The Joy of Giving: Experience Days as the Perfect Gift for Creating Lasting Memories

In a world filled with material possessions, the true value of a gift lies in the joy it brings and the memories it creates. Experience days offer a unique opportunity to break free from the conventional notion of "stuff" and instead give the gift of cherished moments. By tailoring an experience to suit the recipient's personality, we not only demonstrate our thoughtfulness but also provide them with an extraordinary adventure that will be etched in their hearts forever.

And experience days aren’t just for individuals, they make exceptional gifts for families too.

How can I encourage my child who loves Tech?

 Children are the future of our society. They are the ones that will shape the world in which we live in and they should be encouraged to pursue their passions. There is no better way to do so than by giving them a chance to explore their interests at an early age and help them grow into what they want to be.

This article will explore some of the best ways in which parents can encourage children with technology interests and help them build a solid career foundation for themselves. It will also provide information on how parents can help their children make sense of all this information so that they don't get overwhelmed or discouraged when exploring new things.

PYO Flowers at Southwold Flower Company

The summer holidays are in full swing and planning days out for the kiddies, whilst being mindful of expenses, is a full-on mission when you have six weeks to fill. This summer I wanted to make sure it was one filled with lots of activities that created wonderful memories - it seems so important given all we have been through in the last couple of years with being so restricted. So in between our planned camping trips I wanted to ensure I had some days out and activities planned that would not cost the earth and I thought it would be a good idea to share these with you. The first being PYO flower picking at Southwold Flower Company.

 

Roaar Dinosaur Adventure | Summer 2019 [AD - Gifted Tickets]

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to visit one of our favourite local attractions, Roaar Dinosaur Adventure Park and we were kindly gifted press passes for the day. It was Dippy Dinosaur’s birthday week (29th July- 6th August) and there were lots of fun extra activities on to help him celebrate and I thought I would share with you what we got up to.

Beach Days | Lowestoft

The summer holidays are in full swing and whilst I have had my moments of head in hands (why do they have to argue over everything?), we have already had some lovely days out and made lots of memories. The beach is a destination that has proven very popular, mainly because the kids absolutely love it and keeps them entertained all day but also because it brings me such a huge sense of calm and fun all rolled into one.

The Outdoor Summer Holiday Bucket-list

If you live in the UK the Summer Holidays will be arriving in a matter of days, for some of you over the Scottish Boarder, you will be already enjoying the slower days. I am so ready for the summer holidays this year, I am lucky, that as a teacher I get to spend the summer with my children. But in the last few years, the summer holidays have often filled me with dread. Six weeks is a long time to keep two little ones entertained and I have often found myself feeling overwhelmed.

I know many of you are probably feeling the same, summer holidays are long and can be expensive if you’re not careful. I have spent the last few weeks coming up with low-cost ideas to keep us all busy and hopefully we won’t run out of things to do and naturally, I thought I would share them with you (we’ve got to keep together to survive the holidays!).

Ickworth House - Exploration with the National Trust

If you follow me over on Instagram, you will see it's littered with pictures of my children and our family on adventures. They love to be outdoors and so do we. There is nothing more beautiful and heart warming than seeing them outside exploring, together. Even in our garden, they've taken to bug hunting. I often see Henry laying on the grass talking to a little slug. Saying "hello sluuug" over and over again getting more and more perplexed because he's not getting a response. It's literally adorable.  

Broadstairs Adventure

On Sunday, my husbands only day off in 9 days, we decided to make a picnic and head out for a walk somewhere. We wanted to get out of the house and explore - even if that meant taking our wellies (the weather was pretty dire). We loaded up the kids in the car and headed out of our drive. We looked at each other and said, "well where are we going to go?". Ideas were thrown around but Jamie pulled a wild card and suggested Broadstairs, a place we lived in for 3 years whilst at University. It's around a 2.5-3 hour drive but we had a hankering to visit.

The Glorious Glowing Lantern Parade at BeWILDerwood | Review

When an invitation to visit BeWILDerwood appeared in my inbox, a little squeal of excitement immediately leaped out of me. This place is an outdoor haven for children and parents alike, an imaginative adventure park with magical treehouses and characters that bring a curious difference to the Norfolk Broads. This is the setting for the book, "A Boggle at BeWILDerwood" by local author Tom Blofield. Having been before when Darcie was just two, I knew she would love it even more second time around and that little bit older. The main reason for our visit was the review the Glorious Glowing Lantern parade, and true to form, it didn't disappoint.

Pumpkin Patch Fun & Half Term is Here!

 We've made it through the first half term and we've survived, early starts, school runs, homework and the usual stresses of work/life balance. This past week has been particularly stressful and has left me questioning a lot of things in relation to work and making sure I'm getting the right balance. Running a blog and picking up freelancing jobs as well as working full time certainly is no easy feat and I feel like I'm reaching a point where something has got to give. Despite that, this week I received the news that I have been chosen to represent UK Parent Bloggers at the E-Fluent Bloggers Conference in Paris! When I received my invite, to say I was shocked was an understatement, but I'm incredibly excited to spend three day's in the beautiful city of Paris and meet some incredible other bloggers and brands. However, for this week, I'm hoping I can switch off a little and just focus on my family.

SUNUVA | Review

When we're were asked whether we would like to review some of the summer range from SUNUVA, we had to say yes. Especially as we live fairly close to the beach, so beach gear is always essential. I love SUNUVA products, Darcie has had an outfit previously and they're always of the best quality. This true of the outfit's we received this time. 

Weekend Vlog | Thai Food, Broken Washing Machine, French Fashion

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I have a little weekend vlog to share with you all. We spent Saturday in Cambridge doing a spot of shopping and walking along the river. We had been invited to Thaikhun to review their restaurant, a blog post will be coming shortly, so it was a really lovely day out. Sunday was the usual, let's find the house kind of scenario but it was equally nice to spend time just chilling.

Hope you've all had a good weekend and ready for what this week may bring.

Mummy B xoxox

ODEON Cinemas Launches Fantastic Summer Deals for Families

We love the cinema, we took Darcie for the first time when she was two whilst on honeymoon and she loved every minute! It made me realise that you're never too young (or old) to enjoy the cinema. Something that may put a lot of people off is the cost. The summer holidays can become quite expensive, days out here and there the odd ice cream and lunch out - it all adds up. Thankfully ODEON cinemas have released some fantastic deals for the family, so you can keep the kids happy and not break the bank.

Our Family Day Out at Woburn Safari Park

On Saturday we had a very impromptu trip to Woburn Safari Park. That morning we were all up early, the car was in the garage first thing to have new tires fitted and once that was done we wanted to do something special as a family. My husband has been pretty busy the past two weeks with work and so some family quality time was definitely on the cards. 

Encouraging Your Little Ones to Make Healthier Food Choices

Trying to get our children to make healthy choices when it comes to food can sometimes be tricky. The appeal of sweets and ice cream entice children, particularly at this time of year and I often have these kind of battles with my daughter. It doesn't help that the Hubby has a sweet tooth (despite being a type one diabetic!). So how can we encourage our children to make healthier choices? Well making food fun and encouraging them to be involved in the purchasing and making of food has definitely been something that has helped us. So I thought fruit picking would be perfect, even for Henry too. 

Family Festival Essentials

The past few days we have been basked in sunshine and it's making me look forward to summer. Something I have always wanted to do is to take the children to a family friendly festival and we're hoping to attend one this year. For some, the idea of taking young children to a festival may be their idea of hell. But, with some carefully planning and being prepared it can be an experience which the whole family can enjoy and special memories made.

So what would I recommend if you are thinking of taking children/toddler/babies? 

Camping & Gulliver's Land

At 34 weeks pregnant I decided to do something slightly mad, go away for a nights camping and explore a theme park! Though I had reservations, mainly because I resemble a (very tired) whale, I was really looking forward to having some family time and for Darcie to experience camping - it's been something she has been asking to do for a while. Annoyingly I left my main camera at home so I had to suffice with my iPhone!

Holkham Beach

Yesterday, as you would of seen, was our first Wedding Anniversary and Jamie surprised me with a little day trip to Holkham. It's a place I have never been before, but one that has been on my 'places to visit' list for a while now. Holkham, located in North Norfolk, is one of the most beautiful little spots in the county - I can't believe we haven't been before.  We were Darcie free for the day, but I would love to return with her as it's the perfect place for families. 

Dinosaur Adventure Park - Norfolk | A Special Day Out

On Saturday we treated Darcie to a special day out to the Dinosaur Adventure Park in Norfolk. It was special because on Tuesday Darcie turns three (!!) and as we're both working we thought a trip this weekend would be the perfect compromise. Darcie has been desperate to go here ever since she saw a leaflet for the place and so when we asked her what she wanted to do - this was her immediate response!

The Dinosaur Adventure Park is a local attraction to me and its been going years, I think my brother even went when he was her age and that was 20+ years ago! But it's a place that we had never thought to go and I was a little worried that it might be a little scary for an (almost) three year old. Luckily there was nothing to worry about as there was sooo much to do and wasn't scary at all! It has been voted one of the best attractions for family days out in Norfolk and I would have to agree.

There is so much to do for children (big or small), from unearthing dinosaur fossils, discovering the different dinosaur species on their trail, to exploring the secret gardens and animals. We were surprise just how big the park was, everything was nicely spread out too so, even though it was busy as it was half term, you never felt overcrowded or like you missed out on anything because of hordes of people.

Our favourite parts were the Dinosaur trail, I loved to see Darcie explore and actually show her dino knowledge. She knew T-rex, Stegosaurs, Triceratops and diplodocus! Impressive! 

The day was pretty perfect and was a great way in which to start her birthday celebrations. Here are a few snaps of the day...

Excited to enter the Dinosaur Park

A spot of fossil finding

Buggy racing with Daddy

Buggy Racing with Mummy!

Let's explore some more.

Woooah!

She does love her dinosaurs!

Me getting a spook from the scary roars!

Collecting our stamps for a medal!

Me being a dork

A "real" dinosaur!

Indoor play time

She got her medal!!

Do you have a favourite day out destination??

Mummy B xoxox

Five playground games for little ones

Another wonderful guest post from the lovely Mary.

5 Playground Games For Little Ones 

When the garden is overgrown after a winter of neglect, and it’s too wet and wild for the children, the playground becomes an essential destination for helping to burn off some of that excess energy. 

There’s sometimes nothing worse than being stuck inside with bored little ones. Whilst you try and think up any form of entertainment that might help pass an hour at least. 

But despite the wet weather the Playground is the perfect place to develop some essential skills for youngsters such as balance and co-ordination. 

So when the going gets tough inside, pop on their wellie boots and wrap them up for an afternoon of play. 

You’re IT 

Getting active along with the children can benefit you and them. 

You can burn off a few calories whilst they have an absolute fun time with their mum. 

Playing tag is one of the activities that will get you both running around, much to their hilarity as you try and tag them. 

They’ll be running around in fits of giggles before you can say ‘Your IT’, and you’ll feel great for being outside and enjoying quality time with them. 

Who needs a gym when you’ve got a little one to run after? 

Colourful Chalk 

If your youngster is the creative type then grab some coloured chalks and set-off to beautify the playground. 

Letting me release their inner artist will encourage them to be confident in the activities they enjoy the most. Just don’t forget to take along some water to wash it away, as many local councils may frown on any leftover artwork. 

Just in case perhaps call the local council and suggest an area for creative chalk play. 

Colourful art should be encouraged and can brighten up some of the dullest parks. 

A Mini Circuit 

There is so much to do at the playground from swings to slides, to monkey bars, to roundabouts. 

Instead of following them around idly, create a mini circuit and time them to see how fast they can do it all. 

They will love the challenge and find it fun to know you’re helping them.

Giving them the chance to use all that the playground has to offer, is a great way of making them use and improve multiple skills. 

If you want to know about other activities that can help them with life skills, there are various articles online such as this one, which can tell you about the benefits of outside play. 

Kick or Throw 

Ball games are always the easy way out when it comes to playground games, but hand-eye co-ordination is a skill that ball games are great for. 

Whether you become their goalie, or you’re just playing a game of catch, ball games will make them concentrate on the task at hand and work with you. 

For much more fun, allow them to bring along a friend so they can do this with a team mate.

An Adventure for Explorers 

If your little ones get bored easily after a while in the playground, encourage their in explorers to take a nature trail. 

Help them find some treasures and wildlife that they can learn about. 

Whether you find a pretty flower to take home with you, or find a beautiful lady bug to watch. 

Showing them the wonders of the outdoors will make them feel as though they’re off on an adventure each time you visit the playground. 

Whichever game you decide to play just ensure you have done a quick safety check of the playground to ensure no little accidents may occur. 

If your local playground is not clean or safe encourage your local council to have it maintained by professionals such as these. A safe environment is a fun one, and it should be kept in pristine order for the community to enjoy. 

I hope you have enjoyed this post as much as I have, we love the nature trail idea and will be trying this out next weekend!

Mummy B xoxox