Scotch Tape Handband - one-handed wrapping.

This weekend and next week parents up and down the land will be spending their evenings secreted away very busy wrapping presents for Grandma and maybe some other people. Cursing at accidentally buying wrapping paper thinner than tissue, and wondering why it was ever a good idea to buy more than 1 gift per child.

The lovely people at Scotch sent me their Pop-Up Tape Handband Dispenser to have a play with, and actually I really like it! Obviously it's not your cheapest way to wrap, but I spent yesterday evening tackling some of our mountain and it was a pleasure - my partner and I even watched a movie at the same time and made a pleasant evening of it.

Star Wars The Force Awakens - Is it okay For 5 year Olds? (NO SPOILERS Review!).

We have just got home from taking our 5 and 7 year olds to see Star Wars The Force Awakens. Before I went I was party to a lot of discussion about whether it would be suitable. Our opinion is now a 'Yes', and this is why....

"I don't want a photo! I want to go and see the movie!"

If your child likes action movies then they've probably already seen at least one Star Wars movie. If they like Star Wars then they've probably seen more than one Star Wars movie. They're actually not going to see much that they haven't seen before.

Guinness World Records 2016 and the GWR Gamer's Edition Review

Surely everyone has heard of the Guinness World Records. Throughout my childhood I always wanted to break a record and in the last 3 years I've had a part in breaking several - as have the rest of my family. It's always officially amazing, and a real buzz to be a part of something so exciting.
 

We had an awesome time visiting the Guinness World Records HQ in London during the Summer, and my boys took home a goodie bag each with the Guinness World Records 2016 book and the Guinness World Records 2016 Gamer's Edition. My 5 year old adores his Gamer's Edition book. He fell in love with it the moment they met....

16 Months After Losing Elspeth....

It is now 16 months since we lost Elspeth and we're well into preparations for Christmas. We've bought and ordered presents for most people and even sent some cards. While it may not be as far as most of you, it's far in advance of the place we were at this time last year.

We even took down the decorations from the loft and got the living room ready for our Christmas tree - which we bought this evening. It's gorgeous - just look at the smile on him! We are cooking on gas.

We're also very aware of how broken we all still are. Since last month our teenager in hospital had a temporary inpatient visit from their father. Taking my partner to hospital, and passing straight through triage for the 3rd time in 2 years, this time in an ambulance with flashing lights, was not in my plan....

Lost My Name Book Giveaway and Free Children's Newspaper!

Lost My Name are a company I first worked with nearly 2 years ago. Since then they've gone from strength to strength, with over a million copies of their first book now sold and a second book also topping the tables.

The Lost My Name books are different enough to really stand out as special, even before you consider the amazing artwork. Lost My Name take personalised gift books to a whole new level.

Disney Charades (age 6+) from Esdevium Games (review)

We've reviewed quite a lot of games from Esdevium recently, the latest being Disney Charades. This is a team game for 4-10 players aged around 6+.

The classic party game has the Disney makeover, and this a simplified version where there are clues, sounds and a limited number of answers, so younger children have a better chance of playing on an even level.

Disney Charades is presented in a gorgeous tin, which makes it an ideal game to give as a gift, and to take out and about. Charades can be played by people of all ages, so it's great for family games evenings. A little Disney knowledge is useful, but even if you don't have that you will learn as you go on, and can always take a guess.

Pip Ahoy's Christmas Ahoy! DVD for children aged 2-6

Just in time for Christmas Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick are back with a festive DVD from Pip Ahoy! Christmas Ahoy! will be released tomorrow December 14th, and we were lucky enough to be among the very first people to see it because we have been sent a copy for review...

Pip Ahoy! is created by the people who brought us Count Duckula, Chorlton & The Wheelies and Jamie & The Magic Torch, and a character that David Jason made famous, Dangermouse. Christmas Ahoy! also features the voice talent of Sir David Jason as a handful of the friendly animal characters living in Salty Cove, including Pip's Uncle, Skipper.

Getting your oven ready for Christmas with Oven Pride

Oven Pride challenged me to cook a full Christmas dinner, then clean my oven using the Oven Pride Complete Cleaning System and cook another pretty much identical Christmas dinner and see if I could spot any difference. We ate our dinners two days apart so that we could really give an honest impression.

To take part in the challenge you had to have not cleaned your oven in 3 months....well...ahem....in my defence I had a hernia and a big operation, and lots of other stuff happened, so it may have been a smidgen longer than that...

The fact is that cleaning the oven is a job we all choose to put off. It seems dirty and stinky, and very hard work, and while it still works and there are a million other things to do, it doesn't seem top of the list.

Enterprising Child book review (a book for parents).

Enterprising Child is written by Lorraine Allman with Mary Cummings. It is a book which aims to help parents develop their child's entrepreneurial potential.

Entrepreneurial potential is seen not only as a route to monetary wealth or business success, but also as a route to reach your full potential in other areas, by using the child's natural ability and interest to take them further in other aspects of life.

A Vault 111 Fallout 4 Jumper for Christmas from Numskull

Numskull are a UK company who make officially licensed merchandise based on Games, Movies and TV. With partners including Capcom, SEGA, Playstation, Disney, BBC, Ubisoft and Bethesda, they really do have something for the geek in all of us.

I pretty much jumped at the chance to review one of the jumpers Numskull are selling this Christmas. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that in my spare time (if that exists) I've been playing Fallout 4. My partner and I were both gamers when we met, and when the kids are in bed, if we aren't watching movies, we're usually on the Playstation...