A Weekly Round Up

This week I have received some lovely goodies from some lovely people and here is a round up of my favourites.  Andrex sent the kids some cute Andrex Puppy themed items including these adorable slippers, which has reminded me to stock up on some Andrex Loo Roll for Christmas.  With a house full of guests, the last thing I want to do is run out of toilet paper!

The cute little Andrex Puppy toy will look fabulous peeping out of Freddy's Christmas stocking this year and the magnetic whiteboard will be for all my festive listing!

Forever Friends, the lovable cute and cuddly bears, have launched a brand new magazine out in stores now. 

Love From… Forever Friends is made up of two 16-page magazines.  The main magazine includes content such as stories, puzzles, quizzes, posters and competitions, whilst the second craft-focused magazine, is packed full of creative content such as colouring, collage, recipes, drawing and doodling. Both come packaged together in a bag, which also contains a character sticker sheet, a craft kit and free collectable stationery and accessory gifts. The magazine is available at retailers including The Co-operative, Martin McColls, One Stop, Tesco, WHSmith, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Asda and Hobbycraft priced at £3.25.

Little girls will love the colourful magazine, which is packed with fun activities and other goodies.  The Forever Friends theme is just lovely and this magazine is perfect for little ones who enjoy arts and crafts.  It will keep them entertained during the quiet moments of the Christmas holidays.

I've had a little bit of luck on the advent competitions on Facebook this year.  I was really happy to win this Bigjigs Wooden Train based on the Virgin Pendolino.  It will be a fabulous addition to Freddy's Bigjigs train collection.  He is going to be delighted to receive it on Christmas morning!  Bigjigs trains are made to a really high standard and with great detail.  We love them!

Another prize I received was from Mark Hill on Facebook.  I won a wonderful goodie bag containing four MiracOILicious products.  My hair is going to enjoy using these goodies!

My winning streak continued when I won £40 cash at Kizzy's school Christmas Fair in the raffle.  It's unheard of for me to win a raffle so this was a lovely unexpected treat which we are using to fund a cinema trip to see Frozen!   I also won a Dove Gift Set on the tombola.  Go me!!  I'm on a roll :)

All I Want for Christmas...

Christmas is one of the most magical times of the year for parents, but it can also be expensive. New research reveals that 35% are worried about how they will afford Christmas presents this year, with parents feeling an increased pressure every year to buy bigger and better presents.

The majority of mums and dads (93%) have concerns about friends and family spending lots of their hard earned money on them, when in fact half would prefer to get nothing at all rather than get loved ones into debt. That’s quite surprising when parents don’t practice what they preach, spending on average  £30.16 per present, and with 6% spending over £100 on an average present.

But it seems there might be a simple solution, according to research of 734 parents by iconic bear brand Forever Friends – it should be about sentiment this year, with a pledge of time and thought rather than an expensive gift.

The research shows almost half would much rather receive something small and thoughtful than something big and flashy with no feeling behind it. In fact 38 per cent said they felt embarrassed when they were given an extravagant gift and one in seven have actually been offended by a gift that obviously had no thought behind it. We are all far too polite to say anything though, as over half of us would keep quiet if we got a present we didn’t like.

Instead of a traditional Christmas present, parents ranked the following as the top 10 things they’d like to receive from friends and family:

1.       To be taken out for a meal

2.       A small but thoughtful token of a friendship/relationship

3.       To be cooked a homemade meal

4.       A big hug

5.       A card which included personal, heart-felt words

6.       Something homemade

7.       For time to be set aside to catch up over coffee for a good old chat

8.       Have someone offer to do the washing up or cleaning (ranked no.10 for non-parents!)

9.       To be run a bubble bath to relax in with a good book

10.     Have a long catch up reminiscing over old photos

To support the research, Forever Friends has developed a downloadable online pledge to allow people to promise to do something as a gift for family and friends – such as babysit for an evening or make dinner, without the need to splash the cash. To download your free promise pledge visit www.foreverfriends.co.uk or even send to a family member as a hint!

To send your free personal promise pledge this Christmas visit www.foreverfriends.co.uk

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A Bear-y Digital Christmas

Forever Friends has announced the launch of two new digital products for Christmas allowing us to express love, sentiment and friendship with the Forever Friends iBook and Christmas animation.

The Forever Friends iBook ‘When Magic Really Happens’

The Forever Friends storybook is available for the first time on the iPad. The interactive iBook, aimed at increasingly tech-savvy children, can be downloaded from the iTunes store.

The iconic ‘When Magic Really Happens’ Forever Friends book is a heart-warming story of kindness following the little bear on a magical sleigh ride adventure on Christmas Eve. Each page is enhanced with flickering streetlights and gently falling snow alongside soothing narration, charming animations and games.

The iBook is designed to enhance the reader’s experience with key interactive features including, three options of reading; ‘read to me’, ‘read myself’ or ‘record me’ plus 18 mini-games, animated films with secret movie episodes and the ability to create Christmas cards to share. It is recommended for ages 4-10 years and priced at just £2.99.

The Forever Friends Christmas Animation ‘The Magical Fairy Bear’

This 3D animation is a story about a Christmas adventure introducing new characters of Fairy Bear, Santa Bear and Ballerina Bear in a heart-warming bedtime story. This animation is free to all Forever Friends fans and is available to watch via Facebook or YouTube.

          

Forever Friends A Christmas Wish For You CD

Forever Friends launches its first Christmas themed album with Sony Music

Forever Friends has teamed up with Sony to launch a  festive themed album, ‘A Christmas Wish …For You’ which includes a sleigh load of especially chosen Christmas songs.

With 63 tracks featuring a blend of Christmas classics, nostalgic charm and contemporary tracks, this CD will get the whole family in the festive mood and dancing around the living room!  There is something for everyone from the kids to the grandparents, covering all styles and musical tastes.

The CD is available to download from iTunes or to buy from major supermarkets, BHS, HMV or Amazon for about £5.

I was sent a copy to have a listen.  It is definitely a great selection of Christmas songs with artists from Wham! to Bob Dylan to Dean Martin.  It will be perfect background music to play and sing along to while I wrap my presents or prepare Christmas dinner.  It'll also be great for the car to get us all in the Christmas spirit.

 The box is lovely, featuring a cute Forever Friends Bear, wrapped up in a snuggly scarf and mittens. This CD would make a lovely gift or stocking filler and is a great buy for just £5.  

Track Listing

Disc One

1 Westlife - I Have A Dream

2 John Legend - What A Wonderful World

3 Train - Shake Up Christmas

4 Jessica Simpson  - What Christmas Means To Me

5 Christina Aguilera - This Christmas

6 N Sync - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

7 Britney Spears - My Only Wish (This Year)

8 Fiona Apple - Frosty The Snowman

9 Mary Chapin Carpenter - Bells Are Ringing

10 Sara Bareilles - Love Is Christmas

11 Sarah Mclachlan - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

12 Harry Nilsson - Remember (Christmas)

13 Keb' Mo' - We Call It Christmas

14 John Denver - Christmas For Cowboys

15 Dolly Parton - We Three Kings

16 Martina McBride - What Child Is This

17 Charlotte Church - Dream A Dream

18 Jackie Evancho - Believe

19 Peter Autry & Howard Blake - Walking In The Air

20 The Priests - Come All Ye Faithful

21 Plácido Domingo & Luciano Pavarotti - Cantique de nöel (O Holy Night)

 Disc Two

1 Wham! - Last Christmas - Single Version

2 Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone - Single Version - Re-Mastered 2004

3 The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride

4 Bob Dylan - It Must Be Santa

5 Hall & Oates - Jingle Bell Rock

6 Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

7 Johnny Mathis - When A Child Is Born

8 Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas

9 Gladys Night & The Pips - Do You Hear What I Hear?

10 Boney M - Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord

11 Dana - It's Gonna Be A Cold, Cold Christmas

12 Cyndi Lauper - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

13 Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

14 The Crystals - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

15 Bette Midler - Cool Yule

16 Aretha Franklin -Kissin By The Mistletoe

17 Michael Bolton - Joy To The World

18 Barry Manilow - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

19 Gloria Estefan - Christmas Through Your Eyes

20 Steve Tyrell -   I'll Be Home For Christmas 

21 Carly Simon  -  Let it Snow

 Disc Three

1 Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

2 Doris Day - Winter Wonderland

3 Mel Torme - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)

4  Perry Como - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

5 The Drifters - White Christmas

6 Patti Page - Christmas Bells

7 Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby - Remastered 2001

8 Dinah Shore & Buddy Clark - Baby, It's Cold Outside 

9  Vic Damone - Deck The Halls

10 Percy Faith & His Orchestra & Chorus - Happy Holiday

11 Tony Bennett - My Favourite Things

12 Dean Martin - A Marshmallow World

13 Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas

14 Johnny Cash - The Little Drummer Boy

15 Jerry Vale - Silver Bells

16 Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)

17 Jim Reeves - C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

18 Burl Ives - Santa Mouse

19 Harry Belafonte - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

20 Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

21 Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night Holy Night