Building a Den with Save The Children

Is there anything more exciting when you are three and two than building a den under the dining room table? With big blankets and beanbags, Finn and Cora hid away from everyone else with some Beano stickers that were sent to us from Save the Children to celebrate their Den Day. 

Save the children have partnered with Beano with the aim of raising money for Save the Children's vital work.  Their Beano Build book is available from Sainsbury's with  step by step instructions to build four different diy projects.

You can have a den day whenever you like and download a free fundraising pack at DenDay.org which includes educational activities to help understand more about some of the challenges other children face around the world and how fundraising can help.  

HOW DOES YOUR MONEY HELP?

The money raised by den-builders will make an enormous difference to Save the Children’s vital work.

* £33 could buy five sheets of tarpaulin to help provide shelter to families who have
* lost their homes in an emergency
* £75 could provide everything needed to run a reading club to help children learn literacy for a year
* £105 could buy a kit to help a family living as refugees to protect their shelters against the weather

Make sure you share photos of your dens by tagging #DenDay

Read more ⇨

Muddy Puddles

Oh to be a child again, to run into a water park head first (quite literally) and splash to your heart's content, not worrying about the fact your Mum forgot to pack spare clothes for one of you, or that the water is coming up over the top of your wellies and creating puddles inside them.  The boys were in their element at the splash zone in Peppa Pig world and thankfully the wonderful staff let us dry some of their clothes on the radiators as they literally sat in the puddles at one point.

Not all children are as lucky and carefree as mine though, and we were at Peppa Pig world for an important reason, to learn more about the work of Save the Children, and their new fundraising campaign, the Muddy Puddle Walk.  

Nurserys, schools, playgroups and individuals can pledge to take part in a Muddy Puddle Walk between 8th and 14th of May to help raise money for the most vulnerable children.  You don't need a big space, you don't even need real puddles, you can interpret it as you like.  

You may want to do a sponsored walk, you may want to do a jumping challenge in the garden, you may want to make your own paper puddles and jump around inside the classroom.  Archie's nursery are doing a walk along the beach (and I will definitely be taking spare clothes along this time!).  Just grab some friends and apply for your free fundraising pack here.

By taking part, you will help support the charity's work to give every child the right to play, learn and grow up healthy and happy.  Millions of children miss out on this, just because of where they are born.

We had a wonderful day splashing and exploring Paulton's Park and Peppa Pig world and we are looking forward to our muddy puddle walk in May!

Sign up here for your free fundraising pack

Read more ⇨

The Color Run

I have always been a little impulsive, but two days ago I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for the Color Run, one day ago I booked my place and today I am here asking for your support.

The Color Run involves 5km of running, jogging or walking all whilst be covered in colour, specifically Dulux paint.  We will start in white and end up looking more like a rainbow (albeit a messy one), hopefully having raised lots of pennies for Save the Children.

Read more ⇨

Xmas Jumper Day

Christmas jumpers are no longer reserved just for the Colin Firth's of the world ( That jumper in Bridget Jones is now the height of fashion ) and everyone is sporting some glitter, snowmen and stars on their fronts this season.  Christmas jumpers are everywhere and I for one am delighted.  I am a bit of a Christmas geek and have been wearing festive socks every day since December 1st.

Last night I was at Woolly Wonderland at Westfield Stratford City designing my very own Christmas jumper.  I will sporting a one of a kind, custom, home-made jumper this year and I am actually a little proud of my efforts!  December 13th is Christmas Jumper Day and I will be donating £1 to Save The Children and wearing my knit with pride!

Woolly Wonderland is on from the 5th to the 13th of December with sessions for all the family from storytelling sessions of the Gruffalo and Elmer to knitting lessons to Christmas jumper customisation and these free sessions are bookable here.  The lovely ladies helped me out creating my look with stencils, materials and by showing me how to do the stitching.  It was a lovely evening and I have something fun to take away from it too.

So pop on over to Westfield, get creative and wear your Christmas jumper with pride! I am thinking this may be the perfect opportunity to take a cheesy Christmas photo of the whole family in our festive knitwear so look out on twitter with the hashtag #xmasjumperday to see if I can persuade them all!  Don't forget to tweet your own photos with this hashtag too as I can't wait to see all the fun jumpers.

Read more ⇨