WonderAdventures

Free children’s audio book……

May 20, 2019 by WonderAdventures

School holidays are nearly upon us (again!) and so a lot of people will be heading off on long journeys, in their cars, with the kids devices and headphones at the ready! We have a treat for them, with the Wonderslide world story as an audio book…completely free of charge……..access it here

For more holiday activities check out the interactive treasure hunts….great for camping holidays, holiday games and when you are out and about with the kids…… See the Interactive Treasure Hunt Adventure Packs here

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Brilliant ideas for an Easter Egg Hunts…and some top tips

April 6, 2019 by WonderAdventures

Brilliant ideas for an Easter Egg Hunt….

An great Easter Egg hunt can be simply hiding a load of eggs for the children to here are some ideas to make your Easter egg hunt even more fun, creative or give a new twist on your egg hunt! Here are some ideas to help you create the best Easter egg hunt….

The Eggs –

Of course chocolate eggs are the obvious choice but you could choose to not use chocolate. You can use plastic eggs which are filled with small toys, chicks or sweets or with clues that correspond to bigger prizes such as stuffed toys. Easter books, chocolate bunnies or certificates.

Or you could hard boil real eggs and decorate them or even better get the kids to decorate them before Easter day comes!

Here are 11 brilliant ideas for how to run your best fun egg hunt!!

1/ Easter Egg Treasure Hunt:

This can be done either indoors or outdoors or a combination. Simply write out clues with each hidden location leading them to the next. It’s a good idea to number the clues so they don’t skip one! At the end, have an Easter basket filled with eggs and treats waiting for them!

2/ The Golden Easter Egg:

Paint an egg gold or get a gold egg and put some money or a main prize in it. This can make the hunt even more exciting and who will find the golden Easter egg first?

3/ Bowling with Eggs:

Hard boil a load of eggs and then paint them different colours. Have one egg which is white. Roll the white egg into the centre of a room and take it in turns to see who can roll their coloured egg closest to the white egg.

4/ Activity Easter egg hunt

Set up different activity posts around the garden or park. At each post, the children will need to complete a physical challenge before they start searching for more eggs. You can have an adult at each post setting the activity and judging that they have done it appropriately. They can be given an egg for their efforts each time. They could also receive an egg sticker! Activities could include running up and down a path or doing a silly dance, star jumps, and egg and spoon race, skipping with a rope, throwing a ball into a hoop or a mini obstacle course.

5/ Pirate treasure hunt

Why not mix things up a bit with some different themes. A pirate treasure hunt means you can make a treasure map which the children have to follow to search out their chocolate eggs, with the final ‘X’ marking the spot……

6/ Dinosaur treasure hunt

Another theme which is great at Easter is hiding dino eggs. You can teach children to be dino rangers, give them binocolors, toy compasses and teach them to walk like dinosaurs. To do an awesome dinosaur themed treasure hunt, see The Dino Ranger Treasure Hunt here which includes Ron the Ranger leading the chillden in their ranger hunting skills and even teaching them The Dino Rap song!

7/ Fancy dress Easter egg hunt

Place different dressing up items around the garden for the children to find and put on. They don’t need to be expensive, home-made bunny ears, a selection of hats, cotton wool tails, glasses, bags and gloves are all easy to make and great fun.

At the end, each bunny wins a treat for their efforts.

8/ Easter egg hunt with a colour code

Assign each child a different colour. Wrap the eggs in different coloured tissue paper (or use foiled wrapped chocolate eggs in different colours) and hide around the space. The children must only collect eggs of their colour. This is great for younger children who can’t read yet but know their colours!

9/ Easter egg hunt with bunny vouchers

Instead of chocolate treats, put little slips of paper inside plastic eggs which contain vouchers for activities for the child to claim over the coming weeks. These tokens can be for activities such as ‘watch a movie together with popcorn’, ‘have a teddy bear picnic’, ‘go to the park’ or ‘go out for cake with mummy’.

10/ Follow the Easter rope

Have a very long length of string or rope and at various points along it tie an Easter egg. The drape it around the space you are using (indoors or out) this may include putting through windows, through bushes and across fences. The children have to use the strong to help them follow to the next egg! Each child then gets the end of one of the pieces of string and they have to follow it to find their egg.

11/ Easter bingo

Give each child a ‘bingo sheet’ marked with things you find at Easter, for example, spring flowers like daffodils, toy chicks or lambs, hot cross buns or religious items. Hide these items around the hunt space (garden, house or park). Challenge the children to find as many as they can and mark them off on their sheet when they have found them.The first to get a ‘full house’ wins.

Some great Easter Egg Hunt tips…..

Creating an egg hunt in a space away from the home:

Woodland areas make great hunt ground. Chhose a small area of woodland and place eggs under a landmark such as a bench or a bush or tuck them into the hollow of a tree. Don’t forget to keep a list of the places where you’ve hidden your eggs!

A local park is also a great place to create a hunt. If you have more than one adult involved one of you can go away and set up the hunt (and guard it until your children arrive1) and the other one can bring the children along in a bit. You can even be extra kind and generous and invite other children at the park to join in!

Large groups of children:

If you have a larger group of children, they can work in teams. Each team can have a colour, with an equal number of eggs to match. Teams hide their own clutch of eggs and then have a race to find each other’s. You could use small chocolate Easter eggs wrapped in paper to match the team’s colour. Alternatively, make your own coloured eggs using food colouring.

(Hard boil the eggs and then mix colour solutions using water, vinegar and food colouring and soaks the eggs in the colour mixtures, watching them change colour!)

You can also designate a base and ask each child to return to it once they have collected five eggs to save the same (older or faster!) children collecting them all!They should stay there until all the children have returned before setting out again. That way you can ensure they all get the same amount of eggs.

Estimate about a dozen eggs per guest so everyone has a chance to find and collect a good amount of eggs. Have a few extra baskets on hand in case guests forget to bring their own. You could also pair the younger ones up with the older ones. Small children can be overwhelmed by older ones so it works better if they can work in teams.

If you are hosting the hunt for children who are a mixture of ages:

You could divide the space into two zones; one for younger kids and one for older kids. For the younger children you can make the eggs easier to find and for the older kids they can be harder or have word based clues.

If you’re hosting a hunt for toddlers, try hanging balloons instead of eggs for easy searching!

If toddlers are in attendance make sure any toys being used and especially chicks don’t contain chocking hazards.

Chocolate egg alternatives –

Obviously you want the children to get a prize in return for the egg-cellent hunting! However if you don’t want to give chocolate you can give a colouring book, reading book, a toy or a treat such as a picnic?

Another good idea is to give children certificates of achievement afterward. You can print out your own or buy some.

Chocolate egg consumption rules….

Unless you want a garden/house full of hyper children it’s a good idea to put rues in place to start with about when they can eat the eggs and how many, so they have a clear understanding of how much they can eat (and children’s activities work so much better when kids know the rules) A few eggs once the hunt has finished is perfectly acceptable and the rest can be taken home for them to eat over the Easter holidays.

Remember,the hunt doesn’t end until the last egg is found, so keep a count of how many eggs you hide!

Happy hunting!!

If you want to see how to make jelly eggs go here

If you want to buy a ready made amazing dinosaur themed treasure hunt with video clues, puzzle pieces and clues Buy the Dino Ranger Treasure hunt go here

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Why we love Hans Christian Anderson stories…….

April 2, 2019 by WonderAdventures

Today is International Children’s book day, celebrated on the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson. One of my favourite books from my childhood that I still treasure today and read to my own children 40 years on is ‘The Best of Hans Christian Anderson’ which has gorgeous colour illustrations as well as the classic stories alongside some lesser well known ones from this amazing and timeless children’s author.

Did you know that 2 of Disney’s biggest film hits were based on Hans Christian Anderson stories?

Why do I love his stories and why do I still read them to my kids today……

Well, they are sad…..which seems a strange reason and actually I am such a massive advocate of creating fun and happiness for children this is a very odd thing to top my list, HOWEVER, as my 9 year old daughter so eloquently wrote recently “Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light” (yes really, she wrote that unprompted!!) and so this is why I think it is important to children to learn that life is not all happiness and play. There are times when they will feel unhappy, miserable, hurt and confused and also not get what they want. And I think especially in the very ‘comfortable’ world that we live in it is more important than ever before for them to learn mental strength and resilience. And to acknowledge their feelings; both happy and sad.

Hans Christian Anderson stories are actually quite bleak in a lot of ways but a lot of them have beautiful endings (not always happy) but with amazing messages and morals.

One of the most famous of his stories is of course ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and this really is a gem of a tale that has stood the test of time and continue to be relevant throughout humankind.

‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is also one of his more well known ones and has become a proverb that most people understand if used to describe a situation where everyone is going with group behaviour without standing up for their own beliefs. This was one of my strongest story memories from my childhood. I used to have a cassette tape that my uncle had recorded him reading stories on and this was one of my favourites!

Another favourite that was also on this tape was ‘The Little Fir Tree’ and one that I found especially sad was ‘The Little Match Girl’ but I loved to read it as it gave me a very early insight into mortality. It still brings tears to my eyes today!

I think one of the reasons that Hans Christian Anderson stories stand the test of time is that they deal with issues of human kind than span decades. yes we have new and different issues nowadays but we still need to teach our children about beauty, kindness, heartache, death, dreams and belief.

The Disney films that I mentioned at the start? Well of course it’s the Little Mermaid and ‘The Snow Queen’ which was the inspiration for the smash hit ‘Frozen’. Although both have of course been very much ‘Disney-fied’ something I am not sure I agree with but understand why from a business point of view! And I do enjoy both films I won’t deny that! But I enjoy the original stories more.

What Hans Christian Anderson stories are your favourite and which will you read to your kids this week?

To read my thoughts on Disney and portrayal of women in Disney films see ‘delusions of Disney’ here

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Treasure Hunt Ideas

March 26, 2019 by WonderAdventures

treasure hunt

Kids love a treasure hunt……actually everyone loves a treasure hunt!

And it’s a perfect birthday party activity…you can set it up cheaply and make it fit the space and number of kids you have. And even theme it according to what your child loves!

The only challenge is writing the clues and making the plan….

So here is a set of clues ready made for your next treasure hunt…

These were used in park space and we set it up with teddies at each clue point holding the next clue.

At the end point we had a group of teddies with the ‘treasure’ which was a hamper full of goodies!!

You could use these clues and do them with teddies in the way we did or adapt for your own themed treasure hunt.

For more themed and ready made treasure hunts which incorporate video clues, clue cards and treasure puzzles to download and print see The Treasure Hunt Adventure Packs

Treasure Hunt Clue 1 (read out by person at the start):

“Face your teddy, then get ready

Where’s he looking?

The next clue is someone busy cooking……

Find the bear and look beneath his cooking tools with care……”

teddy treasure hunt

Clue 2 notes:

Your teddy at clue point 2 (holding clue 3) needs to be holding something to do with cooking and hide the clue under this!

Treasure Hunt Clue 2:

“Turn right from the baker bear

And take 2 steps over there

Find the bear enjoying a cup of tea and then clue 3 you will see…..”

Clue 3 notes:

Teddy at clue 3 needs to be drinking a cup of tea!

Treasure Hunt Clue 3:

“For clue number 4 you need to get as busy as a bee and find the flower where the bear is having a quiet hour. Buzz over there, and then look for clue 5……”

treasure hunt birthday party

Clue 4 notes:

Teddy at clue 4 needs to be napping underneath a flower!

Treasure Hunt Clue 4:

“To have some fun you must run and find the biscuit crumbs, find the bear with the cheeky wrapper where he has tucked in to make his stomach happier! There you will find clue 5 and you can have a jive!”

Clue 5 notes:

Teddy at clue 5 needs to be lying sideways / be attached to an angled on a fence or tree and have a packet of eaten biscuits!

treasure hunt activity

Treasure Hunt Clue 5:

“Find a teddy at an angle, then look to see where he has fixed the clue to take you to you to number 6…..”

treasure hunt ideas

Clue 6 notes:

The final group of teddies should be dressed up in clothes and be guarding the treats!

Treasure Hunt Clue 6:

“The Teddy you want, from so many to find

Has clothing colourful and lined…..

He guards the prizes waiting for you

So hurry up and join the Queue…….”

treasure hunt party game

treasure hunt

For more themed and ready made treasure hunts which incorporate video clues, clue cards and treasure puzzles to download and print see The Treasure Hunt Adventure Packs

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14 less well known books ever child and their parent should read for World Book Day

March 3, 2019 by WonderAdventures

I love World Book Day!! Not just because I am an author but because as a parent of 3 children I have seen first-hand the important role that books have played and continue to play in all their lives…

For 18 months I read the whole of the Harry Potter series (with my then 8 and 10 year old) – every night we would devour another chapter and I got to fall in love with that amazing book series again (having first read it some 20 years ago!)

I have passed on my favourite books from my childhood to my children; including the whole of the famous five collection and my daughter is currently obsessed with the Malory towers and St. Claire’s series and is learning so much from the stories about loyalty, friendship and growing up into a strong young woman!

My 2 year old loves choosing his books after bath time and snuggling up to Winnie the Pooh, The Gruffalo amongst other favourites and some not so well known (including his encyclopedia of dinosaurs!!) And the time we spend together at the end of the day is precious; I leave my phone downstairs and put the craziness of the day aside for a second, before I have to dash off to collect the older ones from clubs, make tea, answer emails and prepare for the following day and all the other million and one things that a mum needs to do every evening. And for 20 minutes we have quiet, cuddly story time and it is good for both of us!

The value of books and stories for children cannot be underestimated and in the increasing digital world should be encouraged more than ever. What my children have learnt about empathy, relationships, human behaviours, historic events, dealing with emotions and life and becoming good citizens of the world from the stories they have read is so critical to their wellbeing and development. And not to mention the academic and educational benefits.

So I thought I would give our best recommendations for less obvious books to read with your children; the unsung heroes of children’s books if you like!! Because we all know (and love!) Harry Potter and Julia Donaldson and Roald Dahl of course – but then everyone knows about these. And this year I wanted to inspire people to try some different books that will really have an impact on you and your children. Because the popular ones are on everyone else’s list so as much as they belong on ‘best of lists’ its good to get recommendations for lesser known children’s books.

Taking time out to read is really such a valueable and enjoyable thing for both of you. And it won’t be long before they don’t want you to read with you anymore, so take the snuggles and the togetherness while you can!!!

Happy reading….and being together………

Books you must read for under 3’s…

1/ Winnie the Pooh (Disney version):

Ok the most classic children’s story of all time arguably doesn’t belong on a list of less obvious children’s books you should read! Except this version does as I have not seen them anywhere since and they have literally had hundreds of hours of read time in our house! I bought this entire set of 20 Winnie-the Pooh books at a charity shop for £3 10 years ago when my eldest was one – such a bargain! And it has literally been the most favourite set of books in our house for all the children. The stories are long enough to have a good moral and tale to learn from but have made the traditional Winnie the pooh language more simple and accessible for younger readers. If you can find the set I would highly recommend them!

2/ Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type:

This is as random as it sounds but a delightfully random story! Short and funny and it come swift an audio CD read by Rich Mayall.

3/ The Magic Sky – Lucy Richards:

A colourful board book about polar bears and the love of a mummy and daddy!

4/ Richard Scarry’s Funniest Storybook ever:

Richard Scarry also created ‘Busy Town’ and a range of other similar books that were popular in the 70s and 80’s but don’t seem as well known in the UK of late. The illustrations, the vignettes and the scenes have children poring over them for hours.

Books for you must read for 4-8 year olds…….

5/ Dogger – Shirley Hughes :

Used to be a classic but not seen as much nowadays but the story is so relatable for all kids about looking after a beloved toy. Good for developing emotional intelligence in children.

6/ The Little Engine that Could – Watty Piper:

This is like the original motivational text for children! It teaches them so much about keeping going through adversity and is just a lovely, lovely story!

7/ The Magic Faraway Tree – Enid Blyton

An absolute must read for every child under 8 I believe – every child should have the opportunity to imagine and dream about a magical world at the top of a huge tree which has a slide going down the centre and the most incredible biscuits which fizz and pop in your mouth!

8/ Green Eggs and Ham – Dr Seuss

As much as the author is well known, and ‘The Cat in the Hat’ is his most famous, but I think ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ is amazing not only for the rhymes and prose but because its simple message encourages children to try new things! Simple…and successful!

9/ Mr PinkWhistle – Enid Blyton:

I believe these are out of print and they are lesser known works of Enid Blyton but are really worth tracking down and reading with younger kids. They have timeless morals in their stories (if a bit repetitive!) and children love the funny little man and the fact that he ‘puts wrong things right’. It shows them that they can make a difference to things that are not right!

10/ Wonderslide World – Helen Nurse

Who wouldn’t want to discover a magical world at the bottom of a magical slide underneath the stage in their school and meet a load of amazing circus performers and talking squirrels?! Wonderslide World introduces the Wonderstar characters, who are skilled youngsters who all have a different talent and which encourages children to think what Wonderstar they would be, because everyone is good at something!

Books for you must read for 9+ year olds…….

11/Running Wild – Michael Morpurgo:

All Michael Morpurgo books are amazing. Mostly he takes a real event from history and creates a fictional, human story that happened in the real event. So its a great way of teaching children and young people about real historical events and bringing a human story often with hardship and challenges to overcome. Running Wild is about a boy and an elephant who survive the Tsunami in Indonesia and is an incredible story, that not only children should read but adults too!

12/ Five Find Outers Mystery series – Enid Blyton:

Everyone has heard of The Famous Five of course and The Five Find Outers is a lesser known version of the Famous Five but in a lot of ways funnier and better mysteries! My kids love both but The Five Find Outers wins out!

13/ Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls:

there are different versions of this now, including one for rebel boys, but this is the original and my 9 year old daughter loves the book. It is a compilation of short, real life stories about real life inspiring women and what they achieved. Each one is short and bite sized so easy to read and so, so inspiring! There is also a podcast of the series here

14/ Wonder – P.J Palacio:

This is a wonderfully written story about a boy with a sever facial disfigurement and really raises a lot of important issues for children and young people to consider. Written from the boys point of view it is extremely insightful and I think every young person should read this and would change the way they look at someone with a disability or who seems different to them as a result.

So these are our recommendations for lesser known children’s books that are amazing in our view! Please tell us what you think…and have an amazing World Book Day 2019 whatever book you choose to celebrate!

And if you want some ideas for 36 World Book day costume ideas go here …..

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21 Best Birthday Party Themes for kids for ages 2 – 10!!

February 26, 2019 by WonderAdventures

Birthday parties are a big deal and choosing the right activity, concept and theme can be a challenge for parents who want their child’s birthday party to be the bees knees!!! So here are some ideas for themes for brilliant birthday parties for your kids and for different age birthdays…..

Best for 2-4 year olds

1/ Peppa Pig

Always a popular theme with thepetite party crowd! Little pig noses and ears are fun to wear (and easy to make!), pink balloons with piggie faces make perfect party decorations, and chocolate milk looks just like those muddy puddles Peppa loves to jump in!

2/ Trains

What child doesn’t like a choo choo?!! A train themed party is an easy and fun theme for little ones. Decorate with Thomas the Tank Engine galore, have train themed games, give the children the challenge of building one massive track in the garden and have a train themed treasure hunt! And you can give Thomas books as party favours!

3/ Winnie the pooh

Lots of scope for themed decorations for Winne the Pooh and also a great treasure hunt option here with Pooh bear riddles and rhymes! Honey flavoured cake and food, mini honey pots with drink in and an ’explore’ all go down brilliantly for little Winne the Pooh fans!

4/ Teddy bears picnic

This is an easy part theme and can even be a good last minute party theme! Just make sure all guests bring their favourite bear! Best done as a picnic outside but if weather isn’t on your side then an inside teddy bears picnic works just as well!

5/ Fairies

So much scope here for decorations and games for Fairy fans! You can easily make fairy gardens, using a few cheap items from the garden centre and children will be occupied for much of the party making their fairy garden creation!

6/ Bunnies

Bunny themes are really popular with 2 and 3 year olds.

Marshmallows can be put in a jar and labelled as ‘bunny tails’ and chocolate covered raisins cause amusement as Bunny poo!

You can create a treasure hunt with chocolate eggs.

You can also make bunny hats from white card cut into long strips with ears and a face drawn on. The guests can then wear these throughout the party.

You can play “What’s the time Mr Fox?” with guests pretending to be bunnies and of course sing ‘sleeping bunnies’ and ‘pin the bunny tail on the bunny’.

Jelly Eggs are a great craft activity.

For a video demonstration on how to make jelly eggs see here

Best for 5-7 year olds

7/ Dinosaur party

A dinosaur themed party is one of the most popular themes, often being requested for 4,5 and 6 year olds. From a Dinosaur treasure hunt, to fossil hunting and dinosaur crafts the scope is wide. If you want to provide Ranger Training and have a guest appearance from Greg the Disco Dancing Dinosaur for your party guests see the Dino Disco Adventure Challenge party here…..

To see a list of dinosaur themed party games go here

8 / Fairytale parties – Princess and knights

I think it’s best to make a Princess party a more generic ‘Fairy-tale theme party, which provides greater flexibility for children to come in their favourite Fairy-tale themed costumes and you can do a wider range of games to suit all guests.

To see our ‘Fairytale themed party games go here’

9/ Superhero Party

Set out different superhero costumes, and let your guests choose their powerful persona upon arrival or have them come dressed as their favourite superhero!

There are a lot of things you can do to decorate the party area. Put up spider webs at the entrance followed by a sign saying “Spiderman Welcomes You”. Use a lot of balloons with superhero colours and hang up posters and of the most popular characters.

You can create some simple super hero capes to give each party guest as they arrive and these also double as their giveaway! Just cut the template shape from material (measure it on your little superhero) and use sticky bond to hem. You can also use iron on bond to stick a superhero flash or symbol on the cape. Make sure there is ribbon stuck onto the top so they can tie them around their neck.

If you have the space then a lot of bouncy castle companies have super hero themed bouncy castles!

10/ LEGO Party

LEGO is such an easy themed party to do as you have ready made games and activities with the vast expanse of lego you probably already own!

Organise building competitions, make Lego masks and do lego figures treasure hunt!

11/ Art Party

Ditch the nice clothes and let your kids get messy! An art party is great fun because you can have free run on activities, decorations and make it colourful and messy!

Use items like squirt guns, mega-canvases, shaving cream and paint-filled eggs, to get kids’ creative juices flowing.

Put a large board or sheet of paper on an old board up in the garden and have the guests make a large form bit of art, or just splatter it with paint!!!

Do rock painting or create these fantastic pictures for guests to take home (cheap to resource with a few bits of Perspex and squirty paint)

See the videos on how to do these activities here and you can make them part of your art party activities.

12/ Rainbow Party

A Rainbow party can have Rainbow themed snacks, decorations and of course a rainbow cake (filled with rainbow treats!)

For an instruction video on how to make an amazing Rainbow cake go here

You can also make Rainbow jelly have rainbow cookies and Rainbow fruit kebabs.

For activities have the guests make unicorn horns by making a cone from a piece of cardstock & decorating it, then hot gluing ribbon to tie under the chin to keep it on.

You could also use upside down ice cream corns as “horns”

Another fun activity is to make “unicorn food” mixture to attract unicorns – use sunflower seeds for sunny smiles, powdered sugar for energy, skittles for bright rainbows, etc.

You could create a magical treasure hunt with hoof prints as the tracks.

13/ Mermaid party

This is great for a summers party that is going to be in the garden.

Get some cheap towels and cut mermaid tail shapes from them and give each guest one as they arrive.

Get the paddling pools out, one with a slide is even better and have a splashing party with all the mermaids!!

14/ Ninja Spy

Create obstacles using chairs, tables, and ladders for the kids to climb, jump and crawl through in order to be Ninja’s! Time each person and award winners for fastest, most agile etc.

Make spy masks and do a spy themed treasure hunt with clues to puzzle out in order to crack the code and find the treasure!

15/ Space theme

A space themed party is great fun and there are lots of ideas for decorations and making space theme activities.

If you want Buzz the Astronaut to visit your space themed party and run his intergalactic adventure challenge with moon landing themed puzzles and star trekking music then see here.

Best for 8-10 year olds

16 / Spa Party

Who wouldn’t want to celebrate their birthday with a full spa treatment? Drop cucumber slices in water, offer soft and cozy robes and slippers and twirl their hair up in a towel for a party of pampering that includes manicures, pedicures, and facial masks.

You can have someone come and do nails, hair and make-up or do it yourself if you are on a budget.

If budget isn’t an issue then you can even hire a spa bath for your garden for the day!

17/ Baking Party

You could make biscuits, cupcakes, decorate cupcakes or cookies or even get them to design their own flavours!

Keep it simple by setting out different coloured icings and sprinkles and watch what crafty creations they cook up!

Or for the older or more ambitious, weigh out ingredients for each child and let them create their cakes or biscuits from scratch.

Another fun activity is to buy a batch of plain (plastic) aprons and let them decorate their own and they can take these home or create cardboard chef hats which they can colour in and put their names on!

18 / Star Wars

Young Jedi love a Star wars themed party and with a wealth of decorations you can dress the area well and get the kids to make their own light sabers out of swimming noodles and give them as part of a ‘Jedi training workshop’

19/ Circus theme

The Greatest Showman has been such a phenomenon and so popular with kids and adults alike. As PT Barnham said “the noblest art is that of making others happy”

What better than a circus themed party? This doesn’t have to be clowns and such like.

Festival type decorations, bunting and circus toys are enough for younger children. A few spinning plates, gymnastics ribbons and big hoops are enough o keep most children entertained for a long time!

For older children and if budget isn’t an issue hire a fire eater or circus entertainer!

To learn about our amazing Wonderstars circus performers and have an interactive storytelling and circus skills party see here

20/ Harry potter or Wizard themed party

One of our most popular party themes is our Wizard theme and with Harry Potter being such a hit with so many kids, this theme is bound to come up at some point!!

There are loads of decorations you can do from jars filled with potion ingredients and bug sweets.

Create brooms from Swimming noodles (those old swimming noddle again sure do come in useful!) and do a broomstick riding workshop.

You can make slime for a craft activity. To see how to make the perfect slime see this video here.

To see what our Magic Merlin does at the Hocus Pocus school of Wizardry party see here

21/ Pyjama party

The last one on our list is really the simplest and often the most enjoyed by kids!! A Pyjama party sleepover!! One word of advice is limit the amount of kids (unless you can handle having no sleep all night!!)

Set up an area for sleeping, with mattresses on the floor, loads of blankets and cosy. Hang fairy lights and make it feel cosy and magical. Set up a TV or projector for a movie and serve hot dogs, popcorn and hot chocolate.

Just be prepared to be tired the next day!! These indoor tents are gorgeous for this type of party

sleepover party — https://www.belltentpartyevents.com/thegreatindoorssleepovers

I hope you’ve had some ideas here for party themes for your next great kids birthday party; whether you are running the party yourself as a DIY party on a budget or are bringing in party entertainers or party packages at your home or in a hired venue, then there should be an idea or two here to inspire you!

If you would like help with your birthday party planning or entertainment then please contact us.

To see information on our birthday party entertainment packages go here.

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WonderAdventures

School holidays are nearly upon us (again!) and so a lot of people will be heading off on long journeys, in their cars, with the kids devices and headphones at the ready! We have a treat for them, with the Wonderslide world story as an audio book…completely free of charge……..access it here

Brilliant ideas for an Easter Egg Hunt….

The Eggs –

Here are 11 brilliant ideas for how to run your best fun egg hunt!!

1/ Easter Egg Treasure Hunt:

2/ The Golden Easter Egg:

3/ Bowling with Eggs:

4/ Activity Easter egg hunt

5/ Pirate treasure hunt

6/ Dinosaur treasure hunt

7/ Fancy dress Easter egg hunt

8/ Easter egg hunt with a colour code

9/ Easter egg hunt with bunny vouchers

10/ Follow the Easter rope

11/ Easter bingo

Some great Easter Egg Hunt tips…..

Creating an egg hunt in a space away from the home:

If you are hosting the hunt for children who are a mixture of ages:

Chocolate egg alternatives –

Chocolate egg consumption rules….

Kids love a treasure hunt……actually everyone loves a treasure hunt!

Treasure Hunt Clue 1 (read out by person at the start):

Clue 2 notes:

Treasure Hunt Clue 2:

Clue 3 notes:

Treasure Hunt Clue 3:

Clue 4 notes:

Treasure Hunt Clue 4:

Clue 5 notes:

Treasure Hunt Clue 5:

Clue 6 notes:

Treasure Hunt Clue 6:

For more themed and ready made treasure hunts which incorporate video clues, clue cards and treasure puzzles to download and print see The Treasure Hunt Adventure Packs

Books you must read for under 3’s…

Books for you must read for 4-8 year olds…….

Books for you must read for 9+ year olds…….

Birthday parties are a big deal and choosing the right activity, concept and theme can be a challenge for parents who want their child’s birthday party to be the bees knees!!! So here are some ideas for themes for brilliant birthday parties for your kids and for different age birthdays…..

Best for 2-4 year olds

1/ Peppa Pig

2/ Trains

3/ Winnie the pooh

4/ Teddy bears picnic

5/ Fairies

6/ Bunnies

Best for 5-7 year olds

7/ Dinosaur party

8 / Fairytale parties – Princess and knights

9/ Superhero Party

10/ LEGO Party

11/ Art Party

12/ Rainbow Party

13/ Mermaid party

14/ Ninja Spy

15/ Space theme

Best for 8-10 year olds

16 / Spa Party

17/ Baking Party

18 / Star Wars

19/ Circus theme

20/ Harry potter or Wizard themed party

21/ Pyjama party

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