Review: Ravensburger The Snowman & Snowdog 100 pc Puzzle

If you have ever owned a Ravensburger puzzle before you will know how great the quality of their puzzles is. These are not flimsy puzzles that only last one season, these are the kind that you can keep for a few years whilst your child is still enjoying them and then pass them on to a friend or charity shop and they are still in great condition.

It's not just the puzzle though, the box is sturdy too and this is important to me as there is nothing more frustrating than losing pieces as the corners of the box have collapsed!

The Snowman & Snowdog puzzle is fabulous and I think it would appeal to any puzzler. The 100 piece puzzle has XXL pieces to make it more fun for a younger child and they recommend it for children aged 6 years plus.  My twin girls are 8 and one of them in particular loves puzzles and also all things snow, chilly and arctic, so this puzzle will go down a treat when she opens it on Christmas morning.

The Snowman and The Snowdog is a charming film sequel to the Christmas classic The Snowman. Premiered on Channel 4 on the 30th anniversary of the original film n 2012, the sequel brought together The Snowman and his new Snowdog, who has mismatched socks for ears and a satsuma for a nose. I'll have to show my girls the film, as I do not believe they've seen it.

I asked my 12 year old son JJ to make the puzzle up for me and give me his opinion. He said it is a great puzzle, loads of bright colours and not too complex, despite there being a fair amount of white there was enough lines and other colours in there to make it really manageable for a 6 year old child. He also commented on the linen-finished print which gives a nice matt finish and ensures there is no glare even when the winter sun is shining bright. He said the pieces are easy to slot together too.

The finished puzzle measures - 49 x 36 cm and is available for £6.99 on Amazon and I think this is a really good price for a gift that will give hours of enjoyment. I am very happy to recommend this Ravenburger puzzle.

Disclosure: We received this puzzle for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Back to School with Maped Helix

Well here we are just a week into the school holidays and all bar a pencil case the kids are completely ready for back to school. Uniform purchased and size checked, everything labelled and shoes worn in.

JJ was super excited last week when a delivery arrived for him from Maped Helix with the stationary he needs to start Secondary school in September. Starting in year 7 is a special time and the equipment he needs for school is quite different to the years gone by, we've purchased a french dictionary and a gum shield to name just a couple of things.

Maped Helix have also sorted JJ out with an Oxford maths set and he is very excited to start doing the kind of maths that requires compasses, set squares and a protractor. He left Primary school with amazing results in maths and apparently his SAT results translate to a D grade in GCSE if he had taken it aged 11 years, that was all I got aged 15! He doesn't get his maths smarts from me, that is for sure!

I've known the name Helix for as long as I've been alive and even had my own Oxford maths set when I was young so I'm glad JJ is starting school with equipment I know will last him a long time and is reliable. Little features like the safety screw sharpener and compass will give me peace of mind too. JJ also received some very nice Helix Oxford colouring pencils in a tin and the prices are super reasonable as well, I found these for as little as £3.99 when I searched online.

The Maped part of the Maped Helix name I am not so familiar with, so I was interested to read that Maped is the world leading supplier of school supplies and they offer a comprehensive range of writing instruments and education equipment with exceptional design, quality and innovation. JJ also received a few of their items as part of his gift package from Maped Helix.

He received the 0.7mm fluid roller free writer pen with erasable ink, perfect for if he makes a mistake, 3 x 0.4mm graph pens in beautiful bright colours for precision art work and an easy loading mechanical pencil with easily replaceable leads. I think he is all set now.

Maped Helix products are available from all good stationers and many of the big supermarkets. When you go to buy your back to school stationary, why don't you take a look at their excellent range - there is so much to choose from.

Many thanks Maped Helix, JJ is a happy lad now.

Disclosure: We received this stationary in order to undertake this honest review. I have not been instructed what to write.

Did you realise that Morrisons sells Children's Clothes?

Last year I was asked to review some school uniform from Morrisons and I have to be honest now and confess that I didn't hold up much hope.  I thought the clothes wouldn't last very long as they are really quite cheap price wise. Here I am a year later though and the girls are still wearing their Morrisons Nutmeg range uniform that they were sent in August 2014 and I have bought more to go with it.  The white polo shirts are probably my favourite ones as when you wash and tumble them they do not require any ironing and have kept their shape very well and the trousers that Miss M wore then got too small and passed over to Miss E and she loves them. Whereas more expensive school trousers seem to have fiddly flower shaped buttons that Miss E can not handle, these she loves with their chunky hook and eye type fastening and cute bows on the pockets.

The cardigans have stayed in shape and not shrunk at all, despite tumble drying. The only thing is the colour has slightly faded on the button band but after a years wear I'd expect that. The plimsolls were brilliant and didn't wear much on the bottoms and we were able to pass them on when they became too small.

We've received some more uniform recently that we are happily trying out too and Miss M particularly loves her lycra cycling shorts concealed in a little PE skirt. The girls are even wearing a school cardie but in red (blue is their school colour) for casual as they like them so much and the prices are so fabulous, I can't say no.

As Summer has arrived Morrisons have sent me an impromptu hamper, which was super kind of them and quite unexpected. We received a beautiful hot pink beach towel that Miss E has claimed as her own, some sun lotion (which sprays on coloured so the girls can do it themselves) a mini fan, a sticky ball game and a pretty elephant print t-shirt which is possibly the softest material I have ever felt.

They also gifted me £20 in vouchers, which I was happy to spend on some clothes for the girls from theNutmeg range. They needed new leggings so I bought two packs of those at £6 for a 2 pack and also a stunning white cotton cardie, which was just £8. Just take a look at the girls and see how great they look in the Nutmeg clothes. Thanks so much Morrisons.

Disclosure: I received a hamper and a £20 voucher.  There was no expectation for me to blog about this but I was very happy with the goods received.

Review: Cheese and Wine Hamper from Blossoming Gifts

Hampers always go down a treat, it can be so hard to find a good gift for some people. Take my dad for instance, there is never anything he wants and I think in the future a sweet treat hamper delivery may be perfect for him.

When Blossoming Gifts asked if we would like to send my husband a hamper for Fathers Day we were eager to say yes. The kids had a look and knew the Cheese and Wine hamper would be perfect as that is my husbands way to relax in the evening after a busy day at work. A glass of red wine or port with some cheese and crackers.

This hamper retails for £53.99 and the website says it includes -

• Arden's Mature Cheese & Spring Onion Bites 100g 
• Barber's Maryland Farm Farmhouse Mature Cheddar Truckle 200g 
• Ford Farm Double Gloucester with Spring Onion Truckle 200g 
• Highfield Preserves Red Onion Marmalade 227g 
• Peter's Yard Original Artisan Crispbread in Box 105g 
• La Umbra Pinot Grigio 75cl Lidded wicker basket with Handle 

But actually our hamper was slightly different and we had Buiteman sun dried tomato and cheese baguettes and Miller's Damsels wheat wafers instead of the bites and artisan crispbread advertised. We didn't mind this substitution at all as the products we received were excellent quality but I could not see that it said on the web page that items might be substituted, so this is probably something to highlight in the future.

As this hamper includes cheese it can only be delivered Tuesday - Friday and the delivery will arrive between 8am - 6pm. Luckily I have a reception to take all my deliveries otherwise ti might have been tricky to stay in a whole day to make sure I could receive this and put the cheese in the fridge as the actual delivery is not refrigerated.

I felt the hamper looked very nice when it arrived but it did come branded as Virginia Hayward. The lidded wicker basket is great quality and I'll use it again either as storage or to make a hamper for someone at Christmas.

As the cheese was in the fridge my husband spotted it straight away so we both tucked in that night and were so impressed with the quality of the products, the cheese was firm but creamy and the spring onions and chive in the Double Gloucester was a really nice surprise. I had no idea I would enjoy it so much. We are even going to seek out the Miller's Damsels wheat wafers to buy again. My husband also commented that the red onion marmalade was really well balanced as too many we buy have a high level of acidity.

Would I buy one of these again? Yes probably as they really do take the effort out of finding a gift and I now know that I can trust the quality of the products to be very high but in truth they are probably a little more expensive than I can justify.

It is worth taking a look round the Blossoming Gifts website as they have a great selection of floral bouquets, plants and wine, as well as the hampers.

Disclosure: We were sent this hamper free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Review: Make-A-Bar Chocolate Factory Creative Kits

The kids were sent through some newly launched Make-a-bar chocolate factory creative kits so they could make Daddy a nice surprise for Fathers Day and they had loads of fun.

The kits retail for £3.99 each and that makes you one bar of chocolate and I have to report that I was super surprised - the chocolate tastes great (100% Belgium chocolate that is preservative and additive free). Normally with kits like this it is low quality products but not so with this, I'd be happy to be given one of these bars and would be really happy to eat it.

You can also buy twin packs at £7.99 or packs of four at the value price of £11.99.

Miss E and I were the first to make some bars and this is how we did -

The bars are very easy to make, Miss E is 7 and after the first bar I was able to allow her to do the second one alone whilst I cooked dinner. Here is how we made our bars -

• Firstly you fill a bowl with tap hot water (not too hot for your fingers)
• Put the three bags of chocolate in the water to melt (milk, dark and white - all labelled)
• Decide which design you want to make. Either use one of the eight supplied with your set, draw your own or create your own online and download it for free. Place the design under the plastic tray (we used blu-tac to keep it in place).
• After about 3-5 minutes the chocolate will have melted, feel the bags to test before cutting open. Massage any lumps in the bag in the warm water. Try to make sure the chocolate is really well melted as you can then get a thinner line/ more precise picture.
• Cut a tiny bit off the corner of the dark chocolate and use this to create the pattern outline in your plastic tray.
• Do the same with the white chocolate and fill in your design.
• Then do the same with the bigger milk chocolate pouch and you need to ensure it goes right across the plastic tray. It can be a bit tricky to get the milk chocolate right across, just a little more in the bag would have been perfect.
• Tap the tray to eliminate bubbles and ensure equal coverage and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.
• Then either enjoy the chocolate or wrap in some cellophane like we did and give it as a gift.

We found it wasn't that easy to get precise lines with the little chocolate bags. I think our tap water was not quite hot enough as the chocolate never really got fully liquid but as you can see in the pictures it didn't matter as the rough and ready look is pretty cool anyway.

We have had toys like the chocolate coin maker before and whilst the kids have loved them they have been a complete faff - expensive, rubbish tasting chocolate, hard to clean and really difficult to use. These are the complete opposite, cheap, easy to use, no cleaning and easy for kids to use alone. -brilliant, we loved them and would definitely use them as gifts again in the future.

They would also make a great activity for a children's party, all the kids can make their own and allow them to set during the party and then they can take them home as their party gift.

Check out http://makeabar.co.uk/ to find out more and place an order. They can also be followed on @magichocuk and Facebook.

Disclosure: We received 4 kits for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.