AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell and there’s so much to entertain the whole family whilst you do your Christmas shopping! 

Visit The Lexicon Glow Room for a magical light experience that will dazzle you with 20,000 LEDs. It feels like the room goes on forever! Then, take a dip in the Light Pool, a magical ball pool with golden balls to be found and prizes to be won!

If that wasn’t all, have a photo in the giant Christmas bauble ‘sparkling selfie station’ and follow the Twinkle Trail, spotting baubles in shop windows to collect the clues and enter to win fabulous prizes this Christmas. Plus, share your sparkling selfie station pictures, tagging #thelexiconbracknell or email them to marketing@thelexiconbracknell.com and you will automatically be entered in a competition for the chance to win a restaurant gift card too. 

There are also special performances from local choirs, bands and singers and even the chance to meet Bluey, Hey Duggee and Chase from Paw Patrol! You can be sure that a trip to The Lexicon will have something for everyone over the festive season this year. We loved our visit to The Lexicon last weekend and know we’ll be back again before Christmas!

Find out more on @thelexiconbracknell website.

#TheLexiconBracknell #Merry&Bright
AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! We had our first Glow Marwell experience tonight - and we loved it. It may even be the best light trail we have been to.

We spent well over two hours at @marwellzoo, enjoying the light installations, indulging in the food stalls and cafe, toasting marshmallows and even meeting Father Christmas! 

Glow Marwell was such a nice way to kick off the festive season - and it’s on all the way through December! If you’re looking for a really nice festive activity the whole family can enjoy, this could definitely be it!
AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparent AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparents this year? @famileo_uk is a wonderful gift, giving the recipient a personalised gazette of family news regularly throughout the year - and it costs from just £5.99 a month. 

Multiple family members can use the same subscription, all posting messages to be added to one gazette - and sharing the cost of the subscription too! It’s great for parents, siblings and children to all share their news with grandparents each week, fortnight or month. 

We’ve been sending my dad Family gazettes for a while now and he absolutely loves them. It means we tell him all the little things that are happening and not just the big news you remember to mention in phone calls. The children get to upload their own messages to their grandad and it’s definitely made them feel closer, building a stronger relationship despite living far apart.

Find out more about Family over on the blog - link in bio - and buy a subscription for your nearest and dearest this Christmas. It’s a gift they will definitely love to receive.
Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing the Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing these updates every week but I like having somewhere to put all these photos!

They’re now three months old, super loving and happy, making biscuits and purring constantly.

They stay in ‘their’ room overnight but explore the house during the day, getting more confident as time passes. They even got to the point of relaxing on the sofa with us last night.

Fred & George are now very much part of our family and I can’t imagine them not being there now - even at 7am when they’re miaowing at the door for breakfast!
AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your kids will love? Claim your FREE Banjo Robinson activity pack today!
 
Reading for pleasure is a key indicator of a child’s future success, but if your child doesn’t love to read, what can you do? We know it’s not always easy keeping kids entertained and away from screens, so we’ve partnered with the award-winning @banjorobinson to gift you a FREE activity pack, worth £9.99.

Here’s a little look at the Banjo Robinson subscription - Troy loves it! Travelling to world with Banjo is so much fun! You can read our full review over on the blog and claim your free activity pack too - link in profile.
A whole week of Fred & George. We weren’t meant A whole week of Fred & George.

We weren’t meant to get more cats just yet but sometimes the universe sends you things when you don’t expect them.

These little guys needed a home and a family to love them. And we had a home and a lot of love to give. We still miss Leia but this pair are definitely helping make me feel whole again.

They are both used to us now, and love us. They’re less nervous, give us cuddles and let us pick them up. They’re still living in our spare room but starting to explore the rest of the house under supervision. 

They play fight constant. Love toys, especially a crinkly feather thing on a string attached to a stick, and love being up high. They are an awesome pair and we are so glad to have them.

Thank you @millbrook_rspca @rspca_official for trusting us with ‘Lonestar and Starfish’. We could not love them more. 

#catsofinstagram #catstagram #catsofig #catsofinsta #catlovers #adoptdontshop #rspcarescuecat #kittensofinstagram #kittens_of_instagram
[AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing abo [AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing about our half term break at @pottersresort and it’s over on the blog if you want to go have a read.

I wanted to put some of my favourite photos on the grid too as the kids did so many fun activities - they had THE best time. 

Giant swing, segways, climbing, archery, laser clays… there was so much to do that we couldn’t fit it all in - we need another trip!
And there ends our October half term - well, apart And there ends our October half term - well, apart from Troy who has a bonus week off!

This half term has been pretty lovely. Troy had his school residential the first weekend and then we had a really lovely few days in Norfolk before heading home and picking up two new members of our family - Fred and George. 11 week old rescue kittens who have pretty much stolen our hearts.

It’s been so nice to have a chunk of quality time with this pair and now I’m looking forward to the Christmas holidays. These two are the best company and I really do live for the school holidays. 

How has your half term been?
[AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term [AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term at @pottersresort in Norfolk. With great food, an action packed schedule of entertainment and activities plus everything included in the price of your break - even drinks - it’s a fantastic way to holiday as a family, giving quality time together in the nicest of surroundings. 
I’ll write a full review soon but for now here’s a little Reel  of our trip.
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Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews · October 17, 2015

Waddesdon Manor – National Trust, Buckinghamshire Review

When we were planning what to do for my Birthday one of the first things we thought to do was go somewhere nice for afternoon tea. Then I remembered that often National Trust properties have lovely cafes or tea rooms and do celebration afternoon tea packages. I took to twitter to ask not only the advice of the National Trust but also of other Twitter users and before long I was pointed in the direction of Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

What were our first impressions of Waddesdon Manor?

Waddesdon Manor is currently undergoing a bit of a redevelopment of the car park with a new arrivals lodge but this didn’t detract from our visit. The car park is ample and well thought out with many parent and child spaces that we appreciated. At the arrivals lodge we were shown to small buses that took us to the main Waddesdon Manor house or further along to The Stables and on the short journey we saw just how vast the Waddesdon Manor estate is with lovely countryside and forest.

What are the play areas like at Waddesdon Manor?

The first thing the children wanted to do was play so we ventured into the forest to find the woodland play areas which are situated down a hillside between the house and stables. There are lots of different areas with different activities and it’s set out roughly in age order with the play equipment most suited to smaller children at the furthest point near to the stables.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

The children had a great time running around and all of the areas looked well maintained and really lovely spaces for the children to play. They loved the slides, swings and climbing structures and I know they would have spent all day here if we hadn’t had afternoon tea booked.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

What is afternoon tea like at Waddesdon Manor?

We wandered back through the forest, past a lovely cafe and seating area and back towards Waddesdon Manor. We had tea booked at the Manor House Restaurant and a table was ready when we arrived. I was slightly apprehensive about taking such young children to something so posh but the staff made the children feel welcome and put us at ease.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

The Afternoon Teas came with a selection of teas to choose from – juice or milk for the children – and then all of us had a savoury course followed by a sweet course. I’m really pleased the courses didn’t all come out at once as I know the children would have had no chance of eating sandwiches if they’d seen the cake from the start!

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

The children had ham and cheese rolls whilst Dave and I had a selection of tarts and other canapé style items that were all delicious. I am definitely more of a sweet fan than savoury but the little sandwiches and tarts were wonderful.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

The sweet course was too much for the children who had good size slices of cake, jam tarts, jelly and berries. They both ate as much as they could but we ended up taking a few pieces home in a box!

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

Dave and I had so many sweet treats and I nearly gave up before I got to my scone but as the children took their time eating it gave us a chance to pace ourselves too. I loved that my cake stand came out with a Birthday message for me and I can’t think of a nicer way to spend my Birthday afternoon. It was lovely.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

What are the Waddesdon Manor grounds like?

After tea we wandered around the grounds of Waddesdon Manor. By this time the children were too tired to look inside the house but were happy collecting conkers, looking at flowers and playing hide and seek. The grounds at Waddesdon manor are beautiful and I wish we lived nearer to visit often.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

Just before we headed home I remembered a staff member mentioning an aviary and we went off to investigate. I have never seen a more beautiful aviary and the children loved looking at the birds. It was so different to anything on other National Trust sites we’ve visited and so unexpected – definitely worth looking at if you visit Waddesdon Manor.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust

At the end of our trip another little bus took us back to the car park and we headed off on the rest of my Birthday adventure. Waddesdon Manor was beautiful to look at, lovely to explore and had a lot to keep children amused. We’ll definitely be visiting again in the future.

I’ve also written about the Christmas at Waddesdon fair and winter light trail here.

Review: Waddesdon Manor - National Trust
Waddesdon Manor - National Trust, Buckinghamshire

In: Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews

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Comments

  1. Sarah (@tamingtwins) says

    October 18, 2015 at 6:53 am

    Oh what a beautiful place! I am National Trust obsessed. We never go into the house with the children (I’m terrified of them breaking something priceless!) but we’ve notched up so many visits over the summer and absolutely adore them. Happy belated birthday too!

    Reply
  2. Lisa @ lovefromlisa.com says

    December 22, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    We also went to Waddesdon this year and it was gorgeous, but I agree it was quick to do. Last year the installation at the Stables was much better than this year. The lights however on the Manor were so pretty but next year I’d love to try another place.

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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