Our Family Holiday - At Butlins

 

The day after Daniels birthday party, we all packed up & headed off to Butlins - Minehead. Crazy going the day after the party, but it meant that Nanny was already up from Devon to look after the cats, rats & fish. She also manages to make my home look all sparkly & new, thanks Mum!

The first 2 days we had glorious sunshine, however the English weather returned to the status quo of could & (some) rain! It didn't spoil the holiday though as there is so much to do inside, however the early evening we spent in the pub garden whilst the boys played in the park was nice.

Whilst we were away it was Daniels actual Birthday, he had a great day swimming & enjoying the rides & shows. In the evening we ordered the party package so or dinner table was decorated, he had a card from Billy Bear & a cake. This really made the day special & was worth the £14.99.

There was so many great things on resort, that we didn't get around to going on the beach until after the weather had turned. We did however find a dry (if a little windy) morning to visit the beach. Joseph (4.5) really loves everything to do with the beach so was in his element.

The same day the 2 (much older) girls who were in the apartment opposite us had also been on the beach & had collected rocks, shells, old coins, a toy solider & they had even caught 3 crabs (2 were tiny). They invited the boys to take a look before they took them back to the sea. They were in a washing up bowl & it was like a sea sensory box. Both boys loved this & enjoyed holding & watching the crabs, it was hard to tear them away.

They also enjoyed watching the Skyline Gang shows & were really thrilled to be able to meet some of them after the show. Daniel was to shy to go up to Candy (pink one), possibly because she was a girl!

Being on the go everyday really tired he boys out & even though they were in bed by 7/8 each night & slept well, its going to take them some time to recover. It was a really great family holiday & we are already thinking about booking again.

x Jo x

P.s. If you would like a more detailed review of Minehead Butlins why not check out Mummy Mishaps recent post.

Daniels 3rd Birthday - Racing Car Party

Daniel requested months ago that he would like a racing car party, he loves Rory The Racing Car & Disney Cars. He also loves just playing with cars in general.

I found lots of great ideas on Pintrest for Daniels birthday party & wish that I could have used them all, however as well as wanting to spend a fortune, time was also limited. So in the end we made:

• a large road / track from masking tape
• road signs from wrapping paper tubes
• traffic light jelly
• car shaped biscuits
• colouring station

(click on links for more details)

We were very lucky that we were able to set up in the hall the night before. So after getting the boys to bed & making sandwiches with help from my husband & mum, I set to work on creating the masking tape road. I made sure that all the tables & chairs were in place then went as big as I could. The zebra crossing  went down well, with kids using it to cross. I think the dashed line in the middle really adds to the effect, however when it came to packing up time my husband really wished I hadn't gone to the effort!

We were able to use the toys belonging to the toddler group at the hall, so used all of their ride-ons & cars, with a couple of ours as well. We also borrowed their car play mats & garage, to set up a quieter corner.

Colouring station (later turned in to the eating table)

The boys stayed at our house with Nanny while I was setting up & were so excited & surprised when they came in! I think they would have been happy with the party had it just been them!

When Daniels friends arrived they all joined in. For the most part they all played on the road, with a few breaking off to colour or play with the garage. We had to tear them away to play pass the parcel.

We had a morning party 11-1 so the boys wouldn't be too tired, but it also meant that by 12 everyone was ready for the food. After eating the kids all went back to the cars & I got our bubble maker out for the last 5 minutes (only because i had packed it, not because they were bored).

Daniel & his best friend enjoying the food

I cheated & bought the cake from Asda

I think home time came around too soon for everyone, especially Joseph & Daniel. Tho the party bags did help to soften the blow.

I enjoyed Daniels party, only having 12 kids helped keep it quite calm & having a theme made planing easier. I also really liked that it was early in the day meaning we had the whole afternoon to enjoy & leftover party food for tea!

Now to start planning Joseph's 5th birthday, he has requested a Halloween party...

x Jo x

P.s. I'm happy to answer any questions, please leave a comment & I will get back to you ASAP

Traffic Light Jelly

After seeing traffic light jelly on pintrest, I knew it would be perfect for Daniel's party. I found these clear plastic ups at Stax, as lots of places I tried only had white in a small size, so i snapped these up when I saw them! My Mum wasn't convinced that I would have any success in layering my jelly & I was a little worried after several trifle fails in the past. So here are my top tips for layering jelly:

• Make Jelly slightly stronger than normal (approx 7/8ths of a pint)
• Let it set for at least 3 hours before adding another flavour
• Let the Jelly get to room temp before pouring it on to a set layer
  
  
  
  

  

  Joseph enjoying his jelly

I made this jelly the day before the party & was really pleased with the effect. If I was to make these again I would add a little green food colouring  to the lime jelly as the green was a bit pale. Also while looking for the original idea on pintrestto give credit (which i cant find!) I saw that someone used custard for the middle layer!

It went down well at the party, but the boys were pleased that there was a couple left over for them to enjoy at home. I will be posting more details from Daniels 3rd Birthday party soon.

x Jo x

P.s. Don't forget to enter our giveaway.

Car Theme Party Ideas

Daniels 3rd birthday is only a month away now & he has asked for a racing car themed party (after falling in love with a cake at the supermarket). We have hired a local hall as once you have a couple of families our house is full & we would like to let him invite about 10 friends. We hired the same hall for Josephs 3rd Birthday I think we had almost 20 children & babies. Joseph didn't ask for a theme so we hired a bouncy castle which went down well, but with that many kids it was a little crazy!

I have been busy pinning ideas to my Party Ideas board on pintrest, so I thought I would write about my favourites in case anyone else has a car obsessed little boy!

I totally love these cardboard box cars, however we are lucky enough to know the lady who runs the toddler group at the hall so have free use of their toys. So we will have enough ride in/on cars & trikes for all the kids. They also have a couple of car play mats & garages which we will also set up.

Again I love this road & was planning on making similar as a race track, however as my husband and mum pointed out it might not last long with the kids riding cars around on it & could become dangerous. So I'm going to go with using just masking tape to make the road/track, I think it will depend on time on the day as to how fancy it gets! 

I 'm going to make some of these cool road signs & have been saving cardboard tubes just for this. I love the traffic lights, not sure if mine will be working though.

I'd also like to have a go at making a beanbag toss like the one above, as I'm sure we would be able to use them lots after the party.

I love this table design, I've just got to track down some cones, if anyone knows of a UK shop that sells these please let me know. (I bought some from ELC in the end)

Moving on to food, I've already got a car shaped cookie cutter & found these fab ideas (which again depend on time the day before). I'm also going to make some mini toothpick checkered flags

I already have a box of cars for the favours (or party bags as they are called here in the UK) but love the idea of the traffic light play dough.

I really need to get my bum in gear & start organising this party. I know that Daniel is going to love his party, he is looking forward to it so much he is inviting everyone he meets & random people on the TV!

If you have had a car party or have any ideas I would love to hear them.

x Jo x

P.s. To take a look at which ideas I used for Daniels party click HERE.