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CRAFTY get MUM-OF-THREE LEONORA BAMFORD AND NANNY ANITA SHARE THEIR FAVOURITE SPRINGTIME ACTIVITIES

Fast forward into spring and there is nothing like a patch of gorgeous nodding daodils to make everyone smile. I love planting bulbs with the children before Christmas and then seeing the fruits of our labour bursting through the soil at this time of year. It’s a great time to take your sketch book out into the park and while you’re there, look for any buds that might be appearing. Nanny Anita has also been dreaming up lots and lots of fun for the half-term break and we can’t wait to try out her ice-skating Lego with the kids and drip painting, inspired by icicles. L

My youngest is Peter Rabbit obsessed and I can’t wait to get him dressed up in Dinoski’s Peter Rabbit-inspired suit. £185, DINOSKIWEAR.COM

ICE-SKATING LEGO You’ll need: • Tray • water • Lego fi gures • ice-cube tray • freezer

Method • Fill your tray up with water and place it in the freezer overnight. • Fill up an ice-cube tray with water and add your Lego people to it; make sure that they are standing up. Then put it in the freezer overnight. We have used a heart-shaped ice cube tray. • When it is ready take it out and play.

BANANA MUFFINS

I love making muffi ns for packed lunches and always use the leftover batter to make a loaf cake. This month it's all about banana muffi ns and the kids love them.

You’ll need: • ¹/ ³ cup melted coconut oil or extravirgin olive oil • ½ cup maple syrup or honey • 2 eggs • 2 or 3 mashed ripe bananas • handful of blueberries • ¼ cup milk of choice • 1 tsp baking soda • 1 tsp vanilla extract • ½ tsp salt • ½ tsp cinnamon • 1 ¾ cups fl our of choice • ¹/ ³ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top

Method • Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line your muffi n tin or loaf tin. • In a large bowl, beat the coconut

oil and maple syrup together with a whisk. Then add the eggs and beat further. Mix in the mashed bananas

and milk, baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon. • Add the fl our and oats to the bowl and mix with large spoon.

• You can add berries, chocolate chips or anything else now. • Divide the batter evenly between the muffi n cases and sprinkle each muffi n with a few oats. Pop in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

CHEL-SKI Our half term ski holiday offered hours of fun in the snowy mountains. My eldest two love tobogganing which is always followed by lots of hot chocolate and marshmallows. My littlest is still too young to actually ski so now that we’re back we’re going to check out Chel-ski as we haven’t been for a few years. Chelski is an indoor skiing venue offering a variety of challenges on the slopes. It improves technique and confi dence, but most of all, it’s lots of fun.It's also next door to another one of our family faves, Clip ‘n’ Climb! chel-ski.uk

DRIP PAINTING

You’ll need: • Pipette • concentrated liquid watercolour paint • paper • tray

Method • Stand a sheet of of paper upright in a tray (to collect any excess paint and avoid mess). • Using a pipette, add drips of paint to the top of the paper, then let it run down the paper to form lines.