Christmas Crackers (For Pre-Schoolers)

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I've got some recommendations for you. Hope you don't mind? I will try not to overwhelm you with daily posts, but there are some products that I'd like to share, starting here today with my recommendations for presents under £15 for Pre-Schoolers.

Who Loves Me

These personalised flashcards are an absolutely gorgeous way to communicate with your toddler or baby. They are incredibly easy to make on the Who Loves Me site: simply upload a photo, input a name, choose a symbol (from one of forty+) to go on the back and type a sentence about that person. We've had these made for The Boy with me and hubby, and both sets of grandparents included, as well as my sister's children. I'm intending to supplement these with pictures of his other cousins and aunts and uncles.

Not only do they help your little one to remember who people are, but they can be used to help language development and, for the more curious amongst us, creating a little family tree. Made from thick card, with a very deep finish to the colour; these are long-lasting and excellent quality.

Price at £1.99 a card, £11.99 for 8, £17.99 for 16

Orchard Toys

These fantastic tangrams are very sturdy and made from thick cardboard (75% recycled materials). They are an ideal toy to help develop awareness of shapes and colour, promote problem-solving and logical thinking, with the aim being to use them to create a variety of different picture. Think fuzzy felts but on a bigger scale and less likely to get broken.

A pre-cursor to mathematical development and spatial awareness, these are a cracking addition which I know that The Boy is going to adore playing with!

Priced at £2.25

Personalised Peppa Pig Book

Obviously, I've blanked out The Boy's name with baubles!

For us this is going to be the perfect Christmas book. The Boy is starting at playgroup after Christmas (eek!) and he adores Peppa and George. What better way of explaining to him what will happen and encouraging a positive attitude to it than getting his favourite porcine to tell him all about it in a personalised Peppa Pig book! Creating the book is easy; simply select the gender, hairstyle, hair colour, eye colour, skin colour and input your child's name, and the rest is done for you. For those children who have already started playgroup and are going onto Nursery, Pre-School or 'proper' school, those options can also be selected. There is also the option to have a message printed on the first page.

I love the story, it really promotes the first trip to playgroup as a positive experience, with your child featuring on every page, being the centre of attention and shown to be really clever. Now, do they do one for mums to help cope with the trauma?

Available from Prezzybox for £14.99

Eric Carle's ABC Game

The Boy absolutely adores the ABC song, sings it at least eleventy billion times a day and can recognise the letter in his own name. The next step is to try and encourage letter recognition from different parts of the alphabet. His curiosity has been piqued with the alphabet magnets on the fridge. He asks what the letters are.

The Eric Carle ABC Game involves both upper and lower-case letters of the alphabet. The object of the game is to be the player who collects the most animal cards. The 52 spaces on the board feature all the letters of the alphabet in both upper and lower case. Every time a child lands on a letter space, they have to look at the cards and find the animal who’s name begins with that letter (Big “A” is for Big Ant, little “a” is for little ant). The correct letter is printed on the back of each card to check the answer is correct. By using the spinner and counting up to four spaces, they will also reinforce their counting skills.

Priced at £6.99 RRP

Fingerprinting Art Set

This nifty little art set is fun with a difference. Using the ink pads to print the tips of their fingers onto the paper, little ones can then use one of the twelve different stampers to create animals, people, plants, etc. There are coloured pencils included to add more detail to the images. Endless possibilities for pictures and creative play, this is bound to go down a treat with children aged three years and upwards: being allowed to get mucky? Great fun!

Available for £7.95 from Prezzybox

And because you lot know me only too well, this list of recommends would not be complete without a gem from the lovely ToyJeanius!

Animal Habitat Puzzle

This beautiful duo-puzzle is perfect for teaching your little-ones how to match up an animal to its habitat. With the trademark vibrant Djeco illustrations, each of the ten puzzles is made up of two pieces; one piece has a picture of the animal and the other has a picture of their usual home. It's made even easier for younger children because the background colour of the matching pieces is the same. Depending upon your little one's stage of development, you can use just a few of the duos or all of them, with small children being able to match the puzzles by colour, learning the names of the animals and their habitats as they do so.

I love Djeco products for the quality and sturdiness, the timeless appeal and the ingenuity of their products. You can get 10% of this product (or any others that you fancy from ToyJeanius) by entering the code 'TheBoyandMe' at the checkout!

Available from ToyJeanius for £6.95

Chocolat Heaven

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About six months ago, I received a present from a Fairy HobFather which made me fall in love with Hotel Chocolat. Their chocolates are the most exquisite I have ever tasted and I've been lucky to enjoy some for my birthday, and in the Easter sale.

The other day, I arrived home to find a familiar brown box through the letterbox (I love that their boxes are designed to fit through) and I literally squealed with delight!

[Read more…]

Recipe Shed: Chutneys and Preserves

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There's a lingering aroma in this house, and it's permeating through the cables tethering us to the outer world, finding it's way through the timeline of many a twit and combining with other bloggers' fragrances.

No, it's not the latest parfum. It's a far more consuming smell than that.

Vinegar.

Of course, there are the variants: red wine, white wine, balsamic, malt and pickling, but they all have the one purpose. To preserve our chosen fruit or vegetable, creating a mouth-watering chutney that needs to be given time to mature and reach its full-bodied flavour.

I've been like a woman possessed recently. Never having made a chutney before, I've been having a go at a few different types, experimenting with and altering recipes that I've found. Noting changes down in my recipe folder, splashing it with spices and caramelised onions for that added authenticity.

But I'm not the only one. My timeline (and inbox) is full of others who've been taken with the preserving passion, and so I said to Reluctant Housedad last week that he ought to do it as a theme one week for his successful Recipe Shed linky. After the tumbleweed had finally settled, he kindly told me that it wasn't 'his bag' (because we are in the '70s) and offered for me to host the Recipe Shed this week while he visits family for half-term. I jumped at the chance!

So here you have it, for one week only:

TheBoyandMe hosts the Recipe Shed!

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Ingredients

  • 8 red onions
  • 1 red chilli
  • 25ml olive oil
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 150ml balsamic vinegar
  • 150ml red wine vinegar

1. Cut the onion and chilli into short thin slivers and put into a heavy pan with the oil. Cook gently over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Once the onions are dark and sticky, add the sugar and vinegars. Cook on a high heat until bubbling (usually about 30 minutes), then turn the gas down to simmering for a further hour. It will be ready when drawing a wooden spoon through the mixtures leaves a channel behind that doesn't immediately fill with liquid or juices.

3. Immediately, spoon the chutney into sterilised jars, filling almost to the top of the jar.

4. While still piping hot, press a wax disc down on the mixture (wax side down) ensuring that it has been pushed against it fully with no air bubbles. Wet a cellophane circle (especially for preserving) on one side and place over the hot jar, damp side up. Pull it tight and use a tight elastic band around the neck. As the mixture cools, the damp cellophane will be pulled even more taut making it airtight and preventing the nasty bacteria from multiplying. Store for 2-3 months to allow the chutney to mature.

Or if you have some spare that doesn't fit into the bottles, spread it on cream crackers with some mature cheddar and enjoy as a late-night snack.

I've been making quite a few batches of different flavoured chutneys recently, with the intention of giving them for Christmas presents. I've bought some little wooden tags from ebay and am using them to label.

I'd be happy with that, wouldn't you?

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Both Reluctant Housedad and I would love it if you would link up to our Chutneys and Preserves linky using the linky tools below. With his permission, I've adapted the code for the badge for this week only so that when it's added to your post, it comes back to this main page.

Next week, he's reclaiming his Recipe Shed where the theme will be Vegetarian in honour of me (I like to think!).

Recipe Shed

Get Building With Thomas

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The Boy discovered the wonders of Mega Bloks last Christmas when Nana bought him their 3in1 Play and Go table. It was a great success from the word go, with him taking the lid off and sitting in the table to watch Christmas Day television. Soon after he learnt how to use it to its full potential, building walls and towers.

When the lovely Tired Mummy of Two asked me to help her out by reviewing a product for her very clever Christmas Tombola, I of course agreed. She's managed an amazing accomplishment in collecting the promise of 150 prizes for her fabulous competition, and I am in awe of her achievement. One of these has been donated by Mega Bloks, and I have the pleasure of reviewing one of the sets.

The Mega Bloks Diesel Bucket is an incredibly nifty playset which is part of the Mega Bloks Thomas & Friends Collection for pre-schoolers aged 3years +.

Take a look more closely at the ramp that Diesel has just sped down. You'll notice that it's a two-part ramp. That's because the green section is the box that all the Mega Bloks pieces are stored in, while the orange part of the ramp is the hinged lid. How clever is that? Nothing can get lost and it is easily tidied away afterwards. It also makes the set incredibly portable, the perfect toy to take to a relatives house for an afternoon trip or family meal.

When it arrived, The Boy was eager to break into it and he played with nothing else for a further hour and a half. Nothing! He sat pushing Diesel down the ramp, building the side-buildings, experimenting with the gates etc. He was completely and utterly captivated. That was over a week ago now, and of all the toys that he has (and he has a fair few) it is the one that he has repeatedly played with for a sustained period of time. He loves it so much that I have added one of the other sets which works in the same way (also a box that transforms into a playset) to The Boy's Christmas list.

At £9.99 this is a perfect toy for any pre-school aged child and will provide hours of entertainment.

For the opportunity to win one of these sets, please pop over to Tired Mummy of Two's Christmas Tombola.

We were sent this items for the purpose of review. Our opinions are honest and unbiased.

Gingy's Makeover

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Last year my dad bought one of those gingerbread house kits from that well known Scandinavian shop. He was really excited to make it for all the tiddlers in the family. He got home, opened up the kit and inside were the sides and the roof. That was it. None of the decorations were in the box, and forgive me for thinking so, but I do think if something being sold as a kit then the vast majority of the components need to be there. He went and spent £15 on the icing sugar and decorations for the gingerbread house.

Oh and because the pieces were so hard and brittle and the flimsy box had been on a big crate, one of the sides was broken. He wasn't a happy bunny.

We've recently been sent this gingerbread house kit (by Bespoke Foods) to review:

A 'kit' it is indeed, because everything you see in the picture is included in the box. I mean everything; the soft and thick gingerbread, the icing sugar (pre-mixed in a piping bag, snip off the end to use), smarties and even a little sugarcraft Father Christmas to put on the porch!

This would be a marvellous activity for your not-so-little ones to do in the run-up to Christmas; I suspect that Mr. TheBoyandMe and I will have great fun making the house for The Boy to decorate. And on Christmas Day (if it lasts that long), it's going to taste delicious as we do an impression of the Big Bad Wolf.

We were also sent Bespoke Foods Gingerbread Man kit and didn't waste any time in decorating Gingy. The Boy had the most fabulous time, although he did need help to squeeze the icing out.

Christmas is also a time to spend playing board games with your family. Usually these end up in sulking and tantrums, and that's just from the grandparents. What if the game you were playing involved chocolate counters? Bespoke Foods have a range of traditional family board games involving chocolate money or counters, Twister is just one of them.

"For family fun that will tie even the most flexible up in knots, Twister’s Chocolate Edition adds a sweeter dimension to Christmas. Perfect for parties of all ages, the rules are easy – pick your move, twist and win chocolate!"

With the festive season fast approaching, Bespoke Foods’ traditional gifts are the perfect stocking fillers to add a creative twist to your Christmas shopping list.

Chocolate Twister (RRP from £10.00), Gingerbread House Kit (RRP from £12.50) and Gingerbread Man (RRP from £6) are available to purchase from a range of department and independent stores (Debenhams, House of Fraser, Heals, Bentalls, Selfridges and Amazon)

We were sent these items for the purpose of the review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

My Top 5 Good Things About Having Children

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Whilst reading twitter earlier, I realised that I hadn't put any posts on my blog for over a week. When your blog is not very old anyway, a week is a long time! Then I saw a tweet from @MetalMummy about a listography from @KateTakes5. Kate's idea is along the lines of the Wordless Wednesdays, Silent Sundays and The Gallery (all of which I'm pretty rubbish at remembering to do) but is a list with a topic.

So this week's theme is as follows:

My Top 5 Good Things About Having Children

1) Bearing in mind the time of year, it's got to be be Christmas hasn't it? The Boy's little face when he was 'ope'-ning his presents was priceless. He got a little excited and wanted to 'ope'-n every present he saw from then on in. He also adores the 'Chris (tmas) tree' and likes to go and examine all the baubles. Aside from the religious origins, it's what Christmas is all about isn't it?

2) Soft-play centres. I love them! Hubby loves them! The Boy loves them! Especially Coconuts, an excellent (if not pricey) local centre. There's an awful lot of wiffy play centres out there though, aren't there? But find a good one (like Coconuts) and wahay! The ballpits, the tunnels, going the wrong way up the slides (and trying to avoid getting told off!), we love it all.

3) Finally the downstairs of the house is constantly tidy-ish. I've managed to train hubby that stuff needs to be put away or it will be eaten or broken. Aside from The Boy's toys everywhere, the place is presentable. This is a major feat in our household.

4) Playing with his toys. The range of toys that are available nowadays is completely unbelievable. I used to have to play with a cardboard box and a wooden spoon (ok not quite, but you get the picture).

5) The look on his face when he looks at me. Absolute unconditional love. He doesn't care how many zits I've got, if I'm wearing clothes that have snot stains on them (his not mine), or if I'm a size or seven too big. I'm his mummy and he loves me. And I absolutely adore him with my whole heart, he is a complete and utter treasure and amazes me daily with all the things he's learning how do to. I grew him, that's the cleverest thing I have ever done!
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Apologies to Kate for two things: one is that I'm not very good at telegraphic writing, secondly I've changed it from kids to children in my list.

Dear Saint Nick

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I've (mostly) been a good girl this year. If you could overlook the incident where I accidentally told a class of 8yr olds that you might not exist, that would be greatly appreciated. And I didn't mean to damage hubby's new glasses when I threw a cushion at him, he's clearly got a tougher nose than I anticipated.

So because I've been dutiful, generous, loving and kind, I would greatly appreciate a little something from you in return if I may?

Yes of course a lottery win would be nice. I could give up work, pay off my debts and be there for my son 24/7. (Although if hubby could still do the night-shift I'd appreciate it, we all know what a bitch I can be when I'm tired). And you're quite right, a larger house would be amazing. Then we could have even more crap!

But no, what I'd really like is my mojo back. I'm not talking in an Austin Powers way here Santa baby. Just my 'get up and go', because well it seems to have got up and disappeared without leaving forwarding instructions. I'm sure it was there a few months ago, but no I've checked and it's definitely not where I left it for safekeeping.

It seems like such a small thing, but would make such a difference Father Christmas.

Many thanks,

The Boy's Mummy

P.S. If you've got a spare iPad, that would be marvellous!

Oh Christmas Tree, how plastic are your branches…

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In an effort to find my inner mistletoe (I am seriously lacking in the Christmas enthusiasm department this year) I made hubby drag down the trees from the attic on the weekend. Yes I said trees. Plural. One for the living room (three-footer, piddly thing so it doesn't count) and one for the dining room (six-footer, a proper one that shall from henceforth be known as the beast).

On Sunday night I assembled the smaller one as a warm-up to the main event. I dressed it in regulation whites, silvers and blues to match the room. With the oversized star firmly instated at the top I admired my handiwork and couldn't wait to see The Boy's face the next day.

He walked in and ignored it. I pointed it out to him. He looked at me like a teenager would.  "What do you want me to say Mummy? It's a tree. Let's face facts, it's a bit pathetic really isn't it?" said The Boy. (Only he didn't because he's 18 months old and single words are the extent of his repertoire at the moment)

I spent the day mildly disappointed with his reaction and pampering the tree to boost its already inferior ego. The Boy spent the day wondering how to get me sectioned as I had clearly lost the plot.

Last night I decided to tackle the beast. I managed it with some help from hubby, I ended up having to send him away; he was doing it all wrong. I decided to go for the minimalist look. Apparently though, just lights and tinsel aren't enough so on went the obligatory natural wood and golden decorations. I left the bottom third of the beast for The Boy to do in the morning, but didn't hold out much hope.

This morning, The Boy sauntered into the dining room and stopped in his tracks. A look of awe and wonder crossed his little face, and a huge beam broke out on mine. This was the desired reaction! We decorated the tree together just as hoped whilst listening to Christmas songs. When I say 'we', I clearly mean he repeatedly put three baubles on one branch and took them off again. But we had fun!

Oh and I found my inner mistletoe!

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