If you’re looking for a fun day out, try Willows Farm Village near St Albans, Hertfordshire this Easter. The Easter Eggstravaganza event  takes place 9th – 25th April 2011.

You might wonder why I’m writing this article about the Easter holidays for parents of toddlers: well, although it can be hard to fill time with school-age kids, I always found it extra hard when I only had pre-schoolers and all their activities stopped over the school break. Toddlers don’t tend to need down time in the same way that their hard working older siblings do: when D and J are happy to stay in pyjamas all morning, K is up and raring to go, wondering just why there is …

‘Are we there yet?’ ‘I’m bored.’ ‘What can we do?’ Sound familiar? Holidaying with children can involve a lot of luggage and even more whinging. But thanks to a raft of apps for smartphones and tablet devices, holidays can be made a lot easier.
Travel expert Wendy Shand, founder of www.totstotravel.co.uk and mum to three children aged one to eight, has spent years perfecting the art of travelling with children. Here she shares her list of the top apps to have on your phone for holidays with kids.

Spend less this half-term and save up to 8% on a family day out with the BaBeeCard. Paying for a day out with the family just got a whole lot easier on your wallet – with retailers such as Bella Italia, Brewers Fayre, Madame Tussards and Sea Life Sanctuaries taking part in the BaBeeCard Discount Club – with savings of up to 8%.
“A family of four visiting a Sea Life Aquarium could save over £5 on the entrance fee, plus gain further discounts on lunch or shopping afterwards,” explains, Gemma …

The ‘What’s on 4 Junior Awards 2011′ opened in January and organisers are already reporting record numbers of nominations with parents selecting their favourites in 18 categories from ‘Best Pre Natal Activity’ to ‘Best After School Club’.

Becky Goddard-Hill is the author of How to afford time off with your baby – 101 ways to ease the financial strain (Vermilion 2009.) She runs a popular blog called Baby Budgeting which is filled with posts, reviews and competitions all to aid the budgeting parent. She is also a humanistic psychotherapist and has worked as a child development trainer for social services. For the past 6 years Becky had been a SAHM on a very low budget.  She shares her list of fun things to do with little ones …

Are you looking at the winter holidays with dismay? If you’re not sure what to do with the kids, especially when faced with bad weather, check out Whattodowiththekids.co.uk . The site’s days out search facility lets you to search within over 4,700 activities and attractions around the UK to find something to do that will keep YOUR family happy and busy, whatever the weather.

We’ve just had a week in Yorkshire, mainly visiting family and friends, but have also tried to slot in some good days out with the children. One of the best was a trip to Eureka, the ‘National Children’s Museum’ in Halifax.
It is well located, close to the railway station, and from the moment you arrive you can see just how well thought out it is, with children in mind at every moment. The signs are all child friendly – in the lift there are explanations of how the doors work …

(No paper, pens, batteries required – just brain cells!)
1. Three Word Story: each person says three words in turn to develop a story – hilarious!
2. Shopping Game: first person starts: ‘Mrs Smith went shopping and she bought an apple,’ the next person has to repeat what has been said so far and add something beginning with the letter ‘b’ and so on, working your way through the alphabet. You could change it to countries, food, animals…

Ready For Ten Skillscape is a summer activity campaign to find 1,000 of the best places for kids to play, learn and practise skills. We want parents to tell us about the hidden gems in their neighbourhood – parks, pitches, beaches and playgrounds that the kids love.