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Activities Family Life Places

Belmond : A Journey On The Festive Express

On Saturday, my 5 year old Hugo and I, were invited on the Festive Express.  It was an epic train journey through the British countryside in a beautiful Belmond British Pullman train (sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express!)  Departing from Victoria, it was packed with festive fun for the little ones, organised beautifully by the ‘ultimate travel curator’ Belmond.

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We were met at Victoria by a choir singing us onto our train carriage.

The table settings were super smart and the food was absolutely top notch!

The highlight of the day was the superb entertainment from Sharky and George who jested, joked & entertained there was through the British countryside.  The highlight was the tug of war down the middle of the carriage and Grandmothers footsteps with a sweet scramble at the end.

A very exciting guest turned up on our way back into a London – Father Christmas, ladedn with a large bag of presents for each child. I couldn’t believe how generous he was before the actual big day itself!

The whole day was so fun & spoiling, we are definitely going to go again next year but maybe i’ll take my second son this time – the oldest can’t have all the fun!

belmond.co.uk

 

Activities Events Family Life Places

What’s On : Christmas For Little Ones

In October, I wrote a post What’s On : Theatre For Little Ones during the Autumn Term and thought a Christmas one was in order.  There is SO MUCH GOING ON out there (slightly makes me feel exhausted already) so these are my top picks. If you haven’t booked anything festive for your family in the run up to Christmas, hopefully these will whet your appetite…

 

Paddington Bear’s First Concert at Cadogan Hall

This looks adorable and I’m tempted to go on my tod without a child in tow. Anything Paddington and Cadogan is a winner so when the two combine it’s sure to be wow!

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Santa Land at Winter Wonderland

We go the afternoon of my birthday at the beginning of December and head straight to Santa Land. It is rather commercial but it has flashing lights and Christmas songs pelting out from every corner to really get you in the festive spirit – we love it. (We went on a Saturday once and were nearly crushed by the crowd so hopefully they have changed the lay of the land, although I won’t be risking it and will stick to whisking the kids up there after school for now!)

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Father Christmas At The Hall at Royal Albert Hall

A 1 hr 15 minute tour of the Royal Albert hall with music, mince pies, workshops and a special visit from you know who.

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After Dark Christmas Trail at Kew Gardens

We haven’t done this yet as it hasn’t worked logistically but I have heard on good authority from a few friends that say it is lovely and well worth the money. Next year when youngest is 2 we might go for it..

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Raymond Briggs Father Christmas at The Lyric

We have done this every year since our 5 year old was 1 (so the last 4 years). Yawn you might think, but no! I am a firm believer that repetition in this frenetic life is good for the soul and my oldest gets more out of it each year. As the little ones come up the ranks they are (will) start to enjoy it too. It is great for getting into the mood (although be warned this Father Christmas is a bit grumpy!)

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Festive Express Train Journey departing London Victoria

This train journey takes you on a round trip from London to Brighton and back and includes a 3 course champagne lunch, magicians, entertainment from Sharky & George for the little ones, not forgetting FC will be gracing the carriages for all the good children!

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Santa Claus and The Night Before Christmas at New Wimbledon Theatre

I haven’t seen but we love the book…

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Dick Wittington at Fulham Palace

We went to The Wizard of Oz here and it was wonderfully interactive as you are sat on the same level as the cast. I have no doubt this production by the same company will be just as good.

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Activities Events People Spotlight

George Whitefield : Sharky & George – Autumn Activity Tips

Sharky & George are the go to children’s party organisers for those in the know.  They have a simple aim – to find the fun in everything. Their jaw-dropping children’s parties are all about getting everyone involved in active, imaginative, energetic games, races, competitions, adventures and missions – always involving a certain amount of mischief!

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Charlie (Sharky) and George did their very first party in their last year (2001) at school for their House Master’s daughter’s 6th birthday.  They continued doing parties for nieces, nephews, cousins and their friends for a few years and it was “getting a bit tricky to sneak out of our office jobs every five minutes to talk to mothers about balloons, water bombs and party bags whilst pretending to be all serious in our suits and ties!”  They officially gave up their serious jobs to run S&G full time in September 2007. _I4Z7690

Over the last 10 years they have created thousands of children’s parties throughout London and the South East, in Bristol and as far afield as Italy and Switzerland.

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They do a wide range of themed parties, from the weird to the wonderful and everything in between.  They are also happy to discuss bespoke requirements.  I love the look of their Survival Parties – perfect for boisterous & active little ones!

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George’s tips on how to entertain children as Autumn draws near:

  • Get outside and enjoy all the colours and leaves.
  • Build a den out of leaves and have a leaf battle.
  • Nothing beats a proper conker championships, make a score board and get competitive.
  • Use Andy Goldsworthy as inspiration for an awesome piece of colourful leaf art.
  • Leaf rubbing, put interesting leaves under a sheet of paper and use wax crayons to colour over the top to make awesome leaf patterns.
  • As it get’s dark earlier, it’s the perfect opportunity to play night games before bedtime, enemy spotlight (see how to play below) and glow stick 40:40 are brilliant.
  • Cooking, although messy, pizza, scone and cupcake making is so easy and so much fun, it’s worth the tidy up.
  • Building mini houses and villages.  So much stuff falls off trees at this time of year, it’s perfect for creating mini worlds in the garden, these can be for real toy people or for fairies/goblins if you’d rather.

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Their book ‘Don’t You Dare’ includes ‘Enemy Spotlight’ and has lots of games that don’t require expensive props or hours of preparation.  Good to have in the back pocket over the holidays!

George’s Favourite’s

Shop : Cranch’s Sweetshop, Salcombe

Website : www.vat19.com ‘Curiously awesome gifts’

Restaurant : The Shed, Notting Hill Gate

Hotel : Soneva Fushi, Maldives

Holiday destination : North Cornwall coast

Parenting tip…

“Play, play and keep playing!  Take play seriously, it’s the most important thing in the world for all ages, play is definitely the best way for children to learn and almost more importantly it’s key for adults to play more”

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Where can you go and see Sharky & George in action?

Sharky & George is joint hosting the VitalityWest Fun Run with Savills on 15th November. They will be warming up the crowd before zipping around the one-mile fun run course flying rocket balloons and blowing bubbles to spur on the runners. They’ll also put on loads of fun and games while the grown-ups finish the 10k slog. Sign up for the event here and enter the code WESTRUN20 to get an exclusive 20% discount.

Sharky & George have also joined forces with Belmond who have created a Festive Express train journey through the country side in December, with 3 course lunch and children’s entertainment from Sharky & George. We are going on it and cannot wait – it is set to be spectacular! I will keep you posted.

They have are also offering a new Mannying service called P.I.C (Partner In Crime), taking children aged 4 plus out for the day, including activities like skateboarding lessons, chocolate making, stadium tours & learning dance routines. I can’t wait to try this in the holidays. Bring on P.I.C!

www.sharkyandgeorge.com

 

 

Activities Days Out Events Family Life Food Places

Kids Club at GOAT : Chelsea

We call ourselves the ‘restaurant clearers’. Usually before we have even started our main course, we look around and realise that other tables are empty – not through finishing their meal but because they have MOVED to a quieter spot.  Not on Sunday though. We went to try out the Kids Club on Sunday at the GOAT in Chelsea and it was fantastic.

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Not one to brag about my children (5ys, 3ys and 1yr), let alone their behaviour, I must say they were very well behaved.  It obviously helped that they were only at the table to eat their lunch, but still – it was a joy. In between courses, the older two, instead of bribing them with a pack of colouring pencils and drawing sheet – were amused AWAY from the table at what can only be described as similar to a full on kids party.

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Our usual motto with necessary things like feeding in public is ‘quick games a good game’ but we spent two hours whiling away lunchtime with red wine and adult conversation knowing our children were not only being entertained (in a different room) but they were loving every moment.

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GOAT has cottoned on to the need that in order for parents to enjoy their lunch, it really helps if the little ones are amused. Every Sunday between 12-3, Mr Froggle is downstairs with games, magic and dancing and your children can come and go between courses. Each week there is a different theme so you could make it a regular Sunday tradition!  The children’s menu is more sophisticated than the usual pizza pasta on offer and out eldest had calamari, followed by Mac and cheese, rounded off with a pistachio brownie and ice cream. (Ok, I actually I finished it as he was slightly too eager to get back downstairs!)

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The restaurant was filled with children and high chairs but not in a headache inducing way. The staff were welcoming and accommodated our request for an extra high chair, a place to put our buggy and some straws!

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GOAT

GOAT on a Sunday is a perfect place to meet friends with other children and judging by how busy it was, book a table pronto as this restaurant is set to be very busy in the lead up to Christmas with families combining eating and children. They have totally nailed a relaxing and fun environment, all very reasonably priced. Bravo!

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goatchelsea.com

Activities Events Family Life Places

What’s On : Theatre For Little Ones

Below is a shortlist of a few shows that I have my eye on in the lead up to Christmas (I apologize for using the C word in September…)  Now to decide which ones to go to!

 

Goldilocks and The Three Bears 27th October – 31st October Lyric Hammersmith

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The Three Pigs and The Wolf 24th – 30th October The Puppet Barge

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The Tiger Who came To Tea 25th November 11am Lyric Hammersmith

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The Snowman 25th November – 3rd January   The Peacock Theatre, Holborn

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Elf, The Musical 26th October – 2nd January The Dominion Theatre

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Stickman 7th November – 3rd January Leicester Square Theatre

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Wow Said The Owl 2nd December – January 31st  Little Angel Theatre

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Activities Places

100 Boredom Busting Ideas

My eyes usually glaze over when I hear about homemade craft activities and ideas to do at home, mostly because I think I will never get round to it. However, this post has truly inspired me and I have bookmarked it for when we are wondering what to do. Which is often!

https://familydaystriedandtestedblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/60-half-term-boredem-busting-ideas/

Activities Days Out Places

Putt In The Park: Keeping Daddy Happy

How many activities can you think of that keep the whole family happy? I think I have found one!

Putt In The Park is a stunning, spacious and fun Pitch and Putt located by the river in Wandsworth Park, London.

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There was a cafe for the baby and I (the coffee was rather good, unlike most ‘ditch water’ serving park cafe’s), junior sized clubs for the young ones and water, tunnels and bridges for the toddler (he basically treated it like an outdoor soft play) Above all, it is under the umbrella of GOLF so easily sold to your other half as a viable weekend activity…

The Cafe

The Cafe

It has been such a success, they are shortly opening a sister Putt In The Park in Battersea Park – with an outdoor pizza oven!

No booking is necessary, it is very reasonably priced and there is plenty of parking. It’s a punchy call – but the playground next to it has to be one of the best I have visited. All in all, a fantastic activity for the whole family.

www.puttinthepark.com

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Activities Places

The Puppet Barge

I highly recommend a visit to The Puppet Barge on Regent’s Canal, near Little Venice. It is a quaint barge permanently situated on the river that delivers traditional tales to all ages using puppets on a little stage.  We went to see Town Mouse and Country Mouse which was charming.

Little Venice

Little Venice

The staff are so welcoming and accommodated our antsy 2 year old ducking and diving through the boat (I wouldn’t recommend taking one so young – the age guide is there for a reason).

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There is plentiful parking next door to the barge, and if you are a bit peckish afterwards, head over the bridge to the Waterside Cafe

Book now for Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, suitable for 3 and over on in April and May.

www.puppetbarge.com

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