Thomas and Friends Educational Toys for Pre-Schoolers

Here is a last minute Christmas idea for pre-schoolers who love Thomas and Friends. The Thomas Alphaphonics and Flip and Learn Phone from Trends UK, are great educational toys which will help little ones to learn while they play. Featuring Thomas and the other Really Useful Engines from Sodor, these toys are colourful, fun and perfect for little fans to enjoy.

Thomas Alphaphonics - £19.99

Pre-schoolers can learn letters, sounds, and spelling with the Thomas Alphaphonics. The easy-to-handle interactive system features every letter in both upper and lower case. Each letter is represented by a character or associated word with 'T' of course being for Thomas! Children can select from seven different play modes, including musical activities and play patterns to help memory. Activities include questions on letters, sounds and words and a game for identifying sequences of  objects. It is easy for little hands to carry and would be great for keeping children entertained away from home or on car journeys.

It assists early letter and word recognition, basic communication, sensory perception, memory and concentration.  It requires 3 x AAA that are included. Suitable from 3 years+.

Thomas Flip & Learn Phone  - £10.99 rrp

This chunky classic flip-up phone in blue, has a backlit answer screen with an image of Thomas and Percy on it. Little ones can call Thomas and his Sodor friends to hear their greetings. It also includes games to help children with number and colour recognition. You can even pretend to take pictures with the camera-phone feature.

This chunky little phone helps children with colour and number recognition, simple communication skills, hand-eye coordination and encourages imaginative play. Memory, concentration and attention is developed as pre-schoolers follow instructions from Thomas and some basic vocabulary is learned through the friendly chatter.

The sturdy, solid design is ideal for younger children aged 18 months+. It might even keep toddlers off their parents iPhones!

The Thomas and Friends toys will be a hit this Christmas. Find the Alphaphonics on Amazon or find the phone in Argos, currently in their 2 for £15 offer.

New Berocca Blackcurrant - feel energised this Christmas

Two out of three adults cite tiredness as their number one health concern. With Christmas speeding towards us, we really need that little bit of help to ensure that we feel energised and able to make the most of every day with a spring in our step. That's when Berocca really comes in handy!  Berocca sent me my very own personalised pack of their new Berocca Blackcurrant, which will see me through the festive period.

Packed full of 8 B vitamins including B1 and B2, which work with your body to release your natural energy, Berocca Blackcurrant reduces tiredness and helps support mental performance. It also contains vitamin C, which is a great supplement to take during the winter months.

Each effervescent tablet makes a flavoursome, fruity,  refreshing drink when added to water and is suitable for vegans. It is free from caffiene, sugar and artificial stimulants and contains just 7 calories. I really like the new blackcurrant flavour, which joins the existing range of orange, mango and mixed berry.

With 52% of UK adults admitting that they cancel social engagements due to tiredness, Berocca can help us all enjoy party season feeling energised and ready to dance the night away!

Berocca Blackcurrant is available in tablet packs of 15 from pharmacies and supermarkets for £4.85 RRP.

Vegetarian and Vegan Treats from Aldi this Christmas

Today I popped to Aldi to check out their festive offerings suitable for vegans.  There are lots of  items labelled as being suitable for vegetarians in Aldi, and with a bit of label reading you can find many of those things are accidentally vegan. From confectionery to frozen foods to alcohol to baked goods, Aldi has an extensive range. Allergens are clearly labelled in the ingredients so if it is vegetarian product made without milk or eggs, I'm happy to consider it suitable for my family.

For festive buffets, the Let's Party 60 piece Oriental Snack Selection is great value at just £3.69 and contains veggie wontons, money bags and spring rolls.

I think everything just tastes so much better when it's Christmas tree shaped!  This six pack of Christmas Tree Crumpets will make a lovely festive family breakfast for just 79p. They also do a Bake and Break Seeded Roll Christmas Tree which is £1.79. I love the idea of serving it at the table with a bowl of freshly made vegetable soup.

I loved this gift box of speciality Single Malt Whisky Jam and Marmalade. It's a great gift idea and looks very fancy. It's only £2.99, which is an excellent price. Dads and grandads would love to find this in their Christmas stocking on Christmas morning.

More Christmas Tree shaped goodies! These Lightly Salted Tortilla Chips and Salted Pretzels are great for snacking on over Christmas. The tortilla chips are 85p and the pretzels are £1.29 for a family size sharing bag. We'll enjoy munching through these while watching Christmas movies. There is also Turkey and Stuffing flavour Tortilla Chips which are vegetarian and dairy free.

The Moser Roth chocolate range looks really premium, but at £1.29 does not have a premium price tag. A number of the flavours including the single origin dark chocolate bars (62%, 70% and 80% cocoa), the orange and almond, chilli and the sea salt bars are all dairy free. Also, the Choceur Mint Waves and the Mint Creme bars are dairy free. Priced at £1.29 and 89p respectively, they are perfect as stocking fillers this Christmas. Aldi also do a dark chocolate reindeer that is dairy free, but they had all sold out. This would have been a lovely stocking filler for my vegan kids.

Another great little gift idea is the Kevin the Carrot pouch shopping bag, priced at just 99p. This reusable bag folds back into the carrot shaped case for convenience. And what can be more vegan than a carrot!

Other highlights of my shop included the Deck the Halls Picks found with the flowers in store. At just £2.09 they add some festive fun to flower arrangements or can be popped in a narrow necked vase to make a pretty addition to your festive decor. Featuring baubles, pine cones and cinnamon sticks, they are really cute!

Aldi also has a great range of fruit and vegetables in store at great prices. I particularly liked the Brussel sprout stalks for just 99p. I'll definitely be getting some of them for Christmas dinner. And I love the little crates of clementines for £2.79 for healthy Christmas snacking.

With their Specialbuys also in store, it's definitely worth checking out your local Aldi for some Christmas bargains this year!

Enter the Elves Got Talent Competition with Elves Behavin' Badly.

Christmas Day is just two weeks away!  We're counting down Christmas with our elves who have been up to all sorts of funny antics. Freddy has loved discovering what they've been up to each morning. They've hidden in the fridge, played hide and seek, swung on the curtain pole and climbed our Christmas tree. 

Now our elves have the chance to become superstars by taking part in the Elves Got Talent competition!

HAVE YOUR ELVES GOT TALENT?

The official Elves Behavin' Badly duo Elfie and Elvie have been taking part in the Elves Got Talent auditions, with their adventures being shared across social media.  Now it's the turn of your Elves to get performing.

From Tuesday 12th December the Elves Got Talent auditions are being opened to all Elves Behavin' Badly fans. To enter, you just have to make a video of your Elves posing, performing and showcasing their elf talents.

You can submit entries 3 ways:

Via the Elves Behavin' Badly Facebook page

Via the Elves Behavin' Badly Instagram page

Via the Contact Us section on the Elves Behavin' Badly website

Entries must be submitted by midnight Monday 18th December 2017.

The team of judges will then create a shortlist of the most talented elves and the overall winner will be announced on Wednesday 20th December. The winner will receive an Elf Hamper and an Elves Got Talent Trophy!

Find out more about the Elves Got Talent competition here!

Awesome Little Green Men Stocking Fillers

If you are looking for stocking fillers for the kids this Christmas, the Awesome Little Green Men Mystery Soldiers blind packs are a great choice. These new collectibles have recently arrived in the UK, delivering a fresh new take on little green army men. Playing with toy soldiers has been brought right up to date with these quirky collectibles with their battle game play.

Awesome Little Green Men may be small in size but their characters are larger than life and serious about the mission ahead. Each with their own expression, you can find the likes of Major Attack and Captain Quiver to collect, each boasting different stats. The aim of the game is to build the strongest troops to win the battle.

The single or twin blind packs are the perfect size for a Christmas stocking, and the four soldier Marksmen Squad or Ranger Unit packs are perfect gifts for under the tree.

You can find them at Smyth's Toys Superstores.

Find out more at: awesomelittlegreenmen.mgae.com.

Lucky Gecko Midwinter Activity Box

Lucky Gecko is a company that specialises in activity boxes for children aged 8 to 12.  Developed by an experienced personal tutor, the boxes are designed to encourage curiosity, build confidence and let imaginations run wild. They make learning fun and exciting and keep children entertained and inspired.

The latest box is the Lucky Gecko Midwinter Activity Box, which is jam packed full of things to do, challenging children and helping to keep their minds busy over the festive holidays. Freddy received one of these boxes and was eager to check out the contents. Everything comes well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box and the contents are wrapped in tissue paper, sealed with a Lucky Gecko sticker.

Freddy was really impressed with the huge array of contents, which included a game, some creative crafts and some fun science based activities to keep him busy over Christmas. Everything you need for the projects is included inside the box including paints and Sharpie markers. The enclosed booklet has full instructions, ideas and information as well as quizzes, puzzles, competitions and challenges. This really is a box filled with things to inspire a child's desire to create, discover, have fun and learn.

Using the contents children can make their own Christmas placemats, thumbprint gift tags, cool penguin racers and tealight snowmen. They can create and learn about crystallization with a magic tree and also make some magic snow and build a miniature snowman. There is also a game of Time Shock which will test children's spatial awareness and their ability to stay calm under pressure as they race to match shapes into the right holes against the clock. Time Shock is a great game to challenge the whole family this Christmas.

The book has some excellent information about Christmas including trivia about feasts, traditions and festivals and the history of Santa. There are lots of quiz questions and challenges, which will make for a fun festive family quiz this Christmas. Plus there are some ideas for festive reads and winter writing activities to help bridge the gap between home and school while the kids are on holiday.

What we loved most about the Midwinter Activity Box from Lucky Gecko is the fact that the whole family can get involved. The Penguin Racers and Magic Snow are things that we can have fun with together, and the Time Shock game is great for family games nights. And any child would be proud to supply the placemats for Christmas dinner or tag a gift with a homemade gift tag.

The quizzes and facts have been enjoyed by us all, I even learned a few new things! I really liked how children are encouraged to develop their leadership and organisational skills to host the family quiz themselves. Freddy enjoyed researching some of the answers to the questions online using the laptop, polishing up his investigative skills before asking us the questions. It's lovely to have the kids in charge of some of the festive activities.

Freddy's big sisters love helping him do arts and crafts activities so the placemat designing, gift tag making and creating of snowman tealights become a team effort. Doing activities like these together is a really bonding experience and Freddy loves it when his older siblings get involved with his stuff.

Boxes come addressed to the child and are really inviting, ready for the contents to be explored. A Parent Pack email is sent to the grown ups, highlighting what's inside the box and giving ideas and advice for follow up activities. The answers to the quiz questions in the booklet are attached for the kids' eyes only, giving them ownership as the quizmasters!

Children are encouraged to enter the competitions and share photographs of what they have made with Lucky Gecko, which gives them recognition for their hard work, giving them a great confidence boost. Children's work can be featured, for example there is a bookmark included in this box designed by a Lucky Gecko winner.

The standalone Midwinter Activity Box would be a wonderful and thoughtful gift for a child this Christmas, delivered directly to their door. These boxes are limited and ready to ship now for the price of £30 from  www.luckygecko.com.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Freddy loves Captain Underpants. His big sister bought him the set of  books for Christmas last year and he has read all of them, some more than once! They are the first books that he has read independently for pleasure and they have even inspired him to draw his own cartoon strips. So Captain Underpants is definitely a family favourite in our house!

When we discovered they were making Captain Underpants into a film we were really excited for the opportunity of seeing Freddy's favourite character come to life on the big screen. And now the DVD and Blu-Ray of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is going to be available to own on December 4th from Dreamwork's Animation. It is an absolute must-have and will take pride of place in Freddy's film collection.

To celebrate the release of the film, I have received a bespoke pair of festive, fun party pants featuring Captain Underpants himself made by Bags of Love. They'll definitely be my pants of choice this Christmas!

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie follows the story of best friends, pranksters and comic book makers George Beard and Harold Hutchins. One day they accidentally hypnotise their grumpy school principal and nemesis Mr Krupp, turning him into the dimwitted, underpants wearing superhero, Captain Underpants.  Life at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School would never be the same again!

A new teacher arrives at school and George and Harold soon find out that he is really a disgraced scientist, Professor Pippy Pee Pee Poopypants, with an evil plan to rid the world of laughter and turn the school children into humourless zombies. Together with school swot and tattletail Melvin Sneedly, Professor P. unleashes the Turbo Toilet 2000 on the town. The boys and Captain Underpants have to come together to stop his evil plan.

The film really brings the books alive, capturing the style and essence of the first four titles perfectly. We loved how the comic books, which are such a major part of the series, were incorporated into the movie. Freddy found the film laugh-out-loud funny and thoroughly enjoyed all the visual humour and jokes. The slightly rude, toilet humour is definitely right up my son's street and the joy of Uranus gags never gets old! The romantic interest  with Mr Krupp and Edith the dinner lady was a nice addition that warmed the heart and the strong theme of friendship sends a powerful message of the importance of being a BFF.

The Captain Underpants DVD or Blu-ray will make a great Christmas gift or stocking filler this year, or you can enjoy the movie for a festive family film night. Giggling is guaranteed!

Tumball - the nerve wracking, bead stacking game

Tumball is the new nerve wracking game from Megableu that the whole family will enjoy. The idea of the game is to take turns placing beads onto a cluster of suspended hanging balls without bringing the whole precarious lot crashing down!

The contents includes a base, arm and hook that are easily put together and dismantled. A ring with seven hangers attaches to the hook and the coloured beads are pushed onto the ends of the hangers. There are 24 white beads and four wands that are used to place the beads.

The beads are divided between the players who take turns to position their beads onto the balls. You need a steady hand and nerves of steel as you place your beads. If any drop, they are added to your collection. The first player to get rid of all their beads wins.

It takes a lot of concentration to position a bead through the hangers and into a space where it won't bring the whole lot down. If you tremble, the balls will tumble!

We all enjoyed playing Tumball together. I loved the fact that Freddy had as good a chance as winning as his older sisters or me. It definitely tests your dexterity, nerve and fine motor skills as you position the beads, and it is always a bit of a shock when your turn causes the hangers to shake, separate and bring all the beads crashing down. It's a clever little game that is really quite addictive as your strive to get rid of all your beads first and build the biggest stack on top of the balls.

The game is for 2 to 4 players aged 5+ and is £17.99 RRP.  It's a great Christmas gift idea and will a fun game to play together over the Christmas holidays. Find out more at www.megableu.com/uk/tumball


        

Robinson's Fruit Creations #GrownUpSquash

The Robinsons name is synonymous with fruity squashes, which have been loved by kids for generations. Now Robinsons have introduced a range of squashes with the adult palate in mind. After investigating new food trends, they have come up with some exciting new combinations and tweaked some family favourites, reformulating them for a grown-up market. The Fruit Creations range is even more fruity, less sweet, more adventurous and more exotic, containing twice the fruit content for more mature taste buds to enjoy.

Each serving of Fruit Creations contains no more than 10 calories with no added sugar, no artificial colourings and no artificial flavourings. Each glass helps keep you hydrated. For anyone who doesn't enjoy drinking plain water, Robinsons Fruit Creations is a great alternative.

I received a bottle of new Crisp Apple & Elderflower Barley, which is a more sophisticated squash flavour. The delicate elderflower and crisp apple combine to create a refined drink, brimming with fruitiness.

The drink is very refreshing with a crisp fruity flavour followed by a note of floral elderflower. It's definitely good for us grown-ups who want a soft drink that isn't too sweet. It makes it easy to stay hydrated during the day. My eldest daughters both enjoy having this as an option when they are home, so I'll definitely be keeping a bottle in the kitchen from now on!

Look out for the Robinsons Fruit Creations and new fruit cordials in supermarkets.

Give the Gift of a White Christmas with Insta-Snow

We're singing songs about dreaming of a white Christmas. There are images on Christmas cards portraying snow covered landscapes and carrot nosed snowmen. However, most children in the UK  have never actually experienced a white Christmas. Most Christmases in recent memory have been pretty grey and damp without the magical addition of a sprinkle of snow. In fact the last time we saw snow on December 25th was seven years ago.

This year, we can all enjoy the excitement, fun and magic of snow thanks to Insta-Snow. Winner of the Science Toy Awards 2017, Insta-Snow creates the magic of real snow, with the added benefit of teaching STEM skills. Insta-Snow’s unique super absorbent polymer changes its state from a dry powder to a big, fluffy and moist snow-like consistency. It’s science, but with added magic!

You simply add water and the powder expands to 100 times its original size, fluffing up like real snow. Just without the chill!

Insta-Snow doesn't melt or dissolve and so it lasts for ages. When it dries out, you can add more water to enjoy the fun all over again.

At just £3.99 for a single pack it makes a great stocking filler, guaranteeing a white Christmas for your little ones this year, whatever the weather! It's also available in a 100g jar for £7.99.

Find out more at www.trendsuk.co.uk/insta-snow.

A Vegan Lunch at the Toby Carvery

At this time of year, we are all busily preparing for Christmas, which is rapidly approaching. Christmas shopping can be exhausting, especially when fighting the Black Friday crowds for a pre-Christmas bargain. So a good lunch after hitting the town is a well deserved treat.

Toby Carvery invited me for a post-shopping lunch at my local Telford restaurant. With the Christmas decorations, the seasonal menu and the Christmas tree, there is a festive atmosphere - perfect for enjoying after a spot of Christmas shopping. I invited my parents and my sister Paula to join me for a morning of shopping for the grandkids followed by a meal and they eagerly accepted the invitation.

We were seated at our table and offered drinks straightaway and then looked at the menus. We had worked up quite an appetite from shopping!

The menu for the carvery includes a section for vegetarians and vegans. The fact that a carvery, such as Toby offers these options is really impressive. I wish all chain restaurants could take a leaf out of Toby's book and make their menu accessible for those of us who choose a meat free diet. There were several options that we could pick from including the meat-free carvery, grilled aubergine stack and root vegetable roast.

We all opted for the Portobello Mushroom Bullseye Tart. As we are vegan, we asked our server what vegetables were suitable for us. She consulted with the chefs and came back to tell us that the cabbage was glazed with butter and the mash contained milk. However, the chef offered to make us our own mash and unglazed cabbage, which would be brought to our table when our mains were ready. This was a really nice touch that we appreciated very much.

From the carvery deck, we were able to have stuffing, peas, parsnips, carrots and roast potatoes. We then added some of Toby's vegetarian gravy. The mash and cabbage was brought out at the same time as our mains. Everything was piping hot and well prepared.

The mushroom tart was delicious with a whole Portobello Mushroom on a tasty savoury, mushroom sauce in a rich, crimped pastry case. The vegetables were all lovely, fresh, well cooked and delicious. We had a huge plateful each and all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Even though we were pretty full, we simply had to sample the vegan dessert from the menu - a chocolate and cherry torte. It was rich and dark and studded with juicy cherries. A nice combination that was nicely served with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Overall, we were very impressed with our meals and the price of around £10 a head for two courses is great value for money. The accompaniments to our main course were plentiful and we liked being able to help ourselves to what we wanted. The staff were all friendly and the chef who did us the extras was especially kind, making sure we were happy with what he'd made for us. It was a great experience and we enjoyed refuelling ourselves ready for our next round of Christmas preparations!

Check out the website at www.tobycarvery.co.uk.

Elves Behavin' Badly are Getting Ready for Advent

December 1st is just over a week away! That means that my friendly resident elves will soon be getting up to some naughty antics to celebrate the countdown to Christmas. This alternate advent idea promises to be a lot of fun and will definitely entertain Freddy, as he discovers what the elves have been up to the night before.

The Elves Behavin' Badly are getting a bit excited about the prospect of their stay with us here Inside the Wendy House. They are already starting to get up to mischief and are planning their exploits for month ahead.

They've being busy checking out the catalogues choosing Christmas Presents for their list to Santa.

And Elfie has been taking Selfies, getting ready for her social media debut on December 1st!

We're going to have so much fun with our elf house guests this year. They will make the countdown to Christmas more creative and inject some laughter into our mornings. Find out more about the Elves Behavin' Badly at www.elvesbehavinbadly.com.

No More Fading to Grey with Surf Perfect Black

Surf has a new formula specially designed to keep your dark clothes looking like new for longer - Surf Perfect Black. As someone whose wardrobe is predominantly black, I was really interested in this new product. Black clothes usually ends up fading to grey, but Surf Perfect Black ensures dark clothing retains its colour better and for longer. Fragranced with Midnight Orchid and Lily, it comes in both super concentrated liquid and bio-capsule formats. Laundry is clean and fresh, and the product is effective even when used in cold washes.

It's good to see a laundry product designed especially to care for your darks, to help avoid the dreaded fade! I'm hoping to buy some new black jeans this Christmas and hope I can keep them looking black instead of them turning grey. Dark jeans are definitely the worst culprit when it comes to laundry fade, so if I can stave this off I'll be impressed.

I must admit that part of me kind of wanted the liquid itself to be black! But no - it's a normal white colour. It smells really pleasant with its floral scent and so far it's doing a good job of making my washing clean and fresh. It's nice to have a formula designed specifically for my dark washing.

Surf are urging customers to display their darks online in the #SurfPerfectBlack challenge!

Surf Perfect Black is available to buy in selected Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's stores for an RRP of £5.50 for a 25 wash liquid or 20 wash bio-capsule.

A Magical Start to Christmas at the Intu Trafford Centre

Today we were invited to the Intu Trafford Centre to watch their Magical Christmas Parade. Arriving before the parade began, we had the chance to meet the stars of the show in a private meet and greet. Freddy loved seeing Peppa Pig, Bing & Flop, Shimmer & Shine, Marshall & Skye, the Minions, PJ Masks and Branch & Poppy. There is something so magical about seeing the children interact with their favourite TV stars in real life! We had a really nice breakfast, juice and coffee supplied by Leon, which was much appreciated after our early start.

We were then lucky enough to be able to watch the parade from the VIP enclosure at the side of the stage in the Orient. There was a procession of the characters alongside dancing princes and princesses, jugglers, drumming soldiers, stilt walkers, ballerinas, dancers, Father Christmas and his elves.

The all singing, all dancing performance ended with a magical blizzard of snowflake confetti, which was really lovely.  We left feeling very festive after our wonderful morning at the intu Trafford Centre.

Afterwards we got to do some Christmas shopping and get some lunch. The Christmas lights made the experience very sparkly and festive.

Check out what is happening at the intu Trafford Centre this Christmas at intu.co.uk/traffordcentre.

Despicable Me 3 Movie Review

The latest installment in the Despicable Me movie franchise is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital courtesy of Universal Pictures. The story of Gru, his wife Lucy and their three girls continues with plenty of action, adventure and comedy. 

Gru finds himself fired from the Anti-Villain League after failing to capture vengeful former child star Balthazar Bratt, an eighties obsessed bad guy whose evil plot threatens the whole of humanity. He is trying to steal the world's largest diamond to power up a robot with world domination in mind.

With Gru now out of a job, the Minions hope he will now return to his old life of villainy. Disappointed at his refusal, they go on strike and leave their master, getting themselves into their usual brand of slapstick trouble, which lands them in jail.

Meanwhile, Gru discovers he has a long lost twin brother who desperately wishes to follow in his brother's old despicable footsteps, dreaming of being a super villain like their father. Even though Gru wants to stay on the straight and narrow, the two brothers do eventually bond and together plan a heist to steal the diamond. However, they fall out after Dru discovers that Gru's plan is to actually return the diamond to the AVL in the hope of getting his old job back. This gives Balthazar Bratt the opportunity to steal the diamond for himself and power up his evil robot. The twins, along with the Minions who have since escaped, must take on Bratt in the ultimate showdown, hoping to save the world from his eighties inspired villainy.

Fans of the Minions will love this new movie, and the talent show scene will definitely bring plenty of laughs. It's great to see how Gru's relationships are developing with Lucy and their three daughters, as they work together on becoming the family they want to be.

Despicable Me 3 will be a perfect family film to watch together this Christmas and will make a lovely stocking filler!