Eating out with friends and Family: Cotton Tale Cafe
Eating out with friends and Family: Cotton Tale Cafe
Valley Family Fun is eating out with friends and family around the Annapolis Valley to report back to you new places to try. It’s all about supporting our local business owners and eating locally! These are not sponsored posts.
There is a common misconception that you have to have kids to go to the Cotton Tale Cafe to get something to eat.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Even though my kids are now too old to play at Cotton Tale Cafe and Play in New Minas, I still have been there several times!
First, the coffee is great, and there is always a nice treat to go with it!
The food is delicious. It is wholesome food, healthy, with lots of choices. And, so much kids will eat!
Then, my favourite part is sitting and watching the kids play. NOT in a creepy way!
I enjoy the fact that the kids are having fun and I don’t have to look after ANY of them! That brings me great satisfaction!
Peanut Free Facility
They have a peanut free kitchen, and bake with almond butter and also use walnuts. They ask that people not bring outside food in as allergies being one of the main reasons.
I’ve tried everything from the paninis, to the black bean burgers and salad.
We also thank the Cotton Tale Cafe for being participants in the Burger Wars for Campaign for Kids every year!
If you are looking for a great wholesome place to eat with great food, a lively atmosphere and great coffee, check out the Cotton Tale Cafe and Play in New Minas next to Happy Harrys, beside McDonalds.
Halifax Virtual Reality is Family Fun
Halifax Virtual Reality is Family Fun
**Disclosure: Our family received a free pass in exchange for this blog post. We are so excited to share another local business and family adventure with everyone. All opinions are our own.*
“I could have done that all day long!”
I have to admit, we really didn’t know what we were getting in to when we booked our virtual reality session in Halifax.
My friend Heather had messaged me, asking if I knew anything about it, and she was thrilled when she could share something new with me! She took her family recently, and they loved it so much, they couldn’t wait to tell us about it.
If we didn’t know about it, we figured lots of other Valley families wouldn’t know about it, either! So, we took one for the team and went to do some investigative reporting.
Make a Booking
Before you go, you need to book a session. You can’t just walk in and play. You need to plan ahead. There are 2 rooms and a cancellation list, so it’s easy to make a reservation!
Book online here
How it Works
When you arrive, the incredibly friendly and helpful staff greet you and start by going over the safety rules. (You need to make sure you stay within the grid you can see in your glasses, and, if you aren’t playing, don’t step into the play area.)
Then, we got down to business and started playing. We had booked a 2-hour session, which meant that each of us could play for 30 minutes.
It was just as much fun watching the other people play as it was to play!
For those who don’t like waiting, there is an iPad with Netflix on it to watch, or parents are able to leave their children there while they play, too… or some have been known to have a nap on the couch!
Daniel went first. He had played recently at Acadia at a conference he attended, at which the owner had set up a booth. He was our resident expert and jumped right into playing the game he had played there.
The rest of us began with an intro video where you are underwater with a whale. They like to see how you do with the motion and how you react to the objects, so they can best judge what games you might enjoy.
Throughout our 30-minute slot, we got to try different games. They had us perfectly pegged.
Daniel (11) did archery, played with Star Wars light sabers and shot down space aliens. Thomas (9) spent the entire time playing an auto mechanics game where he could rip cars apart and throw things around the room. It was a dream come true where he could be so destructive and not get in trouble or have things to clean up!
Watch him
I was worried that I might get motion sickness, but it didn’t happen at all!
I started with being in the trailer for IT and then climbed Everest with the most incredible photography. I thought that I might give some of my time back to the boys, but then I discovered a game where I could shoot zombies, and I was in my element.
“That didn’t feel like 30 minutes! It felt like 10 minutes!”
David wasn’t sure he was going to try it, giving the boys his time, too, but he was quickly convinced and loved shooting the zombies just as much as I did!
Halifax Virtual Reality makes for awesome family fun! @hfxvr Share on XThe time flew by, and we laughed our heads off, and had one of the most fun afternoons we had had in a long time!
Watch Daniel get into the action.
The whole time, we had an attendant with us to help give us tips, teach us how to get the most of the game, and change it when we wanted to try something new. It was a complete personal experience and totally enhanced our playing.
Birthday Parties
In a birthday party package, they offer two VR rooms, two attendants,
and use of the kitchen during and after your booking for $125 plus tax. (STC)
This gives you each room for two hours and can entertain up to 8-10 guests. Each VR room also has its own sitting area and flat screen to follow along with the VR action.
What a deal!
BOOK HERE
Cost
Costs are subject to change, but currently are $29.99 for a 1 hour group booking or $59.99 for a 2 hours group booking or $84.99 for a 3 hour group booking. There are also rates for single players.
If you are going with a family, you will definitely need a 2-hour slot so everyone has a chance to play, and the time flies by so quickly!
Location
Halifax Virtual Reality Rooms is located at 3600 Kempt Road, Halifax in an office suite above Etc.
If you are looking for a great family fun time, definitely give Halifax Virtual Reality a try. There are games for all ages and experiences, and will make you want to keep going back for more!
Learn more and book today!
Ritz Holiday Peppermint Crackers
Ritz Holiday Peppermint Crackers
This is a really easy treat to make if you need to take something to a holiday party. They are so easy to make that kids can make them, too!
Here’s how to make them. It’s not an exact recipe, and depends on how many you want to make.
Kids don’t always like peppermint-flavoured food, so play around with the recipe.
Ingredients
Chocolate chips
Ritz crackers
Crushed candy canes
- Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Add a bit of milk or cream to keep it smooth. Mix until it is smooth.
- Add a few drops of peppermint extract (optional)
- Take a spoon and spread some chocolate mixture on the top of the Ritz cracker. Or, dip in to cover both sides.
- Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
- Let sit until they harden, or speed the process by putting them in the freezer for an hour or so.
Enjoy!
I find them they go soggy if you don’t eat them all in one day… so only make a few at a time!
Read your Way Through the Alphabet with CATalphabet
Read your Way Through the Alphabet with CATalphabet!
**Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review. I love to support our local authors and artisans! All opinions are our own.**
“The drawings were so great! I loved all the cats!”
Halifax artist Shelagh Duffett has created a beautiful, whimsical new children’s book called CATalphabet!
Here’s what it’s about:
CATalphabet! is a storybook book full of cats and fun verse and letters of the alphabet! The alphabet is what gives the book it’s structure, but it is much MORE than a romp through the letters. It is a book of conversation starters
An ABC Cat Picture Book/Bedtime story, about learning the alphabet with 26 full colour brilliant illustrations, for ages 2-65.
Some verses were just written for the joy of reading it aloud, like the letter R!
My boys are obsessed with cats, especially as they know we can never have one (blame their father. He’s allergic!) So, we knew this would be the perfect book to test out.
To help us, we invited the boys’ 3-year old cousin, Evan, to come read it with them.
As a normal 3-year old, he has a short attention span, but, he sat still the whole time, listening to every word, looking at the beautiful pictures.
Listen to Daniel read a few pages!
As an 11 year old, Daniel had trouble with a couple of the words, but I was right there to help him, and he learned a few new vocab words!
If you are looking for a delightful book this Christmas, support a local author and artist, then look no further than this delightful book, CATalphabet by Shelagh Duffett and Jonathan Mills!
Available on Amazon.
Easy Christmas Tree Craft from Music Books
Easy Christmas Tree Craft from Music Books
I am participating in a blog hop with other Maritime parenting bloggers! Please scroll down to check out their posts on great things to do with your family during the holidays!
Every year, on the first Sunday in advent, our church hosts an advent workshop where adults and kids rotate around various stations making crafts.
This year’s most popular craft, by far were these Christmas trees made from old music books. It was an idea that we had seen on Pinterest, but changed things around based on the craft supplies we had on hand.
Start with a wooden base. One of our friend’s dad took a log and cut it into slices. However, you could use anything that was heavy enough not to topple over.
We were going to drill a small hole in the base of each round, but then we discovered these wooden beads! We glued a wooden bead to the middle of each slice.
Then we cut triangles out of pages from an old music book. If you didn’t have any old music books, you could photocopy the music for a favourite Christmas carol, too!
We folded the triangle like an accordion, and then carefully stuck a bamboo skewer, fold by fold, through the tree.
Then, we glued a star sticker to the top. Some of them, we just left blank, too!
Then, the skewer rested inside the bead.
They were done in less than 5 minutes and look beautiful!
One friend made several of different sizes and heights.
This is an easy and beautiful craft that any one can make!
Now, go check out what some other local bloggers are doing to celebrate Christmas with their families!
FAMILY FUN: Celebrating the magic of Christmas Eve
FAMILY FUN: Celebrating the magic of Christmas Eve
I posed a question on Facebook to find out other’s Christmas Eve traditions. It resulted in a fascinating conversation where we discovered how much was the same, and yet different with all our families.
It seems most families, no matter the age, open one present Christmas Eve.
Continue reading in my bi-weekly column in the Advertiser…
