Our First Indoor Softplay Experience

We had some really miserable weather the other day with a cranky boy-o trapped inside and we were pretty desperate to find something to do with him that would get us out of the house. If we were still living back in Toronto we could have met up with some of our baby friends for a playdate, but sadly we don't have any baby friends here so that wasn't an option. (oh, how we miss you all!!) So I started looking up indoor playgrounds or soft plays. We had never been to one before, but decided to give it a try to see how it worked out for us.

It was $3.50 for the boy-o to play which was quite reasonable, and even though there still wasn't really any kids his age there, he had a great time and it allowed him to burn off some energy without making us totally crazy! He was a little overwhelmed at first and unsure about what to play with, but he slowly warmed up. They had a special toddler area which was great so I didn't have to worry about him being accidentally flattened by an older kid. They had a huge ball pit, a toddler trampoline, a car-coaster, a marry-go-round, and some stationary cars to rock back and forth on as well as a tiny slide. It was a great way to spend some time playing with the boy-o. 

They have a no outside food/drink policy in effect which I totally understand because they want you to purchase your snacks there. The offerings they had were quite reasonably priced, but none of it was even remotely healthy which annoyed me since you couldn't bring in your own fruit etc. We only stayed for about an hour because by that point the boy-o was exhausted, but with their limited snack selection we wouldn't be able to stay much longer than that anyway since I don't want feed him that kind of junk. So it was great for a short stay and play, but we couldn't make an afternoon of it. It'll be a good trick to keep in mind for the next rainy day!

Street Festival Fun!

This past weekend in Toronto was the Taste of the Kingsway festival. It's a small festival that happens on the West end of the city along Bloor Street. We stumbled upon it by accident last year and enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to go back this year intentionally.

 

The great thing about street festivals is that they bring the community together in a positive way! You can see people of all ages, backgrounds, and persuasions joining together to celebrate a particular culture/neighbourhood etc. These street festivals are also a wonderfully kid friendly way to explore your city! At the Taste of the Kingsway there was lots of delicious food, midway rides, and live music including a Limbo Dancing contest. The boy-o loved dancing around with Mama and Daddy to the music.

 

 

It's pretty common to see families with little ones in strollers or carriers wandering around and enjoying some family time in the sunshine during these festivals.

 

The Taste of the Kingsway is one of my favourite street festivals because as you can see there's lots of picnic tables set up for people to sit at and enjoy their street truck food! The lack of picnic tables is one of my complaints about most of the street festivals around, especially when you've got a little one in tow--so this was fantastic! Some of the tables were even in the shade which was a bonus!

These festivals are also a great place to grab some free swag! At this festival we picked up some free cans of Coke, a canvas bag, a free pizza slice each (trying to advertise the Mozzarella Cheese it was made with), and a signed photo by Wendel Clarke who was there in person. There were also freebies like Frisbees and the like that we passed on. One of the great freebies from street festivals however is balloons!! And for the first time we felt justified taking a balloon that we could attach to the stroller.

Oh right, we also got a little sample pack of goldfish crackers, which Peter obviously can't eat yet! But I can... Nom Nom. So all in all, it was a fantastic day out as a family, and I encourage you to check out the street festivals that might be happening in your neighbourhood! They're a great way to spend some quality time together while exploring new parts of your city at the same time.