One of the hardest things about being a mum for me has always been managing the guilt. You know… the ever-present mum guilt that comes as a side order with everything. Have to go away with work, you guessed it I feel guilty at not being with the boys, guilty at the having too much screen time, guilty at not making them eat more vegetables. You get the picture.
How to choose a family-friendly villa in Bali is paid collaborative post. So, you’ve got your tickets booked – you are coming to Bali this next holiday and you are bringing the kids along. Wonderful! Want your family island stay to be fun and relaxing for all of the family members? What you need is a private pool villa – a place that you can call your home for the whole duration of your stay on this beautiful and exotic island.
Fab teen approved family activities is a paid collaborative post with Track Days. Having a teenager is taking some getting used to here in The Mad House. No longer can I coax them out of the house with the promise of a picnic and park day as I have done in the past. No the lure of their Xbox and friends (and for some teens their bed) is far too strong. So I have promised the boys that we will do one teen approved family activity a week.
Money-saving tips for UK family holidays is a paid collaberative post with Holiday Cottages. Holidays are when we make some of the best memories together as a family, but it can be hard to plan the perfect family holiday on a budget. Luckily UK holidays are becoming more and more affordable, and there are so many great attractions and places to visit across the country that you don’t even need to go abroad to have an amazing time with the kids. Holidays in the UK can be cheaper than you think, especially when you know how to make your money go further so it can be spent on the things that more »
Top 10 Tips for getting kids to unplug on road tripsUnplugging on road trips is a paid collaboration with Aviva. It seems that car journeys for kids have changed a lot since I was small, mostly for the better. I remember being carried to the car in my PJ’s in the middle of the night and laid down on the back seat to go back to sleep without seatbelts, yes I am that old!
We were invited to Crealy Meadows over the Easter holidays for a 4 night/5 day break in one of their luxury lodges. After a long and wet, cruddy winter I thought we all deserved some Devon sunshine and some time reconnecting as a family. Plus the last time we had been to Crealy Adventure Park the boys were about 7! However, I am not going to beat around the bush the boys at 13 and nearly 12 would be quite happy to stay at home and play fortnight all day on their Xbox! So how did our trip go? Read on to find out…
Imagine the scenario; you’ve planned a trip to Wales, home of roaring fires in holiday cottages and acres of stunning scenery. Travelling with you are your partner, three children and the family dog, all of which are looking for a thrilling holiday with something for everyone to explore and a good place to recharge before the next day’s adventure. What do you do? What do you do? Luckily for you, deciding to visit Wales means that you have already won half the battle, because the region is home to some remarkable contrasts, ranging from its stunning mountain ranges to miles of unspoilt natural beaches. Factor in a plethora of varied and more »
When planning a family holiday with young children (or bigger kids for that matter), it pays to have a good idea of some exciting activities and potential places to visit before arriving at your intended holiday destination. Indeed, it is a truth universally known across the UK that rain is seldom dampened in its enthusiasm by holidays, but that holidays can easily be dampened by the rain. Fortunately, while Devon and the English Riviera are famed for their beauty during the sunny summer months, the entire region has plenty to offer regardless of what tricks the weather is up to. Enjoying the Local Environment Let’s be honest with one another, no more »
Have you ever been stranded in the snow or stuck in a flood in your car? I have and it is a scary thing, which is why each year we get prepared for winter driving and I have produced a winter car checklist. We live in beautiful rural North Yorkshire which means that we have to be prepared when it comes to winter weather. More so MadDad who often travels over some treacherous roads in the winter. Since moving back to the North East we have become much more prepared for bad weather and both have emergency packs in our cars.
2017 has been a year of festivals for us and now the season is over we have collaborated with Mastershoe to bring you our favourite festival footwear for families. So footwear for tweens, mums and dads that can cope with festival days and nights and also that are perfect for life in the country.
Holidaying with mardy tweens can be a challenge especially when you have a husband that would rather pull teeth that sit and watch them in the swimming pool all the time. It is a really difficult age when they become selfish and do not see why they should be taken to museums and such and want to have “fun” on holiday, well at least mine do. So we didn’t set off with too high expectations for our 3-night break at Cameron Lodges on Loch Lomond. I was just hoping for a change of scenery and the possibility that the boys might stop bickering for a little while.
It seems that the summer has happened it you haven’t been to a festival and now the boys are older (11 and 12) we are back to really enjoying festivals as a family. We used to regularly go to festivals BC (before children) and never missed a Reading Festival for 13 years! Rather than do a big festival with the kids we have been loving going to smaller and independent ones. This year we have been looking forward to visiting Nozstock The Hidden Valley.
We love festivals and used to regularly go to them BC (before children) and then started visiting them again last year with the kids. I love that my boys are a little older at 11 and 12 and can now stay up and really enjoy the whole festival vibe. However, it is a little (make that a lot) different to just going to a festival on your own and you certainly need to pack more! Make sure that you have a fab time at festivals with this comprehensive festival packing checklist
As the children get older finding a holiday that suits all the family can be hard. We discovered on our recent Family Friendly Villa Holiday that Mallorca was an amazing place for all the family. Our boys are 12 and nearly 11 and both love being active, but Mini loves history whereas Maxi not so much. MadDad is not a sun lover and would prefer to be active rather than sit by a pool. Me, well as long as I am not cooking I can deal with anything!
Before our trip to Mallorca with James Villas we had never been on a villa holiday. Now we are converts and I can safely say that it is something we will be repeating in the future. Our recent family friendly villa holiday was a real treat. It allowed us the comfort of a traditional Mallorcan home with its own pool and left me safe in the knowledge that my sometimes loud boys would not interrupt anyone.
Advertorial – Have you booked this years holiday yet? We haven’t, but we are already in the planning stage and excited to get it booked. So in conjunction with aqua card Holiday Hacks campaign, we want to share our holiday hacks to save you money.
I love going on holiday, but I hate getting ready for one now I have children. Before kids I was the type of person to pop a suitcase in on the bed in the spare room and my list net to it and over the week before the holiday add to it and then be all ready to go the day before. Now I find that just doesn’t work for me.
last year we dipped our toes back into festivals after 15 years. BC (before children) we were avid festival goers and we decided that at 10 and 11 the boys were the perfect age to spread their wings and start to enjoy festivals.
We LOVE holidays, who doesn’t? But as a mum, a family holiday is often not a holiday. In fact, it is often harder work than a week at home. Often the best family holidays we have had are the ones where we find a balance of the kids being happy and the adults being happy that the kids are happy!
This post about traveling at Christmas – Tips to help Santa find your family is in partnership with HomaAway. I have always fancied going away somewhere for Christmas, but every time I have mentioned it in the past the boys have always been reluctant. Finally this year I found out why…..
