Teddy Bear train

Review from Ruth Chambers, author of It's Just a Phase parenting blog

I’m currently on holidays from the day job and when we returned from abroad last week it was safe to say I had the post holiday blues. When the kind folk at Rathwood asked us if we would like to experience their Teddy Bear Picnic event, we jumped at the chance. I figured it would be a nice way to round off the holliers. 

Rathwood, famed for it’s Santa experience, is less than an hour from us but we’ve actually never been. So, with the sun splitting the stones today, we headed off for the Rathwood Teddy Bear Picnic with a very excited Aidan and Sarah in tow

In case you’re not aware of the event, at the Rathwood Teddy Bear Picnic kids get to board the Rathwood Express with three bears (mammy bear, daddy bear and baby bear) and take a tour. Goldilocks is the leader of the pack and takes you through the woodlands where you get to visit the teddy bear factory and build your own bear. After that the train takes you to feed the geese and ducks before heading back to the picnic area where the kids get to enjoy food, supplied by Rathwood, with the three bears.

On arrival Aidan and Sarah were given their teddy bear ears and were guided on to the train by Goldilocks. She was absolutely great craic altogether, she even kept the adults entertained. Off we went and the first stop was at the bear’s house. It turned out baby bear was missing so on hopped Mammy and Daddy Bear and off we all went in search of the young one. Daddy Bear sat in our carraige, much to Aidan’s delight. Personally I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor young fella forced to wear a massive bear suit in such heat but in fairness to him, he was mighty craic!

We found baby bear asleep on a rock and she hopped on board too and off we went, singing songs, to the factory. Inside the kids both picked hollow bears and a couple of bags of stuffing and got to making their fluffy friends. After that we went to feed the very eager geese before heading back to the picnic area, complete with toadstools and plenty of picnic blankets. The kids were treated to an apple, a big cookie and a Capri-Sun and were even treated to an ice-cream in the restaurant.

The Rathwood Teddy Bear Picnic really was a cool event. Aidan in particular loved it. I personally loved the the shopping afterwards! There’s a huge range of homewares, toys, fashion, a beauty bar, furniture and a garden centre. The restaurant is really nice so we rounded off our trip with lunch alfresco as the kids did their thing is the adjacent playground.

Entry for the Rathwood Teddy Bear Picnic is €10 each per child (children under one are free) and €6 per adult and can be booked here.

And don’t forget this September, Rathwood are hosting the Sensational Kids Enchanted Fairy and Elf Festival, which really needs your support.

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