A Fairy Tale Holiday Camp with fancy dress, magical moments and family friendly mayhem…

With less than 2 weeks to go the Camp Bestival team have announced an abundance of exciting and original acts to their family festival paradise. Not only will Mr Tumble be darting around the festival, along with live music acts such as Madness, Ellie Goulding, Friendly Fire, The Human League (just to name a few) along with DJs, comedy and much artistic and magical fun for all the family, now the beloved bedtime story The Gruffalo will be reenacted live on the main stage for two shows over the festival. Performed by Tall Stories, well-known for their sell-out Room on a Broom show, this is perfect family entertainment for both tots and parents alike.

Colourful clothing company Boden are making their first foray into the festival season creating an Isle of Boden outpost in The Kids Garden. It’s a combination of clothing boutique, children’s garden party and carnival under canvas – with a chilled-out bar area where adults can refuel while the Boden team entertains the little ones. The day winds up with a ‘Bedtime Story Hour’ which will feature readings from Howard Marks and Billy Bragg.

For mums with babies or toddlers in nappies, Johnson’s Baby is bringing a touch of magic to the festival by creating The Enchanted Baby-Changing Garden; a luxurious baby-changing area away from the crowds with bespoke flower changing stations.

I’ll be booking my place at Heavenly Healing – Camp Bestival’s amazing massage and therapy sanctuary. Here you can have a treatment or chill-out, and glide back into the festival refreshed and revived!

Part of the masterplan to make life a bit easier for parents at the festival is the arrival of Boutique Babysitting. Set up by veteran festival lover Lisa Merrick-Lawless the ‘Kids Club Under Canvas’ service offers fully qualified, CRB checked childcare professionals to look after your little ones. Set in a secure, fenced off ‘camp’ in their beautiful giant tipis, they will be offering four-hour babysitting sessions filled with magical music based activities. Boutique Babysitting are taking bookings now for morning, afternoon and evening sessions so be sure to book soon to guarantee your chance to sing along to Madness without embarrassing the kids!

The weekend’s finale is giant Fairy Tale themed fancy dress parade and the spellbinding Son et Lumiere fireworks finale soundtracked by Rob da Bank. Weekend Camping Tickets are really flying out now so don’t delay if you want to guarantee a three-day slice of the sumptuous Camp Bestival pie at the end of this month. For lots more in-depth info and ticket information see www.campbestival.net

The summer festival season is in full swing. Keep your little one looking and feeling cool with this round-up of fashion essentials.

Gladys Dress by ilovegorgeous (main picture)

This dress is perfect for warm balmy festival days and can be teamed with a cotton cardy and leggings when it gets a bit chilly. Bells and Whistles, £56.00

Grey Tiger Tee by Dandy Star

This fab retro print 100% cotton tee is not just for boys… girls love it too!

Bells and Whistles, £18.00

Hunter Wellies

Adorning the legs of many celeb, no festival look is complete without a pair of Hunter wellies.

Little Lunalu, £23

Silver Aviators

Give your kids the rock-star look with a pair of these mini silver aviators.

Little Lunalu, £10

Duck Print Summer Hat by Snoffs

Lounging around in the sun all day, protect your little one with this super-comfy 100% cotton sweet hat that’s complete with a floppy brim and handy under-chin ties.

Nordic Kids, £14.99

The glorious sunshine has inspired me to pack away the piles of thermal vests and start making  plans for summer. Last month we highlighted the five best family festivals, but now that the season is fast approaching it’s time to start gathering up friends and family and booking your tickets.
Suffolk’s finest festival Latitude (15 – 18 July) is selling tickets fast. The line-up has been released and headlining is Florence & the Machine, Empire of the Sun, Vampire Weekend and Belle & Sebastian. Known for its eclectic mix of theatre, comedy, spoken word and the arts, Latitude has broadened its arts offering this year. They’ve even got the Royal Opera House camping out in the forest. Weekend tickets for Latitude are £155 per person, but you can also buy day tickets for £65 which is a good option if you want to dip your toes into the festival scene without throwing yourself into a three-day shindig.

Kicking of the school summer holidays is Camp Bestival (30 July – 1 August), undoubtedly the festival of choice for fun-loving parents. The theme for this year’s magical bash is Fairy Tales, and your little Red-Riding Hoods and bears will be delighted by all the crazy capers and festival frolicks in the Camp Bestival kingdom of make-believe.
The line-up is chock-a-block with music from Friendly Fires, Madness, The Human League and George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, plus art, comedy, theatre, opera, dance and off-the-wall entertainment. There’s tons of treats for parents and kids in store over the weekend including a huge fancy dress parade planned for Sunday. I can’t wait!

The stunning camping choices we wrote about last month, Eve’s Tipis and Hooe’s Yurts have all sold out now for Camp Bestival, but there’s still other easy options available if you’re quick.