Traditional Family Fun!

Throughout this month, Brighton Beach welcomes guests to celebrate one of the greatest old-fashioned puppet shows loved by all ages - Punch and Judy! Brighton is know to have helped this world famous show become as popular as it is, and it's back once again!

The ever growing puppet show dates back to as far as the 16th century, and has survived the centuries! It got us thinking about timeless family games and entertainment.

Many of us will remember playing certain games such as Snap or Dominoes with our parents or siblings when we were young, but are they something you never really grow out of? Perhaps it is the feeling of nostalgia and happy memories that make us go back to these family favourites!

Whether you love an evening in with a board game or enjoy outdoor activities in the garden, you can guarantee hours of fun with our selection of Traditional family games, not forgetting our lovely Traditional Bingo Game and Five Game Compendium for a few different choices!

For more information on the Punch & Judy Show in Brighton, head over to their website!

www.ellieellie.co.uk

Feeling Rosy

The Rose is the birth month flower of June, and at a time when the weather is heating up, our style often changes to match. But it''s not just clothes that we can adapt to sunnier and warmer days. Giving a shimmery and fresh look, we've spotted a huge jewellery trend this summer  - Rose Gold.

Its the perfect colour tone to go with almost any outfit, and we've got several head-turning pieces of Rose Gold Jewellery within our beautiful British Idiom range!

You'll find something for every occasion in this collection - whether it be an encouraging good luck gift for a friend, a thoughtful token of love for a family member or just a little treat to yourself! View our full British Idiom range here.

https://www.ellieellie.co.uk/

Brighton Festival: Ellie's Ellie's picks! Part 2

We're halfway through one of Brighton's biggest celebrations of the year, and we haven't been disappointed! There's been something for everyone, from fancy dress and book-reading for kids, to plays and live music performances in the city's best-loved venues.

So what's in store for the last few days of one of the biggest highlights in the UK's event calendar?

Nina Conti: This Tuesday, for comedic fun for all the family, don't miss the ventriloquism talents of Nina Conti (along with her puppet friends of course). See a screening of her 'docu-mockumentary" her Master's Voice, alongside a live performance guaranteed to leave both adult and kids wanting more.

Carousel: What goes on at fairground after closing time? You'll find out in this enchanting journey through dramatic movement with an equally enticing soundtrack - meeting all the weird and wonderful characters along with way. For a breathtaking performance of energetic choreography and music, visit the Southpaw Dance company on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 to experience at atmosphere you won't find anywhere else. 

How We Used To Live: This is definitely one for history enthusiasts and vintage lovers. Narrated by Ian McShane, it's a film of rare footage of London from the fifties through to the eighties. See the transformation of England's capital and an insight into its developing nightlife, vehicles and housing. The brains behind the idea and who made it a reality are nineties band Saint Etienne and filmmaker Paul Kelly, who will be on hand to give a special treat to their viewers with a live performance of the intriguing soundtrack too!

www.ellieellie.co.uk 

Brighton Festival: Ellie Ellie's picks! Part 1

This year, the early May Bank Holiday Weekend is kicking off with a bang - marking the start of Brighton Festival! The highly anticipated event is now in it's 49th year, and from tomorrow until the 24th of the month, has plenty of amazing acts, art, and exhibitions to keep its growing reputation as one of the most exciting festivals in the UK for all ages to enjoy. 

When there's so much to do and see, it can be hard to decide where to begin! So this week we've chosen our top recommendations of what you definitely shouldn't miss in the coming days:

- Children's Parade: What better way to open a festival than with thousands of local children stepping out in extravagant and obscure costumes that they have designed and made just for the special event! Several schools from around the area get involved in the parade every year, with kids from infant to secondly school taking to the streets along with their teachers and parents. Always based on different subject, "taking flight" has been announced as the theme for 2015. From Kensington Street to Madeira Drive, you can expect some spectacular sights!

Louder than words - it wouldn't be Brighton Festival without some showstopping dance acts. This Sunday 3rd, The Cathy Walker Company brings us some explosive choreography alongside live instruments being played, with two talented dancers caught up in a complex and competitive dance-off! Taking place in Woodingdean Central Park, this is definitely where to go for some mesmerizing excitement for all the family.

A Morning with Jacqueline Wilson: On Sunday 10th, head down to the Brighton Dome Concert Hall where the best-selling author will be chatting about her work and novels, including how she created much loved characters such as Tracy Beaker and Opal Plumstead. Tickets are £6 and there is also the opportunity to purchase pre-signed books, as well as hear all about her brand new creation The Butterfly Club (which is her 101st novel!) for younger readers.

www.ellieellie.co.uk

Be Happy!

We are ones for a celebration day at Ellie Ellie, and today is no different as we celebrate The International Day of Happiness! We are going to be thinking about all the things that make us happy today, including being part of the fantastic team here and getting to work in our beautiful Hove office!

Happy Happiness Day!

You can get involved with the celebrations by posting a picture of what makes you happy and using the #happinessday! Tens of thousands of people got involved last year on social media and quickly, over 13 million people has seen an authentic image of happiness from someone! This year will be no different, with thousands of people getting involved from all over Europe!

Get involved!

www.ellieellie.co.uk 

Post Christmas Deco!

Your house can always feel a little empty after you have taken down all your Christmas decorations, your Christmas tree and Christmas cards. Ellie Ellie have what you need this January to put a little bit of sparkle back in your home after the Christmas season! All it takes is a little imagination and some simple things you normally find in your home.

This is a great piece of wall art, made from used corks, just save up your corks, make a backing for the artwork and stick on your corks, you can make different shaped ones too!

A cheese grater is a family staple and can always be found in the kitchen. This light fitting is a innovative way of making use of an old cheese grater and would it perfectly in the kitchen area.

Although this lampshade looks lovely and pretty, it is actually only made from plastic bottles! This is an example of a great way to get creative and see what you can make from such an easy object, your end result may not look like this but there are many ways in could be done to look great!

An ingenious way to reuse an old rake from the garden to make a wine holder for the kitchen! If you had more time you could paint it as well to match it to the decor and colours in your kitchen!

 

This is the simplest way to refresh your home in the new year, clean your old jam jars and add some flowers for the prettiest arrangements with a vintage feel on your mantelpiece or windowsill.

 

What are you doing to your home this January?

New Years Eve Celebrations!

There are so many great ways to celebrate new year, whether you celebrate with friends, that special someone or with family!

A great way to celebrate is the fireworks at Embankment in London, presented by Vodaphone and the Mayor of London! Which is a great new year celebration that involves a massive arrangement of fireworks and a great crowd of people in the mood to celebrate!

What ever you have planned, the team at Ellie Ellie hope you enjoy your celebrations!

To find out more about London new years eve celebrations, visit the website now!

It's Christmas! Make your own Christmas Decs!

It's time to put up your Christmas tree and Christmas decorations and properly get into the festive spirit! Although many people have been talking about Christmas for what seems like for ever, there is just over a week to go until we can all tuck into our Christmas dinner, spend time with our families and eat chocolate!

Before all that fun stuff happens here are some great ideas if you are up for making your own Christmas stockings and Christmas decorations. It's a great way to spend time with the kids and as a family and they will be something you can treasure for years to come and get out every year with a smile on your face with the thought that you and your family have made something special!

Here are some fun ideas for Christmas Stockings, whether using old jumpers or old quilts and tablecloths that have been laying around the house all year. There are some great designs and fun touches that you can add too!

 

Here are some great ideas to decorate your house this Christmas! These fun scrabble letters with festive words are an Ellie Ellie favourite and the upside down wine glasses for candle holders are a brilliant idea! Turning jam jars into snow globes is a great idea too! 

 

 

Winter Wonderland!!

The gates to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park open this Friday,  the 22^nd of November, this year at Hyde Park promises even more fun and thrills as last year, providing a lot of Christmas magic for all the family.

Soak up the festive atmosphere in the park for free this winter, and enjoy all the entertainment and Christmas fun! There are also opportunities to go ice skating or to the circus.

With a number of festive attractions this year, including ice skating, the magical ice kingdom and a number of rides, this is a great day out for all the family to enjoy. Open till the 5^th of January, it would be a great new year activity to enjoy if you haven’t got time to go before Christmas!

Take a look at all Hyde Park has to offer, and the magic if Winter Wonderland now!

How We Lived Then - Museum of Shops

How We Lived Then is a fantastic museum of shops and social history on the South Coast in Eastbourne!

With over 100,000 exhibits on four floors, this museum displays authentic old shops, room settings and other various displays which have been collected over the last 50 years by the owners! Ellie Ellie loves nostalgia and this is sure to appeal to anybody who enjoys a bit of history or seeing how things were done years ago!

Open every day, this is a great way to spend the afternoon. Both owners have been avid collectors since childhood and combined their collections when they got married to open the museum!

This year they are also celebrating being open 25 years! How brilliant!

Visit the museums website for more information, and go and have a browse around this treasure trove!

Brighton Ice Rink!

Opening this weekend is a wonder of the South East, the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton! Opening this Saturday, the 9^th of November, and running till the 19^th of January there is no excuse not to go and have a skate with family or friends! As well as the beautiful outdoor ice rink there is also a great restaurant next to the rink with a bar, perfect for a mulled wine!

Book your tickets now for what is sure to be a great evening or daytime activity! There are many time slots to choose from but hurry, they get booked up fast! And If you cant fit it in before Christmas, how about a fun new year activity with the family!

 

Visit the website for more information and tickets!

Get set for a spooky halloween!

Tulley's Farm has a world wide reputation for supplying outstanding local foods, providing a great experience with friendly service and fun family seasonal events! Around Halloween, Tulley's Farm transforms itself into its Halloween festival, with fun days and fright nights!

On the weekend of Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of October, and in November Tulley's Farm hosts its Spooktober fest, fun park and its Shocktober fest scream park! A great event for families and friends!

Voted the UKs No1 Halloween family attraction, the day is sure to be filled with frights as well as fun and is something the family won't forget!

Including fun shows, fireworks, a horrid hayride, boo barn and spooky trails this festival has everything for all the family!

Find out more about the festival and for tickets see the website!

Ice Age Sussex - What's hiding in the Sussex hills?

Chilled to the Bone is a free event going on in Brighton Museum down in West Sussex- an archaeology hot spot. The event explores the effects of the ice age throughout Earth's history and the development of man kind as we know it, against the demise of the Neanderthals. Humans have only existed when there has been ice at the poles, so how will the disappearence of this ice affect our survival?

The exhibition also exposes the facsinating discoveries that were unearthed during the Victorian 'Great Bone Rush' where the very greatest explorers travelled throughout Europe on the quest for answers to the question of evolution- what they dicovered would rock the boat for creationists.

Chilled to the Bone specifically looks at the environment in Sussex throughout history- with it's rolling hills and cliffs providing an ulitmate hub for archaeological discoveries, with vital artifacts sandwiched wihin the land. 

The secrets of Brighton Marina

A little suprising I know, but the Marina holds a pretty big secret. Many of us locals have been in and out that car park more times than we could count, but right at the entrance is a stretch of cliff that dates back to 200,000 years. It isn't just your common or garden cliff, you won't see any crisp white chalk, instead you're met with a rather muddy appearance. This so called mud is actually a result of a land slide which fell into a valley 100 of thousands of years ago, preserving some rather exciting treasure. Hidden amongst it's layers are a weath of fossils and clues to evolution.

The cliffs at Brighton Marina are over 200,000 years old.

Off Brighton beach itself, bones and remains have been found belonging to Mammoths, whales, bison and our ancestors. Who'd of thought?

The exhibition makes for a great afternoon out and a fantasticly interesting visit for families. Packed with information about jaw dropping local discoveries and hidden secrets about our landscape!

If you'd like to know more information about Chilled to the Bone then give this a click. The exhibition runs until early 2014.

101 Summer Activities

After all that inspiration if you're still stuck for ideas, you can't go wrong with Ellie Ellie's Pick Up Sticks Game! Hours of fun for all the family and can be played come rain or shine (we know what the British weather can be like!)

A great game for all the family, find it here!

Make room for some Easter activities!

Easter is a great time of the year, with a bit of luck Spring will be starting to show it’s face and families will be home together for a day of egg hunts and chocolate eating competitions.

We’ve found a little game that is huge fun for all the family.. Pin the tail on the bunny!

To play is simple – just print out our bunny picture (right click and save the image to your computer, then you can pull it up as an image and print as big as you fancy!) gather some cotton wool and glue it onto a small circle of card (roughly 5cm round) and wait for it to dry. Pop some double sided sticky tape on the back of the tail, grab yourself a vintage scarf to act as blindfold and you are all set to play!

If you fancy going the whole hog, why not get the kids to get their creative juices flowing? Everyone loves a bit of colouring in!

Pin your bunny masterpiece up on the wall, blindfold your first player and give them a spin around! Watch in hysterics as they try and find the bunny and pin on the tail!

Great game for an Easter party, whether you’re a big or little kid! Enjoy!