This day I love.......: kids

The girls were each gifted a pair of shoes in order for us to create this post. No other compensation was received.

The end of term is insight. My children are tired and ready for a break, and whilst their uniform still fits them their school shoes on the other hand have seen better days. Every year is the same, in fact one year a £10 pair of shoes lasted a week. I have no idea what my children do to them but they don't seem to last

I have heard about Treads school shoes. They offer a variety of styles to match even the fussiest of school children and their shoes come with a 12 months indestructible guarantee. Now that is some claim to make. Delivery is free, returns are free and you can even try them for 30 days risk free. These are quite bold statements to make, I know my children and they simply destroy shoes so I was extremely interested to see what the Treads claim was all about.

Treads shoes are available from a 10.5 which means little man is still just a bit too young to own a pair, the girls however each received a pair to try. The girls both have very different tastes in shoes. My eldest likes Brogue style shoes. Ever since she learnt to fasten laces this has been the style she has gravitated towards. My youngest daughter prefers pretty patterns and velcro straps. She really does not like laces and prefers the convenience of straps but she also does not want them to look too childish. Both daughters needs were met and they picked the pair they liked to order.

The 'Strobel' construction of Treads shoes means they are stronger and give additional flexibility, for active children like mine this is really important. They also have shock absorbing insoles, great for all the running my eldest does and are easy wipe clean which is perfect for my very messy youngest daughter.

Treads shoes can be used with orthotic insoles and thanks to their dual fit technology the width of the shoe can be increased to fit those with need wider fitting shoes.

The shoes arrived incredibly quickly, which is impressive given it is December and everything seems to take longer to arrive. The girls were keen to open the box and take a look at their shoes. My eldest ordered the Montana and my youngest ordered Adelaide

Both girls faces lit up and they were impressed with their shoes as was I. They look incredibly sturdy and well made. The insole feels soft and cushioned but with support and they look incredibly smart too. The girls are keen to try their shoes for school, but with this week to go they can wait until after Christmas to wear them. Start a new term with a new pair of shoes!

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This is a featured post with Wicked Uncle

As Christmas approaches I often wonder if I have got the presents right. My children change their minds so often that what they want one minute they often don't like the next, and so it got me thinking. What makes a toy a top toy and what are the best toys for Christmas. There are great websites out there like Wicked Uncle who organise their toys by age as well as categories to help you find the perfect present. You can check out their gift guide for the best presents here

My son is three years old and when asked what he thinks makes a top toy he replies ‘diggers!’ I am not sure at three he fully understands what I mean, but for him his top toy would be a digger. He loves them, as I think most of his friends do and we have a wide collection of diggers. Everything from ones he can sit on to electric ones, he just adores them. He even has a soft toy one which he cuddles. It doesn’t just stop with diggers, he seems to love all vehicles. I guess you can never have enough toy cars, diggers or emergency vehicles. His imagination is fantastic as he plays with them, pretending to go on adventures and save the day.

At seven years old, my youngest daughter has a love of all things rainbow colours, and of course the shiny or sparkly the better, so what makes a top toy for her? She would like an animal of some description, that is fluffy and pink with white spots. It would have to be very cuddly and small enough to carry. As you play with it it grows older and bigger until it becomes an adult. There would be lots of sequins on it to make it very sparkly and it would also have hair to brush. The animal would also be interactive allowing you to sing and dance with it. She says she would also like to be able to bath it and feed it, so it would need to come with some food. I have a feeling I have seen toys similar to this and can think of a few existing toys that would match some of these ideas.

My eldest daughter is very different to her sister. At nine years old she fully believes in her head that she is a teenager. When asked what she would like for Christmas she answers with a phone, and has even come up with a plan on how to make money so she can pay for credit to use it. She has even been round the local shops to price up a handset so she knows exactly how much to save up for. When I asked her what makes a top toy she replied with it has to have a remote control, and be able to fly or you have to be able to make something with it. Two very different ideas for a toy. Yet it also shows off her personality. She loves to build things, and can often be found hoarding cardboard and other materials to make something with.

Asking my children what makes a top toy and finding out what they think makes a toy great has given me a great insight into their likes. From this I can now figure out and find toys to match their needs rather than asking them for specific toys and give them their top toys!

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We received a two day ticket in exchange for this post, however all words are my own opinion

Last year we attended the CBBC Summer Social at Croxteth Hall in Liverpool and had such a wonderful day that when tickets became available for this year I had to apply straight away. We were so lucky to be granted passes for both days and we began the countdown to the now called BBC Summer Social.

Saturday was billed more for the older children with acts such as Busted and Max and Harvey. With my children not really knowing who the acts were we opted to spend the day visiting the fairground rides and seeing what the Summer Social had to offer. Our first task though was getting into the festival. Given the amount of traffic it took us over an hour to get inside and I did think that there should be more traffic marshal to help ease the flow of cars. Once we were inside though it was much calmer and a really relaxed atmosphere.

We started by heading over to the first few fairground rides. All rides where you could not win a prize were included in with the ticket. We made the most of this and the lack of queues and rode the carousel a few times before taking a look in the little top.

The girls once again did not recognise the acts on the little top stage or the main stage so we continued exploring. Playing the CBeebies app, getting giddy in the fun house [twice] and then making our way to the Dr Who experience.

We had such a relax walk around the first half of the festival and as we were doing so bumped into a few characters. The day did not feel busy and given the weather we thought we would make the most of it and explore the Clangers garden. We completed the maze and did some arts and crafts and then headed over to the Bedtime story tent.

The story tent was a great way to escape a bit of the sun and have a little bit of downtime. All three children enjoyed listening to the story and it helped to calm them down before we ventured to the inflatable area.

The worlds largest bouncy castle awaited us. The queue was short and they had a system in place to let different heights bounce at different times, meaning the taller kids stayed away from the younger ones. It did mean that Little Man had to go on without his sisters, which he was a little unsure about.

Whilst his sisters were on the bouncy castle Little Man and I went on one of the fairground rides. The larger inflatable obstacle course had a really long queue so we decided to have a slush drink and ride on a few of the rides that were close by.

After all the excitement of the fairground rides and bouncing we decided to explore a little more and stumbled across the dinosaur show, it was just starting as we got there. Little Man absolutely loved it, he was giggling the whole way through. He loves dinosaurs and it was a pleasure to watch his face light up.

Day 1 was drawing to an end. We had watched all the shows we had wanted to see and rode on several fairground rides. We stayed until the very end of day one as even though it felt quiet the weather was nice and we were in no rush to return to the hotel. We took our time returning to the car and the kids even had a little play around the car as we waited for the car park to empty.

Day 2 had a very different feel to it. The audience was much younger today as the acts on the main stage were from Cbeebies and the headline was Mr Tumble. The whole day felt a lot busier and people on the whole had much shorter tempers. Perhaps due to the amount of people, or maybe the poor weather or it might have been younger children make adults much more tired. I couldn't say but I can say the day felt different.

We had to queue for longer on the rides today with the exception of the larger obstacle course. Due to the majority of children too young to go on it my daughters managed to go on several times and they loved it. I would hazard a guess that my 9 year old was probably one of the eldest children there on that day.

Given how busy it was on day 2 we didn't manage as many rides but as we had spent day 1 riding all of them we simply went on our favourite ones and rode them in between watching acts on the main stage.

We made the most of the other activities around Croxteth too and visited the farm. My youngest daughter thinks she is Dr Doolittle so she was in her element with all the animals. Taking every opportunity to hold them and cuddle them.

We headed back to the main area and bought some churros as a treat before finding a space to watch Mr Tumble. We all loved the build up to Mr Tumble. The acts seemed to build up to Mr Tumble coming on stage and Little Man loved watching his favourite acts.

Mr Tumble was utterly brilliant. I can honestly say he is an amazing children's entertainer. There were lots of songs to sing along to and some classic party songs. We were singing and dancing and generally having lots of fun.

Once Mr Tumble had left the stage the crowds seemed to ease and we went to the front to watch Hey Duggee. The weather however took a very nasty turn and it started to rain really heavy. Knowing we were parked on a field and the amount of rain coming down we decided to leave and head back to the car.

We were soaked to the skin, freezing cold and the rain was showing no signs of stopping. The car park as suspected had become a bit of a mud bath and tempers had started to show with some people who clearly had cold and tired kids in the car.

Our overall experience had been amazing. I had three very happy children who had had a fun filled weekend. We made the right choice by spending day 1 on the rides and day 2 on the shows, it worked out well for us and we experienced every area of the Summer Social. I would say for future years car parking does need looking at, it worked much better the first year and also catering. It was absolutely fantastic to have the rides included in the price as with three children it could have worked out incredibly expensive. We had a fun filled weekend, my children all had smiles on their faces and enjoyed both days and we hopefully will be able to attend again.

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An invite to visit William's den arrived in my inbox, I hadn't heard of William's Den before but a quick google search gave me a good insight. A brand new adventure attraction that promised to give families the best day ever. If the best day ever was on offer, I had to go and experience for myself.

William's Den is located around a mile from South Cave in Hull. I am always worried when I visit somewhere new as to if I will find it ok, but actually it was really easy. Incredibly close to the A63 and it took us just under an hour from South Yorkshire. The buildings of William's Den are very sympathetic to the surrounding environment. As you drive down the country road the large teepee of the outdoor play area could be seen over the horizon and the new buildings built to represent the old grain stores.

The buildings have all been designed and built to be sustainable with solar panels on the roof, a rain water flush system in the toilets, biomass boiler and recycled materials for heating, insulation and building materials. I have to mention the toilets as they were fab, sorry not something I normally mention but I really have to. First there is no Male/Female toilet, instead they have toilets with baby changing facilities inside. Meaning a single parent visiting on their own, be it male or female, can change their child. There are extra wide cubicles so those with pushchairs can get in and special adapted cubicles with additional facilities for those that might need them. You can tell they were designed by parents.

We had arrived at lunch time and so our first stop was 'the Kitchen table'. My youngest ordered a den dog, I think that is what it was called, and my eldest a pizza. I also ordered a kids pizza to share with Little Man. Pizza is cooked in the wood fire oven and was just delicious, I wonder what the secret is to the dough they make? My youngest food arrived and I was impressed. It was proper food, and clearly not mass produced. There is an enclosed outdoor seating area with toys and play equipment to keep the smaller children entertained whilst you eat too.

After lunch we could get stuck into playing. First we tested the indoor play area. Little Man loved that he could go on with his sisters and that I could accompany him too. Everything in the den has been designed for the whole family to go on together, from the ages of 2 and up. All made from natural materials, there were large cargo nets, balance beams and wooden steps.

Little Man was chasing after his sisters and laughing as he did. He crossed the bridges and balanced his way across the wooden beams. We played the wooden drums and instruments and got lost in the den.

We found a hidden hideaway and looked out of the large glass windows over the stunning views. I would have loved to have had a sleep over here as a kid, it was the perfect setting to do so. After exploring the upper play areas we slid down the metal slide to the sand below. The girls found a tunnel and grass, pretend grass, to run over. A tree to climb and a rope swing to swing on.

Little Man then discovered the stream, his shoes and socks came off as he went for a paddle. Climbing the rocks and then climbing into the metal trough. He was splashing and having a really good time. He narrowly missed a drenching from the rainmaker, other children eagerly stood underneath awaiting the shower.

His sisters were busy in the sand, filling buckets to carry to the top before pouring them down the chutes to fill the bucket again. Little Man came over to join in.

My children would have happily spent an entire day in this indoor section and I actually had to persuade them that they wanted to see outside too. I am so pleased I did. The views over the meadow were beautiful and whilst we could have explored the meadow of wildflowers or the woodland we opted to stay and play.

Zip wires, tyre swings and a dedicated area to build dens with large sticks. Another playground with water and sand to explore. The girls however had spotted the tunnels and 'hills' and were running across the field to play and explore some more. Little Man running after them. They ran past the wooden beams tower and the tower of rocks to climb and instead spent their time running over the mountains and through the tunnels. My youngest then spotted something in the distance and ran once again.

She had found the mud kitchens!

That was it, Little Man was in his element. He had dirt that he could play with. All three of them started playing and using their imagination, apparently making chocolate brownies.

This was play as it should be. Three kids with the freedom to run around and explore and get dirty. Three kids happily playing together and using their imaginations to be creative. Three happy children.

This freedom, this ability to run around and explore and this flexibility for each of my children to adapt the environment to their own unique ways of play reminded me so much of my childhood. Exploring fields near by, climbing trees and playing in streams. This to me was what William's Den was all about. It was made even more special by the fact I could join in with my kids. I didn't see height restrictions or age restrictions. I just saw the freedom to play and the freedom to let kids be kids.

It was time for a treat, before playing some more. William's Den make their own ice cream and have won an award for their vanilla ice cream so it was a must have for us to try before our day finished. Given the speed at which the girls ate theirs I can say it was delicious!

As we were heading back outside to play my daughter spotted this sign, and given it was the day before her birthday she decided it was written especially for her!

Whilst we were invited to visit William's Den I would have happily paid to take my children and am in fact looking at when we can next go. They genuinely all enjoyed themselves. I would highly recommend taking a change of clothes and a towel, just in case. It was such a wonderful day out and one where we created lots of happy memories!

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