Norang Coffee & Crafts Café

**********NEW LOCATION  as of 12/11/13 -- (I have not been there, just got this information from a friend & I do not have directions.)      Seocho-gu Seocho-dong 1698-6 B1 (South gate of Acrovista and Sampoong Apts.) 서초구 서초동 1698-6 지하1층
It’s closed Mondays. Hours 10:30am-8:30pm and phone: 02-573-9607*******************

Christmas break has been filled with snow and COLD! 
At first it was grand - snowmen, hot chocolate, snowball fights, more hot chocolate & more snowball fights! 
We had a white Christmas and we couldn't have been more happy.
Then we had a white the day after Christmas, and the day after that, and the day after that and the day after that...
You get the idea.
Lots of white.
Lots of cold.
Snowmen weren't looking so exciting.
Neither were snowball fights.
These cold winters days turned into lots of inside time.
Well this past Friday was the last day of winter break and I knew I needed to get the kids out of the house and head out on an adventure! 
Lucky for me (and the kids and my friends) I had found an article on this great little café a few weeks back -  Norang, Coffee and Crafts!
Coffee for the mom's and crafts for the kids - and if that isn't enough of a win, win.... get this.... 
The best part is that the mom's get to drink coffee while the STAFF of Norang helps the kids with their crafts! 
A mom's PARADISE at the end of winter break! 
How awesome is that?!

There was only one tiny little problem. 
The directions. 
They sounded simple enough.
I was the fearless leader. 
I can do this.  No worries.
6 happy Mom's 13 happy kids - dressed and ready to hit subway. 

Long story short. We got lost. 6 frazzled Moms, 13 very unhappy kids wandering around in 18 degree weather for over 45 minutes.  I was afraid at one point that the children were going to turn on me and have me for lunch.  I kept saying 5 more minutes as I was fearful for my life.  I think at one point one child started growling at me & I'm pretty sure I saw fangs.  Thank God the owner of Norang took mercy on my soul and came where we were and guided us to the café.

So before this gets too ugly, let me give you directions.  Good directions.
Take Exit No.4 at Maebong Station (Orange/Line #3 Track).
Once you exit the subway TURN LEFT at the 1st intersection.
Walk until the street dead ends (maybe 5 minutes).
This is what it looks like:

When you get to the end of the street TURN RIGHT. 
Walk about 30 seconds and you will see Norang on your right.
It is that simple.
This is what the outside of the café looks like:

As soon as we arrived I ordered 13 hot chocolates.
There was heat.
There were crafts.

And within minutes all was forgiven.

There are rows and rows of shelves filled with crafts for the children to choose from - the cost was from 5,000 won - 25,000 won per craft and there are PLENTY to choose from!

Once your child picks their craft, the staff is there to help oversee the crafting process and to help the children with whatever they need.  They even have shirts to put on over their clothes to help the children stay clean.  Of course Boy 1 didn't have time for the shirt and went straight to work!  :o)

Happiness is a bucket full of paint.

She was so hard at work!

Look mom, I even painted my hot chocolate cup!

I love these girls!  When I told them to look up for a picture they told me to 'hold on a second' - and they proceeded to paint their hands for the picture! 

Drying his artwork!

So serious!

Their daily schedule.  Notice anything odd?  IT IS IN ENGLISH!  Did I mention the owner of this cafe (Gina) speaks perfect English!  She was so kind and helpful.  The customer service was FANTASTIC!   

How cute is this little area?  The kids are welcome to draw on the chalkboard and to color on/in the house.  This a GREAT place to bring the kids!  Boy 2 is considering having is birthday party here! 

They even have crafts to go! 

While the kids were happily crafting, the mom's were pretty happy themselves! 

Sausage-o-pus

Peanutbutter and banana sandwich!

I included this picture because I would really like this for my house! :o)

I give this place 5 out of 5 stars!  Everything about this place was great!  The staff, the food, the crafts, the drinks!  There is only ONE thing I would change, and that would be to add wine to their drink menu!