This is an awesome school. The staff are so friendly and helpful and so engaging and enthusiastic…read morewith the kid. The office staff are amazing and always know what's going on. The school is great for kids with additional needs and are very understanding and supportive. There are a range of extra curricular activities form sport to art.

I really like The Works, you can pick up all sorts of interesting books here for a bargain price,…read morethey are arranged out by category like they would in a library, children's section, thriller, local history, cookery, reference books etc. They also stock a wide range of craft goods, such as easels, all types of paint and paintbrushes, scrapbooks, stickers, wool, needles, you name it! The Works is a good shop for giftware too, for example if you have secret Santa, there are loads of fun items, themes such as Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Hello Kitty, and more. This is actually one of the nicer The Works stores I've been in, it's not too crammed as some others are, and is easy to navigate without knocking things over!

This is a great wee shop inside connswater shopping centre. There are a vast selection of books…read morethere are every book you can imagine in this shop, I like the cookbooks as I like to bake at home , most of my cookbooks are from here and theres lots to choose from and the prices are decent too. The works also sell children's books and children's toys and sweeties at the till. Theres a small craft selection which has a good selection of boxes ec to keep your crafting supplies in. If your an artist theres a brilliant selection of canvas's and paints and brushes even charcoals and pastels. Theres a great selection here for anyone into painting. Also a selection of DVDs, calendars and diarys. Theres gift sets and gadgets in store. Shop is always crammed and well filled with stock!

I am a big child. I'm putting that in writing and I'm not ashamed of it. Smyth's Toystore is…read morepossibly the greatest place on Earth. From being brought up on Home Alone when he got lost in the toy store, and from watching Toy Story too many times, I get a little bit excited when I step inside any toy shop. I'm not some creepy person that hangs around toy shops by the way, I went here with my mother to get our younger cousins presents for Christmas. The place, as you would expect, is mental in this festive holiday so plan early. You can reserve things on the internet which we only found out after our hectic visit. They have every toy under the sun and at the same prices as Argos or Toys r'us so it's a great place to shop. Plus, if you find yourself with younger children when your shopping on the Boucher Road, I'm sure you can probably treat them to something nice. Recommended for all ages

Smyths toy store is heaven for children and those that do not want to grow up. So my trip there was…read moreperfect! The bright store in Shane Retail Park is filled with an array of colour, games, toys and much more! The assortment of stock is equipped for all age groups as they range from new born babes right through to twelve plus. As I'm twenty-two, the twelve plus has certainly been given liberally!! This store is massive and with that comes pros and cons. If you arrive with children, expect to be in store for days and leaving with a car load of new toys. So, my advice if at all possible leave the kids behind or be very strict about the days events, it will be stressful. The great thing about Smyths is that it answers every kid's birthday and Christmas gifts without too much stress or worry. Also their online check in policy allows customers to check if there wanted product is in store before heading down to get it. Brilliant!

Wow. Impressive suet up…read more Modern, new and bright space that is well lit with natural lighting. Has two floors. The upstairs is a gallery that looks onto the gallery below. Was impressed with the World illustrators Award exhibition that I came especially from Belfast to see. Could not believe a show of that calibre would be in NI never mind a galley I had not heard of or been to before rather than the bigger well know Belfast galleries. Also got an invite from the receptionist to the next show by Sea Court printers. Apparently when you sign up to receive emails you get invites to opening events. Pretty cool.

Clotworthy offers many varied create and craft classes for people of all ages and abilities, fair…read moreprices and set in the stunning castle grounds. Plays and concerts are available all year round and the centre has its own recoreding studio on site where young people can record their own music. Lots of the exhibitions tend to be a bit odd but cafe is very nice. Ask about the white lady if you visit. Ni problem with parking

I'm actually in Waterstones a lot without every buying a book. You see Waterstones houses one of my…read morefavourite coffee shops in the city, Ground Espresso Bar. The bookshop itself is always busy but don't worry there's also plenty of staff although sometimes I find it hard to distinguish between staff and browsers as they don't appear to have a clear uniform. The shop displays are always excellent - they often have featured books highlighted on a table and then related works nearby. I really like this concept as it makes it a really easy shopping experience. Waterstones has a really nice relaxed feeling about it - you won't get told off for having a good rummage and likewise if you want to contemplate your next novel choice the upstairs coffee shop is the perfect place to do that. I know this review wasn't exactly a thriller but hopefully it's a good non-fiction.

Waterstones does not strike me as 'mainstream' as Easons or WH Smith. There is more of a homely,…read moresort of old fashioned atmosphere at Waterstones which takes the shabby bookshop feel but invests lots of money and time into it to make it into a great store. It is a great mix of old and new. The shop gives you a feel of being a bit like going to your gran's house, but instead of old photo albums, you have the latest bestsellers dotted around instead. They have some great offers, particularly on children's books. I went in with a friend to buy books for primary school teaching and they had some great ones for very cheap. The shop also has some travel guides, a great section on irish history, and is a perfect stop if you need to get someone a Christmas present and you've already exhausted the CD and DVD route one too many times. The staff are really nice and smile and do everything you want from a bookshop member of staff. Remarkable how some shops not too far away have the most ignorant members of staff you can find, yet a quaint little bookshop has the most polite and pleasent people you will ever find. Although I don't like buying books and not ever getting round to reading them, I do like to browse bookshops and Waterstones is one of my favourite in all of Belfast.

This place is kids heaven! It's full of glitter, Plasticine, pains, cards and everything for making…read more big big mess. The stuff in here is perfect for stocking up on great gifts for birthday presents or Christmas! And they also have a whole range of costumes and toys in here too. If you come n here with a child be prepared for a long stretch as the store is jam packed and kids just love it! It's pretty cheap too which is always good as people do tend to rip the arse out of kids shops as they know tantrums could result in a child not getting what they want and parents looking for the easy life begrudgingly giving in. Ahh, the joys of what I have to look forward to.

I like shops like this. I think the kid in me is just attracted to glitter!…read more I'm also a big fan of hand-making cards for friends and family, so I do spend a good bit of time in shops like Art & Hobby, agonising over which thickness of card to get (seriously. I've been known to have to leave the shop to have a think before I buy!). The Art & Hobby shop is in a great location, probably the best location of all the crafty shops in town, so I end up going in simply because I'm passing it. It's not my favourite though. I find it a little more expensive than its rivals and it is a lot more focused on kids toys and crafts, which can make it hard when you want to make a card for someone over the age of 5!

One of the best perks of being a dad to a boy is getting to play with the toys too, there's any…read moreamount of toys and the store is divided into sections, boys ,girls,babies,outdoor and tv/film toys with a general craft or hobby toy area. You can pay off items that they can store for you on the run up to Christmas which helps spread the cost. They also assemble bikes and go carts for an extra fee which is great if your not comfortable with self assembly .even though it sells computer games its great to see so many real toys.

I'm a big kid, so it will come as no surprise that this place is like Disneyland to me-even at 20!…read moreIt's just row after row after row of toys i.e hours of fun! They stock every toy imaginable, from Barbies to Snakes and Ladders to more outdoorsy stuff like bikes and swing sets. And it's absolutely huge, meaning it's so easy to get lost in it-which I'm very grateful for as I don't want my friends to see me drooling over the Lego set that I'm supposedly purchasing for my nephew. My only warning about this place is that if you have small children, it will be very hard to a) Make them leave it and b) Leave empty-handed!

I've stressed before in another charity shop review that I don't normally shop in these places, not…read morebecause I'm a snob, but because I never honestly thought that they would be selling anything that I would want - or that would fit me. Now, while this shop didn't have any clothes that looked like my cup of tea, it has a great book selection. Anyone who knows me knows my penchant for books and pens. I'm a freak. I name my pens and my books are like children to me - and I will buy a book before I will buy food, and that's saying something! The selection in here is quite good - in fact it was so to my taste that I actually already owned most of the books already, but spotted a likely candidate nestled in the middle of one shelf, a very good perfectly unmarked clean paperback and it was only a quid. And that quid went to the hospice. You can't say fairer than that. So there.