Category: Kids

Themed Parties

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Themed children’s parties are a fantastic way to celebrate a special occasion, especially if your little one is particularly obsessed with a certain character, film, or has a favourite hobby or interest. As children’s interests are usually as equally popular with their friends and classmates, hosting a themed party for kids is usually a great way to get guests enjoying themselves. We’ve come up with some suggestions for creating a themed party.

Invites and Fancy Dress

Asking guests to come in fancy dress is a great idea for a themed party. If your child wants to be the only one dressed as their favourite character, specifying this on the invites is a must! Do so in a polite way rather than appearing to demand that no one else dresses the same. A great way to do so would be to refer to your child as their character choice, like so: ‘Spiderman (Joe) would be delighted if you could join him for his superheroes party…’

Decorations

Decorations complete a themed party, so make extra effort here. Why not get the whole family involved and make your own decorations? It’s a great way to save money, and spend some quality time together, and may even make good use of your child’s excited pre-party energy!

Make banners and signs that include favourite characters and use a colour scheme that relates to your theme. Football fanatics will love it if their team colours form the basis of the party’s decoration, and those interested in all things aquatic will think that a room decorated in blues and greens with plenty of drawings of fish and sea creatures is wonderful.

Games

Rather than coming up with completely new games, organise common party games that children love, with a twist. Change the names of the games, or alter the rules slightly so that they incorporate the theme. For instance, if hosting a science party, play ‘pass the thermal reactor’ instead of ‘pass the parcel’ and have a science related prize.

You could even describe musical statues differently. Explain that there is no gravity when the music plays so you have to dance like astronaut, and that once it stops, the gravitational pull is so strong that no one can move!

Entertainment!

Entertainment can really be the cherry-on-top to a themed party, especially if the entertainer arrives in fancy dress or has some brilliant ways to amuse the guests! Have a look at our directory of children’s entertainers which will help you out a little so you can put your feet up and enjoy!!

Family days out for £25 or Free

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Boscombe Coastal Activity Park – Bournemouth, Dorset FREE

 

Stroll down Boscombe Beach and you will be able to enjoy a whole host of coastal activities including free swing ball, table tennis, bouldering and don’t forget to check out the music trail on the pier!9. 

 

Wellsfield Farm Park, Falkirk

Family: £22, Adult: £5.00, Child (under 16): £6.50

 

This family run farm park has plenty to keep the little ones happy.  There’s acres of green space to explore, trails to follow, an adventure play area and so much more. Race around the go-kart track, have a ride on a pony, go pond dipping or try your luck at panning for gold! If you want something a bit more active there’s a climbing wall, agility poles, monkey bars, scramble net, balance beams and a zip wire. 

 

Hoar Park Farm, Nuneaton

Family: £11, Adult: £3, Child: £2.50, Under 2: Free

 

At Hoar Park farm you can meet a whole bunch of different animals such as goats, chickens, geese, ponies, donkeys, pigs, deer, cows, guinea pigs, rabbits and even a tarantula called Rosie, who you can touch! There’s also a playground where your little ones can run around and keep themselves busy for an hour or two.  

 

Ludlow Castle, Shropshire

Family: £13.50, Adult: £5, Child: £2.50, Under 6: Free

 

Explore this medieval ruin and your little ones can play at being princes and princesses for the day! They often have loads of special events on from kids workshops to food festivals and on Monday the 29th of August they’ve got a family entertainment spectacular taking place. Watch the knights battle for the Heritage Cup, listen to the Jester’s jokes and listen to exciting talks about medieval weaponry. Please note that prices are higher for this event – £20 for a family ticket.

 

Alice Holt Forest, Surrey

FREE ENTRY (Parking Charges Apply)

 

For a day of exploration and fun outdoors kids activities take the family to Alice Holt Forest where you can walk, cycle, play or have a picnic. The kids can discover the play area where there’s a pirate ship to climb and explore, a nest swing and even a 3D maze! Entrance is free for all the only cost is parking, which starts at £1.80 for 1 hour, up to £8 for 4+ hours.

 

Exploring Bristol with older kids

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There’s plenty to keep young kids occupied in Bristol, from At-Bristol to SS Great Britain, but what did we do with a teen and a tween in tow?

Cabot tower

Built in the 1890s to commemorate the journey of John Cabot from Bristol to Canada the tower is free to visit. There’s a 360 degree panoramic view from the top although getting there may involve a squeeze. The spiral stairs are pretty narrow and things get interesting when you meet someone coming the opposite direction!

Giant’s cave, Clifton Observatory

Clifton Observatory is home to two attractions, a Camera Obscura and Giant’s Cave.  There is a touch of make believe about the tale, the steps lead out onto a platform with an impressive view of the gorge and bridge. 

 

Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol

On the far side there’s a small visitor centre. Kids can play with a weighing machine that tells you how many of yourself can stand on the bridge without it collapsing. Quite a few fortunately!

 

Banksy art, Bristol

But there’s a lot more to Bristol than Banksy. Starting from City Hall and going through the city centre to Stokes Croft you can learn about the techniques used, artist backgrounds and the meaning behind some of the pieces.

 

Bristol street art

Depending on your point of view, our final destination, Stokes Croft, is either full of drug dens and brothels, bohemian and edgy or gentrified and expensive to live in. Whatever your thoughts there’s definitely lots of street art to see.

St Nicholas Market

Leaving street art tour head back to the city centre via the indoor St Nicholas Market. The market has the usual clothing and knick-knack stalls but what sets it apart are the food outlets. With options from all over the world it wouldn’t look out of place in Borough Market. 

 

Toddler parties on a budget

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Let us help you find budget-friendly alternatives to an over the top toddler birthday party..

1. Sensory Party
If your tiny guests are in the early stages of exploring, consider throwing a fun children’s party centered around helping them explore. Find large, shallow clear boxes at your local diy shop. Fill them with different textures and colours, such as shaving cream, sand, water, marbles. Anything you can think of. Place them in an area that will be easy to clean, hand out plastic art jackets and let them go to town.

2. Princess and Superhero Parties
There is no doubt that you have glass slippers or capes haunting your dreams right now. That is one of the many perks of toddler parenting. Even though you’re well aware that they may not remember their early years, you still want to make their birthday special. Cut your budget by making your own crafts!

3. Dance
Toddlers love to dance and parents love to watch. Hire a Children’s Musician for a birthday celebration that will keep a smile on everyone’s face! Since it’s a Dance Party and the centre of the party is music, you don’t really need a theme. Go to your local party shop, grab some brightly-coloured party supplies and arrange them on a white table cloth to bring it all together. Give your cake a musical theme and congratulations, This party is a success!

4. Circus Party
Even without elephants or acrobats, you can still bring the circus to your garden! Think small-scale entertainment and keep decorations simple with a red, white, and yellow theme. Frost your cupcakes with red and white icing and arrange them into coordinating stripes, then top them off with tiny yellow flags made from toothpicks and card stock. Create your own Puppet Show stage using cardboard boxes and paint. There will be so much to do that toddlers can run free and have a good time! Hire a Face Painter or a friendly Clown.

No matter what your budget is, it is always possible to have an extra special fun party. With a little hard work and some creativity, use your budget savvy to make the best party of the year and still have enough leftover to treat yourself. You’ll need it! Make your kid’s birthday one you will all remember and include some birthday traditions.

Imaginative days out in the summer

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Oxygen Free Jumping, Various Locations

Kids will be jumping for joy after a visit to this brilliant indoor trampoline park! They’ll get to bounce sky high in open jump sessions and burn off lots of excess energy.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

Come and learn all about the Royal Navy as it is today and get an insight into what the future holds! Step on board historic ships such as HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860. You won’t want to miss the new‐look Mary Rose museum, which gives insight into Tudor life!

KidZania, Shepherd’s Bush, London
Kids can let their imaginations run wild at KidZania as they test the out real jobs in this mini city, such as being a pilot, firefighter, radio presenter, banker, police officer and many more! After all that work they can use their hard earned ‘KidZos’ to buy themselves some treats!

Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, Warminster

There is so much to see and do at this amazing safari and adventure park! Take a ride on the wild side with their Safari Drive, as well as walk with penguins, visit the meerkats and hop on a cruise to see the gorillas on Gorilla Island. You’ll be given the chance to feed some Rainbow Lorikeets, deer and even giraffes

AirSpace Trampoline Park, Glasgow/ Wolverhampton

Spend a session bouncing, flipping and jumping at Air Space! This brand new attraction has over 100 interconnected trampolines all waiting for you to spring about on. As well as freestyle sessions you can join in with games such as dodgeball, football and basketball – just bouncier

GoApe! Various Locations

Swing, zip, balance and jump your way through the trees on the Tree Top Adventure courses, suspended high above the forest floor. Younger adventurers will love Tree Top Junior, a lower and easier version and great children’s entertainment for a fun day out.

A Circus Party

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Roll up, Roll up, you are invited to a Circus party!!!

INVITATIONS;
Use white card and envelopes. Use 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.

DECORATIONS;
Keep decorations simple. Use red/white crepe paper to make a canopy (big top) . Hang paper clown faces from the ceiling. Bright tableware can be placed around the cakes. A lion cake and a clown cake for example.

GAMES;
Put felt tips, glitter, glue etc. around and lots of coloured card paper so kids can make their own circus/clown pictures.

A must would be to have a ‘face painter’ which can paint each kid’s face, take a picture and print each one off before the party ends and stick it in onto their party bags.

Another children’s party game could be throwing darts at different coloured balloons. Whatever colour they pop, they get to pick from that “colour” toy pile. Each toy in different coloured bags so the kids know which one they will win from.

Then an elephant game where the kids 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 children’s birthday party is complete without party bags so fill them up with sweets, colouring pens, and candy floss bags.

Monsters Inc Party ideas

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Does your child love Monsters Inc? Why not have a fun party based on Mike Wysocki!!

INVITATIONS:
Invitations can be bought as there are lots of shops from the Monsters Inc film, but invitations can be downloaded from the internet of ‘Mike Wysocki’ and stick them onto card. The invitations could say ‘You’re invited to a party for Sam’s 5th birthday’ it also has to have important information like: Date, Time, Place and RSVP info.

DECORATIONS:
You could put a sign outside your front door with a Monster’s Inc poster saying ‘Welcome to the Monster Party’ Inside you can have your table decorated with Monster Inc tablecloth, plates and cups. To add a bit of personalisation you could have a seating plan with guests names and everyone has the surname Wysocki, or their favourite character from the film. And don’t forget the green balloons!!

PARTY BAGS:
Since Mike is the comedian of Monsters Inc. buy joke books to fill the bags. Also bubbles for younger brothers and sisters at the party. To the books & the bubbles, tie suckers and a tag that says thank you for coming to my MONSTER of a party with a Mike clipart. Use round suckers and glue a lime green circle & big wiggly eye to them to look like Mike.

FOOD:
Simple and easy party food for kids, like pizzas, popcorn, jelly and sandwiches, put a little green food dye on to make them more monstrous!! For dessert, served choc chip ice cream with a Mike cake. Use plain lime green plates, napkins, cups, etc. Great fun for all the kids.

Movie star Birthday Party ideas

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This party are for girls (or boys) that would just love to be in the movies, a great children’s party theme…

INVITATIONS:
For the invitation, buy some really good stationery, and cut it into a star shape. Then, punch holes in it about every inch or so and thread gold or silver ribbon through the holes. Then in calligraphy write “you are cordially invited to spend (date) at the Oscars. Please arrive at (address) at approximately (time). To make your final reservation, please reply to the home of (child’s name) at (number).

ACTIVITIES:
The main activity of the children’s birthday party is to ‘make the movie’, but before that, get all the actresses ‘ready’ by sending them to the ‘spa’. You could have a different room in the house for different spa treats to do, one could be in the birthday girl’s bedroom and the spare room, could be home too the nail and hair salon.

Your Birthday girl’s bedroom could be a dressing room, where there could be all kinds of dress up clothes that the girls could choose from. After all the girls finished at the spa, make the movie.

Before the party, write a simple script based on a movie, “the Princess Diaries”, where a normal teenage girl finds out she is a princess. Hand out these scripts, and each girl will be giving a part and five minutes to look it over quickly. Then you can film it. Afterwards, show it to the girls on video and they will be really proud of their acting skills.

Then, you can hand out the Oscars. Cut trophies out beforehand of cardboard and paint them with each girl’s name on it. For the ceremony, you can have categories. Some of the categories were best script remembered, funniest costume, etc. Call each girl up individually to receive her award. Then nobody gets left out.

FOOD:
Have table settings that make it look like a posh restaurant. For each girl’s plate, a typed name card, a folded cloth napkin with a napkin ring, and real silverware instead of plastic.

PARTY BAGS
When the girls were watching a movie, make copies of the video you made. Give these out to the guests along with a bottle of nail polish.

Clapping games

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Clapping games have been a popular form of children’s parties for generations. Musical elements, such as melody, rhythm, meter and timbre, abound in children’s play. In some cases, these help to regulate the game but are secondary to its overall goal, such as the rhythmic chanting of counting out, or the song accompanying ball-bouncing or skipping.

In other cases, though, a musical performance is the aim of the game, such as a song and dance routine, or a hand-clapping game. It is this very performance aspect, with its accompanying physical, musical and verbal challenges, which makes such games appealing, and it seems that their popularity has been increasing from the mid-20th century on.

Clapping games are often played in pairs, although formations involving more players also take place. They are generally done on the spot, have a well-defined beginning and end, and emphasise rhythm, beat and coordination. The performers are very focused on their partners, striving to synchronise their movements with each other and with the song that accompanies the game.

‘A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea’ also illustrates the multimodal nature of clapping games, and the many ways in which they combine, for example, words, music, gesture, touch, and gaze.

In the UK ‘A Sailor Went to Sea’ is often one of the first games to be learnt. It can be clapped very simply using a ‘pat-a-cake’ style of clapping in which the thrice-repeated ‘sea, sea, sea’ coincides with three upright-handed claps with a partner (as in a ‘High 10’ gesture). Having mastered this, the challenge can be extended by replacing the patting with a gesture in which the hand taps three times against the player’s own forehead (in the manner of a salute).

So much to do in Bristol

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Home of Wallace and Gromit, hot air balloon fiestas and the place where Ribena was supposedly invented, Bristol is one of the UK’s most-loved cities. Named the best place to live in the UK in 2017, it’s award-winning mix of culture, community spirit and redevelopment means there’s plenty to discover, even for the smallest of explorers.

M Shed
Bristol’s newer museum focuses on the history of Bristol. Kids will enjoy the interactive displays at M Shed, especially the vintage bus. Another place with a great cafe, but also right next to the many cafes at Wapping Wharf.

Brandon Hill Park
If you are around the Park Street or Clifton areas then it’s well worth a visit to Brandon Hill Park. There is a playground at the bottom of the hill and Cabot Tower at the top. For those with a head for heights, there are great views across Bristol from the top of the tower and fun to be had counting the many winding steps. It’s a great spot for a picnic or an ice-cream (a van can normally found there).

Clifton Suspension Bridge
Finally, a trip to walk across Brunel’s famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and take in the views is surely an essential part of Bristol. There is a playground and plenty of green spaces nearby to burn off some energy before visiting one of the many cafes in Clifton Village.

Bristol Aquarium
On one of Bristol’s many rainy days, Bristol Aquarium is a great destination for all the family. Children will enjoy spotting the fish they know such as Nemo (clown fish) as well as learning about new ones and conservation. Keep a look out for the giant octopus!

We the Curious
We The Curious is a fantastic fun day out filled with numerous science exhibits that will have those curious kids asking all sorts of questions. Fortunately, the Science Team are there to help. It also has the UK’s only 3D planetarium, which toddlers will love!

SS Great Britain
Our kids love exploring below deck on the various levels and seeing the displays of how the passengers lived on the ship. And if it is a sunny day there is nowhere better to enjoy it than up on the deck, which also has some great views across to Clifton. The tickets also allow unlimited visits for a year, so it can work out as great value if you live locally!

Ferry Ride
Little ones will really enjoy a tour of the harbour on one of the ferry boats, thanks to Bristol Ferry Boat Co. What better way to see the sights? You may even see an otter!

The Matthew
Keeping with the nautical theme (well it is Bristol after all), children of all ages will love channelling their inner sailor/pirate with a trip on the historic ship, The Matthew.

Bristol Museum
The dinosaurs & taxidermy animal exhibits at Bristol Museum never fail to amaze kids, whilst there is a small soft play/learning area on the ground floor for the littlest ones. There is also a brilliant cafe and regularly changing exhibits.