Tell Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins about your favourite family activities – iPad Mini up for grabs! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins now offer a free soft play session for one child with each purchased pack of promotional Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins. To celebrate this, Bassetts Soft & Chewy want to find out what Mumsnetters' favourite activities are to have fun as a family.

Here's what Bassetts Soft & Chewy have to say, "Mums have told us that they want their kids to be healthy and active so that they can enjoy school. That's why we decided to make mums' lives a little bit easier with free soft play sessions on every promotional pack of Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins offering a free soft play session for one child. With nearly two hundred great soft play centres around the UK taking part in the promotion, children around the country can have fun at their local centre, while mum enjoys a hot cup of coffee. Bassetts Soft & Chewy Vitamins promotional packs can be found in the UK (including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) in most major retailers."

You can find your nearest participating centre here.

So, what are your favourite family activities? Do you enjoy going to soft play sessions with your children? If so, why? If not, why not? If you have been to one which really stood out as being ace, what made it so good?

Everyone who enters their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad Mini.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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[AmandinePoulain]

Walks in the woods, or going to the beach. We're really lucky to live within walking distance of both . We also go to the library and local museum a lot because both put on good children's activities.

I'm fussy about soft play areas. I hate going to dirty ones, or ones with loads of pay-per-go rides. The one in our local leisure centre is fairly nice, not too expensive and they've recently changed things around which means it hasn't got too same-y. The food isn't too bad there either - nothing exciting, just wraps and sandwiches but I prefer that to chicken nuggets and chips to be honest. They don't charge until babies reach 1 either - there's one near me that charges from 6mo which really annoyed me - why should I pay £3 to watch my non mobile then 8mo chew on a ball?!

Our favourite indoor play area is a bit further away, the equipment is wooden rather than soft and there's also an outside play area and farm. It's really good value .

[Crazyex]

Local gymnastics club does sessions which are great and not claustrophobic or smelly!

[TheRedRabbit]

We love soft play but my DCs are 3 and 1 and find that the older kids pushing and shoving can make it a stressful time.

Our favourite thing is probably snuggling up on the sofa reading, or doing silly dances to music.

[evelynj]

We love painting outdoors, much more relaxing & paint can go everywhere with no worries about furniture etc. Children get really excited and burn up more energy with outdoor art!

[Dontletthemgetyoudown]

Going to a local park that has a huge play area and then a wooded den making area. We then buy ice cream (hot chocolate in the colder weather) and head off for a walk in the forest. Fab day out, kids kept active snd worn out and best of all virtually free!

[nextphase]

cycling to the park, and having a picnic (lunch or just a snack) while out there.

The kids do love softplay, but our socks always come back filthy (apart from our local independent, but every birthday party is there, so it looses it appeal) which makes me reluctant to go.

[Mandz07]

My favorite family activity is messy time. We all have a great time painting usually each other also love doing crafts with the dcs. It's great what their little imaginations come up with

[billybear]

taking the dog to the park, for a kick about with the kids and dog, then a home made picnic, a cheap day out,

[zimbamummy]

My DS is just over 2 and so far our favourite family activities are going for walks (in any weather) and picnics when it's warm. I've taken him to soft play a couple of times but found it quite pricey seeing as he won't spend a full day there so thought I'd wait until he's a little older.

[SmallBee]

We really enjoy the zoo!

[WhyIRayLiotta]

We have never been to soft play! I think I would be too worried about vomit in the ball pool to relax

Our favorites things to do are pretty much all outside... Visiting the local open farm. DD loves feeding the animals and getting to hold the chicks and bunnies.

We love walking in the forest beside our home. Bringing bread for the ducks and watching the swans and squirrels.

We love the beach. It's a bit away so we usually bring a picnic and - even in rubbish weather - run about and kick a ball. DD loves kicking it into the sea and watching it come back.

DD plays out everyday - in the garden with her ball / scooter / chasing the cat.

[Trouvere]

Live everyone else, walks in the woods... although we've done the same walks so many times it is starting to pall a little.
Soft play is pretty horrible in my experience, just way too noisy.

[talkingnonsense]

Used to like soft play as long as it was cleanish and had tea with real milk.

Had fab day today with slightly older children- Guildford leisure centre has a good pool and an ice rink, did both with a picnic in between- wish we had something like that near us.

[Charlene1]

I live near a soft play centre that has recently opened - they listen to what the parents and children want - e.g. facilities, food, space, layout etc - it is a really good place to go with friends as we can see all parts of the centre from the seats, and relax with coffee and lovely home made cakes, knowing the children are safe and having fun - and adults are allowed on the frame too!

[Lilpickle08]

We love going to theme parks, or any other type of park with good slides / climbing equipment etc!

The kids are still at a good age for soft play (4 and 5) though my daughter dislikes the 'noise' of some of them and finds them a bit too intense! (so do I actually!).

The best soft plays are those with lots of space (for kids and adults), good coffee, reasonably priced food - and of course the equipment HAS to be clean (ish!). Unfortunately most soft plays churn out the same old food for kids (nuggets, chips, fish fingers etc). I would like to see healthier options on offer such as jacket potatoes and rice dishes.

A lot of the soft plays near us offer unlimited entry over the summer for a certain price - which is great when we are having one of our rubbish summers!

[BlackeyedSusan]

the children love going to soft play parties and have both had their parties at a local soft play.

ou favourite soft play had a baby area and older area. dd loved it when she was one. you could stay in as long as you liked too and so we bought more food and snacks. it did not have enough tables for the adults though.

the childen like to spend time playing in the garden at granny's house., though our best days are when we can go to the seaside and play on the beach.

[Hopezibah]

soft play has always been a fave activity - I took my son from when he was only a few months old and now he is 9 and STILL loves it and so do his younger siblings! I like it because I get to sit and relax for a while whilst the kids wear themselves out running around and having fun!

We have tried out all the soft play centers in our area and I like the ones where there is an area for very young children (but from which you can still watch the older ones), good food (often very low quality food in these places - so we prefer the ones that do nice healthy meal options), plenty of parking is important as often they are out of town in places where there is no other parking nearby.

Other family activities we enjoy are going to the beach, woods etc. and also swimming, bowling and cinema!

[Happeningagain]

This summer we've discovered blackberry picking! Even the 16 month old can join in and we all muck in afterwards to make a crumble if there's any left. We combine it with a trip to the park where the bushes grow and have spent many a happy day there this summer.
We do go to soft play but I find it stressful with 3 dc and only one of me!

[Tortoise]

We love beach trips but don't go very often due to hour long journey.
Also recently discovered they all enjoy playing badminton.

I did take them to soft play a few times when they were younger but I didn't really enjoy it but they certainly did.

[AlmostPerfect]

We push the sofa infront of the TV, get some popcorn an a blanket, turn off the lights & phone and have a cinema night.

[Geordieminx]

Ds and I love movie nights, the Glasgow Science Centre and Lego.

There are a few good soft plays near us but tbh as ds is an only child he tends to get bored easily, unless we take a wee friend for him to play with.

The best soft plays in my experience have separate areas for different age groups, lots of open spade, clean toilets and good coffee.

Also prefer "one price for everything" rather than paying entry then £2 for the go-karts and £1 for this slide etc etc

[missorinoco]

We like park trips, especially those with water play.

We do enjoy soft play areas, but they can become very loud. I avoided them if alone when the children were younger, I found it hard being with the baby whilst keeping up with the young toddler unless the play area was very small. Too stressful.

What makes it enjoyable? Don't have the music too loud. Affordable coffee and teas - that makes if for me.

What about an offer? If come again within a month x amount off. That would bring me back on a rainy day.

[Bluecarrot]

Swimming, cycling and exploring beaches/rock pools!

We did soft play before dd1 was too tall and look forward to it again with dd 2

[Makeminealarge]

Favourite family activity has to be a long explore in the woods followed by a picnic (weather permitting)!

Love taking the kids to soft play, a secure safe environment for the kids to roam, climb and play! The only downside can be the cost, our local 360 children's soft play centre can cost as much as £15 for one adult and two children. So we save these trips for bad weather and special treats.

[IloveJudgeJudy]

Favourite family activity is camping together, followed by going to airshows. Airshows give us a chance to learn things, plus to have a picnic together.