Lifestyle

Half-Term Hacks: 7 Cheap Family-Friendly Activities

Published

3 years ago

February 20, 2020

With half term coming up, you may be racking your brain for fun activities that will keep the kids entertained. But if you’re on a tight budget, this is easier said than done. While there’s always the option of considering your funding options to pay for family activities, you may wish to choose cheaper alternatives to save money wherever possible. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best cost-effective ideas that all the family will love.

Explore a museum

You’d be surprised how many free museums there are across the country. Wherever you’re based, there’s likely to be great galleries, exhibitions or art centres that you can explore with the kids. Not only will this keep them occupied, but it will educate them too.

Take a walk in the park

Are your kids more interested in sitting in front of a screen than going outside? Then it’s a great idea to take them to a local park or gardens for some fresh air. Pack a lunch and take some fun ball games to incorporate some exercise into your day!

Watch a film

If the weather isn’t kind to you, set up a family movie afternoon. This could be as simple as finding a film on Netflix and buying in some bags of popcorn. Or you could head to the cinema as there’s lots of offers for kids at the Odeon, Vue and Cineworld. Tickets can cost as little as £2.50 for the little ones!

Do some cooking

Teach your kids essential culinary skills by adorning your aprons and getting to work in the kitchen. There are lots of cheap, family-friendly meals online that can cost just £1-£2 per person and are quick and easy to make. Plus, it means you have some help making dinner!

Get crafty

Another great option if the weather is bad is to set your kids a craft task and watch their creativity flow. There are lots of fun ideas to choose from, such as drawing or painting, making dreamcatchers, experimenting with playdough and more!

Enjoy some sports

There are plenty of sports that you and your kids can enjoy on a budget. Take them to their local park to play football, ride your bikes down a cycle path or get competitive during a game of tennis at your nearest sports centre. The Lawn Tennis Association operates many free tennis lessons across the UK, which are well worth investigating if money is tight.

Go to a free event

With plenty of free events for families across the country, both the kids and your bank account will be happy. For instance, Hobbycraft and Dobbies Garden Centre do free workshops for kids in their UK stores. The National Trust also runs events throughout the year and have plenty of play areas and indoor adventures to enjoy.

We hope this has given you plenty of inspiration for the upcoming half term holiday!

Lifestyle

SPOTLIGHT: Sweet vinyl by DREAMOUR

Published

5 hours ago

February 3, 2023

Michelle Langton

What happens when two immensely talented visionaries come together to create elegance and ingenuity in a sculptural glass fragranced candle? Dreamour. That is the long and short version of how Dreamour was created. Founded by Karissa Rowe and Neal Klotsman in late September 2022, Dreamour was founded with the goal of creating a luxury fragrance brand that operates at the intersection of functional art in the candle market space.

Rowe, a Parsons School of Design graduate, set out to fill the niche of integrating design in the candle marketplace. Unlike most candle vessels that are mass-produced, Dreamour’s founders desired to prioritize the artisanal craftsmanship of glass in their production processes of the sculptural glass designs. This resulted in a long timeline of sourcing the globe for talented glass artisans who could transform a sketch into a functional and sophisticated candle vessel. Each and every candle vessel is hand-blown, inherently resulting in a one-of-a-kind product and unique experience for the consumer. These functional fragrant candles also act as a piece of décor due to its sculptural and alluring appearance.

Sweet Vinyl, Dreamour’s first candle scent, fills the room with musky & leathery notes combined with earthy notes of vetiver and cypriol, topped with a citrus touch of bergamot and mandarin. The founders worked with master perfumers in Grasse, France, to create a scent that invoked notes of memorable moments, emphasizing high quality ingredients in the fragrances in a soy wax blend. This resulted in candles that consist of clean ingredients, a vegan formula, and is entirely cruelty-free.

It is the personification of the glass blowers’ spirit, the heart of Grasse imprisoned in a bottle, and the narrative of two visionaries that sets Dreamour at the top of the candle market pedestal. Dreamour embodies the sophistication and savior-faire French perfumery as a luxury brand, while being a NYC based brand. Dreamour is currently stocked at Patron of the New in New York, along with other major designer luxury known brands. Rowe and Klotsman are currently expanding their production lines and will drop new fragrances and designs in early 2023. Don’t expect anything ordinary with Dreamour, as they will continue to bring a unique perspective to the marketplace of home fragrances.

To find out more about Dreamour and their newest releases, you may visit the business’s website dreamour.com or follow the company via its Instagram handle @dreamourshop.