Days out with the kids

The joys of half term this week which means lots of day trips to keep the kids out of mischief. Mr Harrison tends to handle the first half of the week on the childcare and I take on the second half. Could we day-trip without single-use plastic?

My first day trip with the eldest child was a cinema trip to see The Lego Movie 2 – ok, so maybe I was a little bit excited about this trip due to my love of all things Lego. As Mr Harrison had the car to get to work and drop youngest off at nursery, it was an exciting bus trip on the X2 to Didcot. Due to the bus timetable, we were in Didcot earlier than the start of the film at 11:10, so obligatory coffee at the Cornerstone. Trying to avoid plastic bottles and drinks cartons, elder was happy pouring a glass of water out of the water dispenser and a slab of cake from the cake stand – not a plastic wrapper to be seen.

Now, we could have had a lot of sweets and drinks in various plastic receptacles at the cinema which wouldn’t be in the spirit of plastic redacted. We could have had a box of popcorn, but I always feel that even a small popcorn is way too big unless you’ve got the whole family with you. I had been prepared and brought with me cheese sandwiches and a bottle of tap water as the film was going to track through lunchtime, which all kept elder toped up when she got hungry around the time Bruce Willis turned up (in the movie, I mean – we weren’t meeting him at Didcot Cineworld, that would just be silly).

After the movie we had lunch – we initially popped in to Boswells and immediately walked out because a) elder’s superhero weakness is indecisiveness and can never make up her mind what she wants if presented with too much choice, Boswell’s selection proving too much; and b) all the sandwiches and baguettes were in plastic wrap, and unlikely to be the recycling kind. So, we headed over to the Wildwood Kitchen where the kid’s menu did nicely. Though a tad more expensive than Boswells, no plastic.

Last but not least was an obligatory trip to the charity and clothes shops to get a few new tops for the elder, who has done a growth spurt recently. After grabbing a few costume bits from the local charity shops to prepare for World Book Day on the 7th (will the monotonous cycle of nursery and school events never end?) we popped into H&M. I initially grabbed some of their organic cotton conscious tops and my eye was caught by some reduced winter coats. Now, I’m always keeping any eye out at the end of the winter for the next couple of sizes up coats as it will eventually get used by both kids, as well perusing as charity shops. I got a great Mountain Warehouse raincoat for the eldest in Whitby of all places last year. Raincoats or winter jackets are always plastic, which is where plastic is fantastic due to its waterproofness and insulating properties. There are likely more sustainable products out there, but after a brief Google search this morning, I doubt we’ve got enough money in the kitty to keep the kids topped up in fancy recycled plastic or waterproof cotton coats (I wonder what makes them waterproof….) at £100 each, so price-reduced or second hand is the way to go on this one.

Anyhow, at the check-out it became apparent that said coat and tops were too big to fit in the bag I had brought along. Panic! Do I have to get a plastic bag? I could just carry it, couldn’t I? When asked if I needed a bag I asked if they were plastic? “Unfortunately, its paper” said the checkout assistant. “Unfortunately”? It’s a paper bag, nothing unfortunate about that. Phew.

So overall first day trip day went rather well on the plastic redacted from. Second day trip with the whole family was a bit of an epic fail. Last birthday, we promised eldest a trip to Cadbury World which we have only just sorted out. Trying to avoid traffic, we got there super early so sit down in the café with a plastic wrapped snack as we hadn’t left ourselves enough time to put together a packed lunch that morning. Bonus of the trip around Cadbury World is the handing out of lots of chocolate bars, but big whoops – all wrapped in plastic. Another highlight is getting some melted chocolate with two toppings of your choice – comes in a plastic lined cup and disposable polystyrene spoon. Oh dear. We could have perhaps not taken the chocolate, but just imagine this scenario – putting free chocolate in front of a small child and telling them they can’t have it. Yep, water works and temper tantrums would ensue.

We did turn it all around later on by not buying any plastic toot from the souvenir shop on the way out and then heading to the pub for lunch, thus avoiding a plastic wrapped lunch as provided at the café at Cadbury’s.

Overall, mixed success for plastic free day trips. Lesson to take on board is we need to prep more packed lunches the night before, which also means I need to find some alternatives to the crisps and chocolate bars that in the past that were a staple of a day trip packed lunch. Or could make my own crisps… more on that another time.