm Park, Gloucestershire
21st July – 2nd September 2018

Venture down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland, with this year’s Maize Maze at Cotswold Farm Park! With various puzzles and games along the way, successfully find your way to the middle to enjoy a Tea Party – just keep an eye out for the Mad Hatter! Entrance to the maze is included within your farm park ticket, or for maze fanatics, you can get maze-only admission from £5.50 per person!

Amazing Cornish Maize Maze, Cornwall
21st July – 2nd September

Amazing by name and amazing by nature, we’re big fans of the Amazing Cornish Maize Maze, especially it’s Jurassic Jumble theme for this year! With 3 miles of paths and two lookout towers with great views, can you find the surprise dinosaur eggs hidden within the maze? Once you’ve successfully found your way out, don’t miss all the other activities on site, including giant games, a tractor trailer safari and farm animals too!

Boston Park Farm, Yorkshire
14th July – 31st October 2018

Back again for 2018, get lost in style at the Boston Park Farm Maize Maze! Open until the end of October (perfect for half-term too!), your mission is to find the four flag poles that are hidden throughout this year’s unicorn themed maze. Mark your sheet whenever you find one, and keep an eye out for Maize Maize, a fun character also missing in the maze! She’s a little harder to find, but if you find her and all four flags, you’ll get your hands on a lollipop as a reward!

Dinomania

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Here is a list of some great easy party ideas and games for kids to help get you started on your hunt for a fun dinosaur birthday party!

Dinosaur Party Invitations

Send an invitation as a memo – with the objective being “an official dinosaur expedition”.

Make kid party invitations by covering a card with dinosaur tracks (use stamps and let the birthday boy/girl help make them!).

Think jungle – overgrown, greens, browns and the like. For kid party decorations, the more over the top, the better!

Make some dinosaur tracks with chalk or out of cardboard (for an indoor party.)

Dinosaur Party Games

Here are some fun kid party games, adapted for a dinosaur theme:

Dinosaur Egg Crazy Catch – You’ll need a ball for every two kids and a bunch of crazy stuff! Pretend the balls are dinosaur eggs and have the kids divide into pairs (these will be your teams. Have the teams play catch with the ball, but they can’t catch with their hands. Have them use nets, hats, etc.

Parachute – If you have a parachute make use of it . (If you don’t have one, you can always use a bed sheet.) For a dinosaur party, let the kids bounce inflatable balls (dinosaur eggs) or dinosaur stuffed animals on top of parachutes and to make it go up and down.

Dinosaur Dig – If you have a sandpit available, hide “dinosaur bones” related objects in the sand and let the kids hunt for them. For example, at a Princess party, you could hide plastic jewels. Don’t have a sandpit? Fill a tub with sand or rice. You might want to limit the number of items each child can find (such as three). If you have a large number of children let them take turns, just a few at a time, or set up this game as a “station” to be done when other “stations” are being played, such as some Target Games.

Dinosaur Hunt – Hide toy dinosaurs around the garden and go on a dinosaur hunt!

Dinosaur Party Cakes

Often used for kids party cakes, make a basic cake and use toy dinosaurs on top to make a scene.

The Story Museum

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If your kids love stories then this is the place to be, with all the fun of an Interactive story Museu. Step off the page into a world of colour, characters and literary delights. You’ve discovered The Story Museum!

Address
42 Pembroke Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 1BP, England

This is a place like no other with a labyrinth of immersive and classically themed rooms. Topple down the rabbit hole and take your place at the mad hatter’s tea party in Wonderland. Wild about Colour soaks up the vivid kaleidoscopic vision of 60’s illustrator, Brian Wildsmith to stunning effect. And of course the ultimate in adventure – open the cupboard door, squeeze past fur coats and out into snowy Narnia! Just be sure to say hello to Mr Tumnus.

The museum regularly produces new installations in collaboration with illustrators, and parents bring their littluns back time and time again for poetry and storytelling, or screenings of Disney classics in the museum cinema. The essential draw, however, is the incredible dressing up room. Choose from an entire universe of costumes, step out onto the red carpet and hear your self-appointed name announced for all to hear!

Immersive experiences based on children’s books, including the unmissable Narnia
Possibly the world’s greatest dressing up box.
An array of activities including cinema, storytelling and dance

Take a walk on the wild side

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If your kids are mad about animals a Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens would be great for them.

Gaze at the Asiatic Lions and adorable cubs lazing around in their enclosures, be blown away by the stunning White Rhino grazing on the lawn of the Gothic Manor House, look a giraffe in the eye at the Giraffe Walkway, or watch the Flamingos and Pelicans on the lake. If you’re feeling brave, how about taking a peek into the Reptile House with Giant Anacondas, crocodiles and deadly snakes!

The park is also home to 131 species of bird and is renowned for its collection; which includes birds of all sizes, from the tiny Zosterops to the world’s biggest bird, the Ostrich.

It’s not just animals you can have fun with at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, take a ride on the narrow-gauge railway, run wild in the amazing adventure playground or climb 20 feet in the air on the scary sky maze!

The stunning gardens, picturesque parkland and themed borders make a beautiful backdrop to the animals. With over 260 different species of animals in over 120 acres, there’s plenty of space to get closer to wildlife.

It’s a wild and educational day out!
See lots of stunning animals
Enjoy the beautiful gardens
Have fun in the adventure playground with sky maze.

Things to do this summer

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Here we have rounded up some fun family days out near the capital. We’ve got the best ideas for things to do with kids.

Legoland Windsor Resort
Play, watch, build and ride at this adventure theme park within the rolling Berkshire countryside. With Duplo Valley (playgrounds, gentle rides and puppet shows), Miniland model village -for the smallest visitors- Adventure Land aquarium, Imagination centre and Lego City boats, cars and ‘Fire Academy’ for juniors plus rollercoasters for the older kids, there’s something for everyone. New highlights for 2017 include Lego Ninjago The Ride – a 4D interactive ride plus a ‘training camp’ with Zane’s Temple Build and Cole’s Rock Climb.

Rides and play things high and low, for kids big and small.
London to Legoland 1 hour 5 mins by car.

Chessington World of Adventures Resort
For generations Chessington boasted a charming zoo and a few slides, but anyone visiting from the 1970s wouldn’t recognise the place now – rollercoasters swoop around the theme park, the updated and expanded zoo is complemented by a Sea Life Centre and there are several accommodation options for those making an overnight stay of it. New for 2017 is The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure taking you through the deep dark wood to come nose to snout with the mouse and his fellow furry creatures. You can stay in Gruffalo themed rooms, too.

Lions, tigers, roller coasters and the Gruffalo.
London Waterloo to Chessington South 35 mins by train then 10 mins walk.

Thorpe Park
Whereas Legoland and Chessington best suit ages from toddlers to 11-year-olds, many of the rides here are designed for teens and older children, with height restrictions and thrills to match. That said, parents with young (or short) children will find plenty to do and a handful of more laidback rides. Teenagers will love the white-knuckle rides like The Swarm and Stealth, and franchises offer some brilliant branded adventures including Angry Birds Land, a ride themed to ‘I’m a Celebrity’ with a restaurant to match (crickets, locusts, and mealworms at Bush BBQ restaurant anyone?) and the park’s newest addition Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon.

Rollercoaster thrills and ‘Celebrity’ jungle spills.
London to Thorpe Park 1 hour 10 mins by car.

Hobbledown
This former farm park has been transformed into a mystical themed adventure land. There are still animals to meet and play areas for running about (including an indoor area for rainy days), but there is also a landscape of quaint huts and abodes belonging to the curious medieval-looking Hobbledown folk who care for the animals and ‘work’ in the crystalline mine. An interactive treat with seasonal special events for children of all ages.

Farmyard fun for your little ones.
London to Horton 1 hour by car.

Garden family days out

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Kew Gardens, London

Kew Gardens is a great day out where you’ll be dazzled by colour displays of plants and flowers. Explore glasshouses, landscapes and 250 years of history at the world’s most famous garden. With ever-changing exhibits, there will always be something new to discover and lovely events to attend throughout the year.

Savill Garden, Windsor

Savill Garden is a tranquil place to discover rare plants from around the world. The 35 acres of interconnected gardens include the Hidden Gardens, the Summer Gardens, Spring Wood, Autumn Wood, Winter Beds and so on. You can download the Savill Garden map and find out other interesting activities you can do with the kids.

Furzey Gardens, Lyndhurst

These magical gardens are hiding over 30 fairy doors for you to hunt out as you make your way around. You will also find a variety of tree houses, lookout towers and an adventure playground. Plus, on the 31st of May they have a Bug Barn event for children to plant a sunflower seed and paint their own flower pot to take home!

Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent

Take a stroll around these award winning gardens no matter the time of year and you will find stunning flowers and plants. Children will enjoy the superb adventure playground and spotting the fairies along the fairy trail. Visit on Sunday 12th of June and you can also watch an open air theatre production of Alice in Wonderland!

The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

Throughout the year the gardens are full of life and colour, there’s also a giant treehouse that the kids will love exploring, it’s one of the largest in the world! Plus, from the 24th of May until the 5th of September (on weekends and school holidays) you can take part in the Fairy Tale Trail – dressing up is encouraged!

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

The Lost Gardens of Heligan cover over 200 acres. You can walk through the jungle where there are tropical trees, colourful plants and vibrant foliage creating an exotic oasis; it’s hard to believe you’re still in Cornwall!

Bowood, Wiltshire

In the gardens at Bowood you will find gorgeous flowers and landscaped parkland, if you wander around the gardens you will also find a waterfall, grottos and a hermits cave. Bowood is also home to Tractor Ted and over the bank holiday weekend this May Bowood will be hosting Tractor Ted’s Big Machines Weekend with machinery displays, tractor rides, a bouncy castle and games for kids.

Picton Castle and Gardens, Pembrokeshire

The gardens at Picton Castle are great for everyone to explore, with stunning and unusual plants, woodlands and lakes. There’s also a woodland trail to follow and an adventure playground for the kids.

Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury

This arboretum is well known for its internationally renowned tree collection. All year round you can take one of the many walks to see the stunning collection, plus the kids can enjoy the different play zones and interactive quizzes around the arboretum.

Logan Botanical Gardens, near Port Logan

These beautiful gardens are a must if you’re in the area! You can see a range of exotic and rare plants that burst into life in spring and summer creating a tropical paradise.