Growing Family

UK home and garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for busy family life, written by Catherine Hughes

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Family board games from Jaques of London

December 7, 2021 by Catherine Leave a Comment

This is a collaborative post in partnership with Jaques of London Do you like to play family board games? We've played them with the kids since they were really small, and over the years have always found it a great way to get everyone together and having fun. We're always on the lookout for new games to add to our collection, and Jaques of London have sent us two of their lovely traditional games to try out. Traditional toys & ...

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Board games, Family, Family Fun, games, Gifts, Reviews, toys

Ten easy ways to get your garden ready for summer & outdoor entertaining

March 9, 2021 by Catherine 7 Comments

orange flower border

We all spend more time in our gardens in summer, but this year lots of us are planning on using them more than ever for outdoor entertaining. Is your garden ready for summer guests? During the colder months of the year, we naturally spend less time taking care of our gardens. When the weather warms up again in summer, we immediately want to get out there and enjoy them.  The trouble is, there’s often work required to get things looking ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Containers, Deck, Entertaining, Garden, Garden furniture, gardening, Grass, Home, Lawn, Lighting, Maintenance, Outdoors, Patio, Plants, Shed, Summer, Tools, Top Tips, toys

Great gifts for tweens and teens

November 12, 2020 by Catherine Leave a Comment

Are you buying Christmas gifts for tweens and teens this year? In my experience this can be quite a tricky group to buy for, so hopefully this gift guide will help. I've rounded up lots of great gifts for tweens and teens here, so if you're looking for inspiration it's a great place to start. Happy browsing! If you're planning the pre-Christmas treats along with the gift shopping, you might also like to check out this post on vegan advent ...

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Filed Under: Product Showcase Tagged With: Christmas, Gadgets, Gift Guide, Gifts, Parenting, Teens, toys, Travel, Tweens

Fun garden games to get kids active

May 29, 2017 by Catherine 1 Comment

garden games relay race

The arrival of warmer weather and longer days means one thing in our house: everyone spends more time in the garden.  This is a really busy time of year gardening-wise, so I’m always pottering about with plants, and the kids just love being able to play outside and blow off steam. I’m a huge fan of outdoor play.   After being cooped-up indoors my kids’ mood visibly lifts when they head outside for some fresh air; it’s no surprise really, given ...

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Filed Under: Family Home Tagged With: Activity, Children, craft, Family, games, Garden, Garden tips, gardening, Gardening with children, Grow Your Own, Home, Nature, Nature Craft, Outdoors, Summer, Top Tips, toys, Wildlife

Win a bundle of Disney Star Darlings dolls

November 15, 2016 by Catherine 161 Comments

star darlings starland fashion dolls

Welcome to a new giveaway, courtesy of the lovely people at toy retailer Jakks Pacific.  I've got a fantastic bundle of Disney Star Darlings dolls worth £59.97 to give away to one lucky winner. Star Darlings dolls are a new range of fashion dolls from Jakks Pacific, and are based on the characters from the Disney Star Darlings animation.  The Star Darlings are twelve very special girls who live in Starland.  Their mission is to save their home ...

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Children, competition, Gifts, giveaway, Reviews, toys

Win a Num Noms series 2 toy bundle

August 8, 2016 by Catherine 108 Comments

num noms series 2 mystery pack

Welcome to a new toy giveaway.  I've got a great prize on offer which will suit kids who love collectible toys, with a Num Noms series 2 bundle comprising a Deluxe Pack and two Mystery Pots up for grabs. Num Noms are scented mini characters inspired by foods and flavours, such as cupcakes and ice cream. They’re cute, quirky and highly collectible - and they smell pretty amazing!  We reviewed them back in April and they were a big hit; my ...

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Children, competition, Family, giveaway, Imaginative play, Reviews, toys

Win a Num Noms toy bundle

June 24, 2016 by Catherine 74 Comments

mix and match fun with collectible toy num noms

Welcome to a new toy giveaway.  I've got a great prize on offer which will suit kids who love collectible toys, with a Num Noms bundle comprising a Starter Pack and two Mystery Pots up for grabs. In case Num Noms aren't on your radar yet, they're scented mini characters inspired by foods and flavours, such as cupcakes and ice cream. They’re cute, quirky and highly collectible - and they smell pretty amazing!  We reviewed them back in April ...

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Children, competition, Family, giveaway, Imaginative play, Reviews, toys

Review & Giveaway: Blokpod lego storage solution

April 14, 2016 by Catherine 114 Comments

Welcome to a new review and giveaway, looking at a great storage solution for lego and toys with small pieces.  We’ve been putting the Blokpod through it’s paces, and I’ve got a great giveaway for you too, with a Blokpod worth £34.99 up for grabs. Lego is probably the most played-with toy in our house.  It’s also the one that causes the most mess and storage issues! Over the years we’ve tried various ways to keep our growing lego collection ...

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Children, Family, giveaway, Lego, Reviews, storage, toys

Introducing Num Noms & giveaway

April 3, 2016 by Catherine 61 Comments

mix and match fun with collectible toy num noms

Get ready for a new collectible toy craze: Num Noms have arrived! We’ve been having lots of fun reviewing these cute little characters, which have launched in the UK this week.  And I’ve got a lovely giveaway for you too; one lucky winner will be among the first to try out this fab new toy, with a Deluxe Pack and two Mystery Packs worth £20.97 up for grabs. Num Noms are scented mini characters inspired by sweet foods and flavours, such ...

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Children, competition, Family, giveaway, Imaginative play, Reviews, toys

Scrunch bucket: review & outdoor play ideas

June 30, 2015 by Catherine Leave a Comment

scrunch bucket

I’m in a state of shock today; I’ve just realised we are 3 weeks away from the school Summer holidays.  How did that happen? To add to my sense of panic, we’re off on holiday the day after term ends, so I really need to be prepared before that final bell on the last day of school.  There’s blogging work to schedule, days out to arrange and packing to plan, all on top of everyday life.  Deep breaths.... We’re holidaying in the UK this ...

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Children, Containers, Family, Garden, Outdoors, review, toys

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Hi, I’m Catherine. Welcome to Growing Family, a top UK home & garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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Catherine Hughes is a home & garden blogger sharing ideas, inspiration & tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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