The Only Girl in the House

Our Stay at Ladram Bay, South Devon Family Holiday

Our Stay at Ladram Bay, South Devon Family Holiday

A modern home away from home, private beach and a plethora of activities for the kids… I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for a break with the 5 boys in tow these features rate highly.  “Staycation” can induce the fear that the weather won’t cooperate like a petulant Greek demi-god with an attitude problem. It can bring back memories of glamping with two toddlers in 2010, having to purchase our own body weight in fleece lined goods and thermals, hearing the words “I can’t feel my toes!” before they’ve even got out of bed. But after a week at Ladram Bay at the end of August and summer holidays, it’s fair to say the aforementioned positives far outweighed my initial meteorological woes. It’s no mean feat to find a holiday destination that keeps our all our brood, dare I say it, happy – but I’d go as far as to claim that Ladram Bay not only kept the kids entertained and well fed, but us adults relaxed and de-stressed, without a scary price tag!

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How to Make Memories with Tesco Clubcard #Ad

How to Make Memories with Tesco Clubcard #Ad

After 6 weeks of summer holidays, the remnants of my sanity can be found somewhere at the end of July, my bank balance is about as healthy as a doctors waiting room and I used all my trump activity cards throughout August. But as much as I may have bemoaned the kids for 45.5 days (who’s counting?!) I secretly loved the lazy mornings, action packed days and memories that were made – so I’ve started to look to our football-free weekends this term as mini-adventures to be had to banish the post-summer holidays blues.

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10 Ways Thomson Holidays Busied Our Boys

10 Ways Thomson Holidays Busied Our Boys

Our family can be a logistical nightmare: ferrying the 14 year old to town to hang out with his friends whilst getting the 12 year old over to his mates house to play on the PlayStation, then herding the 8 & 9 year olds to a football match – meanwhile, poor little Casper gets dragged along on the promise of a jammy dodger. My point being, keeping all 5 boys entertained in one place is a huge ask. So when I started talking to Thomson about our latest family holiday (see more details here), my biggest challenge to them was to keep our brood so busy for a week, in the sun, that they wouldn’t pick up their iPad or whinge about not having their beloved PlayStations.

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Elderflower Fields Family Festival

Elderflower Fields Family Festival

When I received an email asking if we wanted to head to Elderflower Fields Festival in the days leading up to our first ever family holiday (which you can read about HERE), I was dubious and even typed out the declining email due to the mammoth packing task that lay ahead. But, of course, not before clicking the link to see what it was all about. About 30 seconds into my browsing experience, I retyped my email and it was a resounding YES! This was a family festival, taking place in the heart of the Sussex country side with a plethora of boy-friendly madness – although we couldn’t go for the whole weekend, we could certainly put the packing, washing and ironing to one side for a day trip of fun.

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First Family Holiday with 5 Kids

First Family Holiday with 5 Kids

It was this time last year when I cautiously made my way over to the Thomson Holiday’s stand (actually a replica airplane) at the spectacular Blogtacular conference. Like many of the bloggers in attendance I fancied a go at pitching my holiday idea to the company behind sending so many British families on their hols every year. I challenged Thomson Holidays to keep our 5 boys so entertained for a week in the sun that they wouldn’t be tempted by their gadgets – and they accepted!

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