Parenting advice, news, opinion and life with my mini moo
Pottery painting is great fun to do with children and creates a lasting momento, whether it’s an ornament, a Christmas tree decoration or a gift for the grandparents. You can pick up sets very cheaply, at shops like The Works, or they often come attached to children’s magazines as the cover gift. These kind of... Continue Reading →
Halloween increasingly overshadows bonfire night - certainly compared to when I was a child when I don’t really recall Halloween being a particularly big deal. But with October 31 and November 5 falling in the same week, families with young children are far more likely to do a Halloween themed day out - as fireworks... Continue Reading →
Godstone Farm in Surrey is a great place for a family day out, and one of the closest children’s activity farms (apart from city farms) to London, so it is popular with families with children of all ages. It offers a chance to see, learn about and feed farm animals, from goats and sheep to... Continue Reading →
It's still only September but bookings are already filling up for seeing Santa. Last year (2021) with all the uncertainty still around COVID-19 for a second Christmas in a row, we were a little cautious about booking to see Santa somewhere expensive and then having to cancel. As our daughter was only three we felt... Continue Reading →
If you have a splash park near you then make the most of it! Children love to run around under sprinklers and get wet when it’s hot, and there are parks with dedicated areas all over the country. They tend not to have paddling pools which keeps it cleaner and arguably safer, and some are... Continue Reading →
We went to a birthday party at Monkey Bizness soft play in Southampton in late 2021 and found it offered just the right degree of challenge for my three (almost four) year-old and her just-turned-five year-old cousin, who was the birthday girl. There’s what is essentially a two storey structure but it isn’t strictly on... Continue Reading →
Going to the cinema with children may be an obvious suggestion for things you can do as a family – particularly on a cold or rainy day – but did you know there are special screenings for children and even babies? I’m going to cover both types separately, as they are very different – but... Continue Reading →
Box Hill is a well-known beauty spot with fantastic views over the South Downs – but did you know that it’s also a great place to go for a walk with children, with a dedicated ‘natural play trail’ with plenty of things to climb on, swing from and explore? I’ve lived in this area for... Continue Reading →
I was really pleased when the soft play area opened at Woodcote Green garden centre as it’s only a few minutes from where we live. Dobbies, the garden centre chain that recently added Woodcote to its portfolio, runs something called Little Seedlings, which includes soft play and a monthly children’s gardening club, and we have... Continue Reading →
We are very lucky in that recently not one but two new soft play areas have opened within a few minutes of us – and they are both smaller-scale places much more suitable for smaller children than some of the other soft play providers near us. Bounce at the Barn is an inflatables-based soft play,... Continue Reading →
