Things to Do

Things to do w/c 1st September 2015 (and I’m very blessed!)

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in My Experience, Things to Do 1 Comment

Apologies for the lack of posts this week. We had a bit of a family “crisis” over the weekend.

My Mother In Law decided that Sunday was the best day to tell Mr NHM that she has terminal cancer (I have permission to tell you this!). She’s known for three weeks but decided the best time to tell him would be in the middle of his three days of Night Shift.

My In Law’s relocated “up north” last year so Mr NHM phoned work, explained the circumstances and we were packed within an hour and on the M1 within three hours of her call. I’m very grateful that we could drop everything and go at a moments notice.

I am utterly exhausted. It was a very long drive, there and back and it’s been an emotionally charged couple of days. My Mother In Law may have months and she may have years to live, we just don’t know. With Miss NHM starting school next week this was the best time to go up as we have the week off work because it’s a round number birthday for me.

Thank you VERY much to everyone who has sent me birthday wishes. It’s been absolutely wonderful to receive all of your lovely messages. It’s not exactly been the day I had hoped or planned for, but I have SO much to be thankful for and am sooo grateful for all of your support. An extra special thank you to everyone who contributed to my “wish tree”. It’s absolutely perfect and makes me well up every time I look at it!!!

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Like a fine wine, I’m getting better with age, and I have a feeling that things are only going to get better. Thank you to all you who are part of my journey. Big hugs to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck also to all those parents and children who start school tomorrow. Where did the summer holidays go? They flew past at the speed of light! Miss NHM starts school on Monday. I’m completely in denial ;-).

Things to do w/c 2nd September 2015

Tuesday 1st September: MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Mwahahahahahaha :-D.

Wednesday 2nd September: Storytime at South Ham Library, 10 – 10:30am

Thursday 3rd September: Pebbles Baby & Toddler Group 1.30-3.00pm, Salvation Army Hall Tadley

Friday 4th September: Storytime, at Basingstoke Discovery Centre

Saturday 5th September: Children’s Saturday Craft South Ham Library, Paper Cup Blue Whale

Sunday 6th September: Jellybabies Swimming, 9am-12pm, Tadley Swimming Pool, New Road, Tadley RG26 3LA

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Winter “Bored Sticks” Jar – 40 ideas

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Games 2 Comments

I discovered this idea via the blog “The Diary of a Frugal Family“(one of my favourite blogs!). This is a great idea to keep your little ones (and big ones!) occupied.

I bought some coloured lolly sticks from Dunhelm Mill as they were only £1. You can also get them from Hobbycraft but they retail at £2.

Rather than print off my list and add them to each coloured lolly stick, I’ve numbered each of the sticks and then printed out the list below. This means I can change it at will and don’t have to keep making new sticks.

It also means that I can make a list for myself, especially for those things that I never seem to be motivated to get around too! lol.

I plan to put together a list for a “Summer bored Sticks Jar” too, so look out for that around May time.

Do you have any suggestions that I can add into this post?

Ideas for your Winter Bored Sticks Jar

1. Make Gloop with buttons

2. Get the plastic balls and the tent out

3. Make cookies

4. Do some painting

5. Do some glueing and sticking

6. Make some birthday cards

7. Feed the ducks

8. Find some puddles and splash in them

9. Build a tent or den

10. Have a picnic with pretend food

11. Have an indoor picnic with real food

12. Draw something

13. Read a book

14. Make a gift for someone

15. Go to the park

16. Go to the beach

17. Make a musical instrument/play on some musical instruments

18. Find something in your house that starts with every letter of the alphabet

19. Learn ten words in a different language (this is probably more for me than Miss NHM at this stage! lol)

20. Play with or make play doh

21. Let Daddy choose something to do

22. Let Mummy choose something to do

23. Play a board game ( I taught Miss NHM how to play Jenga recently and it was hillarious. She also loves dice)

24. Dance to some music

25. Make cupcakes or fairy cakes

26. Do a craft project or google one to make with empty plastic bottles, toilet roll holders, old christmas cards

27. Make coloured spaghetti

28. Do some dried food cooking

29. Watch a film

30. Make some DIY coloured sand

31. Make a village from any toys that you have

32. Make a memory board

33. Make a scrapbook of a recent event  or holiday

34. Visit a castle. The nearest one to Basingstoke is Odiham Castle, near Hook.

35. Go to the kids club cinema at Odeon or Vue

36. Go out for dinner somewhere. Check out these posts HERE for a list of baby and Children friendly restaurants in Basingstoke.

37. Listen to an Audio Book

38. Go Swimming. Check out the post HERE for details of local swimming pools

30. Visit your local Library.

40. Do a fitness video together as a family. (We did this recently, and it was hilarious!)

Related Posts

8 things to do in Basingstoke when it’s sunny

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Basingstoke, Summer, Things to Do 0 Comment

I realise the irony of this post, but I wrote it and scheduled it when it was sunny and looked like it would stay sunny!

Just in case it is raining today, please see this previous post which has some ideas of how to keep your Little One’s occupied when it’s raining: 8 Cheap or Free Rainy Day Activities in Basingstoke

1. Climb some trees. Try Basing Wood/Carpenters Down behind Popley and next to Chineham Business Park.

2. Go to the Beach! The Nearest “Beaches” to Basingstoke are Fleet Pond on the way to Fleet and Frensham Pond, just past Farnham.

3. Play Poo Sticks on the bridge at the far end of Eastrop Park

4. Fly a Kite on Crabtree Plantation Hill

5. Visit Manydown’s Maize.

6. Pick your Own Fruit at some of the following Farms. I haven’t been to any but when the weather picks up we are planning to go to one. I recommend ringing in advance to ensure that they have crops available and haven’t all been picked the day before! See a previous post about PYO farms in the area HERE.

7. Have a picnic dinner at Basing Lime Pits

8. Paddle in the Paddling Pool at Eastrop Park.

Pick Your Own Farms in North Hampshire and Berkshire

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Berkshire, Food, Hampshire, Outings, Shopping, Summer 1 Comment
Mr NHM's 2015 Pumpkin!!
Mr NHM’s 2015 Pumpkin!!

Carly sent me a very sweet email, prompting me to get my butt in gear and post up this Pick Your Own Farm post! This was a really hard post to research, so if you know of any other local pick your own farms, please let me know at northhantsmum@gmail.com. Thanks for the reminder Carly and I hope you find it useful!

Hampshire

Bourne Valley Pick Your Own, Near Whitchurch/Andover: strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, black, red and white currants and broad beans

West Green Fruits, Hartley Wintney, Hook: West Green Fruits was established in 1997, and is a family run business of 15 acres set in farmland near Hartley Wintney. We offer an extensive range of fruit including; Strawberries, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Gooseberries, Tayberries, Tummelberries, Black & Redcurrants, Blackberries and Summer vegetables.

Durleighmarsh Farm, nr Petersfield: Set in beautiful countryside on the Hampshire/Sussex border, a stone’s throw from Petersfield, Durleighmarsh Farm with its family-run Farm Shop and Pick-Your-Own offers a huge range of top quality fruit and vegetables throughout the season.

Portland Farm, North Waltham (no website that I could see for this farm)

Berkshire

Grays Farm, Wokingham: The Farm is now closed for the winter. We will open as usual in mid April for Rhubarb & hope to open fully on May 18th 2013 with Strawberries, New Potatoes etc.

Copas Farms, Cookham: Copas Farms is a modern, diverse, family-run business with a landholding of just under 3,000 acres in and around the Chilterns and Thames Valley.  From this approximately 2,400 acres is under arable rotation and 81 acres is allocated to two Pick Your Own Farms providing seasonal fruit and vegetables – one at Cookham in Berkshire and the other at Iver in Buckinghamshire.  The centre of operations is based at Hedsor Park Farm, Hedsor in Buckinghamshire.

I also stumbled across this Local Organic Box Delivery in Basingstoke: Northdown Orchard. I currently use Able and Cole but am considering switching to this local supplier. I will let you know if I do manage to get this sorted!

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Lido’s in Hampshire

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Outings, Swimming 0 Comment

This week’s theme is “Outside” so there will be a few blog posts about things to do outside. Apparently the weather is going to improve towards the end of the week. Fingers crossed!!

I found most of this information at: http://www.lidos.org.uk/. Does anyone else remember when the Aquadrome was Westfield Lido and you could run down the hill, where the bowling alley is now? Or perhaps I’m showing my age 😀

I’ve not been to any of these so apologies if they are no longer open. Might be something a bit novel to do with the children when the sun is shining!

Hampshire

Petersfield Open Air Pool

Heath Road, Petersfield, Hants GU31 4DZ
Telephone: 01730 265143

This is an open air heated swimming pool. The pool is open from mid April until the end of September each year. The pool also has a springboard with a 3-metre deep end and has evening sessions.

Lymington: Seawater Baths
Bath Road, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 3RU
Tel: 01590 674865

This is the second largest straight sided lido in the UK, an unheated sea-water swimming pool.

Aldershot Lido
Guildford Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU12 4BP
Tel: 01252 323482

The pool is very large, with extensive shallows for children to play in, a diving area and exciting water slides. There is an adjoining main 25m indoor pool, an additional teaching pool, plus a 24,000 sq ft gym.
The Lido is open 10.00am – 7pm, May to September – though off season it is used by a canoe club.

Berkshire

Newbury Lido
Northcroft Leisure Centre, Northcroft Lane, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1RS
Tel: 01635 31199

This is a heated lido and there is also a 10m heated outdoor baby pool.

Hilsea Lido
Portsmouth, Hampshire PO2 9RP
Tel. 023 9266 4608
or 023 9282 3822 [Victoria Swimming Centre]

Outdoor unheated pool, with adjacent children’s paddling pool.

 

Ballet/Dance classes for 2 year olds (Nov 2011)

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Classes, Exercise, Things to Do, Toddlers 1 Comment

Baby & Toddler Dance classes in North Hampshire Vicky asked the question on NorthHants Mum on Facebook: can anyone recommend ballet/dance classes for 2yr olds? I’m not able to recommend any specific classes but I’ve done some research about what is available at the moment. Details are below. If you have any recommendations, please don’t hesitate to add them. Vicky – thanks for your question, hope this is what you were looking for.

Ballet Classes

Basingstoke Academy of Dancing One of the more professional dance schools in Basingstoke.  They hold Mother and Toddler Classes – 18 mnths – 3yrs, Monday morning 9.30am to 10.30am

J.L.D. School of Dancing

They say: Being easily accessed from anywhere in Basingstoke & Deane, J.L.D. School of Dancing has 50 scheduled classes per week and offers dancing lessons for boys and girls from 2 – 18 years of age. Dance classes for children aged 2 – 5 years are lively and fun, exploring music, movement and mime.

Lynden School of Dance

I couldn’t find the timetable online for this dance school but I know they do Ka Motion classes at Basingstoke Sports Centre for little people and I’m sure they will have classes for under four’s. To find details you can contact them through their website.

Chandelle Stage School

I don’t have any further details about this apart from that it’s based in the Sycamore centre in Winklebury.

Stage School’s

There is also a stage school in Basingstoke: http://www.basingstokestageschool.co.uk/ Please add a comment if you know of more dance classes for toddlers in or near Basingstoke. Thanks!  

Bookstart

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Books 0 Comment

Bookstart is a national programme that encourages parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible. Bookstart gives the gift of free books to children at three stages in their early life, along with guidance materials for parents and carers. The scheme enjoys sponsorship from around 25 children’s publishers, Red House Books and government funding via the Sure Start Unit.

Rhymetimes Fun and free Rhymetimes for babies, toddlers and their parents or carers are organised in many libraries around the county.  They aim to encourage parents and carers to share action songs and rhymes with babies from birth onwards.

Luxury Afternoon Tea in Basingstoke

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Food, Gifts, Outings, Restaurants 1 Comment

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For those days when you really need spoiling! These are some ideas for Luxury Afternoon Tea in and around Basingstoke.

Audley’s Wood Hotel

Alton Road, Basingstoke, Alton, Hampshire RG25 2JT

At Audleys Wood Hotel we delight guests with our traditional afternoon tea in Hampshire. What better place to enjoy this fine tradition than in the grand drawing room of this historic country house. Gaze out the ceiling high windows whilst savouring each of our carefully prepared cakes, dainty sandwiches and the finest leaf tea, served to perfection.

  • Full Afternoon Tea costs £15.50 per person and Cream Tea costs £8.50 per person.
  • Upgrade to a Royal Afternoon Tea and enjoy a glass of Champagne for £24.50 per person.

Tel: 01256 817555

The Four Seasons Hotel

Dogmersfield Park, Chalky Lane, Dogmersfield, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 8TD

Located in the Manor House, The Library has been restored to its former glory as an elegant, beautifully appointed residents’ lounge. Decorated in warm earth tones, The Library boasts an abundance of lush armchairs, supple sofas and coffee tables for relaxation and luxury.

  • Traditional afternoon tea, The Library’s speciality, is served daily from 3-5pm.

Tel: 01252 853000

Tylney Hall

 Rotherwick, Hook, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, RG27 9AZ

Cream tea £15.00 per person –  Scones, preserves and tea (available Monday to Friday)

  • Full tea £22.00 per person – Sandwiches, cakes and scone (available Monday to Sunday)
  • Champagne tea£30.00 per person – Sandwiches, cakes, scones and a glass of Canard Duchene (available Monday to Sunday)

Afternoon tea is served from 3.30pm until 5pm from Monday to Saturday and from 4.00pm – 5.00pm on Sundays.

Tel: 01256 764881

Oakley Hall

Rectory Road, Oakley, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG23 7EL

Afternoon Tea served between 2pm and 5pm, seven days a week, either on the Garden Terrace or in the Library.

  • Afternoon tea is priced at £17.95 per adult and £8.95 for children.
  • Full Afternoon Tea with a glass of Reynier Champagne £26.95 per person.

To Book please contact reception on +44(0)1256 783350 or reception@oakleyhall-park.com

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