Meet The Latest My Blue Nose Friends

There are four new additions to the My Blue Nose Friends family.  The lovable, beautifully made collectable soft toys bring the total in the collection up to 135.  Each has the trademark blue nose along with some patchwork detail.

Soprano is a Shetland Pony who loves to sing and believes everything is better in harmony.

Denzil is a chilled out Komodo Dragon who stays cool, even when the heat is on.

Tatty Puppy is on a mission to make you love with his cheeky pranks.

Pandora the Pearl Oyster loves to hide, but dazzles you with her surprises when you find her.

We love My Blue Nose Friends.  Each has its own personality which shines through via the design and detail.  Our favourite is Soprano with his furry mane and tail.  they are so soft and cuddly.

They cost just £5.00 each.

Available online from Carte Blanche.

Give IKEA Soft Toys this Christmas and Support the IKEA Foundation

This year  a selection of the IKEA soft toy range takes inspiration from children’s fairy tales.  Featuring dragons, billy goats, fairies, elves and unicorns, the quirky, cute and cuddly range is really delightful.  

Giving IKEA soft toys means you are giving more than just a gift to your child because for every soft toy and children’s book sold between now and the 4th January 2014, IKEA Foundation will donate €1 to children’s education through UNICEF and Save the Children. Since 2003, the campaign has reached more than 10 million children through 90 projects in 46 different countries.

FLYGDRAKE £8

In store at IKEA, you can also purchase a soft toy directly for a local child who might be in need of some extra cheer this Christmas, and pop it into the Donation Box. With toys starting at just 40p and some at £1, it's an easy way to spread the joy of Christmas.

GETDJUR £1.50

IKEA sell a great range of soft toys and dolls in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so you will be able to find something to please everyone.  I love their cuddly animals which are so soft and the hobby horse toys are perfect for active kids.

LOJLIG £8.00

The little elf toys (pictured below) at just £1.50 would make a lovely 'Elf on the Shelf' toy for Christmas so you could could join in and make this a new Christmas tradition for your children. There are cuddly foxes, sharks, snakes and dogs for animal lovers. They even have a cuddly Broccoli toy for children who love their greens!

MINDRE £1.50

IKEA toys make great stocking fillers, under the tree presents or gifts for your children to give to their friends. Knowing that you are helping children living in poverty around the world to lead better lives, through buying a toy to give as a gift, is a lovely way to give a little back this Christmas.  

**We are big fans of IKEA at Christmas!  They have lots of family activities to join in with and Santa will be in store at weekends between 11am and 4pm!  Plus if you buy a Christmas Tree for £25 you receive a £20 voucher to spend in the New Year!  Check the details at your local IKEA!**

My Blue Nose Friends - Meet Flip, Spangle and Scuttle!

Another four new additions to the My Blue Nose Friends have joined the range of super cute collectibles.  Each with the distinctive blue nose, patchwork design and individual personality, they bring the number of characters available to well over 100. We were sent three of the new characters Flip, Spangle and Scuttle to add to our My Blue Nose Friends collection.  (The fourth character is Bixie the Cocker Spaniel.)  They are lovely little toys that have masses of appeal.  Spangle was voted the favorite new character in our household as we love his shiny, golden fabric and blue button nose.

Here are the new characters official bios!

Scuttle the Crab is the inquisitive little creature who loves to explore. When you need a friend, Scuttle is a rock you can always depend on.  

Bixie is the cute Cocker Spaniel who loves a snooze, but when you’re in the room, he’s all ears!  

Flip is the dippy Gecko who’ll turn your life upside-down, but don’t worry, his feet always land on solid ground.  

Spangle is a shimmery Starfish who’s the best friend you can imagine - she will stick with you from beginning to end!

They are available now from: bycarteblanche.com, Amazon, Clintons, WH Smiths and independent retailers nationwide. RRP £5.00.

Visit the ‘Official My Blue Nose Friends’ Facebook page to join in with the buzz and chat about the new characters.

My Blue Nose Friends

A few Christmases ago, my eldest son introduced us to the My Blue Nose Friends toys when he bought one for each of his sisters and brother.  Everyone fell in love with the gorgeous soft toy animals who each had their own personality that perfectly matched the sibling who he gave them too.  That is the beauty of this range of  adorable plush toys, which are made by the creators of Tatty Teddy and Me 2 You, you will find one that is perfect for you.

Four new My Blue Nose Friends are being added to the collection: Smoo, Comedy, Spirit and Twist.  This makes a grand total of 111 My Blue Nose Friends to choose from.

Smoo the Highland Cow will clamber up the steepest slope to make sure she stays by her owners’ side. 

Comedy the Hyena will have fans in tears of laughter as she just loves to make everyone smile! 

Spirit the Lemur is bursting with energy but will always have time for a quiet moment with his owner.

Twist the Snake has a spellbinding personality and will conjure the perfect solution should there be a problem!  

Yo can visit the ‘Official My Blue Nose Friends’ Facebook page to chat to other BNF fans and find out about new launches and products including apps.  This summer, My Blue Nose Friends celebrates its 5th anniversary with the launch of four further Friends to add to the collection.

We were sent the new four toys and I have to admit making some 'awww' noises, especially when I saw the Highland Cow, Smoo.  I love the attention to detail on each individually designed soft toy, with their little sewn on patches and of course their blue noses. 

Each beautifully made super cute collectable character is available from bycarteblanche.com, Amazon, Clintons, WH Smiths and Independent Retailers nationwide, RRP £5.  They really do make a lovely gift.

Stocking Fillers - from Annoying Orange and Ikea

Annoying Orange

The online sensation Annoying Orange is YouTube's most watched comedy show with over 1.4 billion views.  It is set to come to UK TV in 2013 bringing the annoyingly hilarious humour to an even wider audience.  My kids can all recite Annoying Orange quotes and are fans of the kooky, talking citrus fruit.

For the first time ever, Annoying Orange and his long suffering pals are available as cool and quirky toys and accessories.  So this year, discovering an orange in your stocking will be a great find!

The product range includes ‘Fresh Squeezed’ talking clip-ons that are super soft and with a gentle squeeze you will instantly recognise the annoying sounds from your favourite characters.  RRP £6.99

The Kitchen Crew Talking Clip-ons are great for putting on your school bag or even car keys – watch out though, you might hear then shouting some of their well-known annoying puns!  RRP £6.99.

The Annoying Orange ‘Kitchen Crew’ collectibles are textured with detail and will make great stocking fillers this Christmas. RRP £7.99.

The Annoying Orange talking plush range say funny jokes, puns and classic phrases from the Annoying Orange series.  RRP £7.99.  (All Suitable for ages 4+ and available from Toys R Us.) 

Ikea Soft Toys and Books

If you want some original toys and books for the kids' stockings, then take a look in Ikea.  Many are priced below the £5 mark and are all so beautifully designed.  Plus for every one purchased Ikea are donating 1 Euro to their Soft Toys for Education campaign which helps under privileged kids worldwide.

How about this funky monkey glove puppet from the Klappar Cirkus range (RRP £3)?   We were sent him so we could have a play with him ourselves!  It is just one of a fabulous selection of circus themed soft toys that are great value and exceptionally cute, each with their own personality. The range also includes finger puppets and fancy dress hats, perfect for a Christmas Day performance!  They start at just £1.

Ikea also sell children's books.  We were sent a copy of Heroes of The Vegetable Patch, a large sized, fully illustrated story book featuring a bumble-bee, an old lady and some lovely vegetable characters.  It's a gentle tale of friendship and teaches little ones that we all share the same land.  At just £4 it is a great buy.