Giveaway- "Milkshake! Brand New Besties" DVD **ENDED**

I don't know about you but I'm definitely not looking forward to another 'toy influx' this Christmas, so I'm looking at alternate gifts for the 'fournager'! A tablet, games, books and DVD's are on my current list.

I personally think DVD's are great stocking fillers or presents even if parents aren't dreading the toy overload! They're always handy for those dreary wet days or cold winter evenings and I love the look of the new Milkshake DVD featuring those toddler and pre-school favourites...

 



 

PAW Patrol

Digby Dragon

Bob The Builder

Peppa Pig

Shimmer and Shine.

 Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom

Fireman Sam
Simon

Poppy Cat

Floogals
Olly the Little White Van

Puffin Rock

Noddy, Toyland Detective

Thomas & FriendsTM

 

Fancy winning a copy of Milkshake's Brand New Besties DVD?! I have two to giveaway, enter via rafflecopter!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Alternative Gifts For Toddlers

When I think about all the lovely gifts Eliot has received since he was born, they have mainly been toys, clothes and books. So, I thought I'd do a bit of an alternative gift guide for toddlers this festive season!

 

First up is the Organix Goodies Christmas selection box, suitable for toddlers over 12 months. Eliot and I are both fans of the Organix Goodies range and this is a perfect gift/stocking filler if you want to go for a healthier option of sweet treats. With Organix's 'No Junk promise', you can be confident you are gifting something that is far more healthier than the usual chocolate pressies on offer. All Organix products are organic, have no added salt, processed sugars, colours or flavours.

Not only is this selection box full of snacks free from 'nasties', you can also turn the box into a Goodies Winter farm scene!

It contains...

·         Organix Goodies Organic Raspberry & Apple Fruit Moos

·         Organix Goodies Organic Blackcurrant & Apple Fruit Stars

·         Organix Goodies Organic Mini Gingerbread Men

·         Organix Goodies Organic Alphabet Biscuits

·         Organix Goodies Organic Raspberry & Apple Soft Oaty Bar

The Organix Goodies selection box is priced at £2.99 and available from Asda, Boots and Ocado.

Next up is the Toddler feeding set from OXO Tot. I just think this is a great alternative gift for tots who are usually overloaded with toys. I believe a high quality feeding set is required for little ones learning to self feed and the OXO Tot set speaks volumes.

The set contains...

 ·         Fork & Spoon

·         Plate

 

 ·         Bowl with lid

 

 I've reviewed this set, you can read more about it here.

 

Personally I don't think you can go wrong with a personalised wooden gift and I adore this personalised box set of puzzles from Ace catalogue. I recently came across Ace Catalogue and discovered their range of personalised gifts. I think puzzles are great as they can be educational as well as helping develop fine motor skills. The bright colours are appealing but my personal fave is the hand puzzle. When teaching I've come across many children who are still confused about their right and left, I think it's ideal for helping establish that knowledge from an early age. 

 

Last but by all means not least is the Munchkin Bubble Blower. The reason I've added this to my gift guide is simple. Eliot loves bubbles, Eliot loves bath time. It's a win win product for us! This is definitely on my list to buy once we're all moved and settled. It looks like great fun and of course fantastic for a bit of sensory play.

 

What toddler gifts are on your list?

 

* I have not been paid to feature any of this products. I received a Organix Goodies selection box in return for featuring it and I previously received the OXO Tot set in return for a review.

 

 

The New Granny's Survival Guide Review

After finally finding time to sit and read a book, I'm able to write this review. It was sent by the team at Mumsnet.
I loved the look of the book when I opened the package, its title in pink and a mint green cover with illustrations worked in to the border, very pretty.
The simple 'blurb' at the back says:

'The complete guide for grandparenting for fabulous grans everywhere'

As my mum is most certainly 'fabulous' I was keen to get started and pass it on to her.

There are nine chapters in the book which cover various topics from 'Becoming a gran' to 'Difficult situations'. Throughout the book there are quotes from some 'real grans' of Gransnet sharing their own thoughts and experiences as grandparents. One of the best things about the book are these little insights, often making me smile. One particular favourite was a gran explaining her grandson had bought some homework to do and it happened to be on Venn diagrams, something she didn't have a clue about. I could totally relate to this as teaching has changed so much since I was at school! As a teacher I've often had parents saying 'we didn't learn it like that'.

I think this is a great gift for any gran whether they're due to become a first time gran or not. With mothers day fast approaching it would be ideal.
You can head over to Amazon to pick one of these up.

* I was sent this book for the purpose of a review. All opinions are honest and entirely my own



My fave festive gifts

I know Christmas seems like oh so long ago but I thought I'd join in with the  'Share It Sundays'  linky over on  Oh So Amelia blog . This weeks prompt was 'Favourite Christmas Presents' and I thought I'd share my three favourite gifts. I received many lovely gifts so it was hard to choose...

I was lucky enough to get a new camera from the OH. My previous one had broken so this Nikon Coolpix was at the top of my list! Purple is one of my favourite colours too!

One of the gifts I received from my parents was the Soap & Glory Yule Monty. I love Soap & Glory shower gels and body lotions so I'm looking forward to trying some make up and face wash when I get round to opening this!

As I'm new to parent blogging this was another gift the OH bought me. So far I've only had a chance to read the intro but I'm looking forward to reading more to help improve my blogging!

What were your favourite gifts?

 

                                                                  

'First Christmas' Buys

I was out shopping with my mum and Eliot the other day and popped into the Card Factory to pick up a birthday card. However I got distracted by all the 'First Christmas' items. It's Eliot's first Christmas and our first Christmas as parents so a very special time. I thought I'd share the things I picked up.



Stocking £1.99

Tree decoration99p

Teddy/stocking keepsake £2.49




Socks £1.99

What I personally LOVE about the Card Factory is that they don't rip you off with their products. I have seen many beautiful 'First Christmas' products but as Eliot will only have one 'first Christmas I didn't want to be spending more than double on similar items from other places. Of course the 'Special Little Boy' tree decoration can be used for many years to come, until Eliot grows out of it. All can be kept as keepsakes, his current memory box is rather large and I fear one day I will have to do a cull of the things in there :(

Anyhoo back to the 'buys' I think these would make great little extra pressies to add a finishing touch for babies celebrating their first Christmas!

Have you bought any 'First Christmas' items yet? 

Grange Print Photo Canvas Review

Recently I bought a deal from Wowcher to have a photo montage put on to canvas. I purchased it for Eliot's Nana Mary as her birthday is coming up, and I knew she would love pictures of Eliot. It was a great offer on Wowcher, £7 plus P&P.
So once I got my code through I went to the website and started the process. Firstly you were asked to pick a layout and then upload your pictures. You could choose photos from your computer, facebook, instagram and I think a couple of other sites too. The only downside to this was if you loaded photos from one place and then wanted some from another, it would clear what you had already done. This meant starting all over again! In the end I saved all the photos I wanted to one place and uploaded from there (common sense kicked in).
What I LOVED was that you could zoom in and out on your pics and position them exactly how you wanted them. You were also given the option to change the colouring from what you had your photos in to another e.g. sepia, black & white etc.
Of course it didn't end up being just the £7 plus postage and packaging. I had to choose one option (think it was 'stretch') which cost more to ensure the photos were exactly how I'd positioned them.

Overall I was really impressed with how simple it was to use the site. When it arrived I only wished I'd bought more for our home and for my parents!

With Christmas just around the corner I think these would make great gifts/keepsakes for family or friends. Of course you might want to get it for yourself!