• 15 Thomas & Friends crafts for kids - the gingerbread house
    Kids crafts - tutorial

    15 Thomas and Friends crafts for kids

    March 7, 2015 - By 

    Did you know that this year is the 70th anniversary of Thomas the Tank Engine? It’s an idealised world created by the Reverend W. Awdry, where trains are powered by steam… and they talk! With a strong community ethos typified by a universal willingness to help, practice good manners and hard work, Thomas and his friends continue to inspire and entertain children. My 4 year old has always enjoyed reading and watching the adventures of Thomas and his friends. He has plenty of engines and track to play with but sometimes it’s good to craft too. Today I’m sharing 15…

  • days out - London

    The Fat Controller stops at Hamleys Toy Shop in London

    November 10, 2013 - By 

    Today The Fat Controller took some time off from his duties on Sodor to visit Hamleys, and we were there to meet him! There was storytelling (The Snowy Special and Snowy Tracks), balloon modelling, face painting, colouring activities and more. My children had a lovely time as this was before the shop opened to the public. They loved meeting The Fat Controller and were very attentive when he was reading stories. The Reverend W. Awdry originally created Thomas the Tank Engine to cheer up his son when he was sick. In the same spirit, Thomas & Friends are celebrating Christmas…

  • competition - days out - film review

    King of the Railway at Drayton Manor Theme Park

    September 4, 2013 - By 

    Today we were invited to Drayton Manor Theme Park’s special screening of King of the Railway, the new Thomas & Friends film in the 4D Cinema at Drayton Manor. We had never been to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor before but it was top of the toddler’s to-do list! We managed to keep it all a surprise until we arrived and he was so happy, it was definitely worth keeping the secret. We had a couple of hours to enjoy Thomas Land and we all loved it. It was very quiet so we were able to walk on to all the…

  • baking - birthday

    Rainbow layer cake

    March 18, 2013 - By 

    Today the toddler turned 3. We just gave him a couple of presents to open before nursery, unfortunately one of them was a Buzz Lightyear which went off before it was opened, rather giving the game away! He was totally spoilt with some Disney Cars for his collection, a train for his train set, and a wooden bike. His name was read out on cBeebies and he was only a little bemused by the home made Lightning McQueen pinata. We made a special rainbow layer cake which was fun to make, if a little time consuming. Fortunately the weather was…

  • film review

    Go Go Thomas! DVD

    March 7, 2013 - By 

    Did you know that Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son 67 years ago and today is enjoyed by families in more than 200 territories and in 31 languages? My toddler is a huge Thomas fan so was ecstatic to be sent the latest Thomas & Friends DVD, ‘Go Go Thomas!’, which is on sale from Monday 11th March (RRP £12.99). The format is similar to the Thomas in Charge DVD we reviewed previously and Go Go Thomas! features 5 episodes interspersed with the adventures of Mr Perkins. My toddler adores Mr Perkins as much…

  • crafts - handmade - toddler

    How to make the Troublesome Trucks

    September 26, 2012 - By 

    My toddler is Thomas the Tank Engine mad. He also likes making things so I thought we could combine the two. On a recent day out we saw the Troublesome Trucks and thought it would be fun to make them ourselves. We used some mini cereral boxes, which we painted grey. You can see I was really lazy and turned the boxes inside out as the paint wouldn’t stick to the shiny side of the cardboard. You could also cover boxes in grey paper, dependant on how impatient your toddler is. We then went through old issues of Thomas the…

  • vintage

    Westbury charity shops

    September 2, 2012 - By 

    I have a new hunting ground, Westbury in Wiltshire, where my mother has recently moved. We’re currently visiting and I was able to visit some of the charity shops. The first charity shop was an Age UK where the toddler spotted a Tomy Thomas & Friends Post Office Loader. He has a Big Loader at home which he loves so we bought this too on the premise we keep it at Nanny’s house. When we got it home we realised it was complete but missing the instructions and balls! Hhhmmm. However, it was easy to put together from the picture on…

  • being green - sleeping - toddler - vintage

    How to upcycle a duvet cover

    August 20, 2012 - By 

    I don’t need to tell regular readers that my son is a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan. I spotted a vintage Thomas duvet cover in a charity shop and snapped it up for a couple of pounds. When I got it home I wasn’t sure how to use it – re-size it as a toddler duvet, a bean bag cover or cushion cover. Instead I thought it would make two fun fitted sheets. The ones we’ve been using have been plain blue and these would be a little different. It was quite simple to make. I unpicked the duvet…

  • Gingerbread house finds - toddler

    Wood Green charity shops

    July 29, 2012 - By 

    We’ve lived in Wood Green in north London for the last 6 years but have only visited the handful of charity shops a couple of times. However, last week we popped into Oxfam and were rewarded with a haul! First up were two new-to-us Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs. There was no way the toddler could not have these so we snapped them up. As I was paying I noticed a big bag of Brio by the counter. The toddler just loves his trains and already has a good Brio collection so we bought this too! You can never have…