How to Wow your Kids on Holiday

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Holidays in the New Forest with kids in tow offers great opportunities to bond and have loads of fun. There are so many beautiful family-friendly cottages to rent, that parents need never be stressed about being shoe-horned into two rooms of a hotel family suite. In your own cottage, the kids can spread out and enjoy the whole house and garden to run around and let off steam.

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Making memories is what the school holidays are all about. If you’re running out of ideas what to do next, take a little time to plan the week ahead and collate a repertoire of boredom busters that you and the children can look forward to. Not everything has to cost money, especially with the New Forest National Park and an amazing shoreline as your playground, but favourite attractions would be wise to include as a super treat. It is the holidays after all!

Foresty Fun

Get out into the forest armed with coffee-stained lining paper, colouring pencils and plenty of imagination. Ask the kids to draw a fantasy map of where they think buried treasure from bygone years of smuggling could be. Bring along their favourite soft toy, drinks and cakes for a Teddy Bears picnic and find a stream to play pooh sticks.

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New Forest Attractions that Kids Love

Earn momentous brownie points and take the children to Paultons Park – Home of Peppa Pig World, voted the UK’s #1 Theme Park. Besides Peppa and friends, peek at the dinosaurs in the Jurassic themed The Lost Kingdom. There are rides galore, animals, entertainers and an indoor play zone. If you think it’ll be too much to do in one day, rent a cottage close to Paultons Park and visit over two days. Another hit for Children is Longdown Activity Farm, a paradise for youngsters who’d love to bottle feed farmyard animals. Take a look around the Encounter Barn and let them bounce about in the super indoor and outdoor play areas.

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Investigate the New Forest’s Funky Names

Take a checklist with you for a day exploring the National Park’s unusual place names. Head to Pig Bush car park for a photoshoot by the signpost before heading off to Tip Toe for a gorgeous walk surrounded by wildlife and a paddle in the stream at the bottom of the hill. Stop for lunch at Holmsley Tea Rooms and help the children find Anthony’s Bee Bottom, a purple heather-laden plain close by. Finally, look for Little Stubby Hat which, in this instance, is a little section of woodland covered in holly which takes the shape of a hat. You’ll find them in areas surrounded by oak and silver birch trees. Whilst you’re out and about, take your phone and have a go at Geocaching. Sign up for free before you leave home and enter your postcode to find geocaches near where you’ll be. It’s like a digital treasure hunt and brilliant fun for all the family.

Make a Film

Sit down with the children and maybe some friends and draw a storyboard for a film – How about Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Sleeping Beauty? Then head out to the forest, local park or beach with props and dressing up clothes and film them on your phone. You could always use toys if there aren’t any budding actors in the group. There are plenty of easy apps to help you edit video clips into a short film when you get home. You’ll treasure the film as a keepsake for many years to come – especially at weddings and birthdays!

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Go Fruit Picking….and Tasting

The New Forest has a handful of scrumptious Pick Your Own Fruit Farms. Turn up with the kids in tow and head out with empty tubs to fill with plump juicy berries. Not many will be able to resist trying a few (or more) – so keep a lookout for sticky chins and big smiles. The farms usually have shops for more fruits, vegetables and supplies. Some even have adventure playgrounds, tea shops with homemade cakes and live bands playing so you can make it a full afternoon out and bring home something nice for tea. Try Goodall’s Strawberry Farm, Dan Tanner’s Cat and Fiddle Farm and Sopley Farm.

Make a Picture Box From Beach Combing Finds

The coastline surrounding the New Forest has more to see and do than just sunny days playing on the beach. Grab a bucket and comb the shoreline for fossils, mermaids purses, fool’s gold, coloured pebbles and pretty shells. Gather them up and take them home to glue into a deep frame or picture boxes. Maybe add a photo or two to as a further memory of your day.

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Take a look at our family-friendly cottages in the New Forest here.