Ski school Barnens Sportskola Stockholm

We tried the kids' ski lessons offered by Barnenssportskola Fröken Linda, which take place at Hammarbybacken in Stockholm. Hammarbybacken is the ski hill in the neighborhood of Hammarby Sjöstad.

We wanted to take advantage of the convenience and proximity of a ski hill in the city. 

You need to rent, boots, skis and a helmet as they are not included in the lessons. 

For the skis we were told that they need to be 20-30cm shorter than the child's height. Shorter skis make it easier to learn.

I've never skied before so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was the very first time my little one had even tried to ski!

The lessons start with handing out green vests and name tags followed by warm up exercises like Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes 😀

It was tough at the beginning to try skiing and not being allowed to use the poles. The teacher asked us to put the poles away before starting the first lesson. My child was upset and cried so we sat on our own for a bit.

Fortunately, my little one was brave enough to try without the support of the poles!

The first lesson consisted of getting used to going down a short hill and taking the conveyor belt up. First, they skied down with the help of a teacher, amd then kids could try by themselves. The assistant teachers were very patient with the kids! We appreciated that very much.

One challenge we found during the lessons,  was that the conveyor belt wasn't always working, which meant kids had to work extra to walk up before they could ski down again.

It took my child a few lessons to get the hang of it. The class moves on to the bigger "kids' hill" after the first lesson. Kids are so amazing in what they can accomplish!

If you're looking for some ski lessons for kids at a convenient location in Stockholm, check out Barnenssportskola Fröken Linda. 

Don't forget your snacks!

Barnenssportskola Fröken Linda

Check out their website for course info 

Skistar Hammarbybacken 

Hammarby Fabriksväg 111, 120 66 Stockholm, Sweden 

Check their website for updated hours

Snacks!

Cafe Hammarbybacken is also open until 9pm on weekdays. It was great place to grab some snacks and a warm drink after the lessons!

5 items to bring to the beach for kids

 

We had some beach time during our recent Fall trip and it was so great to just watch the kids enjoying themselves.

One loved the water (running from the waves) and the other loved the sand! The Mommy just sat and took photos, had snacks and got some sun.

Our hotel was just a few minutes walk to the beach, so I brought a small bag with just a few items. There were also some restaurants and supermarkets along the boardwalk. It wasn't a remote beach we had to trek to.

We didn't need sand toys, the kids just enjoyed digging in the sand with their hands.

Here are 5 items to bring when spending some time at the beach with kids:

* Water bottle

* Sunblock 

* Snacks

* Sarong or towel to sit on

* Change of clothes for kids

If you have a bag, add some,

Waterproof bandaids

In case kids are worried about their "Ows" before splashing in the water.

I limited the time out at the beach since the sun was so strong. I didn't want the kids to get overtired and need me to carry them up the hill back to our hotel.

We rinsed before going inside and then kids both wanted a warm bath in the tub ;) 

If you're planning to escape winter with a trip to a warmer place, enjoy your beach time!

Don't forget your snacks!

Glossy Vegan Cakes Stockholm

I was on a hunt for a kid's birthday cake! The bakery I had originally planned to get the cake from, unfortunately, no longer carried that seasonal vegan cake :(

Having a little one with various allergies, we wanted a vegan cake but also one that was nut and soy free and I had about a week to order it. 

We were so happy to find Glossy Vegan Cakes, a bakery that started in January 2023. They specialize in creating custom cakes for peope with various allergies or dietary restrictions!

When I contacted them for questions about a cake, they replied quickly and answered all of my questions. They even sent photos of other Customers' birthday cakes as suggestions to help us decide which design we wanted.

Glossy Vegan Cakes is located in Märsta, about about hour from Stockholm, Sweden. You can pickup your order or get the cake delivered. We chose the delivery option and they even notified me when the cake was on the way!

We were very pleased with the birthday cake! It was a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and the cake moist and delicious. The design we chose was so cute and everything was edible. Party guests couldn't believe it was Vegan! It was definitely one of the highlights of our kid's birthday 🎉 

Great service, beautiful custom designs and delicious Vegan cake! If you're in Stockholm and looking for a custom cake, definitely check out Glossy Cakes to add something special to your upcoming celebration. It's always great to support small business as well. 

Glossy Cakes 

Vikingavägen 5, 195 51 Märsta

Check out their website for more info and ordering information. 

Aquabus Vancouver

We took the kids on the Aquabus which is a small passenger ferry that has several routes on False Creek in Vancouver, Canada.

There are 2 ferry companies available, the Aquabus and False Creek Ferries. Both transport passengers in mini ferry boats to tourist attractions throughout Vancouver’s False Creek region.

The main hub for them both is on popular shopping and food area of Granville Island. 

Our Aquabus adventure was just a short ride from Granville Island across to Hornby Street in Yaletown. It's a great option to have if you are traveling by foot and want to get across False Creek. No need to worry about parking!

Views of Granville Island and Aquabus

The cost for the ferry is (as of July 2023):

$3.50 for adults ($6 for return trip)

$2.25 for seniors and children ($4 return).

You can pay with cash or card.

The ferries run pretty often and if you have a bike or stroller, you can also use the more accessible Aquabus Bike ferry. It is also easier for seniors to get on and off of the bike ferry.

This cute little mini ferry is a tourist attraction in itself as you get great views of the city from the water!

We enjoyed our ride on the Aquabus and even brought our stroller onboard (staff helped us lift it onto the ferry). 

If you're in Vancouver, False Creek area, why not take a ride on the Aquabus?

Don't forget your snacks!

Aquabus 

1587 Johnston St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9, Canada

Aquabus ferries run from 7am-9pm but be sure to check out their website for more info on routes and pricing.

Kenny's Gelato Stockholm

We love stopping to play at Marcusplatsen Playground before shopping, after a dentist appointment or before/after a visit to the library. 

This conveniently located playground is right next to the Sickla Shopping center. The play area has a small slide and climbing structure with a few benches around for parents to sit.

Kenny's Gelato in Sickla is located right in Marcusplatsen by the playground. It's a great place for parents to sit and relax not too far away from where the kids can run around! 

Kenny's Gelato has some pretty tasty Gelato  which we have tried on several occasions.  They also serve coffee and pizza like a Nutella dessert pizza!

Their unique gelato flavors change every week. They always have at least 1 sorbet (dairy free) flavor making it a perfect option for anyone with dairy allergies.

Their pineapple sorbet was delicious! 

Kenny's Gelato is pretty popular on sunny weekends, so expect to wait in a line. At least its right by the playground :) 

There are a few locations around the city but the one at Marcusplatsen is one of our favorites (especially during the warm Summer months)!

Don't forget your snacks!

Kenny's Gelato

Marcusplatsen, 131 54 Nacka

Checkout their website for more info

NORMAL low price store

NORMAL is a Danish low price store with locations around Scandinavia, Finland and Netherlands. 

You can find various items from Travel sized lotions or travel bottles to notebooks and toiletries.

Our favorite section has to be the snacks! There are chocolate bars, various candy, tea and coffee and even Japanese snacks! 

A huge variety of other chocolate bars like Milka brand at great prices!

The store is similar to a Dollar store with the discount items and the huge selection. So if you're looking for things like cleaning supplies or toiletries it's a good option. 

If you want some ideas for take-home gift bags for kids birthday parties, Normal for small candies or stationary to put in the bag. They also have a party section for decorations, cards and candles!

Don't forget your snacks! 

NORMAL

Hamngatan 37, 111 53 Stockholm, Sweden 

Check out their website for more info and locations around Sweden.

Top 10 Road Trip Snacks for Kids

The weather is warming up and Summer Vacation is on the horizon... for those doing a staycation, or prefer to travel by car this year, there will likely be some Road Trip adventures with the family!

Here are some of our current favorite Road Trip Snacks. Top 10 and a few more...

* Seaweed

* Salty chips

* Brioche buns

* Baby bel cheese

* Salami

* smoothie pouches 

* jam sandwiches 

* Ritz crackers 

* Cucumber

* Olives 

* Clementines - have a garbage bag ready for the peels!

* Pretzel sticks

* Hardboiled eggs 

* Nuts and dark chocolate - for the non-allergic parents.

* Bananas - sometimes they love it, sometimes they don't! 

* Mini Swedish Cinnamon buns (they're even Vegan!)

We mostly have these snacks when we stop along the way for a little picnic. The kids, especially the toddler, often get carsick because they aren't used to traveling in the car. We always have a vomit bag(s) at the ready after buying a bulk package on Amazon. 

Have you tried any of these Road trip snacks? Safe travels on your Summer Roadtrip Adventures!

Don't forget your snacks!

TUI holiday at Atlantica Aegean Park

This was our second time booking a Tui resort holiday to a warmer climate but it was the first time grandparents joined us on the trip. 

Why people stayed in all inclusive resorts was something I really wondered about before becoming a parent! After becoming a parent, I realized why these places are so great for families! Especially with young kids AND aging grandparents coming along. 

Details

• One week all-inclusive with TUI to Rhodes, Greece. 

• Trip was taken during Fall break, late October to early November. 

• We flew Aegean airlines and most if not all, of those onboard were also staying at our resort.

Popular kids cartoon character Bamse and Captain T and the "Bamse kids club" with the evening dance activities for kids was a huge hit! Grandparents enjoyed watching the kids dance. The kids made sure to finish dinner most nights so they could see the show. 

Atlantica Aegean Park is a TUI Blue hotel located at Kolymbia Beach on Rhodes. To get from the airport, buses were waiting at the airport exit. When leaving the hotel to go back to the airport, shuttle buses picked us up at the hotel.

Good

• 2 separate rooms - one for us, one for the grandparents 
• Rooms faced Pool side 
• Exercise classes available 
• Kids club 
• Kids entertainment 
• Kids pool
• Buses took us from airport to the resort
• Allergy substitutions 
• Very friendly and helpful staff
• All inclusive includes 1 free dinner at each of the resort restaurants 
• Condition of the hotel was pretty good for it being the last week of the season
• There was a water park that was free to visit with slides and a kids splash area!

Snack bar offered greek iced coffee 

and slushies all day.

Would have been nice to have

• More Greek food options
• Kids club stayed indoors instead of walks outside for example
• The flight was 10pm at night so by the time we arrived it was early morning and kids were cranky and exhausted 😩 
• They gave out sandwiches but unfortunately they were all cheese and ham and with allergies we didn't eat most of them.
• The wristbands didn't work at the sister hotel (with the water park) for any snacks.
• It was missing a spa with a sauna and jacuzzi. There was spa services like Massages and facials but not much else. 

Excursions

The hotel is located next to a couple of small shops but not much else. You can walk along the beach to get to another area and it was nice being right by a beach.

There was also a hiking trail up a mountain that you could do for an incredible view of the island.

Atlantica Aegean Park also offers daily excursions to different parts of the island that you can sign up for.

There is scuba diving nearby. Check out my past blog on Scuba diving on Rhodes.

Overall, we all had an enjoyable time at Atlantica Aegean Park! We enjoyed pool time, the fitness classes, water park, walks and scuba diving. 

The grandparents visited a few towns and did some shopping. The kids loved the Bamse kids club and evening entertainment! It was great not to have to worry about what's for dinner or any cleaning for the week! 

We visited on the last week of the season but the hotel grounds were in great shape and the staff was friendly and always attentive. We especially appreciated the allergy alternatives they had for my little one. 

We would definitely visit again!

Don't forget your snacks - The snack bar by the playground was always open for snacks like Gyros and fries!

Atlantica Aegean Park

Βρυξελλών, Kolympia 851 03, Greece

Check their website for more information 

Dairy and Egg Free First Foods for Baby

We found out that my little one had allergies at around 3 months old. They started getting red cheeks that got itchy and raw after the baby scratched it. We put little socks on their hands because their nails grew so fast and that way I didn't have to cut/file their nails daily.

When they started eating solid foods at around 6 mths, we had to make sure it was safe. Having an older child as well, often means we have two versions of the same meal. 

When baby turned toddler they were curious and tasted their siblings food a few times. So it's helpful to have them sit in different places not next to each other.

Here are some first food ideas for baby:

Porridge - Enago Dairy-free porridge is one brand we tried. There are others available as well and you can just add water, non-dairy milk or breastmilk.

We cooked it, then used a blender to blend food before letting baby try it. As they got older and more teeth came out, we made it chunkier. 

-Broccoli 

-Banana

-Chicken and rice

-Potatoes and Sweet Potato

-Carrot 

-Fish

Foods we tried only a couple of times:

Apple - steamed and mashed but it was too harsh on baby's tummy.

Salmon - we gave salmon until we noticed he was getting red hives and got him tested for fish. (Unfortunately, he was found to be allergic to fish)

For snacks

-Vegan banana bread or muffins - can make them yourself with a few ingredients.

-Cucumbers

-Blueberries 

-Snack Seaweed

-Dried mango (our toddler liked sucking on this and it helped on the flight, landing and takeoff with their ears)

-To-go Smoothie pouches - dairy free

-Vegan cheese puffs 

-Corn puffs

As a parent, you learn to pickup on the signs of how often your kids need snacks - hangry behavior, or crying.

It's also recommended to give the same snack for a week and see if you notice any negative reaction. In the case, you suspect allergies, mention this at your baby's next checkup. They can give you a referral to have your child tested for common allergies like egg and milk.

Skin prick test done that re-tested for various existing food allergies.

Good luck and enjoy the food adventures! They're curious and interested in trying everything at this age so go ahead and add flavoring to the meals if you like. Later on they may get more picky!

Don't forget your snacks!

5 Gift Ideas for Teachers

We have been lucky to enjoy having such great staff at my kids' daycares. It's nice to have many options in the neighbourhood for daycare as well, this is one thing we have really enjoyed in Sweden. 

Teachers work so hard that it's nice to thank them. We have given them gifts just before summer break and during Christmas time. Just small things, a small token of our appreciation.

Here are 5 gift ideas for hardworking teachers:

1) A snack bag with different snacks for all the teachers in the class to share and have during break time. There are usually 3-4 teachers per class. Just make sure there are no nuts if the school has a no nut policy. 

2) Giftcards are always appreciated! Even something small from a coffee shop or store is nice or maybe a giftcard to the movie theater!

3) A small plant to take home. Maybe your child helped plant it? Or you can find something nice at a flower shop :) 

Photo from interflora.se

4) A mug and some coffee, tea or hot cocoa mix. Nice and cozy for "fika" or "coffee time"

5) A thank you card or note, signed or decorated by you and your child. It's nice to know they are appreciated!

Hope you find these ideas helpful! Thanks for reading and remember...

Don't forget your snacks! 

IKEA Kitchen Renovation

 

The first apartment that we owned here in Sweden, was in a pretty great location. We bought it at a reasonably low price considering it's location. But it did need a few updates so we had always planned to renovate the kitchen before we sold the apartment. 

We ended up renovating the Kitchen, floors and painting walls before we sold. The kitchen project took a while to get started and we were hoping it would be done before the baby arrived. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The marble custom counter we had ordered took time to arrive because it was from Germany. It didn't help that our baby arrived 2 weeks earlier than expected. In retrospect, we would have started the Renovation earlier but we were really happy with the final result and would choose to do another IKEA kitchen in the future.

When building an IKEA kitchen, You can choose to do-it-yourself or let the staff help you plan. Unfortunately, I had to go back several times to the IKEA kitchen department to get help from them on using the IKEA software. It was really slow at home. Even at IKEA, the software was a bit laggy.

It was nice to have the IKEA kitchen specialists to go through what we had drafted and suggest different things. I'd say they were quite helpful although you have to wait for a time. 

IKEA has opened a new Planning Studio in Gothenburg Centre! It's a small space, where you can get some help to design and ask any questions you have. 

It's great to have this central option instead of having to travel out of the city just for a fee questions.

If it had existed when we did our kitchen renovation, it would have saved some time!

If you're planning a kitchen renovation for yourself this year, look into your options and do a little research before deciding. We would choose IKEA again if we do another kitchen renovation.

Thanks for reading, and remember, don't forget your snacks!

5 Easy Indoor Christmas Activities for Kids

Gingerbread House Building

I found some mini gingerbread house shapes to use. Of course, the classic Gingerbread house kits are also great! 

Kids seem to prefer using smaller icing sugar tubes better but they liked the 'taste' of the bigger icing tubes haha!

Baking Pepparkakor cookies 

Rolling dough and making shapes. They already love to do this with playdoh too! So they have lots of practice ;)

This way, you can have some snacks afterwards too!

Painting Ornaments or Art for Gifts 

Painting is one of our favorite quiet time indoor activities. It's nice to have several brushes and colors, blank paper or other paper to color. My older kid likes to save the art to give away as gifts ❤

We have also enjoyed Painting Wooden Ornaments (from Flying Tiger Copenhagen) for the Christmas tree. These are small and easy to hold for tiny fingers. 

Reading Christmas Books

Getting into the Christmas spirit is easy with a book! With books, kids stop to ask questions about what's going on in the photos. The toddler loves to point to everything on the page and have us tell them what it is. 

One Christmas book we enjoy was gifted to us a couple of years ago now, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Advent Calendars!

You can get Advent Calendars with crafts or little toys instead of candy. 

And of course, listening to Christmas songs while you are having fun doing the Christmas activity.

Enjoy the countdown to the holidays and remember don't forget your snacks (especially your Christmas themed snacks this season!)

Flying Tiger Copenhagen 

This store has lots of different materials for crafts and even activity books for kids.

Check out their website