Preview - Xbox One X

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It hasn’t been that long since I reviewed the Xbox One S, the 4K slimmed down version of the Xbox One. However, Microsoft have now announced that pre-orders are available for the next version of Xbox, the Xbox One X. Released on 7th November 2017, Microsoft are challenging the PS4 Pro for power. 
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Review and Giveaway - My First Scalextric

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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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Our Sainsbury's Halloween Goodies

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Sainsbury's Halloween Goodies

What do you get if you pop into Sainsbury’s for bread and milk with a 4 year old? A trolley full of Halloween goodies!! Last week was the first time I have seen little J be so excited for Halloween. As we walked through the door of our local Sainsbury’s we were stopped in our tracks by a huge display of Halloween decorations. Little J instantly ran over and started pressing try me buttons on light up lanterns and dancing pumpkins. At one point he had three dancing characters on the floor watching them as they spun around. I do usually buy one or two new decorations each year to add to our collection so I had a silly idea of asking little J to choose two new items . . . he wanted everything. 

We always have a Halloween house party each year but as big J is too old now and little J wasn't old enough we haven't had one for a few years, just a little tea party for the 4 of us. However this year I am looking forward to hosting a Halloween party for some friends. 

Sainsbury's Halloween Goodies
Whilst little J was playing with the Halloween toys I popped in the trolley some partyware. I know that we will have tons in the loft as I buy lots of it every year and never end up using it all but I had to buy a new table cloth, plates, cups and napkins. There were 3 variations but I went for the ghosts design They say Woo and Boo and the tablecloth has lots of eyes on it and is wipe clean. They were priced at £2.50 each for packs of 10 for the cups and plates, napkins are a pack of 20 and the tablecloth is single and cost £3.50. I also bought Halloween crackers which are cute and cost £4 for 8.

Sainsbury's Halloween Goodies
Little J wanted to get some spiders and spider webs which I think are great fun and look so realistic. We have had some similar before and they are very creepy but the web gets everywhere. It comes in a ball with the plastic spiders attached and the idea is you pull the web and the more you pull the more it looks like spooky cobwebs. We always put it over the lights, around the fireplace and up the stairs. These were great value for money and priced at £3 including lots of web and 6 spiders,

Sticking with spiders I bought some door decorations. They hang over your door frame and have glittery webs and hanging spiders. These were priced at £6 each so I bought two as we have two main doors downstairs however now thinking about it I should have bought 4 as I am guessing they will only cover one side of the door. 

Sainsbury's Halloween Goodies
This was my favourite buy and I just fell in love with them when I saw them. Halloween Ghost Bottle String Lights, They are sound activated however there is a try me on them and once I pressed them I knew I had to buy them They play the Alton Towers music. For those that know us will know we are huge fans of Alton Towers so this was a must buy. They were priced at £12 for 10 lights. 

Last but not least little J decided to choose a dancing pumpkin which when pressed spins round and dances to The Monster Mash song. There were others to choose from, including a witch and a skeleton. It was priced at £12 and is really cute. 

So that is just a few of our new additions to our Halloween decorations this year. We still haven't been to Costco yet which we usually do every year and will normally find something to buy so watch this space. 

Have you bought any decorations for Halloween yet?

Michelle 
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Is Taking The Kids To The Pool A Dad Thing To Do?

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Both boys absolutely love the water and we try to take them swimming as often as we can. I probably shouldn't say we, I actually mean John takes them swimming whenever he can. I'm not fond of swimming or water if I'm honest. I don't feel confident at all and if something were to happen I don't think I would react well. I'm not quite sure where this fear has come from but I would hate the boys to pick up on it so I tend to take a step back. Don't get me wrong I will go in from time to time but if I can get out of it I will. 
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Our Favourite Bedtime Stories

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Story time is a huge part of our bedtime routine. It was something we used to do together with big J and now little J too. Once little J has had his bath and is in his PJ's we climb into bed with him, snuggle under the duvet and read a book. Over the years we have collected so many great stories and our favourites do change all the time, but here is our top 6 stories we are reading at the moment. 
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Review - Havex Machines

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For the past week or so we have had lots of fun playing with Havex Machines. We had seen an advert on you tube for them and they looked amazing so little J was excited to receive two to play with. The tag line is Race Transform Battle and that is exactly what they do. The Havex Machine comes with a small micro car very similar to Micro Machines for those old enough to remember. You can play with the car but once you are ready to battle you drive the car into the Havex Machine and it triggers the machine to transform in to a bot ready to battle.
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Review - PJ Masks Headquarters

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PJ Masks Headquarters Playset Box
Little J first heard about PJ Masks quite late on when we stumbled upon it on TV. We had no idea what it was but it was really good. Now, he absolutely loves it and like most boys and girls runs around our living room pretending to be Cat Boy, Owlette and Gecko. He recently was given some PJ Masks figures from his Grandparents which was perfect timing as we received PJ Masks Headquarters to review recently.
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Review - Chad Valley Street Showdown Racing Track & Cars Set

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Chad Valley Street Showdown Racing Track Box
You may have read our recent announcement that we are back on the Chad Valley Play Panel and we are super excited. We love receiving toys and as part of our new role we were very lucky to receive the new Street Showdown Racing Track & Cars Set last week. Little J loves cars so was super excited to try this out.
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We're On The Chad Valley Play Panel and Giveaway

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Chad Valley Play Panel Ambassador Badge
I am so excited and honoured to let you all know that we have been chosen once again to be part of the Chad Valley Play Panel. I mentioned last year just how much we love Chad Valley toys and how Argos and Chad Valley were a huge part of our childhood. I think everyone I know would spend the lead up to Christmas writing out their Christmas lists from toys in the Argos Catalogue. I used to write out the product codes too. Chad Valley have been making toys for over 150 years and I really do hope they continue to make toys for little ones for many more.  

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Disney Mickey Roadsters Super Training Tracks

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Disclosure - We were sent the product below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

We are huge fans of all things Disney and especially Mickey Mouse. Little J absolutely loves the new edition to Disney Junior, Mickey and The Roadster Races. We first heard about it when we were in Walt Disney World and little J wanted to collect the cars. Then when we got home we found it whilst browsing the TV. If you haven't heard of Mickey and The Roadster Races before its very similar to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so you can imagine that its very bright, colourful and features the main Disney Characters. 

Mickey and the roadster racers super tracks
We were recently sent The Mickey Roadsters Super Training Tracks to review and as you can imagine it was a big hit with little J. He loves making tracks and cars so two of his favourite things in one package. 

Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracksThe Mickey Roadster track is simple to set up - even I was able to do it. I followed the instructions and every piece is labelled. I'm not sure if you can see it on the piece above but They all have letters and numbers on to make it easier to build. 

Once the back of the playset was built I started making the tracks. The back has a lift which you use to take the cars up to their starting position. 

Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
Last but not least I added the traffic lights to the starting lines. 

Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracksOnce built you put the two cars in their starting positions and get ready to race. 

Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
The set comes with Mickey and Pete. Mickey comes in his Hot Dogging Hot Rod and Pete in his Super Crusher. Each car can be pushed off the started line by using a flipper type switch. 

There is 100cm of track for the cars to race down.

Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
Mickey and the Roadster Racers super tracks
The winner is the first car to pass the finish line. 

The Disney Mickey Roadsters Super Training Tracks are bright, colourful and perfect for roadster fans. It has 100cm of track which are easy to build with all parts labelled

The set features two cars, however they do work with normal cars too which is an added bonus. 

The Mickey and The Roadster Races Super Training Tracks is available from most good toy stores and online at Amazon.
Michelle
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Review - Thomas & Friends Adventures, Cranky At The Docks

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There has been quite an increase in children’s toys adverts over the last few weeks and we have been receiving Christmas catalogues from local toy shops too. This can only mean one thing, Christmas is coming. I was unsure what little J would be asking for this year as he just loves everything but I know one thing that will definitely be on his Christmas list and that is a Thomas Train Set. He loves Thomas & Friends and was thrilled when he received Thomas & Friends Adventures, Cranky At The Docks. We have had lots of fun playing with the play set and he’s also managed to merge it with other Adventures sets he has too.
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Review - Ticket To Ride, First Journey

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Playing games is something we have always enjoyed and over the years our board game collection has grew and grew until now we can only have a section downstairs and the majority have gone in the loft until we are ready to play. As big J got older our games become more for adults as he was able to understand more complicated games and had a longer attention span. One of our favourite games is Ticket to Ride. The game is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. As part of the Board Game Club, last month we received Ticket To Ride, First Journey which is aimed at younger players. 
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Little Green Men Battle Pack 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. 

For the past few weeks we have having lots of fun and battles playing with Awesome Little Green Men. Little J watches children opening 'blind bags' all the time on you tube but these Little Green Men combine blind box opening with actual gameplay and is lots of fun. 

Little Green Men Battle pack
We received The Awesome Little Green Battle Pack and two mystery boxes. The battle pack also contains 2 mystery soldiers as well as three green men and 3 blue men. Three of the six included were vehicles which little J loved. 

Little Green Men Battle pack

Little Green Men First thing to do was to open the mystery boxes. Little J got 2 green men so his green army outweighed the blue. 

Each Little Green Man comes with his own dog tag which you can wear.

Little Green Men

Little Green Men

Once the blind boxes are open its time to play. 

There are official game rules which come in the battle pack or can be downloaded online however little J made his own army rules up.  For those that want to play the proper game here are the game play rules.

SET UP
1- Pick Your Armies. Add up the power points printed on the bottom of each soldier. Each army must have the same total power points.

2 - Next, each player selects a prized possession of equal size to guard as his or her goal.

3 - Your battlefield should be a smooth, long surface about 6 feet in length, so a long table or the floor are perfect. Set up both armies at opposite ends of the battlefield. No soldier should be more than one soldier length in front of their goal.

HOW TO PLAY

The youngest player goes first. Each turn, a player takes four actions. Choose to march or attack.

 To attack, place an "Attack" Slider on either side of your attacking soldier. Aim at an enemy and flick the Slider. If you miss, that's one action. If you hit the enemy, that enemy takes Hit Points (HP) equal to the Attack Strength of the attacking soldier. 

 Each soldier has a different total amount of Hit Points (HP) they can take. Once a soldier reaches his or her total Hit Points, the opposing army captures that soldier. Keep track of Hit Points by putting one of the bandage stickers on the soldier for each hit they take. 

Your mission is to capture your opponent’s goal. Clear the soldiers in front and then attempt 5 to hit his or her goal with your “March” Slider without hitting an enemy soldier in the process.

If the Slider cleanly hits the goal, you’ve marched in and captured the prized possession.You win.

What We Loved

Great idea and the figures are really good quality. 

Little J loves the vehicles which we also use when playing with cars and hot wheels tracks. 

For those that have children that are obsessed with the 'bling bag' phenomenon then these will be perfect.

What Could Improve

Nothing, we love them and will be adding to our collection very soon.

The Awesome Little Green Men battle pack (RRP £24.99) and Mystery boxes are available to buy in Smyths Toys or online at Amazon

Michelle 
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