Shop Local Online at MyHigh.St

MyHigh.St is an independent retail emporium showcasing some lovely independent shops in a one-stop online shopping experience.  Originally the site featured favourite shops from the high streets of West Country towns, but it is growing and developing to include high streets from all across Britain and the local communities they support.

With all the feel good factor of supporting local businesses, teamed with all the convenience of online shopping, MyHigh.St offers consumers the opportunity to choose independent retailers over the big chain stores for their Christmas shopping.  70p in every £1 you spend goes towards supporting communities and high streets, helping them to thrive.  That definitely makes buying through MyHigh.St a 'feel good shopping' experience!

There are lots of little quirky shops featured on MyHigh.St, selling things from homewares to fashion to toys to hampers to confectionery.  So there really is something to suit all tastes.  It's like browsing through an eclectic range of shops on a bustling High St, except this High St is open 24/7 and accessible from the comfort of your own living room.  It's a 21st century way to support the small, independent retailers who offer great goods, great service and competitive prices.  Plus it allows you to virtually visit these high street retailers you'd have otherwise never found and discover somewhere new to shop.  It's opening up the world of the local, independent retailer allowing them to reach out and show us all what they can offer us.  MyHigh.St is giving small businesses a chance to compete with the online giants and helping to protect our local high streets.  Everybody wins!

I've been browsing through the site and picking out things that would make great gifts for my loved ones this year. Here's the pile of pressies from the wish list of items I have selected, which would make excellent gifts for under the tree this year!

Sesame Street apron 
Perfect for my future daughter in law as she bakes cakes and cookies.

Fingerless glove
Keep your hands warm and still use mobile phones.  Perfect for my teenage daughter.

West Country Gift Box Martins of Castle Cary
Nana and Grandad would enjoy working their way through this hamper!

Mona the Cow
Baby Ted would love this cuddly cow toy.

Vegetable Apron High Wire
For my vegan daughter as she cooks up her meat free and dairy free dinners.

Sesame Street Cookie Monster Biscuit Barrel
For my cookie loving son.

Monty Python He's Not The Messiah T-Shirt [Unisex]
For my Python quoting husband!

Elephant Hot Water Bottle
Something to keep my pre-teen daughter cosy in the winter.

Cowboy Deluxe Duck by BUD
A bathtime buddy for my little boy.

Honey Liquorice Digby's Fine Chocolates
Something sweet for the in-laws.

Sesame Street Elmo Flask
Something for me so I can have a hot drink on the go (and reduce my hefty Starbuck's spends!)


As you can see, there really is a very diverse range of products to suit all tastes and budgets.  My wish list is filled with products that are fun, quirky and quite unique.  Knowing that buying these items would be helping a small business to thrive is a real bonus.

If you want to 'shop local' but with all the convenience of online shopping do check out what's on offer at MyHigh.St.


This is my entry into the MyHigh.St Blogger Competition.

Presents Hidden in Plain Sight

One of the difficulties of this time of year, especially when you have a big family, is what on earth do you do with the presents you have bought in the run up to Christmas day?  Not many of us have the luxury of a spacious, otherwise unused, lockable, secret hiding place for safely storing the things we buy.  And stashing everything away individually in a multitude of hidey holes often results in things getting misplaced and not unearthed again until the big spring clean of March the following year.  And unfortunately there is not much call for a novelty Santa hat three months after the event!

I've always found that my attempts to hide anything seasonal come unstuck.  Every year when we have our big Easter Egg Treasure Hunt the kids take one look at the elaborate trail of clues that I have spent all night devising and casually say, "The eggs are in the boot of dad's car again aren't they Mum!" before they have even read the very first cryptic question.  And I have to admit that yes they are!  Yet again I have chosen the only hiding place big enough and clean enough. I am too predictable and the kids know me too well.  Plus the boot has its limitations as a safe spot for presents, given that Ian commutes  60 miles to Birmingham every day.  I cringe at the prospect of a fragile gift hurtling up and down the M6 in the back of Ian's car (or is crawling down the M6 possibly more apt?)  Either way, it's not the best long term solution to the issue of present hiding!

When they know there is something hidden away, kids take on the characteristics of a Bloodhound. The children will sniff out anything deemed contraband if I try to hide it away.  I hide food that I buy to avoid temptation and premature consumption! My secret stash of chocolates is always uncovered in the run up to Christmas.  Only yesterday Freddy thought he'd hit the jackpot when he found my secret selection box pile in the garage.  The Buy One Get Two Free offer in my local supermarket has resulted in quite a few chocolatey purchases, but at this rate they will have all been consumed by my eagle eyed present hunters with their sixth sense for confectionery locating, long before I get to wrap them up and put them in their stockings.

Hiding presents, also makes them so very tantalising.  The very fact that something is hidden makes you want to hunt it down.  It's a challenge!  But once found, the thing you were secretly trying to locate loses its magic and becomes nothing but a disappointment as you attempt to feign surprise when it is given to you on Christmas Day.  It really does ruin the gifting element of Christmas, thinking that your well thought out present idea does not get the excited, surprised and delighted response you were hoping for.

So what is the solution?  Well, for me I now hide their presents in plain sight.  It's simple.  I put the carrier bags of purchases on the floor in my bedroom and they sit there by my bed until I get round to wrapping them.  Because they aren't hidden away, they aren't interesting at all.  They are just  a  heap of Primark, Body Shop, Tesco, Boots and Smiths bags, and a pile of plain brown Amazon, Ratuken's Play or Zavvi boxes.  The blatant positioning and disregard for secrecy renders my present pile disinteresting and not worth looking at.  Honestly it's genius!  The moment I try to disguise it or cover up the pile, it suddenly becomes a thing of intrigue filled with surprises and mysteries.  But when simply left unattended on the floor it becomes totally invisible to the curious eyes of a child.  Not one bag has been rummaged through to date!

When it comes to the issue of Santa, my children know that he is a busy man.  He needs the help of mums and dads across the world to buy and wrap their children's presents.  On Christmas Eve the gifts are magically whisked away to the North Pole where Santa adds a hefty dose of Christmas Magic to each and every parcel, before delivering them back to our homes by means of reindeer and sleigh.  So the fact that there is obvious evidence of Christmas shopping does not detract from the essence of Santa being the deliverer of the pile of presents under the tree, whilst  full 'picking out and purchasing' credit falls firmly into the lap of husband and I!

So, I think I've got it all sorted this year.  As long as the kids don't suddenly become interested in my dull, old, messy pile of boring-ness, I can rest assured that they will be in for some lovely surprises on Christmas Day!

This post is an entry into the Hudl Christmas cheer competition.

Jelly Jamm DVD

Jelly Jamm follows the adventures of five friends, Bello, Mino, Goomo, Rita and Ongo who  live on the magical planet Jammbo, which is where all the music in the universe comes from.

The madcap adventures are funny and the characters are lovable.  Jelly Jamm celebrates fun, friendship and music and every episode features a gentle life lesson for children as the friends learn to live in harmony.  

The DVD features six episodes: 

Radio Goomo 

Musical Aurora 

Rita Adopts a Dodo 

Flying Lies 

I Want That Too

Mama Mina

This show is a lot of fun, aimed at kids aged 4 -7 and contains great music.  Freddy had seen it previously on Cartoonito and he loves it.  Now we have received the DVD to review, he can watch it whenever he wants and enjoy Jelly Jamm at any time of the day!  It always brings a smile to his face.  the Jelly Jamm theme tune is something you can't help singing along to.

A brand new range of Jelly Jamm soft toys from Bandai are hitting the shops so children will be able to cuddle up with their own favourite Jelly Jamm character!  Look out for them in stores and online.

You can find Jelly Jamm on their UK Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/JellyJammEng

and on their Jelly Jamm UK page on Facebook  www.facebook.com/JellyJammUk

The DVD is out to buy now and is currently just £6.81 on Amazon.  A great stocking filler for any litttle Jelly Jamm fans!

Leerdammer Toastie Challenge‏

Leerdammer Toastie is the ultimate toastie-making cheese slice, introducing a delicious taste sensation in perfectly-sized slices, to deliver the best toastie yet.  Uncompromising on taste, toastie lovers will relish the distinctive smooth Leerdammer Toastie flavour. Carefully crafted, this new recipe is ideal for melting and fits neatly onto your bread with its square shape – promising no overspills and creating the perfect toastie.

The new richer and thicker slices enhance the original distinctively, sweet and nutty flavour of Leerdammer. They really are very tasty and we all nibbled some straight from the pack.  I love the holes in the slices which lets other sandwich toppings peep through when you make a toastie.

There has never been a better opportunity to indulge in the ultimate uplifting and warming treat to keep you satisfied through the cold winter months.

We have received some lovely Leerdammer Toastie cheese so we can make our own Toastie recipe.

 Chilli Dog and Cheese Toastie 

made with Leerdammer

Ingredients

1 slice of bread lightly toasted

1 slice Leerdammer Toastie

Jumping Jack Sweet Chilli Jam to spread

Slices of sweet long red pepper

Slices of cooked vegetarian hotdog

Spread the lightly toasted bread with chilli jam.

Pop a Leerdammer Toastie Cheese Slice on top.

Put on slices of sweet long red pepper and sliced hotdogs.

Put under the grill until the Leerdammer melts and bubbles.

Serve hot cut into halves.

Delicious!

Leerdammer Toastie is the latest addition to the Leerdammer range, which also includes the original and light slices as well as the original block. Leerdammer Toastie is now available nationwide in Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda priced at a RRP of £1.75 for a pack of six slices.

Soreen Festive Loaf

Soreen have a new festive loaf available to buy in store, bursting with winter spices, raisins, currants, cherries and a hint of citrus.  It is wrapped in festive package just oozing with Christmas joy.  they sent us some to try out.

Ian ate some big slabs for a lunch time treat and his verdict was:

"If a Malt Loaf and a Christmas Pudding had a baby, this would be it!"

It is as versatile as the rest of the range and can be toasted, eaten with butter, or served with custard as a quick dessert.  It went down very well with my malt loaf loving husband who enjoyed the Christmassy twist.

Perfect for Christmas, this limited edition loaf is exclusively in Asda priced at just £1.

Snapajack - Christmas Gifts Just Got Personal

Today is the first day of December.  I still can't believe that 2013 is almost over and Christmas is a mere twenty four days away.  Countdowns to the big day begin today all across the country, as the number 1 door on advent calendars are opened, revealing a festive treat.

I was extremely excited when Snapajack sent me a brilliant personalised advent calendar, featuring photos and text especially designed for me!  Each door contains an individual foil wrapped chocolate to enjoy everyday up until the big day!  The card is thick and glossy and the printing is sharp.  It's a real quality advent calendar with personalisation on the front and back.

Personalised gifts always delight me.  There is something about seeing my name and photos of my kids on products, that always makes me smile.  It's a fail safe gift idea in my opinion!

The Snapajack advent calendars don't have to be solely for Christmas.  You can make personalised countdown calendars to tick off the days until birthdays, weddings or other big events.  It's a lovely idea! They can be designed especially for a big occasion, adding photographs and text as required.  You can count down 7 days or a full 365 days to any event.  I love this idea as a countdown to the kid's birthdays.

SnapaJack also make a range of excellent personalised gifts from boxed bottles of wine or beer, chocolates, calendars, cards, phone cases, fingerprint pictures and playing cards.  I am extremely impressed with the range and the level of personalisation available.

The personalised Playing Cards start at just £9.97 and would make brilliant stocking fillers. You can have a single image used across the pack or pick up to 55 different images for a totally bespoke pack of cards. Card playing grandparents would love to deal up cards featuring photos of their entire family. Great gift idea!

Delivery is free and gifts are delivered in just 5 days.  There are some really good Christmas gift ideas for the family. Well worth a look if you are after personalised gifts.

www.snapajack.com

The Coca-Cola Truck - #HolidaysareComing

The Coca-Cola Truck is touring the UK bringing some festive cheer to towns up and down the country. Yesterday was Telford's turn and we went to join in the fun.

The big, red, iconic Coca-Cola lorry is every bit as impressive as in the advert.  With a little boy and a husband who love trucks, the spectacle was well worth going to see.  We were treated to mini cans of Coke and Diet Coke as we queued to have our photos taken in front of the truck.

It was very chilly but the sun was shining and our cockles were warmed with Christmas music and Christmas helpers dressed in festive red coats.  We loved the friendly Man Elves!

Telford was incredibly busy with Christmas shopping being carried out with gusto.  The crowds definitely gave me hope for the economy, even though I personally don't enter into the madness of buying tonnes of presents for Christmas.  Thankfully my kids accept and celebrate that this Christmas means family, food and fun in our house - so I'm under no pressure to get this year's must have gifts for the kids. A stocking filled with some goodies and a couple of presents under the tree have been sorted already.  So I can relax a little knowing I won't be having to fight these crowds!  However, I do like to take the children to Christmassy events and enjoy the whole of December with festive fun days out.

There are still loads of dates left on the Coca-Cola Truck Tour throughout December.  Check the dates on the Coke Zone website.