Category: Ideas

The Roman Baths

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Plan a family visit to the Roman Baths and explore this amazing historic site in Bath, featuring the remains of one of the finest spas of the ancient world and temple ruins.

Family days out activity trails for different age groups can be collected at reception and include the Roman Baths Trail for under 7s and the Meet the Romans Trail for older children. Audio guides help bring the complex to life, available in eight languages, with one specially for children narrated by

Michael Rosen.

Costumed Roman characters are quite likely to stop and talk to visitors, giving insight into Roman Britain. You might meet a Roman lady and a slave girl, a Roman soldier and armourer, a priest, travelling merchant or two stonemasons during your day out.

Baby carriers are free to borrow and baby changing facilities are available. During organised school trips children can handle original Roman material. From 2019 the Archway Project will include a new Learning Centre.

The Roman Baths are also an amazing party venue at weekends for children aged 6-11 years with party packages including activities such as dressing up as Romans, finding hidden treasure in sand containers and exploring secret tunnels.

The Great Bath is the centre of the complex and lies below street level. From the Terrace festooned with Victorian statues of Roman emperors and governors of Britain, visitors have a wonderful view of the Great Bath.

Another feature is the Sacred Spring where mineral-rich water at a temperature of 46˚C rises each day, as it has for thousands of years. Objects were thrown into the Spring as offerings to the goddess, including thousands of Roman coins.

A Family Ticket is for two adults and up to four children. A Saver family ticket to the Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery is also available.

 

Diggerland Devon

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Have you ever wanted to drive a real JCB Digger or dumper truck? At Diggerland in Devon you can do just that. You can ride, drive and operate real, full size construction machinery which provides a truly fun day out for all the family. The park is aimed at children between 4 and 14 years of age, however visitors of all ages can enjoy a great day out! There is a comprehensive Diggerland Ride Height Chart on their website, which indicates the suitability of all the rides they offer.

Those drivers that are brave enough and comply with the height restrictions can have a go on the exclusively designed Mini Land Rovers or negotiate the course on the JCB Robots. As well as that and unique to Diggerland, visitors can ride the world famous ‘Spindizzy’, where they sit in the bucket of a JCB and be elevated and spun around. More relaxed visitors can ride on ‘Skyshuttle’, which lifts you 50 feet into the air to enjoy awe-inspiring views across the countryside.

The youngest visitors can have lots of fun driving on the Diggerland Train, with their very own steering wheel! There is also an indoor play area which will challenge them, an outdoor play area, pedal tractors and a sandpit. Some of the rides and drives require adult supervision and children who do not meet the height requirement need to be supervised as well.

Diggerland Devon has a campsite to make a weekend of it. Set in the stunning grounds of Verbeer Manor, surrounded by the beautiful, picturesque Devonshire countryside, it is adjacent to both the Diggerland Adventure Park and Diggerlakes, where families can go fishing for carp.

For an action-packed children’s birthday party, let children climb over, drive, ride and operate a variety of diggers, while all the time feeling like a real grown up in a muddy construction themed adventure park! The birthday child will have their very own dedicated Diggerland Host who will ensure they all receive the very best VIP treatment from the moment they arrive to when it is time to say goodbye!

 

Free family days out

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The Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow

Inside this gallery and museum there are many collections to inspire and educate the kids. Spread out over 22 themed galleries with over 8,000 objects, you will see fine art, natural history and world cultures. .

Library of Birmingham

This modern library, located in Centenary Square, has 10 floors with over 400,000 books just waiting to be explored, as well as a studio theatre and gardens… perfect for your little bookworms! Outside you’ll find the Amphitheatre, two outdoor terraces, children’s spaces and a panoramic viewing gallery. .

National Railway Museum, Yorkshire

With a collection of over a million objects, covering over 200 years of history, you and your family will be spoilt for choice! You’ll get to see giant halls full of engines and railway legends and kids can let off steam in the outdoor play area. You’ll also get to enjoy lively science shows, take a ride on the miniature railway or learn through the interactive exhibits! .

House of Marbles; Bovey Tracey, Devon

This working glass and games factory is open for people to visit. You can see some lass being made, or visit the games museum where you can see games from years gone by. On dry days you can also go outdoors and play skittles, chess, giant Jericho or even marbles in the Games Garden. .

Blakemere Village, Northwich, Cheshire

There are over 30 shops to be discovered here as well as plenty of activities for adults and children alike. The Barnaby’s Play Barn is a play area where the kids can let off some steam, with a separate area for the under 3s, and there are craft activities that all the family can join in.

Riverwatch Aquariums, Londonderry, Northern Ireland

If you’re little one is aquatic mad, this is the perfect day out! There are many different displays, including The Louch, a Rockpool, Deep Sea and Freshwater Environment. You’ll see aquatic animals such as starfish, lobster, crabs, eels, rays and some wonderful native species. .

Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall, Wales

Pistyll Rhaeadr is an enchanting waterfall in the Berwyn Mountains, just inside Wales. It is the highest waterfall in the UK as the water plummets 240ft from top to bottom. With many visitors returning again and again it is one of the most loved pieces of nature you could set your eyes on. It is sure to give you and your family a peaceful and tranquil day out. .

Corris Craft Centre, Machnlleth

Bring your little budding artists along to paint some pottery, dip candles, craft herbals or even make a unique bar of chocolate! For the kids there’s a small children’s play area so they can let off some steam, plus there’s a treasure hunt that they can follow around the centre. You can also see a variety of designers making their crafts in their studios! .

 

Amazing adventures FREE from entrance fees

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Mugdock Country Park, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland

One of Scotland’s most popular tourist attractions, Mugdock Country Park is a fantastic place to bring the family. The area is steeped in history, with buildings dating as far back as the 1300’s! Be sure to stop by the visitor centre nestled within the estate, which has plenty of information about the local area and the semi-natural countryside of the park.

The Glasgow Botanical Gardens

The Glasgow Botanical Gardens are beautiful and make a great place to take the family for an autumnal walk. As you walk through the gardens, you’ll marvel at the gorgeous designs and plant collections. The restored Kibble Palace was designed by John Kibble and is a stunning sight. There’s an array of plant collections, and even some tropical ponds.

Royal Armouries Leeds

Bring the kids here for a fun and educational day out! You’ll find over 8,500 objects displayed throughout the 5 galleries of War, Tournament, Oriental, Self Defence and Hunting. Expect to see ancient weapons from many different cultures and learn about how they were used, all set by the canal in Leeds.

Museum Of Science & Industry, Manchester

MOSI is an exciting museum full of interactive displays and an ever changing variety of exhibitions exploring science and industries. You’ll find exhibitions about how tornadoes are made, a 4D cinema, how the human body works, the history of communications in Manchester and more. You’ll also walk through a recreation of a Victorian sewer (smells included), air and space hall, animation exhibition and a hall dedicated to locomotives.

Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford, Shropshire

Visit the Royal Air Force Museum for an action packed day out with over 70 aircraft housed in three wartime hangars! There’s also a National Cold War Museum Exhibition, which is located right next to an active airfield! Throughout the museum the fascinating exhibitions bring to life the history of aviation for all ages and there’s even a Fun ‘n’ Flight hands on kids zone!

BBC Birmingham Public Space

The kids will absolutely love a day here as there’s plenty of exciting children’s activities to get stuck into, including having a go at  presenting Newsround and getting their photo taken with Dr Who’s TARDIS and an old Dalek!  The parents can take a touch-screen-tour of the radio drama studio and look through the windows into radio studios used by the Asian Network and BBC WM.

Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire

Come and explore this motte-and-bailey castle, which was built in the 11th century and was occupied by key figures of the Middle Ages, such as Thomas Becket, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and the Black Prince!

St Fagan’s National History Museum, Cardiff

Voted as one of the top free attractions to visit, this museum is set within beautiful gardens and woodland. Children will learn how Welsh families lived, worked and played through time! They can even take a tractor ride in the grounds!

 

Fun party for a 10-year-old boy

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Boys around the age of 10 are sometimes difficult to entertain because they are no longer “little kids” and they aren’t yet teenagers either. If you want to throw a fun birthday party for a 10-year-old boy, plan some children’s activities that are suitable to this age group. By engaging the kids who come to the party, you will make the experience fun for everyone, including the birthday boy.

Mummy Race

This game works especially well for children’s birthday parties that fall close to Halloween. Divide your partygoers into groups of two to four people. Give each group a few rolls of toilet paper. Instruct the teams to choose one person to be the “mummy.” When you give the signal to begin, the teams race to see which can wrap its mummy from head to toe within a certain time limit. Give the groups three to five minutes to wrap their mummies. When the time is up, let the birthday boy choose which team’s mummy is most thoroughly wrapped.

Gummy Worm Bobbing

This game offers a chilly twist on the traditional bobbing-for-apples activity. Fill a metal tub or similar container with water and ice. Sprinkle in a pack of gummy worms. Have the boys take turns sticking their heads into the icy water to grab a gummy worm with their mouths. Make sure the water isn’t too deep, since the gummy worms will sink to the bottom of the container. You can turn this into a competition by giving each player 30 seconds to see how many worms he can retrieve. The player who gets the most worms wins.

Backwards Relay

This activity gives your partygoers a chance to race each other in a non-typical relay game. Set up two obstacle courses before the game. Draw a starting line on the ground with spray paint. Place cones in a line extending from the starting point, being sure to leave about three feet of space between the cones. Use at least 10 cones for each line.

Divide the kids into two teams. Explain to the teams that each runner must race through the cones, alternating in and out of the cones in a zigzag fashion, until he reaches the last cone. When he circles the last cone, he must go back through the cones in the same manner until he comes back to the starting line. Upon crossing the starting line at the end of the course, he tags the next person in line to go. The catch is that everyone must complete the course by running or walking backward. If a cone is knocked over, the person must start over. The first team who moves all of its players through the course successfully, wins.

 

Birthday Parties for tweens

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Birthday parties are fun at any age, but selecting a theme for a tween can present an interesting challenge. Children this age are no longer interested in “little kid” stuff, and yet they still might enjoy some young activities like going to the zoo and watching cartoons. Planning a birthday party for a tween should include age-appropriate things that are enjoyable and fun to do.

Mall Scavenger Hunt

For a girl’s party, choose activities that you know she and her friends would enjoy. For example, you can set up a scavenger hunt at a local mall. Some items to include on the hunt list might be a picture of a woman in red heels, a receipt for one pound and a stranger’s autograph. Make sure each team has an adult supervisor as a safety precaution. Top off the girls’ day with a jewelry-making party, where the girls can put themselves in custom-made necklaces and bracelets.

 

Sports Parties

If your child likes to play sports, consider centering the theme around a favoured sport. You can take the group to a party at a local sports centre. There, your child and friends will be able to play basketball, tennis and other indoor sports. Some sports centres also include a pool. Another sports theme involves taking your tween and a friend to watch their favourite team play. These fun sporty children activities sure to be something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

 

Sleepover Parties

Having friends sleep over is a fun way to spend a birthday, and you can help make the night extra special by selecting activities that you know your child is going to love. Make it a movie night by renting films. For snacks, order pizza, or cheeseburgers and hot dogs. You could also make a sundae bar for the kids to dress up their ice cream treats with a variety of sauces, sprinkles and other toppings. Other activities may include board games and rounds of karaoke.

 

Roller disco Parties

Roller disco parties can accommodate both large and small groups. Many rinks offer special birthday party packages that include group discounts for pizza, drinks and skate rental. Many skating birthday parties also feature games on skates, like a limbo contest and a variation of musical chairs in which participants must skate to a particular area of the rink when the music stops playing. For those who do not like to skate, many rinks also have an arcade. These parties allow your birthday kid to skate and socialize with friends in a fun and safe environment.

 

5 yr old party ideas

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Around the age of 5-6 is when kids start to reveal their true personalities. They absorb so much information, are super opinionated and they know what they want. It’s usually the year they transition into Reception and go from being a “baby” to a little person with attitude. When it’s time to celebrate their birthday, now is when you can include them in the party plans to make their birthday party one they will talk about for years.
Pizza Party

 

Celebrate the birthday at school by offering to bring in pizza for your child’s classroom. Replacing ham and cheese sandwiches with pizza will make you the superhero of the day, and your child will enjoy the excitement of having you appear for lunch. Bring balloons and a cake to accompany your special visit. Use this in-class party to kick start the birthday bash over the weekend

Pyjama parties

 

Pyjama parties at this age are full of energy and fun and you’re likely to be worn out after a night of rambunctious 6-year-olds. Invite a few friends from your child’s class over for a sleepover. Set up plenty of arts and crafts activities for the kids to move from station to station as they are likely to bore easily. Use one station for colouring and creating, another for watching a show or movie and another for something active like pavement chalk writing, blowing bubbles or making water balloons.
Museum Madness
Explore a museum for an afternoon children’s entertainment. Book one of your local museum’s kids’ party packages to allow the kids to play and learn about the exhibits. Most museums that are equipped for children’s parties and entertainment and also include an activity room where the kids can draw, color or paint and may include a storyteller to discuss some of the cool displays in detail. Since these are the growing stages of the inquisitive years, this is a great opportunity for the kids to ask questions about what they are shown to get a better understanding of what makes things work.
Talent Show
Host a talent show for the kids to showcase their favourite talents. No matter if it’s singing, dancing or creating a masterpiece, allow each kid a chance in the spotlight. End your talent portion by bringing out the ice cream and cake and allow everyone to salute the birthday boy or girl before the party ends.

 

Halloween Party Games

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These halloween games have become very traditional over years, but if you are stuck for fun ideas for the kids and all the family to play, then here are some ideas..

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 kids must munch through their doughnut. The first to eat the whole doughnut is the winner.

Watch out – this 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 kids 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 kids Halloween 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.

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.

 

Monster bake off

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Halloween is becoming more and more popular in the UK. Every year the UK get more involved in having parties for this spooky day. The whole family can get involved and just have fun!!

Here are some kids Halloween food ideas that will impress your little monster kids!!

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

Tombstone Sandwiches

These sandwiches will be great fun for your party guests. 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.

 

Winter family fun adventures

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It doesn’t always have to be gloomy in the winter, there are many things that can keep the kids entertained.  Just use a bit of imagination!!!

These fun things to do are for kids and all the family to get involved with!!

Go outdoors and find a frosty spider’s web (then make your own using PVA glue and silver glitter)

Make a puppet theatre using leftover Christmas cardboard.

Create a bird feeder using a pine cone, lard and bird seed then take pictures of the birds as they feed in your garden!

Create your own puzzles. Stick a family photo, or a child drawn picture to card and cut it into shapes

Go bowling, it’s a great indoor activity for the whole family.

Go to a castle and be a knight. Don’t forget to make a shield out of card and foil before you go!

Create a campfire and toast some marshmallows

Collect shells and create fun pictures on the beach, or in the forest with stones and twigs.

Teach your kid to thread or sew, for younger children use cardboard with holes punched in it and string as thread.

Go on a scavenger hunt. Give kids photos of things to find or set up written clues to help older children find items outside.

Visit a pottery café and create your very own masterpiece.