Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Atmospheric autumn nights turn into festive Christmas advent when 1 December comes around. As the children delight in their chocolate advent calendars, Yankee Candle have grown-up versions for adults which will spoil you just as much. The Yankee Candle Advent Wreath has 24 days’ worth of pretty candles to light up your evenings.
The wreath, which has fixtures on the back to be able to be mounted on a wall, contains 24 scented tealight candles of 8 different fragrances, and one glass tea light holder, which is in the window on 1 December. The scents are all Christmas themed and include Letter to Santa, Christmas Cookie, Twinkling Lights, Christmas Eve, Amber & Sandalwood, Silver, Sage & Pine, Soft Wool & Amber and Pink Cherry Vanilla. Each tealight weighs enough to give you over an evenings’ worth of burn so you can keep them going night after night or save up until you have several of the same scent and dot them around the room to give a luscious scent throughout the house. The addition of the glass tealight holder means that you still have an attractive candle vase long after Christmas and can purchase more Yankee Candle tealights in the New Year to use around the home.
This is a lovely indulgent gift for anyone who loves candles or Christmas, and doesn’t want chocolate or alcohol at Christmas time. Although the box is large and an awkward shape, it is still fairly easy to post because it’s not very heavy or thick. There’s a lovely array of different scents which will evoke Christmas and the festive spirit even more once you have the decorations up. I think this is lovely for teenagers who might just be getting into candles but don’t want childish chocolate or toys at this time of year.
The candles and scents are beautiful and are a fabulous alternative to sweets plus they can be enjoyed by the whole family!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Younger children tend to have a short attention span so finding games that are simple enough for them to join in, don’t take forever to play and are interesting enough for older children to join in with can be tricky. BrainBox games tick all these boxes and with a huge selection of themes you can pick a version to suit your family’s interests. The games are all memory and observation card games which not only test your eye for detail but are full of interesting facts too and every time I play, I discover a new fact so it’s great for your general knowledge too!
The game is easy to play, there are 54 cards, a 10 second sand timer and a dice and the players take in in turns to draw a card and study it for 10 seconds. Once the timer runs out you roll the dice and the card is passed to the next player who asks the corresponding numbered question from the back of the card. If you get it right, you keep the card but if you get it wrong it goes back into the BrainBox. After ten minutes (or however long you want to play for) the player who has the most cards wins.
As well as memory skills the Brainbox Animals game also helps with observation as there are questions about which way the animals are facing or how many animals there are. It also helps children with their reading, our 8 year old mini reviewer hates sitting down with a book but will happily read the questions on the cards all night discovering interesting information about the animals like where they live, what they eat, how big they are and how long they live.
This is a great game to play with children and with so many themes it is easy to choose a topic that they are interested in. My children have already asked for Dinosaurs, Harry Potter and Nature and I quite fancy the World History and Around the World UK versions. Playing for ten minutes every night will really broaden their knowledge and get those facts stored in their brains in a fun way.
Disclaimer: We received this game free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Whenever we go away, whether it’s by car, train or plane, I always make sure I have a couple of travel games in my bag to help pass the time. Tension from Cheatwell Games, the top ten naming game is one of our favourite board games so were really pleased to try out the travel version this summer.
The box is very cleverly designed, storing all the cards, timer and counters and also doubling up as the score board with little buttons to pop whenever a correct answer is shouted out.
The cards are double sided, orange questions on one size and blue on the other. The orange questions tend to be easier so when we have been playing with younger children we use these but if you are playing with older children or adults you can choose either. The cards cover a huge variety of topics such as Fictional Doctors, Power Tools, Pub Names Featuring Animals and Things You Can Hang On A Wall so it is a great game to play when you have a mix of ages.
The game is easy to play, you split into two teams and the first team select the top card and place it into the card dispenser, making sure that all the poppers are raised. The topic is read out, the timer turned and the other team shout out as many correct answers as they can within the time. It sounds easy but the twist is you need to come up with the same ten answers on the card to gain points. Among the correct answers you will also get plenty of hilarious answers which adds to the fun of the game! When a correct answer is given the popper is pushed down to keep score. Tokens are awarded based on the number of correct answers (yellow =1, red =5 and blue =10). Play then swaps to the other team and continues until all tokens are used.
This is a great game to play and a fantastic addition to our travel game collection. It is now in my travel bag ready for our next trip.
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own
Now the schools are back I’m suddenly inundated by birthday party invitations, fabulous for my children but a headache for me as I have to come up with inexpensive gifts for the birthday boy/girl.
When Tomy sent me their Active Snap game my problem was solved, costing a very reasonable £5.99, this fantastic card game is a twist on the classic and much-loved game of Snap and is suitable for both boys and girls.
Like the traditional version, players take turns playing the cards and when they match, the person who puts their hand on the cards and shouts “SNAP” first wins all the cards. Active Snap is even more exciting as when you win a round, everyone else must do the activity that is illustrated on the card. With star jumps, touching your toes, sit-ups and dancing as well as many more lively activities the game is great fun to play (and watch).
Active Snap gets everyone moving and with Christmas coming up will be great game to play at family parties – everyone can play from toddlers to Granny and it might even help burn off a few calories after Christmas lunch too!!
RRP: £5.99
Suitable for ages: 4+ years
Available from Independent toy shops, Amazon, WH Smith, Hamley’s, Tesco
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Now the children are back at school we are trying to limit the amount of time they spend glued to screens so we have started playing a boardgame after tea. This week we have been playing Bananagrams which is perfect for helping children with words and spellings. It’s like Scrabble in that you create crosswords using the lettered tiles, but it is much easier for younger children to play as there’s no board restricting the words you can make and no scores to keep track of either.
To begin you place the 144 lettered tiles (the bunch) face down in the middle of the table and each player takes a certain number of tiles (dependant on the number of players). Once everyone has their tiles one player shouts “SPLIT” and everyone can turn over their tiles and begin making their crosswords. Once started you can rearrange your tiles at any time to try and use all the tiles.
As soon as you have played your last tile, you shout ‘peel’ which means everyone picks up a new tile from the bunch. It can be tricky to fit all your tiles in a crossword so when you get stuck you have the option of shouting ‘DUMP’ and exchanging one of your tiles for three new ones. This can be really helpful at the beginning of the game but as the game progresses you tend to find that you keep getting the harder letters like Q and Z which everyone is desperately trying to get rid of!
Play continues until there are less tiles in the bunch than the number of players and then the first player to use all their tiles shouts “BANANAS.” The words are then checked by the other players, if they are correct that player wins but any misspelled words, abbreviations or proper nouns means the player is disqualified and the other players shout “ROTTEN BANANA” and return all the tiles to the bunch and play continues.
This is a great game and we have had lots of fun playing it, it’s a lot faster than Scrabble and great for helping children with their spelling without them realising!
The game comes in a small banana-shaped zipped bag which is the perfect size to pop in a bag for holidays or sleepovers at grandparents and it also fits nicely in a stocking so would make a great Christmas gift too.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Who here DIDN’T have chocolate coins for Christmas as a child? Were they part of your stocking? Perhaps Gran gave you some chocolate as part of your Christmas present along with a few notes when you were a teenager? I know I used to get a bar of chocolate at Christmas with something monetary sellotaped to it because that’s all I wanted by the time I was that age!
Cadbury have a range of chocolate gifts for every occasion and you’ll be pleased to know that their famous chocolate coins are still going strong. Available everywhere for the festive season, there’s something nostalgic about getting the coins, then trying to prise open that plastic netting that I swear is stronger than steel… only to have to spend the next half hour delicately peeling off the foil from each of the coins before devour them. I’m not sure they were ever meant to be an exercise in dexterity, but the satisfaction of getting the foil off of a chocolate coin on one go without bending or tearing it is something every child should experience.
The Cadbury Snowballs Chocolate bar and grab bag are relatively new to the range. Slightly crunchy shells are covered in a light dusting of sugar and filled with milk chocolate to give a contradictory crunch and smooth chocolate sensation. Deliciously more-ish, they’re perfect for stockings, Secret Santa or as a part present for either adults or children. Whichever Cadbury chocolates you choose, don’t forget they won’t be around for the rest of the year, so snap them up when you can!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
There is so much choice on the markets for phones nowadays, and with choice comes complicated tech words, specifications and all sorts of apps which just adds to the confusion.
The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone is an Android model, with all the features you’d want on a modern phone but without the pricetag, or the complications. For as little as £34.99 and available at High Street shops, it saves so much money compared to the bigger players on the phone market without the worry of breaking it or losing it.
As for the specifications, it has what you would want to keep a phone safe. There’s facial recognition to unlock it, so you don’t have to worry about passwords or pin codes. The phone is a standard 16GB of memory which is enough to hold the random photos we all take as well as video but also has an extra Micro SD slot so that you can add 32GB of memory if you need to. I personally find it easier to have a remote hard disk that backs up all your photos and videos so that there isn’t the worry but depending on what you need the phone for, you might prefer just using the memory on the phone.
Speaking of photos, there’s a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera (for taking selfies) which isn’t the most powerful phone camera on the market but it is a good quality to be able to take photos to upload to social media. As with all apps too, you can add filters to whichever social media you are uploading to, even if the photo isn’t perfect when you take it.
One of the universal problems with smartphones is the life of the battery when on full charge. The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone has a battery life of approximately 15 days when on standby and not being used. I found that I didn’t have to charge it for several days with light use and taking some photos, which is much better than most smartphones. The speed when connecting to the internet was excellent too. The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone is 4G, which is the standard frequency in the UK. The new 5G is rolling out now but doesn’t cover the majority of the country yet and if you have a phone that is only 5G, it won’t convert to 4G when there’s no 5G frequency. The most common frequency is 4G still.
The phone also connects to Wifi and Bluetooth for downloading information or if you want to connect another device (such as a speaker) to play any of the MP3s stored on the phone.
Usability wise, it’s very easy to navigate with just 3 simple buttons and a simple Android 11 userface. It only measures just over 12 centimetres long and 6 centimetres wide so it can fit in your pocket or a handbag, or even in the glove compartment of the car. It’s great for taking on holiday and using with a spare SIM card in case it gets lost or you don’t want to use your expensive phone on adventure days out.
Lastly, this phone is great as a first phone for children that isn’t complicated or expensive if it gets lost or broken or for older people who aren’t familiar with smartphones. It’s easy to use so it doesn’t need much explanation. The long battery life means you can charge it less frequently and it’s still usable.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Advent calendars aren’t just for children anymore. They mostly are, but now we have these bigger, more sophisticated marketing calendars that cater for all kinds of whims and fancies. Adults who love chocolate are spoiled for choice though. Cadbury have an extra special Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special which contains squares of Dairy Milk chocolate chunks which are individually wrapped. There’s caramel, Dairy Milk or wholenut contained in random behind the 24 windows.
This advent calendar is aimed at chocolate lovers but not necessarily children, so it’s great for teenagers, adult children or even partners. There’s no gimmicky marketing with this calendar, just the 24 windows with little individual bars behind each of them. The packaging is largely recyclable, apart from the wrappers and the cocoa is 100% sustainably sourced.
If you love milk chocolate and especially for adults who love chocolate, this is a great gift! There’s a whopping 259 grams of chocolate in this calendar, which is more than 2 bars worth. The individual chunks of chocolate make it easy to share this calendar too, and if you don’t want to eat the pieces, you can save them for later. The individually wrapped chunks are the same Dairy Milk chocolate and quality you’d expect from Cadbury, and I, as a chocolate lover, especially love the fact that there is this variety of flavours to look forward to each day too. It also helps that the Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special also has the proper 24 windows, not the new trendy 12 days of advent!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Christmas is always a difficult time to buy gifts for some people. There’s the Grandparents who say, “I don’t need anything,” and the distant relative you don’t really know, plus the need to update everyone in the family on how big the kids are getting. Nowadays, there are some brilliant customisable options for personal gifts which can keep everyone happy.
MyPicture.co.uk is a website designed to allow you to upload photos and create custom-made gifts for the home. There’s everything available from canvas prints, photo cushions, framed prints, photo blankets and some specially designed items like this city map poster. We were sent the instructions on how to create this city map poster of London (where our reviewer lives and grew up) to show how easy it is to create as a Christmas present.
From the www.mypicture.co.uk website, click the dropdown for Photo Gifts and you can start the new City Map Poster process to customise your city or town to your own taste. You can search for a city area using a postcode or name and the diagram instantly updates to show you how it will look. It also allows you to add a marker (for instance if you wanted to mark a place where you met), add some text or co-ordinates and change the type of font. To make it extra special, it can arrive pre-framed and with the right accessories to be able to hang it straight on the wall!
There’s the choice of whether you have it portrait or landscape and different types of frame (black, white, silver, walnut, oak or without a frame at all) and the whole canvas is delivered to your door.
The whole process is completed online with the image updating in real time as you make your choices. I thought I knew what I would want when I started creating it, but as the live updates showed, I changed my mind and was able to adapt it to what I wanted. There’s a choice of sizes too which was handy to be able to choose which wall space I wanted to fit it in.
Once the frame arrived, tightly packed and in perfect condition, it was ready to be hung without any DIY needed to it. The enclosed fixtures (which are part of the design request and at a small added cost) are specifically for this type of print so they take the right weight. The sizes are a nice variety of 30cm x 40cm, 40cm x 60cm and 60cm x 80cm. The chunky frames are nice and sturdy too and as the print is already mounted in the frame, there’s no fiddling around with trying to fit it and get the grips on the back to move.
The result when it turned up really exceeded my expectations! The London city map poster was crisp under the Perspex covering and the black frame really added to the look. It’s a brilliant gift as well. I chose London for the city map poster because I was born and live here but you could choose a town or a co-ordinate of where you met your partner, or where you got married. The possibilities are endless!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Clean Co are the specialists in creating non-alcoholic spirits, starting with their famous Clean Gin and Clean Rhubarb Gin. Now, they have ventured into other spirits including this Clean Co Rum – a spiced spirit which is also non-alcoholic but with the Caribbean flavour of rum.
Clean Co Rum Alternative has won the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) bronze award in 2021 for its vanilla on the palate and pineapple and raisin on the tastebuds. It’s certainly a welcome alternative to the other non-alcoholic spirits that don’t have much depth, taste or mix very well with other drinks to make cocktails.
Clean Co Rum Alternative has a dry, vanilla taste with smokey fruitiness that’s. typical of rum. There’s a slight sugar taste in there too which gives it the fuller flavour of a spirit and it’s delicious with a cola drink or mixed into a cocktail thanks to the added Jamaican spices. You can also try it with ginger ale and lime to give a different skew on its tropical flavours.
The good news is that Clean Co Rum Alternative is also vegan, has no sugar at all and is only 12 calories per 50ml serving. It has less than 0.5% ABV which classifies as non-alcoholic and is lactose free too.
This is a great gift for anyone who is into spirits but doesn’t necessarily like rum yet, so that they can try it and supplement cocktails at home with an authentic rum flavour. Rum lovers, especially those doing Dry January, will love having the rum flavours and none of the alcohol to feel guilty over!
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.
I’m sure I am not the only one who finds applying eyeliner tricky – I struggle to apply it evenly and invariably end up poking myself in the eye in the process! Over the years I have tried lots of different eyeliners and now favour the pencil style ones like these from Annabelle Minerals which I find are much easier to apply.
They recently sent me a selection of Eyeliner Pencils and Jumbo Eye Pencils in the most gorgeous shades of purple, the pencils are extremely gentle to the delicate eye area and incredibly easy to use, the creamy texture glides onto your eyelid and lash line without dragging the delicate skin. The intensity of the colours is fantastic, they are very rich and vibrant and highly pigmented.
I especially like the Jumbo Eye Pencils as they can be used as eyeshadow, eyeliner and primer and I have been using all three shades – Catmint, Fuchsia and Midnight – to create both day and night looks. Fuchsia is a gorgeous deep purple which is the perfect colour for anyone who’s looking to make a change from traditional black or brown but doesn’t want anything too bright just yet.
I don’t have the steadiest of hands, but the eyeliner pencils are nice and soft and I found it easy to apply to my lash line, adding a little flick at the corner of my eyes to lift them and make them stand out more.
After applying for the first time I went to work and put the eye pencils in my makeup bag, fully expecting to have to reapply at some point during the day. I was therefore quite surprised when I found I didn’t need to as the colour lasted on my upper eyelid for the whole day. As well as being easy to apply the eye pencils were easy to remove too, a wipe with eye make up remover and the colour was gone.
Annabelle Minerals products are based on only 4 ingredients and are 100% organic. Their products are suitable for every skin type as well as vegetarians and vegans.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Have you heard of the board game Dixit? I hadn’t until I saw this Disney Edition of Dixit, which is available from September 2023. Intrigued, it looked like it could be a lovely edition to the household board games or a way of connecting with my Disney inner princess.
Dixit is a board game for 3-6 players. The object of the game is to play to get 30 points using the cards provided. Each player is a ‘Storyteller’ in turn and hands out 6 cards to all the players including themselves. Using the game board, each player has a game piece and a set of voting tokens. The storyteller chooses one of their cards and describes it, so that the other players try and find one of their cards which fits the same clue. Placing their cards on the game board, they are then shuffled and revealed. Using the tokens, players vote on which card they think is the original Storyteller’s card. Depending on whether they are right or not depends on how many points they score on the board, and hence the game is won on points up to 30.
It sounds complicated when written down but once you play in the different stages (guessing, voting then scoring) it becomes easier, and the instructions are easy to follow and easy to refer to during the game. The cards and tokens are all beautifully illustrated in Disney scenes from well known movies. The game pieces are also based on Disney characters such as Tinkerbelle and the Genie from Aladdin.
As a game, it’s aimed at ages 8 upwards and is describes as being around 30 minutes long. I think it can take a lot longer than 30 minutes per game, depending on how well everyone describes their card, or in certain cases, you might end up with a whole song or scene acted out in order to illustrate! The Disney Dixit game needs some imagination, perhaps some patience with younger children and crucially a knowledge of Disney and Pixar movies in order to play fully. I’m not familiar with that many newer Disney movies so it was more difficult for me, but children growing up today or with a love of Disney characters will be able to play this game much better. It’s fun, it’s creative and it’s every Disney Princess’ dream Christmas Present that can be played by the whole family.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Christmas wouldn’t be the same for children without the excitement of getting a chocolate advent calendar, which in our house was always from my grandparents! As we got older, family friends would always send chocolate advent calendars to us and eventually it became a group amongst all our friends to have a children’s chocolate advent calendar.
Cadbury are the Grand Masters of advent calendars. We were sent 3 out of a range of calendars to try, all of them with delicious chocolate which you would recognise behind every window. The first of those was the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar – a staple in any family home. Each of the 24 windows has a small piece of Dairy Milk Chocolate molded into a Christmas shape such as a gingerbread man, present or snowman. There’s pictures behind the windows and the chocolate is hidden behind tin foil to keep it fresh, although it also adds to the anticipation for little fingers to prise it open and reveal the chocolate!
The cocoa in this Dairy Milk Advent Calendar is 100% sustainably sourced and Cadbury partner with the Fairtrade Foundation to promote fair growing for farmers and friendly farming for the environment. The packaging is recyclable, although the foil wrapping isn’t just yet. On the back of the calendar there’s a simple puzzle for children to complete, although I would imagine most children would just be interested in the chocolate inside! There’s 90grams net of chocolate inside, so no overloading on lots of sugar before bedtime.
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Christmas has come early at The Review Studio as we’ve been trying a selection of fabulous APHRODITE gift sets that will make fantastic presents or Secret Santa gifts for loved ones this Christmas.
APHRODITE are a Greek skincare company who were founded back in the 90’s by George Zacharioudakis. George’s Greek heritage meant he was already aware of the benefits of olive oil for skincare and used this knowledge to cultivate an exceptional grade of organic extra virgin olive oil on his home island of Crete which he then used to create APHRODITE products.
When I looked at the APHRODITE website I discovered they have a fantastic selection of gift sets, so I guarantee you won’t have any problems finding the perfect gift for everyone this Christmas – these are a few of my favourites.
Happy Feet Gift Set €13.20 Containing a Sage & Lavender deodorant foot cream, Olive oil soap with lavender and a pumice stone this set contains everything you need to pamper your feet. After washing my feet with the soap and then leaving them to soak for 5 minutes I used the pumice stone to remove dry skin. The foot cream smells divine and it was a lovely relaxing self-care ritual rubbing it into my feet each night.
Donkey Milk Collection Hand & Foot Pamper Set €9.90 – Containing 30ml tubes of hand cream and foot cream this set is perfect as a stocking filler or Secret Santa gift. The hand and foot cream are lovely and hydrating and will keep hands and feet soft over the cold winter months. The handy sized tubes are perfect for travelling too.
Anti-age Face Care Treats €16.50 This set contains Day Cream, Night Cream and Face Scrub and is the perfect introduction to APHRODITE skincare. Specially formulated for mature skin types they offer round-the-clock hydration while fighting early signs of ageing such as fine lines and sagging skin. The creams absorb easily without needing to rub and the face scrub gently exfoliates leaving skin clean and refreshed.
Olive Oil & Donkey Milk Soaps €4.95 I am trying to be more sustainable and have switched liquid soap for a bar of soap so was pleased to see APHRODITE have some lovely soap gift sets. The Olive Oil & Donkey Milk soaps lather nicely creating a creamy foam that washes dirt and grime away leaving hands beautifully soft and gently fragranced.
So, if you have a friend or family member who loves beauty products, have a Secret Santa gift to buy or need a few thank you gifts for teachers then have a look at the APHRODITE website – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Last week my inbox was bombarded with Christmas gifts and whilst we’re only in September it does make sense to start shopping early as it means you can get gifts before they sell out it and it also helps spread the cost too.
I’m on a hunt for stocking fillers at the minute and when the Palmers Cocoa Butter moisturisers arrived I knew they would fit nicely in the stockings this year. Palmers are a natural cocoa butter and coconut oil skincare and haircare brand whose products are not only reasonably priced but are brilliant at caring for dry skin. I’ve used Palmers products for years as I have dry, eczema prone skin and the moisturisers really help care for my skin, leaving it lovely and soft and hydrated.
The Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Skin Therapy Body Lotion (RRP: £5.99 – 400ml) smells amazing and is gentle enough for sensitive skin. The pump action bottle makes it easy to dispense the lotion and it is easy to apply, absorbing effortlessly. It has really helped soothe the dry skin on my arms and legs after only a couple of applications.
When my skin is particularly bad I find a thicker product is best to help soothe the redness so the Palmer’s Original Solid Formula Jar (RRP: £7.49 – 200g) is perfect when my skin flares up. This is more of an intensive moisturiser and the balm is thicker and greasier than the lotion, but my dry skin just soaks it up and it does a brilliant job at keeping my skin soft and smooth and calming the redness. I let it warm in my hands first to make it easier to apply and find it is Incredibly soothing on my skin.
With a uniquely rich and creamy blend of Cocoa Butter, made from ethically and sustainably sourced cocoa beans, and Vitamin E these moisturisers are just what you need in the winter months to keep your skin hydrated and soft. As well as buying some for stocking fillers I will be treating myself too!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Keeping children occupied with quiet toys often resorts to screen time. It’s not easy to carry around a bag full of toys as well as snacks, change of clothes and any other emergency items you might need, but instead of resorting to your phone, there are other options. Hey Doodle have a range of reusable and educational toys which are lightweight and easy to use, including these Hey Doodle A4 colouring mats.
Included in the tube of this ‘Into The Wild’ scene is a silicone mat, pre-printed with animals of the alphabet with the letters in traceable format. There’s also three colouring pens to be used with the toy, where children can trace the letters and then colour in the animals next to it. After it has been coloured in, you can wipe clean the mat and start again.
This is a great toy for going on holiday and especially for long journeys. There’s enough to do on the A4 sized mat that will take the average 3-5 year old enough time that they don’t get bored, and if they make a mistake, you can just rub it out and start again. Over time, you can see how well their colouring and letter skills improve if you take a photo of it each time they finish.
The mat is not only for learning about animals, the alphabet and colouring. Whether blank or drawn on, you can ask questions about the animals, ask children to point to specific letters or work on the mat together to create some bonding time too. This ‘Into The Wild’ mat is one of a series of topics including Dinosaurs and Aussie Animals which can also be purchased as a bundle for £39.99. If you’re more stationary, there’s also a range of bigger mats which are great for indoor play, but these A4 sized mats, which come in a tube to make them easier to carry with the pens, are fabulous for stockings. They can also be posted easily because of their very light weight.
If you’re conscious about the environment too, the Hey Doodle set of toys are completely re-usable so that not just one child but all the kids can make use of it again and again – no need to repeat buy colouring books or keep printing from the internet! It saves paper and cleaning the mats is super easy with just a household damp cloth. If you want to leave them overnight to soak in a sink of water, it also makes for a fun experiment with little ones the next morning to see how the water has eaten away the colours!
Hey Doodle have some lovely ideas for gifts, especially for Christmas and the A4 Silicone mats are brilliant for children aged 3+, and adults too!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own
It’s the start of September and the month that advent calendars start to hit the shops. With so many fantastic calendars available I’m finding that you do have to buy them early as the popular ones quickly sell out. Swizzels sweets are a favourite in my house so I’ll be picking up a couple of Mr Swizzels Sweet Shop Advent Calendars for them to enjoy this December.
The calendar has a bright sweet shop seasonal theme and behind the 24 numbered doors you will find a miniature version of iconic Swizzels sweets, will there be Love Hearts, Fizzers, Refresher Bars, Parma Violets, Stinger, Banana Skids, Drumstick or a Snap Crackle behind your door?
At a very purse friendly £5 this is the perfect way to count down to the big day.
Disclaimer: We received this toy free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Freddie the Firefly from Lamaze is the perfect gift for babies this Christmas, with a smiley face and plenty of sounds and textures to explore it’s the perfect sensory toy for little ones.
Each segment of his body is made from a different fabric meaning he has plenty of tactile sensory sensations for little ones to enjoy. He has little knotted legs and his many layered wings are all different, there are crackly wings, ribbed wings, squeakers, rattles and even a peekaboo mirror to delight little ones. Our little one especially liked the ladybird teether which has brought relief to her sore gums. Freddie has a brightly coloured soft velour body and the contrasting colours and patterns will also help support a baby’s visual development.
The brightly coloured toy instantly caught our mini reviewer’s attention, it was so easy for to grasp in her little hands and she has happily chomped, crinkled and pulled on it whilst sat in her buggy and car seat. Small handheld toys are great for entertaining children when out and about, they fit nicely in a changing bag and having the clip means you can fasten it to a buggy or car seat and not worry about it getting lost.
There’s plenty to keep a baby entertained and engaged and it would make a great gift for a new baby this Christmas.
RRP: £15.99
Suitable for ages: 0m+
Stockists include: Independent toy shops, Smyths, Amazon, The Entertainer, Very, Hamleys, Sainsburys, Tesco, John Lewis, Boots, Waitrose and Ocado.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
The go-to present for my family to buy me each Christmas is the novelty slipper. I wear slippers throughout the autumn and winter and probably a long way into summer too so they get good wear but they don’t normally last that long.
Anna Elshafei, the founder of Shaffay is a similar slipper lover. A former London lawyer, Anna changed careers mid-life when she wanted to create an elegant luxury slipper that women could wear all year round, were comfortable and stylish too. Now based in Canterbury, Anna has worked with her designers to create a range of Signature slippers in different colours to appeal to all slipper wearers with names such as Cairo, Paris, Shanghai and London. Although Anna was brought up in London (hence the name) she also lived in Shanghai with her husband. So the names of the slippers are born out of Anna’s love of cities and it was a pair of London Shaffay luxury slippers that were sent to us to try.
If you’re buying Shaffay as a luxurious gift for someone this Christmas, then you won’t be disappointed. The box opens to each shoe being individually wrapped, and there’s a shoe bag to keep them clean – or perhaps it’s to prevent losing one? The slippers come in UK sizes 4-9 and each of the 4 designs has a different colour upper as well as insole. These house shoes have grey upper leather with comfy furry insides and are more or less backless so you don’t need to horn your foot into them. Easily slipped on, they’re hands free but provide support to the whole foot. In order for them not to fall off, Anna and designer Jess realised that the front of the slipper had to come up high on the foot. There’s a small wedge in the heel too, which gives a bit more overall support and I found it made it easier to transition from soft carpeted floor to a tiled floor without changing my posture to correct the friction difference.
As for the design, this has been carefully thought about. Luxury slippers don’t create themselves so there’s a lot of research been taken in order to get the Shaffay slippers just right. Firstly, you’ll notice the memory foam inner sole. This is to create a comfier walk but it also provides a little more insulation. On top of the inner sole is a contrasting insole, also in lamb leather. The sole is made of rubber to give a genuine grip and is non-slip. You’ll notice the difference when you walk on a tiled or stone floor because the grip is much stronger than other slippers.
Comfort wise, they’re very snug, warm with the pile lining and the toe is squared off to give it a contemporary look but also hugs your toes more. I love that they’re leather (this is not a gift for a vegetarian or vegan!) but then most outdoor shoes, especially hard-wearing shoes are leather and the alternative material, plastic, is far more harmful to the environment and doesn’t last as long. I know it’s not fashionable but I’m a fan of leather shoes and slippers. I have only just started wearing these so I have no idea how long they are going to last, I hope it’s longer than the 6-8 months most of my slippers last but the indications are that they will thanks to the materials used, the design and how well they’re made.
We need to talk about the price too. £95 is a lot of money for a pair of slippers. My slippers usually cost around £10-£15 for the novelty range and as I said, last about one cold season. So at £95 a pair, that means these slippers would have to last around 6-10 years for them to be cost effective. It’s not unusual for a pair of leather shoes, worn outdoors all the time and in all weather would last 5+ years. I know I have well made leather shoes and boots that are over 10 years old and need little maintenance and that’s with commuting in all terrains. Shaffay the company has not been in operation that long for us to be able to ask them, but I will say that there is no reason why someone who loves slippers wouldn’t make these last.
But then there’s people who have bad circulation who would benefit from having much warmer shoes. Those who are older or disabled and can’t put on slippers easily so the design of the Shaffay London slipper makes it easier to put on without bending down. The memory foam sole is also more comfortable for them and the design won’t fall off your feet, thereby not causing a trip hazard. The rubber soles are a better grip than most slippers too, reducing the risk of slipping on a hard floor, or worse, falling up the stairs when climbing. So although they are expensive, for some people, these could be the slippers that make life much easier, and safer for a very long time.
Aside from the practicalities, they’re most certainly a luxury to anyone who is hard to buy for and one that will be appreciated!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
It is lovely to go out for cocktails with friends but as we all know it’s not a cheap night out. Luckily staying in is the new going out so our evenings out at cocktail bars have now been swapped for the comfort of friend’s houses, thus enabling us to still enjoy our girlie cocktail nights but in a more purse friendly way.
This weekend we’ve been trying some O’Donnell Moonshine which in a nod to the history of moonshine is bottled in cute glass mason jars. The brand, who have featured on Dragons Den, was created back in 2016 after founders August Ullrich and Philip Morsink took a road trip through America learning more about the Prohibition era when the production and sale of alcohol was illegal. Alcohol production went underground, becoming known as Moonshine, as it was made at night to reduce the chance of discovery. The alcohol was stored in mason jars before being handed over to smugglers called ‘bootleggers’ who then sold it on.
Fascinated by the history surrounding Moonshine the friends decided to create their own at home and O’Donnell Moonshine was born.
We have been sampling the following flavours – Very Cherry, Blood Orange, Tough Nut, Sticky Toffee and the new Passion fruit which is lovely and refreshing, especially with some fizz and ice. The Very Cherry is very nice on it’s own and I think it will be a lovely addition next time I make an almond Tart.
The liqueurs are delicious on the rocks or can be topped up with some fizz to produce a delicious ‘spritz’ drink. They also make lovely cocktails too, our favourite was the Passion Fruit Moonshine which went down really well with my friends this weekend – here’s the recipe if you want to try making it yourself?
30ml Passion Fruit Moonshine
60ml Vanilla Vodka
1tbsp Lime Juice
1tbsp Simple Syrup
Prosecco optional served alongside
One thing that O’Donnell pride themselves on is that their Moonshine is vegan friendly and allergen free so they can be enjoyed by everyone.
The 20ml mini sets consisting of 4 x 20ml bottles make a lovely gift and are perfect for sampling the flavours before you commit to a larger bottle – which I guarantee you will once you’ve tried them! They also make lovely gifts too.
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Bank Holidays are a great opportunity to get together with friends and this weekend we have been reliving our youth and reminiscing about music of the time with the I Want My MTV card game from Ginger Fox Games.
The game covers music from the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s and is great fun to play, especially in teams. There are a good mix of questions with categories including In What Year?, MTV 80’s Party Anthems Compete the Title and the questions are a mix of trivia and music videos.
The aim of the game is to answer the music based questions to win pieces of a MTV jigsaw. There are two categories of question on each card and the player can choose which category they prefer. There are 4 questions on each card and if they answer them all correctly they choose one of 4 jigsaw pieces that make up the MTV logo. The winner is the team who completes the logo first.
If they pass or give an incorrect answer the other players can try and take control of the card by shouting “I WANT MY MTV”. It’s one of those games that is best played in teams and there’s a slight twist in the game to make it more fun.
There are questions for everyone in the box so whether your era is the 80’s, 90’s or 00’s and you love rock, pop or boybands there’s plenty of questions to challenge everyone. So, if you can remember who sang that iconic anthem in the 80’s? What was the name of the first album released by the popular 90’s band xxx? Or which music video featured a custard pie battle? then you’re well on your way to collecting your puzzle piece!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Boy, have we got a treat for you! Joe & Seph, our friends of gourmet popcorn, have sent us their range of NEW Limited Edition Cake Collection flavoured popcorn – perfect for celebrating birthdays!
If you’re wondering what gourmet popcorn is, then let me explain. Not all popcorn is created equal. Gourmet popcorn is air-popped (not fried) and coated in butter. Usually, UK popcorn is made with oil and coated with sugar but Joe & Seph’s coat their gourmet popcorn in butter. This allows yummy flavours to coat the popcorn and creates the varieties which Joe & Seph’s are now famous for. If you’re not familiar with their flavours yet either, then feast yourselves on tastes such as Salted Caramel, Toffee, White Chocolate & Raspberry as well as savoury flavours like Cheese, Marmite and even Olive Oil, Mozzarella & Tomato!
The new Cake Collection which is available online already, has several flavours based on our favourite desserts including Chocolate Fudge Cake, Peanut Butter Blondie, Millionaire’s Shortbread and Birthday Cake. These flavours are designed for celebrations, hence the Birthday Cake variety which makes an excellent birthday gift. They all make excellent gifts though, especially if you stock them up and give a bunch of them at the same time to anyone who loves popcorn.
We first tried the Chocolate Fudge Cake. It’s similar to the other chocolate coated flavours by Joe & Seph’s but much richer and you get more of a chocolate flavour. There’s definitely a fudge flavour in there too. I’m a big lover of peanut butter anyway, so the Peanut Butter Blondie popcorn is fabulous! It tastes of peanut butter (rather than peanuts) and the texture of the popcorn really reminds me of the crunchy peanut butter I love. Millionaire’s Shortbread is a mixture of chocolate and caramel with a bit of crunch in there too from the shortbread. It’s not the strongest flavour overall but you can taste the caramel and chocolate in there and it’s very rich, similar to the Chocolate Fudge Cake. Lastly, my favourite was the Birthday Cake flavour. Very sweet, with raspberry and cream cheese flavouring, it was delicious and so moreish, particularly as we ate it as a replacement dessert after dinner. I think children would like this one the most as it’s both the fruit flavour and sweet together and really reminds me of the birthday cake it’s styled after.
It’s always great to try new flavours, and these Joe & Seph’s Cake Collection flavours are not only a great idea, but will be universally loved by anyone who adores popcorn or is a fan of cakes and desserts.
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
We get through a lot of cereal bars in our house, I often pop them in a rucksack or pocket as a snack to refuel when out hiking or cycling and my teenage sons, who seem to have hollow legs, snack on them at any time – day or night! We do usually stick to stick to the same old brand, so it was nice to have a change and try the new Chocolate Chip Cashew bars from KIND. The bars are packed full of cashews, almonds and peanuts and topped with chocolate chips and I knew my family would enjoy them.
Founded in 2004, KIND believe you shouldn’t have to choose between delicious & nutritious and have created a range of tasty bars that are the perfect choice for those looking for a balanced snack option on the go. The Chocolate Chip Cashew bars are made with over 80% nuts and contain a good balance of protein, healthy fats, and fibre that have helped keep us sustained on our recent hikes and bike rides. The bars easily fit in the pocket of my cycling jersey and really hit the spot when we stop for a quick refuel, the chunks of nuts and chocolate are really tasty and give my energy levels a much needed boost.
Whether you are climbing a mountain, undertaking a gruelling cycle ride or simply want a quick snack then a Chocolate Chip Cashew bar will definitely hit the spot. Made with natural ingredients the bars are high in fibre and are gluten free too.
RRP £1.39 available from Sainsburys, Boots, WHSmith and Tesco
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Anyone who knows me knows that my nails are always painted – fingers and toes! Since my teens I have always had colour on my nails and it’s very rare that I’m seen without it. I think this is why my nails are usually very strong and hardly ever break. However, if you’ve been in and out of the pool in the summer, or doing housework, gardening or anything else that puts a strain on your nails or gets them wet, it’s a different story.
Thanks to each of the above, I have had particularly weak nails for several weeks. Being in the pool doesn’t help, but I’ve also been on long term medication which has slowed the growth of my nails therefore making them difficult to condition and grow stronger. I had no idea how to go about getting advice on them or how to improve how they look.
Protein Formula For Nails works on the protein aspect of nails called Keratin. Keratin gives nails their strength and resilience and the proteins help cell turnover to provide room for newer, healthier cells. Protein Formula For Nails offer a Nail Analysis online which tells you which formula is best for you. I came out with formulae 2 and 4; (2) I Grow for thin, peeling nails and (4) I Strengthen for weak, damaged nails.
Each 15ml formulae are clear nail varnishes which are worn on clean, bare nails. You paint on the solution and reapply every other day to allow the proteins to work and build up strength over time. Every 7 days, remove all traces of the formula with non-acetone remover and repeat. Your nails should start to improve fairly quickly and just one coating leaves them with an even, nourished texture. Once you’ve worked on one formula, move onto Protein Formula 1, which maintains nourishment of nails.
It’s really easy to apply the treatments, it’s just like putting on nail varnish and the bottles are handy enough that you can take them with you on holiday and apply before you go in the pool and protect them from the chlorine or sea water. I started with the I Grow Formula 2, which built up over the week so that my nails were rock hard. The solution is clear so you can’t really see it and it doesn’t look like a varnish but it did protect my nails, nourishing the nail bed underneath. You can continue to use any of the Protein Formula For Nails until your nail condition improves enough that you can paint them again but I found a week was enough to see a difference. I will continue to keep using the formulae to see how strong I can get them especially as we go into winter and I want my nails in the best condition possible for Christmas!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
One of my favourite sandwiches is cheese and onion but they do make my breath smell, so I try and avoid eating them when I am meeting people. After hearing about my cheese and onion addiction Peppersmith kindly sent me a selection of their delicious mints, pastilles and gums to enable me to continue to eat my favourite sandwiches without worrying about bad breath. Do they work – absolutely! A couple of mints after lunch is proving very effective at freshening my breath, enabling me to talk to people confidently without worrying about my oniony breath.
Peppersmith are one of the leading mint and gum brands in the UK and all their mints are made with 100% natural flavours. They use real British mint plants grown on a small farm in Hampshire to flavour their mints and they are sweetened with Xylitol, a plant based sweetener which contains 40% less calories than sugar. As well as being nice and minty the mints are approved by the Oral Health Foundation as Xylitol has been proven to help reduce tooth decay.
With a choice of Peppermint Mints, Peppermint Gum, Extra Strong Mints, Spearmint Gum, Lemon Mints and Strawberry Pastilles there is something to suit every taste.
The peppermint and spearmint mints are nice and refreshing, cooling your mouth and leaving it feeling nice and fresh. My favourite are the Lemon Mints – made with Sicilian lemons and Hampshire mint the zingy flavour is perfect for freshening my oniony breath, much to the relief of my colleagues!!
The mints are packaged in little cardboard boxes so they get full marks for having environmentally friendly packaging! Each box contains approximately 25 mints and they are the perfect size to keep in your bag or desk drawer. The Peppermint Mints and both flavours of Gum are also available in larger boxes aptly called Mighty Boxes.
All Peppersmith products are sugar free, gluten free, vegan friendly, free from palm oil and nut free.
Available individually or in a mixed taster box or you can even take out a subscription for a regular delivery every 4,8 or 12 weeks
Available directly from Peppersmith or health shops and supermarkets nationwide
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