Keeping kids moving and engaged in winter months can be a challenge as it’s very tempting to just stay indoors and keeping warm. However this can not only make the children antsy but is also a surefire way of getting cabin fever for you too! There are plenty of activities to keep the kids busy and entertained during the winter months. These activities are the best ones I’ve found to bond with your children this Winter rather than letting them just bond with the TV!

As we creep towards December Christmas shopping is in full swing! Today I'm featuring my top picks for kids Christmas gifts which are a little unusual and will ensure excitement and smiles on Christmas Day (even from the teenagers).

With two very crafty girls in the household I am super excited to be giving away 2 fantastic Gel-a-Peel Fashion Maker Kits! You can create gel fashions, patches, accessories, and jewellery using the Gel-a-Peel Fashion Maker. Just pick your stencil design, gel, squeegee, and peel!

Impatient kids complain about being bored an average of 122 times every month – that’s nearly 1,500 times per year - according to new research by BIC as part of its Young Artist Award  (It feels like double that in my household!). The study also revealed that 69 percent of us parents dread hearing the words “I’m bored”. But experts claim parents should be doing more to encourage boredom as mechanism to inspire creativity. We should be letting their minds wander rather than plonking them in front of the TV or electronic tablet.

Here are my screen-free top tips tips to help promote imagination and creativity in our kids.

Science needs more women! So last month I took my girls up to London to visit The Science Museum in Kensington. Armed with technical backup from my 15yr old nephew, who has GCSE Science glory firmly in his sights, I was ready for serious questioning and expected to come away with a couple of budding physicists/biologists/chemists. First impressions of the museum was that is was a little dry for my 4 and 7yr old little ladies and I began to get slightly worried whilst wandering through the Flight gallery that we were gonna be done in record time. I'm not a teacher! I don't know how to make these static objects fun for my kids! Then I noticed a banner for Wonderlab: The best thing to do with your kids in London with kids. Sounded amazing. And, simply put, it is.

Nothing pleases my kids more than pasta. Except maybe muffins. Hang on, what if we could combine the two...  This recipe from Mr Organic is certainly a crowd pleaser and is super easy to make for snacks, lunchboxes and parties. Plus, don't tell the kids, it is packed with hidden veggies!

Just a week left until the kids go back to school. It is a special one for us this year as Little E starts Junior School and Little I has her first day at school! Eeek! With 2 girls in the house there is only  one place they want to get their school backpacks, water bottles and pencil cases - Smiggle! Here's some of my favourite Smiggle picks for the Back to School season.

These days, an increasing number of children spend most of their time indoors wired to technology. A lack of physical activity predisposes them to obesity-related health problems. Apart from being overweight, children develop weaker muscles and bones if they don’t exercise regularly, while chances of getting type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure increase as they grow older too.

Sudocrem has discovered that children are spending around 45 hours a week in front of a screen and only 4 hours playing in the great outdoors. They also found that a staggering  9 out of 10 children (89%) are unable to recognise a butterfly and 51% don’t know what a Bumblebee looks like.  1 in 3 didn't know bees make honey... Shocking stats!

I've linked up with Sudocrem to give away one of their fab Adventure Kits which has been specifically designed to encourage kits to get outside and play!

School's out for Summer! Whoop whoop!

We've had a big brainstorm over the weekend and here's our list of all the fun activities we want to tick off our bucket list before the new school year starts in September (I've managed to sneak a few practical ones in too!)...