Tight Belts and Half Term..Plus some Budget Friendly Ideas

Yep, another half term has slowly crept upon us. I do love spending the time with my children, love that they get a break from all that homework and that we can enjoy some lay ins and lazy days. I like to get out every day with my 2, even if it's just walking the dog like it was today but I do wish we could do so much more sometimes.

I've been reading through the booklets that have come home from school in the book bags and some blogs online about what to do this half term in your area and it's had a real effect on me. Money is super tight these days; like it is for a lot of us. I don't have enough to save for every half term as well as pay all my bills and get Christmas sorted (no matter how budget friendly I'm being this year!) It's just not there.

It isn't that all of these places are stupidly overpriced (some are though..) but even a reasonable cost soon turns far too much for us when you have to add up everyone else plus travel. So, I've decided to write this post for all those who are struggling with the pennies this half term and can only afford super cheap or free activities to do and places to go. These places are in Cornwall but if you have some free time to do some Google searching, I'm sure you will find something too.

Free Activities for Halloween:

Library time:

Head down to your local library and find some Halloween themed books. Find books on witches and wizards, children's books or slightly older books like famous Harry Potter and have a little read together in your own little circle. Some local libraries hold half term events or activities too.

Pumpkin Carving

With many supermarkets selling a pumpkin for £1, this is a fun and cheap activity for the family. Using a pen to draw a spooky face on your pumpkin then a kitchen knife for the carving and (if you're like me) your bare hands for the 'gutting' you'll have a spooky pumpkin for you all to enjoy. Why not light it up or place false tea lights from Poundland in it, switch off the lights and admire your veggie friend!?

Film Night

You could grab some popcorn from your local pound store or make your own with kernels from Tesco for £1.90 and sit together to watch a film. We've so far watched Minions and Rio this half term but to get into the Halloween spirit Hocus Pocus is on my watch list! You don't even need popcorn, just a duvet and someone to snuggle with.

Visit a Woods

Totally free of charge in most places unless you want to buy food from a woodland cafe or you're joining a specific event/activity there is no need to spend the pennies. Enjoy the leaves under foot, walk your dog, spot some wildlife and have fun!

Have a craft day making autumnal pictures, leaf rubbing, collecting fallen leaves and conkers. Play around with paints to make an autumn themed picture or make a collage out of the leaves you've collected.

Places to Go in Cornwall:

Paradise Park are holding a disco again this year in their Jungle Barn. As it has a separate entrance I'm sure you'd enter there and pay to attend the party at the reception of the play barn. For under 3's the party is free, over 3's are £5 and adults are £3.99 Enjoy a disco, fancy dress, prizes and pumpkin soup!

If you can get to Bodmin on the 29th and 30th October there is Bodmin and Wenford railway which has a half price event on; so adults will be £6.50, Seniors £6.00 and children FREE! I really love trains and have yet to experience this day out but I think if you can afford it, it would be fun! Trains are running from Bodmin General Station at 10.50, 12.10, 13.35, 14.45 and 15.50.

I've found a Godolphin Cross village trail to hunt for pumpkins. You hunt for pumpkins around the village on 29th October starting at the Chapel from 6pm. Pick up a map for £1 and enjoy the fun! There will be refreshments available all evening too!

If you're in Newquay on October 29th there's a family friendly event from 1.30pm! Children of Newquay are invited to join the free Zombie Crawl; a fun Halloween event dressing up all gory and walking the parade full of Halloween spirit!

Children aged 5 to 16 are encouraged to join in the spooky fun, which will start with Titan the Robot at 1.30pm on Newquay's Piazza opposite the Lighthouse Cinema. There will be face painting in Whiskers coffee bar and at 3pm the parade will begin, along Bank Street and East Street. The parade will finish at the Hotel Victoria for more ghastly goings-on; another visit from Titan the Robot at 4.45pm, more dance and live entertainers, plus you can have your photo taken in the creepy, but very cool campervan photo-booth. The Hotel Victoria will also be hosting a children's disco after the final Titan show. This sounds awesome and I'd totally be going if I lived in Newquay! 

Those are a few ideas I've managed to find. For some people (like myself) these ideas may not be manageable for various reasons but I still hope you can do the at-home and out and about activities that we will be doing. 

If you know of any free activities or places with free or cheap admission or want to add an at-home half term idea then please do leave me a comment below!

Cupcake Mumma

Stay Safe this Halloween and Bonfire Night

I adore Halloween. Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's up there with Christmas for me, I'm not so keen on bonfire night but since I've had the children I do let them watch the fire works from our skylight as this is less noisy for me and A who have very sensitive ears and is still good fun. We stand outside with our sparklers too which is great fun.

As fun as these special events may be they can also be dangerous. There are naked flames, frilly clothing, pumpkins with candles lit inside both out and in the home. There are Battery or switch operated lights which can cause fire if faulty or if plugs are overloaded and of course there are fireworks, bonfires, sparklers and in the case of Halloween and trick or treating, there's stranger danger. I'm not here to scare the heck out of everyone, I love this time of year but I want everyone to enjoy it and after last year where several children were badly burned by their fancy dress clothing setting alight and the accidents involving sparklers and fire works a yearly problem, I wanted to share these tips and great infographics from Eacapade.

My Tips
Make sure any costumes meet the European Standards and Regulations. This should be on the label of the clothing and all companies must have this on them.

Try these fantastic lights from Escapade to place in your home and in your pumpkins to completely avoid the dangers of fire. These are great and still look fab giving off enough light that you won't be disappointed by them not being real candles. They are much better than my pound store lights which ran out quickly and these even change colour.

Watch my video!

These are my tips but please visit the safety guide which has been written in collaboration with
St Johns Ambulance, London Fire Brigade, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue: Kevin Ronan, Head of Community Safety and Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service: Oliver Franklin, Community Safety Officer. Please share and download the below info graphics so everyone can stay safe over this very fun and enjoyable few months.

Cupcake Mumma

5 Reasons you should visit The Harry Potter Studio Tours

Recently I visited the Harry Potter Studio Tours as a birthday treat from my Mum. I had an amazing time. I've purposely not posted too many photos because I feel that I may spoil it for others who also want to go. I avoided all blog posts about the tour because I didn't want any sneak previews. There will be a few photos in this post so if you are the same way inclined you may want to move along. How about you read something from my archives instead *wink wink*

For those who are wanting to visit the Warner Bros Studios, here are 5 reasons why you should definitely book your tickets and if you've already booked your tickets,then these 5 reasons will build up your excitement for the big day!

1) Everything in the studio tour is FOR REAL. It is totally genuine, has actually been worn, held, touched, sat on (and more!) by the actual cast who starred in the Harry Potter films. It is where some of your favourite actors and actresses have stood,walked and acted. Probably the closest most of us will get to the cast of Harry Potter and it doesn't feel like a bad thing.

2) You really can't appreciate the hours of skill and hard work it takes to make these films until you see the props for yourself. Handmade wands, clothes, animals. Creatures beyond your imagination hancrafted and made to move. Books, cloaks, houses and...

3) The breathtaking sight that is Hogwarts Castle.

4) You get what you pay for, and more. We paid £31.00 for adult tickets and £23.50 for a child ticket. We spent nearly 4 hours at the tour and you can spend so much longer if wanted. You can take your time, wander at your own pace. You can find friendly staff to talk to who are full of extra, interesting facts rather than be led about the studios by a tour guide. You can read the factual information without rushing, take as many photos as you like, ride broomsticks and when there are events on (Dark Arts Week was on when I visited for example) you don't pay any extra to enjoy the experience.

Nagini at The Malfoy Manor

Charity Burbage's unfortunate death awaits her by the hands of Lord Voldemort at Malfoy Manor

5) Forget theme park rides in Florida, seeing the making of one my favourite books come to life in film was amazing. To see all the props and hard work that went into making these films was something I'd happily do again. For any Harry Potter fan who has read every book and seen every film, the Warner Bros Studio Tour brings to life the magic of JK Rowling's most brilliant characters and their journeys in the wizarding world. A side from dreaming I'm an actual witch going to Hogwarts, I'm happy that I can get this close to the magic of Harry Potter.

There are way more reasons to go and visit the studios, of course, but why not go and explore them for yourself and have an excellent time!

This Weeks Reasons to be Cheerful

Today I'm feeling a little blue so writing one of these posts is the perfect antidote I believe. I've had an earache on and off all day, it's something that always happens now it's cold but I still can't get used to them! It's also piddling it down which hasn't bothered me until now! Anyway, let's get on with some cheerier things shall we?

1) Fireworks night and Halloween are now all over for another year. This year both celebrations were so good and I have some lovely memories to keep. On Halloween I did my usual tea party for my two and their cousins. My niece stayed over night so we took her Trick or Treating which was good fun. Everyone was so polite and friendly. We had a lot more this year than last, perhaps thanks to Jack?

Firework night isn't something I go all out on. I guess I just don't believe in it and what it stands for. Having said that, I feel it's such a possibility for cosiness and memory making so I'm no scrooge! We had homemade fish and chips with butter drizzled corn on the cob for dinner, watched the neighbourhood fireworks, took some lovely photos, did our own sparklers and made our own version of s'mores (which I am now going to label free from Wagon Wheels! So watch out for that!)

2) I'm seeing my best buddy and 2 of her gorgeous clan next Saturday and I'm super excited..Bet you can't guess who it is? I've dug out Little A's Moses basket which has brought back memories! It's only one night but I'm still so excited.

3) Now half term is over I am pleased to be back into a routine. I get some quality time with Little A, Midge loves being back at school, the hours don't drag so much and I get some me time too- which is ever so important! I get a long hot shower, or to read in peace and do some snail mail. I also love that Little A and I are back to watching our morning trains after dropping Midge off. We love waving to the drivers, watching the birds waddle about looking for dropped bacon sandwiches but mostly I just adore watching how much A likes to see his train and watch it disappear around the bend when everyone is aboard. Isn't it great when your children just really love something!?

Lastly, we have heard back from the SEN department and they're going to observe A in nursery before having a little meeting with us which is such good news. Whilst I don't believe he has any specific behaviour problems or anything, he does need more help with his speech and communicating with him still isn't easy, even though I can see how different he is even from a few months ago. I just want to hear him talk to me like all the other children in nursery talk to their parents about what they want or what happened in their day. I'm happy to wait for it though.

Cupcake Mumma

Halloween at Our House

We celebrated Halloween slightly early this year with my now-annual kids Halloween party. Saturday saw my two dressed up and excitedly awaiting the arrival of their cousins. I had prepped everything super early (unusual for me!) so I could relax before the impending chaos ensued. I got a hot chocolate and 3 biscuits down before I received a text from my sister in law to say her little ones were on the way!

We had a fun few hours and only one tantrum (from my little miss annoyingly!) First we had a go at 'pin the tail on the witches cat' which was a hit with everyone apart from Midge (because she didn't win) my nephew Z won this first game with his being so very close to the circle! Next up we played pass the parcel with a slightly more calm Midge. Knowing there are layers of chocolate to this game helps me immensely! My niece G won this game (twin power!)

After a couple of games we unveiled the food which didn't last long. They're only tiny but boy, can these children eat. I had a plate of sausage rolls and some Jaffa cakes left over plus crisps from my massive bowl so I was rather impressed to be honest! The winner this year was definitely my pumpkin with hummus dip. What do you think?

Last thing on my Halloween agenda was to face paint. This always goes down well.

G

Midge

Little Z

Even T wanted in on the action so she ran off with my painting sponge!

Calm was restored once half four rolled around and all little people were dispatched safely with their party boxes. All I had to deal with were two little monsters covered in face-paint and on a sugar crash! Here's to next year!

CupcakeMumma

Ideas for a Fun Halloween!

I love Halloween. My birthday falls two days before the occasion, so as a child every year was a fun, fancy dress party to celebrate. You could say I have nothing but fond memories (and I've been egged!)

I wanted to share with you all some fun ideas we do every year along with my annual children's party. Feel free to share yours with me too, after all, we all have our own traditions and what not so i'd love to hear how you celebrate Halloween.

The first one is a sure way to get the children excited and I love doing it: face paints!

 Midge last year.

It's always nice to make toffee apples (or chocolate apples) but have you tried marshmallow apples? Seriously tasty:

Another treat for any cool Halloween party table are these angel delight cups coloured with food colouring and sprinkled with chocolate Oreo biscuit. Draw a face on the cup or add decorations for extra fun:

Who doesn't love a good pumpkin carving session?! I do the carving in our house; it's 'my thing:'

Get some glow sticks out, turn the lights out and wave them around to create bright and wicked patterns. Use your camera to catch some really great glow stick movements like these:

Finally, one which you may or may not want to do: visit your local graveyard

Spooky....

How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you trick or treat? ( we don't but we do have sweets for those who do) or are you a shut the house up and pretend no ones home kind of family? I'd love to know.

CupcakeMumma

Our Happy Halloween!!

Yesterday I put on a small spread and invited my nieces, nephews and a friend from school to come and join in the Halloween fun with Midge and Little Man. I spent most of the morning and a little of the night before knees deep in food ideas, baking and decorating whilst my 2 slept soundly. It would seem all the hard work paid off as lots of little monsters left with big smiles and lots of laughter! Here's our day that I couldn't wait to share with you..

Little Man and Midge were really excited to be dressing up properly this year. My Mum popped over with a great little outfit for Little Man (he loves getting dressed up, much like his big sister) and Midge was already wearing her costume the minute she woke up! I painted her face later on in the morning which she always loves me doing (and I love doing it!)

My little skeleton 

Spooky Midge the witch with her pumpkin

 We had a fairly good spread set out on the table. Lots of sweet and plenty of savory to choose from. I went with cakes, chocolate fingers and tea cakes, toffee and chocolate apples, cheese ball crisps and cheese Doritos, dips with cucumber sticks, pizzas and much more.

The real hit of the party was these great little cups I made for the children (but which also got eaten by Husband and his sister!) I used Angle Delight in a vanilla flavour, coloured it green and orange for that Halloween effect and then crushed some Oreo type biscuits on top. This was described as 'mud' by my nephew and 'cremated heart' by the other! I added the cocktail stick pictures for effect and the plastic spoons so there was no rushing about looking for my teaspoon collection (because it doesn't exist...ask Little Man)

Halloween cups were great fun to make! Toffee apples are my favourite and fondant
fancies always go down well.

I went all out with my Halloween decorations this year. There was bunting, tinsel and a pinata in the hallway, lots of balloons floating around the house including hanging down from my kitchen ceiling. I did this at my sisters leaving party and since then I can't stop! More tinsel was strewn throughout the house and over photos. I love a bit of tinsel me!

I made some party boxes for all the children when they left. They all had little name tags on with a googly eye! Inside there was a selection of sweets (no one had to Trick or Treat after this party!) I added spider toys, little nick knacks and some glow sticks. I was quite impressed with myself so I hope the children liked them.

My eldest nephew came dressed as Batman. We did some face painting
at the party and this is what he chose. Cool huh?

 The final thing to show you was this pinata I've been raving about for ages. I didn't think it would be anything special because it was just a pull one. The thought of 5 toddlers bashing things with sticks was just too much to bare so I went for the safe pull a ribbon, win your sweets one! None of my monsters cared very much. My younger nephew was the winner ripping off the ribbon ('That was awesome!!' he cried) They dived in for their sweets and had so much fun.

Eagerly awaiting the 'Go'
Pulling and watching the sweets fall
'Grab!!' And no arguments. Hooray!!

The neat thing is, I can reuse this pinata for next year with a bit of crafty touching up! 

 And because you have to absolutely make sure you haven't missed a single sweet, I give you my niece:

There's always one :-)

My kitchen was covered in crisps (Little Man), my rug has had to be removed because of severe juice spillage (Little Man) and there is green angle delight with biscuit mushed into my carpets (Little Man) but it was a great party. I love all my Little Monsters and am already planning my next get together with them.

CupcakeMumma

Poorly Tummies, Birthday Prep and Half Term!

Hello! I am back after a fair few days of being quiet on the blogging front. I was very unwell last Thursday. It all started off at midday just before I was due to leave home and watch Midge at her Harvest Festival when I developed a terrible pain my stomach. Because it was such bad cramp I figured it was something to do with my IBS, took a few remedies and went to watch Midge perform anyway (I wasn't missing it for anything!) The que to get into the hall was huge, Mum and I were very lucky to get a seat (even if it was just the end of a bench!) We were right near Midge who was desperately looking out for us in the crowded hall.

Her Harvest Festival was really brilliant. I videoed it for Husband and her Nanny who has just had an operation so was unable to come and watch so I don't have any photos but what I did snap a shot of  was her fantastic drawing on the 'Dazzle Board.' She was put on the board for her great piece of work on observational drawing. Definitely another creative little person to add to the family!

Midge's daisy drawing

Unfortunately, when I got home my cramp and sickness become worse. Husband went out to get some special tablets for me to try which helped a little. My Mum, in the mean time, had to go and do some of my weekly shopping! Midge tagged along and Little Man was napping.
I spent the rest of the night clutching my sick bowl and feeling sorry for myself!

By Friday I was shattered and mostly slept. I managed to eat a little as the day went on and saw Midge off for her last day of school before the Half Term. I'm really looking forward to this Half Term as we have our Halloween Party and I promised we'd go swimming too.
Midge had a great time at the after school monster party and came home loaded up on sugar! (Thanks staff!) Husband took another day off work as I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

I woke on Saturday feeling a little delicate but no longer in pain which was enough to make me happy! My sister in law popped over and gave me a onesie which is all pink and covered in cupcakes. It's so warm but needs a little taking up as I'm so short! Look out for photos soon (yes, I do look like a giant baby and no, I don't care.)

Later on in the day Husband left for football so I took Midge and Little Man to Penzance on the train all by myself! Little Man was pretty ratty and ended up sleeping on me as we traveled home. Midge developed another earache but was really well behaved. I bought a few more Christmas presents which is the main reason we went over there in the first place so I was pleased.

In other news, it's my birthday tomorrow which I'm really quite excited about and I just know I'll blog about it. Husband has been swearing as he wraps gifts in the kitchen and has baked me a delicious smelling chocolate cake (with a little guidance from me of course) By the looks of things I've been a little spoilt this year but I'm always grateful whatever I get. I'll be seeing my Gran and Aunt in the early evening before the children go to bed and my parents will spend some of the evening with me as Husband works in the evenings not returning until 11pm.
So, tomorrow I'll be showing off my birthday post as soon as I can. There are a couple of other special birthdays out there tomorrow so happy birthday if it is yours too! I'll leave you now with my freshly carved little pumpkin. x

CupcakeMumma

The One Where I Turn 22 and Do Other Stuff...

Yep, another year has passed for me! Finally back into the even numbers, I'm going to hate turning 23! I just want to "Hello" to my new followers *waves* Yes I have noticed you, my little numbers have crept up and I had a nice big smile on my face, so nice to see people like reading my blog as I enjoy theirs and others!


Anyway, I did indeed turn 22 on 29th October and I had a lovely day thank-you very much. I was spoiled rotten (in a good way of course) had lots of yummy food and family visiting at different times of the day. Was so nice to see (almost) everyone. I had 2 (yes 2!) birthday cakes, I got a lot of cupcake/pink birthday presents which was just wonderful as i am obsessed with those two exact things. Here are some piccies my day:

Cupcake cookie box immediately stuffed with Free From goodies

Little Miss helping herself to my treats!

The cake above was really, really tasty and was also both Gluten and Vegan made by aunt who is a vegan (me I'm just unlucky and can't eat gluten or dairy..sob).

I feel I should also mention the other lovely things I received on my special day so here goes with thanks to all who bought the following for me!

Cupcake photo stand (very groovy now on my windowsill in the kitchen)

Cupcake cup and saucer in blue (very big and being used currently as a show off item on kitchen table)

New bag (because the children love, love me)

Lots of yummy goodies for my tummy only

A Amy Winehouse biography- I really liked Amy Winehouse and was saddened by her passing, should be a good read

'The Red Queen' by Phillipa Gregory- I have a nice collection of this author building up

Silver cross necklace- Lets hope I don't break this one!

Cupcake candles-See above they were very cool

Cupcake Lip gloss- I will find a piccy of these they were very cute

Mum and Dad bought me a new cake plate and server which is very unusual so I'll also get a snap of this when I have washed it up. Also my sister bought me a clock to match my cupcake chopping board!

There was a few more but honestly I really was spoiled, and very pleased to say the least! 

Hope everyone had a good Halloween? It was very quiet being a school night but we still managed to get a few trick or treaters. Little Miss didn't go but wasn't short on sweets in the house after both my other half and my sister arrived back with big bags of sweets!! I must admit to raiding the lolly pops though..In my defense they are apple flavour and very yummy!

Little Miss dressed as a cute cat for Halloween. She wore this at her cousins Halloween party on Sunday which she had lots of fun at. Doesn't she look cute! Hope everyone else had a good night with no trouble. Now Bonfire to look forward to (I'm not a fan to be honest!) 

Have a lovely week.