The Best Lighting for Your Child’s Bedroom | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Inspyer Lighting. 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. 

Your child’s bedroom should be an environment where they feel safe, secure and comfortable; a place where they can play freely, enjoy bedtime stories and sleep soundly. If the room is dark and dingy, it’s wise to find some ways to brighten up the space for them. The décor and lighting plays a huge role in the overall ambiance of the room, so be sure to put some thought into it to make the most of your efforts.

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Ginger Fox Card Games | Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted a selection of Ginger Fox Games 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. 

We have been enjoying lots of Ginger Fox games over the past week. Yule Duel, Bump This, Space Dash and Catch Phrase are simple card based games, perfect for family fun this Christmas.

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The Benefits of Extra-Curricular Activities | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Wetherby Pembridge

With the rise of technology in our homes and in our places of education and work, many parents are concerned about their children’s development. While tech definitely has a place in a child's world and plays an important role in education, it should never be forgotten that children need constant, real-world challenges in order to grow into well-rounded adults. An independent school in New York promotes a broad and balanced curriculum to ensure that children are able to cope with all of the challenges that life brings.

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Monthly Review Round Up | December

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Disclosure - We received the products below 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. 

We love finding out about new products and this month we have received some tasty goodies to try. 

Whenever we go to the supermarket little J loves looking for snack ideas that he can take in to school to enjoy at snack time. Although he has a few favourites he is also keen to try out new foods. 

We first heard about MadeGood when they were available to try for free on a cash back app I use. We headed to ASDA and picked up a box and little J loved them. I did manage to try a bar myself before they disappeared and they were really tasty.

As they are totally allergen free they are safe for kids to take in to school and eat. It's always a worry when choosing snacks in case they get in to the wrong hands at school but with MadeGood there is no need to worry.

So not only are the allergy friendly they're a perfect healthy, tasty and nutritious snack choice.

Available in three flavours - Mixed Berry, Chocolate Chip and Chocolate & Banana, in ASDA stores

 One of little J's favourite snacks is Fruit Bowl Yogurt Flakes. I hadn't realised until recently that there is a wide range of Fruit Bowl snacks and treats.

The range of Fruit Bowl products include Peelers; School Bars; Fruit Flakes; Yogurt Flakes and Yogurt Coated Raisins. Each bag or bar is perfectly packaged for slipping into a school lunchbox or popping into a bag for parents on the go.

Peelers are 100% fruit, six-sticky-stranded snacks that are a delicious and fun way for children to eat fruit.

School Bars are bar-shaped snacks, also made with real fruit.  Each school bar is a super tasty, chewy snack, packed full of fruity flavour that contains only naturally occurring sugars.

Fruit Flakes are soft, chewy fruit pieces made from fruit purées.

Yogurt Flakes come in three flavours and are little fruit pieces created from puréed real fruit pieces, which are then covered in delicious yogurt.

With no added colours or flavours Fruit Bowl’s Yogurt Raisins are a great treat made from juicy raisins covered in tasty yogurt.

Fruit Bowl’s other Yogurt Coated Raisins come in two flavours: Zingy Raspberry and Moreish Mango, a great snack choice for the slightly more grown up little ones in our lives. Juicy raisins are coated in either raspberry or mango flavoured yogurt to give them an extra fruity kick that mum and dad will love too.

Fruit Bowl snacks are available at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-Op, Asda, Waitrose and on Ocado.

Nature's Path Envirokidz have a range of three new kids’ cereals available - Gorilla Munch, Leapin’ Lemurs and Choco Chimps. Each of the cereals is gluten free, dairy free, organic and most importantly - tastes delicious.

The range use fun animal names, interesting facts and drawing activities on-pack to inspire children to care about the world they live in. In fact, 1% of sales are donated to support endangered species worldwide, with each animal featured on an Envirokidz pack representing an endangered or vulnerable species that Nature’s Path helps through its donations.

I'm not a fan of popcorn but the boys love it. Metcalfe’s have created a new popcorn invention called Jumbles.

Available in two fabulous flavour combos, Toffee Apple and Eton Mess.

Metcalfe's Popcorn Jumbles Toffee Apple is toffee and caramel-coated popcorn jumbled up with slices of dried apple.

Eton Mess has strawberry pieces and crunchy meringue shells with strawberry-coated popcorn

The popcorn Jumbles are gluten-free, suitable for vegetarians, high in fibre and made without artificial flavours and colours.

Metcalfe’s Popcorn Jumbles Toffee Apple is just 107kcals per portion and Eton Mess 80kcals per portion.

Exclusively available now at Sainsbury’s

Get in to the festive spirit and indulge with the high protein, low sugar Gingerbread Brownie Bites from Nibble Protein. Packed with goodness and just 1 gram of sugar per bite, these tasty treats will boost your protein and fibre intake to keep you feeling fuller for longer, as well as preventing any sugar highs and lows throughout the day, improving your mood and sustaining your energy levels

Nibble Protein Bites are available online at Amazon.

Michelle

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How To Help Your Child With Their Confidence | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Parsons Green Prep

Having a confident child is probably close to the top of most parent’s lists when they’re asked what attributes they’d like their child to have. Confidence comes naturally for some children, they don’t question their place in the world and forge ahead quite happily without ever becoming anxious or worrying how others might see them. For others it’s not so simple and if your child lacks confidence, you’ll know only too well how worrying it can be. You can help your child by introducing new hobbies but one of the key factors in helping children to grow to their full potential is through security and routine. 

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Christmas Gift Guide | For The Adults

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Disclosure - We were gifted the items for inclusion in our gift guide. 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. 

I find buying for adults really hard. I tend to look online for inspiration and this year I have found some really nice gift ideas so I thought I would share them with you.

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Exploring Different Cultures With Your Child | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Oaks International School.

Educating your children about different cultures is an ideal way to help them learn to respect and celebrate diversity. It will also give them a deeper understanding of the traditions and customs their classmates may follow. This kind of knowledge about various cultures will benefit your child throughout their lifetime. Here are some great tips from Oaks International School on how you can explore other cultures with your child.

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Escape Room - The Game | Review

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Disclosure - We received Escape Room - The Game for the purpose of this review. 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. 

Last year John and I did our very first Escape Room together. We had never done anything like it before and although it was tough we managed to solve all the clues and we broke out just in time. Over the last week we have been playing Escape Room - The Game at home and it's actually been lots of fun and just like the real thing.

Escape Room The Game is all the fun of a real Escape Room with puzzles to solve, clues to find and a countdown timer but in the comfort of your own home.

Ideally the game is designed for 3-5 players aged 16+. John and I played with just the two of us and it was absolutely fine. Once we had read the instructions we both decided to start with the easiest of the three scenarios included which was Prison Break.

Each scenario comes with a back story to give you more information and once you are ready and have laid out all the pieces for this Escape Room you press the chrono decoder. The chrono decoder is your time and as soon as you press to start it will begin to count down. It also doubles as your 'door' to break out. You need to get four keys throughout the game to 'Escape'.

The chronological decoder will alert you at various intervals to remind you that you can use a 'hint' if you wish and we found at the beginning we needed more hints but I think it was just because we needed to get familiar with the game.

Working together as a team is a must when playing Escape Room as the puzzles are tough and really make you think.

We escaped 'Prison Break' with 6 minutes and 22 seconds to spare which I was really impressed with as I felt we had struggled at the beginning and lost a lot of time.

The sense of achievement when you 'escape' is crazy even though you are just playing at home. There is an app that allows you to download free background music to add to the intensity. I think we will definitely do that on the next game.

Escape Room comes with three separate scenarios, Prison Break, Virus and Nuclear Countdown. Each scenario is a little more difficult than the previous. I would definitely recommend starting with Prison Break.

Michelle

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Helping Your Child Resist Peer Pressure | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Surbiton High

Peer pressure is an inevitable part of life, especially during the school years. As a parent, there are things you can do to help your child make sensible choices and resist peer pressure. A prep school in Surrey have put together the following advice to help you.

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Should I Encourage My Child To Go To University? | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with St Catherines

For many children, the end of school can be a confusing time. This is because they have to decide on their next steps and what they want for their future. For parents who are trying to help their children decide whether or not to go to university, here is some useful advice from St Catherine’s School.

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Christmas Gift Guide 2019 | For The Kids

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Disclosure - This post contains gifted items for the inclusion in my gift guide. This post also contains affiliate links - purchasing an item through an affiliate link adds no extra cost to you but might earn me a few pennies. 

If you are looking for some gift inspiration for the kids then check out our 'For The Kids' Christmas Gift Guide. 

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Top Tips for Marketing Your Business at Christmas | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Shout PM

When it comes to marketing your business at Christmas time, there are countless things you could do. Of course, the earlier you start the better, but it’s never too late to get into the Christmas spirit. If you have a store, restaurant or other retail location, don’t be afraid to go all out and decorate the place from head to toe. This will attract more attention and boost your profits. You could also hand out little chocolate Santas to passers-by to make a good impression. In fact, promotional Christmas gifts are a great method for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.

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Giveaway | Win A Cosy Night In

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To celebrate that December will soon be here we are giving you the chance to win a cosy night in. Christmas time for us means Baileys, chocolates and a good Christmas movie. For your chance to win a bottle of baileys, a tub of chocolates and a £10 Netflix voucher enter our giveaway below.

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