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| Chilling out by the castle watching Kool and the Gang |
Some people may think we are crazy but even with a kid we LOVE festivals. Having taken Max to Camp Bestival last summer we can't wait to add more for him to experience. Taking a child to a festival can be stressful. We found on the first day we were pulling our hair out. But by the second we had got into a routine and were loving it. In fact festivals can be amazing when you take kids and they can enjoy it even more than you do. Here are a few top tips!
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| Max and Ariella, they knew each other from a few weeks old and we bumped into them just in time for Mr Tumble. |
- Take a buggy if your child is still using one. If younger then a sling is fabulous to carry them around in (Max hates them especially when it's hot) We also took some reins so that Max had a bit more freedom but didn't run away. We took an old buggy which we threw away at the end as we expected it to get trashed from pushing over the grass all day. We used it to put all the mats, bags and food on so that we weren't carrying it all. Alternatively then a wagon is amazing to use. We saw so many of them that were hired or bought from home filled with blankets, food and drinks for the kids to sit in, nap in and even see over those pesky adult's heads. Some amazing ones can be found here, here and here.
- Camp together. We found that Max slept a million times better when he was sleeping with us. He had his own blow up bed and blankets from home but felt reassured that he was within walking distance of giving us a cuddle if he woke up and didn't realise where he was. We were lucky that the festival we went to was a family orientated one so that the teens and party animals were camped far away from us. On the other hand it was early mornings all round. We also found that waking up early and heading down for a shower was perfect to wake us up.
- Plan your day. You won't be able to see all the adult things and Max certainly wasn't up for sitting quietly and watching some of the spoken word but we made the most of watching kids shows such as the Gruffalo (which is bloody fantastic - we watched it twice!) and Mr Tumble (Confused the kids far too much. Didn't stay in character and was pretty average to say the least!). Though having a wonderful partner I managed to catch some great things while Max was playing in the soft play with daddy such as Russell Kane (my favourite Russell - he was talking about his book. Read it!) and when Max napped we managed to catch some awesome things such as Henry Rollins (blew me away!) and Scroobius Pip. That's not to say that we didn't spend an awesome time dancing to all the music such as Rolf Harris and Rizzle Kicks!
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| The Gruffalo live. 100000% recommend. |
The best thing we learnt was to throw the routine out of the window and have an amazing time. It was one weekend and Max loved every moment and I wouldn't hesitate to take him again (when we have the funds)
Would you ever take your kids to a festival?
Whatta great post!!id love to take my daughter to a festival!How did u manage with nappies?Also,where did u store the wagon?!xx
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a wagon as we had the buggy but you could hire them for £40 for the whole weekend from a great trader there. We are tempted to buy one from Robert Dyas and pimp it up to look amazing for our next one. Nappy wise we took a whole pack (30 odd) and a couple of packs of wipes but because it was such a family orientated festival there was so many places to change your little one.
DeleteAbsolutely!!!
ReplyDeleteFestivals are fantastic places for kids - they will have experiences there that are hard to get anywhere else, such a rich playground of learning opportunities and fun to be had.
Not wanting to hijack your post, but if any of your readers are tempted by the idea of taking their kids to a festival but need a little extra advice and tips then www.FestivalKidz.com is a non-profit website written by parents dedicated to all things family-festival!
Hope to bump into you in a sunny festival field somewhere this summer?
Romany
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FestivalKidz.com - the Guide to Family Festivals
You may also like to read Naomi's guide to taking toddlers to a festival (she has 3 under 5's!): http://www.festivalkidz.com/essentials/baby/taking-toddlers-to-festivals/
ReplyDeleteNothing mad about taking kids to festivals. They are excellent places for them. Watching adults enjoy themselves and be silly - that's what it's all about.
ReplyDeleteX @afieldsomewhere