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Alice In Wonderland Ballet Show – Let’s All Dance

June 20, 2018

The cast from The Alice in Wonderland Show with Lets All Dance

A Ballet for the whole family

I took Eden to see her very first ballet, ‘The Princess & the Frog‘ by Let’s All Dance. It was a magical experience that we both really enjoyed. I then found out that Let’s All Dance’s next production was going to be ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which is a particular favourite story of ours! Even better, the Alice in Wonderland ballet was touring and visiting our local theatre. I booked tickets right away. These ballet shows are perfect as a first ballet and to entertain the whole family. They are suitable for all and especially aimed at 2-11 year olds, including children with special needs. The productions last around 30-40 mins so perfect for smaller children. You also get the opportunity for a photo with the cast on stage after the show which is really exciting for the children to meet the characters.

Alice In Wonderland Ballet

Let’s All Dance brought the wonderful story of Alice in Wonderland to life with beautiful dancing, much loved characters and super costumes in this magical ballet production.

The ballet began with a very charming Alice who disappeared down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. She met many of the characters along the way. Alice met the White Rabbit first. The dancing was so beautiful, fun and energetic. It was so mesmerising to watch. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum were great characters and really made us all laugh. They were definitely the children’s favourite. The pair danced cheekily with Alice on stage.

On our journey through Wonderland we were also introduced to the angry Red Queen, she was quite a character! She was not happy with Alice who ate her chocolates and chased after her through the crowd. During the performance the characters left the stage to interact with the audience and the children loved it… They even got to stroke the flamingo puppets. It really brought the production to life and engaged with the audience!

Alice in Wonderland was a truly spectacular children’s ballet show. I found it even more enjoyable than the Princess and the Frog, we really liked all the extra characters. The way the story was told was also incredibly clever… Alice even shrunk and grew just like the real story! The dancing was superb and so hypnotic to watch. I would absolutely recommend trying one of these beautiful ballet shows. I would of loved for this one to be even longer, we enjoyed it so much! We can’t wait to see the next Let’s All Dance production. To see what coming next, visit their website.

Don’t be late for this very important date!

To book tickets for Alice in Wonderland please visit the Let’s All Dance.

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Written in collaboration with Let’s All Dance, all comments and opinions are strictly my own.

Home, Shows, Unusual

Princess and the frog, a perfect first ballet

March 3, 2018

Eden’s first ballet

I have wanted to take Eden to a ballet for a while now. I saw tickets for The Princess and the Frog ballet come up on the Little Bird website during February half term. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to experience our first ballet together. If you haven’t discovered Little Bird yet they offer discounted tickets for all kinds of kids days out, it’s worth a look!

The Princess and the Frog ballet

The Princess and the Frog ballet was showing at Leicester Square Theatre in London. A 30 minute long show, narrated and made suitable for children of all ages but in particular children aged between 2-9.

We arrived 30 mins before our show time and found our seats within the theatre. Eden was very excited about seeing her first ballet, as was I.

The stage was simply dressed with a sparkly lit tree by a pond. As soon as the beautiful ballerina stepped onto the stage, Eden’s face lit up. The ballerina dressed in a gorgeous pink tutu with gold embroidery and tiara on her head looked very part the princess. She danced to the music so gracefully, it was so enchanting, almost hypnotic to watch. It’s safe to say Eden did not move an inch during the show.

The story of the princess and the frog was narrated and the princess ballerina and the joyful frog brought the story to life. The frog was fun and playful and wanted to be friends with the princess but the princess was not so keen. As the story progressed the pair became wonderful friends! The children loved watching the pair play hide and seek on stage and thought it hilarious when frog came down to the audience. To see the princess and the frog dance together at the end was truly beautiful and the children were transfixed. It lasted 30 minutes which was perfect timing for smaller ones, however I could of stayed for hours. Both myself and Eden found the show so enchanting and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Photo opportunity

After the show, all the children had the opportunity to meet the characters on stage for a photo. This was a really nice touch and the queue moved very quickly. Eden was thrilled to meet the characters from The Princess and the Frog ballet. The ballet was produced by a company called Lets All Dance. They specialise in shows for children and families. For more information on their next show visit their website.

We also went to see Alice in Wonderland ballet, it was amazing, see our review here.

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Crafts, Days Out, Farms, Home, Outdoors, Parks, Shows, Unusual

Entertain the kids this Halloween half term!

October 5, 2017

Halloween Half Term Days Out

Looking for ideas for Halloween Half Term? Here is a list of some of our favourite spooky and unusual days out over Halloween Half term in and around Essex.

Farms

Barleylands Farm Park are running Pumpkinfest during the Halloween Half term week. Halloween themed activities and a free pumpkin for each child. They have two spooky evenings Friday 27th & Saturday 28th October packed with thrills, spills and chills for tots to young teens. With family friendly activities including Huge Fairground Ghost Train, Haunted Fairground House, Boo Barn, Witches Walk, Haze Maze, Spooky Toddler Story Time, Creepy Reptile Cave, Halloween Disco and spooky games. Book tickets online.

Hopefield Halloween at Hopefield Animal Sanctury on 29th October 11:00-16:00. Halloween event with Fancy Dress Competition, Haunted Bus, Halloween arts and crafts and mask making fun, Halloween themed Love On The Rocks and fantastic face painting. Entrance: Adults: £6, Kids: £5, Under 3s are FREE.

Pick your own pumpkins

Cammas Hall Farm at Hatfield Broad Oak you can pick your own pumpkin, enjoy a tractor and trailor ride, get lost in their Maize Maze, face painting or maybe make your own Halloween mask. Don’t forget to stop off for a Halloween treat in their Tea Barn.

The Pumpkin Patch at Basildon or Colchester. Free entry and open every weekend during October 10-4pm.

Take a ride on a Halloween Train

Audley End Miniature Railway

Ride the spooky train deep into the woods to visit the witches. Every ticket includes craft making, face painting, story telling, a visit to the dance tent and a gift for every child. Book online.

Epping Ongar Railway, Ongar

Are running 3 spooky ghost train events during Halloween Half term. Saturday 28th October 2017 (day + evening), Sunday 29th October 2017 (day only), and Tuesday 31st October 2017 (evening only). Don’f forget to visit the Halloween marquee at North Weird, where there is magic shows throughout the day, face painting, a silent disco and, for the grown ups, a bar. Each child receives a gift. Book online.

Essex Police Museum

Essex Police Museum in Chelmsford are offering Halloween crafts, make your own scary mask and trick or treat bag. Fancy dress welcome and free entry to the museum. £2 per child. 21st, 25th and 28th October 10:00 – 16:00.

Check their Facebook page for further details.

Essex Wildlife Trust

Essex Wildlife Trust have many Halloween Half Term activities across all of their centres, here are some of our favourites.

Hanningfield Resevoir have plenty of activities running through the Halloween half term, check their website for further details. Spooktastic Family Trail. Solve the spooky clues and track down the creepy creatures of Hanningfield Nature Reserve? Trail sheets £2.50 per child. Sun, 22/10/2017 – 10:00am – 3:00pm. No need to book.

Haunted Hanningfield on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th October 10-3pm. Follow the spooky trail through the woods to the spooky House, dare you go in? Halloween treat for the brave. Bug hunting, Pumpkin carving and Halloween crafts in the Visitor Centre. Donation £8 per child. No booking necessary.

Belfairs Woodland Centre have Horrible Halloween crafts, drop in for some Halloween crafts on Saturday 28th October 10am -2pm.

Haunting Halloween at Langdon Nature Reserve. Sat, 28/10/2017 – 6:00pm – 9:00pm aimed at children 6yrs+. Follow the self-guided trail but beware of things that go bump in the night! Finish with stories and marshmallows at the camp fire. Three sessions available starting at 6pm, 6.30 or 7pm (younger children are advised to attend the earlier sessions) Family event aimed at children 6yrs+, must be accompanied by an adult at all times. £7 per person, booking essential.

Halloween Book Reading

Free Book reading event of ‘The Seven Sisters’ by Sibel Beadle, local author of children’s book series ‘Witchy Travel Tales’. With craft activity and book signing at Barleylands function room on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd October and Saturday 28th and 29th October at the following times each day: 11-11:45am, 12-12:45pm and 1-1:45pm.

Broomstick Making

Make your own broomstick at Norsey Wood. Tuesday 24th October. 1pm – 2:30pm. £2.50 per child. Prebooking required.

Spooky Fest Wat Tyler Country Park

Spooky Fest running Monday 23rd October 2017 until Sunday 29th October 2017, 11am until 3pm. Three halloween themed mazes with live characters. Step back in time and walk around the haunted house, looking out for ghosts, ghouls and all things that fright. Meet the 2017 freaky clowns in the extra large Circus. Hook a duck, have your fortune read and see if you can escape the never ending corridors. Introducing the new vampire village. See the vampires hide out, rotting corpses, and spooky effects. Book tickets online. Children 4+ £5 each includes a sweet treat.

Lullingstone Castle & World Gardens

Lullingstone Castle just over in Kent is hosting some Halloween magic on the last day of the season. Pumpkin carving, spooky house and garden tours – perfect for all the family. Tom will give garden tours at 1pm and dusk tour at 5pm, learn about the origins of pumpkins, colours and varieties and children can spot the Halloween tricks in eerie torchlight! Fancy dress is welcome. 29th October 12-8pm.

Hedingham Castle

Halloween Weirdness and Wondercraft at Hedingham Castle. 10 Halloween themed workshops, creepy creatures, bash the rat or smash the skull, gooey cauldron of ghastly gunk, slithering reptiles, gory face painting, scary stories in the castle dungeon and a spectacular fiery finale! 10% discount when booking online.

Magic Shows

Monday Mayhem at Orsett Hall. Halloween Children’s Party with AJ Entertainers. 10.00am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm. Entertainers, Balloon Modelling, Face Painting, Arts & Crafts, Mini Disco. Tickets £8.50, book online.

The Magic Frostie Halloween Show on 23 October at 14:00–15:30 at Wickford Community Centre. A Halloween themed show filled with music, Puppets, Balloons, Mind-Blowing Magic. Book online.

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Days Out, Home, Outdoors, Parks, Shows, Unusual

The Halloween Train – Audley End Miniature Railway

September 8, 2017

Halloween Tradition

So Autumn is almost upon us and it’s time to start planning for one of our most favourite holidays… Halloween! It’s become part of our Halloween tradition to visit Audley End Miniature Railway and ride the Halloween Train. This will be our third year and Eden loves it so much she talks about it all year round!

If you haven’t visited Audley End Miniature Railway before, it’s definitely one to add to the list. It’s a wonderful train ride through the forest spotting Teddies with an enchanted fairy walk and fairy & elf festival! It’s such a lovely day out with the kids. You can read our previous post about it here.

The Halloween Train

Come Halloween time… Everywhere is decorated and themed in a spooky Halloween theme, even inside The Signal Box Cafe! It always looks so amazing! All the staff are dressed up too, it’s a wonderful sight. Every year so far the Halloween Train at Audley End has not disappointed.

You are able to book the time of the train and then you can play and explore the rest of the facilities at your own leisure. At the platform you board the train and are waved off by the creepy conductor on a journey through the spooky forest. On your travels be sure to look out for all the spooky goings on! There are lots of fun Halloween things to spot whilst on your train ride but all aimed at children so nothing too scary. Halfway round you stop to visit the Witches who dance and cook up a witchy spell… if you’re lucky they may even give out a sweet treat too! Or as Eden would say ‘candy’!

Halloween Activities

After you return back to the station you are free to explore the rest of the Halloween fun. It’s got better every year adding more fun things for the kids to do. This year they are promising: A Train Ride through the woods to visit the witches, craft making, face painting, story telling, a visit to the dance tent and a gift for every child.

Tickets are now on sale on their website! We can’t wait to get dressed up and go again this year!

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Lifestyle, Shows, Unusual

Rapunzel & Beauty & the Beast Shows

July 18, 2017

At the theatre

Eden absolutely loves live shows and theatre productions. Even from an early age she would happily sit through a film at the cinema but I wasn’t sure whether she would sit through a full length theatre production. I always worried it could work out quite expensive especially if you can’t be too sure if your child is going to sit through it all. An expensive gamble to make.

I found ‘The Princess and the Party’ company offered a Rapunzel show at Orsett Village Hall in Essex last summer. As this is one of Eden’s favourite films I booked up tickets. They seemed super popular and sold out very quickly.

Rapunzel & Beauty & the Beast Shows

Rapunzel

Initially I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it would be someone dressed up as Rapunzel who sang a few songs on stage and the kids got to dance around and have some fun! How wrong I was! They had gone to so much effort, the stage design was brilliant, the characters all looked the part and they acted out the whole show from start to finish. What really blew me away was the quality of the singing and acting. I really wasn’t expecting it to be so good. They sang all the old favourites and all the children really seemed to enjoy it. Honestly it was so amazing. Mother Gothel sounded just like the real thing and Rapunzel was absolutely charming!

It was really nice because the show was super relaxed so perfect for the little ones. All the children could sit on the floor at the front if they wanted and parents could sit on the chairs behind. It was very interactive so the children were encouraged to get up and dance and join in the fun! At the end of the show, all the children had the opportunity for a photo with the cast. Eden was so pleased to meet them all!

Tickets were £10 a head and in my opinion such good value, worth every penny. All the children were dressed up in their Rapunzel themed costumes and all had the best time.

We loved it so much we booked up to see their second show Beauty & the beast as soon as tickets were released.

Beauty & The Beast

This was another amazing show with more characters and another great stage design. It was really very clever how they pulled it all together and made the film come to life.

Belle was wonderful of course and Gaston had us all laughing our heads off. Quite a few of the children heckled him and he responded so brilliantly in character. Again this show did not disappoint with such good quality singing and acting. The kids had lots of fun, they loved getting all dressed up and dancing along to the songs. I think they felt every bit the princess! I even went the extra mile and made Eden’s Belle dress! I’ll be doing a blogpost soon with instructions on how to make your own princess tutu dress.

Songbird Theatre Company

Since then ‘The Princess and the Party’ have now become The Songbird Theatre Company focussing on producing shows rather than Princess parties. This is great news, especially as they will be repeating the Rapunzel performance again this summer in a bigger and better venue. This can only make it even better than it already was. Still at just £10 a ticket, it is brilliant value! I’d really recommend this for a fun afternoon with the kids or adults!!! Perfect for a child’s first theatre performance or simply to feel like a princess for the day!

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