Pumpkin Picking With Picking Patch

Over the years Halloween in the UK has got bigger and better than ever, and I am most certainly here for it! Decorating the house, ‘trick or treating’ and probably my favourite activity of them all – pumpkin picking.

We normally have to head a little further afield for this, so I was over the moon when we were asked to visit Picking Patch’s new site in Warlingham, Surrey.

As we arrived in the field we were greeted with a sky full of orange flags wavering in the breeze, lines of wheelbarrows all smartly stacked and ready for use and a band of happy helpers that were there to let you know exactly what was going on and the best way to plan your day. The pumpkin patch is completely free to enter and once you have selected your favourites – they have an impressive twenty varieties to choose from! you can the head to the pricing boxes to see what you need to pay and finally finish things up at the till.

The boys loved being able to push the wheelbarrow through the fields and spent a good while selecting their favourites.

The fun didn’t stop there for us as we were booked onto the Halloween Maize Maze. We followed the story of the Feather Family, joined them for a selfie or two, sat down for a spooky dinner, left our spells on the haunted tree and whiled our way through the apothecary only getting lost once!

We ended the day with a bite to eat. There is a van serving hot food and drinks and an ice cream van if you are looking for a sweet treat.

We had an amazing morning and if you fancy seeing a little more then head over to Instagram or book your places HERE.

Family Halloween Brunch At Mama Shelter

Anyone that follows me will know that we are huge fans of Mama Shelter. It is the perfect destination for families and we can’t wait to celebrate Halloween there this year!

On the 29th October from 11.30am – 3pm the hotel will be bringing a taste of Mexico to East London with their Dia De Los Muertos – Halloween Family Brunch.

Alongside a gorgeous brunch menu – which I can most definitely vouch for! There will be a whole host of fun from face painting to magic tricks, football tournaments to arcade games, karaoke and much more!

When you book this fun and interactive family brunch you get to enter our competition. On the day, share your Instagram stories and posts of enjoyment, tag us @thejoyoffive and @mamashelterlondon and you will enter the prize drawer to win a Family Stay at Mama.

So what are you waiting for! GET BOOKING

T+C: The winner will be selected on Monday 31stOctober and the Family Stay includes a nights stay’ with two bedrooms (one for the parents and one for the kids) with complimentary breakfast. The stay will be valid to be booked to stay during the month of January 2023.

Click HERE to book you table now.

Our Top Places For Halloween Fun!

Spooky season is upon us so I have compiled a list of our favourite places to visit at this time of year. I would love to know if you have anymore to add to the list!

Secretts Of Milford: 2nd Oct – 29th Oct This has been a favourite of ours for years now. There is of course pumpkin picking, a spooky trail and the best pumpkin cake I’ve ever tried!

Chessington World Of Adventures: 15th Oct – 30th Oct Howl ‘O’ Ween is always a great day/or night out. All the fun of the theme park plus lots of scary extras. We love being able to take to the rides in the dark!

Godstone Farm: 22nd Oct – 30th Oct They have so much on offer this year from wand making, meeting Griswalda the witch, a spooky trail and lots more!

Picking Patch: 8th Oct – 30th Oct Now this is a new one to us this year so keep an eye out for what we get up to!

Hever Castle: This is another one we never miss! This year they have another fantastic trail, some gouly ghost stories and even the chance to plant some garlic to keep the vampires away!

Hobbledown: 26th Oct – 3rd Nov Meeting creepy crawlies, mystery boxes, puppet shows, ghostly tales, crafts, pumpkin bowling and sooo much more!

Let us know your plans!

David Lloyd Know How To Party

As I’m sure most of you know by now that I only have praise for the amazing health club that is – David Lloyd.

It helped my find my mojo again and was the catalyst for my weight loss, it’s a great way to spend quality time as a family as well as keeps you fit and it has even pulled my gaming mad son away from his Xbox which is no mean feat and I will be talking more about this soon.

As well as everything I have mentioned above one of the big pulls for me is the sense of community that David Lloyd encourages. There was is always something going on from quiz nights to BBQs and the other evening we went along to experience this at the kids Halloween party.

The three hour long party was full of fun from beginning to end. The children got the chance to make slime, try their luck with the slimy lucky dip, bob for apples, get their faces painted and so much more!

The staff all got into the spirit of the event and were dressed up and full of life. They boogied away with the kids and seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the children.

All parties need some good food and there was plenty on offer…even cheeseburgers in the shape of pumpkins!

It was the perfect way to kick off our Halloween half term and has only instilled in me more why David Lloyd is the only health club we would choose.

*We have been given a family membership for the purpose of these posts and they are all my own, honest opinions.