Tag: fairs

Children, Christmas, Cinema, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Families, Family Life, Festivals, Food, Kids Days Out, London, Outdoor Play, Parks, Reviews, Shopping

An Uber Cool Christmas At Winterville

by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment on An Uber Cool Christmas At Winterville

Last year we had our first visit to Winterville on Clapham Common. We didn’t really know what to expect and we were pleasantly surprised with its calm, cool, festive vibe.

When we were asked to visit again this year we jumped at the chance and as soon as we got there we knew it was going to be just as much fun. The neon sign shone out across the park and welcomed us in with its pretty christmas lights, catchy christmas tunes and the smell of wonderful food.

I would actually sat that if you are  bit of a foodie then Winterville will be right up your street.  There is so much on offer with the Truck Stop and Street Feast areas homing the majority of the stalls. From crispy chips to sticky ribs, Baileys hot chocolates and warm cookie dough puddings.

Of course its not just food and drink on offer at Winterville. There is a whole plethora of amazing activities to join in with and the kids didn’t know where to start first!

The gleaming lights of the fairground rides were calling us and while Izzy headed to the bigger rides I stayed with the boys and took a ride on the train, span around in the tea cups and watched them as they bounced as high as they could on the trampolines.

It was now a bit of time for Mum so I grabbed a mulled wine and took a look around the Solo Craft Fair that had some amazing gifts for some amazing independent business which makes a very welcome change to some Christmas markets that are full of  mass produced items you can get anywhere.

Crazy golf is always something my lot love and the the UV – powered Plonk Golf course at Winterville was great fun.

Anything that involves being on wheels or blades draws my children in but is my worst nightmare! Winerville have both a beautiful ice rink and a roller disco on offer and i managed to persuade the kids to only try out the ice skating as I don’t think my nerves could take both.

All of the children could take to the ice and there are penguins to help the round the rink. We all did really well until the very end where Oscar took a tumble just as he was putting his penguin back. We ended up with a split lip and a very sad little boy and I have to say that in this moment of need we were confrunted by a surly and very unhelpful member of staff which was a real shock after having such an amazing experience with everyone we had come across.

We literally scrapped the surface of everything on offer at Winterviile. There are live DJ sets, cocktail bars, wrestling, Backyard Cinema, Big Fish Little Fish family rave, family shows on a double decker bus and so much more.

So if your looking for somewhere to kick off that festive spirit then this is the place to be!

*we were given tickets to Winterville for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Children, Christmas, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out, London, Memories, Photography, Reviews, Uncategorized

Kicking Off Christmas At Winter Wonderland

by thejoyoffive5 Comments on Kicking Off Christmas At Winter Wonderland

The sparkling lights of the christmas trees, hot mulled wine and creamy hot chocolates, thrilling fairground rides and captivating shows are just a few of the attractions that bring people to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London in droves year after year.

Although this attraction has been running since 2007 its somewhere I have never visited before; so when I was asked along to a preview day last weekend I was just as excited as the children.

We arrived early on Sunday morning to minimal crowds which gave us the opportunity to get check things out and stroll round the Christmas Market before we headed to the Megadome to see the Sooty Christmas Show.

This was a real blast from the past for me and I was surprised that my lot had absoulty no idea who these super cute hand puppets were! This however had no bearing on their enjoyment of the show and I looked on with such delight as the whole audience of little faces squealed and giggled with delight at the slap stick comedy going on before their eyes.

From near the mark jokes to keep the adults entertained to soaking the audience with water pistols there was a laugh a minute and my children didn’t take their eyes off the fun for the entire show.

We had a short break to grab some refreshments before heading back to watch the amazing Zippo’s Circus Christmas Show.

I am ashamed to say that I don’t think in my twenty years of being a mother I have taken any of my children to a circus. I have no idea why this is and after watching the show last week I have really missed out.

Zippo’s is a family run circus and I was lucky enough to meet Zippo’s wife the lovely Julie who’s love and passion for her work really shone through.

We were treated to a whole host of wonderful acts from singing, dancing and comedy to escapology and the most spectacular acrobat who took to the air in a huge metal structure that was absolutely breathtaking.

Zippo’s circus is pure family entertainment and would make the perfect Christmas treat.

From here we had the rest of the day to explore Winter Wonderland and all it has to offer.

The site itself is free to get into and then there are pre-booked attractions to enjoy such as ice skating, the Magical Ice Kingdom, Cinderella On Ice, Cirque Berserk and the giant observation wheel.

If rides are more your thing then there are hundreds on offer from huge roller coasters for the thrill seekers like Izzy or plenty of tamer rides that I stuck to with the boys that can be used by purchasing tokens.

The rides vary in price and there are limited stalls that accept card so taking cash is the best move.

Our favourite ride of the day was the observation tower that takes you to a nerve wracking 80 metres to give you a breathtaking 360 view of London’s skyline.

I not the biggest fan of heights, but once we were up there I couldn’t help but wonder at the view.

It was now time to find ourself some much needed food and it was pretty hard to decide upon what we wanted as the choice is so vast and absolutely everything was massively tempting.

From succulent meat sticks to chunky chips to sticky waffles and crispy churros there was something to tempt any palette and I could have easily eaten my way round each and every stall.

As the sun began to set and the crowds began to grow we started to make our way home after a truly fabulous day that filled our heads full of memories and hearts full of the magic of Christmas.

Winter Wonderland was everything I expected and more and it is firmly on my list for next year.

*we were invited along to this preview for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Craft Fairs, Families, Family Life, Farms

Our First Country Fair Of The Year

by thejoyoffive2 Comments on Our First Country Fair Of The Year

The beautiful sunshine came out for us yesterday to make a trip to our first country fair of the year yesterday.

Years ago we used to visit Merton Abbey Mills and decided to take a trip there in with the Country Fair at Morden Hall.



Sadly the buzzy atmosphere that there used to be at Abby Mills is no more with a real lack of stalls.  It’s such a shame and would be great if some kind of regeneration project could be started there as its such a great area.

That said the boys had fun picking themselves a toy from one of the stalls, there are plenty of good restaurants to chose from and popping into see the water mill working is always great fun.


From here we walked to Morden Hall to see what was going on at their Counrty Fair.  It is a fair walk but all flat and takes you past Dean City Farm which is always worth a visit.

We made our way into the grounds where people were picnicking and playing pooh sticks from the many bridges the grounds home.

The fair itself is a real mixture of the traditional attractions that I love such as coconut shys, willow weaving, bee keeping, magicians and many more with the big rides that the older ones love.


The steam engines were wonderful to see and everyone loved the huge display of KNex that had been set up as a miniature fairground.


There were plenty of food stalls to choose from and a couple of great Pimms and traditional cider stalls.

The highlight for the youngest two was the medieval area where they got to watch the Knights complete in full armour.  Number four said it was the best thing he had ever seen!


This was the perfect start to the spring for us with so much to see and do inside and out of the fair.  It is running again today if you fancy popping down to take a look!

Children, Craft Fairs, Families, Family Life, Holidays, Kids Days Out, Outdoor Play, Parks, Surrey

Our Last Summer Fete Of The Year

by thejoyoffive8 Comments on Our Last Summer Fete Of The Year

For anyone that knows me they will know that one of my top summer activities is visiting village fairs.  I love the feeling of stepping back in time and the simple fun of things like the coconut shy, lucky dips and tombolas.

With the last Bank Holiday upon us we set off to visit the Donkey Derby in Godstone, Surrey.  It was everything I love about a village fair, lots of stalls to browse, cream tea tents, Punch and Judy and the added bonus of the donkey races.

   
   

The children loved picking a donkey to cheer long and watched them race over the finish line.  They sat mesmerised at the Punch and Judy show and had a couple of rides on the monkey swings.

We had our obligatory cream tea under canvas while the children tried their hand at hand spinning and now  know where the song ‘wind the bobbin up’ comes from.

   
   

The highlight of number five’s day was the ornate wooden organ that he stood by for ages dancing to and popping pennies into the pot.

   

It was a lovely way to round off the summer holidays and now roll on the Christmas markets. 
  

Cakes, Children, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Families, Family Life, Flowers, Food, Gardens, Grandchildren, Grandparents, Kids Days Out, Large Families, Memories, Outdoor Play, Parents, Photography, Surrey

Flower Show With More Cream Teas

by thejoyoffive8 Comments on Flower Show With More Cream Teas

Every year a wonderful house in the pretty village of Chipstead in Surrey opens its grounds to allow the local flower show and fun run to take place.

This is always a favourite for our family as it feels like a step back in time with a traditional brass band, coconut shys, cream teas and Pimms tent.

   
     

We took a wonder around the gardens of the owners grand home and had a look at his collection of exquisite classic cars that number four wanted to have a drive in!

   
     

Next stop was a jump around on the bouncy castle, trying our hand at the tombola, a successful throw on the coconut shy and some cupcake making.

   
     

We had a pit stop and endulged in a scrummy cream tea whist listening to the fabulous brass band.

  
It really feels like you are on the set of something like the ‘Darling Buds Of May’.

There are lots of games and shows put on in the centre of the main field and plenty of stalls selling lovingly handcrafted goods, flowers and lots of yummy food.

We saved the show tent until last and left the little ones outside with my Dad so I could have a good look around without the worry of one of them destroying someone’s entry that they would have put so much time and effort into.

   
   

My Mum was a keen flower arranger many years ago and I am really getting into photography do next year we are thinking about entering ourselves!!