Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
I’ve always been intrigued about Lollibop and its ambition to be the “big bash for little people”. But having been held in London for the last few years I’ve been put off from travelling down and negotiating the Underground with small people, so was pretty happy to see that the new venue was in the grounds of Hatfield House. As my husband had a prior commitment my dad came with me and Evan stayed with my mum for the day. Read more…
My boy ‘LOLLIBOP’s extra special birthday treat!!!
My little cutey couldn’t control his excitement when told of his extra special birthday treat: we were the lucky owners of 5 VIP tickets to the LolliBop Festival, Sunday 18th August 2013 courtesy of Festival Kidz!
The toddler stage is possibly the most difficult age to do festivals, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be done!
For really young kids we recommend small festivals, particularly if you are not an experienced festival-goer or camper. For a successful festival experience with toddlers you need space to run around or relax, less crowds, smaller distances between campsite, arena and carpark, a good selection of child-friendly food and a willingness to take things at your toddler’s pace (see also Naomi’s Top Tips for doing Festivals with Toddlers).
After much debate, we reckon this year’s best festivals for Under 5’s are:
2011 LolliBop Weather: Hot and sunny Friday, mostly cloudy Saturday, very heavy downpours Sunday.
Mixed reviews flooding in for LolliBop’s second year. Most families who chatted to us in the Festival Kidz stall seemed to be having a pretty good time, but the queues did seem to be a common gripe. We tend to agree with many of the reviews from parents with tiny toddlers that it is unfair that a 13-month old had to pay the same price as a 6 year old and yet they were too young to participate in some of the activities (go-karts and inflatable slide for example). There were definitely too many traders selling the same type of products, and fairly limited food stalls meaning hefty queues at peak times. Read more…
For really young kids we tend to recommend smaller festivals, particularly if you are not an experienced festival-goer. Smaller festivals have the dual advantage of not being so vast that a trip back to the tent for a forgotten dummy takes half the morning, and the stage areas are usually less crowded meaning you can get closer to the bands without fearing your little one getting accidentally trampled on or lost. That said, smaller festivals often don’t have as much budget for children’s activities, so your choice will also depend a little on the level of laid-on entertainment that your family need.
It really is very hard to choose from all the festivals that take place in the UK each year. But if we have to narrow it down, our short-list of the best festivals to take your really little ones to goes a little like this:
My boy ‘LOLLIBOP’s extra special birthday treat!!!
My little cutey couldn’t control his excitement when told of his extra special birthday treat: we were the lucky owners of 5 VIP tickets to the LolliBop Festival, Sunday 18th August 2013 courtesy of Festival Kidz!
For really young kids we tend to recommend smaller festivals, particularly if you are not an experienced festival-goer. Smaller festivals have the dual advantage of not being so vast that a trip back to the tent for a forgotten dummy takes half the morning, and the stage areas are usually less crowded meaning you can get closer to the bands without fearing your little one getting accidentally trampled on or lost. That said, smaller festivals often don’t have as much budget for children’s activities, so your choice will also depend a little on the level of laid-on entertainment that your family need.
It really is very hard to choose from all the festivals that take place in the UK each year. But if we have to narrow it down, our short-list of the best festivals to take your really little ones to goes a little like this:
Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
I’ve always been intrigued about Lollibop and its ambition to be the “big bash for little people”. But having been held in London for the last few years I’ve been put off from travelling down and negotiating the Underground with small people, so was pretty happy to see that the new venue was in the grounds of Hatfield House. As my husband had a prior commitment my dad came with me and Evan stayed with my mum for the day. Read more…
The toddler stage is possibly the most difficult age to do festivals, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be done!
For really young kids we recommend small festivals, particularly if you are not an experienced festival-goer or camper. For a successful festival experience with toddlers you need space to run around or relax, less crowds, smaller distances between campsite, arena and carpark, a good selection of child-friendly food and a willingness to take things at your toddler’s pace (see also Naomi’s Top Tips for doing Festivals with Toddlers).
After much debate, we reckon this year’s best festivals for Under 5’s are:
2011 LolliBop Weather: Hot and sunny Friday, mostly cloudy Saturday, very heavy downpours Sunday.
Mixed reviews flooding in for LolliBop’s second year. Most families who chatted to us in the Festival Kidz stall seemed to be having a pretty good time, but the queues did seem to be a common gripe. We tend to agree with many of the reviews from parents with tiny toddlers that it is unfair that a 13-month old had to pay the same price as a 6 year old and yet they were too young to participate in some of the activities (go-karts and inflatable slide for example). There were definitely too many traders selling the same type of products, and fairly limited food stalls meaning hefty queues at peak times. Read more…