Toy Review: New Eldrador Creatures from Schleich

AD/Gifted. My son is blessed with a brilliant imagination. He creates whole new worlds with a pencil and a piece of paper and the stories he writes are real flights of fancy. This week his imagination has been fuelled by the new Eldrador Creatures range from Schleich.

Eldrador Creatures are new fantastical creatures who come from the worlds of lava, ice, stone and water. Aimed at 7-12 year olds, these creatures are great for collecting or for playing Dungeons and Dragons style games with. My son has been busy duelling with the Eldrador Creatures for the last few days and he loves them.

Schleich are one of the leading makers of figurines and are one of the most well-known brands around. Schleich figurines are designed with great attention to detail and are painted and finished by hand. This means they’re not cheap, but they do last.

We were sent four of the seventeen creatures in the collection; the Armoured Turtle (£14.99), Battle Crab (£14.99), Fire Bull (£9.99) and the Ice Spider (£9.99).

Toy Review: New Eldrador Creatures from Schleich

The Armoured Turtle defends the stone world. His opponents think that he is slow, old and cumbersome. But he suddenly spins on his own axis at lightning speed and crashes his massive double club at its enemies. The turtle is beautifully detailed and characterful and a real favourite.

Defending the water world, the Battle Crab is a fighting crab with a slashing claw like weapon. He has a completely turnable upper body. On his six legs, this grim sea-dweller can move lightning fast and catch up with even nimble opponents super quickly.

The fire bull impales his opponents on his pointed glowing horns. The fire bull has a tail of flame, and a single hit will knock out even the most stubborn attacker. Lastly, the Ice Spider has eight eyes so she can keep an eye on several opponents at the same time and fend them off with her fearsome frozen spiders legs.

Toy Review: New Eldrador Creatures from Schleich

What did we think of the new Eldrador Creatures from Schleich? In short, the boy loved them. They’re ideal for people who like fantasy figures and they’re great for fantasy play. They’re well made, with great attention to detail and the movable parts on the turtle and crab make them extra fun to play fight with.

Eldrador Creatures have opened up a whole new world of imaginative play for my son. He’s already asked for all of the other figures in the range for his birthday, which is a sure sign of appreciation.

The Eldrador Creatures range is available from a wide range of retailers including Smyths Toys.

Disclosure: We were sent these Eldrador Creatures for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

11 places for Outdoor Adventure in Manchester

Now that spring has sprung, the fine weather is making us want to go outside and be in the great outdoors a little more. We don’t mind getting a little adventurous either, so I’ve put together a list of some of the most exciting places for outdoor adventure in Manchester.

10 places for Outdoor Adventure in Manchester

11 places for Outdoor Adventure in Manchester

Debdale Outdoor Centre, Gorton is a huge outdoor activity centre run by Manchester City Council. It has an exciting range of activities to try, and something for almost everyone. There’s everything from dinghy sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking; power-boating, rock climbing, abseiling, hill walking, gorge scrambling and orienteering.

Venture Out are based in the grounds of Burnage Rugby Club, on the banks of the Mersey in Heaton Mersey, this adventurous holiday club really makes the most if its location. With activities each week that are a mixture of team building, nature handicrafts, outdoor sports, bushcraft, forest school, nature games, canoe trips, there are lots to do for adventurous kids to get stuck into.

Adventure Now is based in Worsley Woods, not far from the Trafford Centre. They offer a range of different outdoor adventure sessions. From axe throwing to archery; quad biking to air rifle shooting; throwing angels, crossbows and bushcraft; there’s something for every adventurous type! Read about our archery adventure here!

Carrington Riding Centre is based just a few miles south west of Manchester in the Mersey valley green belt. Their facilities include one indoor school and four, all-weather, rubber surfaced outdoor floodlit menages with viewing facilities and fully stocked café. During school holidays they offer a range of activities for both children and adults

Go Ape! Rivington near Bolton is just the place to explore the forest canopy on an exciting treetop rope course. There’s also a thrilling 200 metre long zip wire over the edge of the Rivington reservoir.

Helly Hansen Watersports Centre in Salford Quays is the ultimate urban watersports venue. Choose from a wide range of activities and courses including; sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, raft-building, bell-boating, wake-boarding, Open Water Swimming, power-boating. It’s a cracking venue and great for all the family!

Treasure Trails – for outdoor adventures as a more sedate pace, Treasure Trails maps are available to download. There are all kinds of trails and a large number around Manchester. It’s a great way to find hidden gems wherever you are.

10 places for Outdoor Adventure in Manchester

Treetop Trek is in Heaton Park, Manchester and is an aerial adventure completely encased in nets. Visitors aged 3+ can bounce, run, jump and slide in complete safety without the need for a harness. You can read a review here.

We Are Adventurers! Chorlton is a forest school where you can go for holiday clubs or parties. We’ve been several times for parties and woodland adventures. It’s brilliant fun and we all absolutely loved it. You can read our write up here.

Trafford Watersports Centre in Sale Water Park, offers water sports taster sessions where you can try kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing or sailing. Book for lessons or hire kayaks, canoes and katakanus. If you don’t fancy getting wet, there are lovely walks around Sale Water park to be had, as well as fishing, bird watching or other activities.

Geocaching is where a container holding a number of items is hidden at a particular location for GPS users to find. Coordinates are posted on the Internet and geocachers have to seek out the item. It’s great fun and great for all the family. If you want to get involved, google Geocaching in your area.

Those are eleven great places to go outdoors in Greater Manchester, lots of different things to do for people of all abilities and fitness levels. What are you waiting for? Go forth and adventure!

If you enjoyed this, you might want to check out these 20 family walks in Manchester.

11 places for Outdoor Adventure in Manchester

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

Every year in March and April, the hedgerows and lanes hereabouts are abundant with wild garlic. When the wind blows in the right direction, we get a gentle whiff of garlic and off I go with a paper bag to collect a few leaves to cook with. One of my favourite ways to use it is in wild garlic and parmesan scones, which go really well with soup, or as a savoury snack with some good butter.

Of course when you’re foraging it pays to know a little of what you’re doing. Wild garlic can look pretty similar to other plants, some of which may be poisonous, but you can generally tell what is and isn’t wild garlic by the smell, which is, well, garlicky.

When you go foraging it’s important not to pick too much of anything. Take just what you need and save the rest for the wildlife or other foragers. If you’re foraging for wild garlic, you don’t need much anyway. It’s pretty pungent and a few leaves go quite a long way. I tend to try to pick the younger leaves in spots where I think (hope) dogs haven’t been. I always wash my wild garlic leaves before I use them anyway. You can find out more about wild garlic here.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

These wild garlic and parmesan scones are very delicious. They’re everything you want from a savory scone. I sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the top which makes them extra delicious. This recipe makes about 8 big scones, though you could cut them smaller if you prefer.

Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

Ingredients:

125g butter
450g self-raising flour
50g finely grated parmesan cheese
5 wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Big pinch of salt
Milk to mix, I used about 1/3 pint
Rock salt

How to make Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones:

Pre-heat your oven to 190° and put a sheet of baking parchment on a large baking tray.

In a large bowl rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan, wild garlic, bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt and toss together. Little by little add the milk, mixing with your hands until it makes a soft dough.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface and pat or roll it until it’s 1.5-2cm thick. I usually shape the dough and pat it down with my hands because it gives a slightly more rustic finish which I like. Cut the dough into rounds, don’t twist the cutter because this can prevent the scone from rising.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

Put the cut scones on the baking tray, brush them with milk and if you like sprinkle a pinch of rock salt on the top of each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re nice a brown and hollow when you tap them underneath.

Serve hot from the oven with lashings of butter, or with soup or a ploughman’s lunch.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like to try these wild garlic pesto twists, wild garlic focaccia or this wild garlic pesto.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

How to make a pretty Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

A few weeks ago I shared how to make Tissue Paper Flowers. They’re a lovely, simple thing to make, they take no time at all and stay looking lovely in the vase pretty much forever. I decided that they were too pretty for just one thing and I’d make a Tissue Paper Flower Wreath to brighten up my office door. It didn’t take long at all and I love how it looks. It’s really cheered up a dull corner.

Once you get the hang of them, they’re remarkably simple to make. You can put a flower together in a few minutes. You can mix different shades of tissue paper together to make a multi-coloured bloom, or stick to one colour if you prefer.

How to make a pretty Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

For my wreath I had some colourful tissue paper I’d saved for something like this, then I picked some co-ordinating colours. Once I’d finished sticking my flowers on, I decided it needed something else and I quickly cut some foam leaves and glued them in place. It balanced the whole wreath nicely.

How to make a Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

You will need:

1 paper plate
Glue stick
Green tissue paper
Coloured tissue paper, 1 sheet per flower
Scissors
A short piece of ribbon
Glue gun
Some pipe-cleaners
Green foam sheet, for the leaves

How to make a pretty Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

Begin by preparing your wreath. Take the paper plate and cut a neat hole in the inner circle. Cut the green tissue paper into long strips, rub the glue stick on both sides of the paper plate and wind the tissue paper around the paper plate hoop. Press the tissue paper onto the glue and put it to one side so the glue can set.

How to make a pretty Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

Now to make your flowers. Take a sheet of tissue paper and cut it into quarters. Make a pile of the quarters, fold them in half so it looks like a rectangle and cut along the fold. You should now have eight rectangles of tissue paper.

Click here for step by step pictures showing how to make a tissue paper flower.

Make them into a neat pile and fold them along the short edge in a concertina. The folds need to be about 1cm. Once you’ve folded the concertina along the full length of the rectangle; take the pipe-cleaner, cut it in thirds and wrap one third around the centre of the concertina. Use the other bit of pipe-cleaner on other flowers.

Once the centre of the concertina is secured, fan out the tissue paper folds and start to pull them to the centre of the flower in individual layers. Take your time over this, make sure you separate every individual layer. Once you’ve done this, ruffle the flower up and your flower is done. Make a few more flowers in this way until you’ve made as many as you need.

Once you’ve made enough flowers, Take your wreath and with a pair of scissors cut a small slit in the top and thread a piece of ribbon through, knot it so you’re able to hang your wreath from the ribbon.

With your glue gun, generously glue the back of each flower and press it into place. Do this with each flower until you’re happy with our tissue paper wreath. If you want to add some leaves, cut them out of your green foam sheet and glue them where you think they will look their best.

If you don’t have a glue gun, you could use generous dollops of PVA glue, but you’ll need to leave it to set properly, overnight if possible. Once it’s dry, hang it somewhere jolly and it’ll give you years of colourful cheer.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these flower crafts –

How to make a pretty Tissue Paper Flower Wreath

Six Out Of This World Books About Space

This year is the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. As part of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission, the first man walked on the moon on 20th July 1969. 50 years later, we are still fascinated with space. My son loves anything to do with space, and so we have many excellent books on the subject. We’ve picked out six of our favourite books about space.

Six Out Of This World Books About Space

Astronaut Academy by Steve Martin is a wonderfully fun book for aspiring astronauts. This activity book will test their ability to manage life in space, working on their hand-eye coordination and putting them through obstacle courses; building a balloon rocket, learning basic first-aid skills, how to deal with weightlessness, and doing fiddly things while wearing big gloves! The book also includes stickers, a poster, board game, press-outs, and a model space shuttle; in fact everything an astronaut needs to get started!

Six Out Of This World Books About Space

Paperscapes – The Spectacular Journey Into Space by Kevin Pettman takes a look at the wonders that can be found in space, both natural and man-made. This beautiful book is full of dye-cut images including photographs and CGI images. It’s a lovely keepsake book, one for the whole family to enjoy and admire. You can read our review here.

Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers About Space by Katie Daynes is a lovely book for littler ones. With over 60 flaps to lift, this delightful book answers questions such as ‘Where have people visited in space?’, ‘What’s a cosmonaut?’, ‘Why can’t I see stars in daytime’; and lots more what, where, how, why, and yes or no questions with answers beneath the flaps.

Space – A Children’s Encyclopedia by Dorling Kindersley is a really thorough encyclopedia for kids. Learn all about what living in space is like for an astronaut, take a tour around planet Earth and the moon. Then go beyond where any human has gone before; marvel at the red, rocky landscape of Mars and the truly magnificent icy rings of Saturn. Packed full of beautiful images, this book contains everything you need to know about space.

Hello, is this planet Earth?: My View from the International Space Station by Tim Peake. My son was lucky enough to meet Tim Peake and has been his biggest fan ever since. This book is a captivating collection of over 150 of Tim’s stunning photographs that he took while he was on board the International Space Station. Includes a personal commentary from Tim about his time in space.

Space Number Crunch! by Kevin Pettman covers a whole range of space related topics, from the planets and stars, the astronaut training, comets, galaxies and space agencies. It’s very much the kind of book you can dip in and out of and absolutely perfect for fact fans like my son. It’s very well put together. I like the themed pages and it means you can find the facts you want quickly. It’s probably the most informative and interesting book about space we’ve read. You can read our full review here.

If you enjoyed this collection, you might also be interested in books about science.

Six Out Of This World Books About Space

Subscription Box Review: Willow and Wild Box

AD/Gifted. The boy and I love our after school craft sessions. We try to craft and create together at least once a week. Sometimes I do struggle to come up with something new to do with him, but this week we received a Willow and Wild Box full of crafts, recipes, gardening and outdoor activities to enjoy together.

The Willow and Wild Box is a monthly subscription box designed for 3 – 8 year olds. It’s packed full of gardening, craft, cooking and outdoor activities and it’s delivered straight to your door. Every box is inspired by nature, with the aim of getting children exploring the outdoors and learning about how things grow, the changing seasons, healthy eating, and life-cycles.

Subscription Box Review: Willow and Wild Box

Willow and Wild offer two types of subscriptions, the ‘Letterbox’ subscription and a ‘Bumper Box’. The boxes include at least two craft projects, vegetable and flower seeds with step by step planting and growing instructions; an outdoor activity, a recipe card and much more! If you don’t have a garden, that’s no problem either, all the seeds they send can be grown in containers, or on a windowsill. The bumper boxes include a selection of extra craft and growing activities.

They offer four different subscription terms, 3 months (£27 for 3 months, £9 per box), 6 months (£51 for 3 months, £8.50 per box) and 12 months (£87 for 3 months, £7.25 per box), as well as the month by month box which costs £9.75. Obviously the longer your subscription, the better value the boxes are.

Subscription Box Review: Willow and Wild Box

We received the April box which was packed with things to do. In the box was a range of nature based activities…

Make an owl mask
Fascinating Owl facts
Make a leaf and flower mask
Make a nature peg doll
Go on a woodland walk spotter for your nature journal
Ideas for games to play in the woods
Spot the difference
Woodland word search puzzle
Bird and egg identification
Tomato and Nasturtium seeds
Tomato sauce and tomato pizza recipe cards

Although my son was at the upper end of the age range these boxes are aimed at, he really loved getting his own personalised post. The box was small enough to slip through your average letterbox, so I was not expecting it to contain as much as it did do.

We went through the box and decided to get cracking with the crafts, exploring the garden, we found a selection of leaves to decorate the peg doll and masks. We had a happy hour sat at the kitchen table quietly making some nature crafts from the Willow and Wild box.

Subscription Box Review: Willow and Wild Box

There is lots in the box to entertain. If you can sit down and properly go through the box when it arrives and plan to do different activities on different days, you’ll get lots out of it. The Willow and Wild box is a great starting point if you’re wanting to incorporate more nature activities into your week. The boxes contain everything you need, so they would be ideal for taking with you on weekends away.

We really liked our Willow and Wild Box; it’s just the thing if you’re in need of a bit of inspiration. The box is small, but really packed with a good variety of things to do. This would make a lovely gift for a creative child. It’s age appropriate; my 8 year old got an awful lot out of it and would very much like a subscription, we will have to see what the birthday fairy brings!

For more information about Willow and Wild subscription boxes, visit their website.

Disclosure: We were sent this for review purposes. All images an opinions are our own.

23 Places to Craft with kids in Manchester

Children love doing crafts, but it can sometimes be a messy business. We do quite a lot of crafts at home. Sometimes it’s nice to go somewhere else to do a craft; especially if it’s a craft beyond your own skill as a crafty parent. Even better, someone else gets to do the tidying up! I’ve picked out 23 places to craft with kids in Manchester; there are probably many, many more, so if I’ve missed any, please do comment below.

21 Places to Craft with kids in Manchester

23 Places to Craft with kids in Manchester

Minikin Emporium, Sale – I love this place. We’ve been going since my boy was a baby and we’ve made so many lovely things there. They also do imprint jewellery, which is such a lovely memento.

Love To Craft MCR – This is a lovely craft pop up which runs sessions for kids and adults alike at various locations in South Manchester. They also do parties and have lots of kids craft ideas on their website.

The Art Garden at The Haworth, Accrington – The Art Garden is a craft cafe based in The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington. It’s the most wonderful place, with lots going on for crafty types of all ages; but their messy and sensory play is brilliant fun!

Emily’s Paint A Pot – located in Manchester’s Arndale Centre, Emily’s Paint A Pot is a lovely place to drop in to spend an hour or two decorating pots together.

Bean & Brush Family Art Cafe, Sale – located in the heart of Sale, Bean and Brush is an interesting Art Cafe where you can try your hand at anything from painting pots to decopatch. The studio is stocked with all manner of pots and projects, so you can let your artistic side run wild. Create unique pieces for yourself or personalised gifts for friends!

21 Places to Craft with kids in Manchester

Pottery Corner, Chorlton – this is a lovely pottery painting place on fashionable beech Road in Chorlton. We’ve been to paint pots and to have our handprints done in clay. They run adult workshops and children’s parties too!

Brooklyn Pottery, Stockport – Pop in for some pottery painting, book a party or just go along for an afternoon with friends or family and paint some pots for friends or family.

Create It! Cheadle – this bright and cheerful craft cafe in Cheadle, offers Paint-a-Pot and decoupage activities for all the family. Whether you fancy a spot of ceramic painting or gluing and sticking with their fantastic Decopatch selection; you’ll find a great range of pottery pieces to paint; from useful items like plates and bowls to fun, decorative pieces like figurines, piggy banks and lanterns!

Kidz Kreationz, Altrincham – With Saturday Art Club and After School Sessions, Kidz Kreationz is the arty place in Altrincham for kids to hang out.

The Star Tree Studio, Littleborough – The Star Tree Studio in Littleborough provides high quality, fun, educational, art, craft & creative activities for children aged 6 months to 12 years old. They organise baby, toddler and pre-schooler creative classes as well as art and craft birthday parties. It’s a gorgeous place to drop into for a spot of art.

John Rylands Library, Manchester – this historic library runs all kinds of children’s craft activities throughout the year. For something a little different, a visit to John Rylands is a must if you’re in the city centre.

Cheshire Workshops, Tattenhall – Based in Cheshire, this craft workshop runs a range of craft workshops for children and adults alike.

Hatworks, Stockport – The Hatworks in Stockport has an ever changing selection of crafts for adults and children. This quirky museum has lots to offer, check out their website before you visit to see what’s on!

Sew Creative, Altrincham – If you’ve been inspired by the Sewing Bee, then you can learn to sew at one of the sewing classes held at Sew Creative in Altrincham.

A Place to Potter, Heaton Park Garden Centre – The Place to Potter is a cosy and creative hub specialising in pot painting, slime making, bear building and birthday parties! They also host workshops during the school holidays and toddler/pre-school sessions during the week. Check out the website for more info.

Brookside Pottery at Brookside Garden Centre, Poynton – Paint at pot as you watch the steam trains go by. This little pottery painting workshop in Poynton is great for birthday parties and crafty afternoons. Booking advisable!

Manchester Crafts & Design Centre – This gorgeous building is packed with independent craft makers and they also run a number of craft workshops, many of which are suitable for children.

Ordsall Hall, Salford – Ordsall Hall in Salford is a great place to visit with kids, and they have lots of things going on, like arts and crafts workshops for adults and children. Have a look on their website to see what’s on.

Elizabeth Gaskell House – from Crafternoon tea for grown ups, to half term craft sessions for kids, there’s always something going on at this beautiful historic house in Manchester.

Whitworth Art Gallery – This wonderful art gallery in Manchester has an ever changing array of events and arts and crafts activities for all the family. For a delightfully different day out, keep an eye on the website for what’s coming up.

Fired Paint a Pot Café, Bury – Fired paint a pot is a friendly family focused pottery painting café and creative hub just 5 minutes walk from The Rock in Bury.

Paint A Pot, Radcliffe – this independent family run craft and ceramics studio in Radcliffe stock a wide variety of pottery from plates and cups; to fantasy figures with a choice of paint, foam clay and decopatch to decorate your items.

Bents Garden Centre – I love Bents, it has a superb craft shop and they do run regular craft activities and workshops for both adults and children alike. Keep an eye on their website for what’s on!

Have I missed anywhere? Is there somewhere near you which hosts family arts and craft activities on a regular basis? Please comment below so I can add them in.

23 Places to Craft with kids in Manchester

11 Reasons to take up Aqua Aerobics

AD/ I was commissioned by Simply Swim to share the reasons why I love Aqua Aerobics and why it’s so good for you.

Six months ago I decided the time was right for me to add some exercise into my week, so I joined a gym and I’ve been going their Aqua Aerobics classes a few times a week ever since. In those six months I’ve learned a few things, made a few friends and got a little bit fitter. If you’re thinking of taking up swimming or Aqua, here are a few things which might encourage you.

11 Reasons to take up Aqua Aerobics #AD

11 Reasons to take up Aqua Aerobics

Low impact fitness – I have a spinal injury, so bouncing about in a dance class is really not recommended for me. Swimming and Aqua Aerobics are very low impact, so the wear and tear on my joints is minimal.

It’s suitable for all fitness levels – You don’t have to be Rebecca Adlington to go for a swim. Many pools have fast and slow lanes, so pick your level and go for a swim. Likewise with Aqua Aerobics classes, there are people at all levels of fitness and experience, just position yourself where you have a good view of the instructor and you’ll be fine. Remember to tell them if you have any injuries, they often offer me alternative exercises due to my injury, which really helps.

It’s reasonably cheap – Your local leisure centre will offer swimming sessions for a few pounds, or Aqua classes for around £5. The gym I belong to has really long opening hours and several Aqua classes each day. I did my sums before I joined and found it was cheaper to join and have that flexibility than it was to go elsewhere. In terms of equipment, all you really need is a swimming costume and a towel.

Aqua is easy – I’m something of a stranger to exercise, but Aqua is easy to do; there are no fancy moves to learn, as long as you can swim a width (for safety), you can do Aqua. Stay down the shallow end if you’re nervous in water; do what you can, bounce about instead at the bits you’re not sure of, no one will mind. It’s all very easy going.

No one cares what you look like in a swimming costume – Seriously, no one cares. Everyone is in the same boat, we’ve all got lumps and bumps, cellulite and bits we’ve accidentally missed with the razor, no one cares how you look because everyone is busy sucking in their own stomachs when they’re getting out of the pool.

That said, you do need to be comfortable in your costume; if you’re bouncing about in Aqua, something with decent straps and a supportive bust will really help. If you’re conscious of your tummy there are costumes which can smooth that out a bit. I usually wear a swimming costume with bust support, thick straps and a boy short leg; so my upper thighs are covered. A lot of the Aqua class wear this style; so when you’re jumping up and down everything stays more or less where it should be.

11 Reasons to take up Aqua Aerobics #AD

You’ll make friends – I usually keep myself to myself, but in the last six months I’ve made a few nice friends in the pool. We chat a bit and often go for a natter in the hot tub afterwards. It makes me feel fractionally less alone.

Strengthen your pelvic floor – Now I’m in my 40’s, strengthening my pelvic floor is a high priority for me. All swimming strokes can help to exercise your pelvic muscles; you have to engage these muscles to keep your balance as you swim. The best stroke for your pelvic floor is the breast-stroke; the kick action makes your thigh and pelvic floor muscles contract, which strengthens them. Aqua Aerobics is also excellent for your pelvic floor; balancing in the water really works your core muscles. I have noticed a difference in the six months I’ve been swimming and doing Aqua classes.

It’s feel good fitness – Doing any kind of exercise gives you those feel good endorphins; busting some moves in the pool to some good music can (if you close your eyes) make you feel like you’re in some kind of Aqua disco. It’s fun, it really is, if you’re not smiling, you’re not doing it right!

Forget all your troubles – If you’ve got a head full of things to think about and worry about; Aqua and swimming are great ways of turning off that niggly voice in your head. When I’m in the pool I’m not thinking about work, or family, or what to cook for tea; for some reason it all just drifts away. Give it a try.

It’s family friendly – Although not strictly for kids; I have taken my son along during the school holidays and I’ve seen parents and kids in the children’s pool bopping along while the class is in session. Exercising in front of and with your children is excellent for modelling healthy lifestyle choices for them. My son loves that I go to Aqua Aerobics classes and that I swim, because it means he gets to come along sometimes too. It’s also given me more confidence in the pool and I’m less stressed about what I look like in my swimming costume.

Treat yourself afterwards – I always make time for a sit in the hot tub afterwards; if I have more time then I will also have a sauna or a steam. For me heat in all of those forms really helps my aches and pains. I like to think that it soothes any aches I will have from all the (vigorous?) exercise I’ve just done. If you work hard, then you deserve a little treat afterwards right?

I thoroughly enjoy going to Aqua Aerobics classes. They are fun and really good exercise, especially for someone like me and the physical problems I have. It’s done wonders for my confidence, both in and out of the pool. If you’re thinking about trying it for the first time, have a look at what classes are available locally and give them a try. What do you have to lose?

11 Reasons to take up Aqua Aerobics #AD

Recipe: Easy Mini Egg Cookies

I know it doesn’t sound likely, but it is possible to get too many Easter eggs. This year we’ve somehow managed to stockpile all of the mini eggs in South Manchester. In an effort to do something slightly different with them, other than just eat the whole bag in one sitting, we baked a batch (or two) of mini egg cookies, and by ‘eck, they were tasty!

These cookies are a lovely thing to bake over Easter with children. You might have to double up on the recipe though, because the cookie dough seems to mysteriously disappear whenever I bake these with the small boy!

Recipe: Easy Mini Egg Cookies

Easy Mini Egg Cookies

Ingredients (makes 15 cookies)
125g butter, softened
100g soft brown sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
100g Cadbury Mini Eggs, chopped up
225g self-raising flour

Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C.

In a large bowl cream your butter and the two sugars. Once they are well combined, add the egg and chopped up pieces of mini eggs. Tip in the flour and keep mixing until it forms your cookie dough.

Take a baking sheet and either grease the sheet well or cover with a piece of baking parchment (I used baking parchment). Using a set of scales, take the dough and weigh into 40g balls, this helps ensure all your cookies are the same size.

Place the dough balls on the baking sheet making sure there is room for them to spread out. You might need to use two or more baking sheets. Squash each dough ball down a little with the back of a fork. If you can, chill the cookies in the fridge for half an hour before you bake them. This stops them spreading too much in the oven.

Recipe: Easy Mini Egg Cookies

Bake the cookies in your pre-heated oven for 10 minutes until they’re just turning golden round the edges. Remove from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet to firm up for a few minutes before putting them on a wire cooling rack.

Leave your cookies to cool for as long as you can stand to, then enjoy with a cold glass of milk. They’re really very, very good and the perfect way to use up any leftover mini eggs, should that ever be a thing in your house!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like to try these salted peanut and caramel cookies.

Recipe: Easy Mini Egg Cookies

Easter Crafts: Easy Felt Easter Egg Decorations

Last week I met my craft club friends for an evening of Easter egg painting. It was a really chilled evening and we all went home clutching an Easter tree (branches in a tall vase) and half a dozen painted Easter eggs. I think my tree looks really quite sweet, so I decided to make some Felt Easter Egg Decorations to go on it too.

The Felt Easter Egg Decorations are really simple to make and you can decorate them however you want. They’re fun to make for children and adults, my son was especially interested in using my hot glue gun, but you can use PVA and patience if you don’t have a glue gun.

Easter Crafts: Felt Easter Egg Decorations

How to make Felt Easter Egg Decorations

You will need:

Egg shaped template on card
A pencil
Felt
Ribbon
Needle and thread
Scissors
A hot glue gun or PVA glue
Decorations such as sequins, stars, gems, or whatever you have

How to make your Felt Easter Egg Decorations:

Firstly, make your egg shape template. I did this by drawing around a small glass to make a circle, then sketching the circle into an egg shape. You can easily print off an egg shape off the internet if that’s easier. Copy the shape onto card, cut it out and you’ve got a durable egg shaped template for any future egg based craft projects.

Easter Crafts: Felt Easter Egg Decorations

With a pencil, draw around the egg shape onto some coloured felt and carefully cut it out with a pair of scissors. Take about 6cm of ribbon and fold it in half length-ways. With the needle and thread, sew the ends together and stitch it to the back of your felt Easter egg. It doesn’t much matter if you can see the stitches, you can always stick a decoration or two over the top, like I have done.

Once your ribbon loop is securely stitched, you can decorate your egg. I have quite a decent selection of random things like sequins, stars, gems and other decorations. Using the hot glue gun we decided what would look good where, and glued them on. If you don’t have a hot glue gun, a dab of PVA glue should stick things perfectly well to the felt Easter egg, although you will need to leave the glue to dry for an hour or so.

Easter Crafts: Felt Easter Egg Decorations