The summer holidays are almost upon us, this can be an expensive time for us all, most of us work less and spend more! (I do anyway!)  I spend a lot of time planning my summer holidays so I thought I would save you all some time and share lots of the free events and activities I have found with you all.

If you children love getting messy, making their own wildflower seed bombs could be the perfect activity for them. This free event takes place on 1st August from 1-3pm at the Joy cafe in Churchill Gardens. 

There are lots of free events going on in Saxon Square in Christchurch over the summer holidays. Including a teddy bears picnic, a sports day and a circus skills workshop. You can find out more by visiting their website.

Have you ever taken your children fishing? This is the perfect opportunity to give it a go. All the equipment you will need is provided free of charge along with advice to help you get started. Contact details are on the poster above. 

How about free Tennis coaching? Every Saturday between 10-11am free lessons are available at Knyveton Gardens or open play for all between 11-1130am. Other locations are available also, check out the website for more information:
https://tennisforfree.com

Hobbycraft are running free craft activites throuout the summer holidays, for more information and to book visit their website.

Do you fancy getting back to nature with your children? A new group is taking place every Thursday from 1pm at Poole Park. They have lots of other free events too, check out their website for more information.

Have you signed up for the summer reading challenge yet? Suitable for ages 4 plus, simply ready 6 books over the summer holidays to complete the challenge and get your medal and certificate. The library also has LOTS of free events for children over the summer holiday period. Find out more here.

Learn all about small animals at the Pets at home free pet workshops. Spaces are free but need to be booked by visiting their website.

Dorchester's completely free youth music and culture event is happening again on 25th August 2018. Not only is it FREE entry, all the activities (apart from street art) are FREE too! This is one not to be missed, visit their website to find out more information.

Every Wednesday throughout the summer holidays enjoy a date with nature at the New Forest Reptile Centre, with fun activities for the whole family.There will be a quiz trail and making activities for children. Come and see the “live” video of birds on their nests as well as the reptiles and amphibians. Visit their website for more information. 

On the 2nd August there is a free family fun day in Poole Park, unlike most family fun days most of the activities are free also!

Some of the best things to do for free when you are stuck for ideas:
1. Blackberry picking
2. Go to the beach / park for a picnic
3. GeoCaching
4. Crabbing at Poole or Mudeford Quay
5. Visit an outdoor paddling pool, you can find a list here.
6. Free fireworks displays at 10pm on Thursdays at Poole Quay and Friday's at Bournemouth Pier
7. Paint some rocks and hide them for others to find. There are lots of local facebook groups for this, some local ones are "Poole Rocks" and "BH Rocks"
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If you need somewhere to add all these great free activities and to help you organise your summer, check out this pretty FREE downloable summer wall planner from Joanne Dewberry. 

I hope you find some of these suggestions useful. Please do add any more that you know about, or let us know what you love to do for free in the school holidays. I look forward to reading all of your suggestions.
Have a fabulous summer, we all intend to!

It's not often that I photograph babies at this age, but I occasionally get people who have "missed" the newborn photography stage. Babies tend to be more awake, active and less curled up at this age so photographs are slightly different to a newborn session. Every baby is so different though, and at 6 weeks we try to get as many "newborn" style photographs as possible. 

This beautiful little girl came to see me very recently, her Mum had just missed the "newborn" photography stage, but was keen to get some sleepy photos. Which we managed to, along with some gorgeous awake ones too. She was small for her age so still fit into my newborn outfits and some of my newborn sized baskets. I do also have props and outfits for babies up to 5 months so we would have worked with these if she didn't fit into the smaller ones. 

In fact her session was rather like most of my newborn photography sessions, she had lots of cuddles, feeds and a couple of naps. I tend to take "newborns" between 1-2 weeks, but I will never refuse anyone and say their baby is too old for a photography session. Every stage of a baby is equally beautiful to capture, even if your baby is older than 6 weeks, we can still get similar photos, maybe not the sleepy ones, but I work with your baby to create the perfect selection of images for you. I have had babies at 5 months sleep during their sessions, so it all depends how they are on the day.

Baby photography sessions are suitable if your baby is between 6 weeks and 5 months (pre sitting) and packages start from £85. They last around an hour, as babies tend to be a little more settled at this age, but we sometimes go a little over this time, which is completely fine too. A photography session for a 4/5 month old baby is very different to a 6 week old, they will more than likely be pushing themselves up by this age so that makes for very different but equally beautiful photographs. If your baby is between these ages please get in touch to discuss whether a newborn or baby session would suit you better. To see some examples of my photos of babies between 6 weeks and 5 months you can visit my baby gallery. 

Please get in touch if you are interested in a baby photography session by sending me a message via my contact me page.