Family Friendly Travel Blog

Filming with the Piggies

Do you care where your meat comes from?  I ask, not because it has much to do with child friendly holidays but because I’m currently filming with the ITV Tonight Programme to ask some of the tricky questions about where our meat comes from. 

Like most busy mums my approach to our food is at best inconsistent depending on among other things, how busy I am, where I’m shopping, money and how much capacity I have left.   And then I’m in a bit of a muddle over labelling.
 
So overall, I do my best for my family and for the animals.  The question is, is this good enough?  I like to think of pigs and chickens happily doing what pigs and chickens to best – foraging and snuffling their days away, ideally in a lovely dappled woodland setting with birds cheeping in the background. 

However the reality is that whilst I buy free range chickens I do not generally look at the labelling for my bacon or mince.  I try to buy food that has the red tractor mark on it but if I’m truthful I’m not really sure what that means.  And then there is the Freedom Food mark which is backed by the RSPCA, is that good enough?  I’m not sure, I’m all of a muddle!

Then yesterday I went off to film at a pig farm.  I was a little concerned about what I was going to see – I expected to see a sea of pigs in conditions that I would find unacceptable. 

The reality however was that I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I saw.  Each ‘shed’ had stalls for the pigs and there were about four or five pigs per stall.  They were able to move around reasonably well and snooze comfortably.  To my eye (and I am no vet) the animals looked bright eyed, healthy and seemed to demonstrate curiosity and playful behaviours.  What’s more they are kept in family groupings which I am told is how they are happiest.

If this is intensive pig farming in the UK then I think that I am OK with this.  The challenge however is that intensive farming on the continent is a whole different ballgame which has implications for your family holiday.  Think small stalls, 1 animal per stall, no hay and altogether different, not to mention upsetting set up. 

So for the Tonight Programme the Shand family is into an experimental week of only eating meat that is traceable.  So that is curry off the agenda, supermarket bought sandwiches and pretty much anything from the market...ummm, I’ll let you know how we get on!

As recommended by The Telegraph

We’re thrilled to bits to have been featured in The Telegraph as part of their Good Value Holiday Guide last Saturday.

That’s the second year running the Telegraph have selected Tots to Travel as a top tip for family friendly self catering holidays!

Tots to Travel is described by the Telegraph’s Fred Mawer as one “….of the best and most interesting travel companies specialising in holidays to France”.

This is because we...

• Provide peace of mind: We are the only family friendly holiday company that goes to such extreme lengths to give you safe, family friendly accommodation 
• Offer the largest choice: We have the largest collection of visited and approved family friendly holiday homes available 
• Save you time & stress: Our award winning ‘parent friendly’ customer service saves you stress and time.

Click here to read Fred’s recommendation in The Telegraph.

Or, cut to the chase and get on with finding your dream family holiday!

• Click and have a look: www.totstotravel.co.uk

• Phone and get help: 0845 269 4126

• Email for advice: enquiries@totstotravel.co.uk

Happy holiday hunting!

Look what we're unwrapping!

Just a quick note before I dive headlong into the Christmas festivities and get buried in a flurry of discarded wrapping paper!

My team and I are committed to delivering the very best (and safest) family friendly holiday homes around.  In our quest to ensure that you can find no better, we've been beavering away behind the scenes to burst into the new year with something that is even better! 

For the moment though our plans are under wraps but watch this space...I hope you like what's coming!

Merry Christmas!

Best month ever! More holiday homes added than ever before...

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that this month we will be adding more fantastic, family friendly holiday homes than ever before - all approved and visited by my team to give you peace of mind when you book.  

This means that families like yours now have a bigger choice than ever before and the best ever chance of finding just the right place in which to spend quality family time together on holiday.

...And because we visit every property and know every house owner, my team is well placed to save you time and stress by matching you to the holiday home that meets your requirements - that's something you won't find anywhere else.  

Click here to save you time and stress

We take our responsibility for finding you fabulous, safe, family friendly holiday homes incredibly seriously, which is why we go to extreme lengths and that we keep pushing forward to find you more and more magical places!

So do come and visit the site, coo over our new family friendly holiday homes and get in touch so that we can help you find the perfect venue for your next holiday!

How to travel stress-free this Christmas

For many of us, next week will see us packing the cases and heading off to visit family or friends for the festive season.

Whether it be by plane, train or automobile, travelling with little people can be a challenge at the best of time, never mind when Santa must be factored into the equation too!

Here are our top tips for keeping the season stress-free if you'll be travelling this year...

Deliver direct...

Don't try to fly with presents - worse case, you could end up having them all unwrapped at security and at best you could end up being charged for the extra weight.

If you can't order them to be delivered direct, it's worth shipping them yourself en masse beforehand. Just remember to factor in how you'll get yours home afterwards...

Plan for delays...

With winter weather, traffic jams and everyone seemingly going the same way as you, it's worth preparing for delays. Pack entertainment to keep everyone occupied and all your travel details easily to hand, so you can make calls easily if you need to let anyone else know you're held up.

Tots track Santa...

Talk about how many miles you are travelling - just like Santa himself! You could make a map of the route, or even a Christmassy treasure hunt for the journey.

Leave a note...

Make sure they leave a note at home letting Santa know of your temporary location so he can be sure to find you on Christmas Eve. If he won't have access to a chimney, let the kids leave suggestions for alternatives. And of course, don't forget to leave out a little tipple and a mince pie (or perhaps a local equivalent!) at your destination. He's sure to be hungry after the extra trip from your house!

Enjoy the relaxation...

Being away from home means no racing around on last minute visits, no sale shopping, no 'let's use the time off to decorate the spare room' - just chill out and enjoy the time as a family!

Happy travelling!

Handpicked Collection - exclusive Tots offer on gorgeous gifts

When my friend and former Red Travel Editor sent me the details for the Handpicked Collection website, I knew that it was going to be jam packed full of deliciously lovely pressie ideas... 

...and on a recent surfing trip in search of Christmas presents, I found myself completely absorbed by the dozens of  beautiful things for me!  

The concept is a fab time saving device. Here I have a team of media experts, writers and presenters, ready to be my personal advisory panel on what's hot, chic and stylish.

So tearing myself away from the 'Her' section, I found (and bought) a cool micro scooter number plate for my 3 year old nephew, resisted spending a fortune on myself and  noted the nautical knot doorstop for my sailor-brother-in-law.  In fact my list is quite long so I won't bore you... why not have a look for yourself?

HANDPICKED OFFER

Tots friends get a 15% discount on The Handpicked Collection this Christmas - just enter TOTSTO at the checkout at www.handpickedcollection.com or call 0844 482 9708 to order.
 
Happy shopping!

Momymoo 'On the Go Changing Mat' Review

I’ve always been a fairly practical mum, often with practicality and value for money winning over style considerations.  

Third time round, and 7 years since having my first baby, I decided that I was going to take an altogether more chic and stylish approach to child rearing.  Moreover, the addition of a third child meant ‘hoiking’ our levels of household organisation to hither to unseen levels and a growing intolerance for products that just add unnecessary levels of clutter to our home.  

Add to that several years of helping families to achieve the most child friendly and stress-free holidays possible, and you get the picture...

...I’ve become a much more demanding customer.

So when I came across the Momymoo On The Go Changing Mat (www.momymoo.co.uk) I spotted a product that met both multiple requirements.  I opted for the Pink Flamingo design (although I struggled to choose as the patterns are all gorgeous) and I have to say that I’m thrilled.  

That’s my ‘stylish’ criteria sorted.

Now for the practicalities...

The changing mat is big enough for a wriggly two year old and there are just enough pockets to get the essentials in..nappy sacks, wet wipes and nappies.  I like the simplicity and efficiency of this, exactly what you need on your travels, nothing more nothing less...and no temptation to fill it up with odd socks and half eaten packs of Marmite rice cakes.  

It’s also easy to see when you need to restock, something that I have been hopeless about in the past.

On the downside, the front zipper pocket is quite small, probably big enough for your Oyster card, but I think it’s the paired down nature of this baby changing mat that lends itself to the greater levels of efficiency that I was striving for!  

I really love this ‘grab and go’ approach and for £28.00 I think you’ll have a stylish product that you are proud to use and fits the practical requirements.

Let me know what you think of this product and the designs, I’d be really interested to hear what you think!  Do comment below...

We're recruiting a Marketing & PR Bod!

Location: Tots Towers, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

Well it seems that the team is growing again here at Tots and we find ourselves looking for a PR and Marketing bod to join us here at Tots Towers.  For anybody with an iota of marketing prowess this is THE dream role, working within a family friendly environment (school hours if that’s what you want) within an exciting and dynamic company.  If this is you (or any of your friends) then we’d love to hear from you!

Here’s who we’re looking for...

You’re the type of person that gets a buzz from growing a consumer brand and from getting the word out there.  You’re likely to be someone who is brimful with great marketing ideas whilst being able to implement efficiently, write brilliantly and liaise effectively with the team, with journos and with a multitude of others.   You’re also someone who is passionate about family holidays and values the importance of quality family time.  BTW you’ll also need to “muck in” from time to time to help achieve what needs to be done.

In other words, we’re looking for a PR and marketing specialist who is passionate about family holidays and is looking for a dynamic role within a fast-growing family orientated travel company.  This role offers the right person the opportunity to fit work around family commitments.

If you were working with us, here are some of the things you would have done last week:

• Planned your time according to the Marketing Strategy (which you will have created)
• Planned and created content for a number of broadcasts and newsletters to the database
• Written a couple of blog posts
• Created SEO friendly web copy for a couple of property descriptions
• Managed our database
• Planned and managing our social networking plan
• Communicated with our European-wide team using Facebook
• Attended a sales and marketing meeting to plan future projects and create new ideas to drive business growth
• Approached key journalists with story ideas
• Responded to journalist requests, sent high res photos
• Liaised with other businesses with a view to joint venturing
• Conceived, written and distributed a press release
• Taken responsibility for product management and brand consistency

Here are some of the other things that may also crop up:

• Write and copy direct marketing material, possibly stuffing envelopes with the team
• Help to organise events
• Liaise with printers, magazines and distributors
• Used our database to find out statistical data
• Sought and created case studies

...and here’s what we’re working on at the moment

• The development and launch of a luxury brand
• The development and launch of a family travel shop
• Re-branding and launch of the current www.totstotravel.co.uk site

Experience is key, so we’re looking for a keen marketing bod with:

• Extreme confidence and efficiency within Windows and MS Office software
• Knowledge and experience of PR and journalist liaison
• Knowledge and experience of copy creation, particularly SEO friendly
• Knowledge and experience of on and off-line lead generation and the marketing funnel
• Knowledge and experience of online marketing, web-content, blog and newsletter creation
• Knowledge and experience of social networking for business
• Ability to work within a close-knit team
• You must live in the Peterborough area (or be prepared to move) to apply for this job

Desirable qualities include:

• Familiarity with a blogging platform such as WordPress
• Familiarity with a CRM database such as ACT! by Sage
• History of B2C marketing (not necessarily within the travel or parenting sector)
• Experience of permission based Email Marketing software such as Aweber/Infusionsoft

Technologies in use:
This role requires thorough, extremely confident and efficient use of Microsoft Office based packages (including Excel and Publisher), Email, Web Browsing software and the confident use of CRM databases such as ACT! by Sage.  In addition, experience of web-based CRM and email marketing packages (such as Aweber, Infusionsoft) would be preferable as would Word Press and social networking platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

What next?
If this sounds like your dream job then we definitely want to hear from you.  Please get in touch by emailing karen@totstotravel.co.uk.  You’ll need to put “Marketing Bod” in the subject line.

Desperately seeking...parents to visit and approve holiday homes!

It’s a tough job...but someone’s gotta do it!  

Did you know that ever since day one, I or one of my fabulous team has visited and approved EVERY SINGLE family friendly holiday home on the Tots to Travel site?

And what a great job it has turned out to be! In fact, I very often talk to mums who say “oh I’d love to do that...” or “..next time you need a beautiful villa looking at you know where to come...” 

If visiting holiday homes on our behalf sounds like your dream business then this is your chance! 

Our team is growing...

We’re looking to grow our team quickly (we have work building up) so are now on the hunt for mums (or dads) to train to be Holiday Property Experts in the following areas... 

• Provence/Cote d’Azur (and other areas of France)
• The Alps
• Spain
• Cyprus
• The Greek Islands
• Italy

To whet your appetite, here's a story from one of our team in France...

"Oh how I love my business!  I have just returned from the most wonderful visit to a gorgeous cluster of gites in the Dordogne valley.  The house owners were lovely and the property - perfect....My day started by dropping the kids off at school and crèche, then on went the Sat nav, sunglasses and tunes, as I meandered through the most beautiful countryside.

I arrived at the property to be greeted by Sarah, the owner, and a steaming cup of coffee, which we sipped on the terrace in the dappled sunshine, whilst we got to know each other a bit better.

We started by Sarah briefly showing me around before leaving me to it for a while.  She then came to find me to invite me to join her, her husband and their pool builder for a lovely al fresco lunch - over which I announced/warned(!) that I will be bringing my family there next year!

After a long lunch, I cracked on with the rest of the inspection and we re-grouped for another coffee to go over my findings.  All in all, it was a great day and I know this property is going to be a popular one on the Tots site, so fingers crossed, a good earner for me too!

....Just got to get the kids bathed and in bed now, then I can get my teeth stuck into the marketing to families strategy report whilst the juices are flowing!"

Does that sound like the business for you??? Sounds amazing to me!

Work around the kids...

This is a brilliant business opportunity (think “business in a box”) for anybody based in these areas who wants to start their own business that fits around the children AND earn a decent, interesting income.

To find out more, click on this link to watch our short video 

Our training and induction package covers everything you’d need to know to get off the ground and start earning within weeks of completing our training (the next round is at the end of this month).

From the horse's mouth, here's what one of our newest Holiday Property Experts had to say about her training... 

"I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for the last two days. I am on the train on the way home and feeling so excited, inspired and unbelievably, actually quite confident. It has been the best training I have ever attended, and this includes 5 years of medical school and 8 long weekends of Relate training!"  

If you or anybody you know fits this bill then we’d love to hear from you or them. And if you refer a friend, we’d like to say ‘thank you’ so we’ll be asking all applicants how they heard about this business opportunity!

Beautiful Babymule Changing Bag Giveaway!

This week, we've got a corker of a giveaway for you, from our friends at Babymule. 

I’m a sucker for anything that makes getting out and about en famille easier and one product that I have stumbled across recently that fits the bill is the Babymule Backpack, a finalist in our Just Go Awards earlier this year.  

As a mum with 3 children ranging from 9 to 2, I’m looking for a practical bag that serves me during the baby years but also caters for the stages beyond and the Babymule does just that.  

We’ve used it for picnics, as hand luggage on flights, on family cycle rides and even on a school trip my 9 year old.  The secret is that it is cleverly designed, carefully thought out, comfortable to wear and robust in its construction.  It feels like it is designed to do the job!

Practical... 

It’s a proper practical backpack, designed as much for a family that truly goes out walking, cycling or picnicking as it is for a quick trip to the shops or swimming at the leisure centre.  It is well designed and spacious, with lots of room for the day to day bits as well as the extra paraphernalia required for a longer day out or a trip to see friends.  

Easy to use... 

Clearly a lot of thought has gone into how the adult might use this bag.  There are easy access pockets at the front and the side for your keys, mobile, passports and paperwork as well as larger pockets for nappy bags, food and so on.  I’m keen on bags within bags so that everything has its place and this need is satisfied too.  So there is a baby changing bag and a large zippy bag and a bottle holder.

Comfortable... 

There is a choice of how to use this bag, so on a bike ride you might wear it as a back pack whilst a quick change of the straps means that it hangs off the back of the pram or you can wear it as a messenger bag.  Either way it’s comfortable, even withstanding the rigours of a long walk or a cycle ride.

Beautiful...

I like the simple yet pretty design, also acceptable to my husband and eldest son who did not feel that their masculinity was compromised! ...and critically it’s a bag that will outlive the baby years proving good value for money.  

If I was to make one criticism it would be that there are perhaps too many pockets - the more efficient amongst you will not find this an issue whilst those of you (like me) at the slightly scattier end of the spectrum, might find remembering where everything is a challenge!

Overall this is a fantastic baby changing and family bag, designed to last beyond the baby years.   

WIN A GORGEOUS BABYMULE BACKPACK OF YOUR VERY OWN! 

To get your hands on one of these beauties, drop us a line on competitions@totstotravel.co.uk by Monday 3 October 2011 and the first name out of the hat will be the winner! 

Just tell us...

1. Your name

2. Your email address

3. Whether you would like to sign up to the Babymule newsletter

Good luck! :-)