Tag: organise

Fit for a Princess

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Make your daughter’s dreams come true by throwing her an amazing princess party! You bring the enthusiasm, and we can provide the tips, and together we can plan the party your princess has always imagined!

Before you can dive into planning a fantastic kids party, you’ll want to pick a theme. Although a princess party may seem pretty self-explanatory, there are still decisions to be made! Will this be a fancy dress party? Or maybe centred around your daughter’s favourite princess? There are lots of options to choose from! Talk to your princess to find out which theme will work the best for her.

Your next step will be to set a date. Check your calendar and try to find a date that works for the birthday girl’s friends and family. If nothing conflicts with her actual birthday, you’ve got yourself a date! If not, try to pick a day as close to your daughter’s birthday as possible and make it an extended celebration.

Finding the Castle​

Now that you’ve got a theme and date, it’s time to find a perfect venue for your party. A budget friendly option for location is to transform your home into the princess castle. If you’re looking for a change of scenery, start the search for a local venue that is large enough to accommodate all of your guests and free of commitments on your party date. Keep in mind your potential decorations when choosing your location to make sure set up will be as easy as possible.

The Royal Announcement

With the major details in place, you’re ready to announce the royal event by sending out invitations. These will get your guests excited about your theme even before the party begins! If crafting isn’t your thing, order custom invitations. Whatever your method, be sure to include the basic event info, including the date, time, and location. If you’ve decided on a fancy dress and would like the guests to arrive in their princess gowns, add this information to the invitation. Give it the royal touch by using language such as, “Princess Sofia invites you to attend her 6th birthday party” or “Join us in celebrating a royal affair…the birthday of Princess Sarah.” Send the invitations well in advance (around 3-4 weeks) to give your fellow parents time to RSVP between helping with homework and driving to soccer practice.

Decorating the Castle​

Now for the real fun, decorating your princess castle! Make a list of supplies you’ll need and start shopping early to make sure you’re able to find everything you need. From balloons and streamers to piñatas and tiaras, the decorations ​make the party. Talk to the birthday girl or take her shopping with you to find the perfect decor for your ideal princess atmosphere!

Entertaining Royalty​

Treat your guests like royalty with princess-themed activities! To really wow your guests, have your daughter’s favourite Princess attend the party. Set up a craft table or the princesses to make their very own tiaras. If your guests didn’t arrive in their own princess attire, having a dress up area with gowns and accessories is a great addition to the party! For the full princess transformation, have a royal makeover station complete with faux jewellery, makeup and, of course, glitter! To take the makeover to the next level, book a Makeup Artist or Face Painter to run the station. A favourite babysitter is another great option and budget friendly!

If your location allows, bring in the big guns with a castle bouncy house, princess carriage rides, or pony rides. You could also look for a local farm that hosts pony parties with carriages, as this will generally be a cheaper alternative. Whatever the activities, priceless memories will no doubt be made. Be sure to capture them with lots of pictures! If you’d rather not be on photo duty, book a photographer so that you can kick back and enjoy the fantastic party you’ve put together!

Party Bags

Send your guests home with princess-themed treat bags to remind them of your amazing party! Fill them with everything a princess could need, from tiaras and wands to a makeup or jewellery sets. Bring the birthday girl in on the party bag fun and have her pick out all the treats she’d love to receive at a party.

A Princess party

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When your little princess has asked for a princess party, you have only got to give them the best. The colours you may decide on could be pastel palette of pale pink, icy blue, yellow and lilac, and you could use a princess silhouette and our custom patterns throughout your whole party.

When guests arrive, they can be greeted with two princess towers made out of balloons flanking the front door. A horse-drawn carriage will be the ultimate surprise and give the children rides around the venue. These ideas will create such a magical experience for the children and your beautiful princess will love every minute of it.

Rose centrepieces can be put on tables and your guests can be invited into the “Fairy Godmother’s Dress Shop” where dress-up clothes, magic wands, jewels, crowns & tiaras, can be worn.

The princess’s table can be decorated with a striped table runner with the princess silhouette on each end, white chairs can be accessorized with colourful stars, and a centrepiece that can be magical: dense rose vases (wrapped in gold glitter paper. Milk bottles can be dressed up with glitter, and each place-setting says “make-your-own-necklace” kit on our cellophane bags with custom bows.

Guests can be treated to a delicious lunch buffet, set up in the dining room.  Decor can include a large princess silhouette cling on the mirror, large rose centrepieces in white vases.

The dessert table will steal the show!  The table can be draped in pink satin, and flanked by two oversized pink balloons with hanging tassels.  The custom fabric backdrop featured our pastel star pattern with your little princess’s name on with a glittered crown. A princess cake will take centre stage, with candy necklaces and bracelets, colourful cup cakes, cookies, and various sweets.

How to get a routine going with homework

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Getting organized, doing homework, and having gun can be difficult. With a prepared itinerary, you can manage your time well, have fun and get everything you need to done. Time management is also a useful life skill. The more you manage, the more you get done. By practicing at an early age, you are preparing for your future.

Keep track of all your homework in a day planner. Write down the homework and assignments you get from each class, including tests or exams you may have to study for. If you keep track of your homework by writing it down in one place, this will help you organize it later on. 

Begin to design a homework schedule that will generally work for you every day. Take a blank notebook and use it for homework. Each day, make a chart for homework. The chart should have 3 columns-the type of homework (maths homework, English essay, etc.), the due date, and the priority. For example, if you have a science project due tomorrow and a math test the day after, the science project would be number one in the priority column and the math test number two. 

Work your schedule around your homework. For example, every Monday you come home, eat a snack and start your homework right away, so you’ll be ready for your piano lesson later on in the evening. Every Tuesday, you might meet your friend for coffee right after school, then come home and begin your homework. Make your schedule personalized to your life and the homework you get. 

Consider making an official schedule in Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers. This will help you better keep track of your time and your homework

Get in the habit of starting your homework the day you get it, even if it’s not due for a long while. 

Make sure you choose a quiet and practical spot to complete your homework, where you’ll have everything you need and be without distractions.

Do your best work, don’t go quickly just to finish your homework.

Don’t worry if you have to try a few schedules before you find one you like.

Try to stick to the schedule once you’ve found one that works for you. You will become more consistent.

Clamping with the kids

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So what is glamping?  It is a term that means glamorous camping and has become synonymous with luxury camping – no more leaky tents or sites where you wake up with no tent because the wind is so high!  Glamping is all about having a unique experience that allows people to see things they would otherwise miss but no sacrificing comfort and amenities to do this. 

Glamping is also an eco-friendly option because many of the venues offering this type of break are made with environmentally friendly concerns foremost to the mind.  It takes a lot of resources to build and run even a small hotel but nowhere near as much to build a luxury treehouse or to convert and upgrade a caravan.

Glamping is a worldwide trend that allows people to stay somewhere unique.  Here in the UK we already have a wide range of exciting glamping spots.  One such example is the yurt at Springhill Farm campsite in East Sussex.  Complete with a double bed and inflatable furniture, the yurt is built in the style once used by Genghis Khan with a few modern touches and cooking is done in a fire pit outside.  The site is near Ashdown Forest, so perfect for a walk the next morning.

If you loved treehouses as a kid, then staying in one will be a perfect escape as an adult.  There are a number of treehouse glamping providers spread around the country and these are treehouses in the lap of luxury.  Enjoy a session in the hot tub before turning in for the night or take the whole family along in a treehouse that can house up to eight people.

Champing

Champing is perhaps the newest addition to the camping idea and involved staying in a historic church and using it as a base for a range of activities for children and sightseeing in the area.  The Churches Conservation Trust say there are currently 347 churches spread around the UK that are no longer places of worship and so are being made available for people to spend the night. 

Why is it good?

Camping, glamping and champing all offer different facilities and styles for holidaymakers but there is a hidden benefit to it all.  In a study conducted by the Institute of Education at Plymouth University, in collaboration with the Camping and Caravanning Club, it was shown that kids who spend at least one holiday each year camping outdoors do better in school than those that don’t.

The study involved asking parents across the country a series of question studying the educational, social and psychological benefits of camping to children of all ages.  The study discovered that four out of five parents thought that camping had a positive effect on school education of their children.

It also showed that 98% of parents believed their kids were more connected with nature due to their camping experience and appreciated the outdoors more while 95% thought the kids were happier.  93% thought that children learned skills that would be beneficial later in life because of their camping holidays.

Conclusion

So the evidence is clear from the study – camping is good for you and your children.  But with the range of options such as glamping in a treehouse or champing in a historic church, camping no longer needs to be something only done in the very best weather.  For people who aren’t so keen on putting up the tent in the middle of a field, there are now plenty of other options that allow all the benefits of camping with a little luxury included as well.  And after the holiday is over, the children will go back to school invigorated and filled with exciting stories to tell their teachers and friends that will continue to benefit them for some time afterwards.

Get creative this Halloween

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Lots of kids either have a craft side or simply enjoy making something, regardless of the end result and Halloween is a perfect time to go this.  There are hundreds of different craft ideas for kids around the theme ranging from simple pot decoration to more complex activities.

For the little ones, painting a pot is a good idea.  Cover a pot in some white paper the day before, stick it down and leave it to set for a blank canvas.  Then the kids can paint it orange, cut out some black eyes, nose and mouth and add a stalk and leaf in glittery paper to make a cup pumpkin lantern.  Or paint it luminous green, draw on some face features as well as a big black gash with stitches then paint the rim black.  Add a couple of metallic T-shapes on either side and you have a Frankenstein pot!  Once decorated, they can fill them with sweet to give out on the night to trick or treaters or for a party.

If you’re having a party, a Halloween decoration or ten are compulsory.  For the younger kids, you can start simple.  Buy some wooden blocks, one for each letter of Happy Halloween.  Let them paint them orange or whatever colour they want then write a letter on each in a black marker.  Either glue them together to form the word or if you are handy with a drill, drill holes through them and string them onto some thick cord.

Another decoration is a nice witches broom to hang above the fireplace but using the real broom can be a bit heavy.  Instead, take the inside of a roll of wrapping paper and get the kids to paint it black.  Wrap a few sections of yellow around it and you have the stick.  For the broom, take a piece of cloth and either stick or stick a load of threads on it then wrap it around the stick and glue it.

Costume Ideas

Going out trick or treating means that a costume is compulsory.  Some kids choose to just go with a favourite character without regard for the time of year but others want something special to Halloween.  You can buy lots of them in the shops but if you want to make something unique and spend time with the kids making it, you can create your own.

The scary spider is a simple option and all that is needed are some plain black clothes to start with.  A hoodie, trousers and black shoes are the basis for the outfit.  Take two pairs of black tights and stuff them with the content of an old pillow or some bubble wrapping.  Stitch them onto the top and tie loops at the end so that kids can move their spider legs with their arms.

Perhaps one of the easiest costume options is the Grim Reaper.  A black hooded cloak that goes all the way to the ground is all that is needed along with a white swimming cap to hide their hair.  Face paints to make their faces white and add big black eyes and a cardboard scythe finish the outfit.

For the girls, a witch is a good choice.  Pick up a witches hat from the shop and decorate as you like.  A feathered scarf is a good addition to the outfit and a coordinating top and skirt to match the hat colour is needed.  You can cut out paper or cardboard stars and other shapes to stitch onto the clothes for that witch chic.  Then some makeup or face paints will finish the look.

Children’s Party Food

With all the elements of Halloween it is easy to find food that can be transformed into something spooky or gory.  For instance, Dracula cookies are an easy quick option.  Take some chocolate chip cookies and cut them in half.  Put some red jam on one side of each then stick some white marshmallow pieces in to resemble teeth.  For the fangs, slide some slivers of almond between the marshmallows – instant vampire cookies.

For cupcake fans, the ideas are endless.  Green icing and some witches’ legs sticking out is one design while spider’s webs iced into a flat cake is another great look.  Using biscuits to make grave stones and have them sticking out of crumbly chocolate icing works well for spooky cemetery cakes while a simple iced face on a white cake makes for a ghoulishly tasty snack.

If carving a pumpkin is a bit too much for you, why not make oranges into carved lanterns instead?  Cut the top off the orange and scoop out the middle then cut out eyes, a nose and a funny mouth.  You can even add jelly inside them and leave to set before carving the face.

Top 10 UK piers

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Blackpool Central Pier

There are three piers at Blackpool and the Central Pier is often called the ‘fun’ one.  It opened in 1868 and became famous in the 1940s for the open-air dancing competitions held there.  Today it is a great spot to visit with the kids due to the various fairground rides on offer, most notably the 108-foot big wheel, visible for miles around.

Clevedon Pier, Somerset

Clevedon Pier is the only remaining Grade I listed pier in the UK and was voted Pier of the Year in 2013 by the National Pier Society.  It is just eight miles from Weston-Super-Mare in the car and was opened in 1869.  The pier was built using discarded railway track from the famous Great Western Railway Track designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.  Today it remains a landing place for steamers and is a popular tourist spot as well as for those who enjoy a spot of angling.

Brighton Marine Palace and Pier

The Brighton Pier is the only remaining intact pier in Brighton and was originally opened in 1899.  The pier offers a range of different rides and attractions to keep the kids occupied including traditional rides such as the dodgems and waltzer as well as a spooky Ghost Train.  Thrilling rides include one that throws passengers 38 metres into the air, not ideal after an ice cream!  There is also a famous fish and chip restaurant and three bars.

Southend Pier

The Southend Pier opened in 1830 but was replaced by a modern iron pier in 1889.  As well as its role as a tourist attraction, it even served the Royal Navy during World War II as a mustering point for convoys and for the navy to control the Thames estuary.  The pier was badly damaged by fire in 1976 and by the early 1980s, was facing closure.  Protests led to the Historic Buildings Committee doing the repair work needed and in recent times, more work has been done to bring it to modern standards.  The pier has a railway running its length operating every fifteen minutes and it is still used as a lifeboat station as well as having a brand-new cultural centre

Southport Pier, Merseyside

Southport Pier is the 2nd longest in the UK.  It has seen a great modernisation project in recent years that saw a shopping centre added to the traditional pier amusement.  There is also a tram service running the length of the pier and a café to enjoy the views.

Cromer Pier, Norfolk

Cromer Pier was first opened in 1822 but only lasted 24 years before it was destroyed in a storm then the wooden pier that replaced it was rammed by a coal boat in 1897.  The pier that stands today was opened in 1902 and is home to the Pavilion Theatre as well as a Lifeboat Station.

Llandudno Pier

Llandudno Pier is the longest pier in Wales and the 5th longest in the UK.  The pier has a theatre on it called the Pier Pavilion where musical performances have been held since the 1940s, when an admission fee was first charged and music was performed to compensate for this.  It is unusual for having two entrances, with the Grand Hotel standing between the two.

Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight

Ryde Pier is the oldest pier in the UK and started out as a working pier before pleasure piers were created.  An additional tramway pier was added in 1864 with first horse drawn trams then trains running the length.  Today it is a grade II listed building with many of the original buildings having been restored.

Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare

The Grand Pier dates back to the early 1900s and is over 1300 feet long.  It has been damaged by fire on two occasions, giving it the tag of the unluckiest pier in the UK with the 2008 fire completely destroying the pavilion.  It reopened after a £39 million rebuilding project in October 2010.

Gravesend Pier, Kent

Gravesend Pier was built in 1834 and saw a major restoration project in 2000 that saw it returned to its former glory.  It is the oldest intact cast iron pier in the world and is a grade II listed building.  It is currently being adapted for new use as a base for water taxis and a cross-river ferry service.

so why not visit one of these iconic structures next time you plan a family trip to a coastal town

Outdoor fun – nature’s way!

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Have a go at Kew’s Treetop Walkway

Got a child with their head in the clouds? This 60ft high walkway nestled in South West London’s Kew Gardens will burn off lots of energy. The 118 steps are worth the wait as you take in the tree tops at eye level. Endless opportunities for spotting birds, wildlife and weird and wonderful creatures await, and the kids’ mission task asks budding tree surgeons to gen up on all things wood as you go around. Adult tickets into Kew: £9 Free entry to under 16s 

Take a stroll in Ashdown Forest

A. A. Milne set his Winnie-the-Pooh stories in 100 Acre Wood – a forest inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. Head there for a day out to visit all the locations enjoyed by Pooh, Piglet and Tigger too, including the gorgeous Pooh Sticks Bridge for, of course, a family game of Pooh Sticks. Pooh Corner on the High Street in Hartfield village, sells Winnie-the-Pooh goodies for all ages

See the Northern Lights

Pull on your thermals and go in search of the Aurora Borealis, aka, the Northern Lights. The greatest light show on earth can be best seen above the Arctic Circle, which means a trip to Scandinavia, probably in minus one conditions. The lights are incredibly elusive, so if you’re planning a trip, never, ever promise your kids they will see the action! 

See the Pyramids

The breath-taking Pyramids of Giza are special. Head to Egypt when your kids are a little older, so they can cope with the heat better and marvel at the Pharaohs’ ingenuity

Make new friends at Oceanopolis

Overlooking the harbour in Brittany, Oceanopolis is bursting with aquatic life. Turtles turn tricks, penguins potter in front of your very eyes and even a shark shakes its stuff in a dedicated tank. With three different sections to visit, tropical, polar and temperate waters, this enormous aquarium is a day your kids won’t forget. Adult tickets: €19.80 Children’s tickets (3-17 years): €12.80 

Marvel at the Grand Canyon

An epic gorge which in some places is a whopping 6,000 feet deep, this is a wonder that takes some beating. Best taken in when your kids are a little older, and can manage to troop around on their own. Take a stroll, bike around and don’t miss the Skywalk – a glass-bottomed path providing breath-taking views. 

Visit Cheddar Gorge

Head underground and explore the caves at Cheddar Gorge for an unforgettable adventure. Audio guides bring Gough’s Cave to life, while the colourful, underground world of Cox’s Cave has fountains and mirror pools like you’ve never seen before. Take time to have a go at the Crystal Quest as a family to discover new corners and secrets of the underground world. Adult tickets: £18.95 Children’s tickets (5-14 years): £12.95

6 great places to take the kids

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Have a magical time at the Harry Potter Studio Tour

A must for Harry, Ron and Hermione fans, the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Hertfordshire lets wannabe wizards whizz around Diagon Alley, get their heads down in class and sit down in the iconic Great Hall of Hogwarts. The tour is full of props from the movies and behind the scene exclusives. A truly magical (sorry) day out with photo ops’ aplenty to treasure afterwards. Adult tickets: £33 Children’s tickets: £25

Meet the Crystal Palace dinosaurs

Looming out of the south London park are several cast iron dinosaurs from 1852, just hanging out and waiting to greet inquisitive guests on Dinosaur Lake. The short circular walk around the beasts shows our prehistoric friends from all angles, while info boards give just the right amount of information for dino-obsessive children. The park has a popular playground and very welcoming café for a pit-stop afterwards. 

Take a steam railway trip

Find a steam railway journey near you and head out together. You won’t be disappointed with a day chugging around the countryside. One of the best we’ve been on is the Llangollen Railway in North Wales. Worth the trek for the stunning surroundings alone, and if you’re lucky, Thomas the Tank Engine will even be around. Look out for the moment the train’s engine runs around the track to pull the carriages back in the other direction. Truly special stuff.

Visit Disneyland Paris

Make memories that will last a lifetime with a family trip to Disneyland. Meet Mickey and Minnie, swoon over the gorgeous Disney Princesses and enjoy thrills on the rides designed for all different ages and theme park thresholds. The lights, the glitter, the characters and the atmosphere will stay with your children forever. Big kids (who don’t want to admit they still really want to hang with Minnie) will love the rollercoaster rides. 

Cycle the Camel Trail

Stretching right from the village of St Breward on the edge of Bodmin Moor, to Padstow the Camel Trail is a recreational trail which follows the line of the old railway, summed up in John Betjeman’s Cornwall as ‘the most beautiful train journey I know’. The 17-mile trail is perfect for families on two wheels, so hire bikes and enjoy the flat trail. If 17 miles is a bit daunting, head for the last leg which takes in the coastline into Padstow from Wadebridge. Lock your bikes up at the end and have fish and chips on the harbour, try your hand at crabbing and then scramble over the rocks for a stroll on the beautiful beach at Hawkers Cove.

Learn at Our Dynamic Earth

Perched on the edge of Edinburgh’s epic Holyrood Park is Our Dynamic Earth, which takes visitors through our amazing planet’s past, present and future. With a focus on a sustainable future, and how we can help the planet deal with climate change and a growing population, make the trip when you have young children, and get tips for carrying on the good work at home and beyond. Adult tickets: £12.50 Children’s tickets (3-15years): £7.95.

Good homework websites

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Before looking at some of the best homework help sites, there are a few tips to remember about homework in general. The first one is to let the kids have something to eat before starting – this might just be a nutritional snack with their main meal scheduled for later, depending on the family schedule.  None of us work at our best when we are hungry.

Make sure there is a quiet place to do the homework away from distractions.  If there are pre-school kids in the house, try to keep them occupied elsewhere.  Ensure all the essentials are on hand such as pens, pencils and that there is a good workspace to use.

Set up a timetable for homework sessions so that kids know when to expect to be doing it. It might be after the evening meal for older kids or you might schedule different ‘slots’ for the different kids if they distract each other. TV is a no-no but some quiet music can help relax them.

Remember to keep in mind the current teaching techniques, rather than those you were taught when you were at school.  By telling them what you know, that can just confuse them and mean they aren’t learning what the school wants them to learn.

Best homework help sites;

BBC Bitesize

The BBC has been making high quality educational programs for generations and their education website, called Bitesize, is equally useful. There are two ways to search for help – by the subject or by the stage the kids are studying at. Once you go into the subject, there is a range of options such as KS1 Maths, 4th level Maths and even Higher Maths. By selecting the stage your child is studying, there is then a range of topics to help them, for example mathematical skills including problem solving and reasoning.

The website also has less formal content such as educational news, school newsletters and news around, a news program for kids. There are interactive games to help them with their studies and plenty of fun stuff to engage them.

BBC Cbeebies

The Cbeebies website works alongside the children’s channel and is filled with educational fun for kids. This includes homework help, interactive challenges and even stories.

Homework Elephant

Homework Elephant has some 5,000 resources available to assist kids in their various homework topics.  These are listed through the subjects they are covered by so are easy to search for a specific category.  They also offer an ‘Agony Elephant’ service where kids can ask questions to an expert on subjects including maths, English, biology and history.  Finally, there is a hints and tips section that covers how to do homework, learning tips and even helping kids cope with worries about their projects.

National Geographic Kids

National Geographic are another massive name in TV shows and their magazine so their Kids section is filled with useful resources of the highest quality.  Subjects covered includes animals, science and nature, history, places as well as games and entertainment resources.  So kids can learn about the countries of the world, the birds and animals that live there and there are fun areas to entertainment them as well as help with the homework.

Channel 4 Learning

Channel 4 Learning is aimed at seven to eleven year olds and covers three main subjects – science, history and geography.  There are plenty of interactive resources to entertain the kids as well as notes for teachers to help out.

Planning Children’s Parties

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Children’s party entertainment is something that many parents lose sleep over. Where do you find something that will keep your kids busy and engaged for the whole duration of the party, and something that they haven’t already seen before? It’s a challenge most parents would gladly forgo, so Red Masque is here to help. We have access to an eclectic mix of party games, party entertainers and a fund of children’s birthday party ideas that are new and different.

It’s quite challenging thinking up every year of something ‘special’ and different for the right reasons for your child’s/teenagers birthday this is why Red Masque hold the key to taking the stress out of trying to think of something unique.

Why not look on an entertainment directory, where you can hire only the best children’s party entertainment, for any age group, which can thrill, enthral and astound the audience; from balloon modellers to magicians, street dancers to caricaturists and even green screen photography entertainments, plus a whole series of indoor and outdoor games which include:

Indoor –

Dance Machines, 

Photo Booths, 

Table Football, 

Air Hockey and Skittles.

Bubble and Smoke machines

Karaoke

Balloon Modellers

Face Painters

Outdoor – 

Funfair Stalls, 

Giant outdoor games Connect 4, Kerplunk etc.

Giant Scalextrics.

Bouncy Castles

Fairground rides

Make sure you check out the entertainer’s policies so everything runs as smoothly as possible.  Looking on an entertainment directory, you will be spoilt for choice and it will definitely give you ‘food for thought’ there will be something for everybody’s tastes!!