Play Café (Google Maps Link) is one of the newer indoor play areas in the province catering for all ages of younger kids. The toddler area is quote good and most importantly for me, visibility is probably better here than in most. It can be a bit busy but some of the highlights of the place include that it’s only £4.50 for allegedly unlimited time (I’d like to test that someday) and its open from 10am-7pm Mon-Sat and Sun 1pm-6pm.

The café part does hot and cold food and there are separate party rooms as well. There are dodgems there as well though we didn’t try them out. There weren’t a lot of staff to be seen, to be honest, but then the visibility kind of made up for that.

Parking is a little haphazard and it does feel a little cramped when trying to move between some of the tables but it’s a nice enough place.

WOW Overview

Cost per child: £4.50

The kids loved it, right from the tiny toddler to the wise-beyond-his-years 7 year old. I was a little more reserved because of the parking and also because it ‘felt’ cramped. After the party crowds dispersed into their party rooms, it was a lot more comfortable.

Fun Works is a newly opened indoor play and party centre in Glengormley. It is full of exciting activities to keep children amused, including a four-lane Astra Slide, mini football pitch, toddler area and climbing wall. Parents can relax in the coffee shop while the children play.

We were one of the first visitors to this newly opened centre. It was nice to go to a ball park that was clean and fresh. We arrived on the morning it opened and it was not too busy. The coffee area was nice and the magazines were new and up to date.

We have been a couple of times now. Some times we get in, sometimes we don’t due to capacity restrictions. Cafe style seating downstairs seems restricted by size of tables and is always busy. Upstairs seems to be over-spacious and under used. Refreshments are pricey and you can’t take your own.

The kids, on the other hand, love it and the close proximity to McDonalds has been a lifesaver at times as well. I know they run a Birthday party deal with McDonalds to provide Kids Happy Meals for parties which might suit some.

Cost per child = £4.50 (I may need to check this again)

5 year old loves everything
4 year olds loves to fly down big bumpy slide.

Stress 0

Fun 4

Cost 5

Reading is very important to kids. This article on BeAGoodDad.com highlights some of the reasons why.

Every parent, not just Dad, should read it. We have to be reminded that we’re not perfect parents but then we probably don’t have perfect kids either. My little drama queen and my little hooligan are not perfect but I love them more than anything in the world.

It’s not a chore!
Reading to the kids can be hard to get into. It’s like going to the gym or cooking a proper meal for yourself - if you can just get started, or just get out the door, then you’ll feel better for it. This is how I find reading to my kids. When they ask, a little voice inside me groans because it’s going to be Bible Stories or something to do with a Magic Key. It’s only when the kids are in bed and the book is open that the enjoyment starts - I think a lot of people will enjoy reading to the kids a lot more than it sounds. Getting started is what is important!

Getting out of the “chore” mentality will take time. But it’s worth it.

Art and Crafts for boys and girls

We ventured down to Connswater Shopping Centre in East Belfast to visit this new Art Studio. This is an extension of The Art Studio in Holywood.

The Connswater outlet offers you drop in activities which range from t-shirts decorating to jewelry making.

We turned up en mass (4 children aged between 3 - 6) and the girls headed straight for the tables of shiny colourful beads. The boys opted for t-shirt decorating. The girls for “individually tailored” necklaces.

The girl on duty gave us the options for the necklaces but the little £8.00 all in mixtures were not an option as the lure to choose their own beads was way too much of a draw. (Be careful, watch out because some of these beads are 75 pence each) The girls really enjoyed choosing the beads and could be left to select their own. I did try to keep them to the lower price range but this was not easy to do. They were instructed in making the necklace and were allowed to use the pliers (under supervision). They enjoyed the task but liked putting the left over beads back in the tubs as well.

The boys were given t-shirts, crayons and pens. The t-shirts were placed on cardboard to make writing on them easier. I think you would have benefited from some kind of clips/pegs to keep the shirt in place as it was quite hard for them to keep it all together. The only size shirt available was a 5/6 so the 3 year old was a bit swamped. I guess it will fit him eventually.

I would like to have seen one member of staff per activity to be honest with you as the boys were a little left out and required a lot of guidance from parent/guardian. There is a £3.00 sitting fee for each child to sit in and take part in one of these activities. The t-shirts were £5.50 each and the girls beads added up to around £6.00. A total of £29.00 for an hour and half of activity. That’s a little steep!

There are a number of options offered by Jolie Dennison’s Art Studio in both locations. There are Art Classes, Art Adventures, drop in activities and Art Parties.

WOW Overview

Kids Say
3 year old: not much said but he did not take his t-shirt off!
4 year old: The beads were the best bit of the shop. I liked to choose the best beads. This necklace is for my mummy
5 year old: This is the best t-shirt because it has monsters on it
6 year old: The beads were beautiful. I really liked my necklace. I enjoyed sorting the beads out at the end

Stress Level 3 (This was stressful to the point of trying to put back the expensive beads without the girls seeing! The boys had a few tussles over whose turn it was to use the scissors

Fun Level 2.5 (I Think this would have been enjoyed by children slightly older than ours. I think children a little more advance would have got a lot more out of this type of activity)

Cost Level 4 (I have put this at quite a high cost level simply because I feel the children we took were a little young to get the real benefits out of this activity)

[UPDATE: Since this article was penned, the Studio has closed down or moved]

IndianaLand, Dundonald

Indiana Land is a fantastically jungle themed play world, which has recently gone through a major refurbishment. Now with 3 levels of play equipment, including an extended interactive toddler area for 0 - 3 years, it is undoubtedly one of the largest indoor play worlds in N.Ireland.

Overview,

Having been recently refurbished (which was long over due) Indiana land has improved no end. The adult seating is still a bit crowded but it is much better than the tiny all in one seating they had before. The refreshments leave a lot to be desired especially the vending machine coffee. The only other refresments available are sweets and crisps, nothing healthy on offer at all for the kids. I believe you can bring your own. Visibility is good though at the higher levels it seems that the kids can just vanish.

Parking isn’t bad and it’s usually very popular so the kids will have others to play with, which is good. There did seem to be a lot of older kids and the toddlers area isn’t the best so the youngest kept trying to escape to the more interesting climbing frames. To be honest, I’d feel sorry for an older child having a tumble with my little thug!

Costs were around the same as for all of these places though because of the ice skating, Pirates Adventure Golf and the bowling (covered separately), you may be able to make a much longer day of it.

Who What When Where Why

An introduction for enquiring minds which can engage the old as well as the young.

Several Floors of Fun
The first thing to realise with W5 is that you have several floors to enjoy. The ground floor has the shop and some “scientific curiosities” such as fog machines and bubble machines (so you can see the difference between pumping bubbles through water, oil, glycerine).

Going up one floor brings you to an open area with more scientific toys (cranes, wind machines, a tug of war pulley) which the kids will thoroughly enjoy. We’ve been there several times and my two liked nothing better than beating me in tug’o'war. Playing with the wind tunnels and air pipes (pipes which blow air which can balance balls) also went down a storm.

Next we find the children’s play area. inside there’s a mock castle, a play-cafe, a play-shop, a house (which needs constructed from foam bricks, complete with crane), a car, a music recording studio, a water play area and an area with sand, a train set and dolls house. This room alone will keep the kids busy and stimulated for hours and it can be difficult to tear them away to look at other things.

The top floor has more science toys which are definitely aimed at the adult/young adult audience. If you time your visit right you’ll also be present for some of the demos they run - we encountered the interesting properties of “slime” (made from cornflower, water and green food colouring). None of the science is dumbed down in any way - it is however, made accessible through instructions and “learn through play”.

The cafe inside W5 has very limited options, not much more than tea, biccies and crisps so if you want something a little more wholesome you’ll have to exit and go to the Odyssey proper - where you have much more options - a Tapas bar, a Chinese restaurant, an Indian restaurant, a Pizza diner, an “American” diner and a sandwich bar. Having tried them all at some point I can recommend most of them (my only gripe being with the American diner). Inside the same complex is an amusements arcade, a couple of bars and nightclubs and a multi-screen cinema as well as an IMAX theatre. Though this review only covers W5, you can easily begin to see how this could be an entire day out for the family especially as the entire centre is enclosed, perfect for the Northern Ireland climate!

The staff in W5 are, without exception, enthusiastic and friendly, especially when performing demos. W5 represents the closest thing we have to a science museum in Northern Ireland and I feel deserves our patronage. While you’re there, make sure to take in the views from the windows as it presents some of the best views over Belfast, the cranes, Titanic Quarter and the mouth of the Lagan available.

Parking is the only problem and seems quite expensive though there is plenty of it. Look out for the pre-pay option which will save you a small fortune should you intend to make it a day trip!

WOW Overview

Kids Say:
5 year old: I like the house best. I like the play shop best too.
3 year old: II like the trains!

Stress Level: 2 (It’s all indoors and though you might lose sight of the kids, they can’t go far.)
Fun Level: 4 (Every kids will have his or her favourite bit. The important thing is to keep everyone occupied.)
Cost Level: 3 (Café and entrance fee certainly add up. But otherwise it seems reasonable and you could, in theory, spend the day there.)

Trekking in the Zoo

Quite easy to find even though I have a terrible sense of direction and don’t know the area at all. Recommend you follow the signs for the M2 and once on it, it well sign-posted and there is a sign for the turn off that takes you to the zoo. Really easy to find from there.

We went on a freezing cold early February day so didn’t expect to have any problems parking. We didn’t. The car park is really big and there were one of only three other cars there. In the height of summer, it can fill up and the zoo runs open days and other events.

We took two children with us – one two and a half the other nearly three. All children under four are admitted free which was good news as an adult is £6.30 off-season. I think you can buy a family ticket if you have kids over four with you which I’m sure will work out cheaper.

There are free maps of the zoo to guide you around and there is also a recommended route that is clearly sign-posted. We ditched the map and decided to follow the recommended route. We saw nearly all of the animals which is unusual judging from previous visits. We normally go in the summer which means the majority of animals are trying to find shade. It was not as pleasant as walking around in the sun, it was good to see (nearly) all the animals. It was very clean and tidy and I was happy enough to let both kids run around on their own. As it was off-season we had the place practically to ourselves which proved so was much easier to keep an eye on them.

Quite a trek to the top and I wasn’t sure if the kids legs would last it! I wasn’t keen on attempting to carry either of them! I suppose you could bring a buggy but I decided to chance it with them; carrying on by foot – and they did :).

Top tip: Be sure to visit the brown bears. If you stand close to the glass they come right up to see you.

There is a café that is open all year round. There is also a ‘zoouvenir’ shop. But don’t bother unless you want to fork out for cuddly toys (triple what you would pay in a shop).

All in all an excellent way of tiring them out! Both slept solid for nearly two hours afterwards!

wow Guest Overview

Stress Level 0 (providing you avoid the shop. :()

Fun Level 4 (both kids talked about it for ages after)

Cost Level 2 (At a cost of £12.60 for all four (which isn’t bad) for a couple of hours entertainment and two hours peace and quiet :))

Old McDonald had a Farm

This farm is located between Bangor and Newtownards. Heading along the dual carriage-way its on the left if coming from Bangor – opposite the Somme Heritage Centre.

We visited on a weekday and it was easy enough to park. I would say on a busy Saturday in the summer it could be like wacky races in the car park (which isn’t really very big). Maybe they have additional parking somewhere – if they did I didn’t see it!

Price for adults is £3.70 and £3.00 for kids over three. You can also buy feed for the animals which I think was about 30p per cup. There are loads of chickens running around so the kids loved feeding them. Depending on kids age of your kids, it may be a better idea to hold chicken feed yourself (mine insisted on pouring it all out then wanting another cup).

There is a great selection of animals. Everything from birds to horses. The whole farm is really well set up and very clean. My sister was with me who is a huge animal lover and even she didn’t disapprove of the conditions! The kids got to feed a lamb with a bottle and the staff were all great with the kids. They offer rides on a little Shetland pony (which I think) was £1, both kids really enjoyed it.

One point to note with smaller kids; mine were able to climb easily into the animal pens, I looked round to find him standing beside an alpaca. He is just two and at his size, he easily fitted between bars. Something to watch!

There are loads of places to play. Huge playground and an indoor play area filled with tractors, sand etc. It was a battle for me to get the kids out of this room.

We also had something to eat in the café which was lovely and reasonably priced. The shop sells ‘farm’ type toys, books and a variety of food. You have to walk through the shop to get in and out so you will probably end up having to buy something. Even this was reasonably priced. I bought a book and a small model tractor which I think came to around £3.00.

wow Guest Overview

We had a great day at the Ark open Farm. Loads to do and see, with very friendly helpful staff. I was impressed that although they could probably have charged a lot more for cups of feed, (every child will want a cup or 5) they didn’t. On most days out I find I end up paying above the odds for something – refreshingly not at the Ark.

Stress Level 0 (although see above about parking in summer, could get a bit tricky)

Fun Level 5 (Everyone had a great time, kids loved getting up close to animals)

Cost Level 1 (Its not free but really good value)

Swimming again!

Well after looking for something to do on a local level we decided to hook up with a friend and head off swimming again. These decisions are very kids driven by the way. The weather was on the turn and the planned bike ride round Stormont Park was looking decidedly dodgy.

We headed into East Belfast to Avoniel Leisure Centre. I had no idea it even existed but a friend plays 5-a-side football there on Sunday mornings. It is signposted off the Albertbridge Road.

The receptionist was helpful and offered us an application for the Boost card scheme which has been launched for all Belfast Leisure Centres (see the news post for more information). We arrived late in the day and as the centre was closing in less than an hour we got a bit of discount.

There is only one swimming pool at this centre but as the kids we had ranged from 5 - 7 and were capable swimmers it was just the ticket. There were floats available for the kids and a couple of lanes were roped off for the serious swimmers. The pool has a shallow end, moving to a deep area in the middle, followed by a shallow end again. It was actually very good for the new (less confident) swimmers. It actually made them swim. Out of the kids we had we had with us there was one confident swimmer and three passable but much less confident swimmers. It was easy to keep an eye on them all and they had fun diving under legs, doing tumbles, jumping in and all the other things that make it swimming fun. We were lucky that afternoon as there was hardly anyone in the pool but us.

The changing rooms were an eye opener for the kids as they were communal. I had three girls with me and you should have seen how bashful they became. Changing three kids any way is a task, but when they insist on hiding behind towels, with you trying to keep everything off the wet floor it becomes a bit stressful. The changing room is actually very small and it was not easy keeping everything in one place or keeping everything dry. My friend however thought it was a breeze with one boy and himself in the mens changing room.. (Hmmm think I got the short straw on that one !!)

wow Overview

7 year old says: Brilliant, best bit was going up and under in the water
7 year old says: A brilliant pool. Easy to swim in. Not very busy. Best bit was diving through the hoops.
6 year old says: Changing room was strange, not having a cubical to change in. I loved the deep end because you could nearly touch the bottom. I did six swims up and down with out stopping.
5 year old says: I thought it was good. The best bit was swimming by my own. The boys changing rooms were good.

Stress Level 1 (The stress levels were very low in the pool as it was easy to look after 4 (nearly competent) swimmers with two adults present. The stress of changing three bashful gals was slightly more intense. But in general a good pool for the ability of young swimmers. Not really for non swimmers.

Fun Level 5 (All kids loved it. It was easy and fun for all of us.)

Cost Level 2 (We were given a bit of discount as we only had a short while before the pool closed. But if you dont have a boost card for your child from now on (in Belfast Leisure Centres) the cost could rise.)

How many times have you had a face painting kit either given to you. The kids love the idea and expect it to be as perfect as the professional painters at the shopping centers.

We have had face paint kits from all manner of different retail outlets. Full kits, crayons, grease paint style ones. All of them make it very heavy going. It is basicly impossible to get the even coverage that looks so easy to achieve in the instruction book. I watch and try to learn from the professional painters but to no avail. Mine still look like a smudge. I don’t want to be a professional - just passable!

I would give anything to be shown how to do one or two faces! Pirate for him, butterfly for her. I don’t want to be a face painter but to be able to splash a few faces around to keep the kids quiet for an hour or two would be a god send. Face paints that actually come off as well would be nice and by coming off i mean the face and the sheets.

Why can’t you book a Tupperware style party to show you a couple of basic faces. I would gladly pay for a demonstration and a small kit that would fulfill the basic requirement. I think a few friends, a glass of wine and some nibbles would be just the ticket. We don’t even need the kids I guess.. We can practice on each other. As it happens I’ve met a face-painting trainer recently. I’ll be glad to report back!