#MySundayPhoto - Trip to the cinema

We decided this week to take the kids to the family films at the cinema. We love the weekend showings. At £2.50 per person (including adults) we can afford to take the kids to see a film. Its not the latest ones and they only have a small selection but it at least means the kids get the experience of going to the pictures. 

Here is the kids waiting to go in to see this weeks films :)

#MySundayPhoto - Just a stroll in the woods

We have had some lovely weather this week. Summer has officially hit us! We have been in the new house nearly a year and despite having a gorgeous woods behind our house, we have never been down there for a walk! This week we decided that we would grab some drinks and some munchies and do some exploring. 

The dog was well in his element and the kids had lots of fun. We found a few walking trails which we may explore at a later date. The kids were complaining about being tired so we left half way through :)

#MySundayPhoto : Beauty and the beast at the panto

One thing i enjoyed as a kid was going to the panto. We would go every year with the school and is one thing me and most of my friends looked forward to the most. 

At £50 for a family ticket, the panto is a little out of our reach, especially after adding on bus fare and treats. We was lucky enough to be chosen for a family ticket from our local bus company and went along to the Easter productions. I know it defeats the object on this weeks photo but I have misplaced my phone and this one was handy.  

We got to see a few familiar faces - Keith Chegwin and ITV's Anne Hegerty from The Chase. My childhood favorite Basil Brush was there as well to boom boom through the panto. 

We loved it so much that when the Christmas shows come to Nottingham, we will be saving up to take the kids for a Christmas treat.

#MySundayPhoto : Just a random day out at the the carvery!

One thing we do not do often enough is go out as a family. Since taking a wee blogger break we have taken the time to do more things together. The kids are not getting any younger and ill be honest.. i'm missing out on too much. 

Our local carvery had a fundraiser going on this week which we had a fantastic time at. There was little stalls and the carvery was down to £1.50 a person. The kids got their face painted and we go to play some games in the garden. 

It was a great day out, the smile on the girls faces confirm that :)

 

Enter random draws to win free show/tour tickets

We all like a freebie. I was browsing recently for pantomime prices and a website come up ive never thought about before. 

The BBC have various shows and tours throughout the year and offer FREE tickets to most of them. Sometimes you might be lucky and grab a family night out. Recently they were offering tickets to the Cbeebies: Alice in Wonderland musical where you could ask for up to 6 tickets. 

They are for specific venues so do double check you can get to them before applying. 

Check out the latest free shows and tours here 

Winter Wonderland 2014

Every Year we try to do something Christmas themed with the kids. When they were little we took them to see Santa or to see Romford lights switched on. Since we moved to Nottingham we have seen the Coca Cola Truck and are very lucky that Nottingham City Council transform the Market Square into an amazing Winter Wonderland themed market. This year was no exception. 

We popped down to Winter Wonderland 2014 last week and i thought the atmosphere was lovely and put us right in the mood for Christmas, i just wanted to share :)

 Some of the shops near the entrance. 

The shops are mainly handmade gifts, jams, chutneys, plaques things like that. It is not to over priced but if im honest i didn't buy much as these sort of things tend to be cheaper towards the end of the season or night. I do not haggle much when i buy handmade items as i appreciate the effort an the time it takes to create it but if i think its too much i will wait until they become desperate to sell things and have brought the price down a little. I did pick up some nice fudge and jams for hampers though which were reasonably priced at £1.50 each. I loved the Village in the middle of the North Pole feel and everything was lit up making the whole area look particularly festive. 

The Lights and Decorations 

As expected Nottingham has lots of Christmas lights up, mainly around the Market Square. The girls, especially little K was loving the huge festive decorations scattered around. 

The attractions 

There was plenty of fun things to do besides shopping. There was a huge Helter Skelter with a bar underneath, a carousel and a massive ice rink in the middle of the winter wonderland. Big K didnt take pictures of them all but there was lots of fairground games too like hook a duck, darts and various others. (Apparently someone decided to jump into big K's photo on the last one!) 

As well as all that there was lots of stalls selling food. Bang smack in the middle is a bar selling traditional ales and wines with seating overlooking the ice rink and plenty of food stalls selling ostrich burgers and other weird and wonderful foods. There was a very festive sweet shop selling lots of handmade sweet treats that looked like a traditional looking Christmas candy store which reminded me of santas elves :D Our most enjoyable moment was visiting the hot chocolate shop. We brought a cup of Cadbury's hot chocolate with added flavours (i had orange) It was really nice to sit and drink it with the Christmas lights around us and seeing the ice rink. The one thing i didnt see which i really missed was the hot chestnuts seller. Ill look for him when i go back next week. 

The Christmas Tree.  

Right in the middle of the ice rink is the hugest tree ive ever seen! Perfectly placed so the council building with its colour changing clock provided an amazing background. After i stood their for ten mins looking at it and wondering how long that must have taken someone to put those lights on! I was able to look at is as just the perfect centre piece to the whole event. It also inspired me to sort my tree out :) 

Does your local area do anything special? What are your family doing in the run up to Christmas?

A-Z of Summer: Day 14 - N

Day 14 is the letter N - Nature walk

We had a rare bit of sunshine this week, so took the girls to the nature walks and did a spot of geocaching. Unfortunately halfway through the day it decided to chuck it down so we made a early trip back home.

A- Z of summer: Day 8 - H

Day 8 is the letter H. The topic is Hunting treasure.

I have not actually done this yet as it has been raining but it is on my list of things to do. We have been before and had lots of fun. I just don't have any pictures of the day.

Geocaching

A- Z of summer: Day 7 - G

The letter for day 7 is G. Today we played Golf

I am a big fan of supporting local businesses. I spent many days trawling the net to find family friendly days out which are good value for money and was shocked by the many things that Nottingham has to offer.

Coming from London i am used to the obvious siteseeing, the museums and the play days or fairs, but this summer i wanted to branch out and find things my kids have never experienced.

I contacted The Lost City in Nottingham and very kindly offered a pass so we could experience their venue. I know there are some readers who are local and will already be aware of this attraction but for those who are further afield, i think you will find this post interesting when it comes to planning your next trip to the city.

A-Z of summer: Day 6 - F

Today is letter F. Our topic for today is Festivals.

At various times each year Nottingham hold a series of festivals. These are free to the public and always lots of fun. We have been here 2 years now and after hearing how amazing this was, i had to take the kids.

The Riverside Festival 

Each year Nottingham hold a festival at Victoria Embankment along the side of the River Trent. Its a gorgeous site with plenty of boats and open space.

Events this year included a dragon boat race, the Nottingham duck race, a small fairground, and a kids zone. There was also a display of steam engines and various stalls.

I fully expected the usual business stalls to be there, promoting their shops etc but there was so many things to do that it made the day so much fun.

Here is some highlights of our day.

Keep your kids entertained on a budget.

The summer holidays have started (ok im abit behind, it was the first day last week) We usually plan these 6 weeks military style, i have a notebook full of activities, both at home and outdoors. If its free... fantastic! If i need to pay, thats ok, we all like treats. If its more than £40.... we are saving up hard for it!

Over the course of the summer holidays i am going to post various things that we have been up to. Some are reviews, some crafty stuff, some "lets laze about all day in the house posts" all low cost or very good value for money. 

As some may be aware by now, i am a mahoosive fan of thing to do in my local area. When we lived in London, we took full advantage of the abundance of free museums, the underground taking us to anywhere we wanted to go and of course a spot of sightseeing. I was worried when i moved to Nottingham that the kids would miss out on the fun things. A quick google opened up a whole world of fantastic things to do right on our doorstep, many of which are very budget friendly. 

Here's a taster of posts i have planned: 

• A-Z of summer fun - Each working day ill follow something to do with that days letter of the alphabet. Its a fun way of planning things with the kids, they have got fully involved and they have an idea of what's in store in the future. 
• Some reviews of local attractions in Nottingham, Derby, Mansfield. 
• If budget allows, some reviews on attractions further afield. Up until recently, i was unaware how close some places were. If it is further than a 2 hour train ride, it will fall under this category. 
• Crafty activities. I have been saving up my toilet roll tubes, brought some paints and stocked the cupboard with baking stuff, ready for the days when we want to stay in and do something light. 

Keep an eye out for future posts. Whilst i aim to post daily, me being the busy bee that i am often does not allow this. I do hope to post at least 3 times a week but be warned for the catch up posts i may end up doing :D

What do you all have planned for your families? 

summer memories from 2013

Day 8 of my june photo challenge summer picture. The weather has been up and down so far this year so we have not had a chance to get out there and do anything fun. As i haven't been able to grab a photo so far this year, i figured a nicer post would be a run down of last summer and some of my favourite photos.

We originally lived in a small flat in East London, before moving up north. We never had anywhere safe nearby to take the kids to fly a kite so we improvised. Kaycee had great fun in the back garden :)

One of our free days out. I was working when Gareth and the girls went to Wollaton Hall. It looks gorgeous there and on the top of my list this summer. 

Kirsty posing for her photo at a charity fun day. 

My girls look worn out. This was another day out i missed on because i was working. This is just some random park close to where i worked. Its massive! Has a big gorgeous, old fashioned house in it, a duck pond, play park and surrounding woods which can be walked through. 

The gardens to Nottingham castle. We didn't pay to go into the castle because we are cheap :D 

Just outside Nottingham Castle is this beauty. It still houses the low ceilings, dark rooms cut out from the walls surrounding the castle. It has an amazing atmosphere and is cheap for a quick drink. 

Gareth blagged tickets for a fiver each so we could go see disney on ice at the capital.fm arena. It was an amazing show, i would have happily paid full price for it. 

Armed forces day last year was fantastic. The girls met Robin Hood and Maid Marion, saw lots of old WW2 tanks and planes, talked to some soldiers and saw some reinactments. We are very much looking forward to this years armed forces day.

This year we are hoping to take the kids to the little beach, the council set up in the market square. Not the same as sitting on a beach, but saves a hefty £68 train fare to Skegness! 

What are your planning this summer with your family?