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!

Make Mornings Fun with Ready Brek and Despicable Me 3

There is a distinct chill in the air in the mornings that is making the presence of winter feel really imminent. When the cold weather closes in, a good, hearty breakfast is so important to give us the best possible start to the day. But with time being  such an issue on a school morning, breakfast still needs to be quick and convenient. That's when Ready Brek comes into its own. Thanks to Ready Brek, Freddy can enjoy a warming, healthy start to these wintry mornings and fuel his body with some long lasting energy that will see him through to lunchtime.

I love that Ready Brek Original contains nothing nasty, unexpected or unnecessary, the ingredients list contains just wholegrain oats and oat flour, with added vitamins and minerals. Plenty of things that growing boys and girls need in their diets, such as protein, fibre, calcium and vitamins B and D. We make it using almond milk and Freddy likes to top it with a squeeze of maple syrup for a bit of sweetness. Other serving ideas include topping with fresh fruit, dried fruit, yogurt, golden syrup or nuts, or it can be used as an addition to smoothies or as an ingredient in breakfast muffins.

Ready Brek have teamed up with Despicable Me 3 bringing some extra added fun to breakfast time. The special packs feature the Minions, fresh from their role in the new Despicable Me 3 movie. On the back of the pack is a fun activity and you can also win despicable prizes every hour, such as drones, scooters and night mission goggles, by entering the unique code found in the pack on the winwithweetabix.co.uk website.

Despicable Me 3, which is out on DVD and Blu-ray now, is the latest installment in the Despicable Me franchise. Starring Gru, his wife Lucy and their three girls, as well as the Minions, DM3 is a great family film. The eighties obsessed super villain, Balthazar Bratt who is intent on vengeful world domination, and Gru's long lost twin brother Dru, who wants to follow in his brother's old villainous ways, are new characters that add to the fun! Throw in a Minions strike that leads all the way to prison and you have the recipe for a real adventure. The DVD also features an all new mini-movie that little fans will really enjoy. Perfect family viewing for the Christmas holidays.

To celebrate these two family favourites, Despicable Me 3 and Ready Brek, teaming up, I've come up with a super simple Minions inspired combination for Freddy's breakfast. As those little yellow Minions love bananas so much, it seems fitting to combine the delicious wholesomeness of Ready Brek with some yummy banana! Making a Minion face using sliced bananas and raisins brought an element of Despicable Me 3 fun to breakfast time, while adding the extra goodness of fresh and dried fruits. Freddy loved it!

In keeping with the Despicable Me 3 theme, Freddy has also discovered Despicable Me Mineez, collectible mini DM3 figures. You can collect your favourite characters such as an assortment of Minions in various guises, Gru, Lucy, the girls, the Yard Dog and Niko.

The deluxe Mineez collector's six packs feature a mystery character, which could include the ultra rare jail minions or the limited edition golden Minions. There is even an ultra lost Unigoat waiting to be found. The little, squishy figures are very detailed and cute, perfect for any Despicable Me fan to collect. There are over 75 in the Series 1 collection. It costs £9.99 for the Despicable Me Deluxe Mineez Collectors 6 Pack, which would make a great stocking filler this Christmas.

Ready Brek is suitable for children aged six months and above and comes in original, chocolate, honey and seriously oatey varieties from £2 a packet. It's available in boxes or sachets, from all good supermarkets and food stores. Look out for the special Despicable Me 3 packs in store now.

Family Games Night Fun with Boom Blast Stix and Five Nights at Freddy's

Games nights are a great way to bring the whole family together for an entertaining evening away from the TV, smartphones and iPads! Whatever your age, a games night is guaranteed to bring laughter, some healthy competition and plenty of family fun. Games allow us to unleash our inner child, whatever our age, and come together as one to enjoy some quality time. Spending an hour or two at the weekend or on an evening indulging in some family games is perfect at this time of year when the weather means we are often stuck in the house. My children have always loved it when we all sit down to play something, whether it's a card game, a traditional board game or one of the newer, more modern games on the market.

We received two new amazing games, Boom Blast Stix and Five Nights at Freddy's, so we could enjoy our own family games night. These games are far more exciting than the traditional games from my childhood. Both include a unique element of suspense and surprise, bringing extra excitement to games night. Family games night has never been quite so thrilling!

Boom Blast Stix is an explosive new game that keeps players on their edge of their seats. It features forty interlocking sticks that are under tension and can explode at any time. The aim is to stack as many of the pieces on top of the lid before the structure goes off causing a boom of cascading, spring-loaded pieces that literally fly across the room. It happens so suddenly, you can't help but jump out of your skin!

The high risk, addictive and unpredictable gameplay, is guaranteed to elicit laughter from everyone as they anticipate the blast. You have to try and be as gentle and calm as you can be as you place your next piece on the pile, but the tension makes it really tricky. You just don't know when the exploding  pile will go off. Even Ian with his steady hand was caught unawares a few times as the pieces exploded on his turn.

The packaging doubles up as the base for building the stack. You can use the lid alone or go higher using the box and lid together. Everything tidies away neatly inside after use. The design in this respect is really good.

Boom Blast Stix has been featured on CITV's Scrambled, and is set to become a fierce family favourite! A perfect choice for some fun this Christmas, and great value at £14.99. It is recommended for kids age 6+.

My youngest Freddy is 8 years old and loves the world of his namesake from Five Nights At Freddy's, having played the game online many times. This game brings FNAF's demon teddy Freddy Fazbear into real life in 3D form for another really tense and nerve wracking family game. Five Nights at Freddy's is famed for its jumpscares and this game definitely delivers the right level of jumpiness that kids will love.

Freddy holds pieces of multi-coloured pizza in his tray that players need to take from him in turn using the tongs. All is calm at first as Freddy sits back and snoozes. Creepy music plays, adding to the tense atmosphere, as each player takes their suspense-filled turn to spin the dial and take the relevant number and colour of pizza slices according to where the spinner lands.

However, someone will try to take one piece too many and will wake up Freddy from his slumber and unleash his rage. It's jump scares all round as he suddenly leaps up, opening his red eyes and screeches, signalling that player is out of the game!

 The winner is the last player standing. This game has the nostalgic element of games like Buckaroo, bringing that sense of tension, suspense and anticipation with each turn. However, the character of Freddy, brings the genre right up to date for today's kids to enjoy.

Five Nights at Freddy's is a great game for FNAF fans and is priced at £24.99. It requires 3 AA batteries and is recommended for kids age 8+.

Both games have that quality of being really exciting, as players wait for the moment when it all kicks off! Whether it's Freddy springing to terrifying life or the Boom Blast Stix firing off around the room, you can guarantee there will be squeals of laughter and plenty of jumps. There won't be a single dull moment during games night, as these high energy games keep delivering the surprises.

My Freddy, literally screamed out loud and jumped backwards against his chair the first time that Freddy Fazbear woke up. He was not expecting it at all! It was quite a hilarious response that had us all laughing. The creepy fairground style music is really unsettling and a great part of the game adding a very spooky atmosphere that Freddy says is "terrifying in a good way".

The Boom Blast Stix exploding was also quite unexpected. They go off with some force and everyone ends up ducking for cover as they fly off. The game keeps you on the edge of your seat. My 15 year old daughter loves this game and thinks it is "very intense, a lot of fun and a little bit lethal!" Freddy also enjoys playing this on his own trying to build the highest stack that he can. It is definitely a new favourite in our household.

Both games really do add that extra layer of entertainment to games night. Even the hardest to entertain children will love them. We will definitely be getting Freddy's older siblings playing these games with him when they are home for Christmas this year!

You can find both games at www.character-online.com.

Slither.io Toy Range

Slither.io is a game that has taken the internet by storm, with the app being downloaded over 150 million times. 124 million games are played each month in the UK with 60% of British kids under the age of 14 having downloaded it. Slither.io has been a huge influencer on YouTube with many famous vloggers doing videos of the game on their channels. The ever growing, colourful Slithers are an iconic gaming phenomenon.

Now fans of the game can enjoy the characters off screen too with the release of the Slither.io range of toys. The super cool and instantly recognisable collectible toys feature the skins found in the award winning game, with many different ones to collect including ultra rare, patriotic and rainbow versions.

The bendable Slither figures are approximately 14cm in length and come in blister packs of three (including one mystery Slither) and blind bags containing a single mystery Slither. They have body segments making then bendy, and they have a cute little face. There are 15 skins to collect in Series 1, in varying colours and designs.

The Slither bendable plush soft toy is cute and cuddly. They come in a range of designs and are 8" long. They are lovely for hugging and have a detailed, expressive, embroidered face.

The Mini Mystery Squishie Slither comes in a sealed hexagonal tub. There are 15 designs including two rare and one ultra rare to collect. You don't know which one you'll find inside.

Freddy is 8 and a big fan of the Slither.io game and YouTube videos so he was extremely excited to discover this range of toys. Like most children of his age, Freddy also loves collectible toys, making them a huge hit. He was thrilled to find a rare purple Slither in his blind bag. He is planning on using his Slithers to make a stop motion animation!

The RRP of the 3 pack is £10.99, the blind bag is £3.99, the mini squishie is £3.99 and the plush toy is £9.99.

They will most definitely be excellent as stocking fillers for the kids this Christmas. They are cute, colourful, collectible and will be loved by fans of Slither.io old or young.

Superman - Justice League 7" Stretch Figure

The Justice League is big news at the moment with the release of the latest film this month. Superhero fans young and old will no doubt be clamoring to see the movie and would definitely love to get their hands on their own Justice League stretch character.

The 7" Justice League stretch characters include Flash, Batman and Superman. They can be stretched and twisted and will always return back to their normal state. There is something so fun about playing with stretchy toys. My husband, eldest son and future son-in-laws always make a beeline for Freddy's stretch toys! Being superheroes, these new 7" Justice League toys from Character Options will definitely become firm favourites.

The seven inch stretch figure has classic Superman styling and comes with a red cloth cape and yellow belt. He has his iconic Superman logo on his chest and his abs and other muscles are well defined. His head is well detailed and made of firm plastic. The body itself has very rubbery feeling hands and feet, while his legs, arms and torso feel more solid and stretch really far when pulled. In fact you can stretch him up to five times his original size.

After he has been stretched, he will retract back to his normal size without any loss of definition. Freddy stretched the arms and legs really far and he still went back to his original shape and size. It is strong and robust as long as it doesn't get punctured, knotted or exposed to extreme temperatures.

The stretchy Superman toy is definitely proving a lot of fun. The fact that it is a superhero adds that extra element of play value and Freddy has enjoyed incorporating his new super stretchy Superman toy into his games.

The Justice League 7" Stretch Figures are recommended for ages 5 and over and are £12.99 each. They are a great Christmas gift idea for superhero fans - even the grown up ones!

Find out more and buy your own 7" Justice League Stretch Figure at www.character-online.com.

BioCare's Vitamins and Supplements

I am pretty health conscious and spend a lot of time thinking about the diet that my family has. I aim to ensure that everyone gets at least their five a day with plenty of colourful and nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables. I try to include wholegrains, pulses, nuts and plant based proteins in meals. As we are vegans I am very aware of the need for B12 and vitamin D in our diets. However, there will always be days when what we eat falls a little short on vitamins and minerals or times where we need a little extra help to stay as healthy as we can, and for that reason I am a big advocate of  dietary supplements.

BioCare, the professional supplement specialists, stock a huge range of dietary supplements through their online shop, with many being suitable for vegans. Products can easily be filtered for allergens, making you able to shop with confidence. They have products specifically suitable for men, women, the elderly and children, covering a whole host of health applications including supporting weightloss, detoxing, seasonal immunity support and digestive health. Advice on the website helps point you in the direction you need for specific health concerns or you can directly contact a nutritional therapist on the clinical nutrition advice line.

We received some of BioCare's products to try out, to help us through the winter months, supplementing our diets, supporting health goals and helping support our immunity against seasonal bugs.

The BioCare Adult Multivitamins and Minerals are a good all round, one a day supplement for nutritional support, that are Vegetarian Society Approved and are suitable for vegans. They contain bioavailable minerals for easy absorption. They contribute to the maintenance of normal bones, muscles and teeth; to the normal function of the immune system and to the energy-yielding metabolism. A pack of 30 capsules is £11.95.

Children's Elderberry Complex has been especially designed for children aged 3+.  It is a fruity liquid that can be used in drinks or added to foods. It contains zinc and vitamin C and is suitable for vegans. It will help little ones by supporting their immune system, especially important at this time of year. A 150ml bottle is £8.95.

Everyday BioAcidophilus contains 10 billion of the clinically-researched LAB4 live bacteria plus natural prebiotics to support gut health.  They are free from common allergens like dairy and are suitable for vegans. They come in convenient 7 days strips - handy for taking on-the-go – and don’t need to be refrigerated. A pack of 28 costs £13.96.

FemForte Multi is a comprehensive, high potency multivitamin, mineral and antioxidant complex, particularly suited to the special requirements of women. It contains high ratios of nutrients supportive of female health, and also includes green tea extract. They are suitable for vegans. A pack of 90 is £27.50.

Red Berry BioMelts are for children. The individual sachets contain unique live bacteria with vitamin D in a delicious, natural red berry flavoured powder that melts on the tongue and is easy for children to take.  The Department of Health recommends that a daily supplement of vitamin D should be given to young children and this is an easy way to do so.  A 28 day supply is £17.95.

NEW Vitamin C Rosehip Complex is a great tasting vitamin C powder with minerals, bioflavonoids and berry extracts. This handy powder dissolves easily into water making it good for people who struggle to swallow capsules or tablets. Each 5g dose provides 1g of vitamin C with minerals such as zinc and manganese. This is great for the winter months as it contributes to the normal function of the immune system. It is suitable for vegans. 150g costs £15.95.

You can find these and many more products at www.biocare.co.uk. Delivery is free on orders over £25 and same day dispatch is available.