An Alternative to Hallowe'en

In a follow up to my Trick or Treat post here's what we actually did!


I had every intention of taking the children for their first ever trick or treating (despite the fact I've never been a fan!). However I decided instead to take up my church's offer of a Bright Lights party for primary aged children. It was a great way of avoiding having the entire neighbourhood knocking on your door whilst the kids have fun.


With Hallowe'en being an overtly pagan festival it's also a way of keeping to our Christian principles and celebrating All Saints Eve to remember those who have gone before. So as well as fun and games, food and fireworks there was a Christian message. Not sure how much my two children took in of this - although my daughter at 7 was upset she couldn't dress as a witch or devil for the party!

Saturday Review: Moes Grill, K Village

The only full restaurant at K Village, the management of Moes Grill are obviously trying to attract local residents to supplement the tourists who come in by coach to take advantage of all the discount shops available in the newly opened complex.


Today there was a well publicised event to attract in parents and their children. We were tempted in by offers of all sorts of freebies: food tasting, bouncy castle and face painting. At the end of half term this was very tempting with over stretched purses and bored children. My kids were excited by the thought of "paint face" and bouncy castle. I was interested in the free food for a hungry family! We duly drove up to the car park at 3PM to check out what was on offer.


A minor hiccup occurred as we arrived just as the car park barrier had a funny 5 minutes and initially refused to issue tickets causing a huge tail back. The car park is a work in progress and having only been open a couple of months is obviously experiencing teething problems! When we finally parked up my kids rushed straight upstairs to the face painting area outside the restaurant. 

Trick or Treat?

Do you find the thought of children knocking on your door on the 31st of October a pleasure or a frightening thought?

I have been known to either go elsewhere on the night or turn off all the lights and pretend I'm not in!


On my estate we have been issued with a poster we can put up in our window if we are willing to receive door knockers. Advice has been issued warning youngsters that throwing flour and water at houses is potentially a criminal offence.

A Family Hike up Gowbarrow and Aira Force

With suitably attired children (walking boots, waterproofs and lots of layers), a mum who knows the route and an aunt to drive us we headed up to Aira Force at the edge of Ullswater. We were carrying a picnic and bribes snacks in our rucksacks. My 3 year old chose to do the full route which is approximately 3.5 miles and about the limit he can do at the moment. For a detailed route check here. 

The walk is considered moderate hence the need for proper footwear. At times the path was extremely boggy with wet rocks to scramble over and small streams to cross. My 7 year old found these easy to cope with but the 3 year old struggled at some points and was a lot slower than her. They both needed an emergency snack about half way up the fell. We were taking the slightly more circuitous but child friendly route and its quicker to take a more direct route.

Long Distance Train Travel with Kids

For a change this last weekend I decided to try out travelling back down south on the train instead of driving. I do enjoy driving but it can take all day with stops to do a 250 mile drive and this can be tiring for all of us especially me! My children do have DVD players they can take in the car to entertain them whatever scare stories the Daily Mail may publish. There is no way I can concentrate on driving and trying to entertain 2 young children and referee fights!


Armed with a Family and Friends Railcard I advanced booked our return tickets and reserved us a table and three seats (as my nearly 4 year old is a bit big to sit on my knee I purchased him a ticket even though he could have travelled for nothing without a seat). Virgin gives options of quiet or normal carriages and asks whether you want a power socket. I obviously didn't choose a quiet carriage and opted for the power socket for charging my mobile phone!