Hotel Deloix Review - Large Groups, Small Dupes, Stray Poop

For our family holiday this year, we stayed at the Hotel Deloix Aqua Center in Benidorm. The hotel is about a mile from the beach, situated in a pleasant area that isn't noisy or busy but does benefit from a few shops and entertainment venues a short walk away. I had not intended to write a review, however, when I got home, I realised that I had quite a lot to say and an unsponsored review might be of benefit to anyone thinking of booking a break in Benidorm. This is why the photos are a bit more haphazard than I'd like, but I hope you can still get a feel of what you get for your money here. The hotel was booked as part of a package holiday, so I can't tell you the exact cost of our stay, but the hotel advertises rates of £157.49 per night for full board in June at the time of writing. 

Snow White at the Bristol Hippodrome Review

 This week we were lucky enough to be invited to the free press night showing of a classic tale: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We did a little dance when the invitation came our way because while we were all sat indoors, twiddling our thumbs, eagerly awaiting the day we can look at this pandemic and say - “It’s behind you!” getting an invitation to escape it for a few hours was the next best thing. The pantomime is showing until January 2nd and you can get your tickets via this link www.atgtickets.com. It was a magical experience to see the Bristol Hippodrome eagerly throw its safety curtain up and doors wide open after this year of turmoil for the theatre industry. 

Review of the Mindscreen Experience for Children Part 2

In my first review of the Mindscreen Experience Toolkit, I covered my first impressions of the site and my thoughts on the early stages of the Mindscreen process. Today, I'm going to cover the first four sessions, including the lesson plans and organisation of the program. All opinions are my own and based on our experience. The lessons are not long, or difficult, but my son is 14 and generally allergic to anything that resembles learning or education, so he is not the most willing of subjects, but there is lots of guidance to help with keeping children motivated in the parent guides and I've included some tips to get your unwilling participants participating fully in the activities.  

The Best Family Video Games to Play Together

Video games were never a big deal when my daughter was small, she was never really interested, so I wasn't introduced to video games in any great abundance until my son was old enough to get involved. Now, like many parents, I worry about the effect they might have and how long he should be spending on them. Although I've written about my thoughts on Fortnite, I am by no means an expert, but I do happen to know one. There follows a guest post from Andy Robertson, author of the Taming Gaming book for parents and video game journalist, who gives a brilliant insight into the positives of video games for children and the best family video games to play together.

Creativity and Family Life

When you first become a parent, no one tells you how arty you suddenly have to be. For some people, this isn't necessarily a problem, but for others, the creative juices can be a little less forthcoming. One theory is that the creative side of the brain is more dominant in some people than others, which leads a proportion of us to relish creative tasks, whilst the rest run screaming for the hills at the merest glimpse of a Pritt stick. No matter how hard you try to avoid messy creative tasks, it becomes much harder once the children start school. It's not just the homework and the art projects, it's the party invites, cards for relatives and endless competitive dress-up days, to name but a few.

A 13 Year Old's Party at AirHop - Review

Each year it gets harder to come up with original and fun party ideas to celebrate L's birthday. It's important to mark the occasion, but older children have different ideas about what's entertaining! This year, however, I got really lucky and won  a party at Airhop in Bristol. We were celebrating L's 13th birthday and, since it's tricky to think of party ideas for older children, I thought I would share our experience. The Extreme UV party has many fun features and this post details how it was received by our guests who ranged in age from 6 to mid-forties! Could we really find a party idea that suited everyone? And what exactly is a UV experience? 

Captain Marvel Parent's Guide

It's not that I don't like Marvel films, I do. A lot. The problem I have is that they are heavily marketed at children, with many different toys, plushies, Lego models, etc, all featuring superheroes from the Marvel franchise. Which is absolutely fine, children need heroes, positive role models to look up to, but, here's the annoying part, the films are a 12A and often feature language and scenes that not everyone would consider appropriate, even if they are the right size for the corresponding costume! So, here is another Parent's Guide, so that you can make your own mind up about Marvel's latest superhero; Captain Marvel. 

The Natural Soap Company Review and Trial

I've suffered with eczema for years and other skin conditions too, like sebhorric dermatitis, which effects the scalp. I don't want to gross anyone out, but I do want to give a bit of background as to why I decided to switch my shampoo for natural hair soap, and maybe give hope to fellow sufferers with my results. I've never officially been told what causes these conditions, but I've always felt that harsh hair products could be making it worse. This post offers a review of the products I bought from The Natural Soap Company, and how their shampoo bar helped improve my skin.

Tom Gates Live - Theatre Review Bristol Hippodrome

We are very lucky to be able to review the stage shows at the Bristol Hippodrome on a pretty regular basis and, having different aged children, we have seen a wide variety of shows over time. Nothing piqued my curiosity quite like Tom Gates Live on Stage, though. Having read the books to my son many times when he was younger, I couldn't help wondering how Liz Pichon's unique animation style would transfer to the stage. It turned out, however, the author herself was very much involved in the production and stamped her particular style all over it with gusto! This is our review of this brand new show from Birmingham Stage Company. Tickets were gifted in return for our thoughts on this production.

Rocking a New Suit, with Roco Clothing

We had a very important event to attend, which required new outfits for everyone. This is something that doesn't happen every day, the graduation ceremony for my daughter's BSC Hons degree in computing and I intended to do it right. Which meant the boy needed a new suit. I had no idea where to start with this, I haven't bought a lot of suits in my time, especially not for small people, but Roco Clothing offered to send us a complete suit from their range, for free, in order to show us how much choice and style is actually available for boys. We chose the Navy and Navy Check Waistcoat set and this is a review of the product and service.

Westonbirt Arboretum Enchanted Christmas

On a chilly Friday evening, I went with my son, sister in law and two nephews, to visit Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt Arboretum, where we had been offered free tickets in exchange for our review. Considering it's not that far away from me, I'm surprised to say, this is the first time I've ever visited Westonbirt and, after experiencing Enchanted Christmas, the next visit may seem like a bit of an anticlimax, when the trees are returned to their natural brown colour and no longer sparkling or glowing. If you are  wondering if there's enough to entertain two adults and a small assortment of boys, aged between five and twelve, here's how we got on.

Santa's Secret Cottage Review, Kuusamo, Lapland

Travelling to Lapland to meet Santa is something many parents dream of for their children, so it's really important to find out as much as you can before booking your Lapland trip. If you are  planning to make the journey, or even thinking about it, here is the low down on what to expect when you visit Santa's Secret Cottage, which is about a 30 minute drive from Ruka, Kuusamo. We visited Santa there in March, as part of our trip to the Ski resort in Ruka and wanted to share our experience, to help you know what to expect and to prepare for this exciting part of your Lapland adventure.