Tots to Travel Blog

Tots Travel Tips on What's On 4 Little Ones

Tots to Travel has just teamed up with the fab team at What's On 4 Little Ones to offer our ‘Top tips for travelling with tots in tow’ so we thought we'd let everyone know then you can take a look!

What's on 4 Little Ones is the first of 3 fantastic websites for families, set up by founder Sam. Sam says, “I gained a lot of pleasure from taking my baby to various classes and activities but found it very tricky to find out what was going on in my local area. It took ages to get a proper idea of what was on.

So I decided that parents like me needed a single website that would have everything that was available for the under 5s. Using my previous experience, I came up with the design for WO4LO! WO4LO has now grown to over 12,000 activities across the whole of the UK since our launch in March 2006. We've won 3 awards and 96% of our visitors would recommend us to a friend!”

The What’s On 4 Little Ones website, and it’s sister sites for school children and children’s party planning, have all sorts of classes, activities, tips and ideas so they’re well worth a look!

Mumpreneur Conference 2009

Our own Wendy Shand, Founder of Tots to Travel, was one of the keynote speakers at this month’s inaugural Mumpreneur Conference in Birmingham. The event, which marked the beginning of Business Mum Week, was organised by MumsClub, which is dedicated to mothers who run their own businesses, or are looking into setting up a business.

The event was organised as a way for mums to get together and celebrate one another's achievements, no matter how big or small, as well as providing opportunities for those women to learn ways to move forward in growing their business in a way to fit around their family commitments.

Wendy said “it was wonderful to finally meet in person those inspirational women whom I have previously only known ‘virtually’ through the hugely powerful online networks that are so much a part of business these days, particularly for home-based mums. It’s fantastic to see the increasing choices mums now have to find the right way for them to fit work around their family commitments.”

To find out more about this year’s event, go to the Mumpreneur Conference website.

October and Christmas Getaways

Here are our pick of this month's fab offers here at Tots.

Make sure you are ahead of the game and get your pick of the finest properties in the Tots to Travel portfolio. Reserve your 2010 Tots property by the 31st October and only pay 15% deposit!

Aubriete at The Water Mill, Languedoc, France
This beautiful old watermill is situated on the Vidourle river and surrounded by uninterrupted countryside. Situated on the edge of the village and within easy reach of the many indoor activities in Montpellier, this lovely property is ideal for a family of varying ages. 20% - 25% off the advertised price for all remaining weeks in October 2009!

Akwaba, Haute Provence, France
At Akwaba, you’ll find lots of space inside and out for two families to holiday together and then to escape to some peace and quiet alone. A separate playroom can keep the little ones occupied while you prepare a meal in the ultra-modern kitchen. With a newly solar heated pool, 2 hours of daily cleaning included and a yurt in the garden for yoga and meditation, there should also be plenty of opportunities to relax! For a 2 or 3 week holiday commencing 31 Oct, there’s now a 25% discount + a free massage for every adult staying at the property during this time. Bliss!

Beau Chateau – new “front of house” team!
At Le Beau Chateau, there is a new team waiting to welcome little ones to this stunningly picturesque cluster of 6 gîtes - 3 pygmy goats named Rosie, Sweetpea and Squirtle! These quirky additions to the family look forward to welcoming little ones in 2010 and will be well and truly ready to be petted! With a myriad of beautiful features for adults and plenty to do for children, this is a fantastic place to take your family away on holiday.

Christmas with Tots

If you fancy getting away for Christmas week, here are a few of the gorgeous properties offering something extra special to make the week truly memorable.

Abelia, Charente, France
Newly converted Abelia is set in a pretty rural location with walks/cycling direct from property. There’s also a log burner for cosy Winter holidays. At Christmas, the house will be tastefully decorated, complete with a real Christmas tree. Christmas Day dinner will be served to guests, including roast chicken with all the trimmings, Pomme Tart-tatin and several bottles of a delicious Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc. At only £1170pw, Abelia promised a truly memorable family Christmas!

La Colline, Languedoc, France
La Colline is a modern house with a traditional feel, set in a lovely large garden with stunning views over the Cevennes. Just a few minutes drive from Anduze with its numerous restaurants and shops, this house is perfectly situated for both relaxing and for exploring! With a 10% discount on all arrivals between 12 Dec 2009 and 2 Jan 2010, as well as 3 weeks for the price of 2 if travelling on the 8th May 2010, this is one to snap up quickly!

Manoir de Villeneuve, Provence, France
This lovely period property, at the edge of the beautiful Luberon Natural park, is the ideal location for a large family occasion, or indeed several families travelling together. This Christmas, the lounge/dining area will be beautifully decorated for Christmas, complete with a real tree, and there is a lovely real fireplace for cosy evenings. The owners can also arrange for a major grocery shop to be completed before guests arrive. Only £2475 per week.

To book any of these properties, call us anytime on 0845 26 941 26 or email enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk.

What an award winning week!

A short, sweet entry today as we are midway through our latest batch of marketing agents' training.  This when we train up mums who live in key holiday destinations to vet the properties for us.  For us this is the fundamental keystone of all that we do to ensure that our holiday properties are as family friendly as possible.  Today we have a UK agent, a mum who is going to cover Jersey and very excitingly a lady who is looking into the possibilities of the far east.  Ummm I am dreaming a luxy, child friendly holiday villa, white sands, cocktail in hand, perhaps Bali?  We're working on it and we''ll keep you posted!

On Monday I took myself off to the smoke for a glittering champagne reception to celebrate the Practical Parenting Amazing People Awards.  We were honoured with the Best Business Parent of the Year Award so here is a bit of video footage to mark the event!  Some of the other recipients of the awards included other mums, a midwife, a health visitor so some very worthy and humbling stories.  It was great fun sipping champagne, eating cake and nattering - all very special!

Your holiday matters...

Back in April this year, Davina Herman joined Tots as our Sales Manager. She's been a fantastic addition to the team and we thought it would be a great idea to tell everyone a little more about Davina and what her role involves.

Here’s what Davina has to say about her role at Tots...

I’m mum to Georgia (9), Lauren (7) and Daniel (almost 5) and live in a lovely village not far from Tots HQ. With 3 children, there’s not much in the way of ‘me time’ but I love to go horse riding whenever I get the chance - and try to squeeze in little treats like a manicure or a girlie night out whenever I can!

After working with my husband for 9 years (not advisable, I can tell you!), I joined Tots as Sales Manager earlier this year. My role is really all about helping Tots holidaymakers to find their perfect family break. I spend my day responding to website enquiries, customer emails and calls, advising families on the best properties for them and helping them to decide exactly what they are looking for - the end result hopefully being a satisfied customer with a new holiday to look forward too!

My favourite part of the job is preparing shortlists for customers. Some of our clients have already decided which property they want to book but some haven’t yet narrowed it down when they contact us. In this case, I’ll get in touch with them and after chatting through who is in the family, their likes and dislikes, essentials like a pool or proximity to a town, and when and where they want to travel, I put together a list of the properties that I think will suit them best. It’s very rewarding to see a customer thrilled with the choices I’ve provided and I love knowing I’ve helped them to find just what they are looking for!

You can call Davina anytime on 0845 26 941 26 or email her on enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk and she’ll be happy to help you find the right holiday home for you.

Practical Parenting Amazing People Awards

I am just gearing up for my trip into London for the Practical Parenting Awards this afternoon.  Normally this would not be a big deal at all but I am trying to figure out the logistics of taking baby Monty with me.  This will be his first trip to the smoke and to be honest I am trying to figure out how you transport a pram, baby and all his clobber through the tube network.

So perplexed was I that I posted that very question on Twitter and received some excellent advice from mums who clearly take this type of thing in their stride.  The overwhelming advice was don't bother with a pushchair at all and go with the sling option.  However baby Monty, whilst only 7 weeks old is quite some weight and then I would have to carry my bags as well...ummm..clearly London could be a lot more family friendly than it is!

Nonetheless the Amazing People Awards are going to be great fun.  The awards are to celebrate some of the fantastic parenting that we never normally hear about.  Frankly the other parents are far more deserving than I (the November edition features their stories in full) so I feel humbled to have been included.  The kudos is fantastic and I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have won a prize.  You'll never guess what it is.  We've only gone and won a family friendly holiday!  Love it!

So, later on this morning, I will glam up, sweep up my babe in whichever form of transport I choose and set off for London to sip champagne, natter with some amazing people and collect our award.  Today is shaping up to be really very exciting...now about that Tube...

Winter wonderland or winter warmer?

Here are a few of our lovely properties with late Autumn and Winter weeks still available.

Winter wonderland…

Natural Retreats, North Yorkshire, UK
These luxuriously appointed ‘eco’ residences sit in a peaceful, unspoilt setting with woodland trails and wildlife ponds. Stylishly appointed and with an airy, open plan layout, the residences are perfect for family meals and playtime, whilst enjoying the views from the floor to ceiling windows. Situated only 1 mile from historic Richmond, with it’s castle, river, shops restaurants and play areas, there are local walk routes provided in each residence.

Our ‘Mum on the ground’ in the North of England, Claire, says ‘I can personally vouch for what a stunning ‘snowman friendly’ location this is in Winter, having stayed in one of the luxurious, cosy lodges in December. Keep an eye out for the odd passing deer!’

Oct half term, Christmas and New Year (min 5 night stay over festive season) still available – contact us for more details.

Winter warmers…

 

Abelia, Charente, France
A newly converted 3 bed gîte, in the grounds of a 200 year old Charentaise farm, Abelia has a log burner for cosy evenings, a pretty rural location with walks/cycling direct from property and a large enclosed garden with children’s play equipment. This property is a winner for a better chance of some good weather in the late Autumn season.

Various discounts available – please contact us for more details.

 

The Water Mill, Languedoc, France                                                                     

Aubriete and Massette are both 3 bed gites, at The Water Mill, situated on the Vidourle river and surrounded by uninterrupted countryside. With a stunning heated & enclosed infinity pool, home cooked meals, amenities within walking distance and a nearby playpark, this is a perfect Autumn/Winter warmer destination!

Discount at Aubriete for 3 Oct and 29 Oct 2009 and at Massette for 3 Oct and 24 Oct 2009 – enquire for details.

Winter wonderful!

 

Chateau des Etoiles, Dordogne, France
At this stunning 18th century château in beautiful enclosed grounds, you can leave behind the chores and the cooking to create all the relaxing, family time you want. Live-in staff take care of all the housekeeping and gourmet meals are available, with children's food prepared free of charge by the chef. With daily morning delivery of croissants, chocolatines and fresh bread if required, a champagne reception and first night's dinner included, playroom and pool with toys, babysitting service and stacks of child friendly equipment, this is a truly exceptional property for a family friendly holiday in total luxury!

For more information about these properties or any of our other Autumn/Winter specials, contact us anytime on 0845 26 941 26 or enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk.

Your holiday matters...

At Tots, we are passionate about delivering holidays that we, as parents ourselves, know will be safe, relaxing and truly family friendly. A huge amount of time and effort goes into the service we offer and we’re very proud of the fantastic feedback we receive both from our customers but also from our house owners. Since day one, parents have loved our site and the demand for properties has been amazing!

We thought it would be a great idea to profile all the fab people involved in making sure our customers have the best possible holiday experience, from our network of mums who visit and vet all our properties for safety and general ‘gorgeousness’ to our team in the office to the house owners and housekeepers ‘on the ground’.

First up is our agent in the Charente region of France, Penny Gorridge…

‘I moved with my husband, Steve and two children (now 15 and 10) just over 4 years ago to the beautiful Charente, with its gentle rolling hills and unspoilt countryside. Like so many, we had often holidayed in France and spent many happy hours over a glass or several of wine pondering how much fun it would be to make the holiday a lifestyle. In 2004, after a very stressful couple of years, we decided to take the plunge!
 
I now work part time as a Marketing Agent for Tots, alongside our thriving gîte business. Having spent 2 years renovating our farmhouse and a small workman's cottage, there really isn't anything apart from electrics that we can't tackle! If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be an expert at pointing stone walls, retiling a roof and being (I think!) the most patient of labourer’s assistants, I would have laughed out loud!
 
My role with Tots has become a passion for me and can only be described as the perfect job. I get to travel all over the West of France visiting properties for house owners who want to become part of the Tots website, inspecting and evaluating the properties for their suitability for the family market. After the visit, I use my experience in childcare and my Tots training to advise house owners how to overcome any issues and make safe their lovely holiday destinations. Their passion and enthusiasm for providing families with a wonderful holiday never ceases to amaze me! Post visit, I'm then home based, which means I can fit it in around the Mummy taxi service I provide for my two children - this doesn't change the world over!
 
One of the properties that I've visited for Tots is Gîtes Hameau, owned by Paul and Gill Stonier. Their cluster of gîtes are fresh, simple and good value providing families with an opportunity to get away from it all. For rainy days and the long evenings when the children are in bed, Paul and Gill have thought of everything (and are still coming up with new ideas!) On rainy days, Gill puts out activities so that small people don't get cabin fever and the charming bar (within baby monitor distance) offers a change of scene for the grown ups in the evenings. With their gourmet ‘evenings off’ from the cooking and washing up and their new homebaked pizza delivery service, these are the sort of house owners that really make the Tots properties that little bit different!'

Tots loves Ella's Kitchen organic baby food!

This week, we were delighted to have been asked to try out the wonderful organic baby foods from Ella’s Kitchen.

Ella’s Kitchen was set up by Ella’s dad Paul, to produce fab baby and toddler foods that are healthy and fun and that taste delicious. We at Tots particularly love Ella’s fab pouch packaging as it’s perfect for travel bags – the pouch fits neatly in a small pocket, the lid reseals and the recipes were all winners with my little ones. If you travel with British Airways, look out for Ella’s Kitchen fruit smoothies with the kids’ breakfast meals too!

There are 8 different recipes in the stage 1 range, using sweet and tasty vegetables such as sweet potato and butternut squash (I admit I’d never eaten one of these until I had babies but they’re delicious and a huge hit for weaning, for their sweet taste and fab bright orange colour!) as well as staple weaning flavours like apple, banana and carrot. Unusual blends such as spinach, apple and swede or sweet potato, pumpkin, apple and blueberries introduce babies to a variety of different flavours and colours in delicious combinations. With only organic ingredients and no added nasties, these super little pouches are as nutritious and natural as you could make at home and are perfect for taking out and about, whether on holiday or at home.

As well as the stage 1 range, Ella’s Kitchen also produces yummy stage 2 baby foods, stage 3 toddler foods, baby brekkie and fruit smoothies – though the fruit pouches in the stage 1 range that Ella’s kindly sent us to do this review were snatched by my 2 pre-schoolers within minutes of arriving as they made perfect afternoon snacks too!

These lovely products are available from most supermarkets. Find out more from the Ella’s Kitchen website.

Grab some goodies for your little one!!! We’ve got one full set of Ella’s Kitchen stage 1 baby foods to give away to this first reader whose name we draw out. To enter, just email your details to claire@totstotravel.co.uk by Friday 25 September 2009. The winner will be drawn on Monday 28 September 2009.

 

FREE Discount Brochure - for mums by mums

Motherhood is often the trigger to take a new direction and start up a business, so much so that now there is a special Business Mum Week, a conference and a special DISCOUNT booklet to celebrate!

The first ever Business Mum Week kicks off on the 3rd October with a special Mumpreneur Conference.  I am honoured to have been asked to speak at the conference and am really looking forward to meeting lots of inspirational women. 

On the day, there will be plenty going on including over 20 events as well as an award presentation to celebrate some of the best mums in business. 

FREE Discount Booklet including family friendly holidays from Tots to Travel
To further celebrate Business Mum Week we have a limited number of discount booklets offering you an array of fab discounts from a range of different businesses all run by mums.  The Little Book of BIG Offers is produced by mums for mums and features businesses as diverse as a children's clothes company, bedroom furniture and of course Tots to Travel!  If you are planning to book your child friendly holiday between now and the end of October or simply fancy a shopping spree then this is a must have.

The Little Book of Big Offers profiles 22 mums and their businesses and each features a unique offer specially for the booklet - definitely worth having!

To receive your FREE discount booklet, simply email enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk and quote Little Book of Big Offers and we will send you the booklet. 

PS. We only have a limited number of booklets, so don't hang around!

PPS If you are interested in attending and promoting your business then do look at the http://www.mumpreneurconference.com website and book your ticket.  Be warned though, there are hardly any tickets left!