National Trust’s work, land and properties

The National Trust (NT) is Europe’s largest conservation charity whose ethos is to protect and care for places so that people and nature can thrive. The charity is responsible for the care of over 780 miles of coastline, more than 250,000 hectares of land, in excess of 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, and almost a million works of art spanning the length and breadth of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (there is a separate and independent National Trust for Scotland). A National Trust membership provides access to all of these treasures.

Exploring your local area and beyond

As soon as we became members, we discovered just how many interesting places there are to explore in our local area. Many of the venues also have great natural play areas. Over the years, it has really helped with planning easy days out. As we are members these days are free as our entry and parking are both covered. Often we head to some of our favourite places such as Claremont, Polesden Lacey, Morden Hall Park or Box Hill. We regularly head further afield, and when we visit friends and family in different parts of the country we explore National Trust venues near them.

The National Trust was a godsend during lockdown. Whilst houses and cafes were shut, the NT provided free local access to parks, gardens, countryside and other outdoor sites for everyone.  

The benefits of National Trust membership

• Free entry to more than 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens
• Free parking at most National Trust car parks
• National Trust Handbook, which provides lots of information about all the places the NT looks after
• You receive the National Trust Magazine three times a year, which has loads of inspiration for family days out
• You’ll make your money back really quickly

The National Trust always has extra activities at Christmas, Easter, half-term and during the summer holidays. These range from outdoor family trails and nature-inspired activities to indoor arts and crafts, so there’s something for all weathers. There’s also the ongoing 50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4. Whilst these activities aren’t restricted to members, as a member you hear about what’s happening first. Similarly, the Trust holds lots of events throughout the year.

The cost of National Trust membership

I find the National Trust membership really good value. To put the following costs into perspective, Attingham Park, Cliveden and Dunham Massey – the Trust’s three most visited venues in the 2021–2022 season – cost £37.50, £42.50 and £36.25 respectively for a family ticket for a one time visit.

Family National Trust membership

A membership for a family of two adults (aged 18+) living at the same address and their children or grandchildren (17 or under) costs £146.40 a year or £12.20 a month.

A membership for one adult and their children or grandchildren is £91.20 a year or £7.60 a month.

Joint or Individual National Trust membership

Children under five are free so in this case, you only need to get a joint or single membership; a joint being £139.20 a year (£11.60 a month) and an individual £84.00 a year (£7.00 a month).

You’re not penalised for paying monthly, so this is a great option for spreading the cost.

Further membership details can be found here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/membership

Currently, if you pay for a new joint, family, individual or young person membership by annual Direct Debit online you get a £15 National Trust gift card. This can be spent in any National Trust shop or café.

There’s also the option to buy membership as a gift. This would make an excellent Christmas present for someone. You could even put it on your own Christmas list (if you’ve been good!).

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For more details about the National Trust go to: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

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Entertaining the kids this half term

Bowling

Hollywood bowl is laying on lots of activities and prizes this February half term. Early birds bowling before 10am can get a 25% discount. Just enter the code ‘FEB2025’ at checkout.

Tenpin is offering two games of bowling and a burger meal for £8.70 for Juniors and £11.20 for Adults. This is available Monday to Friday until 5pm over the February half term.

Paintball

If booked via Groupon (link here) you can get a paintball experience for up to five at Paintball Network for £5. That includes 100 balls and light lunch each. For £10 and £15 you can get the same for up to 10 and 15 people. That’s a whopping 96% discount!

There are loads of venues throughout the country; players must be 10 or above.

Cinema

Vue – Children aged 2-12yrs can get cinema tickets from £2.49 every morning during the school holidays (accompanying adults also only pay £2.49 plus 75p booking fee). Vue’s Mini Mornings screen the best kids films and family films at lots of locations in the UK. Don’t forget, you can also pay using Nectar points

Odeon also has a great offer on during school holiday mornings. Adult and kids’ tickets at participating cinemas are £2.50 each for selected movies (there’s a 75p online booking charge per ticket). Showings vary between cinemas. See Odeon’s website for full listings

Golf

Topgolf is running its Eat, Drink, Play deal this February half term between the 17th and 20th (from 11-1pm and from 4-6pm) at its nationwide locations. Visitors get a meal, drink and two games for just £11 for juniors and £17 for adults.

Big attractions nationwide

Daysoutguide.co.uk in association with National Rail offers 2FOR1 on 100s of attractions nationwide including: LEGOLAND, London Dungeons, Thorpe Park, Liverpool Cathedral, London Zoo, Cadbury World, SEA LIFE Centres, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures.

Go to: https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ for more details

National Trust

As always, I thoroughly recommend getting a National Trust membership. After the initial outlay of £126 for a family membership for a year (or £10.50 a month) you get access to 100s of great places countrywide all year round. It really is great value for money.

Kids eat free/£1 deals this half term

Plenty of high street favourites are offering kids eat free deals this February half term. Head to Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Yo Sushi!, Brewers Fayre or La Tasca to bag a freebie meal this half term. You can even combine your weekly shop with a free meal for the kids at Morrisons. Carluccio’s, Toby Carvery and Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery  are offering £1 meals for children.

Something a bit posher or different?

Galvin, a family–run collection of restaurants founded by Michelin star brothers, is offering free meals for children 14th February- 22nd February.

If Vietnamese street food is your thing then get over to Pho for another freebie for the kids. For free Brazilian fare get over to Cabana.

Londoners can get childrens’ meals for free at Le Pont de la Tour right by Tower Bridge.

Even Gordon Ramsay is getting in on the act. Go to his restaurants from February 17th and children eat for free from the Tilly’s Treats menu.

Travel

National Express is offering half-priced children’s fares on its coaches this February half term. Just enter your travel details in its journey planner and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. Get exploring!

Southeastern trains have Kids for a Quid all year round. If you buy one valid off-peak adult ticket on the operator’s services you can take up to four children for £1 each. Tickets need to be booked online or at the ticket office (not available from machines). Check terms and conditions before travelling.

Kids travel for £2 each on Southern if accompanied by a full-paying adult off-peak. Again check the terms and conditions first.

Lots of other train operators offer similar discounts so check online and bag yourself a bargain.

Happy half term!

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However, I’m all for them keeping their brains ticking over and learning during the holidays.

I’ve developed an idea that came from my daughters’ infant school: Summer Holiday Challenges. These are just simple ideas for things to do, which stimulate, encourage creativity, teach a new skill or provide an experience. I’d say they’re suitable for ages 6-11.

Here are our Summer Holiday Challenges…

Go for a walk in the woods

Get back to nature, go on walks, identify flora and fauna (you could even get an i-SPY book on wild flowers and see how many you can spot). We’re huge fans of the National Trust. Visits to NT venues always stimulate a lot of discussion and they usually have a lot of activities on during the school holidays. However, local woods will do just fine.

Go for a journey on public transport      

We walk or go by car for most journeys so a trip on public transport can be a bit of a novelty. Get children to check timetables, help plan the journey, purchase the tickets and then check the progress of the journey on maps. Keep the tickets to include in a scrap book or journal of the summer holidays. Check out Zip Oyster Cards, which provide free or heavily discounted London travel for children 5-10 & 11-15.

Sew some salad or vegetable seeds to harvest in autumn   

Buy some seeds that are suitable for planting in the summer months and – crucially – are easy to grow. Let your children prepare the ground, sew them, label them and care for them. They’ll enjoy harvesting them, and are usually more open to eating/trying things they’ve grown themselves.

Visit a museum

There are so many free museums to visit. They might not all be on the scale of the British Museum, but you’re bound to find something that’s of interest and they usually have activities specifically for children.

Do something to help nature

Planting some wild flowers for bees, helping with recycling, feeding garden birds and picking up litter are just a few ideas.  

Create an instrument with household items

From matchbox or cereal box guitars to homemade drums, maracas and even carrot recorders; anything that makes a noise is usually a winner.

Join the summer reading challenge at your local library

I always encourage reading over the summer holidays. For the past eight years, we’ve done the Summer Reading Challenge at our local library, which is organised by the Reading Agency. It doesn’t have to be just ‘reading books’, it can be information books, comic books or even a joke book!

https://www.theparentsocial.com/the-summer-reading-challenge-2022-gadgeteers/ 

Make a pavement chalk masterpiece

Get the chalks out and get creative. Perhaps take inspiration from Bert’s drawings in Mary Poppins! It’ll all wash away when it next rains so take a photo of your art.

Join the Big Butterfly count

This takes place between Friday 14th July and Sunday 6th August, 2023. You can download the identification chart and find out more details at https://www.bigbutterflycount.org/ Simply count and identify butterflies for 15 minutes during bright weather at a park, your garden, fields, forests or anywhere else butterflies hang out. You can take part multiple times. Not only is it a nice activity, but your data helps assess the health of our environment.

Build a den

Who doesn’t enjoy building a den? If the weather is rubbish, build a fortress inside. If the weather is good, get outside and use nature to build your den. Den building is one of the National Trust’s 50 things to do before you’re 11¾ and they have some good tips: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/50-things-to-do  

Press some flowers or leaves

Find some flowers and leaves to press (make sure they’re flowers you are allowed to pick). You don’t have to buy a flower press; a very heavy book will work fine. Just place the leaves and flowers between two pieces of kitchen towel before putting them inside the book. Patience is required as it’ll take at least two weeks for them to be properly pressed. The pressings can be used to make cards, bookmarks, art or to decorate something.      

Organise a family games night

Dust off the board games, find the matching pairs set, get Kerplunk and Hungry Hippos out and even improvise with homemade targets/target golf. It doesn’t have to be a three-hour game of Monopoly; it can be a host of simpler games/games for younger children played in quick succession.

Write a letter or a postcard to someone

In this digital era people are putting pen to paper less often. It’s always lovely to receive some ‘nice’ post so get scribbling. Just ask someone how they’re doing, tell them what you’ve been up to; they’ll really appreciate it.

Try a new food

Get them to be adventurous and try a new food or dish. If you’re on holiday in another country, it’s a great opportunity for kids to try something different. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like it, just encourage them to give it a go!  

Try a free maths app

Find a maths app together that they can play. A few you could try include: DoodleMaths, King of Maths and Pet Bingo.

Find a recipe and make a shopping list of ingredients

Get children involved in the meal planning. This gives them the opportunity to make decisions about what they’d like to eat and also shows them the process of getting food to the table! For some inspiration check out my post: Family Meal Inspiration for 2019

Learn to count to ten in another language

Get the kids learning a few words of another language, it could come in handy! There are plenty of online resources and books from your library that can help. There’s also the BBC’s The Lingo Show for younger linguists.   

Spot and identify birds visiting your garden

We’re big fans of our feathered friends. We have the i-SPY Birds books to help identify visitors to our garden and make a bit of a challenge out of it (check out other i-Spy books here. They’re great boredom busters). The RSPB also has a designated children’s’ section with lots of information, games and activities: https://www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/for-kids

Prepare a simple meal for the family

Help choose something age appropriate that your child can make independently. They’ll love doing it and will be proud of themselves. They will also be more inclined to eat it! My children are big fans of Matilda and The Ramsay Bunch: Tilly’s Kitchen Takeover. There are lots of simple recipes and sweet treats in there.    

Learn how to play a card game

This could be a game that’s new to all of you or one to teach your child. Some of our favourite ones are Beat your Neighbour, Knock and Pig. Solo card games are also good to learn as are any of the Rummy variants. When my daughter was eight, we taught her how to play Crib. She loves it.  

Here’s some inspiration:

The post Summer Holiday Challenges appeared first on The Parent Social.

Money Making Ideas

Online surveys and market research

There are plenty of companies willing to pay you for your views and feedback about brands or for telling them about your shopping habits, or even your personal and social habits! MoneySavingExpert.com has a great round up of some of the best: Surveys.

Sell LEGO by weight

Sites such as musicMagpie buy old LEGO by weight, so no need to worry about complete sets. You can sell anything from 500g up to 10Kg. Just put your LEGO bricks into a plastic bag and seal/tie it. Then weigh and round up to the nearest 500g (0.5Kg) and select the weight from the dropdown. You’ll get an instant quote and you can send it for free. Then sit back and receive a same day payment.

Recycle old clothes

High Street favourite H&M has offered an in-store garment recycling service since 2013. They accept clothes by any brand, in any condition at all of their stores. All donations are used somehow and won’t end up in landfill. Simply fill up a standard carrier bag with your unwanted clothing and you’ll get a £5 voucher in return to spend at the store. Win, win.

M&S has an initiative in place with Oxfam. Donate any item of M&S-labelled clothing or soft-furnishings to the charity store and you’ll receive a £5 voucher for Marks & Spencer, which you can use at any participating store when you spend £35 or more. More details here.

Get a current account that pays interest

I really like the Santander 1-2-3 account. It’s a current account, but pays 2% on balances up to £20,000. It also gives you cash back on many household bills and up to 15% cash back when you use the Santander debit card at a range of major retailers. There’s a £4 monthly account fee, but this is more than offset by the cash back you get. In order to qualify, you have to pay at least £500 into your account a month and have two active Direct Debits.

Selling unwanted items 

Facebook is a great platform for selling things you no longer need. There are loads of local selling groups so you can connect easily with people in your area. You’ll also find many selling pages for specific items/categories such as Mini Boden & Joules Children’s Clothes UK  Additionally, there are sites such as Mazuma for selling old mobile phones or tablets and great general selling sites such as Preloved and Gumtree.

Offline, there are plenty of options too. Nearly New Sales or Mum2Mum Markets are great and there are also old school car boot sales.

Money Saving Ideas

Just as important as money making, is money saving! Here are a few ideas…

Refer a friend

You can get money off for yourself and a discount for whoever you’ve referred with lots of businesses/brands such as banks, clothing stores, utility providers and supermarkets. Use ‘Francesca De Franco’ for clothes brand hush to get you £20 off your first order.

The Penny Challenge

A really simple idea… Starting with just 1p, you save money every day for 365 days, going up in increments of a penny each day. So on day one of the challenge you put 1p away, and then on day two 2p, 3p on day three and so on. If you do this for a year you’ll have £667.95 – Skint Dad’s chart helps you keep track – https://skintdad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Skint-Dad-1p-Saving-Challenge-2022.pdf

Teaching Your Children About the Value of Money

Rotate online supermarket shops 

Sadly, loyalty doesn’t pay. If you have a number of online supermarket accounts chop and change which one you use. Ocado in particular is very good at sending discount voucher codes to lure you back if you haven’t shopped with them in a while.

Saving money on petrol and diesel

Before you next fill up the car, take a quick look on PetrolPrices.com. The site tells you where you can get fuel cheapest in your local area. Prices fluctuate all the time so it’s worth looking regularly. You can make very big savings.

Discounted tickets for Merlin attractions – Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland…

Kellogg’s cereal boxes regularly have vouchers giving one free adult entry with another full-paying adult or child for Merlin attractions. We recently redeemed two at Legoland so my husband and I got in for free. However, the three childrens’ tickets were still £180. I’ve since discovered there are better bargains to be had on eBay. Just do a search on the site and you’ll get an array of ticket sellers (many tickets are for specific days).

Kids Pass – a digital membership platform – offers discounts at cinemas, attractions and restaurants across the UK (and even on UK and European holidays). You can try it out for £1 here.

Online discount vouchers

Before you click ‘pay’ and make that online purchase, always look for online discount coupons for the site in question. Daily Mail, Voucher codes and Voucher Cloud are some of the best. However, it’s worthwhile Googling the name of the retailer followed by ‘voucher code’ or ‘discount code’ and seeing what comes up. You might get a few duff ones/expired ones, but it’s worth persevering. I’ve found codes for everything from chocolates to a garden shed! I’ve signed up to a number of voucher sites so get alerted when a new one becomes available for brands I’m interested in.

Prepay

I’m always remembering birthdays at the last minute so Funky Pigeon is a frequent port of call for me as it is so fast and efficient. What I particularly like is you can load up credit and get bonus credit added. If you prepay £5 you get £1.25 added to your account balance for free; £10 and you get £2.50 and with £20 you get £5.

Switching utility providers

If you’re not on a fixed-term contact, regularly check whether there are better deals out there. USwitch is brilliant for this. Obviously, this also applies when you’re coming towards the end of your fixed contract. Make sure that you’re not going to be automatically rolled over onto a less-attractive deal with your existing provider and shop around.

I’m with Octopus who will gift you £50 credit (and me) if you sign up using this link.

Cheaper meals out

Save money on a meal by booking a table through an e-commerce site such as Groupon or Bookatable. There are some great deals out there.

Car and home insurance

When my renewal quote is sent for car and home insurance I always hit GoCompare immediately as the renewal price is always higher than the previous year (without any claims).

I’ve discovered there’s no point in going to your existing provider first to get a better quote; you have to call them armed with a list of alternative providers that can offer the same cover cheaper. Almost always they’ll then price match or even undercut. If they don’t then just swap, it’s very straight forward.

Saving money on your will

If you’ve not made a will, try and schedule it in the month of November with a solicitor that’s taking part in Will Aid. It will save you A LOT of money. Here’s what you need to know. 

Discounts for multiples

If you have twins, triplets or more then a membership to Twins Trust offers a whole host of benefits including great discounts at a wide range of high street retailers. Lots of independents offer special discounts too; usually because they have a multiples connection! Independent Usborne book seller Fiona also offers a twins and multiples discount. 

National Trust membership  

Entry fees for a family of five at a local attraction can easily cost in excess of £50 and something such as Legoland is a whopping £60 per person! On the other hand, National Trust membership for one adult and up to 10 children costs £78 a year and for two adults and up to 10 children is £126 a year (under 5s are free). This can be paid in monthly instalments and gives access to over 500 NT venues and includes free parking. Also check out National Trust Holidays.

Would love to hear about your money making and money saving ideas. Please comment below.

The post Money Making and Money Saving Tips appeared first on The Parent Social.

Day Thirty Two

The girls loved Tulleys Puzzle Park (the summer holidays offering from Tulleys Farm) in West Sussex so much that we made a return visit so that they could show daddy.

In the maize maze

We didn’t take a packed lunch this time, so our first stop was The Farmyard Grill, which does BBQ food and sandwiches/baguettes. The food was really good and reasonably priced.

Then we headed straight into the maze. I think Matt had underestimated the scale of it. It was blisteringly hot so I guessed we wouldn’t last the two hours plus of our last visit. As before, the girls really loved it. After getting off to a good start by collecting several stamps quite quickly, we had a dry spell. Luckily this coincided with finding the cafe within the maze. We stopped for refreshments, but unfortunately Maria got stung by a wasp. We got some emergency ice lollies to calm the situation and the guy at the kiosk gave Maria a complimentary one.

Duck racing

We gave it a good go, but Matt, Maria and Gabriella were tiring. Sofia and I were up for carrying on, but the others won. So much to Sofia’s disgust, we cheated to get out.

Tractor ride

Then it was duck racing, rope mazes, the giant slide, trampolines, a family tractor ride and a go on the quad barrel train. Just as we were about to leave we bumped into my friend and her family, who live in Madrid and had just arrived in the UK for a visit. She’d been reading the blog and seen my earlier post about Tulleys so decided to visit. Quite a coincidence!!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed their day and were tired out.

Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 4  Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Three 

Sofia had another Pizza Express party to go to today, which chopped the day up quite a bit, but did mean we ended up having takeaway pizzas for lunch 🙂  The girls have played pretty well on a day that saw us having to do lots of boring kitchen-related stuff, so I broke out the new High School Musical doll I had stowed away for just such a day.

Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 0  Minor bickerings: 1  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Four

A proper rainy day. We have an annual pass, so we headed back to Hobbledown. It’s a farm, but also has a lot else going on. For a bad weather day like today, we were going for it’s vast indoor play area; a saviour in the holidays. Shortly after we arrived there was a break in the rain so we went straight over to The Crystalite Mine.

A lot of crystalite

This is a giant sand pit where crystalite (green gems) are hidden. If you find enough pieces they can be exchanged for lollipops at the end of the visit. The girls go crazy for this. As not many people were mad enough to head over there straight after the downpour, it was rich pickings. We then visited the animals, including the new wallaby enclosure.

taking a look at the otters, who were being shy

Then it was off to watch a puppet show before having lunch. After that it was several hours of indoor play. The girls actually went to bed slightly earlier than usual!

At the puppet show

Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 0  Lollipops: 3 Minor bickerings: 2  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Five 

A wet miserable day, which meant indoor play and a disco with some of our favourite tunes complete with disco ball.

We did venture out of the house to go to the library. Sofia has now finished the Summer Reading Challenge and was very keen to collect her stickers and medal. She’s opted to receive her certificate back at school. All three chose new books to take home.

Very happy despite the serious face

Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 0  Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Six

This rain is torrential! Thankfully we’d already seen the forecast so planned a cinema trip with one of Sofia’s oldest friends (from baby group) at Dorking Halls. We went to see Strange Magic.

It was all about love: infatuation versus true love. The story was mainly told via song and had elves, fairy princesses, goblins, imps, magic and love potions. It was a big hit with our party of five girls. However, the adults were a little bit skeptical: two princesses who are sisters (one of whom becomes fiercely independent), power ballads and a good looking, male protagonist who turns out to be a wrong’un… hmmm familiar. Think Mr. Lucas let it go a bit.

Then it was off to Côte, which a very nice childrens’ menu, for a late lunch.

Ice creams: 3  Ice lollies: 0 Popcorn: bucketloads  Minor bickerings: 1  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Seven

We had a meet up with some of the children that are going to be in Sofia’s new class when she goes back after the holidays.

We went to Jupiter Jos in Ewell. It’s a soft play centre on two levels, but it’s fairly small scale. The kids love it there as there’s some really good apparatus and the mums love it even more as it’s really easy to keep tabs on where the children are. Some soft plays are vast and it can be really difficult to spot your children, let alone get to them if they need. It is one of the few soft play venues I can actually relax a bit and – dare I say it – have a cup of coffee.

In the evening we had friends over, who also have three girls. Carnage!

Ice creams: 0  lollipops: 3 Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Eight

Pre- back-to-school haircut in the morning for Sofia. Then we had lunch and playdate with two of her oldest and closest nursery friends. It was a lovely day, and so great to see that they all had such affection for each other despite not seeing each other that often. Maria and Gabriella also had a fab time. Picnic lunch and plenty of play. Perfect!

Ice creams: 0  Biscuits: 6 Minor bickerings: 2  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Thirty Nine

First curry sitting for the kids

We travelled to Wiltshire for the bank holiday weekend as we were celebrating two family birthdays on the Monday. There was lots of family time playing cards and games and Matt cooked up two wonderful curries. We had proper dessert, but I’d also bought some pop corn kernels and the kids and I made it in the pan. To say it was a hit was an understatement!

Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 0 Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Forty

The five of us plus my mother-in-law went for a really lovely trip to Stourhead, one of the nicest National Trust places I’ve been to. It has a wonderful Palladian mansion and absolutely stunning landscaped gardens. We had lunch at the NT restaurant and then headed straight to the house, which as you’d imagine was steeped in history. However, the focus was on ‘Harry’s Story,’ and the house brought to life what it was like growing up in this family home. The children had a few activities to do so were fully engaged. It was definitely one of the more hands on NT properties we’ve visited. After exploring all the rooms we headed outside into the rain…

The Stourhead estate is 1,072 hectares and includes farmland, temples, grottoes, lakes, a huge number of rare and exotic trees, a gothic cottage and the stable yard, which had shops, a gallery and a pub. We were there for some hours but only covered a small part of it. The girls particularly liked the grottoes. I’d love to go back and explore some more.

Then we went back to a high tea prepared by Matt’s dad: sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream and cake. Lovely!!

Taking a rest in the gothic cottage

 Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 3 Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 1

Day Forty One 

Today was a big family day with a double birthday celebration. Lots of lovely food and good company.

 Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 0 Cake: lots  Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 1

Day Forty Two

Another play date with one of Sofia’s old nursery friends. A lovely lunch and lots of outdoor (and indoor) play. It was lovely that Maria and Gabby were very included. A very nice day and mummy got to have some Prosecco too!

 Ice creams: 0  Ice lollies: 3  Cake: 1 Meringues: 3 Minor bickerings: 0  Arguments: 0  Small tantrums: 0

Day Forty Three

Last day of the holidays, and today we had a meet up with Sofia’s old reception class and headed out to Kent’s Swanley Park. It is billed as a traditional town park set in 60 acres of landscaped parkland. 

We parked up and got the miniature public railway into the park, which the children all loved, as did I if I’m being honest.

The weather was decidedly iffy; sunny and warm one minute and raining and chilly the next, so we had a big job preventing them going into the paddling pool and splash park. The girls headed straight over to the bouncy castle, which was £1.20 per child, but didn’t go on the battery-powered bikes as Maria and Gabby were too little. We then spent some time in the small children’s play area and sandpit before grabbing some lunch. Then we hit the cafeteria. It didn’t have the healthiest of food options, but they were plentiful and VERY child friendly if you know what I mean.

Next it was off to the main play area, which has really nice apparatus. We spent quite a lot of time there an then it was time for ice creams and ice lollies.

The children then spotted the collection of bouncy castles and inflatables. It was £7 per child for entrance, but as we were a big group they reduced it to £5. Still, £15 for my three on top of everything else was a little steep and a few activities within the section needed additional payment. Maria and Gabby weren’t tall enough for the best inflatable (the huge slide). I wasn’t overly impressed but the kids really enjoyed it.

The park also boasts a big boating lake with pedal and rowing boats and canoes. We’d all really have loved to go on, but time was pressing and we’d spent quite a bit of money.

I wish we’d had done more walking around the park itself as opposed to just going to a number of different attractions, but that’s what the children wanted to do and they had a really brilliant last day of holidays.

So, goodbye summer holidays and hello labelled uniform and school bag and new shiny shoes by the front door.

The summer holidays have seen 34 ice creams, 42 ice lollies, 45 bickerings, 11 arguments, 11 tantrums and visits to London, Surrey, Kent, Wiltshire, West Sussex, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.  

• Read part I here
• Read part II here

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Summer activities

Park and garden summer activities 

Make sure you’ve got a few inexpensive outdoor toys etc up your sleeve. The big supermarkets stock a wide range of good value items. A few that are popular in this house:

• • Bubbles/bubble wands
  • Football
  • Badminton set
  • Skittles set
  • Quoits
  • Cricket set

National Trust membership

I bang on about this quite a lot. However, it is so cost-effective when compared to other days out. Whether heading for somewhere new or visiting an old favourite, my girls love it. There’s always a new trail or activity to do even for seasoned visitors and they put on a lot of summer activities.

National Trust ahoy!

Picnics

There’s something about a variety of cold picky foods eaten from the comfort of a picnic rug that seems to pique the appetite of the kids. They can’t eat enough and never get bored of them. Be warned though, picnics aren’t usually an easy meal option. I always find they can take a while to prepare. If I’m not driving I add in a bottle of Prosecco. Holidays are for mums and dads too Wisley Gardens are a favourite place of ours for picnics.

The Pub

Check out your local family-friendly pubs. It’s a win win really. Many have great outdoor stuff for the kids; one of my locals – The Woodman – has a massive sandpit and outdoor games. Others in the area have climbing frames etc. Here’s a great list for those living in Surrey.

Paddling pools and water features 

Lots of parks have paddling pools and water features. Check out your local ones as water is always a massive hit. We recently headed to Tooting Bec Lido in South West London and had a great time (children under five go free). Also pay a visit to the local duck pond; there’s usually a cafe nearby.

Hidden gems

Do a bit of research to see if there are any attractions/hidden gems near you. I recently discovered that we have beautiful lavender fields on our doorstep. We’ve now visited three times in the space of five weeks!

Dens and gazebos 

In the height of summer our garden is a suntrap all day long, which isn’t as good as it sounds. Last year, we were in desperate need of shade so I bought a £20 gazebo from Homebase along with a few cheapo cushions. Old toys get a new lease of life if played with underneath the gazebo and eating there sat on cushions on the floor is ‘like camping.’ Last year, the girls even enjoyed just relaxing under it with a drink (and they never relax). Alternatively, you can just make a den with sheets and table clothes.

H2O

From running in and out of a sprinkler and playing with water pistols to aqua tents, paddling pools and simply floating things in it and tipping it from one container to another, water never fails. Get them cleaning the car, watering the plants and generally cleaning stuff. If it involves using a hose they’ll be all over it. Try not to completely waste it though. One of my friends sings the praises of the Crazy Daisy. I’m yet to purchase one, but it’s a matter of time…

Outdoor messy play

• • • Footprint pictures with paint
    • Chalk pictures on the patio.
    • Sand play – Great fun and brilliant for aiding your toddler’s development. Make sure you invest in the slightly more expensive play sand. You can get 10kg for £3 at Sainsbury’s. It’s totally safe and doesn’t completely stain clothes (I’ve heard some horror stories about builders’ sand!).

Cooling off  

Invest in some ice-lolly moulds. They’re cheap as chips, toddlers, pre-schoolers and older children love making them and eating them, they’ll be a lot healthier than shop-bought ones (we do pure fruit juice watered down a little) and you’ll save an absolute fortune in the course of the summer!

Please share any of your summer activities below and don’t forget to check out Diary of 43 Days of School Holidays and my Summer Holiday Challenges for more inspiration.

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The advent calendars

We are starting to get a collection. My eldest daughter Sofia was bought a big felt one that you hang on the wall and has 24 little pockets to stuff treats into. It’s already a tradition, and it’s an exciting thing when it comes out of the loft. Then came the Victorian Townhouse 3D calendar, which I got from  Flamingo Papiere. Fantastically, they have three in the range now, so each year, for the past couple of years, I’ve got the Townhouse, Department Store and Bakery for the three girls. Amazingly we haven’t had arguments about who has which!

Then this year came the birthday present keepsake for Sofia from her godmother: The Nutcracker storybook set and advent calendar. It is truly beautiful. There are 24 little books, which retell the complete story. Even better, they have little cords attached so you can hang them on the tree. This will be coming out year after year, and I’m hoping that it’s something she can eventually pass on.

The Christmas books

We already had Santa is Coming to London, and as a Londoner I loved it. However, we now live in Surrey. So when out on my one and only (quite short, due to school run) Christmas shop, I was very excited to see the Santa is Coming to Surrey hardback for the bargain price of £4.99. Reading about local landmarks with a Christmas theme equals much excitement!!

He also visits Leeds…

Sofia was bought the wonderful Usborne book Christmas Decorations to Cut, Fold & Stick as a birthday present. She absolutely adores it. She has just turned six and was able to do it completely independently. I will be buying another one next year!

The arts and crafts

Paper Chains

The twins’ nursery fayre was a bit short on Christmas decs, so we got going on making paper chains with random coloured strips of old wrapping paper and drawing paper that we had in the art box. They loved doing it so much.

Paper plate angels

A cute activity that the girls really enjoyed doing. There are quite a few variations on the ‘paper plate’ angel. This is probably the simplest.

Take one white paper plate, cut out a V-shaped section, which is just under a quarter of the plate and attach at the bottom. Then decorate.

This a three-year-old’s work-in-progress. The glitter hasn’t been added yet and it has a weird facial expression, but apart from that…

Glitter pine cones

This has to be one of the easiest (and cheapest) craft activities ever. Forage for a few pinecones, daub with PVA glue and dunk in glitter. Then simply attach a sparkly pipe cleaner or ribbon and voila a Christmas tree decoration.

Remembrance bauble

Sofia goes to an after school club that’s run by one of our local churches. The other week we were asked to email over a picture of someone that our family would like to remember. A week later the children (with some help I’m guessing) had made them into a bauble. These are now adorning one of the trees that they’ve put up in the church. I thought that it was a really lovely idea.

Your child could also draw a nice picture to go in there.

A quick Google has thrown up a pack of four create your own baubles for £9.99, but eBay has quite a few options also.

More tree decs 

We visited a Christmas fayre and there was a nice DIY craft stand. For £2.50, we got plain flat wooden decorations that the kids could customise with glitter and all manner of gems and sparkles. Sofia (seen here showcasing her effort along with an angel made from the Usborne book) certainly got her money’s worth. Now pride of place on the tree.

Personalised Christmas cards

My Mother-in-Law bought each of the girls Lets Colour In Kids Personalised Xmas Cards. They come as a pack of five, have each of their names on the front, and as the name suggests, they need colouring in. They are a bargain at £1.80 a pack.

The National Trust visit

I’m always talking about the National Trust. They do Christmas very well. Today we went to Polesden Lacey. The house was beautifully decked out as part of its ‘A Christmas Advent’ event, which celebrates the countdown to Christmas in true Edwardian style.

Twenty-four festive scenes and traditional activities celebrate the advent. We loved looking around the house again but this time with the Christmas theme. Sofia loved doing the trail of all things Christmassy, they all got the chance to decorate one of the trees and also write and post a letter to Father Christmas. Then there was a little present each before a carriage ride around the grounds, pulled by horses that were dressed as reindeer. More details of the many Christmas events going on at National Trust venues can be found here

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Arts and crafts activities

We’ve had an arts and crafts box for ages. It’s invaluable as it alleviates boredom in almost an instant. I clear it out every couple of months; throw out anything tatty and then add a few new bits and bobs such as ribbons, foil, lolly sticks, corks, paper plates and some cheap purpose bought stuff.

I recently discovered that big Sainsbury’s stores stock loads of really affordable arts and crafts items and sets. Stickers, sticky shapes for collages, paintbrushes, foam paint brushes and fancy pipe cleaners are all perfect fodder. You can also pick up a pack of 500 sheets of A4 printer paper for a very modest £2.50.

The girls actually love to just draw, so the cheap paper is great as they’re free to scribble to their hearts’ content. They love sticking too. However, sometimes it’s nice to have a bit more structure and to vary things a bit.

1) Pasta pictures – Great for young toddlers and older children alike. All that’s required is PVA glue, a variety of pasta shapes, paper and imagination. We create landscapes and faces.

2) Foot prints and painting on lining paper/old wrapping paper 

Best reserved for outdoors as it can be rather messy. I rolled out a long piece of wrapping paper (white side up) and then filled several plates with poster paint. They all stood in the paint and made footprint trails all along it as well as doing more conventional painting on it. I think there was something about the scale of it as well as ‘the naughtiness’ of getting paint all over their feet, which made it such fun and so appealing.

3) The cardboard box – it’s not a myth: kids really do love cardboard boxes. They’re great for developing imagination. The twins immediately jumped inside the box that I gave them. One insisted it was a pirate ship, the other that it was a rocket. I attached a paper plate with a paper fastener to make a steering wheel; it then became a car. Not only did they love playing in it, they also spent ages decorating it.

Other indoor activities

4) Tent/den building – very similar to the above in terms of ease, enjoyment and imagination development. Obviously works indoors and outdoors. A few chairs, a large sheet/s and a few clothes pegs to hold in place is all that’s required. Their usual toys and usual meals suddenly became far more exciting when used/eaten within the den.

5)  Baking – we keep it simple with biscuits and fairy cakes. Grandma’s biscuits are the easier ever and consist of juts four ingredients. Biscuit baking is well suited to the younger ones (aged two) as they are able to cream, mix and knead, and can use cookie cutters independently. After they’ve cooled we use squeezy tubes of coloured icing to decorate them. This is easier than creamy icing for cakes as it’s a lot less messy and they have much more control.

I find baking fairy cakes is far better suited to my five-year-old.

Outdoor activities

We go to lots of outdoor venues (weather permitting), but the most cost-effective thing we have done on this front is join the National Trust. With membership, we just jump in the car and go without worrying about admission prices or parking tariffs. There are almost always craft activities to do indoors and there are usually family tours of the houses with dressing up etc, but aside from that it’s all about being outdoors, spotting things, doing nature trails, running, jumping, picnicking… Check out their 50 things to do before you’re 11¾ for more inspiration.

Specifically for the toddlers

Regular readers know that I’m a big fan of Sure Start centres. The one we attend has had some inspired sensory activities set up; things I wouldn’t have thought of!

Here are some of our favourites:

1) Cold baked beans in a massive tray – Squelching their fingers in the sticky mess. Toddlers love it and are fascinated by the sensation.

2) Cloud Dough (sometimes called moon dough) – Made of flour and baby oil. Has a great texture, which again the kids absolutely love. Additional bonus being that your hands will be silky smooth.

3) Flat perspex shapes submerged in jelly – very messy, very fun, (who isn’t amused by wobbly jelly?) and can be eaten!

4) Cornflour, water and food colouring – This makes a wonderful gloopy mixture in a tray. It feels like plastic when you run your fingers through it. Some farmyard animals were put inside and a minty flavour was added for extra interest. The girls were a little unsure about the texture to begin with but then loved it and played for ages.

5) Hay bales – Great for imaginative play, but also great for physical play. My girls loved ripping it apart and jumping on it as well as using it creatively with toy animals. The benefits of playing with hay have recently been documented.

6) Food colouring on paper towels – A really simple idea, but literally had them engrossed for a good 45 minutes. The centre had set up a number of beakers filled up with water and different colours of food colouring alongside pipettes. The children simply used the pipettes to suck up some of the coloured liquid and squirt it onto the towel. It blotted and made great patterns. They were fascinated.

What activities would you recommend? I’d love to hear some more suggestions.

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Entertaining the kids

I’ve written before about ways I entertain the kids without formal activities such as ballet classes, swimming lessons and football practices. I mentioned that amongst other things, National Trust gardens and properties featured heavily in our yearly itinerary. We’ve been to a lot of National Trust places in Surrey and London and wanted to visit somewhere new. On the advice of fellow National Trust member @DanFaulksCNN, we headed off for Wakehurst Place (the country estate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) in West Sussex.

Belton House in Lincolnshire

We were not disappointed. It was a really varied landscape with lots of nice walks (easily accessible with a buggy). Amongst other things it had a water garden, a walled garden and house to explore. There were plenty of opportunities for nature spotting, pooh stick playing and hide and seek. It was all good wholesome fun and kept the children (and adults) well entertained. We then went for a spot of lunch at the on site restaurant and also sampled some of the delights at the artisan bakers there. We felt like we’d only scratched the surface at Wakehurst Place, but nap times beckoned and we’d had a lovely time.

National Trust membership

My husband Matt and I became members of the National Trust when Sofia was a few months old. At the time I thought the £97 joint membership (children under five are free) was quite a large initial outlay. However, it very quickly became apparent what a great investment it is. Our membership gives us free access to over 300 historic houses, gardens and countryside and coastline spaces and means we have the all-important free parking every time. Over a very short period – and during the winter months – it quickly paid for itself.

Winkworth Arboretum in Surrey

In comparison, for the five of us to all go on a one-off visit to our local farm/soft play venue it costs just over £40 in winter and £60 in summer.  I’d never thought of myself as an NT-type person, but I absolutely love it and more importantly so do the children. This year alone, we must have visited in excess of 20 times, and just as frequently in the autumn and winter as in the spring and summer.

Our National Trust visits

I can only speak for the places we’ve visited, but they all have good facilities and are really geared up for children with plenty of activities. My younger ones are happy to have big spaces to run around in, but are already taking an interest in the things that they see outside. They can also take part in many of the arts and craft activities that are set up at many venues.

Picnicing at Claremont in Surrey.

Sofia, being older, is far more engaged. She loves looking around the houses and doing some of the activities such as dressing up and eye spy. She has also been doing their  50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4.

When we stay with friends and family in different parts of the country we often go and visit NT properties and gardens in the area. It’s a really good option for a family of five as local attractions can be expensive.

I’ve also found that an increasing number of my friends with children are also members. That means that even midweek I can throw us into the car and head out for a meet up with a friend and have a coffee and a walk.

Wakehurst Place by night

Take a picnic

If you are trying to keep costs down, I would advise you to take a picnic weather-permitting as the cafes and restaurants are pretty pricy. Matt and I had a modest hot meal and the girls had a standard lunchbox each and it came to £41. Granted, I did have a crafty miniature bottle of Merlot (it is still Christmas), but even so, I thought that this was very expensive. Wakehurst Place isn’t an exception. I find all NT eateries are pricey.

Doing the eye spy sheet at Ham House in Surrey.

At the Hinemihi Marae (Maori meeting house) at Clandon Park in Surrey. We’d just watched a display of Maori dancing.

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