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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
David Adamson & Amber O'Connor

Mum spends three hours cleaning up 'carnage' as kids cover house in bean bag balls

Playing in the snow is one of life's magical moments and a favourite pastime of children everywhere.

Sadly, as summer approaches, there are fewer opportunities for snowball fights.

So a group of cheeky friends decided to take matters into their own hands, by transforming their house into a winter wonderland.

The children had been enjoying their first playdate in their new home when they came up with an idea. They then emptied all the polystyrene balls from three giant bean bags, much to the surprise of their unsuspecting mums.

The "carnage", which took under 30 minutes for the kids to create, took over three hours for their parents to clean up.

The cheeky group loved playing in the 'snow' (Kennedy News and Media)
The cheeky group loved playing in the 'snow' (Kennedy News and Media)

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Luckily, their mums saw the funny side of things. Natalie Standen, from Jersey, Channel Islands had been having a catch up with her friend Andreia Gomes when the chaos unfolded.

The 38-year-old had invited Andreia and her daughter to her family's home for the first time after they had moved in three weeks prior.

Natalie's sons Harvey, five, and Alex, seven, daughter Ava, three and Andreia's daughter Leah Zara, six, were playing upstairs while their parents enjoyed a cup of tea.

But 20 minutes into the visit Natalie's eldest son, 11-year-old Jake, raced downstairs 20 minutes to report that "some carnage" was taking place.

When the pair went to investigate, they were met with an unusual scene - it looked to be snowing, inside, mid-June.

Full-time mum Natalie recalled: "As we walked up the stairs we could hear lots of laughter and screaming, and as we hit the top floor the landing was covered in 'snow'.

"Then we opened the door to the playroom. It was three of the four very large bean bags, and it was everywhere. The first thing they said was 'it's snowing'. They were laughing, throwing it in the air and having an absolute ball.

"Me and Andreia both looked at each other and at the same time said "oh my god'."

The mum of four, who lives with 37-year-old IT manager husband Danny Standen, said the room had been covered in thousands of polystyrene orbs.

"It took maybe 20 minutes between leaving them in the room to play and coming back to that. They made quick work of it and we had no clue," she added.

After discovering the snow scene, Natalie and Andreia set to cleaning up the balls.

Natalie said: "We tried to get them to help. Ava climbed into one of the empty bean bags and refused to get out, Harvey was filling up a shoe and Alex was throwing it all over us - so I'm not sure 'help' is the word.

"It took us three-and-a-half hours, and we're still finding it now. It's going to be there for the next few years I'm sure."

Even after the big clean, Natalie believes children should be allowed to "make a mess."

She explained: " "I'm one for letting children be children. Let them get muddy, let them jump in a stream.

"They just love to be children, and I like them to be doing what children do."

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