Category: Birthdays

Allergy Free, Birthdays, Blogging, Cafes, Cakes, Children, Chocolate, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Families, Family Life, Food, Kid Bloggers, Kids Days Out, Nut Free, Parents, Photography, Reviews, Wheat Free

Our Very First Blogging Event

by thejoyoffive23 Comments on Our Very First Blogging Event

Since starting blogging just over six months ago I have been completely taken in by everything the blogging world has to offer.  I love meeting new people through social media, getting inspiration from other people’s great blogs and trying out new things that I can then review and pass on mine and the children’s thoughts to others.

As silly as I probably seem I was thrilled to receive an email the other day inviting us to a blogging event at Centrale Croydon.

On reading the email it sounded like a real fun packed day that the kids would love and I would love writing about.  Then the fear set in!  What would I wear? Would the children behave? Does this now make me a ‘real’ blogger? 

My fears we quashed as soon as I made my way to the Build A Bear Workshop where our day was starting.  I was greeted by some other lovely bloggers and their great children and just knew from then on I was going to love the day.

   
 

An exited group of children made their way inside the brightly coloured shop and were met by the super friendly, bubbly staff.  Name labels were given out and they were then sent off to pick their very own bear from a huge range that would cover any child’s taste.

  
We settled for a minion, fluffy bunny and a rainbow coloured teddy.  The children were then allowed to go up one at a time to help stuff their bears whilst taking part in lots of fun games to keep them amused.

   
       

Number three and four had a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anybody.  Number five on the other hand decided to fulfill my fear of badly behaved children and cried and moaned through the whole experience!  The staff were not fazed in the slightest and tried their best to involve him in the fun.

   
 

From here they had all worked up a good appetite so we made our way round the corner to an ice cream parlour called Gelatos.  

Again we were greeted with a smile and seated in the funky purple booths, where we chose our lunch from a vast selection of hot and cold food, hot and cold drinks and lots of supper scrummy waffles, sundaes and milkshakes.

   
     

Normally places like this are off limits to us due to number fours allergies; here they were not a problem and they catered for everything.  They managed to find a suitable lunch for him that was then finished off with a yummy sorbet.  Number two and five had a delicious panini, a big scoop of icecream and a georgous Oreo milkshake.

  

  

  

Our last port of call was to go and take a look around the beauty and photography studio Hello Georgous.  Number three who is a complete diva was thrilled with everything she saw and was looking on in awe of the girls there having their nails done and waiting for their special photo shoots.

We have been booked in for a mother and daughter manicure and can’t wait to let you all know how our day goes.

All in all apart from the tantruming toddler we all had a fantastic day and loved every minute of our experience. Any element of the day would have made a brilliant birthday party or special treat for your little ones.  The teddies have already been on a trip away with us and we will be booking in our girly day very soon, which I’m sure we will finish off with another trip to have a sneaky ice cream!

  
   
 

  

  

  

Birthdays, Children, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out, Large Families, London, Memories, Outdoor Play, Parents, Photography

Birthday Celebrations At Southbank 

by thejoyoffive13 Comments on Birthday Celebrations At Southbank 

  
 

I have done a fair bit of travelling over the years, but London always holds a special place in my heart.

I love the hustle and bustle, the eclectic range of people and the wonderful architecture the city has to offer.

   
     

We are only about a 30min train ride from central London but don’t visit that often as squeezing on and off the trains with all the children is no mean feat!  For us Southbank is always the perfect place as it is only two overground trains away and directly outside Waterloo station.

   
     

We went to celebrate my eldest turning 18 and we knew there would be plenty of things for us all to do once we got there.

We we not disappointed as we got there and after a short walk came across a super cool exhibition that offered free badge making and colouring for the children.

  
As always mine were starving so we had a quick coffee and cake stop before walking along the river.

Once we were refuelled we went exploring and found some cool brightly coloured plastic strips that they had great fun running in and out of, a great sandpit that they had a great time digging in, and our usual trip to the park.

   
     

  
We stood for a while looking at the street entertainers who scared the life out of number four to start with!

   
   

Number two loves scooting and skate boarding so we spent a good while by the skatepark watching all the tricks.

   
 

After lunch we spent our last bit of time there taking in the sights whilst number one had her first ‘legal’ drink!

   
   

A wonderful day was had by all and we will be coming back very soon to check out the Carston Holler exhibition at the Hayward Gallery which looks  fantastic.

  





  

  

  

Birthdays, Cafes, Egg hunts, Farms, Fish, Garden Centres, Kids Days Out, Nutfield, Photography, Picnics, Priory Farm

Photography Courses And Discovery Walks At Priory Farm

by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment on Photography Courses And Discovery Walks At Priory Farm

  

Today was a super early start as I had an over exited number three jumping onto the bed ready to start some more birthday celebrations.  The early start along with number four jumping fully clothed into the bath was not the best start to the day.  

We finally arrived at Priory Farm in Nutfield by the skin of our teeth to get number three signed into her photography course.  Since I started  this blog she has taken a real interest in photography and I may be biased but she seems to have a real eye for it.

    

The course is run by Lillian Spibey Photography and is an informative couple of hours teaching the children how to perfect their skills in taking pictures of the landscape and wildlife along with a photographic Easter egg hunt and a fun filled jeep ride around the farms beautiful grounds.

She came back full of beans, super proud of what she had achieved and itching to get signed up for the next course.

Whist number three was busy doing her thing we passed the time taking part in the discovery walk that the farm offers.  Once we had grabbed our quiz sheets and fish food we set off to answer all the questions whilst exploring all the other things the trail has to offer.

   

           

Number two is hitting that awkward age where activities with Mum are really not cool anymore, but I didn’t get a moan out of him today.  He was more than happy to help his brother answer the questions, climb the balance beams and explore every little area there was to be found.

   

  

Near the end of the walk is my children’s favourite part; feeding the mass of fish in the beautiful pond.  No matter how many times we visit they are always astonished at the hundreds of hungry mouths that come up to greet you and gobble up the food.

   

   

   

Quizzes ‘almost’ completed we collected our prize and stopped for a little picnic and play on the splendid wooden pirate ship.  There are plenty of great picnicking spots all over the farm, but this is our favourite spot as the children can play whist you can relax and still keep them in sight.

  

Our last port of call was to get a warm drink from the recently refurbished coffee shop.  There is plenty of space in there to fit your buggy without being in the way, and lots of large tables to accommodate my extra large family.

   

 

You really can make a whole day of it at this farm.  Aswell as everything we got up to today there is a well stocked garden centre with everything you could need, a beautiful farm shop with lots of fabulous fresh food on offer and a playground that is currently undergoing an exiting refurb.  This is the first of many trips this year.

 

Airhop, Birthdays, Guilford, Kids Days Out, Trampolining

Jumping Around At Airhop

by thejoyoffive5 Comments on Jumping Around At Airhop

 

Number three turns nine this week so at the weekend we celebrated by visiting Airhop in Guilford.  We had not been before, but number two had been a couple of times with friends and had come back raving about it; so much so he was very disappointed that it was only a girly visit with two of her friends.

Being a large family everything is done together and I always let them have a treat on their birthday by having some one on one time to do what they like with their friends.

We had a very early start as the only session I could get booked onto was nine am!  So with this in mind if you are planning on going then make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get your slot of choice.

Once inside we were greeted by a team of young, enthusiastic staff that guided us through what we needed to do before we started and handed out the all important Airhop socks that have not left her feet since we visited!

  

   
     

The session lasts an hour and in that time they get to somersault into a huge foam pit, bounce around on the many adjoined trampolines, play a game of dodgeball or shoot some hoops into the basketball nets.  Once they are all tired out there is a selection of drinks and snacks in their cafe which is on the upper level where the parents can grab a coffee and get a great view of all the action.

   
     

They all had a fantastic time and we will be back to visit, although next time I won’t be left out and will be booking my place to join in with the action!

How do your little one like to celebrate their special days?