Skip to main content

Birmingham's Winter Funland



 

A Winter Funland just half an hour from the centre of Birmingham? It's becoming a tradition for the NEC to host this fun family event. I headed there with my family to experience a day of fun last Christmas and below I share my 10 top tips about visiting.


Choose a date that suits your family. A pre-Christmas visit will definitely make your family feel festive. (You can't help it when there are elves everywhere you look!) Before Christmas, Santa's grotto is open so you can visit Mr Claus in person as part of your experience. Post-Christmas there are likely to be discounts on tickets. We got a great Groupon deal and 
greatly appreciated some indoor fun on a cold January day.

Take a photo of the 'show times' board. The shows are excellent and included as part of your ticket price. People queue in advance to get into the shows. So maybe park a grown up in the queue so you get the show that you want and a choice of seat.


Under 3s are free! This is brilliant. We saw lots of families with just under 3s. There is plenty for them to do. My youngest daughter was 2 when we visited and she was worn out! One of her favourite things was the rocking horse area. She tried every single horse and 
the lady staffing it was absolutely delightful with her.


  1. Take your push chair! It's a long walk to car park or station and the halls in the NEC are very large too. There are plenty of parking spaces and if nothing else, 
    the pushchair is good place to store all your outdoor coats.

    Take your own snacks and drinks. There are plenty of food options available 
    but it's expensive for a family and not always the healthiest.

My girls loved the free craft area. I wish we'd done the crafts earlier as you can leave them there to dry and collect later. (Rather than having to carry wet painted items home like me!)


Head straight to the ice skating! It's a very popular activity and has the 
longest and slowest queue as you have to wait for a 'session' to end.


We paid for nothing extra on top of our tickets and some food we wanted. Your child can have endless goes on rides that they like. They are totally allowed to just keep joining the back of the queue. Up until 24thDecember, you decide whether you want a pre-bookable Santa slot. There are also some 'games' such as hoopla which you can choose to spend money on. You don't have to as there are so many other things to keep children occupied.

      Kids should wear shoes that are easy to get on and off for all the inflatables.
      You and your children will be exhausted by the end of your visit. It's a busy day and you'll probably want to end it with a family movie night.
    To book and find out more check out the Winter Funland website:

    https://www.winterfunland.com
    Winter Funland is open in Birmingham from 10th December to 2nd January.

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Starting School

    Starting school is a huge event in a child’s (and parent’s) life. There are new routines, new clothes and other new children. Having seen this transition as a Deputy Head Teacher, and more recently as a parent, I believe that there are some things that parents can do to make this move as smooth as possible. Here are my top four thoughts. Firstly, there are some brilliant books about starting school. My all-time favourite is Starting School by the Alhbergs. It’s obviously dated in parts. For instance, most schools won’t have a mum who comes into school to play the piano! However, it is beautifully illustrated and shows the different parts of the school day and  events during the first term at school which provide lots to talk about. Other great titles are ‘Bella Starts School’ and ‘Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School’, both by Ian Whybrow. It’s well worth investing in a book or two, as they can be revisited lots of times during the school year. Secondly, ...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

    Birmingham’s Symphony Hall is an impressive venue. What better place, therefore, to see and hear the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) perform a special family concert: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. When Catherine Arlidge walked onto the stage to present the show, I just knew that we were going to enjoy it. I have been to family concerts hosted by her before and she has a relaxed, fun style that puts everyone at ease. The concert was split into bite sized chunks with children waiting for the pause button visual at the end of musical pieces to shout out “PAUSE" before finding out more about the orchestra and enjoying games with Catherine. The show lasted about an hour and passed quickly- even for my eight month old who was being bounced on my lap. Catherine explained that the orchestra was colour coded for the performance. For instance, all the strings were wearing red. This visual image made it very straightforward for the children in the audi...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    MiniBrum

    What is it? MiniBrum is a play space for under eights based on the theme of a mini Birmingham. There are different areas for children to explore including a canal barge, a construction zone and a shop. The whole of MiniBrum is designed to support children’s role play and exploration of real life spaces. The unique interactive gallery has been created with the input of over 800 children and families from across Birmingham. Where is it? Mini Brum is part of ThinkTank which is Birmingham’s science museum. MiniBrum is on the third floor next to the recently revamped planetarium. Entry to ThinkTank is £14 per adult and £10.25 per child. Under 3’s are free and during Birmingham term time there is a special adult and toddler (aged 3-5) ticket for £15. Another great offer is the £3 per person entry fee after 3pm on term time weekdays. When does it open? It opens to the public on 25 th May in time for half term. I would expect it to be very busy. My advice woul...
    1 comment
    Read more