Well, hasn't it been cold... Not cold European style, but v cold in Aussie terms. Yes, I am half English / half Swiss, and should be used to a bit of a cold snap, but one does aclimatise to these warmers temps, so I have definitely found myself pulling on an extra jumper. Due to this weather, myself and the Hips have spent quite a bit of time indoors. There has been a bit of cake baking, art and crafts, whizzing round the house on the funky scooter which Hip 1 is rather loving, and dare I say, quite a bit of ABC2, plus Hip 2 has been practising her walking with much enthusiam. But when boredom really hits a high, we plug ourselves into smories which really makes us all giggle. Smories are short stories read by kids for kids, and we love it, and its free. Check it out.
A friend of mine (and also a wonderful blogger / brilliant cake maker & party creator / plus mum of 2 kids), Melissa, has just come back from a quick trip to the snow. I reckon when its cold, what is better than rugging up, and getting out and about with the kids and experiencing the real cold (and then having a few good hot chocolates!) Melissa kindly agreed to write a review of her time in the snow, with some handy tips for travelling with the kids:
We have just come home from a great trip to the snow. We have two children aged 8 & 5, who have never been to the snow before. I think we just about packed every piece of winter clothing we own, along with lots of extra socks and shoes. There is nothing worse than being cold and wet.
I also packed a comprehensive medical kit. A lesson learned after being caught when Dominic suddenly started getting croup in the middle of the night in an isolated location, with no mobile phone coverage. Now we always have a large selection of emergency supplies.
We stocked up on bread, cereal and fresh fruit at the supermarket. I took lot of canned food that would be easy to prepare in a simple kitchen. I also packed the thermos so we could drink warm milo. The kids were quite happy in the car singing songs and playing with their teddies.
The cottage (Silvertop cottages) was gorgeous. We had a large attic master bedroom, and the accommodation was only 30 mins from Mount Baw Baw. The owners provided milk (for that all important hot chocolate), chocolates and Teddy bear biscuits for the kids. A lovely extra touch. We settled down in front of the fire to relax and the children checked out the DVDs and games in the cottage.
The next morning we went to the Ski hire shop in Erica to hire chains fit the car. They are compulsory during the whole of the Ski season. We also decided to hire ski boots for the children and myself. It was well worth it, we all had dry feet for the day. It think it cost us about $60 for everything. We also had ski pants. I would definitely recommend these, the warmer you can keep yourself in the snow the more enjoyable it is. We saw a lot of people in jeans, and they all looked pretty unhappy after falling in the snow.
Big Tip - if you just want to have a play in the snow and maybe a toboggan, I definitely recommend Mt St Gwinear. This is up near Mt Baw Baw, it is a small resort and they don't charge you entry fee. They also have a heated day visitor room if you need some time inside. You must pack your own food though, there is nowhere to buy lunch.
Sounds fabulous to me. I think we definitely need to take the hips up to the snow this year. Thanks Melissa for the fabulous tips. You can check out her blog on http://www.elegantcakesandpartydates@blogspot.com and enjoy the smories too.
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