Get Chipwrecked This Easter

On April 2nd, Alvin, Simon and Theodore return to DVD in a brand new, un-fur-gettable family film.  The fun begins as the Chipmunks and the Chipettes go on vacation with Dave on a luxury cruiseliner.  The all singing , all dancing chipmunks are back to their best, getting up to mischief and having fun from the offset!

We are lucky enough to have had a sneaky peek at the film and we enjoyed it!  It is real family fun, which is exactly what you need to entertain the kids, especially with the Easter holidays fast approaching.  The kids were singing along to the songs and laughing at the antics of the chipmunks throughout.  They were delighted to see the return of the rather mean Ian, down on his luck and intent on getting revenge!

Alvin and the gang find themselves having a bigger adventure than they anticipated when they wind up marooned on an island after one of Alvin's pranks goes wrong.  Queue the infighting, the acapella renditions of "Survivor", journeys of self-discovery and shipwreck gags!  They soon realise that they are not alone on this tropical island!! Some escapades including an erupting volcano, a personality altering spider bite and some hidden treasure add to the excitement.  Will Dave be able to save the day??  Will they get off the island with friendships intact and still be able to perform at the International Music Awards? 

If you can put up with the squeaky, rodent voices and predictable humour, then you will be able to enjoy this latest offering from the Chipmunk franchise.  It is energetic, a bit silly and full on with its slapstick humour and funky covers.  For me, the novelty of singing Chipmunks is still enough to keep me entertained...I can't help it .  The rendition of  "I Whip My Tail Back and Forth" sold it for me!  

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is available on DVD and Blu-ray Triple Play 2 April. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

If you want something more to keep the kids entertained, you can click on the activity sheet below and print it out, so the kids can learn how to draw their own Alvin! 

Happy Feet Two

On March 26th, everyone's favourite penguin is back on DVD and Blu-Ray with the release of Happy Feet 2!  This time it is Mumbles's son Erik causing the drama!

To celebrate its release, Warner Bros have sent us a wonderful box of goodies including Haapy Feet 1 and 2 and March of The Penguins on Blu-Ray, and some fabulous film merchandise.

The story of Happy Feet Two introduces us to cute little Erik who can not dance.  His father may be choreographically gifted, but Erik is seriously rhythmically challenged!  In fact his first try results in a very embarrassing mishap where he ends up with his head in the snow!  He runs away and encounters the god-like Mighty Sven, a 'flying penguin' who isn't all he seems to be!  Mumbles heads off to bring back his son who now dreams of flying, much to his dad's frustration. Meanwhile, trouble is afoot in the Antarctic as an iceberg threatens  Emperor-land, trapping the penguins below a wall of ice.  Will the animals of the South Pole, from the tiny and very funny Krill to the huge Elephant Seals be able to save the penguins?  Will Erik and Mumbles be able to work together to save the day? Through the power of friendship, song and dance anything is possible!

This film is visually amazing.  The stunning landscape and the animals are portrayed in eye-popping animation that is beautiful to behold.  Films like this are what Blu-Ray was made for.  The detail, the colours and the sheer spectacle are breathtaking.

In terms of the story itself, the narrative is a bit complicated and chaotic in parts.  And the sub-text of  conformity over acceptance is possibly at odds with the sentiment of the original. The film goes bigger and bolder than its predecessor, but some of the charm and originality are lost because of it.   However, the visual feast, the fabulous all singing, all dancing performances and the voice talents of a host of stars more than make up for any plot flaws.  Matt Damon and Brad Pitt as the ambitious Krill Will and his long suffering friend Bill are fabulous were the stars of the show for me!  

The visual jokes and gags make the kids giggle and the songs are truly entertaining.  There are even some scenes of peril that have you on the edge of your seat (Bryan the Elephant Seal's predicament had me holding my breath!) . Happy Feet Two is an enjoyable watch for all the family which will have everyone tapping their toes and singing along.  Perfect for a family movie night over the Easter holidays!

Happy Feet Two is available to buy now at Amazon.

                   

Find Me An Easter Gift!!

Easter is rapidly approaching and if you want to find a gift that is a bit different to the normal generic chocolate eggs found in supermarkets then look no further than findmeagift.co.uk for unique, unusual ideas for men, women and children alike.

We were lucky to be sent an adorable Easter Bunny soft toy personalised with Freddy's name.  The cute cream coloured bunny sits 21cm tall when sitting.  He has detailed stitching to his paws, glassy eyes and a furry pink nose.

He wears a knitted cream jumper that can be personalised with four lines of text, each up to 16 characters long.  He also wears a smart bow tie.

The stitching is available in blue or pink.

Anyone would be delighted to receive their own bunny this Easter.  He costs £16.19 (which is a 10% saving on the RRP).

If cuddly toys aren't your thing how about a personalised Easter candle for just £6.29.

If you prefer a chocolate gift you could get something more unusual than a traditional egg.  How about this Modelling Chocolate to create your own edible models!  This magical, flexible chocolate dough can be shaped, squished, modelled and then eaten!  For just £3.99 this starter pack will provide hours of fun over Easter!

Or say it with chocolate with this Happy Easter Choccie Pizza consisting of eight slices of Belgian Chocolate decorated with rainbow drops, chocolate curls and Easter bunnies for £11.95.

Whatever you are looking for this Easter to treat your loved ones, take a peek at Find Me A Gift!

Abigail the Story Buddy Bunny

With Easter fast approaching, Hallmark have a new Interactive Story Buddy that is set to rival the Easter Bunny in a Favourite Rabbit Competition!  Abigail the Bunny is a gorgeously cute and girlie bunny that children will adore.

Abigail from Hallmark

As with all Story Buddies, Abigail will respond as you read aloud from her storybook, Abigail and The Balance Beam.

Abigail and The Balance Beam

Key phrases will prompt Abigail to reply with her own cute answers.  The words do need to be read clearly for Abigail to respond so she may not recognise a younger child's voice.

Ready for a story.

The best way to show you just how lovely this toy is, is to demonstrate it in a video!

Abigail joins Jingle, Watson and Cooper in the range of Interactive Story Buddies that sell for £19.99 at Hallmark.  Other storybooks are available at £5.99 each.  They are absolutely adorable, innovative and hugely appealing!  Abigail would make the perfect Easter gift!

Lovable Abigail!

*Kizzy received Abigail for free but no compensation was received.*

Cracking Easter Bargains with Poundworld

Poundworld is one of the UK's leading single priced retailers, selling everything for just £1.  With over 120 stores nationwide, there's sure to be one near you, which is great news as they have some amazing Easter bargains going "cheep"!

We were sent a brilliant bag filled with Easter goodies and I was really impressed with the quality and range.

Whether you are looking for traditional chocolate eggs, arts and crafts sets to keep the kids busy or fun novelty Easter gifts you will find everything you could wish for, all for the bargain price of just a pound.

We loved the fancy straw hat and the Easter bonnet decorating kit, both £1 each.  The cute straw style hat is the perfect size for little heads.  The ribbon trim detail is very pretty.  You can add your own personal touch to it to create an Easter bonnet using the decorating kit which contains embellishments, ribbon and bits and bobs.  A fun activity for children to do over Easter.

The Make Your Own Easter Cards Kit has everything you need to make six cards to give to family and friends.  The cute toppers are really lovely.  The Easter Poster Art Set comes with a palette of paints, a brush and a pre-printed canvas so your children can create their very own Easter themed works of art.  The Easter Egg Hunt set comes with cardboard baskets to collect goodies.  A real fun traditional Easter activity!

The Easter Eggs feature a whole host of lovable characters that kids will love from Peppa Pig to Disney Princesses.  You can buy four eggs for just £3. The kids will love them.

Or how about this cute foil wrapped chocolate Easter bunny?  Kids will love to find him on Easter Sunday.  

Your little ones can dress up as an Easter Bunny themselves with these fluffy and fun bunny ears.  They are available in pink or yellow.  They are so cute.

Easter is not complete without Easter chicks!  This collection of fluffy, yellow chicks make perfect decorations, cake toppers or can be used in an egg hunt.  Going 'cheep' at just £1 for a dozen.

With so many lovely things you'll be able to throw a fabulous Easter party or simply give the kids an Easter filled with fun activities, without spending a fortune.  My children love spending the long Easter weekend doing arts and crafts, taking part in Easter Egg hunts and munching on chocolate treats.  With our Poundworld goodies they will have an amazing time.

*No compensation was received for this post.*

Looking For Something Deliciously Different?

I have tasted the future of confectionery and it tastes very much like popcorn!  But not just any popcorn...it's handmade gourmet popcorn.  Never has a snack product created such a buzz in my household as when we taste tested the amazing award winning  Joe & Seph's Gourmet Popcorn.  I cannot convey just how delicious this stuff is...but I'll try!

The pouches contain the finest air popped mushroom corn which has been thickly coated with exquisite real butter caramel and then flavoured by infusing natural ingredients into the recipe.

Especially for Easter, Joe & Seph have created two incredible flavours.  Caramel with a pinch of Ginger and Caramel with Cookies & Cream, Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate.  The egg shaped labels have been specially designed to celebrate Easter, complete with a little picture of an Easter bunny.

The Ginger infused Caramel popcorn is exquisite.  The sweetness of the caramel gives way to pure taste of stem ginger.  The effect is like eating gingerbread but it is lighter.  The popcorn morsels have a crisp, crunchy yet chewy texture.  I've never tasted anything quite like it.  The kids also loved it and tucked into handfuls of the moreish and delicious treat.  

If you are a chocoholic then this chocolate trio is for you.  The smooth, creamy caramel is perfectly combined with cookies and cream, white chocolate and Belgian milk chocolate.  The result is a comforting taste sensation which melts in the mouth.  Delicious!  This is a serious contender to chocolate bars.

I am not surprised that Joe & Seph have won awards for their gourmet popcorn range which includes both sweet and savoury flavours.  They are available in pouches or in gift tins or jars, making a wonderful Easter gift for a loved one!  They can be purchased on line at joeandsephs.co.uk and delivered free to your door in the UK.  The popcorn costs £12 for 3 pouches or £19.95 for 6 pouches.

The popcorn is also available at selected stockists such as Harvey Nicholl's and Selfridges food halls and independent retailers of fine foods.

Joe and Seph's Gourmet Popcorn offers a unique taste experience that totally beats any other popcorn I've ever tasted.  It is indulgent, rich, creamy and luxurious.   The flavour choices are inventive and quirky.  I'm definitely going to buy some...especially as the kids and I polished off both packets and didn't save any for poor old daddy!  I think he'd love the Caramel Macchiato and Whisky flavour or maybe the Caramel and Espresso flavour.  Then again there is Goat's Cheese and Black Pepper or Blue Cheese, Walnut and Celery.  Decisions, decisions, decisions!

How Do You Make Fruit Scented Bubbles?

How do you put a strawberry or a blueberry in a bubble?  It's easy with the amazing new Smubbles from Character Online!  Using a Smubbles Streamer and a plug-in character with a fruity scent, you can create fabulous bubbles that you can pop and sniff!

Before being sent a Smubbles set to try out the only pop and sniff bubbles were the ones that the kids made in the bath, which are filled with a completely different sort of fragrance that I don't want to smell at all!  The concept of "Pop Em and Smell Em!" bubbles was an instant hit with the little ones who couldn't wait to get their hands on the colourful red gun and the cute fruit characters that plug in to the streamer.  The end of the streamer dips into the bubble mix and pressing the trigger makes a satisfying stream of big bubbles shoot out of the end.  Popping them gives out a whiff of strawberry scented air which was quite a novelty!

Catching the Bubbles.

I loved how big and how abundant the bubbles were....much easier than blowing them through a wand.  Freddy could manage using the streamer to blow bubbles which completely delighted him.  Both children enjoyed popping and chasing after the bubbles.

Having a sniff!

The streamer takes 2 x AA batteries which are not included.  100ml of bubble solution and two fruity scented cartridges are included.  It is available in red and blue. The RRP is £9.99.

The Smubbles are brilliant fun for outdoor play now the weather is getting better.  The delicious scented bubbly fun will keep kids entertained for hours.  Smubbles would make a perfect Easter gift for children if you wanted an alternative to chocolate this year.

Bubbly Fun!

Forget the Easter Chick...Here's the Angry Birds!!

Easter usually heralds the arrival of the cute, little yellow Easter chicks synonymous with Spring time.  However, this year there is a new bird in town...the Angry Bird!  No one could have failed to see the emergence of the phenomena of these feathered fellas with anger management issues.  With millions of fans of all ages,  the new Angry Bird toys from Character Online are sure to fly off the shelves!

This Easter, why not take a break from the traditional and buy one of the Angry Bird plush toys. Their very survival is at stake and they are dishing out revenge on the Green Pigs who have stolen their eggs.  You can now catapult your own Angry Birds at Green Pigs bringing all the fun of the addictive app into real life.

The range includes Backpack Clip Keyrings and 4" and 5" plush with sound and 8" plush toys.

We were sent a pig and a bird to try out.  Pressing their heads gives a cacophonous noise of squawks and grunts which 2 year old Freddy thought was hilarious!  He immediately catapulted his Angry Bird at his sister who was holding a Green Pig and thus ensued a re-enactment of the game.

Making the Sounds

Green Pig!

Let The Battle Commence!!

For any Angry Bird fans, from little kids who enjoy all the fun of the frantic game to grown-ups who might enjoy venting their own frustrations by throwing an Angry Bird across the office at work, these plush toys will prove a huge hit!  They'd definitely be brilliant Easter presents and provide hours of Angry Bird fun if you are looking for something a bit different this year.

You can buy Angry Bird toys from Amazon.  Prices start at just £3.99.

Pillow Pets...Is It A Pillow? Is It A Pet?

Everyone loves snuggling up to something warm, soft and cosy.  If that warm, soft and cosy thing just happens to also be a cute, friendly and playful pal, then all the better!

Mookie Toys have brought the original Pillow Pets to the UK.  They are  premium quality, ultra-soft and cuddly chenille plush toys that double up as  lovely soft pillows.  Perfect for nap time, travelling in the car or playtime!

We were sent a Playful Penguin to try out.  He had a very appealing little face that just cried out to be hugged!  I really like the idea of a cuddly toy that also has a practical function, making it more than just another 'teddy'. It is really well made and the fabric is a great quality...beware of cheap imitations on the market!

A velcro-strap underneath the Pillow Pet is released to transform the cuddly toy into a pillow.  It is quick and easy to switch between pillow and pal.  The pillow really is super soft and very comfy!

Both two year old Freddy and nine year old Kizzy loved their Playful Penguin Pillow Pet.  All ages can enjoy cuddling up with one, from toddlers to grandparents!  I even enjoyed a snuggle!  Catching a cheeky forty winks has never been such fun!

The range includes Silly Monkey, Playful Penguin, Comfy Panda, Snuggly Puppy, Magical Unicorn, Wiggly Pig, Ms Ladybug and Bumbly Bee!   And especially for Easter, Cuddly Bunny, Thumpy Bunny, Puffy Duck and Fluffy Bunny  will be joining the gang.  They are all cute, colourful and fun!  

Find out more at pillowpets.co.uk.  The Original Pillow Pets are priced at £19.99 RRP and available from Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon.  They'd make a great Easter Gift Idea!