Bluebell Diary

As part of me blogging more I'm going to be including a review each month of a local place or business, which is good (or not) for a family day out. Places that are created with kids and families in mind.

So, here's my first review and its for one of our favourite places................

BLUEBELL DAIRY
(Spondon)

Cost: Free of charge BUT donations can be given to help with costs.

We first visited Bluebell Dairy in November last year and have probably been another three or four times since. One trip included our first time seeing Santa with Joseph!

What is it and what's there?

Bluebell Diary is a working and active dairy farm with the addition of a tea room, education room (where you can also have parties) and a variety of animals to see and feed.

Charity Spotlight - Smalls For All

As part of my promise to blog more I'm going to do one a month about a charity I'm supporting and shining the spotlight on.

This month its...........................Small for All!!!

It's never to early to mention the C word!

I acknowledge its July and that most of you will want to punch me in the face when you read this BUT we are now half way through the year and that time is fast approaching. Yes, I mean Christmas!!! Once the children return to school we are on the cost ridden slide down to the 25th December!

Does it still seem ages away? Well, what if I said Christmas is now only twenty-four weeks away! Doesn't sound long does it. For many it is only five more pay days away! If you gasped a little like I did when I worked it out don't worry we've got this covered. Let's get things in order now to avoid stress come December. As everyone else dashes round in a mad panic you can sit and relax, sip hot chocolate in your onesie and watch Elf for the forty-seventh time.

Mini Ice Hockey

This a great little activity. It's super cheap and can be used as an indoor rainy day activity or on a sunny day for an outside game! You'll probably have all the things in your cupboard. You just need to decide the night before if you want to do it so you can make the ice.

You will need

• Large dish or baking tray
• Tap water
• Lego/duplo/building blocks
• Bottle top
• Spoons

Paper Airplane Target Game

Today has been one of those rainy, dull days and to top it off its half term. For many of you this means being stuck indoors with the kids, which can lead to them bouncing off the walls at some point.

Reinforcements are here in the shape of this quick to do craft and game. Hopefully you will have the items needed for the activity in the house.

You will need

• A large piece of paper - wrapping paper or even newspaper will do
• Scissors
• Felt tips 
• A ruler or items to draw round
• Tape or Blu-Tack

Live Lagom - Living Sustainably - The Final Blog

When we started on this journey back in the autumn I never expected it to change our lives. I was the person that signed up in the hope of saving money and the joy of being given £500 to spend at Ikea! But it has honestly changed our lives. It's changed our house into a home. It's made us more aware of where things come from and if it's from a sustainable source. It's made us recycle more, which I didn't think possible. It's made us declutter, donate and share on. Somehow, it has given me more confidence, more faith in myself and what we, as a family and individuals, are trying to achieve.

Yes, we have saved money and yes, we got to spend £500 but the task the team at Ikea set themselves, to teach about living lagom and sustainability teaches so much more than that. 'Living Lagom' is about living just right. With just enough, not too little or too much. With that comes an awareness of your waste and how wasteful you can be. Our waste was in food and energy.