Birthday treat for ill 4 year old

[AllyCat]

Hello there

My lovely nephew is 4 years old this weekend and I'm looking for ideas of how we can celebrate his birthday.

There are a few problems however - he has leukaemia and although thankfully in remission his blood count is not good this week and his immune system is down, therefore he can't be in places with lots of people in - so swimming, the cinema, adventure play grounds are out.

We were going to take him to Days out with Thomas at the Kent & East Sussex railway - as he is OBSESSED with trains - but can't now - so if you have any ideas involving trains that would be great!

We can leave the house so anywhere in SE London or Kent is fine....

Also - it will be just me, his dad and his Nanna there.

Or could we organise something for him at home that's a bit different?

Any ideas gratefully received!

Thank you

AC x

[ydrmdy]

So sorry to hear that your nephew is unwell, but good news that he is in remission.I wish him well.

This site might give you some ideas for a small party at home. Perhaps you could invent a Thomas the tank question game that you could all play. ( I bet he's told you everything about Thomas).

http://www.theqfamilyadventures.com/thomas-train-birthday-party/

Or if he has a computor at home you could all take turns to play online games with him.

http://www.best-preschool-games.com/thomastankengineonlinegames.html

[alice32]

I've never been, but the Bluebell Railway in Sussex is meant to be fantastic. Here's the link: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/

Hope he has a lovely day.

[Carbonara]

I think I would buy him a train set of some description and spend the day playing with it, make a train birthday cake (construct with a swiss roll, mini roll, something for wheels and your imagination), and then as soon as he is next able take him to one of the steam railway days, or even on the DLR all the way down to the end of the line, sitting in the front of the front carriage 'driving' it. (It is very empty during the day. If you don't want to take him in big crowds, drive to Surrey Quays tesco or Decathlon car park and walk the short (200m) distance to Canada Water DLR station.

IKEA have (or used to have) very cheap versions of the extortionate Brio train stuff, you could buy several kits and build lots of different tack versions. The ELC hve good tracks, too.

Lots of company prepared to play trains all day without making excuses is a treat for 4 year olds!

I hope whatever you do goes well, and all good wishes for his ongoing recovery.

P.S when he can get out and about again he will love the Transport Museum in Covent Garden.

PPS ASDA do a Thomas Party Cake http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?aisleid=1214921925303&departmentid=1214921923703&kw=asdajump

You could call the Clapham Junction branch and ask if they have one in or can order it for you.

Sorry - link doesn't go to the party cakes page, but it's in there!

TESCO Thomas party gear http://www.tescoparty.com/ShowProducts.aspx?pageid=459

[bluesuperted]

I hope you have a lovely day and he continues his great recovery.

Think the trainset idea is great and also adding to the previous idea of a game, how about a treasure hunt with train related clues and forfeits/tasks around the house and garden? It will take a bit of brainpower but I bet it'd go down really well and could be incorporated into the playing/revealing of the gift too.

Have fun, you sound like a very thoughtful Auntie!

x

[smb12]

What a kind and thoughtful auntie. I really hope he makes a full recovery very soon.

If you do fancy going out for the day and the weather is ok, the Romney/Hythe steam railway in south kent is supposed to be very good and stops at Romney Sands for a winters day running around the beach (maybe bring a portable bbq and cook some sausages for hot dogs!). I have three boys (5, 3 and 2) who are all train mad and I know (wrapped up) they would love that.

If staying in, train set/games are a great idea - if you can get some battery operated ones (TOMY for example) you could do races. also you can get thomas balloons on amazon to decorate the room or from party sites like partyrama. How about a Thomas pinata as well? (http://www.partystuffonline.co.uk/Description.asp?ProductID=14102) This one is perfect as you pull the strings to release the sweets/goodies (rather than hit it) and with four of you it will still work well.

Sainsburys DKH also has a Thomas birthday cake as I have bought many times for my boys ;)

Hope he has a lovely day!

[curlykaren]

mini bouncy castle...you can get them small enough to fit in any room (think about the size of a paddling pool)

mobile pet zoo

majician

a visit from a character (perhaps you could find the fat controller?)

none of it very train related?? but you may decide to go another way, all the best.

[AllyCat]

Many thanks for all your ideas - they were great!

I ended up devising a treasure/scavenger hunt for him around the house and garden for him to find his presents which he seemed to enjoy.... and we sat and played trains for ages with his giant train set he has... and Nanna made him a cake in the shape of a train and we did some balloon games!

We'll be off the Bluebell railway when his immunes have improved - and I also contacted a model railway club down in Kent who are going to arrange for him to come and visit at the end of March - so things to look forward too!

Thanks for all you good wishes too - my brother was very touched :)

AC

[Carbonara]

I'm glad you all had a lovely day.

Ignore my mis-information about Canada Water being on the DLR - sorry! But the DLR is a fun experiecne for 4 year olds.

[budur]

this would be a great place to visit when he's better, a long drive though. real big trains you can climb to and not many people there at all, it's off the beaten track. something to look forward to. hopefully he'll be better soon and can visit it.

http://www.steam-museum.org.uk