Category: Kids

The best ice-cream parlours

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When the sun comes out and the day is warm, there is nothing more enjoyable than an ice cream or a sorbet.  Ice cream is available everywhere these days from the traditional ice cream van to the supermarket.  But if you want something a little special, then visiting an ice cream parlour is the perfect idea for a children’s fun day out.  And the UK has some of the best going ice cream parlours going.

Minghella’s, Isle of Wight

Minghella’s is a family run business that has been making their ice creams and sorbets for over 60 years.  They price themselves on the award winning quality of what they make and their new, innovative flavours.  They produce only the highest quality yet have managed to make over 200 different flavours, meaning no visitor will ever be lacking for choice in what to buy.  Their ranges are all made with fresh milk and cream from local farms along with natural ingredients meaning they are suitable for vegetarians and mostly for gluten-free.  As well as ice cream, they stock fruit sorbets, exclusive sorbets and even cocktail sorbets for the adults with a splash of complementing alcohol in them.  A visit can also include seeing the factory where everything is made and taking home something special.

Roskilly’s, Cornwall

Roskilly’s is an organic farm on the south tip of Cornwall that has been working on ice creams and other dairy products for over 60 years.  They started out producing clotted cream in the 1960s and added ice cream to their range in the late 1980s.  They opened their ice cream parlour over twenty years ago and have continued to add new products to their range since.  As well as ice creams, they make fudge and yoghurts, all from the Jersey cows that call the farm home.  Their range of ice creams only use natural ingredients such as fruits and nuts and they even condense their own milk for the products.  The farm also has a shop to pick up a few treasures to take home with you after you have finished sampling the ice cream.

Treleavens, Cornwall

Treleavens are proud that their ice creams and sorbets have won more awards that any other Cornish producer and their range is comprehensive, stocking over 90 different flavours.  They have been producing artisan ice creams and sorbets for fifteen years and most of the production is carried out by hand.  This makes for denser products that taste different to machine-made ice cream and are made using only the best natural ingredients, most of which are locally sourced.  Their ranges include those suitable for diabetics as well as for fans of chocolate or fruit and even a few for the adults with real alcohol in.

Mr B’s, Cornwall

Mr B’s make artisan ice creams every day of the week to ensure the best quality, freshest products no matter when you visit.  Formed in 2004, the idea was born when the owners realised there was an ever increasing demand for good quality ice cream.  They use a combination of the best locally sourced ingredients with the finest Italian produce to make ice creams, sorbets and other treats of superb quality.  Their ranges start at traditional flavours such as vanilla and strawberry then continue into modern combinations, including triple chocolate chunk with fudge.  There are also plenty of refreshing sorbets such as red grape or kiwi flavoured.  And the toppings mean you can have the perfect dessert with fresh sauces on offer as well as other desserts, smoothies and even milkshakes.

Otter Valley Dairy, Devon

Otter Valley Dairy is located in the beautiful Otter Valley and is a family run business producing ice creams, sorbets and frozen yoghurts.  They are inspired by traditional Italian Gelato to produce a vast range of flavours from traditional vanilla to lemon and lime meringue flavoured.  They even produce ice cream cakes, ideal for special events that feature ice cream and whipping cream in a mouth-watering dessert.  The dairy has won a number of local and national awards since they were founded in 2010 and make use of the best fresh ingredients.  The milk used comes from the dairy itself so can become ‘cow to cone’ in a single day.

Boho Gelato, Brighton

Boho Gelato offers a range of ice creams and desserts with an interesting story behind them.  The company is part of Fareshare, a food waste charity that sees waste items from warehouses such as biscuits, maple syrup and juices reused into the ice cream that is then sold to the public.  They also use ingredients from other restaurants around Brighton to make a range of unique flavours.  These range from Battenberg flavour to a tipsy mojito and apple.

Billy-Bob’s Parlour, Yorkshire

Billy-Bob’s Parlour is part of the Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream Farm and offers a range of homemade ice creams in a vintage 1950s American-style diner.  Music from the time, leather booths and even an Airstream around the corner serving coffee makes for a unique venue and the range of ice creams is suitably dazzling.  From traditional flavours to modern innovations such as Yorkshire rhubarb or liquorice and blackcurrant there is something for all tastes.  There is also an adventure playground for the kids to run off all that ice cream on the site!

S Luca, Musselburgh

S Luca have been making ice cream since 1908 in the seaside town of Musselburgh and recently added a second café in Edinburgh, serving their quality ice creams and desserts.  The root of the business came when Luca Scappaticco and his wife Anastasia arrived from Cassino in Italy in the late 1800s and learned to be a pastry chef.  He later added how to make ice creams from a Swiss chef and soon opened his own business.  Many years later, the family still run the business and offer the tastiest desserts to the town.  Their cakes are all made from the ice cream and include a lemon sorbet slice and a traditional Neapolitan cake with its three flavours in one.  There are also cakes to order for special occasions.

Take the kids to a working farm

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Whether you are from the town, city or a rural village, one of the most popular attractions to visit this year continues to be a working farm.  The combination of cute animals, recognisable farm residents and play features means there is something for kids of all ages, even if the best part is the donkey ride!  Here we look at some of the best around the country.

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, Bristol

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is a great combination of farm animals and exotic zoo animals with the added benefit of play areas for the kids and even the chance of taking up the keeper experiences.  It is notable for having the largest elephant habitat in the UK as well as primates, reptiles and birds.  There are also plenty of familiar farmyard animals including cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep and horses.

Folly Farm, Narbeth

Folly Farm has been voted the best family attraction in Wales a number of times and is a good balance of farmyard animals, exotic animals, adventure playgrounds and even some exhilarating rides.  It is found near Tenby in Pembrokeshire and has six different zones to explore.  There is also the only giraffe in Wales to see as well as vintage fairground rides for the younger visitors.

Warren Mill Farm, Cowbridge

Just outside the village of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan is Warren Mills Farm.  The farm covers some 10 acres and is home to animals such as rare breed sheep, ponies, llamas and alpacas and even wallabies.  Cute guinea pigs are available for a cuddle and even Red Squirrels can be seen.  For those who like a spot of angling, there is also a fishery on the site.

Cefn Mably Farm Park, Cardiff

Cefn Mably Farm Park is just a 15-minute drive from the centre of Cardiff and is a great place to visit no matter what the weather.  As well as the farm animals to see there is a touch and hold area and a conservation area with ponds.  If the weather turns bad, there is 600 square feet of heated barn play area and another large undercover area as well.

Vauxhall City Farm, London

Finding a farm inside London is a little unusual but this is what is offered by the Vauxhall City Farm.  The farm offers a range of animals from the tiny mice to rabbits and geese right up to sheep, cows and even three alpacas called Tom, Ben and Jerry.  The farm is free to visit and works with local schools to help provide a glimpse of the countryside to city kids.

Bocketts Farm, Leatherhead

Bocketts Farm is near Leatherhead, Surrey and is a great combination of play areas and animals, both inside and outside to avoid weather problems.  Kids can watch a pig race, ride a pony or take a trip on the tractor as well as feeding many of the animals and have a cuddle with one of the cute rabbits.  The farm is a working farm so there are often baby animals to see as well while the play areas including two indoor play barns and a kids outdoor adventure trail.

Cotswold Farm Park, Cheltenham

The Cotswold children’s Farm Park is near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and has over 50 breeds of animal living within its boundaries.  These include cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and horses and also many rare breeds.  It is run by Adam Henson, famous for his work on the BBC’s Countryfile program.

Wellsfield Farm Park, Stirling

Just two miles from Stirling is Wellsfield Farm Park, offering animals and play area for kids of all ages, as well as those with special needs.  There are play areas for different ages and indoor ones as well as outdoors.  Kids can enjoy pony rides as well as a bird hide, mini beast zone and even a nature trail to spot some of the local wildlife in their natural environment.  After the animal spotting, there is also an assault course to use the last of their energy.

East Links Farm, Dunbar

East Links Farm is near Dunbar in East Lothian and allows kids to get up close with a number of different animals as well handling some in the small animal barn.  The farm has various paddocks to explore as well as a four level Fortress play area, go-karts and a ball blast arena.  Bigger kids can try the climbing wall while the little ones can make use of the soft play area and the pedal tractors.  There is also a train safari to tour the site and animals to see including cattle, sheep, pigs, deer, rhea and even wallabies.

Briarlands Farm, Stirling

Briarlands Farm is near Blair Drummond, Stirling and is a great outdoor attraction to occupy the kids.  There are plenty of chances to feed the animals that live on the farm as well as a toddler trike track and play frames as well as jumping pillows and even a tractor go kart area.  Bigger kids can try the zip wire and the mazes while there is a craft area for when the weather turns nasty.

Acorn Farm, Kirkby

Acorn Farm is near Kirkby, Merseyside and offers a great selection to see and do.  One of the most popular attractions is the small animal petting area, where kids can get close to a rabbit or guinea pig, hold a chick and even try milking one of the goats.  There are also horse rides available and seasonal events meaning that it isn’t just a summer visiting spot.

Swithens Farm, Leeds

Swithens Farm is near Leeds and combines a working farm and farm shops with a play barn.  Depending on the time of year, animals to see include pigs and piglets, cows and calves, rabbits, ducks and even two micro-pigs.  The play barn is great to run off energy and if the weather isn’t so great.

Church Farm, Stow Bardolph

Church Farm is a rare breeds centre working on restoring rare breeds of farm animals such as the Swiss Valais Blacknose Sheep and the Suffolk Punch horse.  There are also plenty of fun activities including pig racing and animal encounters such as feeding the young farm animals.

Sacrewell Farm, Peterborough

Sacrewell Farm is near Peterborough and combines beautiful countryside, a range of animals and a new state of the art play barn.  There are nature trails to follow where you may spot red kites and brown hares as well as famous Shire Horses that appeared in the film War Horse.  The farm also works on rare breeds of pigs, sheep and goats.

Rainy day indoor activities

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On a sunny day, children can play outside or go to the park but when it’s raining, everything seems grim and dull. Wet weather in the school holidays can drive parents crazy, especially for those on a budget and for many that mean’s a day in the house.  How you keep the kids entertained without spending a fortune?

Cupcake Creations

Doing a spot of cookery with kids is great fun and they will enjoy serving up their creations to the rest of the family.  If you aren’t the most confident home baker, then most supermarkets sell bun making or cupcake making kits that need just a little water and an egg.  The kids get to do most of the work with a little supervision and will love arranging the decorations on the icing once they are cooked. 

Cooking, Creating and Painting

As well as edible projects, you can also make salt dough in the kitchen.  This uses 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of salt and up to 1 cup of water to make dough that can then be cut with shaped cutters or just by hand.  It is baked in the oven at a low heat for around three hours and can be then be painted with acrylic paint, varnished and glittered.  This activity is great for making decorations or beads to then be strung together. 

Make a Den

There aren’t many kids who don’t love the idea of having a den in the house and a rainy day is a great opportunity to do this.  Get some kitchen chairs together, hang bedding and blankets over them and secure everything with clothing pegs.  The kids can then play inside with their favourite toys and games and will probably be very difficult to get out come bedtime! 

All Children like a Good Treasure Hunt

With a little preparation, a treasure hunt around the house is a great children’s activity idea and will be great fun, with a little treat as the treasure.  Set up clues that have them thinking things through without being too difficult and send them up and down stairs as much as possible – a bit of hidden exercise while in the house.

You could even integrate a little learning into the treasure hunt, ask them a mathematical problem or how to spell a word. 

Marble Runs

Creating marble runs is a brilliant way to get the kids thinking.  Stockpile old toilet roll holders, margarine tubs and anything else they can put together to make a run for their marbles.  It won’t be long before they are becoming ever more inventive and trying to guess where the marble will go.  Just watch out they don’t end up under your feet!

Entertaining the youngsters

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So, the kids have stopped playing with their Christmas presents ages ago and they’re board. Would you like some ideas on how to entertain them?  We’ve come up with some great places to take them and also some DIY at home children’s entertainment for hire.

A day at the museum
London museums open their doors on weekends, and at the Science Museum there’s a fab exhibition on the birth of the space age; great for any budding cosmonauts.

But if you don’t fancy going out albeit only in the garden, build yourself a bubble-powered rocket fuelled by indigestion tablets. We are sure you will be able to find a great children’s entertainer. The right entertainer will keep them amused for hours.

A Prima ballerina
Make a budding ballerina’s dream come true with a performance of The Nutcracker by the English National Ballet. 

Our suggestion: You can book ballet dance shows, with a prima ballerina teaching your child and her friends a ballet class, hair and makeup techniques and even giving a private performance. Move over Angelina mouse!

Ski Sunday
Take the kids to an indoor snow centre like Snow-Dome in Tamworth – and of course other dry ski slopes are dotted about throughout the UK, where they can toboggan, snowboard and freestyle to their heart’s content. 

Why not hold a ski party! For inside parties, hire an ice sculpture and watch on a big screen some snow-boarding.  For outside events, hire an ice rink and even a snow machine if budget will allow. And, of course, you’ll need suitable music – a Snow Patrol tribute band perhaps?

Fun at the circus
Circus acts are definitely cool this year, and there are some excellent circus shows on offer this year. As the summer holidays are fastly approaching Circus tents will be popping up all over the country which will include trapeze artists, clowns, jugglers, aerialists and acrobats. 

Hopefully we’ve given you a bit of inspiration and made you think that next time, instead of you going to the fun; the fun can come to you… Have a great weekend!

Keep it simple

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The growing competitive element of hosting a children’s birthday party that has recently emerged now means that many parents end up overspending and creating a party that is filled to the brim with far too many activities. 

Do remember that children love simplicity. Not to say the entertainment shouldn’t be good or varied. It should definitely be good and varied. It needs to be engaging, fun and imaginative too. But parents should avoid the temptation to overload their kid’s party with too many activities at the same time as this will end up being over stimulating and confusing. 

In the same way, parents that don’t plan enough activities or have any form of entertainment at all, can often find that their children are completely underwhelmed, bored or worse become very restless and start running around and be difficult for parents to control. If there is no structure to the entertainment planned this can happen a lot, which is something all parents want to avoid.

A perfect party has a few fun activities planned for different times, but parents should be prepared for their party ‘timetable’ to change slightly during the celebration so it can be adapted to suit the kid’s energy levels on the day and to accommodate any unforeseen events. 

Keep it simple and enjoy!!

Budding archaeologists

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If your child is into ancient History, then maybe an Egyptian party would be just the thing;

You could ask your guests to come dressed as an Egyptian (not only would it be great fun but also very educational)

There could be lots of crafty making (seeing as the Egyptians love to build things) why not have a Pyramid building competition which cardboard recycling could be put to very good use. All you need it glue, glitter pens and the children’s imagination to build an amazing Pyramid!!  

PARTY GAMES & ACTIVITIES;

Mummy wrap game;

Divide the children into 3 teams and had them wrap one person as a mummy. Best wrap in 5 minutes’ win.  You will need lots of toilet tissue, try and buy the more expensive stuff as the cheap tissue will rip easily.

Next game is a scavenger hunt. Divided into teams and gave them hieroglyphic clues which they had to translate. There are a lot of websites that give ways to translate hieroglyphics, but not all of them use the same letter-to-hieroglyphic translations.  Tell the children that archaeologists weren’t always given complete information!

The first clue led them to an archaeological dig site (the sand box). They had to dig up a ring, necklace, gold coins, and their next clue. Use one of the pyramids to give instructions — particularly, one item per person; I wanted everyone to get one of each.

The second clue took them to buckets that they had no idea what was inside.  There were all sorts of horrible feeling things inside for example, Jelly, baked beans and custard and they had to dig deep to get their clues!!

The third clue took them to the Nile River. Planks were laid out in the garden and pretend water was underneath them.  The idea is that they balanced and didn’t fall. At the end of the Nile was a crocodile’s nest. They had to get the eggs from the crocodile’s nest for their next clue. 

Final stop was Tutankhamun’s tomb, for their prize there were sweets and prizes all stuffed into a treasure chest 

KIDS PARTY FOOD;

Sandwiches and crisps were laid out and ice cream scooped into bowls, so just had to bring it out from the freezer.  Oh and of course a Pyramid Cake!!!

A Circus theme or Clown Party idea

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PARTY INVITATIONS;

We used cheap white card and envelope.  Used red cardboard paper to make a big top for the front of card.  Square base and canopied top.  Square base to be glued on sides and bottom, top to be left open to create a pocket for admit ticket. 

PARTY DECORATIONS;

We kept decorations simple.  Used red/white crepe paper to make a canopy (big top) in the kitchen.  Hung paper clown faces (which were homemade) from the ceiling.   Bright tableware was placed around the cakes.  A lion cake and a clown cake were centre of the table.

PARTY GAMES;

We thought it would be nice for the children to have an ‘arty’ party so we put felt tips, glitter, glue etc. around and lots of coloured card paper so they could make their own circus/clown pictures. 

We also had a ‘face painter’ which painted each child’s face, we took a picture and printed each one off before the party ended and stuck it in onto their party bags.

Another children’s party game we played was each child took turns throwing darts at different coloured balloons.  Whatever colour you popped, got to pick from that “colour” toy pile. Each toy was in different coloured bags so the children knew which one they had won from. 

We then had an elephant game where you have to hook a ring around their trunks. Each child puts on an elephant mask and tries to pick up hoops with the end of their nose.  Of course no party is complete without the clown piñata.  

PARTY BAGS;

No party is complete without party bags so we filled them up with candy, crafts, prizes, and cotton candy bags.

 

Ice-skating party ideas

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My daughter is just celebrated her ninth birthday, and we were also moving at the same time so we needed something that wouldn’t require too much children’s birthday party planning, money, and most importantly – a house! 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 were they were given their choice of pizza, hot dog, 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 skated to cool music and 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!

Skateboard Party

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This was done for a 9-year-old boy’s birthday who was made about skateboards. There were girls and boys.  The theme was Skateboard Olympics. 

Invite: 

Cut-outs of skateboards telling them to skate on over to “name” 9th Birthday bash! I asked them to bring their skateboards or rollerblades and safety equipment. As each child arrived they got a large # for the back of their shirt and a score card that listed all the activities that they were going to be judged on. 

Games: 

There was a ramp and as they were called they got 2 chanced to freestyle on the ramp, a few of the guests were chosen as judges and they held up large numbers, their scores were wrote on their score cards, etc.  

The 2nd was a bean bag toss on the skateboards, the buckets had points on them and they got 2 chances to make it in to the bucket of their choice, the scores were put on their cards, 

3rd activity was skateboard limbo, the each time the stick dropped they got 5 points, their totals were put on the score cards, 

4th was Skateboard trick, again we used the judges and score cards. After all of that was done they were totalled them up while they were hitting the skateboard piñata.  

They played balloon pop (kids used their heads and a needle) they picked a balloon 1-20 and that’s the one they had to pop. The balloons were filled with, water, flour, confetti, skateboard cut-outs that had on the back what they won, etc. It was a lot of fun! 

A skateboard shaped cake and sub sandwiches. After the gifts and cake was done they had all of the kids sit in a circle so they could have an award ceremony and pictures. The birthday boy gave award & prizes out as their names were called, and they took their picture with the Birthday boy.

Prizes:

Computer made certificates, ribbons, mini trophies, skate board keychains, ramps, grab bags, etc. at the end of the award ceremony the Birthday boy tossed confetti on everyone it was great.

Mad about Mario

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This particular boy loves Nintendo, especially Mario, so for his 9th birthday party he had a Mario themed Birthday party.   

Mario desktop wallpaper on Nintendo’s website which was used to make invitations. On the front with the picture it said It’s a Mario Party and Josh is turning 9 won’t you join us and have a good time?”. On the back was a map to out place as well as all the party info. 

It was an outdoor party so for decorations there hung blue plastic tablecloths along the fence and placed cut-outs of Mario goombahs coin blocks and hills that was drawn on poster board. 

Music was downloaded from the games which was copied to CD and was played in the background. When the children arrived they were given a fake moustache. They were also given red visors with the letter M painted on it (like Mario’s hat) which was really handy since it was so sunny outside.  

After all the children had arrived they played a balloon pop game. There were also stuck gold plastic coins or pictures of goombas and other villains in balloons and inflated them. The children had so much fun popping the balloons! The children with the most coins won a little Mario toy that was bought.

The next game was Mario Party musical “chairs”. Instead of chairs they put a picture of each character on a piece of construction paper and put them on the ground in a circle. 

Next the children decorated their own Mario sun catchers. There was a piece of masking tape on the back that could write each children name on so we could tell them apart when the paint dried.   

For the cake it was covered on a sheet cake in green icing and put a Mario figurine on top. To make it look like a scene from the game then added mini marshmallows for clouds mini chocolate bars for blocks a gummy mushroom and premade cake letters that said “Joshua 009” like the score keeper on the game. 

After cake the gifts were opened and the children got to take turns playing Mario Party 5 on two of the GameCube’s or Super Mario Brothers on the NES that was set up around the house.