Rubik's Puzzles - The Perfect Stocking Filler

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Disclosure - We were gifted a Rubik's Puzzle Bundle for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post also contains affiliate links.

Growing up I loved my Rubik's Cube. It was one of those toys that I could pick up and play at anytime. I say I loved it but it used to annoy me so much because I never completed more than one side. I remember my friends and I bringing our Rubik's cubes to a friends house and we sat for hours trying to complete at least two sides. One of our friends did it and we all couldn't believe it until we realised she had peeled the coloured squares off her cube and arranged them so it looked like she had done it, she hadn't.

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New Thorntons Liverpool One Store Unveiled | AD

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Disclaimer - This is a paid collaboration. We were invited to Thorntons for the purpose of this post and we were gifted with chocolates to take home.

We visit Liverpool One at least once every few weeks and almost every time we go, we will pop in to Thorntons for an ice cream or a chocolate treat. So, when we were invited to the opening of the newly refurbished store at Liverpool One, we were very excited to have a sneak peek before it opened to the public. It was such a lovely experience and definitely felt like a chocolate lovers dream as we had a tour of the new-look store and everything it offers.

As we walked through the doors, we were greeted by a brilliant display of chocolates in the Thorntons Craftery. The Craftery is the perfect place to create your own personalised box of chocolates. You can decide how many chocolates you’d like and select your favourite flavours to have in your own box. The bespoke chocolate boxes come in three sizes and can contain either four, nine or twelve chocolates.  The chocolate maker at the Craftery will help you to select each individual chocolate and place them in a box which is then hand tied with gift ribbon. The larger boxes make the perfect presents and it's so nice to create a box that is personal to you, or to the person you are buying for, with all their favourite chocolates inside. 

Next we arrived at the ice cream counter which has a wide selection of flavours where you can create your own milkshakes or enjoy a hot chocolate to take away. 

If you are looking to purchase some Christmas treats this year then you will want to check out the Cheeky Elf range. The Cheeky Elf is a cute design which is perfect for not just little ones but all the family. You can now also purchase a personalised Cheeky Elf advent calendar, which is a great way to make the countdown to Christmas truly special!

New for this year is the Thorntons Chocolate Block Library. You can select up to five of your favourite flavoured bars from a range of 12 flavours, which are then placed in a box and gift wrapped with ribbon. It's such a lovely idea and the presentation in the library style box makes it an ideal gift for your loved ones. 

Everyone has a favourite Thorntons chocolate and mine are the Viennese and Alpini. However, there are times when I like to try different flavours and the Classics range is perfect for these occasions. 

All of the Thorntons Classics flavours are found in this one box and you can choose from a Classic selection, Classic Milk or Classic Dark box, giving you a perfect way to explore the wider range and maybe even discover a new favourite!

Once you have browsed the store and purchased your chocolate treats you can take them to be gift wrapped and this was my favourite part of the Thorntons experience. Watching the staff member wrap our chocolate box with such passion and skill was so inspiring. So much care was put into wrapping up our gifts and they looked beautiful afterwards. I can't wait to pass the love on and gift our box to a friend. 

If browsing the store and you need a break, then you can pop into the Thorntons Café towards the back of the store. Here you can enjoy a hot or cold drink, a choice of sandwiches or a delicious cake.

A new addition to the Thorntons Cafe is the Afternoon Tea for two. You will be served a tiered platter of sandwiches, cakes and of course Thorntons Chocolates with your choice of hot drink. I am sure the Afternoon Tea will be a popular choice at the Thorntons café, there’s no need to book in advance so if you are out in town and get the urge to enjoy an Afternoon Tea you can just pop in store.

The newly refurbished Thorntons store is bright, inviting and an amazing experience for chocolate lovers. We’ll definitely be returning soon!

Michelle

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What To Expect At The New Look Inflata Nation, Manchester

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Disclosure - We were invited to Inflata Nation for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Last year we visited Inflata Nation in Manchester and little J loved it, he loved it so much that he has continued to ask when we could go back. Last week we finally managed to return and it was perfect as it has had a refurbishment and is bigger than before with dual level inflatables.

For those that have never been before Inflata Nation is an indoor inflatable arena so is perfect for lots of bouncing fun.

Little J couldn't wait to get bouncing as soon as we walked through the door. Upon arrival you need to complete a waiver form (if you haven't already done it when you booked online). You are given a coloured wristband to show staff that you have bought and paid for a one hour time slot. If you book two hours you will be given a second different coloured wristband. Once checked in you can remove your shoes and place them in a locker and then head for a safety brief.

As soon as that is complete you head to the inflatable arena ready for your session. There are so many features to choose from little J didn't know where to start.

The new arena has lots of super slides to choose from

Two lane slides with a jaw dropping 7m near vertical drop. This was little J's favourite thing. He went on it 25 times. He just wanted to go round and round and round again. He is such a daredevil and the look of excitement as he slid down with his arms crossed on his chest, made me giggle.

Next to the vertical drop slides are dual bumpy slides. Little J didn't quite fancy these but John had a turn and almost flipped upside down.

The incredible tipping slide looked fun so I encouraged John and little J to go on it. It will definitely test your balance and skills as the slide inflates and starts tipping you down.

Inflata Bubbles always makes me giggle as little J bounces from one to another.

Inflata Free fall is a new free fall activity for all thrill seekers. Take a jump off the 6m platform. You’ll be wearing a harness and clipped to a free fall device to help you land safely.

The new ball pit was another favourite of little J's.

There is also and Improved interactive obstacle course for trying out those challenging ninja style moves. Both John and little J tried this out and had lots of fun doing so.

Inflata Duel, the popular and hilarious gladiator podium is back however we were told it was reserved for a party only which was a shame. Little J was desperate to have a turn.

As well as the arena there is a downstairs cafe, party and viewing area plus an upstairs seating/viewing area too.

For more information you can visit Inflata Nation.

We really enjoyed our session and I would definitely recommend choosing a two hour bounce. It will give you time to take a break in between and have a drink as it does get hot in there.

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Michelle

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Portable North Pole Magic Pass | Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted a magic pass for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

Halloween and Bonfire Night have been and gone so I can now start to get excited for Christmas. It's just 8 weeks till the big day and I cannot wait to start all our Christmas shopping and enjoy family days out. We have lots of Christmas traditions and one of them is the boys receiving a video call from Santa through the Portable North Pole App. We have done this since they were little and each year it just gets better and better. This year we are trying out the Portable North Pole Magic Pass.

If you may not have heard of Portable North Pole before, if you haven't its an app thats very easy to download and simple to use.

Once downloaded all you need to do is enter as a parent. You input all your child's details in for example their name, age, school year, country they live in and within moments a personalised video message will be sent to your child. It's truly magical and I can still remember the look on little J's face when he receives a special message each year.

There are lots of different videos to choose from for both kids and adults.

To access the parents corner you will need to pop in your phones passcode. This prevents little ones finding things they shouldn't! They do have access to the children's sections which has lots of different activities.

Santas Advent Calendar is locked at the moment until the 1st of December and we can't wait to click on the doors to see what's behind.

Bedtime stories is a lovely feature which has Santa telling a variety of stories. Choose from 10 stories including The Elf in the Storm, The Sock Drawer or Christmas in England. All stories are less than 4 minutes long.

Talking Elf is a new game that when you say something in your phone the elves will repeat. Lots of fun hearing what you would sound like if you were an elf.

Tree Shaker is a fun game were you have to shake the tree to bring down as many decorations as possible in 30 seconds. Can you beat your high score?

Memory Game is another game which has you flipping and matching the pictures on the cards.

There is also a Santas Voicemail section which is coming soon.

The magic pass is the perfect way to create personalised messages for your little ones. We have been using it for years and its lovely to hear that PNP has delivered over 220 Million messages since it was created in 2008.

The magic pass is currently priced at £12.99 however there will be free videos available closer the the big day so make sure you visit Portable North Pole for more information and updates

Michelle

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Ricky Zoom TV Series | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid post and we were gifted a backpack full of goodies. 

When it comes to having some chill time little J is quite open to watching new things, so over the past week we have been watching a few episodes of Ricky Zoom. Ricky Zoom premiered on Nick JR on October 5th and every Saturday and Sunday you can catch up with the adventures of Ricky and his Bike Buddies.

I can imagine Ricky Zoom will be quite popular, we particularly like the very catchy theme tune and the message that the show conveys to little ones about friendships and teamwork. The adventures Ricky and his buddies get up to are entertaining and the characters are colourful and loveable.

Ricky Zoom lives in a town called Wheelford which is a town designed just for bikes. His parents are both rescue bikes which Ricky aspires to be one day however he still has a lot to learn. for now he enjoys heading to local adventure park, racing and learning new stunts and enjoying time with his bike buddies friends.

Meet Ricky's Friends

Loop is one of our favourite characters. Loop is a dirt bike that enjoys showing off his stunt skills at the local park however he often underestimates his abilities which leaves him getting in to all kinds of trouble. Little J thinks he is hilarious.

Scootio loves her gadgets and is head girl of the gang. She's yellow, cool and has lots of gadgets that can help the Bike Buddies when they get in to trouble. She always has a solution to the problems they may face.

DJ is the heart of the gang, always putting the needs of others before himself. There is nothing that DJ can't build and he loves to put his super toolbox to the test when needed.

So Ricky, Loop, Scootio and DJ are the four bikes that make up the Bike Buddies.

There are lots more characters including

Ricky's Family. Helen and Hank are Ricky's Mum and Dad and Toot Zoom is Ricky's younger sister.

Don and Blip Hoopla are Loop's Dad and older brother.

Mr. Rumbler is a construction and also DJ's Dad.

Not only have we been watching Ricky Zoom but we were sent a backpack filled with goodies to enjoy and we have also been enjoying the free activities on the website too.

Make sure you check out Ricky Zoom every Saturday and Sunday on Nick JR and head to Ricky Zoom for lots of fun.

Michelle

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Ice Age - Scrat's Nutty Adventure Video Game

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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. 

From Outright Games, makers of Dragons Dawn Of New Riders and Paw Patrol On A Roll games comes the latest Ice Age game for Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.  Scrat's Nutty Adventure is available now and we have had the opportunity to try it out on Nintendo Switch.

The game is aimed at Ice Age fans, however from my first hours play through, I am really enjoying the game and I haven't watched many of the later Ice Age films, and wouldn't say I was a fan! Little J, however is a huge fan of Ice Age, and was really looking forward to getting his teeth into this game!

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Learn With Thomas Range

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Disclosure - We were gifted the below items for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post contains affiliate links - purchasing an item through an affiliate link adds no extra cost to you but might earn me a few pennies. 

Around this time of year I am always on the lookout for toy ideas for Christmas. Not just for little J but for my family and friends little ones. Since becoming an Early Years Practitioner I always seem to steer towards toys that have educational features but obviously keeping it fun for the little ones too. I really love the Learn with Thomas range from Trends, not only is it educational with lots of interactive fun, it's Thomas and Friends too which is a character we have loved for many years.

 The learn with Thomas toys are designed for those 18 months up to 4 years old however little J enjoyed playing with these especially the smart tablet and he is 6. I think it depends on the age and stage of your child but if they are a Thomas fan they will love the range no matter what age.

Thomas and Friends Flip and Learn Phone

The Flip and Learn Phone is a great addition to role play with the kids. Flip the phone to open and reveal a very colourful keypad. The number buttons are red, yellow, green, blue and orange which is not only eye catching but great for colour and number recognition. Press a number and it will make a beeping dialling noise. Once you have dialled your number press the green phone button to ring Thomas. He will answer ' Hello 'I'm Thomas, the number 1 blue engine'. Press the red phone button to end the call.

Press the ? button on the phone and Thomas will ask you to ring someone by pressing a certain button. For example Thomas will say 'Shall we ring Emily? Press number 8. This gives the child the chance to find number 8 on the keypad. Again great for number recognition. Thomas will also ask you to find a certain colour button too.

Press * to begin lots of fun sounds and press # to activate the Thomas tune. There is even a camera button which makes it very realistic for the little ones.

Thomas and Friends Smart Tablet

Most children now know how to work an iPad or tablet so they will love the Thomas and Friends Smart Tablet as it has lots of interactive fun.

The Thomas tablet is really colourful and has lots to do and see. Switch the Thomas tablet on my pressing the large yellow button at the bottom of the tablet. Then you can choose what feature you would like to play with.

Press one of the circle 'places' buttons at the top of the pad to learn about places to visit. A great way for children to learn about different destinations.

The number and shape buttons are perfect to help with number and share recognition. Press the button once and it will tell you the number press again to hear the shape.

Move down to the letters that spell out T R A I N. Press a letter once to hear the phonetic pronunciation and press again to hear the name of the letter.

Press the characters to learn their names and if you press again you can hear more about the character.

Next you can learn colours by pressing the trains.

There is a Thomas button at the bottom of the tablet, you press this to activate the quiz. Thomas will ask you a question and you have to find the correct answer and press the button. Lots of fun for little ones and encourages listening and attention too.

I have teamed up with Trends UK to offer one lucky Playdays and Runways reader the chance to win their very own Thomas and Friends Smart Tablet.

Our giveaway may be closed but the Learn With Thomas range is still available to buy on Amazon.

Win Thomas & Friends Smart Tablet

Michelle

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Dough Nab Game Review

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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. 

We love playing games as a family but sometimes John and I like to play games which are aimed at adults. We recently added a new game to our collection, Dough Nab. When I first saw the game I thought it was for younger children however its actually aimed at those aged 8+ and after playing I can understand why.

After reading the rules a few times we decided to just play and see how we got on. Dough Nab comes with three doughnuts, 60 cards, a turn tracker token and a head bakers hat. The aim of the game is to clear all the cards in your hand and also your dough nab pile.

To start the game all you need to do is place the three doughnuts in the middle of the table. Deal out 10 cards face down to each player and place the remainder cards to the side. You then decide who goes first and hand them the turn tracker token.

Each player takes it in turns to turn over their top card and place it face up in front of them. You continue to do this in a clockwise order until there are 3 matching doughnuts on show. If you are the first to spot three matching doughnut cards face up then you must grab the correct coloured doughnut.  You then give your dough nab pile of face up cards to a player of your choice so they have to add them to their own pile.

To make the game more interesting there are special cards. Magic doughnut cards, the crumbs cards,  don’t nab and nab cards.

The magic doughnut cards can be matched with two doughnuts of the same colour, so you would then grab the doughnut that corresponds to the majority. For example if there are two pink doughnuts in the face up piles and you place the magic doughnut card down you would grab the pink doughnut.

If by chance three magic doughnut cards are visible at the same time you must race to grab any coloured doughnut.

The crumbs card is a half eaten doughnut and they are placed in the pack just to confuse you, they don’t do anything at all.

If you place the don't nab card down no one can grab a doughnut until the don't nab card is covered up.

If the nab card is placed down all players must race to grab a doughnut.  You then hand your dough nab pile to a player who was not grabbed a doughnut.

The winner is the player without any cards and they can wear the head bakers hat.

Dough Nab is a really fun fast paced game similar to snap only for adults. As you can see the rules are a little complicated with a lot to remember but once you know how to play you will be a whizz. I will be adapting the game so we can play it with little J who is 6 as he loves games and I'm sure he will love this too.

Michelle

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Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and Balloons

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Disclosure - We we received Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and Balloons for the purpose of this post. We also received an Asda voucher to buy more balloons. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post contains affiliate links - purchasing an item through an affiliate link adds no extra cost to you but might earn me a few pennies. 

If there’s one thing that can keep a child entertained for hours it’s a balloon. Little J absolutely loves balloons and it doesn’t matter whether they are attached to a piece of string or just inflated he will play with it no matter what. Although balloons are perfect for any occasion they do make a great addition to any party. In the past I’ve been stuck blowing up tens of balloons for a birthday party leaving me short of breath, but I know just how much the kids will enjoy them. When we received Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and pack of self sealing Party Balloons I was excited to give it a try.

Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and self sealing party balloons claim they can fill, tie and string 40 balloons in 40 seconds. Now I know this probably sounds too good to be true but I am always happy to try anything and I was actually keen to see if this would actually work.

The party pump pack came with 16 balloons included and we were sent an additional pack of 24 balloons so 40 in total.

When we opened the pump it was really compact which is great when it comes to storing after use. All we needed to do was attach the pump to the mains using the plug included then attach our balloons. You can choose between one stem (8 balloons), two stems (16 balloons) or five stems (40 balloons).  The balloons then inflate, tie and the ribbon is already attached so just ready for you to bunch together or leave them separate. It's up to you.

It was amazing to see all balloons inflate at the same time. I actually can’t wait to see how much time it will save for future parties when it comes to blowing up balloons.

The Bunch O Balloons Party Pump attaches to your mains electricity and it also comes with a set of of additional adaptors which can be used to inflate other items in the home, such as water toys, paddling pools or balls. It also comes with a helium adaptor which you can use to fill your balloons from a helium tank instead if you want to have floaty balloons.

Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and 16 balloons cost just £14.99 from Asda and if you choose to buy additional packs of Party Balloons these cost £9.99 for a pack of 24. To find your nearest stockist check here and if you want any more information then you can head to Bunch O Balloons Party

Our giveaway may be closed but you can still purchase Bunch O Balloons online

Win Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and Balloon Pack ( £15 Asda Voucher)

Michelle

Competition closes on Sunday 20th October 2019

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. 

1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. 

Playdays and Runways will contact the lucky winners within 7 days of the competition closing. 

The winners will be emailed to the email address given at the time of entering. 

The winners will not be announced on my blog or social media until they have agreed that their name can be displayed. 

The winners 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 : £15 Asda Voucher so you can purchase Bunch O Balloons Party Pump and Balloons

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Buyagift - The Perfect Present | Review

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Disclosure - We received a Buyagift experience in return for a feature on our blog. The idea for this post was my own as is all thoughts, opinions and photographs. This post contains affiliate links.

We are those people that when it comes to birthdays or Christmas we never want anything. We really struggle to think of something and in the end we usually ask for a voucher. Over the past few years we have asked experiences vouchers such as Buyagift and for people like us it really is the perfect present. We have selected some of  our favourite experiences that we have enjoyed so far using Buyagift.

Theme Parks

If you know us then you will know that we are quite the thrill seekers and are usually head to theme park at least once a month. This Summer we headed to Drayton Manor which was perfect for both big and little J.

As there is an 11 year age gap it can be tricky sometimes to find somewhere that is suitable for both their age ranges however Drayton Manor had something for everyone.

The park has lots of thrill rides suitable for big J including Shockwave and Maelstrom and little J loved Thomas Land which has lots of rides based around the popular character Thomas The Tank Engine.

The theme park also has a 15 acre zoo which was fun for all of us and a 4D cinema too.

Our voucher included two adults and two children with lunch to Drayton Manor Theme Park

Dining Out

On a recent day out to Southport, John and I ended our day with a trip to Prezzo. Using our voucher was easy we just made a reservation online and we were sent a redemption code to hand to the waiter when we had finished.

On arrival we were handed the Buyagift set menu which has so much to choose from. John started with the Garlic Bread with Mozzarella and I had the Tomato Bruschetta.

For our mains we both went for Spaghetti Bolognese. I assumed as this was a Buyagift menu that the portion size may be smaller but it wasn't.

We both saved some room for desserts. I went for Honey Smash Cheesecake whilst John chose his favourite Tiramisu.

The voucher was for a Three Course Meal With Wine For Two at Prezzo

Days Out

We like to go to London at least once a year to visit the London tourist attractions. One of our favourite attractions is viewing the London Skyline from The Shard.

Once at the top of The Shard you can get a great view of St Pauls Cathedral, The River Thames, The London Eye and if you look closely you can also spot Wembley too.

There was no need to book beforehand for this experience and the voucher we used was View From the Shard - Two Adults and Two Children

Adventure

I managed to keep my feet firmly on the ground for this experience however I did enjoy watching both John and big J making their way through the trees on Go Ape.

Go Ape is a tree top high ropes adventure that has you climbing across obstacles and rope ladders through the trees.

Once they had finished their course they used a zip wire to fly head back to the ground.

This experience was really fun for them both and we did enjoy watching them as they challenged themselves to reach the end. The experience we used was a Tree Top Adventure at Go Ape

These are just a few of our favourite experiences we have done so far but our list is huge and we still have so many more we want to do. There are so many experiences to choose from with Buyagift and if you are unsure on a what experience to choose you can always buy a Smartbox which gives you 1000's of experiences to choose from. If you don't like your chosen experience Buyagift offers free exchanges and once you pick your new experience you can have your voucher sent direct to your email.

For more experience ideas you can visit Buyagift

Michelle

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