Hope you are all enjoying the school holidays...

Yesterday we spent most of the day in the kitchen with the kids, cooking & baking. My 2 year old son found a block of dark cooking chocolate in the pantry & was begging me to make the "choco cake" that was pictured on the packet. This kick started our cooking streak for the day...We made chocolate cake, honey joys & then we sorted dinner with spaghetti bolognese. 

Cooking can be a lot of fun...particularly when the kids get involved. I find during the holidays we spend a lot more time together in the kitchen experimenting and having a laugh. 

A good way to get the kids involved is by letting them choose what they would like to bake or cook. This way there is a better chance that they will actually eat the food, as they have made it!! Always handy to keep all their favourite recipes in one place. This Kids Recipe Journal is a great concept. It contains 50 blank pages to paste in, write in or print on as well as some handy plastic pocket sleeves. Available in Pink & Blue from MiniStyle  

The Royal Melbourne Zoo offers a great day out for the family. The natural & environmentally sensitive animal enclosures are fantastic & the manicured lawns make the zoo a beautiful park to wander through. Just a hint, if you see a queue as you drive up, go around to the back entrance next to Royal Park railway station - there is hardly ever a queue there! 

It's a good idea to pack your own lunch or else you can eat at the kiosk or licensed bistro.

For further information visit the Melbourne Zoo website 

School holidays...

As we are well and truly into school holidays now, we will bring you some fun holiday activity ideas, to help entertain your little ones. 

Top of my list, is going to the movies with the family. We have already exhausted the movies in the first few weeks with my children...this also includes a session at the Drive Ins in Dromana last week. 

We thoroughly enjoyed BOLT a new animated movie starring Miley Cyrus & John Travolta. BOLT***** is a modern-day action hero dog, that's raised on the set of a hit television show. Bolt believes he has amazing powers, until he is accidentally shipped to New York, where his daredevil stunts no longer go according to plan. Bolt learns his whole life has been a lie. Or has it?  A great movie for the whole family!!  

For cinema locations and session times visit Village  or Hoyts 

Other children's movies out now include High School Musical 3 *****, Madagascar 2 ***, Bedtime Stories  ** ( My children have rated the movies with stars, 5 stars being the highest as a guide)

Happy New Year from the MiniStyle Team!!

From all the team at MiniStyle, we would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May 2009 be filled with happiness, love & good health. 

A big thank  you to all of our beautiful customers for their wonderful support last year! We enjoyed providing the best service & products to all of you : )

Jada Smith pictured with her 8 year old daughter, Willow.

There are 5 members of the family, Jaden 10, step son Trey 16, & Willow... with four separate Hollywood careers...

Celebrity Mum Profiles

At MiniStyle we love taking a sneek peek into Celebrity Parent Profiles. 

Since her first modelling job at only 11 months old, Brooke Shields has an extraordinary life in the limelight. Now the mum of two gorgeous young girls Rowan 5 & Grier 2, the actress embraces the mundane-sleep deprivation, school drop-off, and all...like the rest of us!

MiniStyle's Movie Picks for the Holidays..

In Madagascar:Escape 2 Africa, the endearing New York City zoo animals of the original hit movie return for another round of crazy adventures. Starring Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion, Chris Rock as Marty the Zebra, Jada Smith as Gloria the Hippo, David Schwimmer as Melman the Giraffe...just to name a few. Madagascar 2 takes full advantage of its sweeping setting, making room for beautifully expansive landscapes amidst the mammal mayhem. 

An adventure starring Adam Sandler, a hotel handyman whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece & nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn his life upside down!

Hope these movies will keep your young ones entertained over the school holidays..