South Melbourne’s newest resident CheekyChinos is challenging our city’s café culture and making it their mission to be the parents’ café of choice.

Located right near the South Melbourne Market on Cecil Street, CheekyChinos is a unique concept that provides young families with simple, high-quality European inspired food, exceptional coffee, a signature range of ‘Chino Art’ babycinos and a state-of-the-art developmental play area.

CheekyChinos features a play area facilitated by child care professionals with internationally sourced play equipment designed specifically to be developmental, engaging and enjoyable for children aged from 0-5 years. At a casual rate of $10 for half an hour or $15 for an hour, this service is separate to the café which is open to all six days a week.

Whether you come to CheekyChinos to read a book, meet a colleague or client, catch up with a friend, or just for a decent coffee; your toddlers are welcome with open arms and will be looked after while you go about your business or recharge your batteries.

Café owners Pam and David Bucca were inspired by a similar concept operating in Europe. During a stint living in Switzerland they became increasingly fond of a café that

offered supervised play for young children and decided to bring the concept home and imbibe it with a bit of Melbourne’s renown café  culture. Designed by parents for parents and to be a sanctuary for young families, CheekyChinos is a sophisticated environment where working parents and jovial kids can co-exist over decent coffee, delicious babycinos and simple, fine food made from fresh produce.

The delectable menu of babycinos, including the ‘Princess Chino’, ‘Sporty Chino’ and ‘Rainbow Chino’ are made using Jonesy’s Milk, fresh from the farmer, high in protein and Australian owned.

The play area, designed with the development and safety of children in mind has a 1m high glass fence ensuring children can still keep an eye on mum or dad, and vice versa, reducing separation anxiety and allowing their trained facilitators to help parents and carers achieve half an hour’s peace.

Parents are also encouraged to get involved and play with their children in the play area. CheekyChinos is not a child care service provider so it is important to note that parents are not allowed to leave the premises while their children are at play.

CheekyChinos also sells an exclusive range of artwork by Hayley Gillespie and beautiful Lily Loves Pearls organic skin and baby care products.

CheekyChinos is located at 145 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, Victoria, 3205 and is open 8am-4pm from Tuesday to Sunday.

Keep up-to-date on the latest at CheekyChinos by at www.facebook.com/cheekychinos and www.twitter.com/cheeky_chinos.

Family Holidays are Fun!

Holiday time is meant for family and fun. Travelling with the kids can bring happy memories and the desire to repeat the experience when a little extra planning means the kids will have plenty of activities to enjoy.

There are enough details to contend with in booking flights, making hotel reservations and finding out where to get meals that the kids will enjoy. When it comes to putting an itinerary of activities together, the whole experience of planning can quickly become a greater chore than may have been expected. It can be difficult to anticipate all that there is to see and do, especially when it is a destination that the family has not visited before.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to effortlessly plan a trip that would offer the best options available at one great price? This is exactly what can be obtained by going through an agency that has a variety of holiday packages already arranged for travellers. By purchasing a package, you can plan a holiday that suits your family’s specific needs and includes the amenities and activities that will appeal to the kids, too.

The Way Such Deals are Possible

In order for the hotels and airlines to retain a competitive edge, they look for ways to attract and keep customers. The online travel agents work to discover all the promotional deals that are available and then group them together into one affordable package that can be paid in one convenient bill. Visiting a site allows travelers an opportunity to look over all the packages that are available and choose one that encompasses enough interesting and desirable elements for the trip.

What is Included

Among the items included in a package are:

•    Booking the flight
•    Hotel reservations
•    Car rental
•    Travel insurance

Advantages include being able to book during peak seasons or at the last minute without sacrificing preferred choices.

Some of the added extras are:

•    Dining credits
•    Bonus nights
•    Room upgrades
•    Free meals for kids
•    Tour vouchers
•    Free access to the airport VIP lounge before the return flight

Some of the features included in activity itineraries are:

•    Sight seeing famous landmarks
•    Entertainment
•    Cultural centers and museums
•    Investigating volcanoes
•    Sports
•    Diving or snorkeling
•    Golf
•    Hiking
•    Surfing
•    Swimming with the dolphins

What’s Left to Do?

With the trip details handled, all that’s left to do is ensure the family is packed and the kids have enough of their favourite things that can keep their interest on the plane. The flight may present an opportunity for one-on-one time with family or a chance to allow the use of electronic entertainment.

Some things to think about including are:

•    DVDs
•    Music
•    Computer games
•    Comfortable earbuds
•    Reading books
•    Colouring books and crayons
•    Snacks
•    A favourite blanket

Mothers know very well how to prepare for the trip, but today’s security restrictions have changed much for the traveller. It is always advisable to check with the airline prior to being screened just in case.

The keys to a smooth trip when traveling with kids are to pay attention to their needs and keep plenty of activities for kids to do along the way. Bored and overtired children become cranky kids in a hurry. By remembering the kinds of things that keep children entertained and planning a kid-friendly trip, you can be prepared before the journey begins.

Safety

Before embarking on any trip, there are several safety issues to consider. It is a good idea to have your vehicle completely checked out by your mechanic or someone knowledgeable to ensure it is ready for such a trip. Oil changes, brake checks, light checks and so forth are important to the vehicle’s safe operation while on the road. When you are away from home, you definitely want to ensure the vehicle is in tip top working order.

When it comes to the children riding in the vehicle as passengers, other safety checks should include checking the installation of all car seats and booster seats to ensure they are properly set up for maximum protection. All children under the age of 7 should be secured in a child safety seat or booster seat. All children under the age of 12 should ride in the back seat of the vehicle for optimal safety.

Time

When traveling with kids, the pace of the trip should be set to kid pace. This means lots of time built into your agenda for stops along the way for bathroom breaks, time to run amok and burn off energy and other activities for kids. By taking the time to stop and get out of the vehicle frequently, you can avoid cranky children who simply need to move around and be free from the seat for a bit. Stopping at rest areas and racing the kids to the door or playing tag on the grass for a few minutes can keep everyone in good spirits and content to ride just a bit longer. While snacks along the way are a good idea, stopping for a meal from time to time will allow for a little longer out of the car and a break for everyone.

Entertainment

Entertainment is a big deal when traveling with kids. Trapped in those seats for what seems like eons to them, kids need distractions and fun things to do. Bring some of their toys and gadgets from home and also invest in a few new novelty items that will grab interest. These new items need not be expensive and can even be of short term use, just for the trip. Things such as new crayons, coloring books, books, games, stickers, trinkets of all kinds can bring distraction and something fresh to the play scene. If your children have electronic games, by all means pack those along as well. If the trip is a long one, maybe buy a new game for the gadget. Such games are great activities for kids and often provide hours of distraction, fun and learning.

Here are a few age specific tips of activities for kids when traveling—with the understanding that frequent breaks and stops to get out of the car are important for ALL ages:

Babies - babies will often sleep for long stretches when the car is in motion. Even for those who will sleep well in the car, it is important to give babies time out of the car seat periodically during the trip. Time to lie on a blanket and stretch their little bodies will keep them from getting too sore and tired of riding.

Toddlers to age 5 or so - this age is the move all the time age. Colorful books, blocks that fit together, toys that talk and make noise and ability appropriate electronic games are just a few things you can stock the car with to entertain the traveling toddler. Passengers can interact with the youngsters along the way, playing games, singing songs and reading books to pass the time.

Age 6 to 9 or so - kids in this age group can benefit from a backpack they helped to pack full of fun things to do and a few surprises added by loved ones along the way. Books, electronic games, card games, pens and paper, silly putty, mad libs and so forth are fun things to do in the car. As with all kids, interaction in the form of I Spy games and the like are fun time passers.

Older kids – older kids will often pack their own stuff to do along the way. Interacting with them about what they see during the trip is a good way to spend family time connecting and break up the monotony of a long car trip.

Well timed stops along the way and a well stocked treasure trove of activities for kids will make traveling with kids a fun experience for everyone involved.

T-Rex

See the dinosaurs come alive this January at Luna Park Sydney! Featuring seven robotic dinosaurs, the renowned Dinosaurs Alive! exhibition is in Sydney for the first time and will be showing at The Big Top from 7 January to 12 February 2012.

The closest thing to travelling back in time, the famous attraction will be transformed into a prehistoric habitat where guests will see moving roaring dinosaurs including the Velociraptor, Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Huayangosaurus, Gasosaurus, Allosaurus and T-REX!

The lifelike robots are engineered by Japanese specialists, KOKORO, who supply animatronics to the world’s leading museums and theme parks including, the Natural History Museum in London.

This $3.5 million interactive exhibition will take guests back 65 million years to the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Teaching the young and old about these fascinating creatures, the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibition at Luna Park Sydney is something the whole family can enjoy these Summer Holidays.

Best of all, you can get entry to the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibition PLUS Unlimited Rides at Luna Park all day with a Lunasaurus Pass! It’s just $5 more than a normal Unlimited Rides Pass.

See http://www.lunaparksydney.com/dinosaursalive for more.

Only 4WD hire from www.carrental.com.au/car-hire/4wd-hire can give you that spectacular land cruise from the great cultural city of Melbourne to the sunny skies of Aspendale Gardens and beyond.

The road map to Aspendale exactly meets the challenges that these adventurers are looking for. Starting the trip from Bourke Street, slowly speeding towards Galleria Plaza onto the Burnley Tunnel will surely thrill you to go on further. The series of freeway drives linking places in Oakley will fully open your eyes to the horizon of verdant landscapes reminiscent of the ancient days. A stop for a cup of coffee or refreshing shakes while watching the quiet Yarra River will be a sure date with nature and the city’s public works of arts. The slow drive to Noble Park North to Aspendale Gardens is equally amazing. This is where you uncover the secrets of Australia’s cultural heritage.

From Aspendale, your long coastal drive will make you forget everything you left at home. The glorious whispers of the ocean waves are music to your ears that could give you a deep 24-hour sleep. And, through 4WD hire, the low sloping land formations on the mountain sides will meet you with a cool and unforgettable embrace.

Kids Welcome home page

At this time of year, parents all over Australia start to panic. In a few short weeks, their precious children will be in their full time care and the pressure of keeping them happy for up to two months can be daunting.

It’s not just about keeping them busy: Choosing holiday experiences that won’t break the bank can be a real challenge. Luckily, the Kids Welcome web directory has been launched just in time to come to the rescue.

This free resource includes over 2000 reviews of family-friendly activities, attractions, tours, places to eat, places to stay, events, beaches and even playgrounds. The reviews are written by parents, for parents and each is rated as suitable for three different age-groups: preschool, primary and teen.

Web directory creator Sarah Pye says this invaluable resource will take the hard work out of entertaining the kids.

“If you are planning to explore new parts of Australia together it helps you pick appropriate places to go, many of which are free and you wouldn’t find them in tourism brochures,” she says.

“Even if you don’t leave home,  the Kids Welcome directory is just as useful for banishing ‘I’m bored’ because there are guaranteed to be ideas for your local area too.

“Grandparents, aunts and uncles need not fear if the kids are coming to visit over Christmas!”

What makes this online resource different from Kids Welcome printed guidebooks is the ability for users to engage directly. By joining the site, which is free, they can make comments on the reviews and even upload images of their own family enjoying the activities.

Not only is it fun to see yourself on the website,” Sarah says.

“It’s also good to know your comments will help other families create memorable holidays!”

The Kids Welcome web directory was launched on November 11 at UnderWater World on the Sunshine Coast.  It was critically acclaimed by

Kids Welcome launch

Sunshine Coast Destination Limited and currently covers Queensland, NSW and the ACT.  Sarah and her chief expert, Amber (11) intend to hitch their camper trailer and explore Victoria over the summer to add even more content.

To celebrate the launch, you could win a week in your very own camper trailer from Camp Ezy on the Gold Coast. Simply go to competitions on www.kidswelcome.com.au.