family fun Archives - A Little Lyrical

04Apr 2017

Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester – Launch Night

by Lyric ⋅ 2 Comments

Now you might be wondering why Legoland Discovery Centre is having a launch. If you live in the Northwest area you’ll probably realise that Legoland Discovery Centre has been there for many years already. Even a fantastic place like Legoland Discovery Centre needs a facelift every so often!

This week we were kindly invited down to a VIP launch night for Legoland Discovery Centre. Keen showcase it fabulous attractions including the new Lego Ninjago City adventure.

As existing Merlin Annual Pass holders, we have been regulars visitors to the Legoland Discovery Centre. We live quite close so are lucky that we can pop in frequently. The Legoland Discovery Centre can be found at Barton Square (part of the Trafford Centre).

You may think that the attraction being based at a shopping centre wouldn’t be that big but you’d be wrong. You initially enter via the ground floor but are quickly directed upstairs and through the Lego factory tour where Professor Brick explains all about how lego is made. This is possibly my eldest favourite part, he knows it word for word he’s been through that many times. He still always wants to watch though. I won’t describe the whole process as I don’t want to spoil it for your first visit!

Once through the factory the first thing you will come across is the Lego Ride. It’s a good idea to ride it at this point. Although you can go back once inside the main area the children probably won’t want to leave!

What’s New?

This is the first time we’ve been back to Legoland Discovery Centre since the fantastic refurb and the boys were impressed. A whole new soft play area. The previous one was looking tired and a change is always great. It’s now Ninjago themed with a great ballpool area.

We were also surprised to see a moving climbing wall has been installed too, this looks like great fun.

The other thing thats been updated is the cafe. Previously the cafe offered a range of sandwiches, sweet treats and drinks. With an eating area just adjacent to the cafe.

Theres a new seating area too which looks much nicer than the older picnic bench style seating.

We were very glad to see that old favourites were still there, the go kart ride and the wizard ride as well as the build and race area.

And one of the boys favourite the 4D cinema!

New attractions alongside the new play area also include a Creative Workshop and a Circus area. We didn’t get chance to do either on the launch night as we ran out of time. The play area really did keep their attention for quite a while!

Of course any day out wouldn’t be complete with a visit to the gift shop and as you’d expect the Legoland Discovery Centre shop is floor to ceiling lego. With something for every budget you’re sure to find so the right thing to come home with to remember your trip.

Thanks to Legoland Discovery Centre for inviting us down to see the new attractions, we’ll be back soon!

The Legoland Discovery Centre does get busy at weekends and school holidays so I’d advise you to book online to guarantee entry. Prices start from just £11 per child and £15 per adult when purchased in advance online. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre website.

26Nov 2016

Winter Wonderland at EventCity Manchester – Giveaway

by Lyric ⋅ 29 Comments

Winter Wonderland 2016 – EventCity

If you’ve ever dreamed of an indoor Christmas themed fun park then look no further than Winter Wonderland at Eventcity. Event city is next door to the Trafford Centre. There are rides, shows and fun galore to be had when you walk through the doors of this very special Christmas treat!

Last year we had so much fun the boys didn’t want to leave and we can’t wait to go again! In addition to the rides there are bouncy castles and slides a plenty.

Winter Wonderland 2016 runs from 10th December 2016 to 1st January 2017. It is all indoors at Eventcity right next to the Trafford Centre. With loads of free parking available you’re sure to have a fab time. Each session lasts 4 hours and includes all rides. Also the Basil Brush Show, the Cinderella Mini Panto, the Christmas Circus and a Meet & Greet with the big man himself! Of course the sessions after the 24th December don’t include Santa as he’ll be off having a very well deserved rest!

New shows for 2016

As well as the rides, there will be a dazzling array of colourful shows. Including an exciting new addition for 2016 – Christmas pantomime – Cinderella! There will also be a brand-new Sci-Fi show, a Christmas circus, Pip Ahoy! from Channel 5’s Milkshake and a chance to meet the nation’s favourite fox – Basil Brush! Santa Claus is inviting all the children to come and visit him! Children will be enchanted by the Ice Princesses, Fairies and Elves who love to play and chat and have ‘s-elfies’ with the children.
There will also be a whole host of games stalls and a vast array of food and drinks stalls to purchase.R Refreshments including hot snacks and sweet treats.

We have been kindly offered a family ticket to give away for Winter Wonderland for use on the evening of December 12th – this session starts at 6:30pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

The prize is for a family ticket for Winter Wonderland (2 adults and 2 children). For use on the night of December 12th at 6:30pm only. There is no cash alternative.

22Oct 2016

Half Term St Helen Pantomime – Did we have fun? Oh yes we did!

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

St Helens Pantomime – Wizard of Oz

Yesterday we were invited to the opening show of the St Helens Pantomime at Theatre Royal for half term. This year its ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

The pantomime stars Cheryl Fergison (Eastenders) as the Wicked Witch of the West opposite Clair Simmo (Radio City 2) Glinda. The cast work very hard to bring the performance together cosequently the show is seamless as a result of everyones hard work. This St Helens pantomime runs from October 22nd to October 30th and the tickets start from just £10, which is a great price for a few hours of family style entertainment.

I took my eldest and his lovely friend from next door they are 5 and 4 years old.

The St Helens pantomime has all the elements any classic panto should do, booing and cheering, a black light section, corny jokes, a hilarious song. Finally a song where characters get taken away and of course a water blaster!

The boys were in stitches with laughter as a result of some of the slapstick comedy. All the characters were portrayed really well and Dorothy played by Charlotte Gallagher was excellent. We had a great time!

In conclusion if you’re looking for some good wholesome family fun this half term then head on down to St Helens and watch Wizard of Oz!

St Helens Pantomime this Christmas

However if you’re already busy this half term be sure to check out the Christmas Pantomime. Judging by previous years its going to be awesome. This Christmas its Aladdin with an all star cast staring the one and only Amy Childs (TOWIE) as Slave of the Ring. Harry Derbridge (TOWIE) will play the hilarious PC Noddle. It’s sure set to be a family event not to miss! Tickets are available to buy online or from the box office at the Theatre Royal St Helens.

17Oct 2016

Googly Eyes Board Game by University Games- Boys Test Toys!

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

Googly Eyes – Game Review

Thanks to University Games for sending us a sample of their latest release Googly Eyes to test out this week! Here’s what we thought it –

The game is called Googly Eyes by University Games. Its a team game for 4 to 16 players who form up to four separate teams. As we had 4 players (2 adults and 2 children) we made two teams with a grown up on each.

The aim of the Googly Eyes game is to be the first team to get to the finish on the board, but the fun you have on the way is hilarious!

Each turn involves one person on the team having to draw something and the team members guessing what it is correctly before the time is up. However its not a simple as drawing, you have to wear funny glasses with differing levels of hilarious distorting lenses according to difficulty. The harder the lenses is to see through the more time you have to draw the picture and the team to guess.

There are three different lenses to pop in the Googly eyes frames , easy, medium and hard.

Game Summary

Things we loved about the game:

It was funny to play, and we did laugh…a lot!

I can see it being a hit in the Christmas season if you get a group of adults together who are enjoying the Christmas spirit (and a little mulled wine!)

It brought the teams together

There are lots and lots of different cards for variety so it’s unlikely in the course of a game or two you’ll ever get the same thing to draw again

It’s an easy game to understand you don’t have to keep referring back to the rules

The game says ages 7 and above but the 5 year olds had no trouble (if they like drawing that is) even if they can’t read the game card words (which ours could) then an adult could help them with that part

In trying to write a balanced review the only thing I could think might be a slight negative is you have to keep changing the lenses in the glasses which can sometimes be tricky if they don’t click in first time then can fall out when you draw, once you’ve got the knack of it though its not so bad. Also sometimes the timer is incredibly short (15 seconds) so when we were playing with the young ones we allowed a little more time for them!

11May 2016

TheHut.com – Getting to know the brand

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

This past weekend we were invited to an event run by TheHut.com in Manchester at Artisan kitchen and bar in Spinningfields which is one of my favourite areas of Manchester. This is a link to the hut’s website.

TheHut.com Summer Fun

As we are so fond of Spinningfields and the weather was so nice, we arrived early so we could have a nice walk around and enjoy the sunshine. Theres always something to look at in that area of Manchester and even the boys love exploring to see whats changed and whats new.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d not shopped with thehut.com before. I had heard of the company but I am not familiar with what they sell. The invitation was extended to family’s so I was hoping the boys would be kept entertained while I got a chance to look at the products.

On arrival we were greeted by this site, which was very welcome on such a hot day.

The boys enjoyed some soft drinks whilst I indulged in a glass of prosecco, it’s not often I get to drink whilst we are out as I’m usually driving so I jumped at the chance to have a small glass since I wouldn’t be driving home!

The juices looked so refreshing!

The boy made a beeline for the games and spotted a Disney version of Monopoly. He loves monopoly although his attention span isn’t very long so he plays his own made up version most of the time.

Being a Disney mad family this is perfect for us and is on our ‘wish list’ now. I loved the details of the game, the playing pieces were just so lovely and intricate. Daddy tried to explain the rules again to him but often it’s just best to go with the flow and try to follow his own made up rules!

While he was busy with the game Flixster spotted the Ninky Nonk (if you haven’t got young children this is a vehicle from a television show called In the Night Garden) and was very happy to spend a long time just pushing it around and playing with it.

Perfect conditions for Mummy to indulge in a little browsing. The tables were set out with various different items and my first call had to be to the shoes, a little passion of mine although I haven’t been able to indulge in a while.

I love the Vivenne Westwood ladies shoes, shame they weren’t my size but a fellow blogger did try them on and exclaim how comfortable they were (jealous!) We are already converse fans in our house so I was interested in the Superga shoes as I think they’d be much easier than laces for the boys whilst we are on holiday. If only I had a girl for the pink converse too!

Homeware from thehut.com

The other things I spotted were some lovely housewares (yes I know I should like an old person when in my head I’m still an 18 year old running wild!) These Calvin Klein towels would defiantly be kept for best and not rolled out with the regular pile the kids are ill! (yes everyone has those don’t they!) They are just so soft, if only I could have an adult only (no make that women only) bathroom.

The clothes too looked lovely, in particular I had my eye on this Boss top, so floaty and summery it has to be on the wish list from thehut.com, I can see it being worn with some lovely skinny jeans and heels and a statement necklace.

I was genuinely surprised at the range that thehut.com stock, I’ve since had a look at the website and there’s loads more choice on there too. They currently have a voucher on the website for 15% off for new customers so I’ll be making use of that myself. If you spend over £20 p&p is free and if the total is over £50 then next day delivery is included at no additional cost (I’m an impatient person so this is a nice bonus for me!)

I was genuinely surprised at the diverse amount of products that thehut.com sell and have enjoyed browsing through the website, there’s definitely a fair few things added to our family wish list.

My favourite thing though about thehut.com event apart from the chance to get my hands on some fabulous products was the chance to have a little family time together in a lovely surrounding on a sunny day and being able to chat to other lovely blog writers and hopefully make some new friends!

26Mar 2016

St Helens Theatre Royal – Peter Pan – Easter Pantomime

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

St Helens Theatre Royal – Peter Pan – Easter Pantomime

This afternoon we were invited down to see a fabulous performance of Peter Pan starring Ray Quinn at St Helens Theatre Royal, and what a treat we were in for!

The boy and I set off to the theatre full of anticipation for a family afternoon out and we weren’t disappointed the Easter pantomime was made up of all the elements any great pantomime should be! There was boo’ing at Captain Hook, singing along, shouts of ‘He’s behind you!’ and dancing in the aisles!

Ray Quinn (X-factor and Dancing on Ice) is the star of the show with his great portrayal of the magical boy himself Peter Pan! Nobody is left disappointed by his flying high magical entrance! He stars along side Claire Simmo (Radio City) as Tinkerbell. Liam Mellor who plays Smee and wrote the pantomime had the audience in stitches with his jokes suitable for children and adults alike. The boy particularly enjoyed the visual slap stick comedy with Captain Hook, Mr and Mrs Smee.

I’d not been to St Helens before but the theatre itself was really easy to find and there was lots of parking locally as it’s right in the town centre. What a fabulous Easter holidays trip out suitable for all the family! The show runs from now until Sunday 17th April and tickets can be purchased from St Helens Theatre box office or online at www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

28Jan 2016

Geronimo Festival 2016 – We’re getting excited!

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

I’m so excited that we’ve been invited to be an ambassador for Geronimo Festival 2016. If you haven’t heard of Geronimo and you’ve got children aged 12 years old or under then you need to keep reading! Geronimo Festival is back this year bigger and better than before and the best news is that it’s now has two different venues. Geronimo Festival 2016 is a family event focused on quality family time, something I’m always trying to create more of, so our boys can have some wonderful childhood memories to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

First Time at Geronimo Festival

This year will be our first time at Geronimo and after hearing and reading so much about last years event I honestly can’t wait to attend and take the boys for some family fun. The two venues this year are Harewood House, just outside Leeds on May 1st and 2nd, and Tatton Park in Cheshire on May 29th and 30th. Both venues are home to two of England’s fantastic visitor attractions and have wonderful woodland areas which will be the backdrop to Geronimo Festival. The festival itself will be an exciting array of acts, amazing experiences and wonderful adventures. Our boys will be 2 and 4 years old when we attend Geronimo and from the line up I think my 4-year-old may just explode with excitement! I’m not telling him until nearer the time that we’re going as I can’t face weeks and weeks of ‘Is it Geronimo yet? Is it Geronimo yet?’ (repeat!)

I think one of the things he’ll be most excited about is Cook and Line from Swashbuckle. He absolutely loves watching Swashbuckle on Cbeebies and is always asking me if he can go on the show (I can’t break his heart and tell him no so I usually just say ‘maybe one day’) His other favourites will be at Geronimo too, Mr Bloom is going to be appearing at the Geronostage Zone so that ‘tiddlers’ can pop along and listen to some veggie stories or play gardening games. Andy Day (from Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures) will be performing his Dino Rap show and Alex Winters (from CBeebies) will be hosting the main stage each day.

When I looked at the information on the Geronimo website I did wonder how they could possibly make the Library Zone exciting but it might not be as dull as I thought, it’s actually going to have dance classes with Bollywood, Zumba as well as a gigantic drumming session. I know a certain 2-year-old who loves dancing! We’ll defiantly be joining in there.

There’s just so much to look forward to at Geronimo this year that I’m going to be writing a series of posts in the build up to the festival as more and more of the exciting line up is announced.

Tickets for Geronimo

Tickets for the festival start at just £18.50 and can be bought on the Geronimo website, it seems like a fantastic price for a full days entertainment and fun and if you’re taking under 2’s along they get in free! I was gutted after last years to have missed it, so I’m really looking forward to it this year and can’t wait to blog about it in the build up to the Geronimo Festival!

12Dec 2015

Winter Wonderland Manchester 2015 – Eventcity Trafford Centre

by Lyric ⋅ Leave a Comment

Last night we were invited to the opening of Winter Wonderland Manchester 2015! It is in the huge exhibition space at Eventcity next to the Trafford Centre. I had been last year for a nosey around to see what it was like but didn’t take the children, so I knew what to expect and knew the boy would love it. I certainly wasn’t wrong!

The entrance built the excitement for the rest of the evening, the pretend snow was a hit with both boys and the grand sign certainly looked the part!

The boy was practically dragging us over the entrance to get inside. It is advertised as the UK’s largest indoor theme park and it certainly is big. I believe there are over 40 rides. I’d say about 75% of the rides at Winter Wonderland Manchester are for younger children between about 4 and 12. There are some for the older ones but not too many. The boys seemed the perfect age to get the most out of the evening.

Winter Wonderland Manchester – The Rides

His first ride was teacups which we already know he loves, this one like many of the rides was children only. We enjoyed watching his face light up on each ride, it really was lovely to see!

I have to admit my heart was in my mouth a little when he asked to go on a ginormous inflatable slide. He’s not been on one before and I had imagined I’d be clambering up after him to bring him down when he got to the top and chickened out. I explained that once he was at the top he’d have to come down the slide and he seemed completely up for it. I needn’t have worried, he flew away from us at speed, up the ladder and down the massive slide many times. Way too fast for me to capture a decent photo!

There were a lot of inflatable attractions, which was great as it meant none of them were crowded and you could usually just get straight on. Some of them were timed so that everyone got a set amount of time but it never seemed too long before he was on for a play.

Refreshments

As it was an evening session and past the boys bedtime (all be it a Friday night) we didn’t want to stay too long as tears had already happened a couple of times, so we decided to stop for a quick refreshment before finishing the evening with the sooty show and a couple of rides. There is quite a lot of choice, from the usual fairground fare to the more unusual things that you wouldn’t expect like noodles. We had already had dinner earlier in the evening so we just looked for a snack. The boy choose a snowman muffin which I asked to but cut in half for them to share, at £2.50 it certainly wasn’t a cheap snack but I had a nibble and it was pretty tasty. The sugar hit kept him going long enough to have a good end to the evening.

Sooty Show

There were quite a few different shows advertised for the entertainment but the one the boy didn’t want to miss was Sooty, such a classic! It had him laughing out loud with the usual slapstick comedy style. There were lots of children at the front dancing and joining in but it’s not my boys style, he’d much prefer to sit and watch, so that’s exactly what we did.

Once the show was over I put a limit of two more rides before it was time to leave. He picked a flying balloon ride and one that goes round quite quickly ( I have no other way to describe it!)

By now it was way past bedtime for both of the boys (Flixster had spent the evening enjoying the lights sounds and attractions from his buggy…oh and half a muffin!!) so tired and happy we headed back home for bed. On the way home the boy asked if we could go again next year. I think that was a resounding hit with him then!

Winter Wonderland is open from now until 3rd January at Eventcity next to the Trafford Centre Manchester. Being at the Trafford Centre theres loads of free parking. The day is split into a morning session and an afternoon session.Each session lasts 4 hours and include all rides, The Sooty Show, the Christmas Circus, a Magic Show and a Meet & Greet with Santa!

Tickets & Prices – Winter Wonderland Manchester EventCity

Adult £19.50
Child (3 – 16) £19.50
Family £64.00
OAP £14.00
Child (Under 3s) Free – Ticket not required

Tickets to Winter Wonderland Manchester can be booked online here or bought on the door.