Oliver, my youngest son, is 18 this Friday, and again he’s just plumped for money ( after trying to get the latest Samsung phone – £500+ !!), and a BBQ for his mates and family.

Imogen, whose birthday falls on the 24th December, had her half-year party last saturday and this is the age group that do really seem to have everything – but luckily she’s been hankering after some Lelli Kelly shoes, and I do like her taste as she opted for some very stylish Sky Blue, Tallulah’s, and they do seem to be very robust, so hopefully she will get plenty of wear out of them.

My youngest grandaughter’s 4th birthday is on the horizon and she fell in love with these shoes (she wanted the same as Imi), so I’ve just ordered them online for her.

It does get increasingly difficult to know what to buy for kids today – I do hanker for the days when toys and gifts where strictly twice a year, birthdays and Christmas.

TOG - basically the higher the tog the warmer the duvet. Natural fillings, ie feather or down, are more efficient at creating warmth than synthetic choices, and are usually lighter and less bulky, but more expensive.

In winter we can use a higher tog rated duvet insert and swap this for a lower tog in the warmer, summer months.

To cover all the vagaries of our climate, an All Seasons Duvet Set is ideal – this is 2 duvets of differing togs, maybe a 9 and a 4.5, which combined give the ultimate warmth of 13.5.

NB Natural filled duvets usually require dry cleaning, whereas the synthetic variety can be machine washed.

Children’s quilted bedspreads are also quite popular, especially in the new energy, efficient houses, where night time temperatures rarely plummet and kids prefer lighter bed linen.

Childrens Bedding comes in a wide variety of designs and colours. There is a whole host of designs aimed at their interests – space, cars, pirates for the boys – fairies, flowers, shopping and pink for the girls. Toddlers have their own designs – preferring animal themes, jungle safari and under the sea. For the football enthusiast there is a wide selection of football teams duvet covers and bedroom accessories.

Character bedding is by far the most popular, especially in the age range 3 – 10 years. Most childrens character duvet sets now have matching bedroom accessories and include double duvets and some provide everything to make a total themed bedroom for both boys and girls.

Kids Duvet Sizes

Toddler or Junior Duvets usually measure 120 x 150 cm and are made for a toddler bed or cotbed, and include a pillowcase. These duvets require specially made junior duvet inserts and junior pillows.

NB: Duvets and  inserts should not be used in babies cots and for toddlers under 1 year.

Single Duvets for 3ft single beds, measure, approximately, 138 x 198 cm and most UK produced duvet sets include one pillowcase

Double Duvets, which normally include 2 pillowcases, are becoming more popular and are available in a wide range of character and designer bedding. They fit a small 4ft double bed or a full size double bed comfortabley, but many parents buy a double duvet for a single divan bed as they look nice and they keep their children warm and cosy all night.

NB: Some non-UK duvet sets, do not include a pillowcase and these must be purchased separately.

Bedding – Quality

100% cotton - this type is usually the most expensive and keeps it’s crispness and quality after many washes. Cotton also helps the body to keep cool as it has great absorbency and is ideal for hotter nightst.

50% cotton, 50% polyester – this is the most popular mix for chlldren’s bedding as it is hard wearing and keeps colours fresh.

45/55 and 30/70 polycotton mixes are used for the cheaper duvet covers, which tend to be flimsier and rougher to the touch but ideal bedding for kids, which can go out of fashion quickly or be replaced as children get older and tastes change.

Microfibre – a manufactured product which is a mixture of polyester and polyamide and produces a very lightweight material, which is easy to wash.

Duvet Covers

There are 2 different types of duvet covers

Panel prints cost upwards of £17.00 – panel prints are printed individually and each duvet is cut from a roll of cloth and has a complete pattern on the cover.

Rotary prints cost as little £7, a continuous pattern is printed on a full roll of cloth from which the duvets are cut, this results in very litte waste.

Character bedding is usually produced in both types, as are the cheaper generic designs. Designer bed linen and 100% cotton bedlinen are usally panel prints.

Each of the forest villages offers a range of indoor and outdoor activities aimed at providing something for everyone and so whether you have young children or elderly relatives, love the great outdoors or favour a calmer break, you should be able to tailor your holiday to suit your own preferences.

We have stayed at Centre Parcs as a couple, as a member of a large family group and most recently with our toddler. The forest environment offers a tranquil setting and you can choose to hire a bike or just simply enjoy the walk … what’s the rush? … you are on holiday after all.

You can pack your holiday with as many activities as you want to, depending on how much time you have and on your budget, but make sure you take advantage of the swimming facilities which are included in the price of your trip.

The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is something that Center Parcs do very well. It is open from 10am to 9pm and has a variety of facilities including a toddler pool, whirlpool, rapids, flumes and intermittent waves.

We find that it’s worth splashing out on towel hire so that you can leave your wet towels behind without the pain of trying to dry them back at your lodge. Remember to take a pound coin for the lockers too. You can buy drinks and snacks at a pool side café which allows the kids to have the maximum amount of time in the water.

Our daughter swam on her own (with armbands of course) for the first time at Whinfell. She was so excited by the atmosphere that she just wanted to do it herself. She made a lot of progress over our short break and gained so much confidence. She would happily stay in the pool with daddy all day if I let them.

If you fancy trying Center Parcs but have been put off by the cost there are late availability deals to save you some money. After you have stayed at one of the forest villages you will be kept informed of any deals and discounts.

On previous holidays we have taken all our own food with us but the time before last we had our little one with us and the car was full of baby bits and bobs so we chose to eat out a lot and bought most of our food from the on-site shop. Most recently in March of this year, when our daughter was two and a half, we did a combination of all three eating out some of the time whilst cooking for ourselves with food from home which we supplemented with things bought on site. We know what’s available in the shop now and can plan ahead … we can even get soya milk on site which is a real bonus.

Eating out isn’t cheap but if you cook all year and frankly just want to put your feet up or you have a small child and need a break from the domestic stuff or even if you just don’t want to be bothered cooking on holiday then there is a good choice of restaurants and cafés to enjoy. As a couple with a small child we love Hucks American Diner because they have a children’s buffet with different things on it each night, and plenty of choice to keep the kids from getting bored. At some point you will find me chilling out at Starbucks with a HUGE mug of tea while hubby takes the little one on a daddy daughter adventure. We like the Sports Café too which is a little less stressful on your wallet and offers bar meal type food. Hubby likes it because you can see live sport on the TVs dotted around but pick your time to eat depending on whether you want a bustling, noisy atmosphere or prefer it to be quieter.

Your holiday at Center Parcs is what you make it. On one end of the scale you can keep up with the sports that you enjoy all year round, like tennis and golf, or sample new ones including exciting rock climbing and high rope activities, horse riding or archery. But for those who want to relax and chill out you can make the most of the Sub Tropical Swimming Paradise and check out the Spa treatments available on site. Children are not forgotten at Center Parcs with indoor and outdoor play areas, organised sporting and crafting activities plus children’s clubs which are available if you want to use them.

The facilities on offer differ depending on which of the four locations you choose to stay at and include seasonal extras like the Halloween Pumpkin Hunt and a visit to Santa’s woodland workshop. Center Parcs have a great website which allows you to see what facilities are available at each site, along with PDF restaurant menus, without having to book first giving you a more informed choice.

We are looking forward to our December visit and while snow would make travelling to the forest a nightmare it would certainly add an extra touch of magic to our carriage ride to Santa’s workshop so we will just have to see what the great British weather has in store for us.

A selection of kids character sling book cases can be found at Children’s Rooms In adult rooms such as the lounge or dining area, where children’s toys will inevitably migrate, it can be worth investing in a smart piece of furniture which is easy to pack toys away in. Toy boxes, chests and children’s storage benches can maintain the contemporary and grown up feel of your room whilst allowing toys to be quickly tidied away if you have unexpected visitors. Canvas bags or tubs can be a great way to keep toys together without the weight of a plastic or wooden box to move around. The subtle nature of the bag means it needn’t head straight back to the kiddie’s room following playtime, but it will do a great job of concealing those vividly coloured items to avoid spoiling the neutrality of your living areas. Finally, don’t become obsessed with hiding your children’s toys away.

Their favourite teddies, figurines and oddities are their treasured possessions and should be proudly displayed as we would display our favourite ornament or vase. Open and closed kids storage solutions like cube systems can be a great choice, as they allow the children’s bits and pieces to be closed away in one place, whilst their prized items can be proudly displayed in the open spaces. ]]> http://www.parentcentre.co.uk/667/feed 0 http://www.parentcentre.co.uk/decorating-a-girls-bedroom http://www.parentcentre.co.uk/decorating-a-girls-bedroom#comments Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:20:37 +0000 Elaine http://www.parentcentre.co.uk/?p=646 I’m not a big fan of decorating but when it comes to updating my little girls bedroom I can’t help getting inspired by the wealth of girls bedding and bedroom accessories that there is on the market.

Girls have an unlimited number of characters and themes to choose from and don’t have to stick to the traditional feminine options. Today’s thoroughly modern miss can have a dinosaur or space themed room if she wants, while her brother is not going to get away with having his decorated with Disney Princesses, so if she’s old enough to make her own choices then sit down with her at your computer and do some window shopping to give her plenty of ideas to help her decide which theme she would like to go with.

All the same budget and planning advice applies for a girls bedroom as I described in the previous post about decorating and dressing a boys bedroom so instead of going over the same points I will share some of my decorating tips instead. Nothing too complicated or fancy … Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen I most certainly am not!

Most of us are busy and few of us relish the chance to pick up a paint brush but these days we don’t always have the spare cash to pay someone else to do the decorating. The best advice I can give is to try to think ahead when you paint the walls in a girls bedroom. When we painted our daughter’s room we went for a pastel pink … I know pink is a little obvious but two years later when we converted her nursery in to a toddler bedroom for our “big girl” all I needed to do was add some wall stickers to coordinate with the new bedding and curtains and the room was transformed. When she moves out of her junior bed and in to a single bed, prompting the next revamp, if pink walls work well with the new theme it will simply be a case of carefully removing the stickers and replacing them.

One of my favourite tips for a girls bedroom is to use a clear glitter paint and stencil shapes on to the wall or ceiling. So for example in a princess themed bedroom you could use a crown or tiara stencil and in a fairy themed bedroom stars. Look for glitter paint that doesn’t give you a rough raised edge to avoid having to sand the walls when you move on to the next theme.

A variation on this theme is glow in the dark paint which you can use to stencil different sized stars on to the ceiling for a dreamy sky effect.

A girls bedroom will be instantly transformed by a string of fairy lights. There are now plenty of outlets stocking strings of lights specifically made for this purpose, rather than using Christmas tree lights but make sure that your child is old enough not to be tempted to mess around with the lights and always turn them off over night.

Voile material or net can be picked up quite cheaply to drape over a curtain pole or above the bed to create a canopy effect which will add the perfect finishing touch to a princess themed bedroom.

Wall stickers can be used for more than just simply cheering up a tired looking wall. My daughter has a Disney Princess wall sticker on the window which gives quite an effective stained glass effect but you can also use them on the bedroom door and furniture. Most wall stickers are removable but check the pack before you use them and don’t apply them to anything that you would be cross about if it was left marked when the sticker comes off.

If your daughter is inclined to peel stickers off then apply them higher up the wall in either a scene or as a border to keep them out of temptations way.

When you are planning and decorating a girls bedroom the trick is to have fun. Involve your little girl as much as possible to create a room that she loves and feels comfortable in. For more ideas visit Children’s Rooms who have a wealth of wall decor and wall stickers.

Probably the best thing to do first is to set your budget because this will dictate not only how much you spend on boys bedding and curtains but also how far you go with decorating the walls and accessorising.

Don’t feel restricted by a tight budget because it is still possible to create an eye catching room that any young boy would be proud of. Simply choose one or two key pieces, like a character themed duvet cover and curtains, and decorate the walls with removable stickers. It may be that you can even get away without re painting the walls if the new theme will fit in with the colour already on them and this will keep the cost down. If not check out own brand emulsion in DIY and discount stores which will spruce up the walls and allow you to completely change the colour. If the walls are a bold or bright colour use white emulsion first to tone down the original paint before you use the more expensive colour. Remember that you need to leave at least a month between applying a fresh coat of paint and applying wall stickers or they won’t adhere properly however it is wise to check the pack just in case the manufacturer suggests a longer waiting period.

When you are limited by your budget give your child the opportunity to ask for the accessories he would really like on his birthday or at Christmas, family members will be happy to help out … we all like to buy presents that we know will be appreciated.

If you can afford to be more extravagant then you can literally fill a boys bedroom with coordinating goodies, there are all kinds of options from plush cushions and bean bags to storage boxes and bookcases, which are all available at Children’s Rooms

Having set your budget the next decision is whether to base the boys bedroom on TV character or choose a generic theme such as space, pirates or under the sea. This decision might be taken out of your hands if the little boy concerned is a Thomas The Tank Engine fan or loves Toy Story but if he doesn’t have a specific theme in mind sit him down and talk about what he would like. For younger boys it would be wise to do some research first and offer three or four choices of themes you know he would be happy with to avoid making the decision too confusing but older boys will enjoy sitting with you and surfing the internet to see what is available.

The size of the boys bedroom will influence what you can do as too much themed merchandise in a small room can look overpowering. If your little boy lives, sleeps and breathes his favourite character then you might just have to accept the fact that his bedroom is going to be packed with all things Spiderman or Disney Cars but if you can get away with guiding him down the route of less is more then encourage him to choose key must have pieces and pick colours from the theme to accessorise the room with cushions, a bean bag and lamp shade.

We’re not all fond of decorating but try to have fun when you are revamping a boys bedroom and involve your child as much as you can, this is his personal space and he needs to feel comfortable in it.

Lego have now authorised the manufacture of  large storage units, which are exactly the same as the building bricks, apart from the fact that the are formed from two sections which pull apart to reveal an empty space for storage – how clever is that.

The colour which are available are red, blue, green, yellow, pink, white and light blue.

You can buy all the basic brick designs – 1, 4 and 8 types, which will fit together smoothly to create your own personalised storage unit.

Also available are the yellow heads, available in 2 sizes and either a boy version  or, with added eyelashes and lipstick, a girl one – cool!

For large selection of  kids storage ideas and solutions visit Allkids.co.uk

As usual when adding new products to any page, I look around the internet for the lowest price and best customer service.

The best price for the U Turn Slide, according to Google’s Product Search,  was definitely
online shop Pixmania at £249.00 followed by

Prezzybox at £269.00 - BUT WAIT – what’s that ……
the delivery price differed by an amazing £60.20 – YES £60.20.

Prezzybox charge a standard delivery fee of £3.95, whereas Pixmania’s delivery charge, when ordering the slide, rises to a whopping £76.80

The actual delivered price for the Smoby U Turn Slide Is
Prezzybox = £272.95 and Pixmania = £325.80

So be warned and always double check the delivery rates – if a price is way lower than normal, then there could be a nasty catch!!