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Activities Days Out Events Places

Countryside in London

If the children are crawling up the walls and you are over your 15th visit to your local playground these holidays, take advantage of the quiet roads and head down to the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. There is so much going, we didn’t know where to begin!  Other than the occasional plane going over head, you wouldn’t know you were in The Big Smoke.

At the beginning of our visit we signed up to the Giant Egg Hunt and had to hunt the giant ducks dotted around. Each duck had a letter on it that you jotted down that made a word. Completed forms won… a chocolate. Yum, it is the Easter Holidays after all.

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There were lots of Easter related activities such as egg painting which kept even the whiniest children quiet (yes my family won that prize).

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There was also ‘build a Lego duck’ for the older children.

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Other than enjoying different types of birds that the Wetland Centre homes in their natural habitat, there was a plethora of things to do. The Pond Dipping at the Pond Safari and the interactive talk on Otters were a hit.

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The Wetlands is equipped for children of all ages and it is perfectly suited to a buggy too as the whole of the Centre has smooth paths around it.

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For the more energetic, the giant playground Explore has a zip wire, vole tunnels and a climbing wall.  There are a couple of lovely little cafes where you can buy those genius pick n mix lunch boxes.

If 2/3 of my children hadn’t jumped in a puddle that went in and over their boots in the first five minutes (there was only one puddle after the recent rainfall – and yes they found it!) we could have easily wiled away the whole day and enjoyed the extensive indoor play areas too.

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So much to do, so little time!  The good news is, it is cost effective to get a season ticket as it is redeemable against the entrance fee, so after a couple of trips it would pay for itself.

Definitely one for you if have an energetic explorer in your midst and want a refreshing change of scene…

wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london

The Giant Duck Hunt is on until 10th April.

Activities Events Places

Hoop – Events & Activities App

 

If I was given £1 for every friend who asked me if I had heard of Hoop – I would be a rich woman!  There is a huge buzz around Hoop as it is easy to navigate and packed full of event and activity ideas.  Plug in the age of your kids and your location and bingo, a informative list of events and activities suitable for YOU and your family. It is great for mums, dads, nannies and grannies!

I am very excited to hand over today’s post to Max who is the co -owner of Hoop.  He will explain what it is, how and why they started it and give you fantastic ideas of what’s on over Easter in London.  It will  give you a taster to what you will be missing if you don’t download it! Over to you Max…

There are so many great things going on in London but they are easy to miss. No one has time to browse thousands of listings and it seemed funny that in 2016 there wasn’t an app that made it easy to uncover things to do with your kids.

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We built Hoop to help families discover fun things to do, and to make it as easy as checking your email.

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On Hoop you’ll find thousands of family friendly activities happening locally and across London. Interesting exhibitions, creative workshops, local baby and toddler groups, fun shows and sing-a-long classes … whatever your family loves to do you’ll find it on Hoop.

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Hoop lists over ten thousand events and activities each month across London, a third of which are free to attend. Best of all, everything on Hoop is suited to your family so you’ll only see events and activities that are age appropriate for your children.

Here’s a small taster of some of the fun stuff you can find on Hoop taking place this Easter across London.

Easter Egg Hunts

Easter Egg Hunt at the Royal Mews.pngGetting creative at the Easter Egg Hunt at the Royal Mews

It wouldn’t be Easter without a family Easter Egg hunt, and this Easter there’s loads of Easter themed activities going on across London.

Our picks include The Great Egg Roll & Egg Hunt at Lauderdale House where you can decorate your own egg, The Easter Egg Hunt at the Royal Mews, where you’ll follow a treasure trail to find eggs hidden around the Royal Mews and an EGGcellent Easter Adventure at the Bank of England, where you’ll join the hunt for a giant golden easter egg and three little chicks.

Shows

The Magic Beanstalk.pngPuppet adventures, The Magic Beanstalk

If you’re looking for something special to do over Easter, there’s some wonderful shows taking place for kids of all ages.

The Amazing Bubble Man at Arts Depot promises to inspire awe in kids of all ages, as a world-class bubble comedian and artist hits the stage. The Little Angel Theatre is always a safe bet for a great kids show. This Easter they’ll be starting a new adventure with The Magic Beanstalk. Lastly, for more traditional family entertainment, don’t miss Zippos Circus performing a mix of acrobatics and stunts throughout Easter in Blackheath.

Interesting Workshops

Willy Wonka Cookies.pngTasty treat at Willy Wonka’s Cookie Class

Looking to inspire your kids or give them the chance to learn something new? There’s loads of incredible workshops happening this Easter for kids.

The Cartoon Museum is running a series of creative classes throughout the Easter holidays, stand out sessions include How to Create a Comic Strip and Superhero Comic Book City where you get the chance to think up your own super-hero character then write your own super-hero comic.

For something more active, as part of the Southbank Centre’s busy family holiday sessions, you can learn the basics of Skate Boarding in their beginner’s workshop, or master Circus Skills at the Albany.

Kids that interested in baking will love BKD’s Willy Wonka’s Cookie Class where you’ll get to decorate Wonka-themed cookies.

Something Different

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If you’re looking for something different, how about Disco Loco Under the Stars at the Hackney Showroom, a hipster daytime rave for families, or for something more calm a sleepover at London Zoo. Another Hoop favourite is the Comedy Club for Kids, a non-patronising, swear-free hour with the international circuit’s best stand-ups and sketch acts, especially for children.

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The app’s completely free, and you can download it in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. We’re adding new events and activities every day and we’d love to hear what you think of it. Please email us at hello@hoop.co.uk with any suggestions – we want to make it as useful as possible for families.

You can find these and stacks more fun family friendly events and activities on Hoop. We can’t wait for you to join the fun, and download Hoop.

Another alternative – is to go into your Apps and search Hoop and download it on your screen! Happy hunting.

 

Events Family Life Places

What’s On : Television For Little Ones Over Christmas

As soon as the Christmas TV line up was announced, we bought a Radio Times and sat with our highlighter and marked appropriate films over the Christmas holiday season for the little ones.  (I’m not actually exaggerating!)  Obviously we plan to play family games most of the time so this was just in case they needed some downtime in front of the television… 😉

I have included films that are showing on terrestrial (between 0700 and 1900) as there is a problem nowadays with too much choice, so easiest to keep it ‘old school…’ and some grandparents don’t have Sky!

 

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Saturday 19th December

1355 THE MUPPETS BBC1

1710 ARTHUR CHRISTMAS C4

 

Sunday 20th December

1505 TOY STORY 3 BBC1

1515 THE ADDAMS FAMILY C4

1705 PINOCCHIO C5

1800 HOME ALONE C4 (This is an absolute favourite in our house.)

1930 SOUND OF MUSIC SING ALONG ITV (My husband insisted I should include this!)

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Monday 21st December

1035 JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH C5

1210 JACK AND THE BEANSTALK C5

1350 THE BORROWERS C5

1550 SHREK 2 BBC1

 

Tuesday 22nd December

1120 THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS C5

1225 FIVE CHILDREN AND IT C4

1550 SHREK 3 BBC1

1610 THE SECRET GARDEN C5

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Wednesday 23rd December

0735 THE RUGRATS MOVIE C4

0925 SHORT CIRCUIT BBC1

 

Christmas Eve

0905 BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS BBC2

1030 SANTA CLAUSE BBC1

1230 STUART LITTLE C4

1550 FINDING NEMO BBC1

1655 SNOWMAN C4

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Christmas Day

0820 HERBIE RIDES AGAIN BBC2

0945 THE CAT IN THE HAT BBC2

1345 THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL C4

1510 THE WIZARD OF OZ C5

1510 BRAVE BBC1 (This is the Radio Times kids pick)

1645 STICK MAN BBC1

 

Boxing Day

1310 JURASSIC PARK ITV

1525 PUSS IN BOOTS BBC1

1645 THE CROODS BBC1

 

Sunday 27th December

0915 FLUSHED AWAY BBC1

1040 SUPERMAN ITV

1350 MARY POPPINS BBC1

1535 HUGO C4

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Monday 28th December

0900 BEE MOVIE BBC1

1625 MADAGASCAR BBC1

 

Tuesday 29th December

0900 SHARK TALE BBC1

1020 CARS 2 BBC1

1755 FINDING NEVERLAND BBC2

 

Wednesday 30th December

0900 THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG BBC1

1030 CHICKEN RUN BBC1

1230 WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY ITV

1555 ROOM ON THE BROOM BBC1

1620 MONTERS INC BBC1

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New Years Eve

1055 TINTIN

1450 UP BBC1

1520 HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS C4

1845 ET ITV2 (exception to the above rule)

 

New Years Day

0900 TURBO BBC1

0935 THOMAS AND FRIENDS C5

1630 WRECK IT RALPH BBC1

1800 TANGLED C4

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Right, i’m off to Sky Plus as much as I can, as nothing like having a back log of movies saved up for after school in the winter months!

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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Events Places

Somersault: Festival, North Devon

Adam Buxton’s ‘Festival Song’  always raises a wry smile as I blush and giggle my way through it – knowing that he is referring to people like me. However, not to be put off by what anyone thinks, it’s time to book my tickets, ‘stuff the chill bag with nibbles and wine’ and head to Somersault in the beautiful grounds of Castle Hill, North Devon.

Somersault is a 5 day festival from 23rd – 27th July, jam packed with lots to do for all ages.

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It is particularly a little ones paradise. There is so much to do – the beach, crafts, outdoor activities, story telling, theater workshops and circus performing.  Hartbeeps Happy House welcomes teeny ones into a world overflowing with characters, beautiful music, puppets and fabulous props. Our Lost Boys Hideaway is full to brim with adventures for your little tykes and Hattie & Flora’s art camp will be opening doors to little creative sides.  You can also hire a nanny or babysitter to take care of the little ones.

Time to dust off that old tent…

For more information www.somersaultfestival.com

Find them on https://www.facebook.com/somersaultfestival

Buy tickets here 

If you can’t make Somersault, here is a list of other festivals going on this summer.