Halloween With The Lenovo Smart Display

On Halloween Eliot and I headed into London for an event with Lenovo hosted by the lovely Kimberly Wyatt, to find out all about the new Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assist. I was keen to learn more and hear about how the product can make everyday life that bit easier, which is what everyone wants especially when juggling parent life.

 On arriving Eliot was wowed by all the pumpkins and amount of halloween spookiness going on but was quickly drawn to the space at the table which had the Lenovo Smart Display in front of it. He is very much in to technology so he'd found the perfect place to sit to explore and get hands on. Except because he was expecting it to be like his tablet at home he wasn't as successful as usual at getting where he wanted. That was until one of the Lenovo team gave him his own personal demo on how to operate the Smart Display, by talking. Once he'd been shown how to use it he enjoyed asking questions such as 'how fast does the Eurostar go' and 'who is Jack Sparrow', he was delighted when a photo of Johnny Depp popped up on the screen!

 I myself was already wowed from watching my five year old get to grips with it and could see how it could be beneficial to busy parent life.

I was intrigued to hear more about it, and listened intently when one of the Lenovo team introduced the Lenovo Smart Display.  She explained how she used it herself, what her favourite features were and about the design of the product. 

The product is available in two different sizes, 8" or 10" aiming to suit each individuals preferences, whether you prefer viewing on a larger screen or usually opt for something a little more compact the choice is yours. I thought the overall look was sleek and smart and there is even a choice about the back of the product, bamboo or grey. Both appearances appealed to me.

 Kimberly Wyatt then showed us all how to use it, all hands free just using her voice. I mean imagine the possibilities! We've all needed an extra pair of hands at some point and the Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assist literally allows you to have them. Instead of scrolling down for the next part of a recipe when cooking or wanting to skip to a particular instruction in a video, you just use your voice to get to the bit you need. For example  if you're watching a video, by saying 'Hey Google, skip to four minutes' etc you will get to the bit you want, all hands free. 

It can also be used for the usual routine things like checking the weather or your calendar that much easier without having to take your hands away from whatever you're doing. 

It also gives the user peace of mind by being able to turn off the mic or camera so you don't have to worry about your privacy. Using the Google Home App you can update and make changes you need for your Lenovo Smart Display. If you have a home system such a 'Nest' you can also operate this through the Smart Display.

We then participated in activities with the Lenovo Smart Display on hand to assist. Our first activity was face painting which I discovered I'm not too good at. However, being able to watch what to do   without having to put down the equipment we were using made it much easier!

 Next we moved on to decorating skeleton biscuits back in Eliot's 'space' next to the Lenovo smart display. A team member put the video on and Eliot watched carefully whilst decorating his biscuit, I was impressed at how similar his was to the 'perfect' video version, I felt it certainly made a difference being able to see what to do as opposed to just listening to instructions.

With Christmas rapidly approaching this is a gift you may want on your own list or perhaps you know someone who would benefit from making their life that bit easier by being more hands free!

You can take advantage of Black Friday deals on the Lenovo Smart Display, the 10 inch is currently on offer at £199.99 down from £229.99 and the 8 inch is down to £129.99 from £179.99.

*This is a collaborative post

Christmas Gifts with Sports Direct #sdfiverchallenge

This post is an entry for Britmums #sdfiver challenge Christmas Challenge sponsored by sportsdirect.com. We were challenged to find Christmas gifts for different people with at least two gifts costing five pound or less.

Whenever I've thought of Sports Direct, trainers or sports clothes immediately come to mind, I'll be honest and say it's not somewhere where I'd think to buy Christmas presents (unless they were 'sport' related), so I was pleasantly surprised by the range of products that were available. From toys to gift sets to Christmas jumpers, there really is a lot to choose from with many items priced at five pounds or less. I must say I was impressed with what was available and the prices.

To begin with a spent a good hour or so browsing the website taking mental note of things I thought would be good presents for certain people before choosing some and adding them to my basket, this is what I selected.

 

For the teacher

As a teacher myself I don't look forward to the overload of thoughtful chocolate gifts at the end of term. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I'd honestly rather just have a card or verbal words from parents/carers if they wish to give something because...

A) 15+ chocolate gifts is too much chocolate!

AND

B) 15+ chocolate gifts are not going to be helpful to my postpartum tum that I want to reduce in size!

 

So when I stumbled across Yankee Candles on the Sports Direct Website I was pleasantly surprised, especially as a small jar was priced at £3.99! So that's what I ordered, a small 'Sparkling Snow' candle as an alternate gift for Eliot's teacher. However as you can see on the box above there are three candles priced at £7.99, so I'm not sure if I didn't read the description properly and it was always a pack of three or they had sold out of single candles. Whichever way it was, they went through at £3.99 on my order which is blimmin' good value for a great quality product! Unfortunately these particular candles no longer seem to be available on the website which doesn't surprise me because they were such good value! There are other Yankee products available and who knows, they could get more in stock.

 

For The Teaching Assistant

Eliot has four adults working in his Reception class, so that's four gifts that I needed to get! As I said above I'm not overly keen on chocolate gifts so thought this Moisty mug cake was another great alternative gift, with one particular TA in mind. Yes it's food related but who doesn't love a cake and one that can be ready a minute?! For £3.49 I thought this was super value and would be a great small gift or stocking filler for all cake lovers, ones that don't have a nut allergy though as this is Hazelnut flavour!

For The Child With TOO Many Toys

Sometimes I find buying presents for kids really difficult because you wonder if it's something they already have or if it could be adding to a toy collection that's already too large and driving the parents too distraction! So I try to avoid toys and opt for things like games. They (hopefully) won't add to the toy mess and they're something that all the family can get involved in. I chose this 3D Snakes and Ladders game for Eliot as he has a rather tired  2D version of it and I'm sure we'll have some festive family fun playing it together. It's priced at £5 but unfortunately I couldn't find it on the website so I'm guessing it's gone out of stock.

 

For The Sweet Lovers



I chose this Mini jelly bean machine for Eliot because he does like a sweet treat but mainly because he's been pointing out all the bubble gum machine gifts and bubble gum is something I won't give to him just yet. So when I came across this  Jelly Bean version I knew I had to get it for him as he'll love dispensing his own sweets! It's priced at £7.99.

 

I picked this Chewits selection box as a little present for my other half, he isn't fussed about chocolate but does love chewy sweets. He often buys Chewits but there only seem to be a limited selection of flavours available so I thought this would be ideal as there are a few different ones in this box. Priced at £2.99 I  thought it was good value for a selection box.

For The Presents

I don't know about you but I find wrapping Christmas presents after the first few a little laborious so I cheat with some and put them into Gift bags. This pack of five variety sized bags cost £2.99 which again I thought was a good price. There is also a more traditional Santa and Snowman pack of bags at the same price.

All of the items I picked came to under £25 which was I think was excellent value for what I selected and the quality. Delivery costs £4.99.
I certainly recommend browsing the website for presents whether their stocking fillers or main gifts there is plenty to choose from!

* I received the products above in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions

Character.Com REVIEW

A while ago Eliot was sent some goodies from character.com which like the name suggests, sell products featuring characters. All that appear in TV, film, etc.. From Frozen to Batman to Peppa Pig, there's a whole array of characters and products to choose from. Not only for kids, they also have items for us grown ups aswell!
 

The first thing Eliot received in his Parcel was a George pig trainer bag, this one is no longer on the site but there are a few George Pig options to choose from!

 This came at just the right time as Eliot had just started pre-school and I wanted a suitable bag for all the paraphernalia that has to go with him. It fits his change of clothes, nappies and wipes, suncream and drink bottle no problems. The bag is strong and does the job I want it to. The only niggle I have with it is the Velcro tabs that connect the straps together, they can come undone quite easily but saying that it hasn't been an issue really.
 Eliot loves the fact it's a George Pig bag, when I first opened the package his face was beaming! 

Next we were sent some Thomas The Tank Engine pyjamas, anything with any form of transport is a winner with Eliot!

Unfortunately, as you can see Eliot did not manage to keep still when I was taking the photos! We were sent them in age 2-3 years. They fitted Eliot fine and still just fit him now, he's actually wearing them as I write this! If I was ordering another pair of pyjamas though, I would go for the next size up, so Eliot could get more wear out of them. He is tall and well built for his age but I do find some clothes aged 2-3 fit him with room to grow. 

After being worn plenty of  times, they have also been thorough many washes and some tumble drys. Despite this, they are still in good condition which I'm impressed with.

 

I definitely recommend checking character.com out, especially if you're after some birthday or (dare I say it?!) Christmas gifts. You can find them on Twitter or Facebook as well as the website.

 

*I was sent the products in return for a review. All opinions are my own.