If the thought of wearing a bikini is filling you with dread, read on, there is an art to looking good on the beach. Gina McSweeney, swimwear guru and director of www.cocobay.co.uk, online boutique, shares her tips on how to get the perfect bikini to suit your body shape.
Most women wouldn’t dream of buying underwear that doesn’t fit properly and you should treat swimwear the same way. Continue reading
The long awaited summer holidays have finally arrived but if the thought of negotiating the journey with your kids is a dark cloud on an otherwise clear horizon then read on. With a bit of planning and enthusiasm the journey to your holiday destination could be one of the most enjoyable parts. Here are a few tips on how to entertain kids whilst on the move.
Enjoy time together
Journeys to holiday destinations are one of the few times that the whole family gets to spend together away from hectic work and school schedules. At home it’s all too easy to half listen to your child while doing some other task. So travelling together is a great time to share family news, stories and generally have a bit of fun. The other great thing about the trip is that you can have time to really plan the holiday as once you get to your destination it becomes a whirlwind of activity. Planning gives every family member a chance to say what he or she would like to do during the holiday e.g. learn to swim, pony trek, play games with Mum and Dad, and gives you a chance to bring a bit of structure to your break.
The essentials
Children (and adults!) love to graze, especially on journeys. It helps pass the time too. Make sure you have plenty of snacks with you as well as water and drinks. Bring lots of tissues and wipes too for sticky fingers. Don’t forget your child’s favourite teddy or toy and the odd pillow or blanket is always appreciated for snuggling up to when tired.
Play schools
Yes. It’s possible to keep up the good work while your kids are on holiday and while you are in transit is the perfect opportunity as there are no distractions. Keep up maths skills with mini times tables and arithmetic tests. Have a spellings contest and hone story writing and verb and adverb skills by playing story consequences where everyone takes a turn at adding a sentence. Even the old favourite ‘Eye-Spy’ can help pre-schoolers and younger children reinforce letter sounds and ‘Twenty Questions’ is great for helping children with comprehension work.
Music
Singing along to music is not only good for the soul but can get everyone in the mood and help start off family traditions. One Mum fondly remembers numerous trips to Wales having hours of fun singing ‘Summer Lovin’’ from Grease at the top of her voice with her siblings! If you get fed up with having your own Karaoke party then iPods or MP3 Players with headphones are the perfect antidote.
Stuff to bring
If you’re into electronic media such as DVD players and games such as PSPs and Nintento DS’s then make sure everything is fully charged before you set off and that you’ve packed the chargers as well as the converters. Be sure to pack DVDs that will satisfy all ages rather than just one out of the party. It’s no good having Peppa Pigs’s latest epic if you’ve an 11-year old child too. So try to get something the whole family can enjoy. Classic such as ‘The Sound of Music’ or any of Disney’s animations are good crowd pleasers. If you’re not into, or don’t have, electronic toys then there are some good old-fashioned activities that don’t take up much space and are sure to keep kids amused such as drawing, comics, cards and top trumps.
Take advantage of the school uniform price war on the high street before you head off for your summer holiday and you could be laughing all the way to the ice cream shop.
Tesco kicked off the annual price war by offering bargain uniforms for just £3.75 with skirts/trousers at £1.50, sweat shirts at £1.75 and polo shirts at just 50p a go. This offer undercut Asda’s £4.75 school range.
Tesco’s clothing chief executive, Terry Green said: “For just £3.75, parents can buy a single uniform in any size from 3 to 16 years, without needing to spend more money by buying in bulk to get the great deal. We’re telling parents about the great value price now so they don’t have to spend the summer worrying about the cost for kitting out the kids for the new school term.”
Asda has hit back by saying that it is so confident in the quality of its school uniforms that it will fully refund customers on uniform during the first 100 days of the school term if they aren’t completely happy with it. This goes far beyond the 28 or 35 day guarantee of any other retailer.
George at Asda’s managing director, Anthony Thompson, said: “Some retailers are becoming increasingly focused on being the lowest priced at all costs where quality does not appear to be a consideration. Others do offer quality but at extremely high prices, especially on uniforms for older boys and girls. Our quality is comparable to the very best out there but gives much better value for money.”
Both retailers are selling uniforms at one fixed price across all ages. Traditionally, retailers increase the price through the age ranges to reflect the higher cost of making bigger sizes.
In comparison, M&S has school uniforms starting at £6.50 including polo shirts at £1 each (based on a pack of 3). While John Lewis is selling polo shirts at £2-5 with skirts from £8 and pull on trousers from £4.
