Treats for teenies « angels & urchins blog

Posts Tagged ‘Treats for teenies’

Crumbs, it’s the Beverley Hills Bakery

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Before...

The parent blog world talks a lot about cake. Eating it, baking it, buying it, dreaming about it, discussing it, debating the relative merits of. Fair enough. I love a good bake myself, but what’s arguably even nicer than donning the oven gloves yourself is being given homebaked treats. And, hurrah, last week that was just what happened.

As a ‘congrats’ for having baby four, a very generous and adorable friend sent a basket of treats from London’s Beverley Hills Bakery. As a present for a new mum, it’s genius. And for a new mum who already has children, it’s even better. New babe gets a contented mother, siblings get to pig out on baked goods that don’t contain e-numbers, hydrogenated fats, artificial anything, or any other nasties. The stuff is so homemade that it only lasts a couple of days without going off. But it can be frozen. So we’ve eaten lemon-iced cupcakes, squidgy brownies, oatmeal cookies, blueberry muffins and mini carrot cakes, and still have a couple of Tupperware containers crammed with goodies in the freezer. Come round, and I might even share them.

...and half-way through

Tags: Food for thought, Treats for mum, Treats for teenies, Weekly review
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Upsy Daisy Backstage – Night Garden Live

Monday, August 16th, 2010

For four children aged five and under, the cast of In the Night Garden is about as big as it gets in the infant A-lister world. But it’s not just our family who are keen. Upsy Daisy and co have a seriously A-list following of their own, as we discovered when we went backstage at their new show, In the Night Garden Live at the Meridian Gardens at the O2 (you can also catch the show in Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool, and read about it in our REVIEW section). Billie Piper, Lawrence Fox, Samantha Morton and John Simpson were just some of the celebs who got to ‘agga pang’ with Upsy Daisy, Iggle Piggle and all the gang. It was quite an eye opener of a morning, let me tell you.

A Billie Piper sandwich

All that kissing between Upsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle. It’s not just for the stage, if you know what I’m saying… Those two are SERIOUSLY good friends. Upsy Daisy is also as high maintenance as you’d expect from someone whose only vocabulary is her own name. At one point the crew were looking worried that the show wouldn’t go on because La Diva Daisy had a wobble about a hair extension that wasn’t quite the right shade of crushed raspberry. Iggle did all he could to assure her that she still looked beautiful, but it took reinforcements in the shape of the same hairdresser who’d sorted out The Spice Girls and Beyonce, during their O2 tenures, before Daisy would consent to treading the boards.

As a family, we’ve been worried for some time about the whereabouts of the Wottingers. Have you noticed that the little blue fellas rarely make a TV appearance, while their red friends the Pontipines seem to be permanently hogging the limelight? True to trend, the Pontipines were dashing around the Green Room, helping each other with their lines (I’m talking words here, this is a family show) but still no Wottingers. Hopes were raised when we saw the semi the Wottingers share with the Pontipines on stage. Half way through the show, the house door was opened and all ten of the Pontipines were inside. But shock, horror, they’d taken over both sides of the semi. Someone should check their credit card statements for quicklime and cement.

Makka Pakka is a sweetheart. Truly. Bit compulsive obsessive with all that washing malarkey. And don’t tell the health & safety brigade, but he uses the same sponge to wash his bicycle as his friend’s faces. And I didn’t once see him rinse out his sponge. First night nerves? Give the sponge the once over when you watch the show and see what you think.

As for the Haahoos. They really are just a bunch of airheads, I couldn’t get a sensible word out of any of them.

Look bottom left. The tiny dot is a small boy trying to befriend a Haahoo

But on to the show. Which is completely brilliant. Read the review HERE and go and see it. Your children will love you even more for taking them. Isn’t that a pip?

Tags: Treats for teenies, Weekly review
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Kids Week saves rainy London

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Grrrr. No sooner do the summer holidays begin in earnest, than the heavens open. Do the fates not know how difficult it is to keep children occupied when they can’t scamper around London’s green and pleasant parks and commons? We’re currently playing balloon volleyball in the sitting room, with an Ikea soft toy dragon as the dividing line. This should hold them off for at least half an hour. I’ve snuck off to the computer to book some alternative, indoor fun for them next week in form of tickets to the annual West End theatre’s Kids Week. It runs from 13 August to 3 September (so quite a lot longer than a week), and offers a free child place with every full paying adult. There’s something for everyone, from Room on the Broom for the under-fives, to The Railway Children for the slightly older mob, to grown-up shows, including Mamma Mia and Avenue Q, for tweens and teens who consider themselves far older than you are. You can also book free activities to go with the shows, from classes making puppets, to drama workshops at the Old Vic and Royal Court Theatres. What luvvie treats.

There’s a section dedicated to theatres at angels & urchins’ What’s On – go and visit. And if you fancy writing a review of anything you see this summer, get in touch via the comments section, below.

And if you have any ideas for games that might just wear them out, PLEASE let me know! Balloon volleyball might just end with a bang, and then we’ll be lost…

Tags: Practical but fabulous, Treats for teenies
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Ultimate dairy-free chocolate cake

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Family 013

It was recently the youngest’s birthday, and the little guy has a dairy intolerance. He also has a massive love of cake and chocolate. So I made him my mother’s oil- rather than butter-based sponge failsafe. It’s a great recipe, easy to whip together, and quantities can be doubled/tripled/whatevered, depending on how many you’ve got to cater for. Because the recipe contains beaten egg white the cake’s consistency is lovely and fluffy – sandwich it with raspberries and a rich ganache, and it’s perfect for a dinner party. But older sons had requested a pirate ship design, so that’s what doting mummy made (I know it looks a bit like a sledge…).

Here’s the recipe (sorry it’s all in cup form, but that’s how it was handed on to me). I’m afraid I smothered the cake in butter icing, but I also made a cocoa, icing sugar and water version for the birthday boy. He ate about three helpings, and was still singing merrily in his cot gone 9pm.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Sponge Cake

1 cup plain flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3tsp baking powder
3tblsp cocoa
1/3 cup oil (anything that isn’t too strong tasting, sunflower is fine)
1/2 cup hot, not boiling, water
3 eggs, SEPARATED

METHOD
Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT egg whites
Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into the mixture
Put mixture in two Victoria sponge tins, or an rectangular baking tin, and bake for 20 minutes at 200C

Also makes cupcakes, but reduce baking time by around five minutes.

Tags: Food for thought, Practical but fabulous, Treats for mum, Treats for teenies
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WIN a family surfing holiday

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Would you like to be beside the seaside?

Summer has arrived, the waves are looking frisky, and angels & urchins is offering the chance to win a three-night break to the north coast of Cornwall. The Hotel & Extreme Academy’s Learn to Surf break will teach a family of four at Watergate Bay’s Extreme Academy. You’ll also be kitted out with the latest wetsuits, courtesy of Gul.

With its mix of barefoot comfort and beachside chic, The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay is a popular spot. It recently expanded, adding 12 new family coastal rooms. The kids will love Watergate Bay’s two miles of golden sand with rock pools to fish in and caves to explore. What’s more, The Hotel’s Ofsted registered Kids’ Zone is available for little ones to get stuck in with any number of activities including sandcastle building and treasure hunts.

The prize includes three nights b&b for a family of four, wet suit hire and two half-day surf lessons, plus brand new wetsuits. You can take your holiday (subject to availability) any time before the end of June 2011.

For your chance to win, head over to angels & urchins’ competition section by clicking here.

Tags: Treats for mum, Treats for teenies
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WIN a family ticket to the Port Eliot Festival

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

"I'd like to stay tonight", Napoleon (might have) said

We’d like to win this. Gorgeous countryside, tipis, and chance to dress up like Kate Moss in boho mode and eat gourmet food all day and night. It’s the Port Eliot Festival (23-25 July), offering an eclectic mix of authors, fashion designers and musicians, held in the grounds of a Cornish estate described by Napoleon as, ‘the ‘most beautiful in England’. Jarvis Cocker, Margaret Drabble and Grayson Perry feature in the impressively cool line-up, fuelled by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s mobile canteen and lulled by yoga from Denise Christian. There are acres for children to run around in, tipis to hide in, and the legendary House of Fairy Tales to get involved in. Here they can explore the world of myth and legend through play, with a programme of workshops and performances by characters appearing from a vast array of magical, surreal and mythical tales.

Whizz on over to our competition section by clicking here for your chance to win. The prize includes a ticket for an entire long weekend, arriving from 12am on Thursday 22 July. This means you’ll get access to the best camping spots and get into the festival mood while everyone else is still on the motorway.

Tags: Treats for mum, Treats for teenies
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Every little girl’s dream shoes

Monday, June 28th, 2010

I do love a good pair of shoes, but the ones I’m getting the most compliments on at the moment aren’t even on my shoe rack. They exist, in my house anyway, only in postcard form, stuck on a pinboard in my study. ‘Adorable’, ‘Ooh, where are those from’ and ‘Cute!’ are just some of the comments they’ve received. The pair in question are butterfly sandals from Papillon, a gorgeous children’s shoe company which recently opened a new, flagship store on London’s Marylebone Lane.

Alas, I didn’t even make it to the opening party. But I know a woman who did, the shoe-crazy, and very chic, managing director of silk linen bedding company Gingerlily (check out Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow wearing nothing but a Gingerlily sheet on recent covers of GQ), who took along her three-year-old daughter.

Talk about putting your best foot forward. The opening of Papillon’s flagship store was a seriously glamorous event. We were treated to cupcakes galore, face painting, and the sight of London’s most yummy mummies oohing over teeny footwear. There were even live chicks to cluck over. Thank goodness I’d thought to change out of my gym kit – this was a seriously dressed-up event, with perfectly painted nails peeping out of Jimmy Choos, and tapping on Anya Hindmarch handbags (well, one of Papillon’s co-founders is the handbag designer’s sister). Not to mention a batallion of six-year-olds skipping around in fairy outfits and Caramel cashmere.

Papillon Cupcakes

The shoes are cute as could be – Mary-Janes, ballerina flats in metallics, velvets and suede, and party shoes with traditional button fastenings. Needless to say, my three-year-old was in heaven, even before she was given a goody bag containing marshmallows and fruit jelly sweets (naturally flavoured, with no fake colouring, naturally).

Face Painting

These are shoes that will keep mums as happy as daughters – and as many of the designs go up to a size 40, you can match your look to your daughter’s). There’s nothing garish about the designs, and they’re in colours that look pretty as sugared almonds and would appeal to even the most candyfloss obsessed little princess. The boys’ range is just as traditional; classic loafers, super-soft lace-ups and – fab for mothers with boys and girls – unisex trainers in muted colours. And all the styles are designed to care for little feet so that children won’t hit their teens blighted with bunions.

Check it out the next time you’re on a shopping trip – I might well be there, trying to fit into the butterfly sandals. 98 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2QA (020 7486 5530).

Tags: Practical but fabulous, Treats for teenies, Weekly review
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Phizzwhizzing: Puffin’s 70 best-ever books

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Puffin Birthday

Party time. To mark its 70th anniversary, Puffin, the world’s leading children’s publisher, has drawn up a list of the 70 best-ever books for children – scroll to the bottom of the page to see the list in full. And for your chance to win their new complete set of Pocket Money books, click here.

The lists showcase the best Puffin books of all time, from babies through to teens, and form a child’s essential reading library. The 70 titles are split into categories ranging from the Best Mischief and Mayhem, Weird and Wonderful, Sugar and Spice to the Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do, Giggles, Books to Cuddle-Up With, and even the Best Alternatives to Twilight.

The top 70 books include classics such as Watership Down and Charlotte’s Web (Best Weepies), The Borrowers (Best Friends and Family), Alice in Wonderland (Best Weird and Wonderful) and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Best War and Conflict).

It’s a fab list, containing scores most of us are probably now reading for the second time – anything you’d add? And what’s almost as astonishing at the thought of a best friend reaching the ripe old age of 70 are the stories that go with the stories. One copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar sells every 30 seconds. Penguin’s most popular author, male, female, adult or child, is Roald Dahl. He’s been given an entire category to himself: Best Phizzwhizzers.

To celebrate the 70th birthday, angels & urchins is running a competition to win a complete set of Puffin’s Pocket Money Books. Click here, answer a simple question, and the set could be yours. Good luck!

Puffin Pocket Money Book

THE PUFFIN TOP 70 IN FULL

The Best Mischief and Mayhem
The Twits by Roald Dahl
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

The Best Weepies
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Truth about Leo by David Yelland
Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Best to Cuddle-Up With
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward
Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

The Best Blood and Guts
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Being by Kevin Brooks
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae & Russell Ayto
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Best Heroes
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Best Characters
Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child
Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski
Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird & Helen Craig
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs

The Best Sugar and Spice
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland

The Best Animals
Spy Dog by Andrew Cope
The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Lionboy by Zizou Corder

The Best Friends and Family
Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

The Best Phizzwhizzers
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

The Best War and Conflict
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden

The Best BEST BEST BEST!
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Junk by Melvin Burgess

The Best Fantasy and Adventure
TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow
Dot Robot by Jason Bradbury
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

The Best Weird and Wonderful
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Five Children and It by E Nesbitt
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

The Best Rhymes and Verse
Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
Michael Rosen’s A-Z The best children’s poetry from Agard to Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah
Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough

The Best Alternatives to Twilight
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Tags: Treats for teenies
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She’s created a monster

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

I love doing crafts with the children, but so few are geared up for boys. I have three sons, and have painted pirate treasure chests, sponged spaceships on to paper, and decorated plastic Easter eggs for various bonnets. All were fun, but I suspect they’d love a Donna Wilson Make Your Own Monster Kit even more. They cost £15 at Supra, and our friends at Parklife.org, a life-enhancing blog for Kensal Rise and Queen’s Park, created this one.

Supra Monster Fish

Here’s how they did it.

While fighting the urges to get Folk cardigans and toddler-sized Converse at Supra on Chamberlayne Road, we stumbled across these packs, which are perfect as rainy-day projects for gifts for kids aged 3+. Donna, whose cushions at Supra are another temptation, has cunningly converted offcuts from her hip homewares into these ingredients for a fun mini monster… Basically, you get to play Dr Frankenstein, but with slightly more child-friendly results.

Each cool arts-and-crafts kit contains one pre-stitched unique monster shape, stuffing, felt and material strips, and easy-to-follow four-step instructions (without a word in Swedish – phew) on how to magic your one-of-a-kind cuddly creature. How you interpret these bits and bobs is up to you – just have some PVA glue or a needle and thread at the ready.

For a feel-good 2010 angle, there’s not only the promise of some creative itch-scratching but some potential ace parent/child bonding time. Beats ready-made toys any day.

Supra 71 Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London NW10. And if you’re on Twitter, follow Park Life at Twitter.com/ParkLifeBlog.

Tags: Practical but fabulous, Treats for teenies
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Is the future ORANGE?

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

How very confusing our political landscape has become. I’d never bought into the idea of a hung parliament, not least because I didn’t think it would ever happen, rather like the Nick Clegg surge. But at the end of last week, it looked as though the UK might turn from red to blue. The next day, a merger seemed likely between blue and yellow. And then last night Gordon announced that he wouldn’t claim squatter’s rights in Downing Street, a move that paved the way for punchier relations between red and yellow.

Which means the UK outlook is now becoming distinctly orange. At least, until the end of this week, when we’ll probably ask Barack Obama to send some of his leftover senators to sort things out.

As it turns out, orange is having something of a moment. Last summer a tangerine hue was paraded up and down the world’s catwalks. Admittedly, very little of it was wearable. However, this summer, the colour has morphed into something that’s actually quite cheery, and could just be the antidote to winter blues, economic gloom and a forthcoming summer of political unrest.

If you need convincing, here’s some distinctively Robinson’s squash-coloured items currently available on a high street or web page near you.

Feeling brave? Even without its jewel embellishment you’ll stand out poolside in this M&S bikini, £31.50. Just don’t overdo the fake tan.

These MyaBlue Reef Sandals are going to look great with a turquoise manicure (I know, sounds a bit yuk, but apparently will be the colour of the season on well-dressed toes).

I might treat a godchild to this cute little goldfish tote, £18 at Boden. Large enough for a beach or park-worth of necessities, but not so enormous it will weigh them down.

Wilbur & Gussie clutchbags make fabulous arm candy. We love the orange one which has a huge clip in the shape of a turtle. Great for weddings, and just the right colour for sultry holiday evenings. £134.95 at The Handpicked Collection.

The Oliver Bonas Kate Dress, £35, is perfect for this transition season. Warm it up with opaque tights, without it’ll go strong all summer.

The Dorchester Collection’s new hotel Coworth Park , Ascot, won’t be open till September. It promises a huge spa, kids’ club, 240 acres to run around in and a carbon-neutral stance (reed beds for drainage, wood chip heating). All hotels in the collection have their own distinctive colour, and Coworth’s is, guess what? Orange. Wonder if they’ll give us a night to give away – watch this space!

Tags: Practical but fabulous, Treats for mum, Treats for teenies
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