What you spot, record and report enables the RSPB to analyse trends and help effectively protect the UK’s birdlife. Sadly, the UK has lost 38 million birds from its skies in the last 50 years; the RSPB is doing everything it can to reverse this and you can help…

How do you take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?

Firstly, sign up (it takes about a minute) and access all the resources you need including your free Big Garden Birdwatch guide.

Then just choose one hour between Friday, 24th January and Sunday, 26th January to spot birds. If you don’t have a garden don’t worry, you can choose an area in your local park, green space or even street.

Three simple steps

1. Watch for birds in your chosen spot for one hour

2. Tally how many of each species of bird lands on your patch. Just record the highest number of each species you see at any one time so you don’t risk counting the same bird twice.

3. Go online and tell the RSPB what you saw: rspb.org.uk

What we do to prepare for our birdwatch

We stock up on a variety of bird food, which includes fat balls, a seed mix with mealworms (particularly attractive for robins and blackbirds), wild seed mix and nuts, which are popular for great tits, blue tits, woodpeckers, jays etc. Birds are very appreciative of kitchen scraps. These are a very cost-effective way of attracting and feeding them.

We have a couple of hanging bird feeders and a bird table so it should be a good combination. If you haven’t already got any feeders/table already in situ, set up new items as far ahead of the Big Garden Birdwatch as possible as birds can be quite cautious/skeptical about change.

We’ve also got our trusty binoculars at the ready and the hot chocolate on standby.

Some useful resources 

• RSPB First Book Of Birds – Anita Ganeri, David Chandler
• i-SPY Birds – Collins Michelin i-SPY Guides – we’re big fans of these pocket-sized boredom busters!
• Birds – Usborne Spotter’s Guides
• RSPB My First Book of Garden Birds – Mike Unwin, Sarah Whittley 

The post RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2025 appeared first on The Parent Social.

Winter cooking is my favourite. I find it so much easier to come up with family meal ideas when it’s cold as we’re big fans of stick-to-your-ribs casseroles, stews and one-pots as well as comforting pasta dishes.

Here are six of our favourite winter warmers:

Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya

This Cajun-inspired chicken and chorizo jambalaya has become a firm family favourite. It’s a wonderfully simple one-pot, which is filling and packed with flavour. In short, the perfect winter warmer.

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200g of cooking chorizo, sliced
• 1.5 tbsp of Cajun seasoning
• 320g long grain rice
• 400g can plum tomato
• 500 ml chicken stock

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet with a lid and add the chopped chicken breasts. Fry until they’re lightly browned (approximately 5-8 minutes)
2. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add a little more oil if required and gently fry the onion until soft and translucent (approximately 3-4 minutes)
3. Add the red pepper, garlic and chorizo alongside the Cajun seasoning and cook for a further 5 minutes
4. Reintroduce the chicken along with the long grain rice. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock
5. Cover the pan and simmer for 20-25 minutes (stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick) until the rice is tender

Pork, Chorizo and Cannellini Bean Stew

This has been on our meal planner for years and it really lends itself to winter cooking. It’s a hearty dish, extremely cheap and easy to make, and the kids love it. The pork cooks for a long time so becomes very tender. I love it with crusty bread so I can dunk and mop up the lovely sauce. I often make more than necessary so that we can have the leftovers the next day served with rice.

Ingredients (serves 5) 

• 850g pork shoulder steaks/pork shoulder
• 400g tin cannellini beans
• 250g of cooking chorizo (chorizo ring or several packs of the ready chopped)
• 2  x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 large red onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 teaspoons paprika

Method

1. Slice the pork into strips and fry off in a casserole dish (which has a lid) until brown all over. Remove from the pan and drain off the fat
2. Cut the chorizo into small chunks (or use the ready cubed) and add to the pan; brown off for two minutes then add the chopped onions, four teaspoons of paprika and the chopped garlic. Fry for a further two minutes until the onion has softened
3. Add the pork back to the pan along with ½ a pint of water and the tinned tomatoes. Season to taste
4. Simmer for one hour on a low heat with the lid on. Remove the lid, add the cannellini beans and simmer for a further 30 minutes

Winter Vegetable Soup

Winter cooking in a nutshell! This is my George’s Marvellous Medicine concoction, which I created when my go to recipe disappeared. It can be adjusted according to taste so don’t worry about deviating from the below quantities. I’d already adapted the original as it was too parsnipy for us. It’s really quick and easy to make, and surprisingly filling.

Ingredients (serves 5) 

• Salted butter – 75g
• Two small leeks (sliced) approximately 165g
• 1 small onion – 125g (I use frozen chopped onions)
• Carrots – 500g
• Parsnips – 230g
• 1 large potato – approximately 200g (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Melt the butter in a casserole dish, add the leeks and onion and gently heat until softened. This should take approximately five minutes

2. Peel and very roughly chop the carrots, parsnips and potato if using a food processor (recommended) or chop smaller if not. I still use my trusty 15-year-old Babycook for this!

3. Add the carrot, potato and parsnip to the leek and onion and fry until softened

4. Add one litre of hot vegetable stock (as per pack instructions) to cover all the veg, add pepper to taste and bring to the boil

5. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes with the lid on until all the vegetables are tender

6. Blitz with a hand stick blender or similar to desired consistency (add milk if you like a bit thinner)

7. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly. Add garnish if you fancy and serve with some warm crusty bread.

Meatball, cannellini and cavolo nero casserole

Don’t let the number of ingredients put you off. This winter warmer is easy to make and actually makes use of many items you’ll probably already have in your store cupboard. I don’t know whether this should be categorised as a soup or a casserole, but what I do know is that it’s a hugely satisfying, filling and flavourful dish.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 48 mini beef meatballs (approximately 800g)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 medium-sized carrots
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 3 large garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes
• 200ml of dry red wine
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 litre of beef stock
• 200g of cavolo nero (remove stalks)
• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp of white pepper

Method

1. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a large pan and fry the meatballs until browned all over (approximately 10 minutes). Remove and drain the fat from the pan
2. Add the remainder of the oil to the pan and gently cook the onion, garlic, carrots and bay leaf until soft (approximately 10 minutes)
3. Pour in the wine and wait for it to start bubbling. Then add the tomato purée, beans, stock, chili flakes and thyme and give a good stir.
4. Add the meatballs back to the pan and cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes ensuring the meatballs have no pink bits.
5. Stir in the white pepper and cavolo nero and cook until that latter has wilted (approximately 2 minutes).
6. Season with salt and a little bit of black pepper

Spaghetti Carbonara

The children would have spaghetti carbonara twice a week, every week if they could. It’s ridiculously easy to make and is the ultimate comfort food so perfect for winter cooking. This one is based on the recipe from the bible of Italian cooking: The Silver Spoon cookbook. This means there is no cream in the ingredients list!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 25g butter
• 100g cubed pancetta
• 3 whole peeled garlic cloves (recipe says one clove but even three isn’t very strong)
• One pack of spaghetti
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• 40g Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
• 40g Pecorino (freshly grated)
• Salt and pepper

Method 

1. Melt the butter in a pan, add pancetta and garlic cloves and cook until garlic turns brown. Discard the garlic
2. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti for a minute less than packet instructions say in a large pan of salted boiling water
3. Drain the pasta, add to the pancetta and mix to coat
4. Remove pan from heat and pour in the eggs – my children prefer the egg to be better cooked so I usually leave on the heat for a few seconds longer
5. Add half the Parmesan and half the Pecorino and season to taste with pepper. Mix well, add the remaining cheese and mix again.

Winter Cooking Sausage and Bean Casserole

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 12 high quality pork sausages
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 3 tbsp tomato purèe
• 2 tbsp flour
• 250ml red wine
• 1litre of fresh chicken stock (hot)
• 1 x 400g can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Method

1. Heat oil in a casserole dish (or large frying pan) over a medium heat. Add the sausages and fry until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Add the onion, celery and thyme sprigs to the pan and cook for 5 minutes; stir to prevent sticking.
3. Add the tomato purèe and flour and cook for one minute.
4. Pour in the red wine, bring to the boil and then simmer until reduced to a third.
5. Add the stock to the pan, and once boiling reduce heat to a fast simmer
6. Diagonally halve each sausage and add back to the pan. Simmer for a further 15 minutes ensuring they are cooked through
7. Stir in the beans and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste.

What are you favourite recipes for winter cooking? Please share them below.

This article first appeared on VINOCIBO.

The post 6 Family Winter Warmers: Embracing Winter Cooking appeared first on The Parent Social.

Gumtree selling site for big items

I’ve had a lot of success on Gumtree over the years when selling big, collect only items. I’ve sold numerous cars, a freezer, a bike, a dining table and even an oak front door. The site is easy to use and creating ads is quick and simple. There are no listing fees and you can add up to 20 images at no charge. There are additional paid for services should you want. These include adding a link to your website (£5.21) and numerous ad promotion options.

Go to: https://www.gumtree.com/

De-cluttering baby equipment

I amassed so much equipment when the children were babies especially as the twins needed additional specialised items. I found Preloved UK a great selling site for this type of stuff and items such as feeding cushions, a Medela Double Electric Breast Pump, the iCandy Peach Blossom and a Silver Cross 3D Pram System were snapped up.

The site is extremely easy to navigate. Again it’s free to list and you can upload three photos for free. If you’ve subscribed to Preloved Premium membership, you can add unlimited photos. You can set a specific price, invite offers, say you’ll accept near offers, very near offers or offers above ‘x’.

Go to: https://www.preloved.co.uk

Selling children’s clothes locally and further afield

Outgrown clothes accumulate quickly so serious de-cluttering is needed regularly. I find the local selling pages on Facebook great for bundles of lower valued items as well as higher value pieces. My go to is Kidz Stuff Surrey. This is great as people can see exactly where you’re based and can usually collect, which saves on faffing on postage and packing. There are also even more localised selling groups. For designer/high end items there are some brand-specific groups such as Mini Boden and Joules childrens’ clothes. The audiences on these sites know exactly the worth of the items listed so these are the perfect venues. However, you are likely to have to post the items. Facebook marketplace is also a great option.

Vinted for children’s and adult’s clothes

I’m quite new to Vinted, but am finding it a good platform, which is really easy to use. You can add up to 20 photos and there are lots of drop down menus that help you to describe the item as well as select the brand. I initially thought that the suggested prices for items was too low, but soon discovered that this is recouped on the shipping costs, which are paid for by the buyer. Vinted even generates the shipping label for you. You also receive updates about the progress of the order and you’ll be alerted as soon as the buyer receives.

Go to: https://www.vinted.co.uk

Top tips for selling online 

• Good pictures are vital
• Be realistic, if you price too high you’ll put people off
• That said, don’t go too low as you might be bartered even lower
• Descriptions should be informative but succinct
• For something like a buggy, people will want the instruction manuals, without these you can’t expect to get as high a price
• If you are sending items by post, don’t buy posting and packaging until you have received payment (or at least a deposit)
• Be prepared for time wasters and learn how to spot them
• If someone is coming to pay in cash for a larger item and requests you take it off the market, then you need to get a deposit
• If you’re not doing a face-to-face transaction, then PayPal is the way to go

De-cluttering with a Nearly New Sale 

Keep an eye out for local Nearly New Sales. These are great for shifting large volumes of items in one go. You have to pay for a table (and rail if you want to hire), but if you’ve got a lot of stuff and some higher value items, it’s very easy to recoup and make a healthy profit. They are often publicised with posters at church halls and community centres and you can use the following links to find out where your local NCT sales and Mum2Mum Markets are taking place. These two are the biggest out there. Whilst I haven’t done an NCT sale, I have done a number of Mum2Mum Markets. You can find out more about this here.

Happy de-cluttering!

The post Making Money in the New Year appeared first on The Parent Social.

Christmas Gifts for the Family

The 1% Percent Club

We love this show as a family. My eldest and I are a little bit competitive when watching and this translates brilliantly at home. It’s all about logic and reasoning skills and has nothing to do with general knowledge. The gameplay is simple, but it’s highly entertaining. Some of the questions are so infuriating, and this often leads to heated ‘discussion’ but that’s all part of the fun. If you’re a fan of the TV show, this is definitely for you.

Buy the 1% Club for £25 at The Entertainer. Suitable for 3-6 players ages 8+.

Traitors card game

This a new addition to our game repertoire, but it has cemented itself as a firm favourite. The Traitors Card Game brings the suspense and duplicity of the hit BBC show to your living room, making it a perfect choice for festive fun (and indeed fun at any time of the year). Designed for 4-8 players aged eight and up, this immersive game challenges participants to uncover the Traitor/s while collectively building a prize pot of gold. Its simple rules, engaging twists, and option for digital gameplay (highly recommended) create a unique mix of collaboration, bluffing, and deception that appeals to both kids and adults.

Read the full review here. You can buy it on Amazon for £11.99.

Mystery Guides

Mystery Guides turn UK cities into giant outdoor escape rooms where you discover lots of history and hidden gems whilst solving a mystery (and stopping off at a couple of pubs). You can read my review of the City of London Mystery Guide, which I bought as a family present last Christmas. We loved it. Coincidentally, my mother-in-law bought me a Mystery Guides voucher for my birthday. We opted for the Cambridge one and enjoyed a wonderful day out exploring a city we’d never visited before.

Buy one of the the 37 city Mystery Guides (£19.99) here.

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is an engaging strategy game, which is perfect for older children and adults. The goal is to build railway routes across North America, Europe or London (depending, which version you have) by collecting various train cards and claiming sections of track to connect cities. The more routes you complete, the more points you score, with longer routes offering higher rewards. Bonus points are awarded at the end of the game for the longest continuous track, often shifting the final outcome. Be prepared for some sabotage—whether intentional or accidental!

Ticket to Ride – Days of Wonder (North America version) is priced at £33.57 on Amazon.

Christmas Gifts for the Creative Child

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is a great gift for creative teens or tweens. This compact Bluetooth device prints black-and-white photos directly from smartphones without needing ink, thanks to thermal technology. Pair it with the Tiny Print app to add personal touches or generate unique designs and special effects. It’s ideal for scrapbooking, journalling, or decorating, and comes with extras like stickers and pens for added creativity. Read more about this pocket printer.

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is available at various retailers including Amazon & Smyths (prices vary).

Instax Smartphone Printer

The Instax Mini Link 2 is a sleek and nifty gadget, which combines tech and nostalgia perfectly. It links to your smartphone so that you can print your digital pictures in seconds. All too often, precious memories stay trapped on phones hardly ever seeing the light of day. I love how the Instax printer brings back the now old school process of printing so that your photos can be permanently displayed and enjoyed.

I particularly like the retro-style borders of the Instax mini instant film, which you use for the printer. My daughter loves it. As well as using it for her treasured memories, she also uses it for her GCSE art coursework and to create gifts for friends.

The Instax Mini Link 2 is currently on offer at Boots (£99 from £119).

Christmas Gift for the Tween and Teenager

LED Armoire Storage Mirror

We bought this white LED Armoire Storage Mirror, which has great theatre dressing room-style lights, for my daughter (now 16) quite a few years ago. The mirror opens to reveal ample storage for all those bits and bobs. It also has a handy holder for hairdryers. It’s still a favourite fixture and continues to house her constantly expanding jewellery and toiletry collection. It’s currently on sale at £66.99 on Amazon.

The Big Christmas Gift

Playstation 5

We bought the Playstation 5 last Christmas and it has been used almost every single day of the year since they received it. The PS5 loads a lot quicker compared to its predecessor, has improved graphics and provides an all round enhanced gaming experience, which is more immersive due to the superior audio and DualSense controllers. It also supports all the PS4 games. My husband plays a lot of two-player games with each of the girls and they play against each other. Favourite games include: Rocket League, Uncharted and Fortnite.

It’s pricey at £399 (Amazon), but for the usage it gets and entertainment it provides the whole family, I’d certainly recommend.

Subscription Boxes

Subscription boxes are a versatile gifting solution and there truly is something for everyone. Here are a few ideas that have been popular…

Mysteries in Time

You can give the joy of history and mystery this Christmas with a Mysteries in Time subscription. Aimed at children aged 6-11, each box contains everything needed to take children on an immersive journey through historical periods such as Ancient Egypt (the first box), the Elizabethan Era, WW2, Ancient Greece, Wild West, Aztecs, Ancient Rome, Victorians, Vikings, Ancient China and Stuarts.

Read the full review here.

Mandira’s Kitchen – for the foodie

These are Indian ready meals, but not just any Indian ready meals. Mandira’s Kitchen frozen meals are authentic, made with the finest ingredients and are the sort of dishes you’d expect to be served in a high-end restaurant. You’ll find familiar dishes such as masala (chana), biryani and samosas but also lesser-known ones including kaju dhania murgh, chicken xacuti, meen moilee (fish) and the intriguingly named railway mutton curry.

Mandira’s Kitchen offers a range of monthly subscription boxes of varying sizes and you can pause at any time. More details here.

The London Sock Company

Ok, I know they’re a Christmas gifts cliché. However, my husband, dad and brother all love to put on brand new socks.

With the London Sock Company Subscription, you buy the gift card and then the recipient activates their own subscription where they can select their size and opt for specific styles or choose to be surprised each month. There are different levels of subscription (starting from £42) and time period options.

These are a real quality product and very attractively packaged. My husband loved receiving them.

The Sporty Gift

NET1 Portable Netball System

All three of my girls love netball, playing for school and in a league. I bought the NET1 Portable Netball System  (£109.99) from Little Big Sports for our garden quite some years ago as they were developing their interest. It has remained consistently popular and with five different height settings has grown with them. It is on wheels so completely portable. You then fill the base with water or sand and it becomes fully stable. It is extremely durable and has survived many winters without being covered. I can thoroughly recommend it.

—–

I’d love to hear what your tried and tested gifts of Christmas past are. Let me know in the comments below.

The post Top Christmas Gift Ideas for 2024: Tried, Tested, and Loved appeared first on The Parent Social.

We have been using Zip Oyster Cards for several years and they are brilliant. Available for ages 5-10, 11-15 and 16-17 year olds, they offer free and discounted travel across London and beyond (including areas of Surrey, Essex and Kent).

Like all Oyster cards, Zip cards can be preloaded with credit for pay as you go and enable users to easily touch in and out anywhere where there’s an Oyster yellow card reader (you only have to touch in on buses and trams).

Applying for a Zip Oyster Photocard Online

A parent or guardian needs to apply for the Zip Oyster Photocard for under 18s and you do this by creating a free account in your own name on the TfL website here: Create an Oyster photocard account.

By entering your child’s date of birth, the system automatically recognises which card you’re applying for. You’ll need digital photos of each child you’re applying for and their passport details to verify their age.

It’s all very straight forward. Make sure you use a clear head and shoulders shot though as two out of three of my pics were rejected (possibly as they were too heavily cropped).

The communication, which is via texts and emails, about the progress of the application was great and the cards arrived 2-3 days after application.

Zip Oyster Photocards for 5-10 year olds

These cards cost £10 on application and with it your child gets free travel on all London transport services (under-11s can travel free at any time on London buses and trams without a ticket/Oyster Card).

Benefits

• Free travel on Tube, DLR, London Overground and TfL Rail
• Free travel on most National Rail services* that accept pay as you go
• 50% off adult rate tickets on the Thames Clippers River Bus services
• Pay as you go at a child rate on the IFS Cloud Cable Car (formerly Emirates Air Line Cable Car)

Zip Oyster Photocards for 11 -15 year olds

For children aged 11-15 the card costs £15 and offers free and discounted travel.

Benefits

• Free travel on buses and trams
• Child rate pay as you go fares on Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and Emirates Air Line
• 50% off most fares on National Rail services *
• 50% off adult rate tickets on the Thames Clippers River Bus services.

Topping up you Zip Oyster Photocard

You can top up ad hoc easily from your account once you’ve logged in by clicking the link shown.

However, there’s also the option to auto top up. This Tech Advisor article provides a useful step-by-step guide: https://www.techadvisor.com/how-to/internet/top-up-zip-oyster-3803620/

Enjoy your travels!

* check website for exclusions

The post Zip Oyster Photocard: free & discount travel for 5-15 year olds appeared first on The Parent Social.

Suitable for ages eight and up, The Traitors Card Game is for four to eight players.

The aim of The Traitors Card Game

As in the game show, players are – secretly – assigned the role of ‘Faithful’ (good guys) or ‘Traitor’ (bad guy). In the card game, there’s one Traitor and a maximum of seven Faithful at the outset. However, during the game, another Traitor can be recruited. Players work together to build up a communal prize pot of gold. The mission of the Faithful is to identify and banish the Traitor/s among them and ultimately win an equal share of the gold. The Traitor/s meanwhile have to try and elude detection until the end of the game to scoop the prize fund. The player with the most gold after a pre-agreed number of rounds wins.

Gameplay (digital version)

Everyone receives a player number card that they place before them (visible to everyone). They are also assigned their role of either Traitor or Faithful, which they must keep secret.

You can play a non-digital version of the game, but we scanned the QR code to access all the digital features, which I’d recommend (there’s also a mini game to play).

Each player is dealt three cards from the 60-card game deck. On their turn, players draw another card and then discard any of the cards in their hand. ‘Gold cards’ can be added to the shared prize fund, ‘dagger cards’ can be used to force another player to show their hand and ‘shield cards’ protect a player from a murder attempt. On drawing a ‘Traitor card’, a player can decide whether to become a Traitor or remain Faithful. The ‘event cards’ can result in a murder, banishment or a quiet night. A banishment leads to an open discussion between all players about who everyone suspects. It can get quite heated!

A round ends when only two players remain, if all players agree the Traitor/s are eliminated or on reaching the ‘final banishment’ card (at the end of the playing deck).

What we think about The Traitors Card Game

In short, we love it! The game isn’t particularly complex, and in no way is that a criticism; it’s a huge plus. Both the kids and the adults got into it, slipping into character, creating suspense and adding to the overall drama. We played as a five and six, which was perfect; I’d also love to try with higher numbers. I think four would be less exciting.

The digital version is highly immersive; the music, sound effects and interactive elements really add another dimension, making the game more faithful to the TV show and the banishments and murders very authentic. We loved casting the votes and revealing them on the screen to the dramatic thumping heartbeat.

The Traitors Card Game keeps you guessing. Despite its relative simplicity, it is never obvious who the Traitor is; quite the opposite. Each game is different and involves trust, treachery and bluffing (something we also love about Kaker Laken Poker). The game has firmly cemented itself as a family favourite.

It would make a great Christmas present and would be perfect festive entertainment.

Available from Amazon and on the Ginger Fox website for just £11.99.

The post The Traitors Card Game – A Review appeared first on The Parent Social.

Autumn walks

It’s really the most interesting time of the year to go on a walk. Here are some of my favourite places to visit with the family.

Painshill Park at Autumn

The beautiful landscaped gardens of Painshill Park (which you may have glimpsed during the Bridgerton series!) have a host of attractions at any time of year. There’s the Gothic Temple, the Turkish tent, a 14-acre lake, the Temple of Bacchus, the fairytale crystal grotto and the Gothic tower to name a few.

Autumn only adds to its charms. There are a number of walking routes you can follow, which take in the Painshill sights. Additionally, it’s running a Wild Halloween Camp over half term from Monday 28th, October – Wednesday, 30th October 2024 (9am– 3.30pm).

For ages 8-11, it includes:

• Den building – build your own haunted hut
• Campfire cooking and hot chocolate
• Wonderfully wild, weird and wicked wide games
• Making spooky woodland craft

Find out about all of Painshill Park’s activities here: https://www.painshill.co.uk/events-at-painshill/

Leith Hill (Dorking)

We’ve had some lovely walks around here. The Woodland trail is a route of 2.5 miles (takes up to two hours), which takes you through woodland, up to Leith Hill Tower – where you can grab a cuppa and a sweet treat – and Leith Hill Place. This was home to Josiah Wedgwood III (of pottery fame) who was married to Caroline Darwin sister of naturalist Charles. It was more recently the childhood home of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

In season, there’s a huge array of mushrooms (for fungi enthusiasts, this is a great spotter book) and there as loads of great trees, including sweet chestnuts, which offer bountiful foraging opportunities.

Here are the details of the different routes: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/leith-hill/leith-hill-woodland-walk

Claremont Landscape Gardens (Esher)

This is another National Trust favourite of ours near Esher. There are lovely landscaped gardens but with plenty of wild areas, and a big lake complete with plenty of wildlife an opportunities for boating. You’ll also find a very nice children’s play area (Queen Victoria used to play at Claremont when she was a child).

The Wandering Witch returns for Enchanted Claremont, another fun adventure trail around the garden between Saturday, 19th October and Sunday, 3rd November. This year, the garden turns into Magick School – follow the spellbound path and find games and activities inspired by the sprites, goblins and fairies’ favourite lessons.

Find out more about what you can expect to see at Claremont this autumn: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/claremont-landscape-garden/features/autumn-colour-at-claremont-landscape-garden

Winkworth Arboretum at Autumn

What better place to witness autumn’s splendour than at an arboretum? Winkworth Arboretum comprises of 121 acres of wild woodland with over 1,000 species of trees and shrubs. It is wonderful at any time of year, but it is renowned for its displays in autumn.

On its Autumn Colour Guided Walk (Sunday, October 20th) you’ll be treated to arrays of copper, amber, fiery reds, gold and about every other autumn hue imaginable.

There will also be a free, fun-filled autumn trail based on the Sarah the Spider children’s book this October half-term. Children help find all of Sarah’s shoes and boots that have been hidden by the mischievous mice. The trail takes children across the arboretum where they’ll find eight activity stations themed around friendship (and a very friendly spider who loves to dance) all whilst taking in the beautiful autumnal display.

More details about Sarah the Spider at Claremont.

More details about what is on at Winkworth this autumn can be found below.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/winkworth-arboretum/winkworth-arboretum-autumn

Wisley in the Autumn (Woking)

RHS garden Wisley is vast and boasts a wide range of flora. As well as an arboretum, there’s Seven Acres with its wide open lawns, ponds and fine specimen trees. Oakwood is a hot spot for autumn foliage, and you’ll be able to see many autumn-flowerers in the Rock Garden, Alpine Display House and in all the borders.

Find out about all of their half term activities – running between Saturday, 26th October and Sunday, 3rd November – including gardening, walk and talks, shows, a spooky Halloween trail (where you’ll learn about the most wicked plants) and lots of arts and crafts: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/half-term

For full details of what’s looking good at Wisley right now, visit: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/explore-wisley/looking-good-now

Autumn at Polesden Lacy (Great Bookham)

From the South Lawn at Polesden Lacey, you can take in the lovely views of Ranmore Common. The ancient woodland has a diverse range of trees, so it is awash with striking colours until late October. Perserve Copse has a variety of Acer trees. These provide a lovely display and there’s plenty to see in the Sunken Garden. There are many trails to explore too.

Discover the autumn highlights here.

There’s also the Autumn Explorers for preschoolers, which takes place every Wednesday from September, 18th until October, 16th. For the adults, check out its Autumn Wreath Making workshop.

Enjoy your autumn walks and please share your favourites.

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Instant printer that’s quick, portable, child-friendly and lots of fun

TLDR: This small, nifty Bluetooth printer from Canal Toys enables quick, easy and quality printing directly from smart devices. When used with the free Tiny Print app you can print photos, generate AI images, create and print drawings and stickers, make printable to-do lists and labels, and apply special effects to existing images. The kit also contains stickers and marker pens for customising your designs after printing.

What’s included

• The Instant Pocket Printer
• 1 adhesive paper roll (to print on)
• 3 normal paper rolls (to print on)
• USB charger cable
• 75 stickers
• Three pens to customise your prints

How to use the Instant Pocket Printer

The printer is really easy to set up. It uses very clever thermal technology to produce the black and white images so no ink is required. Yes, you heard that right. That means no messy ink cartridges to contend with and images dry instantly. Charge its built-in-battery via the USB cable, load the paper roll, install the free app and you’re ready to go.

Our experiences

The app is very easy to navigate. We spent a lot of time printing up some of our favourite images from holiday. The printing is really fast; the quality is very good and images are crisp with no bleed. The images are so good in fact, that my eldest has used them as part of her GCSE art coursework.

The girls then had lots of fun experimenting with all the really cool features. They cartooned themselves, made linear drawing of themselves (from existing photos), prompted the AI image creator to generate weird and wonderful creations and personalised their photos with text.

Their two-year-old cousin has a ticket obsession. She loved the printable labels and the stock images of animals (amongst many other categories), which she could colour.

This would certainly appeal to both tweens and older teenagers. Whilst it says age 8+ on the box, younger ones would definitely enjoy with adult supervision. I think this would make a super Christmas gift.

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is available at various retailers including Amazon & Smyths where it’s priced at £29.99.

Disclaimer:
I have been provided with this product for the purpose of review. I have not received any monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and are based on my honest and unbiased experience with the product.

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What sets Mystery Guides apart is their unique blend of creativity, historical facts and meticulous detail. These aren’t just simple trails or treasure hunts. These are immersive experiences that make you feel like a real detective on a case. The amount of work and thought put into each hunt is evident in every clue, puzzle and fact. These guides are a labour of love.

Perfect for amateur sleuths, history enthusiasts and adventurers

I’ve always loved detective shows, solving puzzles and cracking codes. One of our favourite shows as a family is The 1% Percent Club because we love working out logic problems. We also love visiting places of historical interest. So when I discovered the Mystery Guides series, I knew that with their combination of all these elements, they’d be the perfect adventure for us.

Mystery Guides – the outdoor escape room

‘The Champagne of treasure hunts,’ Mystery Guides immerse you in a whodunnit adventure around the streets of 25 UK cities. You read maps, unravel clues, decode symbols, decipher cryptic messages, eliminate suspects, and follow a trail leading to the final ‘wow’ moment of solving the mystery and revealing the villain. All the while, you enjoy an intricate story and fact-filled tour of the city, discovering its rich – and often lesser-known – history and secret hidden gems.

Each trail includes carefully selected historical pubs to stop at and takes approximately two-to-three hours to complete. 

Our City of London Mystery Adventure

I bought the City of London Mystery Guide as a present for the family. It was beautifully presented and looked very intriguing. We couldn’t wait to do it.

Having worked in the Square Mile for years, I thought I knew the area inside out. However, Mystery Guides proved me wrong. The trail, created by Jack Wells, a historian-turned-entrepreneur who loves puzzles, revealed a different side of the city—one filled with under-the-radar landmarks and untold stories. We even learnt new things about the more familiar sights on our trail.

As we embarked on our adventure, we encountered other couples and groups engrossed in the same trail. We loved the challenge and feeling of accomplishment of solving each puzzle and clue. We weren’t competitive at all! After almost three hours of sleuthing, we unravelled the mystery. The sense of achievement was immense, and the whole experience left us with wonderful memories.

Much more than your average adventure trail

What sets Mystery Guides apart is their unique blend of creativity, historical facts and meticulous detail. These aren’t just simple trails or treasure hunts. These are immersive experiences that make you feel like a real detective on a case. The amount of work and thought put into each hunt is evident in every clue, puzzle and fact. These guides are a labour of love.

The experience was not just about fun, though there was plenty of that. We learned so much about the city’s history and its unexplored corners.

While Mystery Guides are designed for adults, they’re a great family experience; our kids, aged 12 and up, were completely captivated. I’d say they’re suitable for ages nine and over.

We can’t wait for our next Mystery Guides adventure. Luckily my mother-in-law knows me well and bought me a Mystery Guides gift card for Christmas. Now I need to decide where we want to go and discover next. I think I’ve narrowed it down to Cambridge, Oxford or Stratford-upon-Avon!

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If you’re looking for a unique way to explore a UK city and create lasting memories, I highly recommend giving them a try. Mystery Guides cost £19.99 and are available to buy here.

The post Mystery Guides Review: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt for All the Family appeared first on The Parent Social.

Why are butterflies important?

Butterflies are a vital part of the ecosystem; they are major pollinators and an important component of the food chain. As such, they act as a highly sensitive environmental barometer.

What is the Big Butterfly Count?

The annual Big Butterfly Count is a tally of the different butterfly species you spot in a 15-minute period in your nearest green space.

The count plays a crucial role in helping assess the health of our environment. Last year over 94,000 people took part in the UK-wide survey and submitted more than 136,000 counts, which helped Butterfly Conservation identify significant trends and better understand how butterflies are faring in the face of a nature and climate crisis. This aids the organisation in planning how to protect butterflies from extinction, and in recognising other key issues affecting wildlife. Unfortunately, last year’s survey revealed that 80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s.

How you can take part in the Big Butterfly Count

1. Head to the website – https://www.bigbutterflycount.org/ – and download the identification chart (where you can also record your count)  
   
2. Then, at any time between Friday, 12th July and Sunday, 4th August, find a nice, sunny spot where butterflies (and moths) are likely to be. Note down the number and types you spot in 15 minutes. You can take part multiple times.
   
3. Add your count/s on the website here or via the app (search ‘Big Butterfly Count’)
   

Butterfly Conservation NEEDS YOU!

Read how Butterfly Conservation is calling on people across the UK to take part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count and help scientists understand how climate change is moving butterflies in this press release: Butterflies on the Move: Scientists Call on Public to Help Track Spread of Species

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Have fun spotting butterflies, and if you need any ideas for encouraging more wildlife to your garden, take a look at this post:

https://www.theparentsocial.com/how-to-introduce-more-wildlife-and-birds-to-your-garden/

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