• 80 Poems by Roger McGough
    competition - parenting

    Win a copy of 80 Poems by Roger McGough

    October 9, 2017 - By 

    80 sees eighty favourite poems from one of the nation’s best-loved poets. Roger McGough, brought together for the first time in a hugely enjoyable new volume. Poems include The Power of Poets, Apostrophe, Snuggles, Teapet, Trees Are Great and The Rolling Meatball. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always inventive and often unexpected, the enormous variety of poems will never cease to amaze and delight children of all ages. 80 is a wonderful collection, truly with something for everyone, to be enjoyed again and again, read together or independently, at home or in a classroom. Published around National Poetry Day and in…

  • Sylvanian Families cupcakes
    Friends of Sylvanian Families - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy Things {Week 158}

    October 9, 2017 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone. Welcome to another week at the gingerbread house blog. I’m feeling super organised and ready for a new week. It’s time for my weekly post – Monday Happy Things. Monday Happy Things {Week 158} We had a pretty quiet week and weekend. A lot of our after school activities were cancelled due to illness which meant lots of time relaxing at home and plenty of time to craft. Our crafting was inspired by the season and we made autumn leaves sun catchers, conker caterpillars and lavender wands. We’ve been boarding the loft which isn’t very exciting but…

  • Ravensburger PJ Masks Night Sight Game
    parenting - toy review

    Ravensburger PJ Masks Night Sight Game

    October 8, 2017 - By 

    Little Sis has recently embraced all things PJ Masks. Every time I think she is happy playing with one brand of toy she discovers another and suddenly she only wants to watch episodes of PJ Masks and has a new birthday wishlist as long as her arm. Earlier in the summer we told you about the  PJ Masks Glow In The Dark Jigsaw Puzzle from Ravensburger. This 60 piece puzzle is the perfect size for Little Sis and one of her favourites. Luckily for her she was sent the new Ravensburger PJ Masks Night Sight Game to tell you about. PJ…

  • Sylvanian Families painted rocks
    crafts - Friends of Sylvanian Families - Painted rocks - Pinty Plus Ambassador - tutorial

    Sylvanian Families painted rocks

    October 8, 2017 - By 

    My children are both going through a Sylvanian Families stage at the moment. It’s not hard to see why, the toys are super cute and perfect for open-ended play. Following our trip to the Sylvanian Families Shop in London a few weeks ago I have been on the look out for simple Sylvanian Families crafts we can do at home. As they also like decorating rocks we came up with our very own Sylvanian Families painted rocks! Equipment to make Sylvanian Families painted rocks smooth stones (we bought ours from the local garden centre) Chalkola Chalk Paint pens Black permanent pen…

  • #WreakHavex with Havex Machines
    parenting - toy review

    #WreakHavex with Havex Machines

    October 7, 2017 - By 

    My children love unusual toys. They love playing but if a toy does something extra or different then even better for them. We were recently sent a couple of the brand new Havex Machines to look at. Series 1 features an assortment of 12 Land, Sea and Air vehicles. You can roll your mini car into the battle pod to initiate the automatic transformation, revealing your battling vehicle. Each pack includes 1 mini car, 1 transforming vehicle and a collectors guide. Havex Machines are advanced mech designed to defend and explore the galaxy. Worthy galactic captains race high-tech vehicles into dormant…

  • Discovery Adventures and the Land Rover Discovery Sport
    Day Zero - Local Review - London - parenting

    Discovery Adventures and the Land Rover Discovery Sport

    October 7, 2017 - By 

    I’m not quite sure where the week has gone but I’m finally sitting down to write and tell you about our adventures last weekend. We were kindly loaned a brand spanking new Land Rover Discovery Sport for the weekend! This may have been our most exciting blogging adventure yet. Ok, so I drive. But you probably don’t know that I’m a really awful, anxious driver. I drive my kids to their after school clubs but I find no pleasure in driving. So I laughed a little when Land Rover contacted me and immediately texted my husband. He loves cars so…

  • Schleich Croco Jungle Research Station
    parenting - toy review

    Schleich Croco Jungle Research Station

    October 6, 2017 - By 

    The new Schleich Croco jungle research station is the ideal starting point for all Wild Life adventures. This awesome playset includes a big crocodile skull and integrated secret hiding place, the research centre as well as a viewing platform. This is an amazing set with so much play potential. You can probably imagine how excited my children were to see it and build it. This is a huge playset with lots of different parts, perfect for hours of imaginative play. It does require some building but we found the instruction booklet was great. I was able to leave my 7…

  • Kid-friendly lavender wands
    Autumn - crafts

    Kid-friendly lavender wands {A-Z Play at Home}

    October 6, 2017 - By 

    I’m the first to admit I’m not a great gardener but the one thing we do have is a good supply of lavender. It’s one of my favourite plants and makes the garden smell gorgeous. It has a very pretty flower but what do you do with it once it’s flowered and over for the year? We’ve experimented with homemade lavender playdough before but for our weekly A-Z Play at Home blog series I thought we would harvest the flowers and try making lavender wands – a kid-friendly version. It is quite easy to harvest your lavender flowers. Once they have…

  • Simon Optix wearable headset game review
    parenting - toy review

    Simon Optix wearable headset game review

    October 5, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe we that it’s over a year ago since we reviewed the Simon Air. Every Friday we have a games evening at home and this is a firm family favourite, based on a version of Simon that I remember from my own childhood. We love to try out the latest toys so were excited to try out the new Simon Optix game from Hasbro. The Simon Optix game takes the Simon game to exciting heights. Put on the headset and get ready to watch, remember, repeat! The innovative Simon Optix game is a wearable electronic game of lights and…