Before the Christmas holidays came to an end, my kids and I had a little library outing followed by some coffee and a walk at CS Lewis Square. The cafe was really tranquil after the Christmas madness and it was nice to sit surrounded by just plants and music. I tried a chocolate orange hot chocolate and the girls got some crisps and juice. They were also selling some cute little coffee shop sketchpads with a pencil and a pen for £2. I love that someone felt inspired to create them and the prompts inside. They kept my kids sitting for a long time too, so they were worth every penny 🙂 Afterwards, we had a quick walk around the square and visited the sculptures from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Last weekend we went to the Strand cinema (an old art deco style cinema near us.) We watched the Lego Ninjago movie and got their matinee specials (popcorn, a drink and Haribo for £3 :)) After the film, we attended the Lego workshop held there. A lady was there from Bricks4kids. The girls don’t often play with their Lego at home but they loved the workshop. It started with free play and constructing anything with wheels on it (or just whatever they liked.) Then, they moved to a different table where they could use the instructions booklets to help them build specific constructions. The girls made a bird and a duck. It was a cold day so it was a good way to pass a Saturday afternoon.
When we got home, the girls made some ice decorations from their art box. I had encouraged them to collect leaves and natural materials on our walk to the cinema. They added water to little tubs, put their leaves, etc in the water along with some twine for hanging them up once they froze. I actually still need to get them out of the freezer with the girls and hang them up in the garden. I love the fact that they are decorative until they melt and then the leaves just become part of nature again.
We also made snowflake prints from the girls’ art box. We cut up the cardboard box to use as backing for the stamp designs. Then, we cut out foam shapes and the girls stuck them on and designed different snowflake stampers. Finally, we used the gold ink pad that came with it. We have another craft to make involving blue paint, so we might reuse the stamps on top of those 🙂 I like the fact that Make and Wonder encourages you to use their packaging in the craft projects so you aren’t being wasteful.
On Sunday, we went for a Wintery walk in Rowallane (a National Trust property.) The girls climbed on their favourite tree and then we took shelter indoors and they made their own bookmarks with recycled Christmas cards. They also had Winter colouring scenes and paper lanterns to make at their kids’ craft area. We visited the cafe so the girls could “warm up” with some ice-cream! Then, we went for a walk around the grounds. We came across a natural music play area they had added since Christmas. The kids were excited to find a wooden drumkit to play with. They also made a wheel they could spin to select different outdoor activities. (I thought the “make friends with a bug” one was cute :)) They also had laid out wooden frames made with branches so kids can create wild art in them. It kept the girls busy for a while and the cold made me appreciate the visit to my parents’ house even more afterwards (and my dad’s coffee!)
The Funky Thrifter 