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!
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!
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
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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):
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
It’s officially winter, and that’s probably not the best time of year for me take up running but that’s what I’ve done. With some new (and very expensive) running shoes, I’ve gone on Park Run a couple of times. Each time it was pouring with rain, which isn’t helpful when you don’t know the course yet.
Cherry Blossom have the Ultimate Protection in the form of the Cherry Blossom Sneaker Shield. This spray not only shields trainers from rain but from stains too, which is helpful when you find you’re running through muddy fields as well as a muddy woodland. I was sent some to try along with the Down Care Kit.
The 200ml Cherry Blossom Sneaker Shield spray can be used on all materials including canvas, synthetic materials, leather, suede and nubuck. It’s best to spray your trainers before you wear them if they’re brand new, otherwise the Cherry Blossom Sneaker Cleaner Kit is ideal for cleaning up your shoes before applying the spray. After shaking the can, spray onto the trainers from roughly 10-15 centimetres away (4-5 inches) and allow to dry. You can apply another layer after an hour or so, depending on how worn your trainers are and how porous they have become. It’s best to leave the spray to dry on the trainers for at least a few hours, but I left them in a warm place overnight before I used them.
The spray left the shoes slightly shiny but well protected. Even the laces were waterproofed! With the two layers of protector spray on them it was time to test the shoes whilst out running. I think the two layers helped because I was running through some long, very wet and frosty grass at places and found that the trainers not only stayed dry but the dew collected on the uppers and didn’t affect my feet underneath. My socks stayed toasty dry! This has spurred me on to try the Cherry Blossom on other trainers and shoes like the garden shoes I use for pottering around, and my Sketchers.
The Grangers Down Care Kit is a powerful cleaning agent for your down insulated clothing, namely duvet coats and puffer jackets. I have a Regata jacket that I wear obsessively throughout the winter but I’m loathed to wash it because I hate how it loses its fluffiness. The Down Care Kit contains the Wash & Repel solution and 3 dryer balls to help dry your garments quicker, and to get more air into the down so that it doesn’t go flat after washing. To use, you just add 2 capfuls (100ml) of the Wash & Repel solution to the washing machine drawer where you normally put detergent. For each additional garment, add another capful but I washed just my coat on one load to give it room to spin properly. If you’re tumble drying, add the dryer balls on a low heat to get the air circulating more. You might need to redistribute the down as it dries so that you don’t end up with all sorts of lumps and bumps. I let my coat dry outside on a clear day so that it gets some natural air to it too and make sure that all the moisture is out.
Once dry and you’re able to wear it, your garment is not only clean but is protected against rain as well. It’s not completely waterproof (depending on the material of your garment and how it’s made) but it is water repellent. It doesn’t soak in the rain as much and it’s quicker to dry if you do get wet.
The Cherry Blossom Sneaker Shield and Grangers Wash & Repel Kit are handy kits for anyone who is the outdoor type, or a stocking filler for anyone who takes part in outdoor sport. They also help make clothes and trainers last longer!
Cherry Blossom Sneaker Shield available from £7.45 at:
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.
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!
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’!
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.
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 .
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Dog lovers, this one is for you!
The Kikkerland dog keychain is exactly what it says it is – a keyring that’s in the shape of a dog! No more losing your keys on the long dog walks across the fields or into the woods, this sturdy keychain can hold all of your keys and more.
Made of zinc alloy, it’s durable, doesn’t rust and won’t bend out of shape and is lightweight too. The screw closure ensures that all your keys are safe and the hollow outline of the dog face means you’ll be able to add more keyrings or keys to the chain. The unique shape also means you’ll be able to put your hand in your pocket and find your dog keyring easily. At just £9 it’s great for Secret Santa or as a gift which can be posted as it’s flat and so light.
This is a great Secret Santa for dog lovers or collectors of keyrings, looks stylish and like all Kikkerland products, will last for ages!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Christmas is a time to ask for that gift you would never buy for yourself, or to surprise someone with a present that they weren’t expecting but similarly love! For me, the Donnerberg Back Massager falls into both categories as I’d seen them around but not ever thought of buying one. Likewise, it is something which I wouldn’t think of giving as a gift.
Read on to see why the Donnesberg Back Massager is perfect for both categories…
The Donnesberg Back Massager sits on the back of a chair so that the user sits with the massager behind them. It’s mains powers so there’s no need to charge it or change batteries and there are four settings; Shiatsu Massage, Massage Intensity (3 levels), Infrared head (2 levels) and Tapping/Percussion. That might sound like a lot of functions but playing with the different functions is part of the fun!
I started by plugging in the massager, which is easy with the UK plug that’s included. That’s all you need to do to get it working! Starting with the Shiatsu Massage, the plates on the machine work extremely hard, giving a deep massage into the different areas of your lower back. There are 10 massage heads in all which work in different directions and patterns to give you a deeper, firmer massage in certain places as well as the infrared heat which helps you relax, but also aids healing. The intensity can be increased with the function buttons, and the infrared heat can be increased too.
The second setting to try out is the Tapping/Percussion. This is a lighter, rainfall-like rhythm which helps relieve tension in the back muscles but with a different pattern. The Tapping/Percussion setting can be used with the infrared heat too, to give a deeper healing. Try using a combination of the tapping/percussion and Shiatsu massage settings to help with your specific ailments and eventually, you’ll work out a session that’s most beneficial to you! There’s a timer on each of the settings too so you don’t spend too long in one place.
The first time I tried out the Donnerberg Percussion Massager I did all the settings and all the intensities going on for more than 20 minutes. This turned out to be a mistake because the next day my muscles were sore and I had bruises! Instead, it’s better to find a medium intensity for your back and work up to the higher intensities over time. You don’t notice how strong the massager is at the time of working it, and it’s usual to find that it’s a bit of a weird sensation at first, until you get used to how deep it can be.
Over a week, the massage became more relaxing as your muscles get used to the sensation and start to relax over time. I haven’t needed to increase the intensity to the maximum level yet but as times goes on there is that option. Interestingly, there are other areas you can use the Donnerberg Massager on. Whilst watching TV, I put it on the floor and rested my feet on it. It’s a very weird feeling at first but once your feet start to relax, and your calf muscles start to melt away, it’s very nice having the vibrations trace through your feet and legs! After a run, this was especially useful as it distracted from the pain but then as the day went on, all the blood rushed to my calves and feet to bring the oxygen.
The Donnerberg Massager can be used on other areas of the body too. Placing your thighs or calves directly onto the massager face and putting it on a low intensity also helps with relaxing muscles and getting rid of aches and pains. The massager has a low noise output too, so you can still watch TV with it running in the background.
The only downside I can see is from having the cable to the mains adaptor. The lead is a few metres long so you can move it around whichever room you’re in but it means you can’t use it outside in the summer easily, and might not be able to use it in every room in the house. Still, it’s great to use whilst sitting up and you can probably use it whilst lying in bed too.
The Donnerberg Percussion Massager is a fabulous toy for anyone who has everything, or if your loved one needs to relax! It’s perfect however for anyone who runs, works out with weights or has a busy life where they need muscle relaxation but probably don’t have the time for a massage. Sit with the Donnerberg massager whilst watching TV and soon the aches and pains will melt away, no matter how active you’ve been!
Disclaimer: We were loaned this bike for the purpose of the review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
I’ve been considering buying an electric bike for a while, my husband is a keen cyclist and when we go out on our bikes I tend to lag behind, so an electric bike sounded the best option as it will enable me to keep up with him on the hills and go that little bit further. I was therefore really pleased when RooDog offered me the chance to try their new Avatar Step through mountain bike.
The first thing I have to say is it is fantastic having a step through bike – being 6‘ tall means up until now I have always had men’s cycles with a crossbar and whilst it has never really bothered me it is so much easier not having to lift my leg over a crossbar when I get on and off!
With burly tyres and suspension, it’s designed for on and off-road riding and is incredibly smooth to ride. It also has a twist grip throttle which is really useful, especially when at junctions, giving a quick boost to get me going when I need a bit more power. Despite having an electric motor it is incredibly quiet which is definitely a positive for me, a constant roar would drive me mad when out in the countryside. The gears on my existing bike are quite clunky so I was really impressed with the Shimano 7 speed Megarange gears which give incredibly slick gear changes and are very easy to use. Although there are only 7 gears, with the motor driving me on, this was more than enough to get me up the hills!
The geometry of the Avatar gives a more upright riding position and the frame allows for plenty of adjustment, ample for my 6’ height. I’m at the very top of the height recommendation and it was perfect for me, the seat was high enough and the reach to the handlebars is comfortable for my long arms. I liked the level of adjustment available and after a few tweaks found it very comfortable to ride, the position is well balanced and didn’t put too much weight on either my rear end or wrists. The bike comes with a standard saddle, but RooDog helpfully provided a larger ladies gel saddle, which is an option with all their bikes. This was really easy to swap and I find it much more comfortable to sit on.
On the road, the most impressive trait of the Avatar is the way it powers up hills – we live in a very hilly area – so much so that many pro cyclists train around here – and it really comes into its own when faced with a hill. Hills that I generally walk up are no longer a problem, I can now ride up easily on power level 3 speed and now it’s my husband who is lagging behind me! I found I could get up some of the steepest hills at 10mph whereas before I would puff and pant my way up at around 4mph and invariably need to get off at some point and walk the rest of the way up.
The Avatar has a decent range – up to 30 miles per full charge (on the highest speed setting of which there are 5). I haven’t been using it on full power but to give an idea of range I dipped down to two bars of battery (out of five) after 32 miles of using mainly speed 2 and 3 on hilly terrains.
My first outing was a fairly flat ride so I could get used to the bike and we did 23.42 miles, with 679ft of ascent. Further rides saw 31.82 miles with 1,860 ft and 18.69 miles with 979ft and I’m confident that I can do longer rides and still have enough power left to get me home.
The suspension gives a really smooth ride both on the road and on tracks, on rough surfaces it cushions the lumps and bumps and the bike feels stable and balanced and I feel in control both on fast descents and tight, twisty corners. It is here that the disc brakes come into their own giving really powerful braking that does not fade in wet conditions.
The digital control is smart, sitting nicely on the left handlebar, the LCD-PAS System has a clear digital display with battery indicator, lights, tripometer and the all important speed indicator.
For me, the point of an electric bike is to get assistance when out cycling as I do still want to get some exercise! Whilst you can just turn up the power and ride without any effort I generally have it set on a low power to flatten the hills and give me a “push” away from the junctions. Obviously the less you rely on the motor, the longer the battery will last.
With a 250W rear wheel hub motor, suspension forks and a 10Ah battery, the Avatar isn’t a lightweight bike weighing 22.5kg. Without using the motor, it would be quite a heavy bike but as long as the power is turned on, the extra weight isn’t an issue. We own a motorhome and have a rear mounted bike rack, the weight of the bike is well within the specification but it is always worth checking beforehand. The battery is removable which is really helpful as it makes the bike much lighter when I am lifting it up onto the bike carrier.
Charging is pretty simple, after a ride I just plug in the charger and it takes around 4 to 6 hours to charge from flat. I charge it in the garage but since the battery is removable it can be charged in the house and when we’re away I can easily charge it in the motorhome.
As with all electric assist bikes, the motor cuts out at 15.5mph and the throttle at 4mph so the Avatar isn’t going to turn me into a fast rider but it certainly gives me an edge when we head off into the hills and that’s what I’m looking for in an electric bike. For £1,750 you’re getting a pretty good deal, it has a good motor and fairly sizeable battery so if you want an e-bike that looks decent, and will help you some of the way, this is the bike for you.
All parts are covered by a 2 year warranty, including the battery (provided cared for in conjunction with battery care instructions), motor casing & hub motor and bike frame.
RooDog are a small family business and have been trading for 10 years, like all small businesses they are passionate about what they do and whenever I have spoken or emailed Scott and Tina I have found them incredibly knowledgeable and very easy to deal with. They recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and you can find out more about it by reading their blog post 2023 – Celebrating Our 10th Year in Business – Roodog Electric Bikes
After using the Avatar for the last couple of weeks I am now convinced that an e-bike is a very worthwhile investment, it gives me the extra boost I need to get up the hills and I can still enjoy the scenery without lagging behind. I’m really happy with the Avatar electric mountain bike but if you don’t fancy that style of bike then RooDog have 9 other electric bikes to choose from, so whether you want a folding bike, city bike or even a polka dot one you will find a RooDog to suit.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
The revolution in period products started a few years ago when we saw more and more period items in the shops that gave women and girls more flexible options. One of the newer inventions are the period pants – the ability to wear underwear without having to worry about sanitary pads to protect clothes. Modibodi came up with period pants designed specifically for sport, and along with PUMA, they’ve brought out a new range of Active Period Underwear.
The PUMA x Modibodi Period and Leak-Proof Underwear we were sent (called Active Cheeky Briefs!) are already graded 2/4 for absorbency which is around 10ml or the equivalent of 2 tampons. That’s quite a lot for just a pair of pants! They’re made of recyclable material and are machine washable and I especially like that shape because they’re not big and bulky but have a slimmer fit to them, which is exactly what I want from a brief. The material used is stretchy and silky too, so you won’t get a VPL. The waist is elasticated and there were no problems overall with the fit.
When using them, I didn’t find any leakage. All the new reusable sanitary pads and knickers seem to be extra absorbent compared to the disposable towels and tampons of old. When at the gym, I forgot that I was wearing these and even out for a run there was no problem with movement or stretching and no chafing either! They’re very versatile, so it got me thinking that these PUMA x Modibodi pants would be great for travelling on long journeys where you weren’t sure about facilities and didn’t want to be uncomfortable. I can imagine wearing them on planes and trains to feel more secure.
These are a brilliant idea and I feel like they’re a lifestyle change, away from the need to carry so much with you for each period but are so discreet you don’t need to worry about them. If you’re hesitant, wear them with a sanitary pad first to prevent leaks, and eventually you’ll see how much more absorbent they are, especially with all the different designs Modibodi are coming up with!
Available online from £15 (in the sale) at Modibodi
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
For the tea lover who has everything, they will always need more tea! Kikkerland have this gorgeous Make Your Own Tea Kit tin which has everything you need to brew your own.
Whether you’re a loose tea lover who wants to make your own blend or simply take loose tea with you out and about, or if you love making whole new blends of herbal teas, perhaps from your own dried flowers and fruits from the garden, this is for you. The tin contains a bamboo tea spoon, 5 reusable teabags, 2 mesh envelopes and a booklet on how to make and blend tea.
The mesh envelopes are for collecting your herbs, flowers or berries from the garden and helping them dry so that you can make your infusion later. The mesh bags are sewn on three sides to make it easier to collect and store natural items easily and allow the air to dry them naturally. Each of the teabags is drawstring and can be washed in a normal washing machine cycle after use. The bags have ample room for brewing tea, and not just herbal teas but loose tea works well too. There’s a lovely bamboo spoon which allows you to dolly-up the mixture into each bag, or even stir the infusion once the teabag is in your cup. The handy green tin also doubles up as an air-tight container to keep your teabags in once you’ve made them up but not yet used them!
The Kikkerland Make Your Own Tea Kit is a lovely kit for Secret Santa or a friend who loves making their own tea. Teenagers who are learning to make their own infusions will love the practicality of this make-your-own craft kit.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Amidst all the techie toys out there, multiple screens and the commercial money-makers, Christmas toys is a minefield for getting the balance between educational and wholesome. Kidoki have a range of toys which are suitable for children but without the screen time, or the added expense of having to buy an app, batteries, additional converters etc. Harping back to a time of simpler toys, this Teeter Totter Shapes Wooden Balance Game looks like it’s come straight from the Elf Factory!
The Kikkerland box contains 11 wooden shapes, all brightly coloured and some with faces and patterns painted on them. They’re all completely different shapes too. The main piece is a blue ‘boat’ shape with a convex base. The idea of the game is to balance all 10 other pieces on top of the boat without it toppling over. There isn’t one way in which they all fit, so it’s a game of balance for little hands to try and build a structure that will not only balance but stay stable long enough for all the pieces to fit on top. There’s also the added difficulty of not all the pieces having straight edges – so how do you fit them all together?
For fine motor skills, problem solving and general fun, the Teeter Totter Shapes Wooden Balance Game has a lot to offer. As an adult, I found it difficult at first to work out how the pieces are meant to stack. Once you realise they aren’t meant to, and there are multiple ways in which they can stack, it becomes a race against time to get them into an order where they will all stay in once place! Yes, the boat rocks and you have to work out how to distribute the weight of each piece so that it doesn’t topple over. The shapes are all different heights as well, and different weights so it’s not obvious how you complete the tasks.
For children, this is a great game to challenge them, and it doesn’t involve screens or modern technology. The painted faces and patterns also mean that children can use the blocks in a manner of different ways, including creating new games, or using along with other shapes from other games. They might also find them useful for learning the names of shapes and colours and using them in their imagination games.
We found that the Teeter Totter game was not just for children though! The size and robustness of the blocks meant it was great fun for adults to have a go in the evening, sitting around the coffee table with a drink and the TV on, each trying to work out how to fit everything together without it falling over! Make a game of it by timing how long it takes someone to balance all 11 blocks – the winner is the quickest!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
You may not think of Just Spices as a company who produce ‘treats’ especially at Christmas time, but did you know that in addition to the spices and toppings they create, they also make sweet additions to your baking?
This autumn, Just Spices have two versatile blends to liven up your coffee, and beyond. Coffee Kiss and Pumpkin Pie Spice are as close as you can get to the barista-style toppings everyone loves to indulge in this time of year. We were sent both to try from the lovely people at Just Spices, who seem to come up with new ideas every week of how to improve cooking, baking and generally eating!
Coffee Kiss is a blend of spices which you add to coffee to enhance the flavour. Containing ground almonds, cocoa powder and cinnamon, it adds a winter spice to coffee to create a slightly sweeter, chocolatey taste to your morning brew. It can also be added to other drinks such as hot chocolate (as seen here), over ice cream, to smoothies and with fruit or muesli. It would also go very well with porridge on a cold day when you want to mix up the flavours slightly but don’t want to over do it with flavour. I like this mixture of the chocolate and cinnamon flavours because they not only complement each other, but they feel warming to taste and remind me of Christmas.
The Pumpkin Pie Spice mix is just as autumnal and so appropriate for this time of year! If you’re a lover of the pumpkin flavoured drinks in the famous coffee shop chains, then this is the spice for you. Containing cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg, it has that authentic autumn/winter taste to it with the mix of sweet and spicy. This is a spice not just for coffee but you can use it in hot chocolate too, or even with baking. If you’re making Thanksgiving treats such as pumpkin pie or even pumpkin soup, then the Pumpkin Pie Spice mix adds all the festive flavours without you having to gather all the ingredients yourself and try and get the right combination first time. It’s a treat for any coffee lover, or lover of autumn altogether.
Coffee Kiss currently on sale online at £3.99:
Pumpkin Pie Spice currently on sale online at £4.79:
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
I’m always on the lookout for new snacks, especially ones that aren’t unhealthy or might be a better option than a multipack from the supermarket where no one in our household likes certain flavours! LoveRaw are a plant-based company who produce milk and white chocolate bars that suit the whole family. We were sent a selection box with a mix of both types of chocolate to see how we liked them…
Inside the box was:
LoveRaw Cream Wafer Bar, milk chocolate (43 grams)
LoveRaw Peanut Butter Caramel Bar, milk chocolate (40 grams)
LoveRaw Cream Wafer Bar, white chocolate (45 grams)
LoveRaw Cream Wafer Bar Caramelised Biscuit, white chocolate (45 grams)
You’d be forgiven if you think you might have seen some of these bars on the supermarket shelves before, or at least a few of the supermarket elements in these bars as LoveRaw have invented some new varieties. All of the chocolate is plant-based and therefore it’s vegan and suitable for everyone to eat. Instead of milk or cream, coconut milk is used instead to give the creamy texture to make the chocolate, both milk and white variations.
Starting with the Cream Wafer Bars, there are two in each pack and they’re individually wrapped. Neither the white nor the milk chocolate bars contain anything artificial (“No Artificial Nonsense” as it says on the packs!) and are palm oil free. The bars are hazelnut filled wafers with either a vegan white chocolate flavoured coating or a milk chocolate flavoured coating. The Caramlised Biscuit Cream Wafer Bar has more bite to it with cinnamon filled wafters and have a caramel flavoured coating. These Cream Wafer Bars are great for snacks at lunchtime, they’re pretty filling and taste like chocolate too.
The LoveRaw Nutty Choc Balls are only 81 calories per ball and also vegan and plant based. Each Nutty Ball has a whole hazelnut in a cocoa coating and nut croquante on the outside. They’re about the size of a lychee and also individually wrapped so you can share them, or eat them at different times!
Available directly from EatLoveRaw.com, promotions include:
20% off 6 packs
30% off 12 packs
40% off 24 packs
Promotions start from Friday 24th Nov – Sunday 26th. With an extra 5% off on Cyber Monday.
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Christmas is a time when families and friends get together and as the festive season approaches it’s the perfect time to invest in a couple of new board games to play with your nearest and dearest.
Articulate the “fast talking description game” from Drumond Park is a great game to play as whilst it can be played with 4 people it is much more fun played in teams. It’s really easy to get the hang of too so is perfect when playing with family members with a mix of ages.
The circular board unfolds to reveal coloured sections named with the following categories – people, world, objects, actions, nature and random. Players are split into teams and it depends on the number of players as to how many describers and guessers there are. The game begins by placing the counters on the start segment and the first team then have 30 seconds to describe the object listed on the card to the rest of their team, if they shout a correct answer, they keep picking cards and describing words from the same category until the timer runs out. Once their turn is over they move their counter forward by the number of correct words.
Sounds straightforward – it is but once you get started there are a few extra twists to add more excitement to the game. If you land on a white CONTROL segment play does not pass to the next team, instead the same team pick the next card and the describer/s describe the item marked with the spade icon to all the players, there is no time limit for this and play passes to the team who shouts out the correct answer first. The other curveball in the game is the orange and red segments which extend into the centre of the board. When a counter lands on one of these the team spins the spinner to try and win bonus places or the opportunity to move an opponent back a few places.
It’s a very fast paced game and as you are racing against the clock you’ll find your voice getting louder and using your hands to try and describe the words on the cards, much to the delight of the rest of the players. Some of the categories are much harder to describe than others so if you are playing with children younger than the 12+ recommended age you may need to look at a few cards to pick one they can describe easily. With 500 cards, each with a word for all six categories you’ll be able to play it every day over the festive period without using the same words!
This is a fantastic game and will be a great addition to any Christmas festivities this year.
The Review Studio 