Congrats to all on making it through the first half term! Here we are facing down another week’s holiday with the kids and this one is jam packed with fun activities so I’ll do my best to list them out for you here:
Saturday 24th – Sunday 1st November
Various daily craft activities at Butterfly World, near St Albans including making hedgehog homes, bird feeders and pumpkin lanterns. For more info or to book, visit the website. If your child brought home the Primary Times magazine from school there is a half price voucher in there.
Pumpkin Festival at Willows Farm, London Colney. Free pumpkin for every child from the pumpkin patch and loads of seasonal activities as well as all the favourite animals and indoor and outdoor play. Willows Website.
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October
10.30am: How To Train Your Dragon 2 is this weekend’s Kids Club movie at Broadway Cinema. £1 per ticket.
Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 12-3pm: A weekend of Trees at Dot to Dot Gallery. £3 per child, the whole family can create beautiful artwork inspired by the magical golden apple tree.
Monday 26th – Tuesday 27th October
11am-4pm: Let’s Animate the Firebird at Standalone Farm. Children of all ages can help illustrator and animator Jane Glynn to animate the Firebird story. With backgrounds to make, characters to create and photos to take, the whole family can get involved in creating this stunning original animation. Included in the usual entry fee.
Monday 26th October
9.15-10.15am or 10.30-11.30am: The open gym sessions are back at Marriotts Gymnastics Club in Stevenage. These are great sessions for children from walking to 5 years, an adult must supervise and the children have to wear no jeans, belts, buckles, zips or jewellery. It’s £5 per child (non-walking children free) It is a drop-in session and first come, first served but now that they run two sessions there’s not normally a problem getting in.
10am-12.30pm or 2-4.30pm: Let’s Make Music at Dot to Dot Gallery. For ages 7+ with grade 2 in a musical instrument. A fantastic opportunuty to compose music together, bring or borrow an instrument and weave your favourite sounds into a magical new melody.
10.30-11.15am: Harpbeeps Baby Beeps – a magical, musical adventure for babies sitting to toddling with the Children’s Centres at St Mary’s Church Hall, Church Street, Baldock, SG7 5AE. £2 per child. Prebooking is possible for this event, please call your children’s centre to book.
11.30am-12.15pm: Harpbeeps Happy House – a magical, musical adventure for children under 5 with the Children’s Centres at St Mary’s Church Hall, Church Street, Baldock, SG7 5AE. £2 per child. Prebooking is possible for this event, please call your children’s centre to book.
11am: Free Halloween crafts at The Secret Garden, Hitchin. Sticking activity to create bat plates.
2pm: Spooky film and popcorn at The Secret Garden.
Tuesday 27th October
10.30-11.45am: Paint and play drop in session for 0-5s at Grange Scout Hut, Sparhawke, Letchworth, SG6 4PX. Explore paint in a range of activities with toys and a baby area. £1 donation.
11am: The Book of Life is today’s kids club film at Broadway Cinema. £1 per ticket.
11am: Free Halloween cake decorating at The Secret Garden.
11.30am-1pm: Kids Cook Harvest lunch club at Wilbury Hall, Bedford Road, Lgc. Suitable for school aged children 5+. Free session to make and eat soup, toffee apples, apple pie, drinks and apple pressing.
2pm: Spooky film and popcorn at The Secret Garden.
Wednesday 28th – Friday 30th October
11am-4pm: Pa-BOOM! Lantern Making Workshops at Standalone Farm. For children aged 3+ to transform a paper bag into a magical lantern. Free workshop included in the admission price. Children who make a lantern can be part of the lantern procession on Friday and Saturday. (See further on in this blog for details of this)
Wednesday 28th and Friday 30th October
6-8pm: Spooky Halloween Discos at Space 2 Play, Hitchin. Disco, party games and fancy dress competition. Tickets must be booked by calling 01462 422354.
Wednesday 28th October
9.15-10.15am or 10.30-11.30am: The open gym sessions are back at Marriotts Gymnastics Club in Stevenage. These are great sessions for children from walking to 5 years, an adult must supervise and the children have to wear no jeans, belts, buckles, zips or jewellery. It’s £5 per child (non-walking children free) It is a drop-in session and first come, first served but now that they run two sessions there’s not normally a problem getting in.
10.15-11.30am: Jackmans Spooky Stay and Play drop-in session for 0-5s at Jackmans Community Centre, Ivel Court, LGC, SG6 2NL. Toys, books, construction, soft play and craft activities with a spooky theme. £1 donation.
10.30am-2pm: Bats, cats and rats at the British Schools Museum in Hitchin. Drop in for fun make and play activities. £4 per child, advance booking recommended via the website.
11am: Free Ghouls and Ghosts colouring activities at The Secret Garden.
1.15-2pm: Story and rhyme time for under 1s at Lime Tree Children’s Centre. This session can be prebooked by calling your Children’s Centre.
2.15-3pm: Story and rhyme time for under 5s at Lime Tree Children’s Centre. This session can be prebooked by calling your Children’s Centre.
2pm: Spooky film and popcorn at The Secret Garden.
Thursday 29th October
10-11.30am: Just Babies drop in session at Chestnut Tree Children’s Centre for under 1s. Baby group with sensory play and rhyme time. £1 donation.
10.30-11.30am: Play Music Play drop in session for 0-5s at Icknield Scout Hall, Icknield Way, LGC, SG6 4AX. £1 per child, 50p per additional child.
11am: Halloween Mucky Pups at The Secret Garden. Find the bugs in the scary, squidgy jelly and slimy black and orange spaghetti.
11am: Shaun The Sheep is today’s kids club film at Broadway Cinema. £1 per ticket.
1.15-2pm or 2.15-3pm: Active Tots for children confidently walking at St Michael’s Church Hall, Broadway, LGC, SG6 3PQ. £2 per child. This session can be prebooked by calling your Children’s Centre.
2pm: Spooky film and popcorn at The Secret Garden.
Friday 30th – Saturday 31st October
Pa-BOOM! Fire Garden at Standalone Farm. Lantern procession at 6.30pm led by the children who made lanterns in the workshops earlier in the week and local schools. Then view the Fire Garden with its fiery pathways, flaming fireballs, burning metal sculptures and cascading foutiains of water glowing with fire. If you wish to view the fire garden at your leisure then general admission is from 8pm after the procession. The Greenway Cafe will be open all evening for refreshments. You will need to book tickets for this unique event at £6 per adult, £4 per child and under 2s free. See Standalone’s website to book.
4.15-6pm: Halloween Parties at Little Rascals, Hitchin. Disco, games, activities and build a bear. Tickets can be booked by calling 01462 440248.
Friday 30th October
10am-3pm: Garden Square Shopping Centre’s Creepy Cavern! Be transformed into gruesome ghouls and blood curdling beasts with fiendish face painters and devilish dress up crew! The monster mugshot booth will capture the results on polaroid for you to take home and uploaded to the facebook page for a chance to win £100!
10.30am-12.30pm or 1.30-3pm: Make and Take Cooking at Chestnut Tree Children’s Centre. Adult and child cookery session where you prepare tasty food together to take home and cook. Suitable for children over 2.5 years. £2 per child. This session can be prebooked by calling your Children’s Centre.
2pm: Free Trick or Treat activities at The Secret Garden. A Halloween hunt, apple bobbing, colouring scary masks and face painting. Also showing a spooky film and popcorn.
Saturday 31 st October – Sunday 1st November
10.30am: Penguins of Madagascar is his weekend’s kids club film at Broadway Cinema. £1 per ticket.
10.30am-4.30pm: Get Creative with the Fenner’s Artists, Digswell Arts Trust Fenners Building, 7 Openshaw Way, LGC, SG6 3EN. Free drop in sessions for all ages. Eight amazing artists will be sharing their skills and working with your family to create original artworks. Paint, draw, weave and sculpt with the Fenner’s Fellows. See the website for more info.
Saturday 31st October
11am-4pm: Let’s Tell Stories at Standalone Farm. Local storyteller Kathryn Holt will be telling the story of the Firebird and other magical tales. Including in the admission fee.
2-4pm: Spooky Saturday at the Howard Park & Gardens with the Junior Rangers. Loads of free family Halloween activities including arts, crafts and toffee apples! Mummy wrapping and pumpkin rodeo.
6-9pm: The Firebird Glows with ceramicist Debbie Bent at Digswell Arts Trust Fenner’s Building. Free drop in session for all ages to make you own clay firebird, wrap him in organic materials, tell him your secrets and cast him into the fire to watch him glow again.
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