Category: Christmas

Avon Advent Calendars

advent calendar, beauty, Christmas, Gifts for Her, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

We’re 12 days into December and I’m really enjoying opening the doors on these fantastic Avon advent calendars. December is always a crazy month and I usually find myself racing around trying to meet deadlines at work and getting ready for Christmas so it’s lovely to have an advent calendar that is packed full of treats. Whilst more expensive than a chocolate advent calendar, the products in these beauty advent calendars will certainly last a lot longer than the few seconds it takes to eat a piece of chocolate!  

I’ve used plenty of Avon products in the past so I’m familiar with this iconic brand and even though I’m an adult I must admit it’s quite exciting opening a door each morning to see what’s hiding behind it.  

The Self-Love Wellbeing Advent Calendar is a 12 day treasure trove containing all the products you need for a spot of head to toe pampering. With a nice mix of skincare and body care products it has felt like a daily indulgent treat and opening the doors has been the highlight of my day. I’m quite disappointed that it’s only a calendar with 12 days as I’ve loved all the products, especially the Planet Spa Sleep Ritual Pillow Mist which has been a godsend as I have been having difficulty sleeping recently. A couple of sprays on my pillow and I’m off to the land of nod in no time at all. The skincare products are giving my skin a real boost, I haven’t tried Avon’s skincare products before and I have to say that I’m really impressed! Not only are they lovely to use they’re also a lot cheaper than the brands I currently use I so I’ll definitely be switching to these in future.  

The calendar costs £35 and the contents are worth £81.75 so it’s well worth getting one whilst they are still in stock – you don’t just need to count down to Christmas why not use it to count down to the New Year or a birthday instead?

Self Love Wellbeing Advent Calendar contents:

• 1 x Anew Renewal Power Serum 10ml.
• 1 x Anew Renewal Power Serum 30ml.
• 1 x Anew Ultimate Night Cream 15ml.
• 1 x Planet Spa Radiance Ritual 50ml.
• 1 x Anew Lifting Dual Eye System.
• 1 x Restoring Cuticle Cream 15ml.
• 1 x Planet Spa Sleep Ritual Pillow Mist 100ml.
• 1 x Planet Spa Aromatherapy Beauty Sleep 30ml.
• 1 x Foot Works Clay Mask with Lavender 75ml.
• 1 x Anew Revitalising Micellar Water 50ml.

The other calendar I have been opening is the 24 Days of Beauty Advent calendar which costs £65 and the contents are worth a whopping £190.25. The majority of products are make up but there are a couple of skincare products to discover too, including the Anew Reversalist Day Cream, Anew Renewal Power Serum and Anew Renewal Power Eye Cream. I am in quite a rut with my make up so this calendar has given me the perfect opportunity to update my make up bag and try some new looks without breaking the bank. Trying products that I wouldn’t normally consider has actually been fun and after avoiding red nail varnish for years I’ve discovered that actually I do like it so will keep using Avon’s Power Stay gel Nail Enamel – The Red One.

Another new to me product I really like is the Blush Pearls which were hiding behind door number 1. They are perfect for giving my pale winter skin a gentle glow and are now a staple of my make up bag.

I’ve still 12 more days to go but in the days I’ve opened I’ve found a great mix of new products as well as a few old favourites and I’m looking forward to trying out the rest of the products over the next couple of weeks.

The 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar Contents:

• 1 x Anew Reversalist Day Cream 15ml.
• 1 x Lash Genius Multitask & Multiply Mascara in Blackest Black 10ml.
• 1 x Power Stay Liquid Lip in The Red One 6ml.
• 1 x Ultra Matte Lipstick in Marvellous Mocha.
• 1 x Power Stay Gel Shine in The Red One 10ml.
• 1 x Attraction for Her Eau de Parfum Purse Spray 10ml.
• 1 x Planet Spa The Sleep Ritual Pillow Mist 100ml.
• 1 x Hydramatic Matte Lipstick in Mauve.
• 1 x Blush Pearls in Warm 28g.
• 1 x Ultra Colour 60 Second Express Nail Enamel in Mauve It 10ml.
• 1 x Skin So Soft Original Dry Oil Spray 150ml.
• 1 x Bronze & Glow Bronzing Powder in Warm Glow 13.5g.
• 1 x Ultra Shimmer Lipstick in Spring Bling.
• 1 x Anew Revitalising Micellar Water 50ml.
• 1 x Glimmerstick Eyeliner in Brown Black.
• 1 x Anew Renewal Power Serum 30ml.
• 1 x Angled Precision Lip & Eye Brush.
• 1 x Glimmerstick Diamonds Eyeliner in Twilight Sparkle.
• 1 x Brow Boost Volume in Clear.
• 1 x Glimmerstick Lip Liner in Mystery Mauve.
• 1 x Anew Renewal Power Eye Cream 15ml.
• 1 x Exxtravert Extreme Volume Mascara in Blackest Black 9.5ml.
• 1 x Advance Techniques Absolute Nourishment Treatment Serum 30ml.
• 1 x All-Over Face Brush.

I know we’re half way through December now but these calendars are such great value and will make an ideal present for any makeup-obsessed or skincare enthusiast in your life.

Pikachu Pokemon Flat Brass Ornaments

Children, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for children, Home, REUSABLE, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I bet you’ve never seen Pikachu ornaments for the Christmas tree before, let alone these gorgeous brass decorations! The Pokemon people have brought out these fabulous flat brass silhouettes of Pikachu to adorn your Christmas tree for years to come. There’s six in a pack and two different designs, already ribboned and ready to go straight on your tree. 

These are high quality ornaments which will last much longer than just one year thanks to being metal made and sturdy at that. The brass is highly polished so they catch the light, and especially work with the Christmas tree lights shining through them, like in the photo above. The metallic gold colour works with any colour scheme but even if you’re not a Pokemon or Pikachu fan, they are subtle enough to sit on any tree.

As gifts for children who love their Pokemon, these are brilliant in the run up to Christmas or for children who have their own tree to decorate at home. They’re pricy, but teenagers with an interest in Pokemon will love them!  They will last for years too thanks to their outline structure in brass. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of the characters, they’re still beautiful at Christmas time.

Available from £24.99 at:

https://www.pokemoncenter.com/en-gb/product/710-95567/pikachu-pokemon-winter-wonders-flat-brass-ornaments-6-pack

Puma Golf Double Canopy Umbrella

Autumn, Birthday Gifts, camping, Christmas, Days Out, Family Life, Fashion, Father's Day, Fitness, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Sport, Stocking Fillers, Winter

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Ideal Christmas gifts rarely exist but Puma’s double canopy golf umbrella is very close!  Not only is it a staple for any golfer, beginner or advanced, but golf umbrellas are excellent for everyday use, or just keeping handy in the car. Families love them too for days out when more than just one person needs covering or as a brilliant sunshield in the summer.

The Puma double canopy golf umbrella is heavy duty for even the toughest of weather out on the course, and the double canopy not only acts to keep you dry but adds extra structure so that it doesn’t turn inside out. If you’re using this for sports, it also makes the umbrella more durable with extra layers so it won’t fall apart after a few winters.  The handle has a foam moulded hand grip to make it easier to hold for long periods and it’s also sturdier compared to everyday umbrellas. It’s opened by a push button at the handle too – much easier when it’s starting to rain!

The Puma double canopy golf umbrella has minimal branding and is available in black with bright white features and made of 100% polyester. Its suitable for golf players or any outdoor sport or spectating and even comes with a chic cover for storage.  I’m keeping this one in the car for when I’m caught in a downpour and don’t want to leave!

Available from £44.99 at:

Puma Golf Double Canopy Umbrella

Haier Multi Air Fryer Series 5

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden, kitchen appliances, Mother's Day

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Haier are well known for their large kitchen appliances but did you know they now have a range of small appliances? This new range consists of 7 small appliances – a kettle, air fryer, blender, hand blender, compact food processor, toaster and a multi functional hot drink maker. They recently sent me their new air fryer and much to the delight of my family I have been creating some mouthwatering culinary masterpieces that they have all enjoyed.

Air fryers have certainly taken the world by storm, revolutionising the way we cook and saving both time and money in the process.  As a busy working Mum anything that saves me time is a real winner, so with 9 different functions – air fry, bake, roast, grill, defrost, reheat, slow cook and a yogurt and dried fruits option I was keen to see just what the new Haier Multi Air Fryer Series 5 was capable of.

The air fryer measures approximately 30cm wide, 35cm high and a depth (including handle) of 435cm). The oven has a removable basket to put your food in and a touch screen display to set your temperature and cooking time. The crisper basket inside the drawer allows air to circulate around the food ensuring even cooking and it also allows excess fat and oils to drain away. There’s even an integrated window and LED light to allow you to check on your food meaning you don’t need to open it up when cooking and using this air fryer also helps save up to 70% energy, 50% time and 90% calories.

The air fryer comes with a selection of accessories, a rack that allows you to add an extra layer of food, a shallow tin and a deep tin, these all fit nicely in the basket when not in use. The air fryer has a range of temperature between 40° and 200° meaning you can cook a wide variety of foods using the slow cooking, baking or even the yogurt setting.  

Whilst the air fryer can be used in many ways, I decided to start with something simple – chips. After peeling some potatoes and cutting them into chunky chips I mixed them in a tiny bit of oil before placing them in the basket. It recommends shaking the basket a couple of times during cooking to help crisp them up and after 18 minutes I had the best home made chips I’ve ever made. The chips were a beautiful golden colour with nice crispy edges and were instantly devoured by my family! The whole process was so quick and easy and after only a day I was beginning to wonder why I hadn’t bought one before!

I love croissants and even if I had time I couldn’t justify warming up the oven for a couple of croissants so I’m loving the air fryer, pre-baked croissants and Danish pastries are warmed in just a four minutes and are a great start to my day. My sons are loving that they can cook sausages and bacon for breakfast, I’m pleased too as my kitchen is a lot cleaner as like most teenage boys they don’t see the fat splatters on the cooker! When you cook fattier food in the basket the grease drains through the basket so as well as being a lot less messy it’s much a healthier way of cooking too.

It’s great for making quick toasties or cooking fishfingers for a late night snack and we have also found a new love of herb and onion roast potatoes, they are so easy to make and taste amazing. The air fryer is so easy to use and my teens love it as they can now cook a quick snack when they get in and as it turns itself off automatically I don’t need to worry about the electric bill when they’ve forgotten to turn it off!

Cleaning the airfryer is simple, the non-stick baskets and accessories can all go in the dishwasher making it perfect for busy families.

The Haier Multi Air Fryer Series 5 is undoubtedly an incredibly versatile addition to any kitchen, the range of functions make it an excellent choice for busy households. It won’t replace my oven, but it is a very welcome addition to my kitchen, cutting down the number of times I use the oven and ultimately saving me money. All too often kitchen gadgets get used a few times before collecting dust on the worktop but I can guarantee that won’t happen with this – it’s one gadget that has certainly earned its place on our worktop!

RRP £229.99

Available from

Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Mother's Day, Tech

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

I’ve just found my new favourite headphones! I’ve been testing a pair of Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 Wireless Noise Cancelling headphones and I’m in love. I’m a regular headphone user, listening to a range of music plus podcasts and radio programmes and from the moment I put them on I couldn’t help but notice the quality of these headphones. I can tell that they’ve been made by a company that knows the music industry and what is expected from a pair of premium headphones. At 334g they’re not lightweight but I have found them to be very comfortable even when worn for several hours at a time. The pressure of the ear cups is firm but not overly so giving a secure feeling and the padding on the cups and headband is just right.

Most importantly though the sound quality of these headphones is simply outstanding. As soon as I put them on the 50mm drivers delivered high-fidelity sound across a range of music genres. Ordinarily I’m the sort of person that doesn’t tend to play with settings – I generally just put the headphones on and listen to music and if I wasn’t reviewing this pair I wouldn’t have felt the need to play with the settings at all as the sound quality was so good, in fact I would go as far as saying it was excellent, my music was very clear and spoken words on podcasts sounded like I was in the same room.

I have reassessed my position about settings though after using the Shureplus Play app. It offers loads of options for improving and adjusting the sound depending on what I’m listening to. There are the usual pre-set equaliser settings but also full manual control with the option to save my own presets. There is what Shure call a Spatialiser – this technology adjusts the depth of the sound, making the sound stage wider with different effects depending on what I’m listening to. Music, cinema and podcast options are available and I was amazed at the difference. The Snapdragon Sound Technology which is incorporated into these second generation of AONIC 50 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, really gives an outstanding audio experience and no matter what genre of music I listened to the sound was crisp and crystal clear with absolutely no distortion.

Noise cancellation is available using microphones inside and outside the ear cup and is something I use when working in the garden. The level is adjustable and includes a “Max Aware” level so I don’t lose contact with my surroundings. There is even an “Environment Mode” where external sound is mixed with the music allowing conversations whilst listening, I was very impressed.

I generally connect using Bluetooth but all options are covered with analogue and USB-C cables included as is a smart hard case providing useful protection when travelling.

These new headphones have 50% more battery life than the first generation giving up to 45 hours of runtime, so you don’t need to worry about running out of charge on a weekend away. When they do need charging the quick charge feature gives an impressive 5 hour boost with only 15 minutes of charge. 

Supported codecs include aptX, aptX HD, aptX-Adaptive, LDAC, SBC and AAC. The USB connection supports high resolution sound up to 32-bit/384 kHz.

At £349 these are in the higher end price bracket for headphones but they stand head and shoulders above all the headphones that I’ve used in the past so I really do feel they are worth the extra expense. They are such high quality and durable and I know they’ll continue to perform for many years to come.

With Christmas coming up they would make a fantastic gift for a loved one or why not treat yourself – it is Christmas after all!!

Aladdin – The Grand Theatre Blackpool

Children, Christmas, Days Out, Family Life, Gifts for children, Theatre

Disclaimer: We received free tickets for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Panto humour was in full flow last night as we watched Aladdin at The Grand Theatre, Blackpool. Aladdin is one of my favourite pantomimes as it has a strong storyline, giving the cast plenty of opportunities to make it their own. This production had all the usual elements that you expect from a pantomime – goodies, baddies, a princess, bad jokes, the usual local references and of course plenty of audience participation.

Steve Royle is brilliant as Wishee Washee, involving the audience from the minute he arrives on stage. He is a very talented comedian and is especially great at thinking on his feet, especially when he receives an unexpected response from a child! He has a fantastic rapport with Tom Lister, who plays the villain Abanazar, which came in handy when there was a technical hitch and the pair had to ad lib, making the show even funnier! 

Steve and Tom are a fantastic double act, jokes were coming thick and fast from the start and we never stopped laughing through the whole performance. The humour worked on many levels, with lots of jokes that appealed to both young and old alike and there was just the right level of innuendo to get the adults sniggering without it being too much for the children.

The night was filled with music and dance, the dancers from the Barbara Jackson Theatre Arts Centre were great and most of the music was adapted from popular tunes so easy to sing or clap along to. The “Joseph” mix in the first half was our favourite and the musicians led by musical director Sam Coates deserve a special mention. The stage was filled with great scenery and the lighting and sound effects really added to the atmosphere, especially for Aladdin’s flight on the magic carpet.

The wardrobe department certainly excelled with the costumes – Widow Twankey (Ben Harlow) was not only fantastic as a performer, but looked incredible in the outlandish outfits.

We had a fantastic time but at the end of the day, the real judges of how good a pantomime is are the children – and judging by the faces of the children around us this pantomime was a definite hit. This is an absolute must see pantomime for all the family and is a great way to get well and truly in the Christmas spirit.

Aladdin is at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Friday 1 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024 with matinee and evening performances. Tickets are available by calling the box office on 01253 290190 or you can book online. Tickets cost from £15

Buff Knitted Neckwarmer

Birthday Gifts, camping, Christmas, Father's Day, Fitness, secret santa, Sport, Stocking Fillers, Winter, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It’s incredibly cold at the moment, but that doesn’t stop us getting out on the fells and going for a brisk walk, we just need to wrap up warmer and my Buff Evo Dahlia neck warmer has been invaluable this weekend. I always think a Buff is an essential piece of outdoor gear as they are so versatile, I not only use mine as a neck warmer, but it can be a hat and balaclava too and is just what you need to keep you warm on a chilly day.

The cotton knitted neck warmer is so comfortable to wear, it’s a good length, so there’s plenty of fabric to bunch around your neck or pull over your face to protect you from the elements and it’s lovely and warm too. It was bitterly cold up on the top of the fells and I have been very glad of it this weekend, the wind was icy and with my hood up and my mouth covered, I could enjoy the walk despite the cold weather .

The neck warmer is 28cm long with enough material to bunch up on my neck, or it can be pulled up over my ears to keep them warm. It is easy to pull over my head and is made in a single tube so there are no seams to irritate. Once you warm up you can just slip it in a pocket.

It’s the perfect gift for anyone who enjoys walking, cycling or even walking the dog and is available in 8 different colours.

RRP £28.95

Altruist Christmas Box

beauty, Christmas, Gifts for Her, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Vegan, Winter, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

The cold weather always plays havoc with my skin, so I was really pleased to receive a lovely selection of skincare products from Altruist. The Christmas Box contains four fantastic products, chosen to offer round the year skincare and the products are beautifully packed in red shredded paper, making them look very festive.

Altruist products have been developed by consultant dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon Dr Andrew Birnie and whilst they are suitable for all skin types, they are especially suitable for sensitive skin.

Inside the box are the following products

• Altruist SPF 30 Face Fluid – 50ml
• Altruist Moisturising Fluid – 50ml
• Altruist Primer SPF 50 – 30ml
• Altruist Moisturising Body Lotion – 200ml

It can take a month to see improvements in your skin when you change your skincare routine and I’m pleased to say I am now seeing positive results – my skin feels more hydrated and now has a radiance that definitely wasn’t there before.  

The Moisturising Fluid contains 0.5% Hyaluronic Acid and is enriched with glycerin, urea and shea butter to enhance the skin’s natural moisturising factors. It can be used as a both a day and night cream offering plenty of hydration for my dry, sensitive skin.  The cream soaked into my skin without needing to rub too much and it felt instantly hydrating.

I always use a face cream with SPF protection no matter what time of year as even a sunny day in the winter or a cloudy day in the summer can have very damaging UVA & UVB rays. I spend a lot of time outdoors, so it is very important for my skincare products to have a SPF rating so was pleased to find that both the Face Fluid and the Primer are SPF rated. The SPF30 Face Fluid is nice and light and is easily applied on top of the Moisturising Fluid. Once applied it doesn’t feel greasy or sticky like some SPF creams tend to be and is perfect for everyday protection.  

The SPF50 Primer is a light cream which is applied before foundation, as well as offering protection from UVA and UVB rays. It absorbs into my skin nicely, creating a soft, hydrated canvas for my makeup which now seems to last for longer. 

The moisturising body lotion is a lovely rich consistency and is nice and easy to apply. The skin on my arms and legs is quite dry and this body lotion is very moisturising and smoothing and I have noticed that after using it morning and night for a month a persistent patch of dry skin on the back of my arm has cleared up too.

I am really pleased with the Altruist products, my skin is looking much better and is no longer dry and problematic.  The Christmas Gift Set is a lovely set and is bound to be well received by anyone finding it underneath the Christmas Tree this year.

Altruist also donate 40p for every box sold, to charities that support children with albinism so when buying the giftset you are also helping a good cause.

Pact Coffee Christmas Selection Box

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, coffee, eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Subscription Boxes

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The Pact Coffee Christmas Selection Box opens to reveal the words, “Christmas Just Got Better” and for anyone who loves coffee, that is certainly true!  The Pact Christmas Selection Box contains 4 freshly roasted flavours of coffee all for the festive season; Nyangoma, San Carlos, Kiri and Christmas Blend Filter, all of which are roasted in Surrey and delivered to your door within a few days!

Pact Coffee produce specialty grade (the very best) coffee which is delivered to your door as either a gift, or as a subscription. You can look through the online catalogues of coffee to choose which you would like delivered or have a subscription box where different varieties are delivered to your door. You get to choose whether you want beans or ground, regular or decaf and the type of plan which suits you best including how regularly they are delivered.

We were sent a Christmas Selection Box of 4 coffees to try as part of the Christmas product range for 2023. After choosing our ground or whole bean options, it wasn’t long before the coffee aromas were wafting through our door and filling the kitchen!  Honestly, opening the box when they arrived, there was a wall of coffee smell that hit me and I realised what was inside. Gorgeous, freshly roasted ground coffee all ready for the cafetiere. 

Much like wine is described with fruity undertones and comparisons to oak aging, these Pact Coffees have tasting notes on the front of each pack Kiri boasts, “Turkish delight and blackcurrant’ whist Christmas Blend describes itself as, ‘Hints of Christmas pudding.’ Each of the coffees has their own personality thanks to where and how they’re grown in origins such as Kenya, El Salvador and in the case of the Christmas Blend, how it’s put together by the clever experts at Pact.  Pact choose their coffees carefully and make sure they’re of the highest quality as well as having more than 82+ points in coffee scoring. Not only are they great flavoured coffees and the best possible quality, but each one warms you with their differences and yes, remind you of Christmas!

In addition, Pact coffees come in recycled coffee pouches and can be further recycled. Pact are a B Corp Certified Company which means they act in both a sustainable and ethical way with their suppliers in overseas countries. They include brewing tips on each of the pouches too so that you can get the most out of each coffee you try at home. The labels also give you background to where each coffee is grown and the date the coffee is roasted and packed too so you know that your coffee is tip-top fresh!

Take drinking coffee to a new level with the Christmas Selection Pact choice of different blends, origins and tastes which allow you to really savour the Christmas spirit, and take you into the New Year with some new coffee favourites!

Available at Pact from £19.95: https://www.pactcoffee.com/christmas/christmas-filter-selection-box-2023

Edurino Coding Skills Starter Kit

Birthday Gifts, Children, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for children, Learning, Mobile Phone, Stocking Fillers, Tech, Toys

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Edurino create playful learning apps on phones and tablets for children aged 4-8 years old. There’s a variety of different apps, each guided by a cartoon character and cover subjects of learning such as numbers & shapes, word games, plants & wildlife and creativity & design.  This Edurino game is for Early Coding Skills – games which stimulate children’s ability to solve puzzles and non-verbal reasoning.  

The Early Coding Skills set from Edurino is guided by the character Luca and uses the Luca figuring and Edurino pen which are included in the starter kit.  You need your own phone or tablet to download the app (there’s a QR code in the instructions to make it easier) and an adult’s email address for the login.  Once the app is downloaded, you put the figurine on the screen so that it reads which starter pack you’re working from, then after entering the login details, you create the character of your child to take part in the story, including their name.

The Edurino Early Coding world takes you on a journey to discover what the Chaos Bugs have done to mess up the factory and along the map, your child solves the puzzles to further the characters along the journey. Some of the puzzles are recognition of shapes and cartoon faces, creating blocks to the right shape in order to fix the wall and simple pattern recognition.  The games are all aimed at children aged 4-8 so they’re not super hard, but if your child gets stuck and can’t ask you for help, they can click on Luca onscreen and ask for help. The Edurino Pen is designed to teach children how to hold a pencil properly (there’s even a tutorial onscreen as part of the app) and uses the pen in different ways to challenge their thinking, but also get them used to using the pen, which works on any touchscreen.

Depending on the age and skill of your child, this game could be finished relatively quickly, or you can replay each of the levels to give them more practice. The levels have different skills which are needed to complete them, and build up to a set of skills needed for coding. Even if your child isn’t interested in coding, the games are straightforward and stimulating that they can sit and complete them without much help.  If you do need to help, it’s pretty easy to work out what you have to do, and the verbal instructions are really easy to follow.

It did take a while to set up though and you need to be connected to the internet. I couldn’t find a way of playing without creating an account either, so you have to be prepared to give your email address over and be able to verify it so if you’re using this to go on holiday or drive somewhere, make sure you set it up first for children otherwise it will become very frustrating!  There’s also places where it directs you to the parent site which is in German, so be prepared to have to re-type to the UK/US version to be able to read in English.

It’s a great way of teaching children the basics of coding and how to problem solve with non-verbal reasoning. The Edurino app is easy to follow for children and safe too with the parental controls which requires the user to be able to read.  It’s quite pricy at £44.95 but that includes the price of the Edurino Pen and the figurine too, which children can place over the pen and play with at another time. Even better, they learn a lot too!

https://www.edurino.co.uk

Available from £44.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edurino-Ergonomic-Educational-Recognition-Handwriting/dp/B0CH3TVJD4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=144HGANAAPZV3&keywords=arduino+starter+kit&qid=1701535184&sprefix=edurino+starter+kit%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Ticket to Ride Legacy : Legends of the West

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

You can’t beat a good board game to keep the family entertained at Christmas – if you haven’t played the popular Ticket to Ride game yet then it’s definitely one to get this Christmas. The original game was published in 2004 and played on a board depicting a railway map of the United States and southern Canada but the game proved so popular there are now many different versions featuring different countries and areas. The newest launch by Days of Wonder is Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West which takes players back to 19th century North America – the time when cities were growing at a fantastic rate and a boom time for the railways.

In this version of the game players are 19th century pioneers and embark on twelve journeys across North America. Beginning on the East Coast, players work their way across to the West, meeting challenges along the way. Like the original Ticket to Ride game you need to complete your tickets but managing your own North American railway company comes with many challenges and you’ll need to think strategically to beat your opponents. As the game progresses you open frontier boxes that unlock new rules, content and many more surprises. Ordinarily I would tell you more about the game but as this is a legacy game I really can’t reveal anymore as it would spoil the game, but what I can say is you won’t be disappointed!

What I can say is the game is fairly easy to play – when you read the rules for the first time it does sound complicated but don’t let this put you off as once you start playing it does start to make sense and you’ll find you’ll quickly get the hang of the game. My family love a good strategy game so Ticket to Ride Legends of the West is a great choice for us as the game requires planning, thinking ahead and strategic blocking and it’s certainly brought out the competitive streak in my family! We’re part way through the game and we’re enjoying playing it together each evening, it’s also been a great way to get everyone together and off the electronic gadgets!!

With an RRP of £99.99 it’s not a cheap game but it will give you hours of entertainment and if you shop around you may be able to find an offer.

Suitable for ages 10+

2-5 players

Available from Amazon and all good retailers

Thorntons Chocolate Advent Calendar

advent calendar, chocolate, Christmas, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

These days advent calendars have lots of different goodies hiding behind the windows, including beauty products, alcohol and toys, but I much prefer the traditional ones that contain chocolate – after all what other time of the year can you get away with chocolate for breakfast!! 

Whilst Thorntons have closed all their high street shops, you can still get their delicious chocolates in supermarkets and online and I was delighted to receive The Best of Thorntons Advent calendar which contains 24 yummy chocolates from the Continental and Classic range as well as a couple of the new Thorntons Pearls.

This really is a sophisticated advent calendar for grown up kids – the snow scene design is very festive and there is a delicious chocolate to enjoy each day. As the selection of chocolates are from 3 different ranges there is a great mix of mouth-watering flavours in milk, dark and white chocolate and with 12 different chocolates in the calendar you can look forward to a second one appearing again later on in the month.

So on to the chocolates – my favourite has to be the Triple Chocolate, bite into it and your mouth is filled with the taste of smooth, quality chocolate. The Orange Velvet Pearl is a real taste sensation, a decadent orange chocolate ganache coated in smooth milk chocolate. 

Though more expensive than the average supermarket calendar you simply can’t go wrong with this Thorntons advent calendar, weighing in at 258g, you’re getting plenty of chocolate for your money.

If you have a chocoholic in your household, I would recommend you treat them to this advent calendar, or just treat yourself – it is Christmas after all!

RRP: £15.33

Available from: Lidl, Sainsbury and Thortons.com

Ava May Fairtrade Wax Melts

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, cruelty-free, eco friendly, Family Life, Fragrance, Gifts for Her, Gifts for teachers, Home, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Ava May of Mayfair have just released the first ever Fairtrade wax melts to the UK market, made from products cultivated in Sri Lanka and the result of 2 years’ work to produce some beautiful home fragrances.  Wax melts vary from candles because although they are made of ‘wax’ like candles, they don’t have a wick and are instead melted over a flame in a special wax burner.  The aroma from the wax melts fills the room and slowly melts away but has the advantage of lasting longer than a candle.

We were sent a box of 7 of Ava May’s most popular wax melts to try:

  • Lavender, Geranium & Chamomile
  • Bergamot, Coconut & Tonka
  • Rose Water & White Musk
  • Saffron, Pepper & Oud
  • Damask Rose, Cedar & Oud
  • Pear, Patchouli & Orange Blossom
  • Neroli, Eucalyptus & Musk

Each of the waxes lasts for about 8 hours and can be re-melted in that time so if you don’t get a continuous run of 8 hours, the wax solidifies and can be melted later. There’s no cleaning up after a candle either, but it is recommended that you clean out the wax burner after each fragrance so that you don’t get cross-contamination.

All of the ingredients of the Ava May wax melts are 100% natural, and certified Fairtrade meaning there is a fair deal for all the producers who supply from around the world. The Ava May products are cruelty-free and vegan too with one of the main ingredients being coconut oil with added pure essential oils to create the different scents.

The fragrances are all designed to help relax you and take you to another place at the end of the day, especially in winter when we all need a bit of help. The sensory impact of scents such as Damask Rose and Lavender & Chamomile help with relaxation when the evenings are long. My favourite (and I haven’t had a chance to sample them all yet) is the Rose Water & White Musk scent for its fresh melodies and reminder of clean laundry.  The wax melts take just a few seconds to start releasing the fragrances and filling the room and they linger on for longer than the 8 hours melt time.

Ava May of Mayfair Wax Melts are an elegant way of adding comfort to your home, or being able to gift to someone the ability to relax at home.

Available online in various gift forms from: https://avamayaromas.com/wax-melts/

Hive & Keeper Honey

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, eco friendly, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, health, Home, Plastic free, Subscription Boxes

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There are some gifts which are perfect to give to anyone. Hive & Keeper produce the most exquisite gifts suitable for everyone this Christmas and we were sent a special sample of their famous giftbox of honey to try out.  You’ll soon see why honey is the perfect gift for anyone, especially anyone who is difficult to buy for!

Hive & Keeper was started by Emily soon after she discovered bee keeping.  It wasn’t until Emily owned bees of her own that she found out that the honey we buy in shops does not stand up to any of the honey produced naturally by beekeepers by a long way.  In fact, Emily thinks that honey in shops tastes nothing like what she and her colleagues were producing in the natural world. Working with other crafts people with natural, British products (leather, wool, wood, antler and other natural materials) that Emily discovered a whole new world of sustainability and natural beauty in craft.

Hive & Honey’s website sells a range of natural product gifts but the main focus for Emily is the honey. She sources different honey from many suppliers around the country, giving the honey different tastes. Did you know the taste comes from the different flowers and plants bees pollinate? So the heathers on the Scottish borders produce a very different honey than somewhere else in the UK such as farmland in Surrey. Each of the keepers are featured on the Hive & Keeper website so you can see exactly where the honey is from. The jars are each labelled with the name of the keeper and given a reference such as, “good on toast” so that you know best how to enjoy each variety!

Gift wise, Hive & Honey have individual jars, gift boxes and subscriptions where households can order 1 or 2 jars to be delivered every 3, 6 or 12 months. We were sent the Big Breakfast Honey Gift Set which contains 3 different honeys, all suitable for breakfast (toast, porridge and tea). The gift arrives in a lovely cardboard (recyclable!) giftbox with straw as packaging and the three jars nestled inside. There are cards for each of the honeys giving information about the keepers. My jars came from Matthew in Staffordshire, Eduard in Berkshire/Buckinghamshire and Howard in the Forest of Dean.

As for the honeys, they each have a different shade and aren’t clear like supermarket honeys. This is an indication that they aren’t over filtered and contain some of the (harmless) impurities in all natural honeys and haven’t been treated. Don’t be surprised if you open a jar and there’s a swirl of different colours in there, it’s just where the honey has settled. To reap the full benefit of each honey, open the jar and smell the aroma. Mix the honey and then taste a small amount, paying attention to the different notes like you would a wine.  If you’re unsure about how you want to use it, and there are thousands of ways, then have a look at the jar and see if it’s good for cereal or porridge, in tea or on toast or even experiment yourself to find out how it goes in baking and as a glaze when cooking.

I am a huge honey lover anyway. Being able to try these British honeys without having to worry about air miles or sustainability is not only a weight off my shoulders but it’s a real treat to try authentic honey, straight from the hive.  I think Hive & Keeper honey is a fabulous gift for any food lovers, families or anyone who you can’t buy gifts for easily. The Hive & Keeper honey opens up a whole new culinary world that you never thought was out there. Turns out, the bees are out there in the British countryside and they were making excellent gifts for us all along.

Available online for £28.95 at:https://www.hiveandkeeper.com/collections/gift-boxed-honeys/products/the-big-breakfast-honey-gift-set

Joe & Seph’s Christmas Popcorn and Festive Chocolates 

Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, secret santa, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Christmas is the time for over indulging, and if you’ve been following us this year with our Joe & Seph’s Popcorn features, then you’ll love what they have sent us to try from their Festive range.  This week we had turn up;

Small Star Salted Caramel Gift Box
Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Truffles
Yule Log Flavoured Popcorn
Festive Popcorn Slab

Quite the Christmas Collection! 

Joe & Seph’s are known for their popcorn snacks, and these Christmas additions are no exception. We tried out all of them, but started with the Festive Popcorn Slab.  This could be a stocking filler or a Secret Santa but is ideal for sharing as you break off pieces to devour, probably in front of the TV!  At 115 grams it’s a good size for a family and includes salted caramel flavoured popcorn covered in milk and white chocolate. You can see the salted caramel on the popcorn and the chocolate drizzles are indulgent and smooth, just like Joe & Seph’s other premium chocolate products!

The Joe & Seph’s Yule Log flavoured gourmet popcorn combines their famous, high quality chocolate with cream cheese frosting to give the yule log flavour we are all familiar with. The coating is rich and chocolatey with a lovely sweetness to it. It’s great for sharing in the grab bag and as ever, Joe & Seph’s popcorn has no kernels left at the bottom to throw away nor does it have any misshapen pieces which nobody can eat!

Onto the Salted Caramel Truffles. The tube contains 100 grams of sweets (roughly 10 in all) which are soft salted caramel in the middle with Joe & Seph’s award winning chocolate coating.  They’re like lava cakes, with their melting inners which you only discover when you bite into the shell. Or do you melt them in your mouth until you can taste the caramel? I don’t have the patience for that, so I just crunch them until the sweet caramel taste oozes through my teeth. The milk chocolate outer is sprinkled with cocoa powder to give it more decadence and now you have another Christmas treat to share.

Finally, we have my favourite of the bunch.  Joe & Seph’s Salted Caramel Popcorn in a star gift box. With 32 grams of fun here, the gift box is brilliant for Secret Santa in the office or for adding to a stocking.  The popcorn is their classic, award winning salted caramel flavour.  Smooth caramel meets a pinch of salt with each popcorn bite and the resulting taste is music to the taste buds! These won’t last long though, so if you know you are going to be looking for more, try the bigger 105 gram size!

Popcorn lovers will adore the Joe & Seph’s range this Christmas, but even if you’re not a popcorn-fiend, you’ll find something in their Christmas collection you’ll enjoy: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/christmas

All items available online at the link above and varying prices. Some items are currently available in the Black Friday sale.

Edifier W820NB Plus Noise Cancelling Headphones

Children, Christmas, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Imagine it’s Christmas in the year 2000. The Millennium Bug is behind us, but the iPod still hasn’t been invented yet (that was in 2001) and the iPhone is just a pipe dream, not on the market until 2007.  Most of us still have that stereo stack in our houses, you know the one with a turntable, double cassettes and a CD player with two big speakers attached which you probably designed the layout of your living room around when you furnished it.  Somewhere on that massive stereo stack is a headphone jack. Headphones you had to plug in, which would have cost a lot extra on top of that stereo stack and then you had to buy a convertor jack as well so that they could play on any of your devices. Don’t get me started on using headphones on a Walkman!

Nowadays all our music is on our phone. You might want to hear music over your computer too, and the choice of music isn’t just what you have downloaded but there are streaming services like YouTube, replay TV apps and pretty much anything else you want to find on the internet. All that content, and now, you don’t need to plug in any headphones because like the Edifier W820NB Plus, they are all Bluetooth.

The Edifier W820NB Plus headphones connect seamlessly with any device which is Bluetooth enabled. There’s no need to download anything, especially no apps or programmes which need configuring and you don’t even need to plug them into your computer to pair them let alone connect them in any way. The Bluetooth search option on your computer (or phone or any device really) automatically ‘sees’ the headphones, asks you if you want to connect then you can listen straight away. The only time you need to plug in your Edifier headphones is when they need charging, and the total charge time for the Edifier W820NB Plus headphones is 49 hours, so you won’t need to do that very often!

Unlike in Y2K, the Edifier W820NB Plus headphones have added features. These are noise cancelling headphones, which if you’ve never tried them before means that you can’t hear much of the ‘outside world’ when you have them on.  As the music is playing, other noises are drowned out so that all you can hear is the music. Even when there isn’t music playing, there is the noise cancelling effect so that other noises are voided. Traffic, for instance is lessened even without anything playing on the headphones which makes for more peaceful travel, whether you’re a passenger in a car or on a flight and want to block out the white noise.  Perfect for sleeping!

You have the option too of Ambient Sound. This allows for some outside noises to be heard, usually voices, so that you’re not completely isolated. This is great for when you’re at work or working from home and have to be aware of people trying to communicate with you not through the PC or sound system. It prevents you being easily startled and keeps you slightly more in the world than if you had noise cancelling switched on.

The Edifier W820NB Plus also work great whilst travelling because of the Zero Pressure Patent Earcups. The ultra-comfy earpads are made of memory foam and create zero pressure on your ears to make them more comfortable.  When travelling on a plane, this is super handy because the changes in pressure in the cabin don’t affect the fit of the headphones if you’re wearing them for long periods of time. 

All of the controls for the headphones are on the right ear piece. There’s the on/off switch and a volume up and down. You can hold down the volume keys to switch back and forth between tracks too. The ‘M’ button you can see in the photo is for connecting to Bluetooth and turning on and off the ambient sound and noise cancelling features.  With each change in feature, a woman’s voice tells you what’s happening (“ambient sound ON”) with the exception of skipping tracks that would only interrupt what you were listening to anyway.

The Edifier range is known for their quality and ease of use and the Edifier W820NB Plus is no exception. They’re great for work, travel or for the kids and the long battery life and 7 hours of play from 10 minutes of charge is the Christmas icing on the cake.

Available from £79.99 (but currently on sale at £55.99):

Edifier WH500

Birthday Gifts, Children, Christmas, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Tech

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

If you’re looking for gift ideas this Christmas you should consider these headphones from Edifier. The WH500 on-ear headphones are a lightweight set of bluetooth headphones in a choice of three colours – light blue, black and white. They’re a compact design with earcups that sit on the ear rather than over, but are quite comfortable and can be worn for long periods. With a foldable design they’re great for travel and as they have a 40 hour battery life you don’t need to worry about running out of charge on a weekend away. When they do need charging (with the included USB-C cable) a 10 minute charge gives an impressive 6 hour boost!

Controls are mounted on the right ear and give access to the most common functions allowing track skip, play / pause, call controls and volume to be adjusted. An extra button allows switching between music mode and game mode – that’s not something I’m too bothered about but I’m told by my teenage son that it reduces the latency which is important for gaming.

Although it isn’t necessary to use the headphones, installing the Edifier Connect app allows other features to be accessed. The prompt volume can be adjusted, a sleep timer set and the headphones can also be reset. Also available is a graphic equaliser and a way to limit the maximum volume – perfect for concerned parents.

The most important feature of course is the sound quality and I was really impressed with the performance of the 30mm drivers, I did try different equaliser settings but preferred the standard setting. Whilst the headphones do not feature active noise cancellation, the cups are well insulated meaning that when I am wearing them I can’t hear background noise.

These are a great pair of lightweight headphones and would be a good buy at the RRP of £40 but I noticed these are currently on a Black Friday offer at Amazon for just £20, making them a real bargain.

Paguro Christmas Decorations

Christmas, Gifts for Her, Home, Home & Garden, Sustainable, Vegan

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

I love decorating the Christmas tree with all the baubles and ornaments I have collected over the years. Each one has so many memories attached, and I love reminiscing with my family as we get them out of the boxes. This year I have a beautiful new decoration from Paguro to add to my collection, the Star Eco-Friendly Christmas decoration, which is hand made from bus and lorry inner tubes. The beautiful intricate black decoration is lightweight and looks stunning nestled amongst the branches of the Christmas tree.

The star is strung with a blue and white striped string and when hung on the branches of the tree gently moves when someone walks by.

Simple, chic and timeless, this beautiful decoration looks just as good amongst a sea of colourful baubles as it does with a single colour scheme.

Eco-friendly and cruelty free the decoration is made from 98% recycled rubber and 2% new materials and is suitable for vegans.

I also think it looks lovely as a gift tag on a special present – and the recipient can then add it to their Christmas decorations.

As well as making beautiful Christmas decorations Paguro also make bags, jewellery and accessories from repurposed and recycled materials, so if you care about sustainability then take a look at their website for Christmas gift ideas .

RRP £8

AOURA Body Mist Giftset

beauty, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Gifts for Her, Mother's Day, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Valentine's Day Gifts, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review, but all words and opinions are our own.

If you are looking for reasonably priced Christmas Stocking fillers or Secret Santa gifts then the Aoura Body Mist giftset is perfect, costing a very reasonable £13 it can either be given as one gift or split up for stocking fillers.

The set contains four fragrances, Paradise Bliss, Pretty Woman, Midnight Passion and Love Rush which are packaged in pretty jewel coloured 60ml octagonal bottles.

Love Rush in the deep pink bottle is a fruity and spicy scent which is perfect for day and night. It has hints of vanilla and aims to remind you of what falling in love feels like again! With notes of bergamot, blackcurrant and pear it is a fragrance designed to capture the excitement of life. It’s light and easy to wear and is a great everyday fragrance.

Pretty Woman comes in a light pink bottle and is a lighter fragrance scented with bergamot and pear. When you spray it, you initially smell the delicate rose fragrance which is followed by sweet vanilla notes with a hint of musk and patchouli. This is my favourite of the four and I receive lots of compliments when I wear it.

Midnight Passion in the purple bottle is a heavier fragrance and one I would wear in the evening when going out. The floral fragrance has top notes of bitter orange and anise, middle notes of rose and almond and base notes of tonka bean, creamy vanilla, and sandalwood.

Paradise Bliss comes in a beautiful turquoise bottle and reminds me of the sea and walks on the beach. The enticing mixture of heliotrope, orange blossom and mango combined with the closing notes of hazelnut, wood and creamy coconut milk is sweet and fresh and a lovely fragrance to wear during the day.

The pump spray is nice and powerful giving a good spray from just one pump. Obviously, the mist isn’t as strong as perfume, so it does need topping up during the day which isn’t a problem as the 60ml bottles fits nicely in my handbag.

This is a lovely giftset and anyone receiving it on Christmas Day is going to be delighted with it.  

Available at Boots ( included in the 3 for 2 Christmas offer) and Amazon

Mr Kipling Best Ever All Butter Mince Pies

Children, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Lunchbox Fillers, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Over the years, Mr Kipling has become not only a household name but synonymous with Christmas. Most of our Christmas favourite foods are now table staples including mince pies and this year is no exception.  The Signature K Collection from Mr Kipling have these fabulous ‘Best Ever’ mince pies in shops now and we couldn’t wait to try them!

Unlike other mince pies, Mr Kipling’s Best Ever range have only 4 in a box. The Signature K Collection mince pies also vary in aesthetics and taste too which makes them stand out from the rest and dare I say it, look homemade!  The pastry is deliciously crumbly, due to the amount of butter in the ingredients. Even before you can eat it and you’re taking it out of the foil, there’s a certain amount of ‘crumbing’, just to remind you how mince pies are meant to taste and how rich and indulgent this Mr Kipling variety is going to be! The pastry is light and delicious and holds together beautifully!

The filling is made of vine fruit mincemeat with added apple and spices. The mincemeat is infused with cider and brandy to give a richer taste, but you really can’t taste the alcohol at all, so these are suitable for children too.  The pie is topped with a delicate pastry snowflake and lightly dusted for that festive look which will shine on the Christmas Lunch table.  The mixture of the fruits, in combination with the powdery pastry and light icing sugar decoration make these Mr Kipling Mince Pies irresistible, and perfect for Christmas.

Available from £3.00 at: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/315076278?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*MPX_PMAX_All_OT_All+Products_Online+Budget_1009392**315076278*&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA04arBhAkEiwAuNOsIn7SWyeQApgw58ndmdy1NmMEwqvuYTFZ6-cqTRDKrGimWHxSnnXlORoC9ZwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bonne Maman Advent Calendar 

advent calendar, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Bonne Maman are known for their exquisite jams and spreads and more recently for thoughtful gifts too. This limited edition advent calendar contains all you need for a festive December where all 24 windows have a delicious treat inside!

This year, Santa’s elves have created a calendar of Santa’s workshop, complete with Christmas trees surrounded by helpers who are making jams and spread and transporting them to households worldwide. Behind the windows you’ll find not just jams but savoury spreads and even 6 varieties of tea bags. The jams and spreads are more than just what you’d find on the Bonne Maman shelf in the supermarket as some of them aren’t available in the UK so don’t be surprised by what the elves have made! Some of the specialties include Apricot & Banana Spread, Fig with Cardamon, Mara des Bois Strawberry and even Quince With Chunks for the savoury lovers.  The teabags are also specialities too including Morning Blend, Quiet Moment and Christmas Blend.  Behind window 24 for Christmas Eve, there’s a special surprise too…

The Bonne Maman Advent Calendar is available to ship to the UK only.  It arrived in a massive box too, probably to accommodate the size of the two leaves that open out to make the whole Santa’s Workshop landscape.  The windows hide a glass 30 gram jar of each of the jams and preserves, so you have the excellent quality of Bonne Maman which is kept fresh and safe from perishing. The glass adds to the weight of the calendar but is worth it for the mixture of jams and spreads inside. You’ll never get bored of the different flavours!

Speaking of flavours, I have never seen such a mix of fruits.  There’s not just the usual strawberry and raspberry jams (although they are included!) but delicacies such as fig, nectarine and peach, all of which are mixed with different spices to give whole new flavours.  If you only occasionally eat toast or scones but appreciate good jam and don’t want to open a whole jar each time, this is a brilliant gift. It’s also good for food connoisseurs who love trying new flavours or cooking with different jams. For example, the Apricot & Lavender spread would be scrumptious on a gammon joint to bring out the flavours.  Chestnut and orange would also be perfect for Christmas Day lunch or a Sunday Roast to add to the stuffing or as a side to the Yorkshire Puddings.

Once you’ve indulged in all the spreads, don’t forget the teas. I think there’s a reason each of the herbal teas are based around calming, soothing flavours at Christmas time, so make sure you make full use of them!

Available from £33.00: https://www.bonnemaman.co.uk/advent

LoveRaw Advent Calendar 

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

LoveRaw have produced their first ever vegan advent calendar for 2023 on the back of their meteoric rise to chocolate heaven since 2013. LoveRaw have sent us one of their new advent calendars to review and the back story of how the LoveRaw team came about.

Back in 2013, Rini and Manar had what they called a ‘crazy idea’ to create vegan chocolate, but for it to also not taste vegan at all. This included using unconventional products (for the time) and trying to get the attention of lots of buyers. Along the past 10+ years, they have rejected Dragon’s Den offers, developed tons more products and probably become sick of the sight of chocolate to come to this point where they are able to sell vegan chocolate to the masses.

LoveRaw’s chocolate is made with no palm oil and no artificial ingredients. All of the base ingredients are plant based (such as chickpea protein concentrate) and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. In fact, they say that it’s suitable for everyone, including ‘Unvegans’ who aren’t vegan at all but happy to eat something that has been produced in the vegan way.  Their chocolate contains sugar, but beyond that there are no other ingredients which you might want to. Stay away from. There’s a whole list of ingredients on the back that you’ll recognise.

The LoveRaw Advent Calendar is. The usual 24 windows we are familiar with hide medallions of LoveRaw vegan chocolate behind a foil covering which keeps them fresh as well as increasing the anticipation as you open them! LoveRaw isn’t aimed specifically at children, but the chocolate pieces are decorated with Christmas themes, just like the ones we had as children.  The pieces are only about the size of a 2 pence coin (3.3grams per piece) so there isn’t an indulgent amount that will spoil dinner but still gives you the chocolate hit. 

What was the chocolate like? I took it upon myself to try several pieces and I can confidently say that it does indeed taste like chocolate! The advent calendar is milk chocolate flavoured (we know there is no actual milk in it though) but the flavour is slightly more of a darker chocolate flavour, but not at all bitter. I think because there is added sugar, the LoveRaw chocolate tastes sweeter. There is no bitter aftertaste with it though, like some vegan chocolates have.

Whether for an adult or children, the LoveRaw advent calendar ticks all the boxes and no one will notice the difference between vegan and ‘unvegan’!

RRP £6.99

The LOGO Board Game – 2nd edition

Children, Christmas, Family Life, Games, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, secret santa, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

My family love playing board games and Santa always leaves a new one under the tree for us to play once we’ve eaten Christmas lunch. We’ve always enjoyed playing LOGO so I was really pleased to find out there is a 2nd edition of the popular board game from Drumond Park. The new version from is just like the original but comes with a set of 396 new question cards. The game is for 2-6 players and can also be played in teams, making it a great game to play at Christmas with all the family.  

The game is simple to set up, each player or team chooses a coloured cone and places it on the Go! space on the board. When playing for the first time it is important to shuffle the cards and once you have placed them in the box you are ready to go.  There are three types of question cards, each with four questions; Picture Cards that have pictures relating to questions on the cards, Theme Cards that have questions relating to a common theme and Pot Luck which have random/ general knowledge questions. Players move around the board by answering questions that are the same colour as the place you are on the board. A correct answer allows you to move to the next space of the same colour and you continue answering the questions on the card until you either get one wrong or have answered them all.

Players take it in turns to be the question master which helps keep everyone involved and the winner is the first player/team to reach the winning zone where you need to answer two questions correctly or a get a red question correct.

There are a good variety of questions and as it is all logos and brands it puts everyone on a pretty equal footing. It’s a great game for families to play together and will keep everyone entertained over the Christmas period.

RRP: £32.99

Suitable for ages: 12yrs+

Stockists include: Independent toy shops and Smyths, Amazon, Argos

Modibodi Festive Gifting 3 Pack Briefs

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Fashion, Gifts for Her, health, Home, REUSABLE, Sustainable, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The Australian company Modibodi have been changing how women deal with periods for 10 years now, but still not everyone knows about their revolutionary products!

Sometimes known as period pants, Modibodi produce underwear that doesn’t need tampons or sanitary towels because Modibodi design in a high absorbency layer to their clothing, giving you more protection. As these are reusable feminine products, they have added layers of materials which give much higher absorbency than disposable liners etc, therefore giving you longer wear.

The Modibodi Festive Gifting 3 Pack is a set of 3 differently sized and shaped knickers all in Fiesta Red colour.  Including High Waist Bikini (light/moderate absorbency), Classic Bikini (moderate/heavy) and Full Brief (heavy/overnight), they are bundled up in an attractive draw string bag which can also be used for laundry. The packs are available in sizes 8-18.

The briefs are made of bamboo viscose for the body of the knickers and merino wool for the absorbency section, which is brilliant at absorbing moisturiser to keep you dry.  They look and feel like everyday pants, which is always a bonus and the different sizes and shapes make them adaptable for any dress or trousers. The bright red colour makes a change from the usual dark blue or black period knickers which are usually on the market and I can guarantee you have something red and Christmassy you want to wear over the Christmas season!

I have been using Modibodi pants for a while now, and they’re really innovative. If you’re a bit nervous about using them, you can always use a sanitary towel or tampon as well, before you get used to how much more absorbent they are or how they fit. I find if I am going out for the day, I use a towel or tampon as security and then rely on the pants later on. It’s more comfortable that way.  The knickers themselves fit really nicely and the bamboo viscose is cosy and fits well, especially as they’re in my dress size and not S/M/L like other period pants.

As for absorbency, you get used to not having any other products to rely on.  I found that I forgot I was wearing Modibodi pants and it really helped that I wasn’t wearing a towel at the same time when I was in jeans or certain dresses where I was more self-conscience.  The absorbency of the period pants was also much better than towels or tampons. The wool material used for the black lining is super absorbent and you can go a whole lot longer without having to need to change them, especially in the full briefs which are bigger.  If you have the 3 pack bundle and use them in conjunction with other Modibodi pants (such as the PUMA Active Period Underwear we reviewed previously), you can go your whole period and not use and disposable products at all. Modibodi saves money on using feminine products but also saves the environment with having less to throw away each month.

Even if you’re not buying the Modibodi 3 Pack gift set for anyone else, treat yourself to a pack this Christmas!

Available online now at a discounted price of £39.00:

Modibodi Holiday Gifting 3 Pack – Fiesta Red

Haier I-Master Series 5 Toaster 2 Slice

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden, kitchen appliances

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

Haier are well known for their large kitchen appliances and have just entered the small appliance market with a new range consisting of 7 small appliances – a kettle, air fryer, blender, hand blender, compact food processor, toaster and  multi functional hot drink maker. We have been trying out a couple of them and I have to say I am really impressed!

Our previous toaster gave up the ghost recently after 25 years and I picked up a cheap one to tide us over, so I was really pleased to receive the Haier I-Master Series 5 Toaster 2 Slice toaster which with 21 different functions is  definitely in my mind the “Rolls Royce” of toasters!

The stylish black toaster looks unassuming at first glance however this black box has the ability to transform the humble slice of bread into a toasty delight. My pet hate is toasters with thin slots that can’t take a fruit teacake or even worse ruins them when they get stuck to the side, meaning you have to prise them out so I was very pleased to discover that this toaster has extra wide slots to accommodate everything from chunky slices of bread, bagels, baguettes and the all important fruit teacake.

This high tech toaster also has a one-sided function, which as the name implies allows you to toast just one side which is ideal for bagels. When I tried it my sesame seed bagel was lovely and crispy on the cut side but still soft and chewy on the other side.

I’ve been using the toaster for a week or so now and it has already proved its worth. I’m able to toast fruit teacakes perfectly without setting off the smoke alarm and they pop up nicely with no need to prise them out. The most important point of all is they are toasted nice and evenly and I no longer get the burnt bits where it caught the element.

There’s no dials on this toaster, instead you press the plus or minus sign depending on how well you want your item to be toasted. There are additional buttons for small slices, one sided toast, cancel and a favourite button allowing you to customise your favourite toasting method. The toaster also has a high-lift function so you can lift your toast out of the slot to check its progress without having to cancel the process and start again.

Cleaning the crumbs out is easy too, thanks to the removable crumb tray which pops out nice and smoothly. Another excellent feature is the handy lid which stops dust falling into the toaster and makes it look nice and tidy on the worksurface – why has no one thought of this before???

Whilst it’s not the cheapest toaster around everything about this toaster has impressed me – it not only has toasted perfectly every time, it has fitted every type of bread, bun and crumpet that I have thrown into it and the controls are simple to use. It looks very stylish and another measure of how good it is, is that the smoke alarm no longer goes off every breakfast time!!

It really is worth spending that little bit more on a quality toaster and, based on my experiences so far, the Haier toaster is up there with the best!

Matching the kettle it makes a perfect gift for any occasion, especially at Christmas when we have the time to enjoy a more leisurely breakfast .

RRP £119.99 but currently on offer at £79.99