Days Out Archives - Page 26 of 64

Fun days out with the kids

February 9, 2022February 6, 2017

We all know how important it is to spend time together as a family and how much we can gain from spending fun days with … Read more

Eliza’s My Little Pony Craft Party

January 25, 2017

For her last two birthday’s, Eliza has had a princess theme with her favourite princesses coming to her party to play games with her and her guests.

Although she toyed with the idea of having princesses again, this year she decided she wanted to do something different and decided upon a My Little Pony party.

Now getting Rainbow Dash and crew to turn up to a party just was not going to happen, so we got our thinking caps on. Thankfully the answer was there thanks to a networking group I co-run, as one of the members runs Made By Me Craft Parties and had lots of My Little Pony ideas.

Lexy offers three packages to suit any budget and needs: bronze, silver and gold and
provides aprons, tablecloth and all the materials and equipment for the craft party. All I had to provide was the venue and the food!

Eliza wanted the whole class to go, but as the craft party is quite involved we whittled it down to 12 and hired out one of the new party rooms in Lemur Landings as my house is not big enough for that many children, especially on a cold January day.

The itinerary for the party was set:

Making their own pencil case
Making charms for the pencil case
Making a My Little Pony Tail
Making a My Little Pony Headband

They started the party by colouring in their very own ponies on a special paper which magically shrunk when Lexy applied heat – these were to be their charms.

Whilst the charms cooled, they decorated their pencil cases with stencils, pictures, stickers and their names, then adding beads and the charm to the zip when it was finished.

Next it was tail making time and the girls got to choose three different colours of organza to make their own individual tails, which were super simple to make with just a safety-pin and a ribbon.

The headbands were slightly more tricky as they involved cutting out the ears and then sticking them around the headband before adding more coloured organza but thankfully some Mums and Abbey were on hand to help.

We allocated 90 minutes for the craft and over-ran slightly, but the girls really enjoyed making their creations and were all ready for some food and of course that all important cake.

I want to say a big thank you to Lexy for running the party so efficiently, to the staff at Lemur Landings who not only arranged for Lola to come and say hello to the birthday girl, but made each child a balloon animal and hosted the food so well, the Mums for staying and helping with some of the trickier activities and my very talented friend Michelle for making such a wonderful Rainbow Dash cake.

Oh, and of course a very Happy 6th Birthday to Eliza!!

Our Days Out Bucket List for 2017

January 23, 2017

Every January we sit down with the kids and ask them where they would like to go this year. It does make for some amusing … Read more

A Winter Visit to Kingston Maurward

January 16, 2017

Like a lot of families, we find January a bit of a struggle financially. Not only is there a longer period between pay dates, but … Read more

Is the UK supporting outdoor play for our children?

January 16, 2017

Kids need to play outside. According to a 2016 study, three quarters of UK children spend less time outside than prison inmates. UN guidelines mandate … Read more

Kubo and the Two Strings Animation Workshop

January 16, 2017

A young boy with a magical gift sets out on a thrilling quest to discover his family’s legacy in Kubo and the Two Strings. The … Read more

Days Out in Review – July to December 2016

January 2, 2017

We have had so many exciting adventures this year that I have had to split my round-up post into two sections.

You can read about our January to June highlights here and welcome to our adventures from July to December.

July 2016

With Sebby being a little older and at Nursery now, I have managed to attend some blogging events that I have only watched from afar and this year I attended my first ever Christmas in July event with Asda.

It was bizarre seeing Christmas decorations and food in the summer but it did give me some fantastic ideas for Christmas and open my eyes to things I would never have tried otherwise and I got to meet the lovely James Martin.

This year we were Drayton Manor ambassadors and were invited up to see their new High Ropes course – Vertigo. Isaac was off straight away and hared around the course several time whilst I stayed and watched Eliza and Sebby who were on the Junior course.

The thrillseeking didn’t stop there as we were also invited to try out the new Dorset Waterpark which sits in the shadows of Corfe Castle. I don’t think I have ever heard so many squeals and giggles as they raced around the course, leaping into the water and flinging themselves down giant slides.

August 2016

We always look forward to Camp Bestival which has become a bit of a family tradition and this year was no exception. This was the best year yet for us, we stayed with Pitch Village which took the hassle of camping away and took part in activities that we had not tried before, with the Dingly Dell being our favourite haunt. We also enjoyed meeting the Tudors on Tour and crafting at Spinney Hollow.

We stuck to glamping with a visit to Crealy Meadows and stayed in a magnificent Castle tent that was like a real home from home. The facilities were brilliant and the kids had a brilliant time exploring Crealy Adventure Park.

Regular readers of my blog will know that the kids attend regular swimming lessons as I believe it is a vital life skill to have. This year Isaac took part in a Swimsafe lesson in the sea to teach him water safety in open water.

August also saw our second visit of the year to Thorpe Park where we learned to dance with Balance Unity from BGT fame, stayed in the Shark Hotel and had the whole park to ourselves for a couple of hours.

September 2016

Although the kids were back to school, the fun didn’t stop and we enjoyed an amazing #FitToDance session with Disney On Ice and Peter Andre.

We were disappointed to miss the Bournemouth Air Show this year, although we had the most amazing holiday aboard the Carnival Vista instead, however, we got our aeroplane fix at Duxford Air Show instead.

One of our favourite local days out is Moors Valley Country Park and this year the Railway celebrated its 30th birthday and we were invited to celebrate at the 30th Birthday Gala.

October 2016

October saw us heading to London and we enjoyed a City Cruise along the Thames which took us to visit the Tower of London.

We enjoyed a weekend break in Cornwall at the Seaview Holiday Village which allowed us to explore the local area with visits to Looe, Springfields Fun Park, the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and a Naval Harbour cruise of Plymouth Sound.

We stayed at home for half of October half term, however we enjoyed lots of fun days out including a visit to see the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge and then headed down to the beach to find our own fossils.

Weymouth Sea Life Centre has been somewhere we have visited regularly this year thanks to our Merlin Annual passes and over Halloween they had their Spooky Seas exhibit which the kids loved.

We also enjoyed a fabulous day out at Marwell Wildlife where we got to see their new Wild Explorers enclosure.

For the second half of October half term we stayed at Potters Resort in Norfolk which was great fun. Whilst we were there we enjoyed a day out in Great Yarmouth and found our favourite day out of 2016 – BeWILDerwood. I just wish it was closer to home as we would be there every weekend!

November 2016

I have been unsuccessfully dropping hints to Hubby about buying me a helicopter flight over the Jurassic Coast for years, however Red Letter Days came to my rescue and send me up on a fantastic flight over some of my favourite Dorset beaches.

Ever since I organised BlogOn Winchester back in October 2015 I have been promising to take the kids to Winchester Science Centre so when I saw their Horrible Science event was on I just had to take them to visit.

After my Helicopter flight I really wanted to visit some of the beaches that I flew over and a weekend break at Harcombe House in Lyme Regis saw us do just that.

Hubby and I also enjoyed a Segway Tour of Upton Country Park.

November is also the month when Christmas days out start launching and we were invited to two. The first being Drayton Manor where we got to enjoy some magical snowfall and pose in giant Christmas decorations.

Our next visit was to the Winter Wonderland at Paultons Park where we partied with Billy the Elf, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

December 2016

It was back to Weymouth Sea Life Centre for us to see Santa at their Magic of Christmas event.

The kids have been desperate to visit a Trampoline Park and we finally got round to booking a slot at Activate Trampoline Park locally.

The week before Christmas was busy with a couple of eventful car journey’s. The first to London for Disney On Ice Frozen, where we were challenged with the road closure of the M3 on our way home in torrential rain.

The second was to Birmingham to see Marvel Universe Live, Superheroes Assemble which is perhaps one of the best live action shows we have ever seen with aerial stunts, flying, motorbikes, pyrotechnics and live action.

Our final day out of 2016 on the blog is our visit to the Bournemouth Wheel for a panoramic view over our home town. If you are local, I highly recommend you give it a go, but hurry as it leaves on 7th January.

So there you have it, we have had some amazing days out over the last year and I look forward to sharing this years adventures!

Create a year to remember with a Merlin Annual Pass

February 9, 2022January 1, 2017

Start your year off as you mean to go on and bag the ultimate bargain – 52 weeks of family fun with a Merlin Annual … Read more

A Panoramic View over Bournemouth

December 30, 2016

2016 was the year I promised myself we would go on the Bournemouth balloon, however, it wasn’t meant to be as it disappeared back in June, never to return.

Thankfully, over the Christmas period, we got to take in panoramic views of Bournemouth from a big wheel standing more than 100 feet tall at Pier Approach.

Isaac and I first rode the wheel after his 100 years of Cubs parade which saw us marching through Bournemouth Gardens covered in glowsticks, before making the cub symbol out of glowsticks in the sand.

Once we had finished we headed back to the Pier to ride the wheel, which was really quiet. I had expected fantastic views over Bournemouth, however, our town is not as well-lit as I thought and we were left a little disappointed that we couldn’t see much and resolved to come back and ride it in the daytime.

Yesterday was a beautiful clear day and after being cooped up a home over the festive period I managed to get the kids out of the house for some fresh air, with a walk along the beach, which was surprisingly warm for the time of year.

The wheel was much busier than our last visit, however we only waited around 10 minutes to board it as they had efficiently set up two queues which were moving quickly. Sebby was nervous at first and Isaac held his hand until he was more confident.

You get three full rotations of the wheel and this time we had longer onboard as all the gondolas were full, therefore we got to enjoy the views over Bournemouth Gardens and Pier as they were unloaded and re-loaded.

My only frustration is that the Gondolas are surrounded by perspex for safety and being by the sea they are covered in salt so taking photo’s is tricky, but I managed to get a couple through the gaps.

Sebby didn’t want to get off, but I managed to persuade him with a promise of going to see the birds in the Aviary in the Gardens.

Isaac and Eliza wanted to do the ice rink, but as I was on my own with them I decided we will wait for a time when I have another pair of hands, so we headed back to the pier where there was a spiral Christmas tree-lined walkway leading to a letter box to the North Pole to explore.

It was a lovely day out with the kids and although the big wheel doesn’t raise you to the dizzy heights of the balloon, at least I can say that I have seen Bournemouth from above now.

The Bournemouth Wheel costs £5 per adult, £4 per child and £16 for a family and is open from 10am-10pm until 7th January 2017. Don’t forget to take ID with you as BH residents get 50p off too.

Days Out in Review – January to June 2016

December 29, 2016

For some 2016 has been shocking and they have been very vocal about it and how they are looking forward to 2017.

For us however, 2016 has been one of our best years yet, full of fun and adventures and here are some of our favourites.

January 2016

We love to get out and about and bad weather never stops us from having fun. In January we journeyed to Hampshire where we climbed the Spinakker Tower, explored the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and then headed to Rock Up in Whiteley for some climbing fun.

Staying a little closer to home we enjoyed playing in the sand dunes at Sandbanks beach, explored a new beach for us, Ringstead Bay near Weymouth and took part in the Stickman Trail at Moors Valley.

I also attended my first ever Toy Fair at Olympia, London where I was introduced to some of the fantastic toys that arrived into the shops in late 2016.

February 2016

For her birthday in January, Eliza got her first bike so we headed out to Potterne Park to get some riding practice and headed out to Farmer Palmers for some animal fun.

The highlight of the month had to be our holiday to France where we stayed at Eco Gites of Lenault and visited all the historic D-Day beaches, Pegasus Bridge and Le Mont St Michel, saw the Bayeux Tapestry and even had some snow.

We also had an unexpected stop in Jersey after a rather traumatic ferry crossing and a disappointing stay in Guernsey where we learned that EVERYTHING closes in winter.

March 2016

March was a busy month for us with a visit to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, a fabulous preview day at Thorpe Park where we barely queued for any rides and still on the adrenalin theme we tried out some new flumes at Splashdown Poole and released our inner apes, swinging through the trees at Go Ape, Moors Valley.

We did do some calmer activities as well, with strolls around Christchurch Harbour, Whitecliff Park and Lulworth Castle.

April 2016

April saw us heading back to Farmer Palmers to feed the deer, get down and dirty with some Owl Forensic investigations at Avon Heath Country Park

We headed to Lighthouse Poole to watch Gruffalo’s Child Live and Genting Arena in Birmingham for some WWE action.

May 2016

May is one of my favourite months in Dorset as there is a plethora of activities for families to enjoy. This year was no different and we visited the Dorset Knob Throwing Festival, Lyme Regis Fossil Festival and Donkey Derby in Kinson. We also headed across to Weymouth to see its new exhibit in the Sea Life Centre and enjoy a spin on the Jurassic Tower.

We are frequent visitors to Paultons Park and could not wait to go to the opening of its new Lost Kingdom section of the park.

June 2016

It was back to the Sea Life Centre in June for a very special occasion – we got to have a personal tour of the centre, meet some of its famous residents and feed the Seals.

June is a big birthday month for us and we had a great time at Hollywood Bowl to celebrate but the highlight of the month had to be meeting Ashley Banjo and learning to dance with the Diversity crew on a Diversity break at Butlins.

It was also the month that Kian finished his GCSE exams so we celebrated with a rather damp Forest Segway experience with Go Ape.

So that is the first half of the year, second half coming soon………..

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