NEXT Mummy Blogger Event

The boys and I were lucky enough to be invited to attend yet another fantastic event run by NEXT. This time around it was set in a glorious location in the beautiful countryside at Crockwell Farm and the weather couldn’t have been better. I would imagine there have been many beautiful weddings held at this farm.

To prepare us for the event we were kindly given a giftcard to choose new outfits for us all to wear on the day from the Autumn/Winter range. The good old British weather however threw a spanner in the works and the swelteringly hot summers day we enjoyed meant that the cardigan I had bought couldn’t be worn (not that anyone was complaining). The only person sporting an item from the new range was Beastie as I had chosen him a t shirt. One that proved to be quite popular! Baby Beastie simply wore a bodysuit (from NEXT I might add) as the t shirt I had chosen for him was simply too warm to wear.

It was also another opportunity to meet up again with Katie from Mummy Daddy and Me Makes Three and her beautiful Mads. Having both attended the previous event last November we knew that the day would be superb and they certainly didn’t disappoint us.

On our arrival we were treated to cakes, pastries and drinks and were free to browse the collection and chat to the lovely NEXT people. There was no set schedule to the day which made the atmosphere very relaxed and perfect for when you have children with you. We had a very tasty light buffet lunch, which was ideal for the hot day it turned out to be and handy that we could pop back to our tables when we needed to. It was a very relaxed, come as you like atmosphere.

The new Autumn/Winter range was available for us to peruse at our leisure, where the girls enthusiastically talked us through this seasons key trends. For girls there feature lots of abstract prints in monochrome, statement pieces such as zebra print dresses and quirky trousers in the ARTHOUSE collection. For the boys the range features bold stripeschecks and aztec motifs as seen in the ROOKIE collection. For trendsetting kids this collection is pretty spot on in my opinion. You can’t beat the quality of the clothes from NEXT and the choice of outfits available to both younger and older children is very broad. How cool do these little people look?

The entertainment provided for the children could not be faulted. There was something of interest there to suit them all. There was a bouncy castle, magicians show, face painting and tables/chairs and a playmat with toys and drawing equipment. They even provided a couple of nannies to look after the children when we needed to keep them occupied, these ladies were very much appreciated and my boys were clearly in great hands. They simply thought of everything.

There was a special room set up where we were pampered with beauty treatments and they couldn’t have been more professional. They were very patient when Beastie had a bit of a strop and wanted to go home just as I was trying to sneak away for my Reflexology treatment. Luckily with a bit of persuasion Beastie agreed to stand next to me whilst the beautician got to work and I didn’t miss out on some much needed pampering.

For Beastie the highlight of the day was the Magicians Show and it proved to be pretty challenging to prise him away at the end of the day. He even got the opportunity to be one of the magicians helpers at one point and was thrilled to be up on stage. It was lovely seeing him enjoying himself and having the confidence to join in after a shaky start.

As soon as I set eyes on the photographer I knew I had to at least try and get a professional photo of the boys. I initially took Baby Beastie along once he had woken from a nap and we were lucky that most people were still eating their lunch and didn’t have to wait. As you can see below I got some shots of him and we were were surprised by a visit from Beastie who decided that he would get in on the action. When NEXT sent through the photo’s of the day I very nearly cried when I saw the pictures that had been taken of my boys. I am one proud Mummy.

So once again NEXT pulled out all the stops to treat us to a wonderful day full of fashion, food, fun, photography, pampering and idyllic surroundings. Thank you so much for having us, we had a ball.