Category: Fun

Bluestone for kids

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Things to do

 

Breathe in, take a look around and get to know your surroundings. Get familiar with your habitat; 500 acres of rambling woodland to scramble, climb and run through lush green grass, skim stones across clear blue lakes and explore Britain’s only Coastal National Park.

If forest bathing isn’t your thing then The Blue Lagoon should fulfill any mermaid’s requirements. Completely heated by a Biomass fuel system, we’re determined that having an amazing time shouldn’t cost the earth.

We can’t guarantee the weather, so if grey clouds threaten there’s also the Adventure Centre, where you can get a taste for climbing trees and making dens, indoors. Here you can go truly wild.

Or if you want to relax opt out of the world for a day. The Well Spa uses traditional, natural ingredients in its massages and treatments; here you can meander from roof top hydrotherapy pool to any one of the 6 thermal spa rooms with different temperatures and focuses, depending on what your body needs to rebalance itself.

Go wild. Get messy. Try something new.

During your stay at Bluestone you’ll be spoilt for choice with things to do! With a range of activities for kids for the smallest adventurers, to the most seasoned, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Find out what’s on offer and start planning your holiday filled with free range fun!

Adventures

Whether you’re an outdoor adrenaline chaser, a fanatic foodie or a wound up workaholic in need of some winding down, you’ll find your perfect adventure on a Bluestone holiday.

Bluestone Rangers

When your kids become Bluestone Rangers, it’s Famous Five adventures all the way. Build dens, explore, look for bugs, get muddy: it’s all about free range fun. Set them free to learn, have fun and go exploring the natural world, indoors or out.

Splash About

Being by the sea we love the water here at Bluestone and you’ll be able to dive straight into fun on your holiday right here. Our subtropical Blue Lagoon is free for guests to enjoy during your stay, zoom the flumes, jump the waves and have a great time! Our Lake is also home to great water sports from kayaking to coracle racing, bring the whole family together and take part in the raft building challenges!

If you are for some well earned relaxation during your break then we have you covered. With a luxurious Spa on resort specialising in ESPA treatments and acres of forest space for long walks with nature you’ll be spoilt for choice. Take the days as they come, relax, unwind and try life at a leisurely Pembrokeshire pace for a change!

Brilliant LEGOLAND

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The LEGOLAND Windsor Resort has formally invited the mini monarchs and their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to lend their royal seal of approval by staying at the premium castle-themed family hotel at their earliest convenience, once it opens its doors on 1 July 2017.

Situated right on the edge of the theme park next to the existing LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel, the new Castle Hotel will have 61 magical rooms. Families can choose between two imaginatively themed room types – Knights and Wizards – and enjoy the leisure and entertainment facilities at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel plus special benefits including early entry to the park, free refillable drink vessels, unique LEGO gifts and collectables.

Colourful LEGO touches and models large and small will feature throughout from the hotel’s astonishing lobby dominated by a giant LEGO Wizard unleashing LEGO magic from his wand, to the à la carte Tournament Tavern Restaurant, indoor Jester’s Play area and outdoor children’s Playground.

There are plenty of other websites offering great deals for LEGOLAND short breaks. Some offer 1 day free.  Your family will certainly enjoy LEGOLAND as there is something for everyone to enjoy…

Days out with the kids by train

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To help out ideas-strapped parents, Family & Friends Railcard, which saves a third off most adult rail fares and 60% off kids’ fares, has compiled five quick and easy ideas to make the most of the autumn break with a fun day out for all the family.

Forests

Want to relax and enjoy the crackling of red and gold leaves rustling beneath your feet? The UK has a wealth of forests and woodlands. Just an hour and a half from London the New Forest is a fantastic family friendly option that won’t break the bank.

Theatre

From the best of Disney to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, the West End offers something for everyone. It’s a step up from your local theatre, offering faultless timing in dance moves and incredible voices – a perfect way to spend a chilly autumn evening. You can even get up to 60% off theatre tickets with your Railcard.

Hit the slopes

Start the ski season early by heading to one of the UK’s indoor slopes. From family ski sessions to sledging and snowboarding there’s loads on offer for families of all ages. Based in Hemel Hempstead, The Snow Centre is Britain’s newest indoor ski centre and caters for kids as young as four.

Museums

When the weather offers blustery winds and rainy skies, why not spend the day exploring a museum. Liverpool’s World Museum is one that will excite both the kids and adults with rocket rides through space and journey’s to the bottom of the sea.

Blackpool Illuminations

Stuck with what to do with your weekend? Plan a day trip to Blackpool and watch the flamboyant Blackpool Illuminations dazzle and light up the entire promenade. Switch on from early September until November for spectacular views, which the whole family can enjoy.

Family & Friends Railcard

For just £30 a year, the Family & Friends Railcard provides a third off most adult rail fares and 60% off kids fares. On average, Railcard users save £130 annually, making it worth over four times as much as it costs. Plus, in addition to saving on travel costs, the Family & Friends Railcard offers discounts on theatre tickets and days out.

Child friendly ski holidays

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UK baby and toddler friendly holiday company Tots To Travel has introduced ultra-child friendly ski holidays for families looking to hit the slopes.

By popular demand, parents with young children can enjoy guilt-free skiing while youngsters have lots of fun in dedicated playrooms and out in the snow.

Until now parents with young children have had to sacrifice their winter holidays or feel guilty about leaving their young ones at home.  Tots To Travel have responded to the gap in the market and come up with a solution that will also allow for families to invest in future family ski holidays too.

Hand selected by Tots to Travel, all child-friendly ski chalets and resorts have dedicated childcare, specially-designed chalets with high-quality catering, as well as the Tots To Travel Baby and Toddler

Essential Kit Guarantee.

What a Tots To Travel ski holiday includes:

  • À la carte childcare in your own chalet (additional cost)

  • Flights and transfers

  • Daily filling breakfast

  • Home made purees and Hipp Organic baby food for babies and toddlers

  • Afternoon tea, coffee and cakes when you return from the slopes

  • Children’s two-course High Tea seven nights a week

  • Aperitif with canapés, six nights a week

  • A delicious three-course meal for adults, including wine, six nights a week

Seasoned skiers will know that a ski holiday is a little different to other holidays. However, a lot of parents may feel that they become inaccessible with little ones. Tots To Travel, craft family holidays by parents for parents. We understand that parents of young families need a holiday to get quality family time and to reconnect.

About Tots To Travel:

Tots To Travel’s mission is to select the very best and most suitable baby and toddler friendly and resort accommodation, then craft an experience that is exclusively available for Tots To Travel families.

This experience includes barrier pools, an Essential Kit Guarantee and outstanding levels of customer service, giving families the very best chance of a blissful family holiday. In doing so, Wendy has created a very successful brand that resonates with families.

Secret Life of Pets Movie night

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We’re so excited of the release of THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS on Blu-ray and DVD this holiday season! To help celebrate, why not host a super fun Secret Life of Pets Movie Night Party for your children and their friends!

What’s not to love when it comes to a movie all about animals and pets? Needless to say, with think all children are obsessed! They LOVED the movie, and were so excited about it coming out on blu-ray and DVD.

The Secret Life of Pets is a comedy from the humans behind Despicable Me about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day. The all-star voice cast includes Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan and Albert Brooks.

Max is a spoiled terrier who enjoys a comfortable life in a New York building. That is until his owner adopts Duke, a giant and unruly canine. During their walk outside, they encounter a group of ferocious alley cats and end up in a truck that’s bound for the pound. Luckily, a rebellious bunny named Snowball swoops in to save the doggy duo from captivity. In exchange, Snowball demands that Max and Duke join his gang of abandoned pets on a mission against the humans who’ve done them     wrong.

The new release of The Secret Life of Pets features nearly an hour of bonus content! It including three hilarious mini-movies: the all-new Norman Television and Weenie PLUS Mower Minions which debuted in theaters and is now available to own. The Secret Life of Pets makes a perfect gift this holiday season for that special someone on your list.

Just don’t forget the popcorn!!

Halloween Party Games

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Apple bobbing

A large bowl of water is placed on the floor (a baby bath is ideal for this if you have one). Without using their hands, they have to try and lift an apple out of the water using their teeth. Children can wear aprons if you have them and spread plenty of newspaper over the floor as this can get quite messy!

Dangling Doughnuts

Tie some doughnuts with holes in the centre using a length of elastic or string and hang them from a pole in a row. Without using their hands AND without licking their lips, the children must munch through their doughnut. The first to eat the whole doughnut is the winner.

Watch out – this party game can get quite messy!

Witches’ Cauldron

Fill a bowl or ‘cauldron’ with items that represent different body parts. Put things like peeled grapes in the box and pretend they are feeling eyeballs, linked sausages for intestines, cauliflower for brains, a balloon filled with water for a heart, liquorice laces for veins or jelly for liver.

Get the children to sit blindfolded in a circle and take it in turns to pull out each item and guess what it is.

Pumpkin Lanterns

To create a true Halloween party atmosphere you really need a pumpkin lantern, put it near a window or outside your front door or have it as centerpiece on your table. They are easy to make and pumpkins are cheap and plentiful at this time of year.

Using a sharp knife, cut a thick slice off the top of a fairly large pumpkin. Reserve the top for the lid.

Scoop out the seeds using a spoon and discard them along with any fibrous threads. Carefully cut and spoon out the pumpkin flesh leaving about 2cm flesh all the way round. You can keep the flesh you remove to make recipes like pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie.

Using a pencil or felt pen, mark out the facial features on the front of the pumpkin. Then cut around the lines using a small pointed knife, cutting away small sections at a time.

Place a night light inside the pumpkin. Light the candle and place the lid on top.

Mummy Wrap

Take your party and divide them into partners. You will need a lot of toilet paper. One person will be the mummy, and the other will be the wrapper. The object of the game is for the wrapper to cover toilet paper around his or her mummy, including their arms which are held out. The winner is the first person to be wrapped like a mummy in toilet paper.

Pumpkin Bowling

You will need: oranges, plastic bottles of water.

Draw pumpkin faces onto the oranges and substitute your living room for the local bowling alley. Use the bottles of water in them as pins and replace the ball with the oranges and try to get a strike!

Graveyard Game

Choose one person to be the grave keeper. The grave keeper closes his/her eyes and counts to ten while everyone else gets into a good frozen position and stands very still. The grave keeper then walks around looking for anyone who moves. If the grave keeper catches you moving (breathing doesn’t count), you are out. You can move positions when the gravekeeper’s back is turned but don’t get caught moving. The last person left is the winner and can be the new grave keeper if you choose to play another round.

Do some monster baking

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Halloween is becoming more and more popular in the UK, make sure this year you are ready to make some Halloween children’s party food that will impress your little monsters!!

Ghoulish Ghost Cakes

Dariole moulds are the ideal shape or these spooky little cakes but you could cheat and use a mini chocolates rolls under the white icing!

 

175g butter

175g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

175g self-raising flour

800g ready-to-roll white icing

1 tube black writing icing

 

Beat together the caster sugar, butter and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time with a tablespoon of flour for each egg. Beat well and fold in the remaining flour.

Spoon into 8 greased and floured dariole moulds, place on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Cut the top of the cakes off to form a flat surface and then turn out onto a board or plate. Leave until completely cold.

Roll out the white icing on a surface dusted with cornflour and cut out 8 x 16cm circles (can use a saucer as a guide). Drape these over the sponge cakes to form ghost figures. Draw the ghost’s features using a tube of black writing icing

Makes 8 mini ghost cakes

Spider And Bat Cakes

These are fun to make with your children. You can make five of each design, divide the cake mixture in two and add one tablespoon of cocoa powder to half of it .

 

Fairy Cakes

100g (4 oz) soft margarine

100g (4 oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

100g (4 oz) self-raising flour

(substitute 2 tbsp cocoa powder for 2 tbsp of the flour for chocolate fairy cakes)

1 tsp pure vanilla essence

Spider Cake Decoration

100g / 4 oz milk chocolate

liquorice laces

10 chocolate marshmallow teacakes

Assorted liquorice sweets

Sugar-coated coloured chocolate buttons

 

Bat Cake Decoration

100g / 4 oz softened butter

175g (6 oz) icing sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp milk

1 tube black writing icing

black liquorice sweets

edible silver balls

 

To make the fairy cakes: pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the eggs one at a time together with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Add the vanilla and fold in the remaining flour. Line a bun tin with paper cases and half fill each case with the mixture. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and put on a wire rack to cool before decorating.

 

Spider Cakes

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Using a palette knife, cover each cake with some of the melted chocolate. Arrange six liquorice strips for the spider’s legs and stick a teacake in the centres. Finish with assorted liquorice sweets and sugar-coated coloured chocolate buttons as eyes.

 

Bat Cakes

To make the chocolate frosting, beat the butter until creamy. Sieve together the icing sugar and cocoa and gradually beat into the butter together with the milk using a wooden spoon. When the cakes have cooled, cut off the tops of the cakes and cut into three sections and use the two curved ends to make wings (reserve the middle section).

 

Draw a ‘V’ with black writing icing on the wings. Spread a thick layer of chocolate frosting over the surface of the cake, position the wings to that they stand up: you will need to cut small squares of cake from the middle section to position under the wings to prop them up. Stick edible silver balls on top of black liquorice sweets for the bat’s eyes.

 

Makes 10 to 12 spider cakes

Tombstone Sandwiches

You can use a variety of fillings like Marmite, Peanut Butter, Egg Mayonnaise, Cheese and Tomato to make these spine-chilling sandwiches.

 

Sliced bread

Grated carrot

Grated cheddar cheese

Mayonnaise

Salad cress

 

Cut the crusts off the bread and cut into rectangles. Using a plain round cutter or a saucer as a guide cut the top of the sandwich into a round tombstone shape. Mix together the grated carrot, cheese and mayonnaise (or use a filling of your choice) and sandwich the bread together with this mixture.

Arrange the tombstone sandwiches upright on a plate and sprinkle the cress around the sandwiches before serving.

Sit back and enjoy

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Entertaining children at a party is hard work, especially if you’ve got a range of ages attending, they all want to play, and you’re trying to set up the food! So, why not let a professional children’s party entertainers delight, entertain and enthrall your children and their friends, while you relax and wonder how 20 kids could possibly eat all that food in one sitting. (Don’t worry, they will!)

Despite knowing how to work an XBox from birth and being more tech savvy than Bill Gates, kids actually really enjoy traditional style entertainment that engages, amuses and surprises. A professional kids’ party entertainer understands the need to provide party entertainment that keeps children involved for every second, never letting their attention wander, or their enthusiasm lapse.

Make sure professionals are from either performance or childcare backgrounds, who are CRB checked and have full insurance. They should be highly experienced and are able to provide quality entertainment for all types of parties and children, so you can sit back and enjoy the fun and games.

Once you have booked outside help for your child’s Birthday, you will find that you never really would like it any other way, you can sit back and relax, which makes for a memorable child’s party for years to come.

Birthday Party Ideas

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Birthday party fancy dress themes work really well, such as Despicable Me, Super Hero’s, Alice in Wonderland, Cowboys with a Wild West Theme.

It’s good to ensure there are plenty of attractions to keep little guests entertained where you could have themed tables of children’s activities which tie in nicely with your theme.  If you are having a Cinderella party why not have a colouring table where the children can take time out to work on a princess work art.

For a rocking party, you could book a band to play songs fitting to that theme or just a general rock and pop, to keep little guests dancing all evening long.

Hiring a look alike of your birthday girl/ boy’s favourite celebrity would be a great touch. For a great surprise you could hire some singing waiters who can act and sing whilst serving up some treats

If you’re asking guests to wear fancy dress then your room should be decorated in a similar theme. You can go as elaborate or demure as you like with a small display of balloons to a big firework display.

Party Themes

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The tradition of holding a party to celebrate the anniversary of birth began centuries ago in Europe when it was feared that evil spirits sought out people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would gather around to bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off evil spirits, and candles were placed on cakes to transport the birthday wishes directly to God.

Initially, only royalty was deemed important enough to have a birthday celebration, but the tradition soon spread with the introduction of the children’s party in Germany, the Kinderfeste.

For the trivia buffs amongst you; the lyrically astounding ‘Happy Birthday to You’ song was written in 1839 by sisters Mildred and Patty Smith Hill!!

Children’s Birthday Party Ideas

Try the following themes as a starting point when organising kids birthday parties.

 

Alice in Wonderland

Kite Flying Party

Arabian Princess Party

Ladybug Party

Arts and Crafts Party

Lion King Party

Ballet Party

Mermaid Party

Barbie Party

Mickey Mouse & Minnie Party

Beach Party

Movie Theater Party

Beauty and the Beast

Nursery Rhyme Party

Buzz Lightyear

Peter Pan Party

Butterfly Party

Pirates of the Caribbean Party

Camping Party

Robin Hood Party

Cartoon Characters

Rock Star Party

Cheerleading Party

Roller Skating Party

Cinderella Party

Safari Party

Circus Party

Sleep Over Party

Clown Party

Snow White Party

Dinosaur Party

SpongeBob SquarePants Party

Fairy Party

Star Wars Party

Football Party

Superheros Party

Hannah Montana Party

Tea Party

Harry Potter Party

Teddy Bear Party

Hollywood Star Party

Under the Sea Party

Ice Skating Party

Wizard of Oz Party

Jungle Party

Winnie the Pooh Party