10 reasons to love Ikea.

Hey readers,

Did I ever tell you that I love Ikea....No? Well, let me tell you why!

1. First off to love Ikea you will need an Ikea family card as it allows you to have items at a reduced rate, result.

2. With the Ikea family card you can get free coffee or tea during the week, Monday - Friday. I like this as it gives me the motivation to leave home when I am skint. Going to the Ikea cafe I can drink my tea whilst looking out of the window at the view of the city, which I find rather relaxing.

3. If a drink isn't enough to wet your appetite then having breakfast for £1.75 (need Ikea family card again) will definitely cheer you up. Especially on these dark and drizzly days.

4. I know some people don't like looking around Ikea. I really like looking at the different rooms, I find it rather refreshing to see a different way to lay out items.

5. As parents entertaining children can be expensive, even going to the cinema on a Saturday costs extraordinary amounts. That is why if something is free I celebrate it and faithful Ikea does not let you down in regards to free stuff. Ikea regularly has free kids days where you can do some craft. Near Christmas, they have free Santa to make your kids beyond happy.

6. Let’s not forget the dream that is a free soft play area called Smalland for kids, whoop for parents to shop in peace. It has everything in there for your little ones to get excited about, from ball bits, loads of toys, Kids film played in the background and even a build den. Not to mention it is free for a whole HOUR plus if you have the Ikea family card you can get an extra 30 minutes.

7. If you are looking to buy something and need to discuss details with staff in the area of enquiries there are kid’s activity stations to keep little ones amused.  I also like the fact that the toilets have small toilets and have hop ups for little ones. These small little details make all the difference in your shopping experience when you have a child with you as well. There are free pencils and paper tape you can get in Ikea. This is great fun to take around Ikea if you want to entertain your child. Who doesn't love free stuff?

8. The best bit about Ikea? Free WiFi of course :p

9. Let's not forget the lovely scrumptious iconic Swedish meatballs that everyone loves from Ikea. There is something about meatballs in the sauce that just fills your heart with joy when you go into the restaurant.

10. If restaurant food doesn't tickle your pickle you can cheap chips and a hot dog for under a couple of quid, great way of taking your kids out for a treat. You can even get ice cream for 50p, so super budget friendly.

Overall, going to Ikea is awesome for a cheap day out and it is inside so you can stay try too, dream come true for parents.

Cheers for reading X

Inflata Nation Theme Park Birmingham Review

Hey readers,

We were lucky enough to test out Inflata Nation in Birmingham, of course, I said yes because I know that my boys would love it.

So, what is Inflata Nation Theme Park?

Inflata nation theme park is a family day out attraction and is indoors. It comprises of inflatable activities in a huge indoor arena - therefore doesn't matter what the whether anyone can bounce and have fun. At the location, there are many activities for any age or size to enjoy.

Attractions.

Inflata Wreck - Not for the faint-hearted, our multi-person giant inflatable wrecking ball game.

Inflata Grab - Stretch that bungee cord to see how many balls you can collect. A real-life multi-person human version of Hungry Hippos.

Inflata Duo - A giant dual lane drop slide, that you can enjoy with friends.

Inflata Tots - Only for our under 4’s, a dedicated arena with lots of fun features, including slide & ball pool.

Inflata Drop - Try this jaw-dropping inflatable slide and land in a giant ball pool.

Inflata Wall - Take on the wall and you'll be scaling our giant inflatable climbing wall, on your own or with friends.

Inflata Race - Who will be the first to complete the two-lane assault course?

Inflata Bubbles - A large extra bouncy ‘bubble’ area, when all you want to do is a bounce.

Inflata Bash - Air filled inflatable pillars that you can bash around.

Inflata Duel -  A wibbly wobbly gladiator duel platform. Will you win the dual or take a tumble onto the giant airbag below?

However, if you want to sit back and just watch your children play then there is the cafe offering homemade food and drinks. There is also stairs and more seating and it overlooks over the whole arena.  Let's not forgot to mention there is free WIFI, whoop!

The inflata nation theme park is currently open at Birmingham, Manchester, Cheshire, Beverley and Glasgow.

Getting tickets to Inflata nation is easy to navigate on the website and also get confirmation booking - where you can print off your receipts. Also, bear in mind that you have to sign a weaver - now you can print the form off and sign it (we did this to save time) or you can fill in the paperwork at the premises.

Once you have handed over the tickets to the front desk on the right-hand side when you get into the doors. You will have a wristband to say you have paid and each one of you gets one.

Then you have to go down a hall on the right where you watch the video on the things you can and not do such as no flips between the balls.

The very short safety video is permanently running so even if you are, let's say seven minutes late then you only lose seven minutes play, unlike other similar venues that only play their safety videos every half an hour.

Once you have done that there is a shoe rack where you can store your shoes or alternatively there are lockers which require a pound. There is also electronic ones that you can pay by your bank. However, I used the pound coin ones so not entirely sure how the electronic lockers work.

It is important to make sure that children and adults were long sleeved tops, trousers and socks when entering the arena.

The sessions last for an hour however you can add time if you want to.

Cost.

Under 4's - £5.95 (1hr) / +1hr - £3.

Age 4-15 - £9.95 (1hr) - +1hr - £7.

Adult - £9.95 (1hr) - +1hr - £7.

There are also exercise classes, disability sessions and birthday parties - check out the website to find out more information.

Inflata Nation is open 364 days a year (except for Christmas Day).

Address.

The address is;

Unit E,

Stechford Retail Park,

Flaxley Pkwy,

Birmingham,

B33 9AN.

Opening times.

Monday - Thursday: 12 pm – 8 pm

Friday: 12 pm -9 pm

Saturday: 9 am – 9 pm

Sunday: 10 am – 8 pm

During school holiday periods, we are open from 10 am Monday – Sunday!

It can get very busy so probably best to book tickets online beforehand so you won't get disappointed.

Overall.

It was a really enjoyable experience for the whole family to enjoy together on a day out. I thought one hour was adequate time to enjoy as both my boys started to get tired at the end and very sweaty.

The staff were really friendly and helpful. the place felt safe and secure. The tables and toilet area were clean.

The rooms were bright and the decor I thought was fun and playful.

Overall a great experience  - 10/10 :)

Here is a video below so you can get a feel of the place.

Cheers for reading. X

This is an advertorial feature - I was gifted tickets for me and my family to go to Inflata Nation in Birmingham in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

Review of Legoland Discovery Centre Birmingham.

Hey readers,

The other day we went on a family day out to Legoland discovery centre in Birmingham.

The attraction is located.

LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Birmingham will be based at Arena Birmingham (opposite The National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham).

King Edwards Rd, Birmingham B1 2AA

Opening times.

Weekends: 10am - 7pm (last admission to the attraction at 5pm).

Weekdays: 10am - 5pm (Last admission to the attraction at 3pm).

Cost of attraction.

£15 pp online or £20 pp pay at the desk.

After you sort out tickets at the reception desk you then go into the area near the lift, you will then get photos which are put onto a Lego background which when you go further into the centre you have the option to buy them if you want to.

Kingdom Quest.

Next, you go into the lift and down a level where you begin the fun. The first thing to do if you want to the ride where you go on a boat around an area where you have to play guns where you can hit targets to win points. This was really fun and we all really enjoyed taken part in that. The ride last for approximately five minutes.

Miniland.

Once you follow down the aisle and then you enter another room which is amazing lego build display covering all the Iconic Birmingham buildings such as The Bull Ring, Cadbury's world and Aston Villa football stadium to name a few. There are also interactive sections where you can spin the wheel and race the boats down the canal.

We went at Christmas time and we had a sheet where we had to find x amount of elves and all the different reindeers dotted about the room - that was good fun to go hunting for them.

The Ultimate Lego Playground.

After exploring that room we moved on to the next room which is the main activity hub. There is a section on the left and focuses on the Lego friend characters with the female friends dotted about the section. There were sections where you can build at the table your own creations or add onto other peoples work that has been left behind.

Of course, no great child attraction would be complete with the soft play which is based on Lego city with the theme of the construction, fire and police centre. Lots of soft padded floor to run around, climb and slide down the slide.

There is a bigger section between the soft play and Lego friends with loads of bricks to make your own creations.

There is an area in the room next to the soft play that has lockers where you can store your items (cost £1) to lock it up. Also, a place where you can leave your pushchairs.

4D cinema.

There is also the 4D cinema with a Lego film based and there are water, air, wind, snow and the feeling of figures coming out of the screen all good fun if you like to feel the experience.

Duplo farm.

There is a section for toddlers to freely play without the fear of them bumping to older children. There are bigger blocks for smaller hands (Duplo), a slide, and a small section where the child can climb and go down a slide safely. There is a big friendly cow that they can sit on and play with.

At the back of the room is another ride where you peddle to make it go up and down - which is a great thrilling ride.

There is also a section where you can build your own lego cars and test them out on the lego tracks with slops that make them go down fast.

There is a table with bricks where you can build buildings and test them out on the wobble board - where you press the button to make the square of land wobble.

Cafe.

There is a cafe in the activity centre area where you can buy cold drinks and Costa hot drinks such as hot chocolate and coffee. There is also lunch sandwich meals if you wish.

There are also toilets in the area to access plus disabled toilets and baby changing section.

Overall.

I was surprised at how long we stayed here - there was plenty to see in different formats. My 5 and 7 year old really enjoyed it especially the mini land and the interaction element.

Of course, they loved running around together in the soft play and also experimenting with the bricks to come up with their own creations. In actual fact, my eldest took part in the festive build to come up with your own design which was a Santa sleigh and won which my eldest was so proud about and he won the reindeer set as a price.

The staff were friendly and helpful. The places were in top form, clean and plenty of bins which I think is a good thing and doesn't make the place look messy.

I definitely recommend it for any child who likes bricks and likes to explore and create.

Cheers of reading X