• Star Wars toys for fans of The Last Jedi
    Family Life - Hasbro Toy Tribe - toy review

    Star Wars toys for fans of The Last Jedi

    December 30, 2017 - By 

    It can’t have escaped your notice that the latest Star Wars film was released earlier this month. On 14th December Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally came to our screens and the whole family went to watch – in our favourite Star Wars clothes – on the 16th. As well as the new film, we were also looking forward to seeing which toys would be brought out to tie in with The Last Jedi. As huge Star Wars fans we were excited to be offered a bundle of Star Wars toys from Hasbro to celebrate the new film, and from…

  • Free Highway Rat activity trail {at Haldon Forest}
    days out - Family Life

    Free Highway Rat activity trail {at Haldon Forest}

    December 29, 2017 - By 

    The Highway Rat is the latest Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book to be brought to life on our screens. Did you watch the animated version which was shown on Christmas Day? We made sure we had opened all our presents and finished our Christmas dinner so we could sit down and watch it together. It’s the latest activity trail which you can follow for free, thanks to the Forestry Commission England. Free Highway Rat activity trails in England We were looking for something to do between Christmas and New Year so headed off to the Highway Rat trail. Our…

  • 24 new Elf on the Shelf ideas
    Christmas - Elf on the Shelf - Family Life

    24 new Elf on the Shelf ideas

    December 28, 2017 - By 

    December is such a busy month for any parent. Sometimes I wonder why I make life extra hard for myself but whilst the children are young we have an Elf on the Shelf. I bought our Elf on the Shelf from Amazon a few years ago. It was really expensive at the time but they are a lot more affordable now. It came in a presentation box with a story book.The idea of the Elf on a Shelf is that he keeps an eye on children during December, reporting good and bad behaviour back to Father Christmas. It’s definitely a…

  • Lego Star Wars Ahch-To Island Training set
    Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Wednesday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    December 27, 2017 - By 

    Slightly later than usual I bring you my weekly Monday Wednesday mindfulness post, about 5 happy things from the previous week. I popped into London for some last minute Christmas shopping. I really wanted to check out the new HEMA store on Tottenham Court Road and the Tatty Devine decorated Christmas trees on the South Bank. The two Smalls finished school which they were both very happy about. My son brought home 3 achievement certificates for gaining a certain level of House Points. I know I shouldn’t have but I bought myself the Lego Star Wars Ahch-To Island Training set. We…

  • L.O.L. Surprise! Pets unboxing
    Family Life

    L.O.L. Surprise! Pets unboxing

    December 24, 2017 - By 

    My 6 year old loves here L.O.L. collection. She’s been so lucky to receive a few to unbox at home and they are an adorable toy. She was the lucky recipient of a new L.O.L. Surprise! Pets toy which she really enjoyed opening. L.O.L. Surprise! Pets L.O.L. Surprise! Pets is the latest toy in the L.O.L. range. L.O.L. Surprise! Pets includes puppies, kitties, bunnies and hamsters. Just as before, discover 7 layers of surprise in each L.O.L. Surprise! Pet! As you unbox each layer a new surprise is unveiled. This is the ultimate unboxing toy so we had to make an unboxing video…

  • Family Life

    New year, new room for my daughter

    December 22, 2017 - By 

    Photo by Mariana Yarritu on Unsplash As much as I love December and Christmas, I also love January. It’s generally a quiet month when we plan and do lots of jobs around the home. Top of our list for January is my daughter’s room which hasn’t been decorated for a good few years. When we moved in she was just 2 years old and loved pink. It’s fair to say she has changed a lot over the last few years. New year, new room for my daughter I’ve been really enjoying the last fews days. I’ve been super-organised this month. All the Christmas…

  • Visiting The Gingerbread City
    Family Life - gingerbread house

    Visiting The Gingerbread City

    December 22, 2017 - By 

    Today we visited the rather wonderful Gingerbread City in London. I heard about this a few days ago and knew we had to visit. London’s best architects have created an the incredible city made of gingerbread! As well as visiting the Gingerbread City you could also attend Gingerbread House Making Workshops and visit the little gingerbread shop. The Gingerbread City The Gingerbread City was organised by The Museum of Architecture. This is the second year of its successful Gingerbread City project, a fundraising exhibition that invites architects, urban planners and landscape designers to design a city made entirely of gingerbread. Building on…

  • Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine
    Family Life - STEM activity - toy review

    Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine Kit

    December 20, 2017 - By 

    With my children now finished school for the holidays I have been planning how to keep them busy. They are so excited about Christmas Day so we’ve planned a few trips to the park, crafts and bakes to keep them busy. Today we had fun building the Haynes Internal Combustion Engine kit. Haynes Publishing is the home of car, motorcycle, scooter and ATV manuals, as well as a range of other specialist topics in print and digital formats. They also have the rather fabulous International Motor Museum which we visited this summer. Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine We recently…

  • Kikki.K Christmas
    Craft book review - Crafts for adults - Family Life

    Enjoying a Kikki.K Christmas

    December 20, 2017 - By 

    A few weeks ago I popped into the Kikki.K store at St Pancras Station for a browse. I love stationery and have a very healthy addiction to list making, which means I need a lot of writing pads. There were some gorgeous products in Kikki.K so I treated myself to a little pre-Christmas haul. Have you heard of Kikki.K before? It’s a Swedish stationery brand with a few shops dotted around London. I just love all things Scandinavian, especially at Christmas time. This year their Christmas range features all my favourite things – black and white, gingerbread, candy canes and…