Summer is here and the kids are on their summer holidays! So, we’ve put together some ideas and handy ways to keep the kids entertained …

A trip to see Wicked
What better way to treat the kids this summer than an afternoon at London’s Victoria Apollo where you can see the award-winning musical ‘Wicked’, now in its sixth spellbinding year. Take the whole family on an adventure to the enchanting land of Oz where you will discover the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, ‘Wicked’ tells the story of two young sorceresses who meet at Shiz University and form an unlikely friendship; the lovely Glindaand the green outcast Elphaba. Once the best of friends, their lives take very different paths when the meet the Wizard of Oz as Glindabecomes Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. With spellbinding songs and spectacular effects, ‘Wicked’ is a musical spectacular you and your family won’t want to miss! For more information, visit their Facebook page.

Teddy Bears Picnic
When you go down to the woods today… It may only be in your back garden but why not set up a fun picnic area for you, the kids and their friends (whether these are fellow play mates or in fact some teddy bear friends!). If the sun is shining, put some large picnic blankets out with some personalized name tags for all of the guests to make them feel special. You could even create some simple teddy bear ears for each child to make it a really authentic teddy bears picnic! And then tuck in to some delicious food and enjoy.

M&M’s World
Are you a lover of chocolate? And more specifically do you like M&Ms? Well, why not check out the huge M&M store in Leicester Square? This 35,000 square feet store selling M&Ms products and merchandise is the largest candy store in the world!

The Making of Harry Potter
A new attraction in London: the Warner Bros. studio tour of the biggest film franchise of all time. Venture to the home of ‘Harry Potter’at Leavesden Studios in North London and take a tour of the original sets and costumes. Go behind-the-scenes and let the kids see the world of their favourite wizard come to life and discover what secrets the tour promises to reveal.

The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London is full of interesting facts, dinosaur models and cavemen to keep the children entertained for hours. In the Kids Only section, there are plenty of fun activities to do in there including volcanic games, dinosaur quizzes, hair investigations! Not to mention the Natural History Museum is free to get into.

Baking in the kitchen
There are loads of simple recipes you can try out with your children. Why not try making chocolate crispy cakes by melting 200g of milk chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water with 25g of unsalted butter and leave until melted. Then simply add 75g of crispy rice cereal, mix and add to individual cake holders. Or you could go for the bar approach by adding the mixture to a shallow cake tin with greaseproof paper. Chill in the fridge for a few hours and serve, although you may want to cut up the mixture into individual bars if this is the style you’ve gone for. Simple! You can even decorate these for extra fun by adding marshmallows or icing on the top!

Kew Gardens
A magnificent World Heritage Site covering 300 acres with over 30,000 species of plants; plus the tropical Palm House, the Temperate House and the Princess of Wales conservatory. Families will enjoy the human-scale badger sett, the fish in the Marine Display aquarium and the Climbers and Creepers indoor play area. Plus, Kew’s latest attraction, the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, will be an instant hit. This is a path lined with examples of different timbers as it leads visitors below ground to the Rhizotron.

Build a den
Another activity that doesn’t cost any money but is extremely fun to do! Even the grownups will enjoy it. All you need is a large and light blanket or sheet and some cushions to create your little hideout in the house and let them pretend they’re in a tropical rainforest, a cave up in the mountains or somewhere similar. A large box is also a great idea for a cave – this is likely to entertain them for hours and if you’re feeling particularly brave, let them decorate the box so they can personalize their den!

Family Entertainment