Soccer Suckers Review

My eldest son Joe, who is now 25, was a real football fan as a boy.  He collected everything to do with football such as the sticker albums, souvenir coins and mini figurines, plus he wore each season's Arsenal kit with pride.  I'm sure it won't be long before 4 year old Freddy gets into the sport just like his big brother, especially with the excitement of the forthcoming World Cup in summer. That will undoubtedly herald the start of me buying all the latest football merchandise again.

Jumbo Games has a new range of collectable toys that will appeal to football mad kids and grown-ups alike. Each football shaped capsule contains a footballer with a sucker on the back, which can be stuck to any hard, glossy surface such as a window, mirror or computer screen. We were sent some to try out.

There are 40 players to collect, from either Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur.  You can create your own dream team using players such as Kompany, Gerrard, Hart, Wilshere and Torres.

You can trade, swap and collect the perfect team and display them wherever they stick!  The little football capsules can be played with too, as Freddy discovered!

Soccer Suckers are available from Amazon, W H Smiths, Toys R Us and Smyths.

 

Find out more at www.soccersuckers.co.uk.

Fireman Sam Advent Puzzle from Jumbo

If you want to avoid the chocolate filled advent calendars this year, take a look at the Advent Puzzle from Jumbo.  Featuring Fireman Sam or Peppa Pig, each of the 24 puzzle pieces has a window that children can open to countdown the days until Christmas Day.

The puzzle pieces are made of high quality card and are thick and sturdy, perfect  for little hands.  The finished puzzle is 50cm x 20cm and features Fireman Sam in his engine Jupiter, alongside some of his Pontypandy friends in a festive snowy setting.

Children can make up the puzzle at the start of advent and keep it in a safe place, returning each day to open the window.  I think it would even work by adding one puzzle piece a day sequentially and watching the puzzle grow day by day.

Each advent window can be opened by removing a small semi-circular piece of puzzle from the edge of the window and then lifting the piece out.  Revealed underneath is a different Fireman Sam Christmas Adventure  illustration everyday.

The puzzle can be used year after year if you keep all the window pieces safe in the box once removed!

The Advent Puzzles, in both Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig designs are suitable for ages 3 and up and are £7.99 RRP.  You can find them on Amazon.

Stocking Fillers and Small Gift Ideas

Christmas isn't all about spending a fortune on the biggest, must-have toys or gadgets.  The little presents in the kids' stockings or under the tree can bring so much joy to the day.  Here are a selection of small gift ideas for the family that are sure to raise a smile, plus there is a code for a FREE Christmas e-book!

My Blue Nose Friends

Four brand new My Blue Nose Friends have joined the collection in time for Christmas; Ziza the African Elephant, Flash the Pink Dragon, Avery the Fluffy Chick and Tinsel the Arctic Fox. The super cute collectable toys each have their own unique personalities and are perfect stocking fillers that will delight anyone, whatever their age!

We were sent the new additions to add to our collection. Numbers 120-123 are as gorgeous as the ones that have come before them, with the same beautiful attention to detail, cheeky blue noses and sewn on patches.  I love Tinsel's sparkly tail and Flash's shiny feet! They are just £5 each and available to buy from Carte Blanche and other good stockists.

Post-It Pop-Up Note Dispenser

Older kids will love finding some new stationery in their Christmas stockings and this pretty pink heart shaped Post-It Pop-Up Note Dispenser by 3M is a perfect present idea.  Ideal for doodlers who enjoy making notes and writing messages, keeping the Post-It notes at hand.  The heart shaped dispenser will look great on a desk and doubles up as a paperweight.  A great way to spread the stationery love this Christmas! RRP £7.49 (Also available is a Handbag dispenser and a Karate man dispenser.)

We received one to check out. I always love stationery gifts and think Post-It Notes are a must have around the home for making lists, leaving reminders and simply saying I Love You to your kids via a Post-It on their bedroom door.  The dispenser is a nice novelty way to keep them handy.

Tiny Me Lunch Box

Tiny Me is a company selling personalised items such as bags, lunchboxes, stationery, name labels and wall decor, featuring fun, cute and quirky designs.  We made a lunchbox, which is created online using your choice of images, text and colour from a massive range of designs so you can make something perfect for the recipient. The products themselves are top quality.  The lunch bag is insulated, has a double zip, a handy front pocket and an inner net pocket.  It is a good size for fitting in plenty of food for lunch plus a drinking bottle.  The design I chose was Monkey Polka in Bright, personalised with Freddy's name.  It's great to get him something with his name on, because you just cannot find Freddy with a Y printed onto anything off the shelf in shops.  I really enjoyed making the lunch bag, trying out all the different designs and colours and previewing how they looked with Freddy's name, before I settled on the funny Tiny Me monkeys!

I am going to fill this lunch bag with Christmas goodies for Freddy and wrap it as a fun (yet still very functional) gift!   RRP £25.99 (I had a voucher to try Tiny Me in an event goodie bag so Christmas seemed like a good time to use it!)

It's Your Story Personalised E-Story FREE!

Here is a lovely virtual gift for children this year worth £2.50 that you can get for FREE!  You can share the E-Story with your child throughout the festive season.

www.itsyourstory.co.uk are giving away a free personalised Animated Snowman e-story book to every child between now and Christmas.

Each e-story book incorporates the child's face into the illustrations making them the star of the story. It also includes their name, friend's name, hometown and other information about them into the storyline. Each story book also includes a message from the creator at the front, making it a lovely Christmas keepsake.

The Animated Snowman e-story takes the child on a magical Christmas adventure to the North Pole. There's something to spot on every page from falling snow and glowing candles to a roaring fire and flying fairies.

Making a personalised e-story book with Itsyourstory couldn't be easier - simply upload a digital photo to their website, fill out the information about the child and Itsyourstory will do the rest using the latest digital print technology. You will then receive an email with a link to view the e-story as many times as you want.

To create a free Animated Snowman e-story simply visit https://www.itsyourstory.co.uk/products/49-animated-snowman-e-story before Christmas and use the code FESTIVEFUN at the checkout.

Shoezone Slippers

As one of the Shoe Zone Mummies I've sampled quite a lot of their footwear this year.  They have a great range of shoes for all the family at great prices.  Christmas just isn't Christmas without a pair of new slippers and we are loving these Hello Kitty mules for girls.  At just £6.99 they are great value and the design is fun and funky.  See more at shoezone.com.

Jumbo - Colour Slam appCards and Fireman Sam iPieces

Jumbo Games have some really exciting new games to add to their already extensive range of games and puzzles.  They are giving us a whole new way of playing games together utilising app technology.

Colour Slam is a fast paced, action packed card game that is played in conjunction with a smartphone or tablet.  Players have to match the right colour combination of their cards to the random colour combination chosen via the downloadable free app.  You have to slam your cards to earn points, but also watch out for the Colour Slam round where opponents get to slam each others cards too, so you have to quick and on your toes.  This game helps kids' hand eye co-ordination, matching skills and their wits!  For ages 8 and up. RRP £9.99 (but currently £4.35 on Amazon!!)  For both Android and iOS.

iPieces game use an iPad as a games board, giving mini games such as Mission Jupiter and Fire Rescue for the players to complete in order to progress.  It can be played for 2-4 players aged 4+.  Little ones choose one of the playing pieces to make their way around the gameboard on the iPad once the free app is installed. the game is multi-levelled so has lots of play value and is more involved than many other apps on the market. The animation and sound effects keep kids entertained with their favourite characters. The game helps with numbers, counting, taking turns and improves children's use of the iPad via the mini games.  There is also a Peppa Pig iPieces game.  Both work with iPad 1-3.  This is a totally modern take on board games!  RRP £12.99 (currently £6.50 on Amazon!)  Great stocking fillers!

I hope these suggestions help you with your stocking up this Christmas and I hope your children enjoy the free e-Story.

Anti-Virus...the Biological Game

Anti-Virus is another title in the range of Smart Games from Jumbo Toys.  The idea of the game is to get rid of the red virus from the cell it has invaded, bypassing all the molecules blocking the way.

The playing pieces fit into the game board as indicated in the challenge instructions.  There are sixty challenges and five different levels from starter through to wizard.  The puzzle pieces can only be moved diagonally, singularly or as a group.  When the red virus is forced out through the exit you have found the solution. 

Like the other games such as Camouflage, this is addictive and challenging.  Sadly again, my inability to solve puzzles is a big hindrance...but as the levels start off easy, even I could solve a few challenges!  But that is as far as I can get...puzzling just isn't for me.  However I can see how these games of logic become addictive.

The game is for ages 7 and up and is for one player at a time.  Once you "catch the bug" there is no stopping you!  No-one is immune to to the infectious fun (except for the spatially challenged like me who just don't get what they are doing!!)

What I love about this game is the fact that it all fits neatly into a zip up bag.  This means the pieces stay safe and can be easily transported for playing on holiday or away from home.  The pieces are really well made and they slide in the game board very satisfyingly.

It's great to see games such as this that develop logical reasoning, cognitive thinking and visual perception.   The Smart Games range are really well conceived, fun and educational.  At £14.99 they are great value and will provide literally hours of fun. 

North Pole Camouflage...the Transparent Game!

North Pole Camouflage the Transparent Game by Jumbo Games is a one player game of logic which challenges you to help North Pole creatures "hide in plain sight"!

You have to arrange the six transparent puzzle pieces so the animals are camouflaged in their correct environments and do not overlap with the hunters.

There are 48 challenges ranging from starter to master, each with its own challenge card that fits into the game board, but using the same six puzzle pieces.  Solving each challenge needs logical reasoning, cognitive thinking and spatial perception.  (This means I'm out...I am incredibly spatially challenged, but thankfully my Tiny Testers are not!!)

Kizzy enjoys games of logic and liked the idea of saving the animals!  Fish and whales need to be in the sea, polar bears need to be in the snow, neither can go on top of the hunter!

It is quite challenging, but Kizzy got up to Level 5 without too much difficulty...only 43 more levels to go!!  Daddy tried to go straight in at the hardest level...he regretted that decision!  It really is tricky and requires real logic to solve the challenges.  This game will keep the family puzzling for a long time.

The game board has a pull out section to store the challenge cards and puzzle pieces neatly.  This makes it good for taking on holiday or to the grandparents' house to keep the kids occupied.

The solutions to all the levels are included, so if you end up tearing your hair out you can take a peek.  This game is recommended for ages 6-99...so it is suitable for the older kids, mum, dad, granny and grandad!

It is a real brainteaser that will help develop problem solving skills in boys and girls.  

Definitely a good educational toy for children who enjoy puzzles and a game that all the family can play, taking it in turns to complete the challenges.  (Sadly, I couldn't do level 1 without help...I really am useless as solving shape puzzles!)