Crate Creatures Surprise Sizzle ·
review ·
Toys and Games
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Review | Crate Creatures Surprise Sizzle
review
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Development ·
Parenting ·
Peppa Pig ·
PeppaPigWIGU ·
review ·
When I Grow Up
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Parenting | When I Grow Up I Want To Be . . .
Little J has now graduated from reception and is ready to move on to year one in September. Time certainly has flown this year and it doesn't feel like a year ago that we were preparing for the start of his school journey. The last term was all about their ambitions and encouraging the children to 'Reach for The Stars'. They were told to never give up on their dreams and that anything is possible if you believe it. It was a lovely way to end the year and in their graduation ceremony we got to see what each child wants to be when they are older.
Group Accommodation ·
review ·
Simgill Farm Cottages ·
Travel
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Our Stay At Simgill Farm Cottages
We have just returned from a lovely family weekend break to the Lake District. We love visiting the Lakes and have previously stayed in a little Bed and Breakfast, Caravan Park or Hotel. This break was a little different as there were 14 of us in total so we needed to book somewhere big enough for us all. After a lot of searching the internet my brother in law found Simgill Farm. It's described as luxury self catering accommodation with properties that sleep up to 18 people.
We booked Barn Court which is a detached 5 bedroom cottage that can sleep up to 14 people plus room for cots for children under 2. We have never stayed in anything like this before so we weren't sure what to expect however after reading the reviews on TripAdvisor and browsing some photographs we were really looking forward to it.
Check in time is from 3pm however we were stuck in traffic on the journey then popped in to Kendal for some dinner first so we didn't arrive till almost 8pm. We headed to the owners house who greeted us and came across opened the cottage up, and gave us a brief tour.
Downstairs there was a large living area which had three sofas, tv, video and dvd player and lots of cushions and beanbags.
There was a bedroom which had one double bed and two single beds. This bedroom had a small wardrobe and 8 decent sized drawers.
Across the hall from the bedroom was a small bathroom with toilet, sink and shower cubicle.
Just along the hall was the kitchen. It was fully equipped with a huge dining room table. It wasn't big enough for all of us to sit around at the same time due to highchairs however there were extra chairs and breakfast bar stools available.
The kitchen had everything you needed from a self catering cottage. It had a huge double oven, microwave, kettle, toaster and lots of cutlery, glasses, plates etc.
There was also a fridge, dishwasher and washer/dryer.
Outside there was a huge garden area, hammock with stand, BBQ and a hot tub which is available to use at an extra cost. I am sad to say that we didn't use the outside area at all we were too busy exploring the Lakes.
Upstairs there were 4 bedrooms. A Master bedroom with ensuite and a single bed.
Two double rooms and the last bedroom had a double bed and a single bed. There was also a bathroom upstairs too.
Simgill had provided us with two travel cots, two highchairs and stair gates were fitted, so really child friendly and saved some space in the cars travelling up.
Simgill Farm is home to over 100 Alpacas and we were lucky enough to book a time slot to go up to the fields and see them.
This was free of charge and I would definitely recommend it. The owners were very friendly and answered any questions we had about the Alpacas and also gave us buckets of food so we could feed them.
Travelling in a group of 14 including 4 small children I was a bit unsure whether it would be big enough and whether we would all have enough space as I know we were all bringing toys etc but it honestly was. It never felt overcrowded and I know the four of us felt like we had lots of space and could head to our bedroom should we need a quick rest.
Big J shared a room with his cousin even though our room had two single beds so it was just the three of us. The extra bed was used as a place to store things so that did come in handy.
Like I said earlier we have never been to this type of accommodation before so had no idea what to bring so we did pack everything we could think of however there are a few things we didn't need.
Whats Included.
Towels - There were plenty of bath towels and hand towels on each bed.
Toilet Rolls - We only used the downstairs bathroom as our bedroom was downstairs and there were two rolls provided. I did top this up with our own toilet rolls as this bathroom probably got used the most by everyone.
Hand Soap - there was a small bar of soap provided and small toiletries.
Tea/Coffee - Again a small selection of tea/coffee is provided (similar to those found in hotel rooms)
Entertainment - There were a selection of videos and dvds in the living area, playing cards and also some family board games such as scrabble.
Wifi - Free and was very good considering we were in the Lake District
Highchairs/Cots - available on request.
A visit to the Alpacas - Definitely worth a visit. The kids loved it.
What To Bring
Food/Drink - It's self catering so unless you want to eat out then I would recommend bringing some food especially breakfast/snacks. There is a Morrisons and Aldi about a 10/15 minute drive away.
Hairdryer - I brought my own anyway but I didn't spot one in the rooms.
Iron - there was a board however couldn't find an iron.
Kitchen Roll - I was lost without this because I use it for everything.
Kitchen Foil - The trays in the oven where already lined but I brought extra and it was used.
Overall we had a great stay at Simgill Farm, I think we all wished it was for longer. It's a great base for visiting the Lakes. Kendal is about a 20 minute drive away, Bowness/Windermere/Ambleside is about 30/40 minutes and Coniston was approx 1 hour away.
Departure time was 10am so it was nice to get up and enjoy breakfast before we left. When it was time to go the owners popped over to say goodbye and also to start cleaning for the next guests who were arriving that afternoon. It does seem very popular so booking in advance is definitely recommended.
Would we visit again? Definitely if we could get a big group together again. Like I said earlier I wished we had booked for longer as there is so much to see and do in the Lakes, an extra few days would have been great.
If you found this post useful there are a few ways that you could say thanks and support Playdays and Runways.
Have you stayed in a large accommodation venue? Leave us a comment below and let us know about your visit.
Visit our Out and About Section for lots of travel posts or check out Snowdonia View
Share This Post With Friends Who May Also Find It Useful.
Michelle
Hello Canvas ·
Home and Garden ·
Home Makeover ·
Photo Printing ·
review
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The Finishing Touches Thanks To Hello Canvas
Closed Giveaways ·
Home and Garden ·
review ·
shopping ·
Trolley Bags
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Trolley Bags Xtra and Cool Bag Review and Giveaway
Al Fresco ·
Dining Out ·
Eating Out ·
Food and Drink ·
Prezzo ·
review ·
Summer
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Review | The Summer Set Menu at Prezzo
Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated.
Even though the boys haven't finished for Summer yet I am already thinking about the 'Back To School Essentials List' for September. I like to be prepared and organised and there is nothing worse than back to school shopping in the Summer holidays. The boys just want to be out with their friends or playing in the garden in the sunshine, they certainly don't want me dragging them around town trying on uniform and school shoes. So with my back to school preparation in mind I was really excited to be offered the chance to review My Nametags. My Nametags are stick or iron on labels that can be used on almost anything.
I have always labelled the boys uniforms, packed lunch boxes, bags etc, but you will be amazed how many parents don't. You may not feel the need to label but I have always done it and these are my two main reasons why.
The obvious one is to ensure your child can identify their own belongings.
The second reason is I know how hard it is when you are a teacher trying to find a child's belonging when their is no labels. Imagine at the end of the day with a mountain of school jumpers all piled up and trying to figure which jumper belongs to who. Its a nightmare.
When it came to choosing a label for little J I knew instantly he would love Mr Men. He is crazy for Mr Men at the moment so I went with Mr Strong.
The order process was very simple. I chose my design (there are so many to choose from) and clicked order now.
A screen will load which will ask you to enter what you would like on the label. This would be your child's name. There is space for surname too.
As you type you can see what your label will look like on the screen.
You then are prompted with the choice of iron or stick on.
Once completed your order is posted to you within one week.
My Nametags are not just for kids I have loved labelling all my work stuff.
Our giveaway may be closed but you can still enjoy My Nametags by purchasing online or on Amazon.
My Nametags
Michelle
Competition closes on Sunday 1st July 2018.
Upon entering this giveaway you agree that should you be the winner your details can be passed to the promoter to arrange fulfilment of your prize.
All other entrants details will not be used in any way. They will not be added to a database, mailing list or passed to the promoter.
The Winners name will not be disclosed on my page. All winners of Playdays and Runways giveaways will have the option to share on social media that they were the winner. Should they wish to disclose they can tag us and only then will we will RT or Share with our followers.
Entrants must have a valid UK address.
Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified.
All entrants and entries are checked and verified.
2 lucky winners will be chosen at random by the Gleam application.
Playdays and Runways will contact the lucky winner within 3 days of the competition closing.
The winner must respond within 28 days. If no response a new winner will be chosen.
This prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative.
The Prize : My Nametags of your choice.
Aldi ·
Brita Fill and Go XL ·
Budweiser ·
Buyagift ·
Davidoff ·
Dobell ·
Elizabeth Shaw ·
Father's Day ·
gift guide ·
Nespresso ·
review ·
Wilkinson Sword ·
Wilko ·
World Cup Ball
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Father's Day Gift Guide 2018
Father's Day is just around the corner so I thought I would share with you some gift ideas. I always struggle buying for Father's day as my dad says he either doesn't want anything or he says get me anything. So I have selected a few of our top picks this Father's Day and I think I have covered ideas for all types of dad's, father in laws or for someone that is like a dad to you.
Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post may contains affiliate links.
As you may already know we are a Board Game Club blogger and each month we receive a game to play. We received something a little different this month, Rory's Story Cubes. I have never heard of them before so we were all eager to try them out. The idea behind the story cubes is you create a story using all nine icons shown on the cubes that you roll out in front of you.
The nine cubes have various images on and once rolled out you let your imagination take over. They come in a handy pocket sized box that closes with a magnet so you could take them anywhere.
At first I was unsure how or when we would use something like this as it's not actually a game. There is no board, rules or winner at the end. I did check the website for inspiration on how or when we could play this and it gave me lots of ideas.
Fun storytelling for family and friends, create magical moments with all generations, especially useful for the holidays.
Promoting literacy and language in the classroom – used and endorsed by educators across the globe.
Teaching Foreign Languages – endorsed by TEFL educators.
Creative Writing aid – Used for improving creative writing skills and as a tool when hitting the dreaded writer’s block.
Background story generator in role playing games – Create background stories and character scenarios for your next role playing game.
Ice breaker – At a party or in a work meeting, break the ice by rolling the dice and create shared experiences.
Idea generation and problem solving.
Agile coaching.
Bedtime stories – Create unique stories and adventures with your little ones every night. Never run out of ideas.
Improves social connections – Encourages, empathy and self esteem through storytelling.
It's amazing how a package so small and simple can be used in so many ways. We have used ours at bedtime to create a story for little J. It's been so much fun because you can take the story anywhere and create as much fun and silliness as you want. Each night has been a different story and last night little J created his own.
What We Loved
Handy sized cubes that are portable.
Lots of different uses.
Allows us to create unique stories each night at bedtime.
What Could Improve
Nothing, we love them
You can read more about Rory's Story Cubes and check out the full range available. Rory's Story Cubes retail at £9.99 and can be purchased online and on Amazon
Michelle
Chad Valley ·
Chad Valley Play Panel ·
Chad Valley Post Office ·
review ·
Toys and Games
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Chad Valley Post Office Review
Disclosure - We were sent the product below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own unless stated. This post may contain affiliate links.
One of my favourite toys when I was younger was my Post Office play set. I would play with it for hours and I remember picking up leaflets and paying in slips when we visited the post office so I could add them to my play set. When Chad Valley sent us their Post Office Play Set it brought back so many memories. I knew little J would love it as he loves anything like this especially as it has lots of accessories.
The play set looks like a post box but when opened it turns in to a post office counter. It comes with lots of different accessories including money, stamps and parcels.
Little J loves adding stamps to the letters, postcards and parcels. We have used the money to help with little J's basic addition and subtraction and it has really helped. He likes to work out the correct amount of change he needs to give us.
The post office also comes with driving license, tax disc and savings book. We received a stamper in our post office however there was no ink pad so we had to improvise and use paint. I'm not sure whether it was supposed to come come with an ink pad or not as I couldn't find an exact list of contents in the box.
As a play set it is quite sturdy but it can be quite tricky to unfold and set up, it definitely needs an adults help.
What We Loved
Folds away in to a post box. Easy to store and carry.
Lots of accessories.
Perfect role play toy and great for a little ones imagination.
What Could Improve
No ink pad.
Little J has really enjoyed playing with the Post Office play set and I know this will be something he will continue to play with. I will add a few extra accessories to add the fun including some extra money.
The Chad Valley Post is available to buy at Argos and Amazon and is currently priced £16.99
Michelle
Air Pump Loader ·
Chad Valley ·
Chad Valley Play Panel ·
review ·
Toys and Games
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Review - Chad Valley Air Pump Loader
As you may already know we are part of the Chad Valley Play Panel and this month we have been sent the Chad Valley Air Pump Loader to try out. We have said it before but we are huge fans of Chad Valley and have been since we were children so for us to be able to showcase their toys on our blog is a huge honour for us. Even before we were on the panel are home was full of Chad Valley toys and I know it will continue to be like that until little J is too old for them.
Capturing Memories ·
Framed Print ·
Hello Canvas ·
Home and Garden ·
review
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Hello Canvas - A Memory Captured
I haven't mentioned it on my blog as I just haven't got round to writing about it yet but back in April we visited Walt Disney World in Florida. It was a trip of a lifetime and something I know none of us will ever forget. I am planning on writing about our adventures and showing you all our photographs but for now you can have a sneak peek of one of our favourites as Hello Canvas have created a beautiful framed print for us to treasure forever.
Closed Giveaways ·
Drumond Park ·
review ·
Shark Bite ·
Toys and Games
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Review - Shark Bite by Drumond Park
We have a new addition to our every growing games collection this month and it's Shark Bite by Drumond Park. I've mentioned it before but even though he is only 4, little J absolutely loves playing games and playing them regularly as a family as really helped with learning to share and take turns. Little J loves 'fun' games and Shark Bite really is just that. It's a game where you have to go fishing in a shark's mouth before he snaps it shut.
All Things Disney ·
Closed Giveaways ·
Disney Guess the Film ·
Jumbo ·
review ·
Toys and Games
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Disney Guess The Film
Disclosure - We were gifted Disney Guess The Film by Jumbo for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.
Disney Guess The Film game will test your knowledge of Disney movies by showing you just a small part of a bigger image. To win a token you must get correctly, if you don't you are frozen out the round. Disney fun for all the family.
Setup for the game is really easy as are the rules. Guess the Film is similar to Guess Who however you are guessing a film not a person.
How To Play
Shuffle all the movie image sheets that you’re going to play with and put them in the holder at the back of the screen with the coloured strip facing upwards.
The sheets are divided into three levels of difficulty
Green - Easy
Bue - Medium
Red - Advanced level
When playing you take turns rolling the dice and open the window with the corresponding colour to the die.
Each coloured window reveals part of an image from the Disney film, and it’s down to you to guess which film the image is from. You must shout the film name out loud and the turn the screen towards you to check if you are correct. If you do guess correctly, you win a Mickey token. If you guessed incorrectly then you are frozen out of this round. If you don't want to guess you can just close the window and play will continue which the next player.
If you roll the dice and reveal a star you can open any coloured window of your choice.
The first player to earn four Mickey tokens wins the game.
Depending how good your knowledge is of Disney films each game can last up to approx 20 minutes. You can play with as little as 2 players and it's recommend for ages 4+.
Disney Guess The Film really does test your knowledge of Disney and is a fun game for all the family.
Unfortunately our giveaway is now closed however you can still enjoy Disney's Guess the Film by heading to Amazon to buy
I am always so grateful for any support I receive on my blog and social channels. If you did find this post useful there are a few ways that you could say thanks and support Playdays and Runways.
Have you played this game? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you thought.
Share This Post With Friends Who May Also Find It Useful.
Michelle
Hot Wheels ·
Mattel ·
review ·
Roto Revolution ·
Toys and Games
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Review - Hot Wheels Roto Revolution
Hot Wheels has been popular with us since Big J was small. We have amassed a decent sized collection of Hot Wheels cars, and Little J loves each and every one of them . We were asked to review the Hot Wheels Roto Revolution Track Set, and Little J was so excited to try it out.
Oregon Scientific ·
review ·
Technology ·
Toys and Games
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Oregon Scientific Smart Globe Adventure
Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links.
I'm not sure who was more excited about receiving the Oregon Smart Globe Adventure a few weeks ago, little J or John and I. I absolutely love anything to do with maps, countries, capitals but have never actually owned a globe so this was very exciting. The Smart Globe Adventure is an interactive globe giving you the chance to explore and learn about 220 countries, interesting facts, play games and even unlock a 3D Augmented Reality feature using an app on your smartphone.
We explained to little J that The Smart Globe was a map of the world and the first thing he wanted to do was spin it. It is so much fun spinning a globe around, it does spin left and right but it does not spin up or down. This can be annoying if you are playing a game and it asks you to find Antarctica and the pen doesn't quite reach it.
Once he had finished spinning he asked where we are on the globe. We showed him the UK and he used his smart pen to touch it. It played a little song but to find out more about the UK or other countries we would have to go to the base of the globe and choose an activity. If you leave the globe idle for a few moments it will ask you what you would like to do.
First we chose a 'find' game. You can choose from Continents, Capitals, Countries and our personal favourite The Ultimate Challenge.
Once you have chosen what 'find' game you would like to play the Smart Globe will ask you to find and touch as many of your chosen topic as possible. It does tell you what to look for and plays music while you try and find it, the music will go faster as your time starts to run out.
The Ultimate Challenge is our favourite and is a time challenge were you have to find as many places as you can in the time provided. We are very competitive when it comes to this game as so far we can't seem to get more than 10 on Level 1 however we are still trying.
Next you can choose a 'touch' activity. There are lots to choose from including Continent, Name, Capital, Population, Area, Currency, History, Features, Geography, Language, Highest Point, National Anthem and Amazing Facts.
The touch activities are jam packed with lots of different facts about the countries you touch with your smart pen. Our personal favourite is listening to all the different National Anthems from around the world.
Within the 'touch' activities there are 6 that can also be played in French.
Next you can choose the 'compare' activities. You choose 2 different countries and the Smart Globe will compare the area or the population of both countries.
On the base of the globe there is a more detailed map of Britain and Ireland. Here you can do all the activities that are mentioned above but for cities too.
As we live in Liverpool it was nice to hear some facts about where we live.
The base also has a pause, repeat and volume button which you will need as it is very loud.
What We Loved
Great Quality
Makes learning fun with lots of games and fun facts
220 countries to explore
6 French activities
Detailed map of Britain and Ireland which allows us to find out more about cities we are close to.
Love hearing little J playing with the Globe and then shouting to us 'Where's Japan Mum?"
Will be a perfect learning tool throughout Little J's school journey.
What Could Improve
There are some places, mainly on the bottom of the globe which the pen doesn't quite reach and it takes quite a while for the globe to detect the pen.
When playing some of the games you have to be quite precise with pen, this can get a little frustrating especially if you are playing the Ultimate Challenge and trying to beat your score.
At the moment we haven't quite grasped the AR side of the globe yet as there are just so many features to get to grips with we are just having fun exploring at the moment.
Little J has just started reception so I know from a learning point of view the globe will be a perfect tool throughout his school journey. for now we are enjoying finding out facts, exploring the globe and playing games.
The Smart Globe Adventure is recommended for age 5+ however little J is still only 4 and he really enjoys it.
You can find out more about the Smart Globe Adventure by visiting Oregon Scientific Store and it is also available to buy over on Amazon
Michelle
Closed Giveaways ·
Hornby ·
My First Scalextric ·
review ·
Scalextric ·
Toys and Games
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Review and Giveaway - My First Scalextric
Scalextric has always been one of favourite toys, from growing up to today, there has always been at least one set around, even if it’s been stored in the loft until one of the little ones has been old enough to play. I think I was more excited than anyone when ‘My First Scalextric’ was due to arrive for Little J to try. The box is quite compact and reminded me initially of the micro sets. We have had a couple of these over the years, transformers being the last I remember. Included in the box are a simple track set up, controllers, adapter and 2 reasonably sized BMW cars.
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