Meet your favourite Hotel Transylvania characters at McDonald's this summer

*This is a paid collaboration with McDonald's and Britmums

McDonald's restaurants are hosting free, family events, featuring characters from everyone's favourite Happy Meals up and down the country across weekends and school holidays this year. Each event will last for 90 minutes and includes lots of activities, dancing, photo opportunities, games and fun for all, plus they're a great opportunity to bring the family together. The events are free with no booking required - simply drop in! You can find your nearest event by clicking the link below:

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/familyevents

McDonald's are putting on over 2,600 events throughout the rest of the year (ranging from Family Fun Days to Character Visits), so there are loads of chances to get involved.

Exploring the Northumberland Coast with Arriva North East X18 Sightseeing Bus Tour

*This is a paid collaboration with Arriva North East

Regular readers will know that we're a one-car household and as Steve uses our car for work, I often resort to using public transport during the school holidays. I am also finding that more often than not, even when Steve is with us we'll catch the bus into Newcastle as it often works out cheaper, we're not restricted by time, we don't have to stress about parking and now the kids are a little bit older we can often have one or two drinks in a bar/pub/restaurant during a family day out too. A lot of people are in the same boat as us and I am asked time and time again by readers to feature days out by public transport so today I am doing just that and sharing how you can explore the entire length of the beautiful Northumberland Coastline by bus. 

Disney On Ice presents Dream Big - Newcastle Ticket Giveaway

*This is a paid collaboration with Disney On Ice and contains affiliate links

Disney On Ice presents Dream Big is this year's 'must-see' show at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena. Families can watch this all-new ice show at the Metro Radio Arena between 2 - 7 October 2018. Tickets are selling fast and available to buy online here.

Win a 2 night family stay at a Yelloh! Village - Luxury Camping in Europe

*This is a paid collaboration with Yelloh! Village

Glamping/Lodge holidays seem to have the best of both worlds - lots of fresh air and nature but with home comforts. We're huge fans and have stayed in this kind of accommodation in Europe on many occasions. I love how staying on a campsite abroad forces you to naturally slow down and it's also the perfect way to make the most of the glorious weather too. 

The Highs & Lows of the Great Exhibition of the North so far....

The Great Exhibition of the North is in full swing now, yet it seems like a huge proportion of us still don't know what on earth is going on. Basically, NewcastleGateshead has been chosen as the city to showcase Northern innovation, design, art, music, culture and engineering and there are hundreds of events, exhibits and workshops across 80 days celebrating just what the North can do (in this case, North seems to mean anything above Sheffield).

The Ultimate Guide to What's On in the North East for Kids | Summer Holidays 2018

Summer 2018 is going to be one to remember! As always, we have lots of plans but I've also planned lots of down time too. We're kicking things off with a trip to DeerShed Festival near Thirsk as official ambassadors before heading to France for the week. This Summer we're hoping to visit Derwent Reservoir, Alnwick Garden, Tanfield Railway, Seaton Delaval Hall, Tynemouth Boating Lake, Nethermined, Cirque Du Hilarious, take part in more of the Great Exhibition of the North and hopefully visit a theme park somewhere.

Visiting Jarrow Hall Museum & Farm with a Toddler

I normally take every Wednesday off work and go out with my brother and 2-year-old nephew for the day somewhere. Evan is starting nursery in January so we're keen to pack as much fun into our days as we can before days out like this are going to be restricted to school holidays. I posted in my North East Days Out Facebook group asking for recommendations and although WWT Washington came out top (we'll be visiting there soon), a couple of people recommended Jarrow Hall as being perfect for toddlers. Jarrow Hall is closer and cheaper than WWT Washington so we decided to give it a go.