Sproutword Word Strategy Game Giveaway

We were sent a copy of Sproutword last month for review and I am delighted to say that the creators have offered one of my readers a copy as a Christmas Present.

Suitable for 2-4 players, Sproutword is a letter tile game which is entirely plastic-free and utterly beautiful. The tiles are a joy to play with, and the gameplay is so much more than 'make a word'. In this game you can use everyone else's letters and change words, and winning is all about having control of the longest word in play - the Sproutword.

Sproutword is a brand new game and doesn't yet have an official age recommendation, but as long as you are a fairly confident reader then you'll be able to join in, and with luck can even win. You'll have a more fierce and competitive game with players aged around 10+.

Inside the box are 4 cloth drawstring bags containing the wooden letter tiles (made from sustainable wood in Devon and Dorset). Each player chooses a colour, takes out a number of tiles and places them face up on the table before play begins.

Pile O Stockingfillers Christmas Present Giveaway

Tadah!!!! It's time for the Christmas Present Giveaway that I know some people at least enjoy the most. The lovingly named 'Pile O Stockingfillers'. This is where I put together an eclectic mix of the stuff I've collected over the year and give it all away to one lucky reader.

This year I didn't go to as many conferences, and the pile of actual stockingfillers wasn't as big as in previous years, so I've had to top it up with a few bigger bits, including a couple who I've also included in my Christmas Present Giveaways already...

There's this Autumn's big family release - Toy Story 4 on DVD. I have another chance for you to win this here - and I'll also include a couple of paper masks which will be great next Halloween....

There are a few books I ended up with extra copies of, including a Hannah The Spanner book given by the author, Stuart Simmonds, and 2 more of you can win a copy of this beautifully illustrated story book here.

Christmas Present Giveaway: Randomise Party Game (Age 8+) From Gamely Games (sent for review)

Randomise is a game for 4 or more players in 2 teams of 2-20 players aged 8 or over, and we have a copy to give away courtesy of Gamely Games, who also sent us a copy to review. This is a word guessing game where your teammates have to guess the entire sentence you are trying to communicate within the time limit - and you can choose to draw, act or describe, whichever takes your fancy!

Inside the box are two piles of cards and the instructions. Everything is minimal, with barely any plastic, and the game can be sent through regular post.

Christmas Giveaway: Science Mad Chemistry Lab (age 10+) Sent for Review

The Science Mad Chemistry Lab is a proper Chemistry set designed for children who are ready to move on from volcanoes and start looking deeper into why their world works as it does. Trends UK have sent us this set to review with my 11 year old, and my 9 1/2 year old joined in with some extra close supervision...

We are a household who love science and my boys have grown up experimenting. I'll start by saying this is an awesome Chemistry set. The price is brilliant for the kit included and the experiments are genuinely age 10+ and incredibly exciting for my boys. Here's why we think that...

Inside the cardboard box is a plastic insert holding all of your equipment. There are over 20 pieces of equipment, including several made from real glass - the spirit burner, stirring rod, a glass tube, 2 test tubes, beaker and conical flask - so we've opted to keep ours in the box between use for safety.

Christmas Giveaway: Learning Resources Beaker Creatures Alien Experiment Lab (age 5+)

I love Learning Resources toys. They introduce younger children to all kinds of skills that they'll use for their lifetime, while playing with some of the best toys around. I'm delighted that they are giving one of my readers a Beaker Creatures Alien Experiment Lab as a Christmas present.

Recommended for children aged around 5-9, the Alien Experiment Lab includes over 20 different experiments for your young scientists to try...

There are 18 pieces in your set, including a Slime Station and Slime Extruder, Creature Mold and Pod Maker. There are also 2 collectible little Beaker Creatures Aliens hidden inside Reactor Pods. There is loads to excite any youngster.

Christmas Giveaway: Jumbo Games Puzzles Bundle (sent for review)

On Thursday this week (7th November) at 4.30pm I'll be joining in with Jumbo Games for a big Puzzle Party on Twitter. The theme is "A Night In With Jumbo" and it's a perfect fit for these dark Winter evenings.

I've been sent 4 x 1000 piece puzzles, a sorter and a ginormous puzzle board for review, and Jumbo Games will be giving away the same bundle during the party. Very importantly though, they'll also give away this same bundle to one of my readers as a Christmas Present Giveaway...

Included in the bundle are:

1x Wasgij Christmas 15 ‘Santa’s Unexpected Delivery!’ 2x1000pc Jigsaw Puzzle
1x Falcon de Luxe ‘Santa’s Special Delivery’ 2x1000pc Jigsaw Puzzle
1x Puzzle Mates Portapuzzle Board
1x Puzzle Mates Puzzle Sorting Trays

Christmas Giveaway: Big Potato Party Games Bundle! (Age 10+)

We love Big Potato Games. Perfect for a household where the kids are getting older, all of their games have easy to learn rules, instant play and make you laugh. This bundle has 3 of our favourites - 20 Second Showdown, What Came First? and my personal favourite, the gloriously packaged Blockbuster Movie Game.

Big Potato have sent us a lot of games for review over the past couple of years, and these are 3 excellent choices which we've all really enjoyed, so I'm delighted that they have offered to send this bundle of 3 games (worth almost £65rrp) as a Christmas Present to one of my readers.

Christmas Present Giveaway: HUGE Tactic Family Games Bundle!

I am ecstatic to have this awesome Christmas Present giveaway courtesy of Tactic, who also sent us these games for review over the last couple of months. One reader wins the entire bundle: Original Alias, UK Alias, Story Chest and The Great Tour (European Cities).

Together this bundle of Tactic family games is worth over £100 at recommended prices, we've reviewed and loved all 4 of these games. This is without doubt one of my favourite giveaways I've ever run.

Original Alias is an instant play, easy to learn word guessing game suitable for 4 or more players aged around 10+, in teams of 2 or more.

Christmas Giveaway: Angry Birds Island Challenge Slot Car Racing (Age 6+) Sent by Tobar

Maisto are a very well-known manufacturer of all kinds of small scale wheeled toys and collectibles. Die cast models, remote control vehicles and fantastic car tracks are just some of the Maisto items we've owned over the years and last month Tobar sent us their Angry Birds Island Challenge Slot Car Racing Set to review...

Everything arrives in a sturdy box and there is very little plastic packaging - nice one. You will need a whopping 8 x AA batteries to power your track, plus a small Phillips screwdriver, but it is Christmas morning-friendly otherwise and you can be playing in 5 minutes.

Inside the box you have 2.27m of track as 1 straight, 6 small curves, 4 large curves and battery section, plus 2 controllers, 2 vehicles, 6 adjustable track supports and 2 pieces of guard rail plus fastenings. There are also spare Guide Keel's for the underside of the cars (the bit that drops into the slot and keeps them on the track).

Christmas Giveaway: My Personalised Case £50 Voucher

A couple of months ago My Personalised Case sent me a new tough phone case and bluetooth speaker to review. Both are personalised with my own photos and I am impressed with the quality, printing and reliability of the products, so I'm very happy to say that they've offered one of my readers a £50 voucher to order something for yourself - or someone else...

The My Personalised Case website is very intuitive, and easy to navigate and use, with lots of familiar options and effects available. Ordering took about 5 minutes including uploading photos.

My Tough Phone Case is in 2 parts with a rubbery lining and tough outer shell. It has been on my phone since it arrived and has been dropped several times, including a terrifying fall all the way down the stairs. It's survived so far!

Christmas Present Giveaway: Reveal Family Board Game (age 8+)

Reveal is a game for 2 to 4 players or teams aged 8+, and we were first sent a copy to review by the developer when it was still being tested a couple of years ago. Since then it has gone from strength to strength and I'm delighted to have a copy to give away to one of my readers.

This is the game with no questions, just answers! There's no set up time, play instantly. Inside the box are 3 packs of cards in 3 topics - TV, Movies and Music. Players have to guess the answer by revealing as few letters as possible.

Christmas Present Giveaway! Jibbergiggle Family Game (age 8+) from Gamely Games

Jibbergiggle is a 3-8 player family card game for anyone aged 8+, and trust me, it's far more fun than you might at first realise. Players take a Jibbergiggle Sound Card and a Scenario Card, and try to get the other players to guess your scenario - when the only sounds you can make are the nonsense words written on your Sound Card....

Gamely Games sent us a copy earlier this year, so we did our review of Jibbergiggle back in August, and I really liked the simplicity. You can play instantly and there are no tricky rules to learn.

I was pleasantly surprised in that it isn't as 'daft' as it first sounds, it really is a skill game and you improve with play. It encourages imagination, concentration and focus - you really need to pay attention to the acting player if you want to be the one to guess correctly!

Christmas Giveaway: Hannah The Spanner Children's Book (sent for review)

We were sent Hannah The Spanner And The Trip To The Moon for review and the publishers are offering one of my readers a copy for themselves in my Christmas Present Giveaways. A big, bold children's book set in a world where just about anything seems possible, it's a great tale for independent readers or for reading together...

....and it's definitely not the sort of thing that normally happens on a Thursday.

Hannah is an ordinary schoolgirl living in a town like yours, but she can't help having adventures. What starts out as a normal morning at school becomes very interesting when her class go on a trip to visit local inventor, Professor Groves.

Christmas Giveaway: One Dear World Multicultural Doll And Clothing (12m+)

I'm a strong believer that every child should be able to find toys that represent them and their friends, and so are One Dear World. They have created 4 different dolls which represent children from different ethnic backgrounds, and they are currently crowdfunding to make a range of dolls with disabilities.

One Dear World have offered one of my readers a doll plus an extra outfit as a Christmas present...

This is Hope and she was born in Ghana. She has 3 good friends - Parth, Lea and Jun. I did a full review of Hearty Hope last month and I think she's excellent. She is beautiful quality and the perfect size and weight for young arms to hold.

Christmas Giveaway: The Board Game Family by Ellie Dix (3 Winners)

Anyone who reads my blog knows just how important board games are to our family. We play a lot, everyone joins in and it's relaxing family time - talking, building and reinforcing relationships.

The Board Game Family: Reclaim Your Children From The Screen is a fantastic 'how-to' for parents from The Dark Imp's Ellie Dix. Ideal for anyone who wants to get their kids back into the living room, away from screens and back into family life together.

I did a full review of The Board Game Family back in September and I really felt that the author, Ellie Dix. is on my wavelength. She enthuses about the same games we love here, and has a great strategy for parents to get back in tune with their kids - even if you have never played a board game before.

Christmas Giveaway: Frozen Unicorns Game (Age 6+) With Gamely Games

Frozen Unicorns is a family and party game for anyone aged 6+, and it's suitable for 3 or more players - it suggests up to 30! We have a copy to give away courtesy of Brighton-based game developer Gamely Games, who sent us our copy to review.

Inside the handy box are 100 cards of varying difficulty, and each has an animal, person or mythical creature on it. E.g. Unicorn, DJ or Fairy.

All players have to do is mime whatever is on the card, while the active player guesses what they are depicting. The catch is, you're frozen, so your mime is more of a statue - and a lot harder to guess!

Ad | Christmas Giveaway: ARTdiscount Student's Art Bundle

Blackpool-based ARTdiscount stock a huge range of art supplies, including their own brand range of products, at great prices. We're delighted to be working with them on another giveaway, for a Student's Art Bundle.

Students can get through art supplies more quickly than just about anyone else, and they can have the tightest budgets. ARTdiscount have put together a great bundle of products which would be handy for anyone, and ideal for students...

At retailers recommended prices the bundle would cost almost £60 (you'd save around £20 buying at ARTdiscount), and includes:

Derwent Academy Watercolours 12 set
Staedtler x18 watercolour brush pens
ARTdiscount own brand Watercolour/ Gouache brushes
Daler-Rowney x24 Artists' Sketching & Graphic Pencils

Christmas Giveaway: The Grinch Duvet Set And Cushion - Sent by Dreamtex

Dr Seuss' most famous Christmas grump is available on Duvet Covers and Cushions this Winter thanks to Dreamtex and ASDA, and they've sent us a set to review - plus they are giving a set away to one of my readers. Available in Single and Double sized Duvet Sets perfect for your child's bedroom. The Grinch is the perfect Christmas decoration for your room.

I'm a big fan of Dreamtex bedding because their duvet covers have wide openings for easy changing, reliable popper fastenings and the material is soft and easy to care for. The poly/cotton can be washed hot if necessary and tumble dried.

Christmas Giveaway: Toy Story 4 Movie Review and DVD Giveaway(sent for review)

Toy Story is a long-standing favourite here. My oldest son was a huge fan when the first movie was new, and it made it's return perfectly in time for my younger boys to be able to appreciate the antics of Woody, Buzz, Bo and all of the other animated toys.

Toy Story 4 is now available on Digital Download & Keep, DVD, Blu-ray and other formats for you to watch at home, and I have a DVD copy to give away to one of my readers. We were sent a copy for review and it's a great return to form...

The story features a cast of long-standing Toy Story characters, as well as a few new additions, and starts with a 10 minute segment looking back over what has happened to our animated friends over the past 23 years. It brought a definite lump to my throat...

The toys are now in the care of Bonnie, who has just started kindergarten. She makes herself a toy using junk modelling, and Forky (who is really a spork) comes to life. Forky is excited to be here, but obviously very immature, and Woody takes him under his wing.