Wednesday 20 June 2012

Going away... with children!

Travelling before children - have a nap, read a book, watch a movie, listen to some music while relaxing, chat to people next to you, catch up on some work...

Travelling with children .... is very different to put it mildly. Not a relaxing experience for sure, takes a lot of planning and attention. Having gone away recently and realising many of you are still yet to travel to your holiday destination, I thought I would share what has helped me.


1. Snacks! Food always improves the children's mood, it's magic! Plus while they focus on the food, they can't do much else. Hopefully! That's how it worked for us: Carton of apple juice each -  5 minutes of peace. Pack of Organix cheese and chive puffs each - another 5 minutes. A biscuit each - 2 more minutes. Another great thing about snacks is that the more is eaten, the lighter is your bag. Magic, like I said!













2. Things to do - colouring books (don't forget the crayons!!!) sticker books, sketch boards, books to read, "Find Wally" books.

3. New toys. The key is that it has to be something new. I think wrapping them might be a nice touch. And might keep the kids busy for another couple of minutes. Of course, there is a space/weight to consider. I have bought little wind up caterpillars so that my girls can have races with them. They are small and move which makes them interesting!



4. Give your children their own backpacks/suitcases. Adds to the excitement for the kids and you will have less things to carry! Win-win!

5. iPad, DVD-player with a trusty favourite cartoon.

6. Window watching. When Lucy was telling about our holiday, it became clear that she remembers the most were cows, horses and sheep they saw from the train windows!
7. Why not to team up with other parents who are trying to entertain their children. It will be clear from the first couple of minutes if they are interested or not! New friends and new toys work magic as well.

8. I have recently read this great idea about scavenger hunt on Creative Mama blog, which I thought was fantastic - turn the travel time into a game: http://thecreativemama.com/traveling-with-young-scavengers/

Please share in comments if you have more ideas, for me and other parents who might be reading this!

Friday 1 June 2012

Our celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Every little girl of a certain age that I know dreams about being a princess. I have one of those, well, with her younger sister copies everything she does, makes them 2! She loves watching princess cartoons when her mean mum (me!) lets her once we are done with our endless activities, Mulan being current favourive for the last couple of months. She knows what colour hair and eyes every Disney princess has, and never misses an opportunity to show off her tiara, wear beads, bracelets and rings and of course sparkly shoes! So I knew my little creative session would be very welcome.
Seeing lot of bunting everywhere has created a lot of questions so I have tried my best to explain to my little princess what will be celebrated very soon and she is very excited about the coronation and the Queen.



 
© Tamara Tovey Photography