Broadcaster Natasha Kaplinsky will host an evening of festive song and spoken word to raise money for Barnardo’s as part of the charity’s Christmas campaign, known as ‘Kidsmas’.
The Kidsmas Live event will be broadcast from St. John’s Smith Square on December 1 and will feature virtual performances from several of the charity’s children’s choir supporters from across the UK. There will also be very special performances by soon-to-be announced musical guests and spoken word artists.
The leading children’s charity has teamed up with Vodafone to stage the virtual Christmas event to help bring some magic to a festive season which will be unusual for many around the country. Broadcast via YouTube Live, Kidsmas Live will give viewers the chance to hear beloved festive classics as well as newer pieces that speak to the times we live in.
This is the second year of the charity’s Kidsmas campaign, and the first time Kidsmas Live is taking place.
“The vulnerable children Barnardo’s supports need us now more than ever. As we enter a challenging winter season, many more families are falling into poverty and the pandemic is wreaking havoc on children’s mental health and increasing their risk of harm at home, online, and in the community. All this means too many children and young people will be deprived of the chance to enjoy the festive season.”
“All this means too many children and young people will be deprived of the chance to enjoy the festive season.”
Javed Khan, Barnardo’s Chief Executive
“This is why I’m particularly grateful to our fantastic President Natasha Kaplinsky for hosting Kidsmas Live and to Vodafone for its support. With their help, and yours, we can help raise vital funds supporting vulnerable children through this crisis and beyond.”
This is a press release from Barnardo’s • more details can be found on their website http://www.barnardos.org.uk
We’re not going to let lockdown take away our summer completely are we?! With the sun shining away this week, why not get into the kitchen and cook up a mean treat for your family at home this summer. There’s no need to go away just yet and a summer party or mini-BBQ at home might be the best way to go. If you have a slightly bigger space and are seeing people in your social bubbles, you could even try to organise a mini-festival!
I took the kids to visit a friend in our social bubble this week and she has a massive outdoor communal garden where we were able to create a mini-retreat space for the kids. We had a pool so the kids could take a dip when it got too hot, a healthy picnic lunch, games for the kids to play and we ended the evening with kids yoga. It was an awesome day and we all had an amazing time!
Our Kiddo’s Retreat! / Instagram: @mannyngo_yoga
How to throw a sizzlin’ summer party…
Depending on how much effort you want to put in, you can still throw a decent party by doing the following:
setting the scene
save time by preparing easy to make food
get the music and drinks flowing
get out the party games
take photos to remember the day
Credit: William Montout / Unsplash
Setting the scene: have a party theme
If you’re stuck for inspiration or your Google search is not you any justice, I’d highly suggest checking out Pinterest. It’s an amazing media platform where you’d find photos for absolutely anything. I usually like to do a brief search on Google before heading over to Pinterest to find examples of what my theme/concept is. There’s usually many variations and interpretations of “summer party idea” so try to be as specific as you can ie. ‘summer tropical party idea’ or ‘vintage summer party idea’.
This adorable citrus summer theme is perfect for garden parties / Photo Credit: Pinterest
Eco-Friendly Partyware
If you’re also going to be hosting for friends and family in your social bubbles, it might be easier to use disposable party-ware but forget all the plastic stuff. Party-ware has officially stepped up their game with recyclable, compostable and biodegradable disposables so it’s more friendly to the environment.
Swap your plates, cutlery and straws for these beauties. They look so pretty too! I’ve found a whole range on Party Delights and Amazon offers both square and round plates.
I’ve got my eye on a super-cute children’s 6pc bamboo set on Amazon- they’re easy to wash and nicer to use than plastic tableware which we have quite a few of now.. no more breaks and chips woop woop!
Save time by preparing easy to make food
As much as I love to cook, I actually hate preparing food for a party. I find it’s too time consuming and so much planning need to go into it. I’d simply rather buy something already made well than trying to DIY for the first time, or get a caterer in. However, there are a few simple dishes that I love making for a party which don’t require too much time, I’ll have to upload my own recipes for some of these but here’s my list of easy-to-make dishes:
Homemade Vegan Chickpea Burgers
This is my own recipe and I love it so much. It’s vegan-friendly too! No time to prep? PEP Kitchen‘s got you covered with ready made meals.
Need more recipe inspiration? Tesco have 10 quick BBQ recipes that are simple and easy to follow. They look super tasty too!
Photo Credit: Google
Get the music + drinks flowing
No party is a party without music. The easiest way is to connect your phone or electronic device to the speakers and you’ve got your own sound system. You can also play music straight from your TV if the speakers are loud enough. We have our own mini speaker that’s mega-powerful for its tiny size. Forget all those big name brands, the name you need to know is ANKER. My friend told me about this brand and I’ve not looked back since. I got my SoundCore bluetooth speaker for a third of the price I would’ve paid for a Sony speaker. Simply connect it to bluetooth on your phone and that’s it – music! On my phone I use Spotify and another music app to play YouTube videos so I can use my phone whilst the music plays.
Having a variety of drinks at your party is a good idea. We’re not drinkers in our house so I’m not sure what is the best one to choose but from what others have told me, summer alcoholic beverages are a treat, such as PIMMS, strawberry daiquiri cocktails, rum punch, sangria, and prosecco. Binary Botanical offer a range of gluten-free, vegan beers
If you’re T-Total like us, then these drinks might quench your thirst:
Alcohol-free alcohol – Kopparberg do an alcohol-free cider, Shloer is another great supermarket name and alternative to wine, Seedlip offer a premium range of alc-free botanical gins. For mocktail lovers, try Sipling cocktails which are alc-free and Outfox for a range of non-alc wines
lemonade and ginger beer are summer party staples – I love the shop bought stuff but if you want to get more involved, try making your own homemade version
summer fruit smoothies – The Honestly Good Smoothie Co. for ready-to-blend smoothie bags help cuts down prep time and saves on wastage
naturally spiced soft drinks – with choices like tamarind, ginger and sorrel, Carisips have got you sorted
Get out the party games
Party games are fun for everyone. Best children’s games include giant ring toss, giant snakes and ladders or connect-4. You can usually purchase these from Argos. Other kids games that only need a few or no props include:
team races – eg. relay race, egg and spoon race, sack race
hide & seek
scavenger hunt
charades
who am I (using post-its or sticky labels)
We nabbed a cheap plastic kids bowling set for £5 from a cheap store. If you want games that won’t cost a penny, Thifty Parent and Buzz Feed have a decent list of games you can play.
Take photos to remember the day
Take photos of the day to remember either on your phone, tablet or electronic device. Snapfish (10cm x 13cm) and SuperSnaps (6.7cm x 7.7cm) offer retro square prints that have that cool, polaroid picture effect to make your day really memorable. I’m still torn on getting an INSTAX square camera for Little Man’s birthday but that’s an extra splurge I don’t think I want to get into.
The online world is brimming full of wonderful things to discover. More so now than ever as we are all still quarantined and in lockdown.
BoJo has said today that the UK will be easing restrictions and going forward, it looks like schools may reopen in phase two which is due to start around June 1st. I’m not sure how I feel about this but we’ll have to just play it by ear and see how it goes. As for work, I work in a spa which is classed as hospitality so I’m guessing I’ll still be furloughed until they execute phase three.
Free printable and downloadable crafty activities
I’ve compiled a list of fun and free downloadable and printable activity packs, posters and projects for you to try out. I’ll also include a list of resource links where you can access even more crafty activities. I’ll continue to add to the list when I find more so it’s a little more comprehensive.
You can bookmark this page so you can return back to it at any time for more crafts.
The kids love a crafty session!
Free Activity Packs for kids & families
1. VE Day Activity Pack – word search, drawing challenge, home scavenger hunt and more.
2. Paw Print Family “Too Cool for School – at Home” Challenge Pack – for all ages from 3 to 18+ years. Challenges include DIY, family time, kitchen/food, indoors, outdoors and much more.
4. Activity Village Printables – a complete list of downloadable and printable activity sheets from crafts to poems to flash cards. There’s so much on here, you’d not need to look elsewhere.
5. Penguin Activity Pack – includes colouring activities, crafts and creating stories. The pack is divided into ages and aimed for kids from 0 to 12 years.
6. Bloomsbury Activities Page – a page full of colouring, craft activities, posters and even teaching notes for teachers and parents. Activities are divided into ages from 0 to 11 years.
9. NOW Gallery SE10 Creative Activities – from creating cat masks and crocodiles to colouring in and memory test games, this art gallery has a range of quirky and colourful projects to get the children’s creative juices flowing.
11. Discover Children’s Story Centre Egg Box Caterpillar craft activity – create a cute and colourful caterpillar inspired by the children’s book, The Hungry Caterpillar.
12. BookTrust Craft Activities – Pages full of activities that you can print out and enjoy. Includes colouring in, masks, picture frames, cut-outs and more.
I really can’t believe how quickly time flies. It’s also been a little while since I last posted on here and it’s simply because it’s been really busy at home. I currently have two part-time jobs which is making everything a little hard to juggle at home. It’s been so long since I last cooked a decent meal (the kids aren’t complaining – they are loving the amount of chicken nuggets and chips they can consume weekly.)
So between the two jobs, looking after the kids, lesson planning for kids yoga and self-studying yin yoga and keeping up with my own practice, I’ve found time to sit on the computer and type up this post. Simply because there’s SO many great things to do this October half-term and leading up to Halloween I wanted to share my favourite event with you guys. We will be attending most of these events – you can find a more comprehensive list on things to do on Time Out and Babes About Town so be sure to check them out too. I love reading the posts on Babes About Town because it’s very family-orientated.
So without further ado, here’s my list of fun things to do with the family this Halloween & half-term break:
Painting on a Pumpkin workshop
Where: V&A Childhood Museum
Dates: Monday 21 – Friday 25 October Times: 10.40, 12.30 & 14.40 (80 mins) Price: £7 per child
Use an unusual canvas to paint on… a pumpkin! Inspired by the Big Draw Festival’s theme, “Drawn to Life”, create a painting on a pumpkin with help from artist, Amy Brown to take home. Suitable for children aged 4+
Here’s a few photos of our pumpkin paintings from when we attended the event:
Paint your own Halloween Pottery workshop
Where: ARTFIX Cafe, Shewsbury House Date: Tuesday 22 October Time: 2.30pm – 4.30pm Price: £12.50
Come along for some half term fun!! There will be a choice of Halloween themed pottery pieces including pumpkins, monsters, or I can help turn your handprints on a plate into Dracula, a Witch, a Spider, the list is endless.
The workshop costs £12.50 and will include one pottery piece each, all paints etc and Daniella on hand for help. Booking is essential by email or DM. A £5 deposit will be requested.
Where: Stanhill Farm, Dartford
Dates: Tuesday 22 – Thursday 31 October Times: See website for more details Price: free entry, for the maize maze it’s £6 per person (free for under 4s) Forget BYOB, it’s all about PYOP (pick your own pumpkin!) Grab a wheelbarrow and head down to the patch where you will find a huge array of pumpkins in various different sizes. It is also a great chance for a photo opportunity, surrounded by a sea of autumnal, orange colour! There are two maize mazes – the main one which takes around 1.5hrs to complete or a mini-maze that takes around 20-30mins to complete.
Here are a few photos of our day out to the pumpkin patch:
2. Kid’s first time pumpkin picking!
Where: Foxes Farm – Basildon or Colchester
Dates: Tuesday 22 – Thursday 31 October Times: 10am til 5pm Price: free entry, optional £3pp for entry to the corn maze Head down to one of the two pumpkin patches owned by Foxes Farm – you can choose from Basildon or Colchester. Both patches have an 8-acre corn maze and loads of pumpkins to choose from. No need to book either, you simply just turn up! They accept both cash and card but do check their website for farm closures due to the weather. Be aware, they do not allow dogs onto their farms.
Where: The Jetty, Greenwich Peninsula Date: Thursday 24 October Time: 12-4pm Price: SOLD OUT – unfortunately this event has now sold out!
Come dressed in your Halloween best for witchy crafts and ghoulish games on Greenwich Peninsula. Get involved in some autumnal arts and crafts then head along The Tide in search of tricks or treats. Head back to the Jetty and spend the afternoon listening to a spooky story with a warm drink and snack from Hej – The Jetty’s resident café. All are welcome, but parents must accompany their children for the afternoon of fun.
Where: Lewisham Shopping Centre Dates: Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 October Times: 10.30am til 4pm Price: Free
This Half Term, head to Central Square at Lewisham Shopping Centre for some FREE spooky fun. From 24th to 26th October, we’re holding a Pumpkin Party in the centre. You’ll be able to carve pumpkins to take home, and don’t forget to have your picture taken in the stocks too.
Get your picture taken in the stocks and post it to @lewishamcentre on Twitter & @lewisham_shopping_centre on Instagram using the hashtag #snappedinthestocks to be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of spooky gifts from selected retailers – woop woop!
Here are some photos of our day out to the pumpkin carving at Lewisham Shopping Centre:
Go on a Witch Hunt at Cutty Sark Gardens
Where: Cutty Sark Gardens Date: Friday 25 October Time: 1-4pm Price: Free
Its a hunt for witches around Cutty Sark Gardens! With a clues sheet and small prize for each successful participant, enjoy this fun activity with the whole family. Suitable for children aged 7+
Where: cinemas nationwide Date: Friday 25 October Time: various
We are soooo looking forward to this movie release! We’re keeping an eye out on all cinema websites but it seems as though tickets are yet to be on sale so that means no pre-order which is a shame. We will most likely be watching at our local ODEON Greenwich cinema or at our favourite VUE Eltham cinema. It’s definitely going to be a big hit for all families looking for a spooky fun film to watch next week and running up to Halloween.
Go on a Petrifying Pumpkin Hunt
Where: Selfridges, Oxford Street Date: Tuesday 29 – Thursday 31 October Time: 11am – 4pm
Price: Free
Enjoy a spooktacular trip to our brand-new confectionary space on LG at Selfridges Oxford Street, London on either the 29, 30 or 31 October. Our ghoulish treats – including squishy body-parts sweeties and crunch skeleton biscuits (thanks Biscuiteers) – are sure to delight. Simply drop in and collect a map from our WOW Kiosk and you’re good to go.
Where: The Forum at Christ Church, East Greenwich Date: Tuesday 29 & Wednesday 30 October Time: 10am to 12pm / 2pm to 4 pm
Price: Free for under 6 months, £7.50 for 6-12 months, £15 for 1-5yrs
Toddlers and young children will have a fang-tastic time at this soft play party session. Complete with soft play, arts and crafts hosted by The Artful Toddler and refreshments. Parents/Carers go free which is an added bonus! Come in fancy dress or not, your choice. Book your tickets at The Forum’s reception.
Where: John Lewis Roof Garden, Oxford Street Date: Thursday 31 October Time: 10.30am – 12 noon Price: SOLD OUT – unfortunately this event has now sold out
Families and friends are invited to attend the annual Halloween Fancy Dress Party held on The John Lewis Oxford Street Roof garden. Children are encouraged to come along in fancy dress, don’t worry if you forget we will have a dress up area on hand to keep your little ones in character. There will be cookie decorating, face painting and much more.
Need some inspo on how to decorate your pumpkin? Take a look at this article from Good Housekeeping blog – it’s got some amazing ideas which you can easily replicate. We tried the balloon one, the ghost sweetie one and the nail varnish dripping.
The only one thing that makes our wet Christmas great is all that quality time we get with the kids.
I’m not talking about just being stuck in the house with the hyperactive chipmunks but actual quality time for bonding and doing things together. My terrible two drive me INSANE nearly every day but somehow, at Christmas time it seems to be the only time where we love being together, crafting and making things.
We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and it looks beautiful. I let the kids put up a few of the decorations and did the lights and glass decorations myself. I managed to salvage some of the beautiful glass decorations we had from last year. A LOT were smashed as Ame decided she wanted to play with them and Little Man wanted to do the same.
I’ve decided that doing some Christmassy crafts together would be the way to go this year as the kids are showing more interest in that sort of stuff. I’ve compiled a list of 35 Christmas things to do with the family in Greenwich and around London… in case you run out of ideas!
I can’t believe that the half-term holiday is almost over! 😦
I wanted to take LO and Baby Girl to so many places this week but unfortunately it wasn’t possible as my plans changed quite a lot during the day and it’s hard taking two kids out… well, that’s how I feel anyway. Maybe I’ve also been a bit selfish as I’ve still been going to my morning fitness classes and the gym and even managed to get away one evening to go out for a girly meal with some old friends. *hides face*
I do think I deserve one night early evening off at least… 🙂
If you’re stuck on Halloween ideas for this weekend, here are a few that I’ve come across for Friday to Sunday. I do apologise for posting this so late… I’ve been procrastinating with this post as I have a few other product reviews lined up which I need to start working on. Also my Polaroid Camera giveaway is still running but will end on Monday 31st October – the winner will be announced the day after. If you haven’t entered already, you can do so here… check out the blog post now
So without further ado, here are the few events around Greenwich and surrounding areas that may be of interest…
| FRIDAY |
Spooky Halloween Fun Day at Greenwich Market
Spooky Halloween Day
Where: Greenwich Market, Greenwich SE10
Time: from 12:00pm – 6:30pm
Lots of music, workshops and fun at every hour from 12pm until 6pm including a zombie party with Diddi Dance, family yoga with The Flying Mat, a scary fashion show, pumpkin judging and lots more.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “fun”?
I don’t know why but ball pits, bouncy castles, and tickling LO comes to mind at the moment!
What is your favorite time of day?
As much as I love LO, the period when he goes nursery, 1-3pm, is my favourite time of the day. The only chance I get to have for a bit of me-time!
Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want have a evening with?
This is a hard one… I am not too sure! I would have to say – if it’s anyone in the world – it would have to be my dad because ever since he moved back to Vietnam I haven’t seen him so just one evening to spend some good quality daddy-daughter time would be nice… then he can go back by 11pm so I can go to sleep!
Complete this sentence: Something that anyone can do that will guarantee my smile is…
…to tell a story that sounds like it was a true event but was completely made up! I love those stories – there’s a show that comes on the TV that I love watching and this is the concept of the show. I wish I could remember what it’s called but it’s hilarious!
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
From last week, it’ll have to be getting back on to WP and blogging again. I’m looking forward to a few events that I will be heading out to and this weekend’s fun with the friends… It’s always good to socialise! 🙂
What is your favorite month of the year?
Ummm.. I can’t really decide but I would have to say August – only because it’s my birthday month as well as LO’s.. and 3 of my siblings are also born in this month. 🙂
Do you drink coffee at all?
Definitely! Even when I was pregnant, I always had a latte (decaff of course!) in my hand. If it’s not a latte, then it’ll be a mocha or at least a cup of instant coffee! I can’t function without one.
What was one of your first moneymaking jobs (other than babysitting or newspaper delivery)?
I have never actually did babysitting or newspaper deliveries before – my first money making job was an actual job as a catering assistant for John Lewis’s restaurant a bit further out from home. I was 16 but was so thrilled that I was one of the first out of my friends to have a proper job.
List: If you play video/computer games list 5 games you like?
Okay, my inner-geek will now be exposed. I am not a great gamer though and don’t really play many but I love playing The Sims; then I quite liked playing The Simpsons when I had a PS console. One of my first computer game was Harry Potter The Philosopher’s Stone – that was a great game and the only game I’ve ever completed. Occasionally, I like to dabble with GTA San Andreas and Need for Speed.
Bonus Q: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? The weather – it was fantastic! Lots of lovely sunshine albeit it was a little too hot for LO. He was a bit poorly last week but is much better now, so I guess I am grateful that he’s recovered swiftly. This week I am looking forward to taking him out and having some fun in the sun! 🙂
I found an amazing post in my inbox this morning from a blog that I follow. At first, I thought it was kind of odd; what was this post all about? It turns out, this unusual post was a bit of ‘fun’ that I could join in on. I can’t say what it is right now but just know that I am trying hard to avoid doing it but I don’t know how long I can hold it off for. I am probably rambling on a bit now right? Did you just spot it? If you did, good on you! If you didn’t, carry on looking to find out. All I can say is that upon finding it out, you might think it’s a trick or an optical illusion but I’m adamant it’s not. Do you want to find out what it is now? Okay, look vigilantly at my words – this is a big hint. Still don’t know? Can you jot down a paragraph without using an E?
Why don’t you give it a try and see how many words you can write? I got this wonderful idea from Ann, blog owner of Grubbs n Critters who got it from Eric, owner of All In A Dad’s Work. Check them out! 🙂
Oddball: (noun) a person or thing that is atypical, bizarre, eccentric, or nonconforming (adjective) whimsically free-spirited; eccentric; atypical
Since last week Sunday I’ve been wanting to take part in this photo challenge but had nothing that I could deem of an “odd ball” image until yesterday afternoon after taking a photo of the inside of a mug. So I searched through my archives again and found some that were indeed odd-ball photos, Yay! 🙂
So here, I offer you my collection of odd-ball photos for this weekend:
Dried up matcha latte residue
The remains of my matcha latte had dried up leaving an interesting pattern at the bottom of the mug. Quite fascinating to look at I think – I couldn’t stop staring at it when I’d first seen it. It;s not everyday you see a photo of beautiful mould! 🙂
Spring Chicken
I wanted to use this photo for Easter but could never find the right moment which makes it an odd-ball photo I guess. My little spring chicken – he really loved wearing this mask.
This photo was taken when LO and I went to family baptism. They had a lovely little playground in the back garden and I was fascinated by the composition pf the shot. I love repetition and it was great to see this clearly visible in the photo (I never noticed it before). Despite the beauty of the photo, I never had the right moment to showcase this odd-ball until now.
I hope you enjoyed my little selection of odd-balls. Until next time… a bientot!
As much as I love to cook, I actually hate preparing food for a party. I find it’s too time consuming and so much planning need to go into it. I’d simply rather buy something already made well than trying to DIY for the first time, or get a caterer in. However, there are a few simple dishes that I love making for a party which don’t require too much time, I’ll have to upload my own recipes for some of these but here’s my list of easy-to-make dishes:
or check out the best places for a 
Wandering.Mother 