Keeping busy doesn’t need to mean throwing heaps of money at activities and experiences this summer – there are some awesome offers out there whether you’re looking to eat out, staycation or keep the kids happy and we’ve put together a few of our faves for you to work through. Enjoy, mamas!

The post Summer Deals For The Whole Fam (& Your Wallet) To Enjoy appeared first on Sassy Mama.

Another term has come to an end (sob, they are growing up too soon) and the kids are on a two month long summer break (help and yay), but lucky for you, mama, there’s no chance for anyone to get bored over the hols! From awesome summer camps to water parks, outdoor and indoor fun to indoor birthday parties and even some fabulous holiday and staycation deals for family bonding (some of them don’t even require flights!), check out all the fun things you and your littles could indulge in this summer. There’s literally something for everyone.

Camps:

Whether you’re staying in town this summer or just looking for ways to entertain the kiddos for a week or two then look no further Mamas, as we’ve got the low-down on some of the best summer camps in the city. From getting stuck into arts and crafts to playing football all day on air conditioned pitches, learning to dive to water play with a difference – camps these days are so amazing that we wish we could join!

Things to do to keep sporty and active little people busy:

Got energetic kids, mama? We’ve you covered when the great outdoors is out of bounds. Save your home and your sanity (the sofa won’t handle anymore bouncing about and frankly neither will you) by checking out our list of 12 places to keep sporty and active little people busy when the usual beach/park/pool routine is on hold.

Non Soft-Play fun indoor:

When the sun is too hot and the good old boardgames won’t cut it anymore, you need some full proof entertainment ideas to burn those bottomless energy reserves. These fun Indoor (Non Soft-Play) Fun In The UAE, a Sassy Mama’s Guide require zero screen time and sure to see through those ‘stay indoor’ kind of days.

A Fun Indoor Art Activity To Keep Your Kids Busy & Having Fun:

Many of us don’t have the time to plan these activities or don’t have the expertise, knowledge or imagination for what’s most suited for the kids – and this is where Victoria can help. IDK Little Miracles is a new monthly service set up and you’ll be guided on how to have fun with your little ones and how to create time for the most important part of your life, your family. Four planned activities at just AED 90. Read all about it here.

Fun out of the Sun:

Listen here, mama. There’s absolutely no need to panic – or to suddenly promote hours of screen time every day. Yes schools are out and yes it’s very hot and yes it will continue to be very hot for a good few months now BUT the good news is that there are absolutely loads of fun things for kids to do in Dubai even when parks and beaches and outdoor play is limited. And they don’t all cost a fortune either (honestly!). For full run down on summer fun check out – 21 of Our Favourite Things To Do With Kids in Dubai Over The Summer or A-Z Guide To Surviving Summer With Kids In Dubai – the only alphabet you will need to perfect over school holidays. Missing outdoors? then you might find a thing or three here – Where To Get Your Dose Of Nature in Dubai When Temperatures Soar.

Splash, Slide and Swim:

From splash pads to full on water slides, lazy rivers to in-water lounges and even an indoor water play space for when you really can’t handle the outdoors, here are 4 watery spots to add to your list of must visits this summer. Also check out our guide guide to best places for the fam to get all washed up together whether you’re skidding down a waterslide or catching some waves at a water sports lesson. Even better, a few hours or a day-cation at one of Dubai’s fabulous hotels, mamas? From pools with slides to pools with views, we’ve found 14 of the best for cooling off and having a swimmingly good time, mamas.

Psst… heard of Privilee? This membership not only gives you unlimited access to some of the UAE’s best beach clubs and lush pools but also kids clubs, spa deals and loads more – all for a very reasonable price – and there’s no catch (honestly), just sign up, pay your subscription and start flexing that card! And here are our top 5 family friendly Privilee pools. 

Lets Talk Screen Time:

Whether you’re trying to fill up those hours (in between camps and indoor play fun), you’re facing a mammoth journey and need to keep the kids distracted and entertained or you’ll need to rely on the iPad as an occasional babysitter this summer just to get some peace and quiet – these new apps are not only fun but also a good way to keep the brain cells engaged when school’s out! And here our Singapore Editor explains how she’s achieved near-sainthood in her house with Daniel Tiger. 

psssst… mama, in need of some serious down time with Netflix?! (we hear you), here are some of the ‘Best Binge-Worthy Netflix Shows‘ to watch this summer. Plus, a mandatory mama viewing: ‘The Letdown’ on Netflix (if there is one show you watch this summer, let it be this). And a cheeky little guide for the littles too – top 10 Netflix picks for kids.

Taking the party indoors:

Got a birthday party to plan mamas? Check out our pick of the best places to book up a summer birthday party indoors and you can guarantee your birthday boy or girl the best day ever. And if you want to stay on trend then check out tips by Aisha Leitner, founder of fabulous party concert store Party Camel where she shares with us themes and accessories that are trending for kids birthday party planners this year. Oh, how could we forget the cake – here are the best places to have your cake (and eat it) in Dubai. Lastly if you’re looking to earn maximum mama points from the birthday boy/girl, who can’t stop saying – it was the best party ever, then plan A Game Van Party For Kids. Or if you simply want to host the party from comfort of your home, then here are some simple party food ideas for kids you may want to refer to. Have a good one, mamas!

Summer travel:

Looking at getting away to somewhere cooler and perhaps even somewhere exotic. Well, mamas look no further…here are our recommendations on where to go this summer as a family. Also, check out tips on what and how to pack smart for summer holidays.

Staying back? then you may want to break up the summer months with a staycation (or two) then you may want to check out  some of these fabulous travel offers in the UAE to make the most of, mamas! And a little guide on what to pack for your weekend vaycay, mamas!

Travel is the best time to catch up on reading – Novelist Lisa Beazley’s take on the best beach books to pack in your bag this summer… wherever your travels may take you!

Adventures and Once-in-a-lifetime Experiences:

Whether you’re new to Dubai, you know you won’t be in the desert for much longer, you want to buy someone the ULTIMATE gift or you want to get out there and have some fun, here are some of our favourites to add to your bucket list and ‘must-do’ things in Dubai, mamas!

Thank us later, happy summer hols, mama…Stay Sassy!

The post Happy End of Term! Here’s Everything You Need To Know For The Best Summer appeared first on Sassy Mama.

Let’s not kid ourselves: most mums don’t actually have the luxury of reading on the beach. But there’s something about the summer holidays that conjures up visions of sprawling on a chaise lounge with a good book. When I asked my friends what they planned on reading this summer, I discovered that while everyone has their own favoured genre for the “beach” (or whatever your version of the beach might be), what we really want this time of year is a book that hooks us right in and welcomes us back with little fuss, even if we have to step away every four minutes to apply sunscreen or broker a peace deal.

With those very loose parameters in mind, I have compiled a rather eclectic summer reading sure to provide mini vacations from your long holiday.

The post Best Books For Summer: Beach Reads We Think You’ll Love appeared first on Sassy Mama.

Expat Life Is Full Of Goodbyes

The city that we are lucky enough to temporarily call home is a bountiful one that is full of momentum and change. And as expats, we must learn to manage and adapt to the changes that happen around us. One of the hardest changes that impact’s our lives is the feeling that we are perpetually saying goodbye.

Leaving our friends and family back home is tough but it doesn’t end there. The average stay for an expat family in the UAE is 8 years. (www.dec.org.ae). So, once you have said farewell to the family and made the move, you will still have to experience the difficulties that come with the seemingly frequent departure of friends and loved ones from Dubai.

Saying goodbye is hard enough as an adult and for children it can be a confusing and lonely time. So what can we do to help our little ones understand and cope with their feelings when they need to say goodbye to their family or when their friends move on?

According to Dr Susan Linn, the founding director of ‘Campaign for a Commercial free Childhood, helping our children to cope with change is all about laying a solid foundation in which they can confidently express their feelings. Being listened to and empathised with is key.

“Helping children successfully manage the separations that inevitably occur is a good way to help them develop lifelong strategies for managing loss. Let your child know that you hear what she/he is saying. Feeling unheard compounds a child’s sense of isolation.” (Dr Susan Linn).

Read More: Helping Your Kids Transition Through Summer 

Bright Horizons is an international provider of early education that focuses on nurturing each child’s unique potential. They believe that saying goodbye is a lifelong process that does not necessary have to be negative.

“Children may react to change with excitement and enthusiasm, or crying, sulking and even using aggression. Talk to your child about the positive things. Too much talk about how hard it is to say goodbye can sometimes make our children more upset. While we should never ignore our children’s feelings, it’s also important to be encouraging.” (Bright Horizons)

According to Bright Horizons there are activities that you could do with your child that will help them to compartmentalise and process their emotions in a positive way.

Such as, creating a classroom scrapbook, writing a friendship note to departing friends and using art as therapy by painting, storytelling and drawing.

Frequently having to say goodbye is one of the more difficult ramifications of being an expat. But a few simple techniques can help you and your child develop coping strategies that will have lifelong benefits.

The post Helping Kids Cope with Goodbyes appeared first on Sassy Mama.

A thriving career, cooking up a storm where ever she goes (literally), playing the most important role of her life as “wife-mum”, Founder of Jean’s Private Kitchen, we talk to Jean Winter about how she does it all. 

From dishing out delicious and healthy meals for her VIP clients to applying pearls of wisdom learnt from her parents in her everyday life, Jean Winter dives straight into #realtalk when it comes to what she’s passionate about. Having started as Geneva’s first underground dining concept from her home to catering to clients from UN/WHO/WTO/Footballers/VIPs in the Geneva region, to growing her business to France, Hamburg, Singapore and now Dubai, Jean – mama to two beautiful girls, Tegan and Kiera, shares her recipe on how she launched her company, and tells us fun anecdotes and challenges about being a expat mama. 

Read on for some major motivation and inspo, mamas, from Jean’s tips on finding time to work out when you’re juggling one too many things, to some fab advice on keeping the romance alive even when you’re knee-deep in work and sharing some cheeky ways in which she manages to make time for her family.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your career?

I am a very proud mama to two beautiful girls (Tegan 9 and Keira 12) and wife to my amazing husband and father of my daughters, Andrew.

I started Jean’s Private Kitchen as Geneva’s first underground dining concept in my home catering to mostly clients from UN/WHO/WTO/Footballers/VIPs in the Geneva region. I relied purely on word of mouth with no advertising whatsoever and only people who knew someone who knew me could book me. I have remained pretty much the same today. I started by telling seven friends in Geneva and in two and half years, built up a clientele base of more than 700 private clients in Geneva alone.

The business then grew to France, Hamburg, Singapore and now to Dubai. Funny thing is… till today, only the people who know me knows what I do and that I exist. It keeps it fun that way… and because I see my job pretty much as a passion as opposed to a career… I get the luxury to choose my clients, who I work with and which projects to work with.

“Jean’s Private Kitchen and Consultancy LLC” is my baby. I am still a Private Chef to my private clients around the world, Food Consultant to our Singapore Embassy & Consulate UAE, to more than 20 businesses worldwide and I host very private VIP and ambassadorial events in UAE. 

A year after we moved to Dubai, Dean Henry (Owner of The Clean Living Company) and I had a chance meeting and we somehow clicked on the business front. We went into partnership and decided to start Dubai’s first ever organic noodle soup delivery business. We both felt that there is a genuine lack of healthy, organic and tasty food being offered on the delivery platforms in Dubai. We saw a gap in the market for healthy, delicious but 100% organic noodle soups and stir fried rice and noodle dishes. I launched the organic noodle/rice business 2.5 months ago along with The Clean Living Company and have been blessed with great reviews from our customers. This is my new baby and I can’t wait to share with Dubai our organic range of dishes. Currently we are working with all the major delivery platforms like Eat Clean Me, Deliveroo, Ubereats, Talabat, Zomato and Careem Foods. This project is keeping me on my toes on top of all my other projects running concurrently.

My biggest career role is still being a good mama and wife to my family.

Tell us a little about your husband and kids

Andrew is the Director of a British-owned shipping company and was sent to Dubai to Head the Middle Eastern and West Asia Hub, heading 12 countries. He is a triathlete and takes part in Ironman events around the world. My only requirement as a supportive ‘tri-wife’ is that he chooses events in different countries every year so that the girls and I get to experience different cultures whilst traveling to support him for his races.

My girls Keira and Teggy are very much the typical expat kids. They were both born in Italy, grew up in Geneva, went to school in France, Germany and now Dubai. They get to go back to the UK and Singapore every year to visit family and friends. They both love Dubai, love school and are swimmers in the junior and senior squads of their Swimming Club. They have been blessed with very good friends who are all lovely, beautiful and kind kids. Having found their good friends, amazing classmates, a very close-knit swim team, inspiring swim coaches and wonderful school teachers definitely played a massive role in helping our girls settle in almost immediately.

Read More: 10 Of The Most Beautiful Photo Locations In Dubai

Where do you live in Dubai?

Jumeirah Park … after visiting 48 villas all over Dubai, we chose this beautiful community because of the presence of greenery, proximity to our girls school and the layout of the villa.

Describe yourself in 5 words 

Loving, Honest, Faithful, Emphatetic, Objective

For Fun, I asked my family’s for their five description of me:

Loving, Passionate, Unwelding, Kind, Generous

How do you balance work and motherhood?

With a lot of careful planning and proper time management. An example, our family has fought against hiring a driver even though we probably desperately need one. This is because we know that the moment that happens, we will lose that precious time with our girls… we chat about their friends, school, swimming and thoughts during our drives. And if I have an event, Andrew tries to step in to help me with one of the pickups.

We are also blessed with good friends who help out in terms of picking up our girls from school when their kids have swim trainings at the same location.

Most of my consultancy work / hosting private luncheons / cooking classes are done in the day. My girls train everyday after school which gives me a clear schedule of 8-5pm daily to work. I normally accept hosting or attending one (maximum three) events at nights to ensure that I have at least 4-5 nights a week with the family.

We get home at about 7.45pm every evening after we pick the girls from swim training. We ALWAYS have dinner together as a family (our live-in helper, Lanie also joins us at the table every night) before the girls head to bed by 8.30pm. We always cuddle and tuck them in… followed by our own time alone from 9pm onwards.

My husband and I try to have a date night once every 2 weeks.

How do you save time? What are your organisational tips and tricks? 

Multitasking is a must. Always plan ahead and try to run all the errands at one go. I do one massive grocery shopping once a week and discuss the lunch box/dinner menu with my maid every evening for the next day.

My husband is usually asleep by 10-10.30pm so I answer all my emails/outstanding paperwork/answering all my outstanding WhatsApp messages with friends from around the world from 10.30 onwards

Read more: Life Hack: 18 Apps to Help Sort Your Life Out for 2018

Describe your average day

5.50am: Wakeup call by Andrew and girls jump into our bed for their morning cuddle

6.15am: Girls get washed, changed and head downstairs for breakfast

6.50am: Leave the house for our school run

7.15am: I head to the gym

7.30am-8.30: gym

8.30-10: Head home, shower and change and head to work

10-5pm: Work

5.30pm: Pick up Teggy from swim training at Jumeira

7.15pm: pick up Keira from Swim Training at WIS

7.45pm: Reach Home

7.45-8.30pm: Dinner with the family

8.30-9pm: Cuddle and tuck girls in

9-10: Time with the hubs catching up and watching the news

10pm onwards: Me time to finish up work/emails/WhatsApp’s

(Once a week when I host ambassadorial or VIP dinners, I get home at 2-2.30am in the mornings by the time I drive home from Abu Dhabi)

* I meet friends once a week

* Andrew and I try to have a date night once every fortnight

If you were stranded on a desert island – which 3 children’s items would you not be able to live without?

• A box of pencils
• A stack of paper (my kids – they draw a lot in their free time)
• Harry Potter series

Read more: 21 of Our Favourite Things To Do With Kids in Dubai Over The Summer

Favourite activity with your kids in Dubai?

We do not have ONE favourite activity but these are our favourite things to do:

• Spending time at home together with the family watching movies in the weekends because of our hectic daily schedule.
• Inviting  friends over… which we do quite a lot
• Going to church followed by trying out a new restaurant for lunch every Friday

Favourite kid-friendly restaurants in Dubai?

Hampton’s, Gazebo and Common Grounds

Read more: Common Grounds: Doing it for the Kids

Read more: Our Favourite Dubai Cafes For A Babyccino (& Latte!)

Dream family vacation? 

We love going to exotic places where we can chill, swim, surf, dive and eat good local fare!

Favourite date-night restaurants?

We frequent these restaurants on our date nights… we are boring that way and tend to be regulars at our fav haunts:

• Coya
• The Experience (when it was open) / The Play
• Beef Bar
• Tomo 

Read more: FOODIE NEWS FLASH, April 2018: New Restaurants & Cafe’s In Dubai

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as a parent?

I was brought up by my amazing parents who are still my role models. And their best advice is to discipline (that does not mean being physical but being strict in your family rules) your children and to instill the core values (honesty, kindness, integrity, humanity, thoughtfulness, emphathy, charity, loyalty, good manners) through showing love.

Who is your hero or heroine and why?

My parents without a doubt. I grew up seeing what a loving relationship is and should be. My dad is 74 and still makes breakfasts for my mum every morning. They still hold hands everywhere they go. My brother and I grew up in a loving and secure environment that our parents have created.

They are my inspiration because they led a life of example to those around them and never fail to leave their mark on the lives of those they know… they lead their lives with love, integrity, kindness and generosity.

I grew up following my parents on mission trips to help the less fortunate… opening their hearts to people in need. I see my parents choosing to spend their money on giving to families in need over buying material or branded goods.

I remembered telling my mum once to change her old phone and her reply was “why would I want to – knowing that a new phone can help feed a family in need for a few months?”.

My parents are now in their 70s and being blessed with a good life. My daddy was one of the Ex-VPs of Bank of America in Singapore so I am pretty sure we had ample savings to lead a lavish life but we never did. My parents gave me and my brother an extremely comfortable life … however they never splurged on ANY luxury items but they chose to live simply and use their money for the greater good.

My brother too left a very successful career as one of the General Managers of Singapore Airlines to start a social enterprise with his Wife and my sister-in-law Cheryl. They now run a successful multi faceted social enterprise (combining a cafe, nail spa and a shop selling eco-friendly and socially conscious brands to jewelry made by ex-human trafficking victims) and hire only people who needs second chances in society. We are a far cry from my parents but I believe what I am today is because of their example.

In one of my recent conversations with my parents, I was complaining about why I was unable to get them on their mobile or at home that day. Their reply was “ we are busy bringing a bunch of old people from the community out. They are underprivileged and we are bringing them out to places they would not have a chance to visit followed by a lunch after”… this is coming from a pair of 70 year olds. They replied “ we will keep doing it until our legs can’t go on anymore”. My parents make me so so proud.

I am trying to bring up my girls with the same values of giving as I was brought up with.  When we were in Hamburg, I used the profits from my business to support the Syrain refugee effort by being the main sponsor for two refugee camps (250 and 350 refugees). I felt that it was very important to get my girls involved so that they could learn important life lessons.

So when their friends were having after school activities, my girls were out shopping for food , going with me to deliver food, and helping me serve food in the refugee camps. I hope they will grow up to become kind, loving, honest ladies with integrity and who will contribute to society.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

Falling on my face in front of the entire stadium during a 100m sprint event.

As a mama I wish I were better at…

Creating amazing costumes for school events/ plays/halloween… I SUCK BIG TIME in this area!

My most humbling mama moment was…

Not one and I have a few…

• When Keira who was eight stood up to the biggest bully (she was twice the size of Keira) in her school in France when the bully was picking on her friend.
• When the girls asked me if they could invite someone over for a play date in Germany and invited a girl who was not popular and had no friends in school. This meant even more to me because they are best friends with some of the most popular kids in school and they kept this play date only with this girl who became a close friend to them in time.
• When Teggy stood up to a group of close friends in Hamburg who were being mean to another kid. The result was her being hurt and ignored by her own friends for a week but we told her how proud we were of her. That week, she learnt an important lesson that making the right decision may not always be the popular decision… but that she needed to do the right thing and stick to her beliefs and principles no matter what. Kids being kids, they welcomed her back into their group after the weekend.

Read more:Parenting Tips: The Importance of Growth Mindset, and How to Boost It

One thing I won’t sacrifice as a mama is…

Homecooked, healthy, nutritious food for the family no matter how busy I get

I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about….

Work and Food 

Even when my children have families of their own, I’ll still…

Be nagging my girls in terms of :

• What they eat or feed their families (we hate junk food)
• How clean their homes are (I am obsessive with cleanliness)

My favourite moment of the day is…

In the mornings when both our girls climb into our bed for their 15 min daily cuddles after waking up before we all start our day.

I always feel saner after…

• Church
• Speaking to my parents on the phone or daily Whatsapps to my bunch of girlfriends (we have been friends for 35 years!)  in Singapore
• Going to the gym and sweating it out

I wish I had more time for…

For my family and friends back in Singapore. Missing them is a constant but a part of our life as an expat family.

We have been away for 13 years and lived in different countries (Singapore/ Genoa / Geneva/ France/ Hamburg/ Dubai). With each move, we say goodbye to good and dear friends that eventually become our family and we leave them behind… goodbyes are never easy but it means that we are so blessed to have families around the world.

The post That Mama: Jean Yeow Winter, Chef and Founder of Jean’s Private Kitchen appeared first on Sassy Mama.

It is nearly the end of the year and for most of us it means a long summer ahead with (lots of) traveling and staying in various places with different family or/and friends with the kids. This is a fun, relaxing and lovely period of the year but there are also some difficulties you will be facing when being away from your family home and put out of your daily routine and structure for weeks. It demands a lot of flexibility and adaptation from you and your kids. Do you feel you are well enough equipped?! Here are some tips:

1. How to cope when the kids are away from their dad (and mamas) for weeks

In many cases, dads are only able to join for a shorter period so the kids will have to miss their father for some time. Some working mums are letting their children stay with family as they cannot get time off that long either. In both ways the kids are not with one/ two parents for a while. It’s normal this creates some worries for parents. Please make a routine in staying in contact/ touch with each other. Send a message, spoken or written, add a picture when sending it. You can do this at the end of the day or at the start of the day- even twice a week works well. Children cope better if they feel they can share their experiences with the person(s) they are missing

2. How to make sure that children don’t feel unsettled when staying with family /friends

Children need familiar belongings, a stuffed animal, their favourite book or favourite toy, when being away from home. With little ones, we decide what that is for them and older children can choose a few things themselves.

Make sure that children have toys and can do different activities where ever they are as they feel better and behave better when their environment is interesting for them and they can play and explore. Bring some of their favourite items, introduce a special holiday toy/game and make sure that they feel free and it’s safe for them to entertain themselves.

3. How to make sure that grandparents/friends etc follow your rules

If you are staying with friends and family or both, make sure that when you make plans or talk about all the fun things you are looking forward to do together, you also let them know in advance what you think is needed to make it a successful time as well. Which ingredients are important for you/ your kids to have a great stay somewhere?

4. Have a think before hand

What you need or what you think your children need to be able to have a good time and make the most of it. What is important for you regarding rules and agreements in your parenting when being with others. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like you have no control over your children’s behaviour when you/ they are staying somewhere. Who is it that should correct them, decides the bedtimes, chooses how much chocolate cookies they eat, how long they watch tv etc. Make a top three list and have a conversation about it with your friends or family. This can safe irritations. People have more understanding and are more willing to try when you let them know what is it that you expect or hope for. You can also ask about theirs!

5. Lastly…

To give your children a better overview, you can make a simple calendar of the summer activities, for example per week, before you leave. Make it together with your kids and explain/ talk about what you will be doing, where it will be and with whom. Make sure that it is easily accessible for all of you. For small kids, starting around the age of three, you can use small drawings/ pictures and colours for he weeks and for older children you can use writing and numbers for the weeks. It helps to visualize things for children, they see when things start and end, rather than only talking about them as it gives some kind of support/ grip for them and you.

In general it is highly positive to build relationships with others – family and friends-  and this period is also an opportunity for your children to develop resilience!

If you would like to have a more personalized plan for this period or have more questions, please get in touch with me, you can send an email to info@pure-parenting.com.

The post Transition Into Summer: Tips For Staying With Family, Being Away From Daddy & More appeared first on Sassy Mama.