April 12th reopening! Tired of banana bread? List of what is reopening and where to take your kiddos!
Alma Seskauskyte
Family / Child Photographer based in Dorset
Today is a big day! It kinda feels like the country is starting to come out of hibernation after what has been a year-long (pandemic-sized) snooze. Now, we know that you have your priorities, and you will be most likely queuing round the block for that long overdue haircut today, but what are your plans after you get that ‘mum-cut’ sorted? I don’t mean queuing for 6 hours to get into Next, either. That’s a given. I mean, all the stuff you used to do to occupy your minions before the lockdown?
1. Pools are back!!! Have you missed swimming with your little ones? Maybe you had a lockdown baby that has never even been in a swimming pool before? If that’s you, why not book a session at The Royal Chase Hotel in Shaftesbury? You can book a one-hour slot to get the pool completely to yourself, for your household! A great way to make your baby’s first swim memorable, and as you have the pool to yourself, you can take photos! It’s £6 per adult, £3.50 for kids and under 3’s go free! Pre-bookings are essential, and you can do this by calling: 01747 853355 or visiting their page. Their Opening hours are 7:30 am to 7 pm. Check out https://www.theroyalchasehotel.co.uk/leisure for more info.
2. Theme parks are also back… and many have great offers to entice as much custom as possible. Don’t be put off at the prospect of lengthy queues; remember all venues offer reduced entry limits to allow for social distancing. We think Adventure Wonderland is a great day out for families. With fairground rides, pony rides, a maze, and an (albeit super cheesey) stage performance, there is lots to keep the little ones entertained. If you collect Tesco Clubcard vouchers, you can triple them towards the entry, too! Their opening hours from 12th April will be 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, pre-booking is essential and you will need a valid email address and access to either a printer or smart mobile phone to buy tickets online. If your little one is a Peter Rabbit fan, he will be performing from 14th April! Find out more at https://www.adventurewonderland.co.uk/
3. Farm parks… who does not love a farm park? And during the school holidays, they usually have lots of activities. It’s also lambing season, so there will be squishy baby lamb cuteness everywhere! Farmer Palmers has a huge outdoor space with giant hay bales for climbing on, (alas the indoor soft play can’t reopen till May 17th ), but they have an enormous outdoor adventure playground, loads of animals, and plenty more. You can also take a picnic lunch! Opening times will be from 10 am, and online pre-booking for admission is essential. For more info and to check what’s on, visit: https://farmerpalmers.co.uk/
4. For a bit more social interaction, Parent and Toddler groups can resume from today! Numbers might be limited compared to the chaos you remember. Still, finally, parents can enjoy a coffee indoors with other parents and moan about how little sleep they got the night before (be that due to the baby not sleeping or the husband snoring)! (I have listed few quick links below) Mini Monkey Gym Baby Sensory Minky Moos Toddler Sense Babysign Bournemouth Adventure Babies
5. Libraries open their doors… they might not be offering Rhyme Time just yet, but at least you can finally exchange those books you have had for the last 6 months. It’s not quite a day out, but it sure beats feeding the ducks for the umpteenth time! Community centres will also reopen, so keep an eye out on your local centre page to see what groups and classes they might be offering.
6. Fancy finally booking that long, waited up to date family portrait session? Now that sounds nothing like fun, you would think, right? Rest assured, we know how to make sessions fun, and we will welcome all your family, including four-legged ones! From personal experience, children do enjoy so much posing their pets for portraits. It will be a long-remembered event and most importantly, captured fro ever! Please send us a message here: www.almashomestudio.uk/contact
It might not look like much, but it sure beats another week of crafts, baking a banana loaf, and feeling guilty about how much screen time the kids have had.