Review: Learning Resources PlayFoam Pals - Snowy Friends.

Hey guys, back with a review today, the Learn Resources Playfoam Pals - Snowy Friends two pack. Casper got sent these and was super excited to open them up and dig into the playfoam to see what was inside!

The Playfoam Pals are an intriguing take on the surprise toys concept. The Playfoam pals come in a clear plastic snow-dome container with playfoam inside, which you dig into to find you snowy friend. The playfoam comes in several different colours, ours were green and white and purple and white and non-toxic formula and is perfect for sensory play. Playfoam is great for creative play, as children are able to sculpt and develop different different props to play with their snowy friends. 

There are 13 snowy friends to collect, including one rare one - which we were super lucky to find! I think I got more excited than Casper when he found Sven the Snowman. Children are able to remove the head of the pals and fit it on other's bodies to really create some unique animals.

Casper really enjoyed opening his snow-domes and finding the animals inside. He is at the age where he loves playing with small collectibles and checking them against the list. The winter theme really fits in nicely with winter coming upon us and Christmas just around the corner and he even likened the playfoam to snow and was building snowmen with it. He enjoyed building different shapes with the playfoam and was intrigued by the texture of it, especially as he pulled it apart.

As a parent, I love the fact it encourages both creativity and imaginative play and I definitely think they are well worth the money with a pack of two coming in at just £6*. I also love that the snow-dome are reusable and quite sturdy, so can be used to play with and store the playfoam nicely away after play! They also look like little snowglobes, so adorable to have in their rooms! 

There are also two other variety of playfoam pals, Pet Party and Wild Friends, which have different animals to collect and different coloured playfoam, including some brighter colours.

They are advised for children aged 5+, and with Casper only 4 I kept a close eye whilst he was playing but he honestly had no issues and I felt confident with him being sensible enough to play with it safely.

I'd definitely recommend picking some up, and already can't wait to get some more for Casper! Surprise toys at the minute are so popular with child aged 4 and up and these just go above that with the added feature of the playfoam. Honestly anything that encourages play and can keep Casper entertained for hours is definitely a winner with me!

You can buy Learning Resources Playfoam Pals  direct from Learning Resources, and they are also available on Amazon and Jarrold.

Has your little ones given playfoam a go? It's such a good sensory tool that if they haven't I'd definitely suggest trying it out.

Thank you for reading!

Natalie x

Top 5 Christmas Films For The Family On Now TV

Watching Christmas films really has to be one of my favourite things to do at Christmas, I love the magic about Christmas and how films can reflect that! My last top 5 was those of Netflix so here is my top 5 available on Now TV!

1) The Santa Clause - my all time favourite christmas film. I find that it really never does get old, such a timeless. If you haven't watched it, it's about a man and his son who find Santa on the floor after falling off a roof and he then disappears. The dad puts on Santa's jacket and it is all about him becoming Santa and the trials he has with seeing his son because of it. Such a great christmas film, and you can find the second on there too and you will not be disappointed!

2) Muppet Christmas Carol - this is a firm family favourite, ever since I was a child and I'm so excited for my children to love it too. We watch it on christmas eve every year without fail, it has been part of our christmas traditions for as long as I can remember. It's based on the classic Dickens christmas tale, where you follow Scrooge who is visited by spirits of three Christmases - past, present and future. It has a strong message of what Christmas should be about, love and spreading cheer, whilst being child friendly. A must watch this year!

3) The Polar Express - Casper adores this film and he is completely enamoured by it every time he watches it. It is based on a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, and follows a boy who goes on an adventure on a train to the North Pole. It shows he how wonderful and magic Christmas can be if you believe. It definitely one to be enjoyed by the whole family.

4) Home Alone 2 - Unfortunately I couldn't see the 1st one on :O however, I do recommend the second too! If you've never watched it, have you really had a Christmas? Haha. Young Kevin is once again found alone, left to his own devices he's up against the two crooks from the first film. A festive comedy that never gets old.

5) Frozen - so not really Christmas, but definitely Christmas feeling with the snow feel. I'm sure everyone and their dogs have watched it by now, but who doesn't enjoy a sing along over Christmas. If you potentially live under a rock a brief description of the film is that Elsa enchants the kingdom in an everlasting winter and her brave sister Anna goes on a journey to get her to take it back.

Casper definitely enjoys singing let it go and it will be watched several times over Christmas!

What are you festive must watch this season?

Thank you for reading!

Natalie x

Review: Bookabees! Book Club For Children!

Good morning everybody, how are you all today? I'm feeling excited that Christmas is literally just around the corner! I can't wait to have some good quality family time! 

Today I'm bringing you a review Bookabees*! Reading is such a vital part of learning, so this is such a great concept - a child's book club!

Bookables is a child's book subscription service, which is on your terms! You decide how many books you receive each other, you pick the plan which best suits you and then it is tailored and personalised for you child!

Bookabees has two plans, KEEP and FLEX. The difference is with the KEEP you get to keep the books each month at a fixed price whilst FLEX is a more flexible plan where you can keep the books for two months and either choose to return them after this time or keep at an additional fee (50% of the retail price with be debited from your account). In both plans you can decide how many books you'd like to receive each month, which is fab as people will have different budgets for this! The plans are 1 book (£4.99 FLEX and £9.99 KEEP), 3 books (£8.99 FLEX and £19.99 KEEP) or 5 books (£10.99 FLEX and £29.99 KEEP). I feel there is a great range for people and if you're wanting to try the the service you could start at 1 book to see how you get on! You can change your plan at any time, whether it's to end your subscription or take a break, and this is all available on your account online.

Bookabees carries books suitable for ages between 0-11, and each package is personalised for your child. When signing up you decide the plan you'd like to sign up for, with how many books, and you then put your child's name and date of birth. The next step is to pick what your child's interests are, there are 12 themes to pick from and these include a wide variaty from learning, to nature and films to fantasy. You can pick as many or as little as you like, and you can really get your child involved with their book subscription. Once you have picked your interests it is in Bookabees hands! 

I love the fact that you and your child can get involved with picking the themes. Bookabees hand picks the books for the child from a wide range of books, initially they pick based on recommendations for the age and themes indicated but as you start receiving books and rate and review them they become smarter with book choice based on your child. You also have the ability to manage the books you have, you can search books and add them to your book queue or delete books that you don't want or may already have.

The books arrive through the post and they are personalised for your child, with the name on the front - Casper loved getting post that was named for him! In each month's package along with the books, they get a selection of stickers, and activities and other bits like a book mark! I love that it has extras to keep them entertained and interested in the service, and with activity packs comiing in at £3+ in shops it makes it value for money with this service.

With the FLEX service, after reading the books you can then rate the books, on a scale of 1 to 5, and then decide to send them back or keep the books at the additional fee. You can decide whether to keep all or none of the books, it is completely your choice and you have a 2 month window. 

My thoughts? I love the idea of a book subscription service for children, in our family books and reading are so important and it is something we love doing as a family. I really think this will encourage children to get reading, as it is something exciting and personalised just for them. Both the children loved their selection of books and we received ones we had never heard of - which was great as we are always looking for new suggestions. It was great that Tabitha received a range of different board books suitable for her, whilst Casper got story books which he really enjoyed. Based on the themes we picked, I really feel like the picked well for my children's interests.

It is definitely something I could get on board with, however I don't think FLEX would be the plan that would suit us. We go to the library quite often already, and so with borrowing books this aspect would be a bit redundant, however I really think those who can't get to a library this service is fantastic as it delivers it to your house at a reasonable cost. The KEEP plan is definitely something I think we'd like to do in the future, as we can never have too many books and I really did love seeing Casper and Tabitha's excitement when they got their parcels and opened to see what was inside.

They are available to order on Bookabees website, which also has lots more information all about the service! Also, there is 30% off of your first month available!

Thank you for reading :)

Natalie x

*the items were sent to us in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

Top 5: Christmas Films For The Family on Netflix

Hey everybody, hope you are well! We put our christmas tree up this evening, so I'm feeling festive and thought I'd do a quick post on Christmas Films on Netflix that would be perfect for families this festive season! We love netflix and it's definitely a go to when we need to entertain the children on a cold, rainy day and I love that festive films have been uploaded.

1) The Christmas Chronicles - this is new film produced by Netflix and I can see it being a firm favourite in our family! It is about siblings who are trying to capture Santa Claus on video! It had some hilarious moments, that parents could appreciate, yet children will be enthralled with the whole concept too. It was definitely a new story line and different to other Christmas films and I can see us watching it a good few more times before the season is over. Oh just to add, the Christmas elves have to be the cutest elves ever! 

2) Jack Frost - an oldie but a goodie! It is definitely a heart warming film which is perfect for the whole family. It is about when tradegy strikes a family and the dad passes away, he comes back as a snowman the following year. It's about hopes and dreams and the magic of Christmas. If you haven't watched it yet this season, definitely add it to the watch list!

3) Nativity - it's the time of nativities in school and so this has to be a perfect film for the family to watch. This is all about a failed actor who is given the task of the organising the school's nativity play. It is hilarious and I love that it's British, as our humour has to be the best ;), and it's just so relatable! If, when, you enjoy it you can pop on number 2 as well and be ready to watch Nativity 3 which is currently in the cinema!

4) Arthur Christmas - I do enjoy an animated Christmas film and they are always a big hit with children. In this film a child's present is forgotten and it follows the journey and importance of no one being left out at Christmas. It's all about the magic Santa can bring. It's one we enjoy every year, and have already watched it once this year.... so far!

5) The Princess Switch - another new Netflix original this Christmas! This film is about two women from completely walks of life being identical in appearance and swapping lives and then falling in love with people from the other's life. It is cheesy, and has the Christmas magical aspects. One that can be enjoyed by all the family!

I'm definitely excited for all the Christmas films this season and these are just my tip 5 from Netflix, I could go on all day about Christmas films. What are your favourites? What do you recommend on Netflix?

Thanks for reading!

Natalie :) x

Review: Dreambaby Strollerbuddy EZY-Reach Organiser Bag & EZY-Fit Giant Stroller Hook.

Hey everybody, hope you are well! 

Today I thought I'd bring you a review of two pushchair accessories we have been trying from Dreambaby Safety - EZY-Reach Organiser Bag and the Strollerbudy EZY-Fit giant stroller hook. We have been trying both for a good few weeks!

Dreambaby Strollerbuddy EZY-Reach Organiser Bag 

First up is the Organiser bag, which I have loved using and am wondering why we didn't get one before! It is essentially a mini, open bag, that fits on the handle of your pushchair. It has a sleek design and suits most pushchairs with it's grey and black colour scheme. It was easy to fit with velcro straps - which are adjustable and so you can decide how tight to have them and where to place on the handle. It is very secure on the pushchair and I felt confident with it staying in place, it is also in an ideal place on the pushchair for easy reach when needing things for your children.

There is the main section which is a large open pocket with two spaces on either end that are perfect for cups and bottles and the middle that has a cover that fastens with velcro. There is one large netted pocket at the front of the bag and one smaller netter pocket next to a solid fabric pocket on the other side of the bag, these all secure with velcro. The bag is surprisingly roomy and I fit so much in it! I carry both children's cups, gloves, a couple of nappies and packet of wipes, a pen, dummy, small snacks in, Tabitha's safety harness and I sometimes squeeze their hats in when they are being nuisances with keeping them on. The front pockets are ideal for slipping your phone in when you don't have somewhere to put it. I love the ease of use and how I don't always need to carry a bag when we're nipping out on the school run. The only thing I will point out is that with it being an open bag, your items will not be 100% protected from the rain - so be aware with what you carry during those rainy days (I will still carry their cups and some items under the cover and have found the items under the cover generally stay dry).

It is definitely a pushchair accesory I'd recommend and at only £14.99* it isn't breaking the bank!

Dreambaby Strollerbuddy EZY-Fit Giant Hook

The second item I'm reviewing is a giant stroller hook, which you can hang your shopping on with ease. 

Since having children I find going shopping with a pushchair can be such a struggle and so bag hooks on the pushchair are a life saver! We have tried several rounded hooks before and have found that they slip and our shopping ends up banging the wheels, or they can become a pain having to open the clip and overtime this clip becomes loose and ineffective. The EZY-Fit giant hook from dream baby addresses both of my concerns making it the perfect hook for me. It is firstly well made and the hook is sturdy. It has a velcro strap to fit it on the pushchair, which tightens well and does not budge on the handle at all. That is a winner for me because wherever you place the handle, it is secure. It is also so easy to slip bags on and off the hook without having to open any clip as well. 

It is a simple but effective solution to help with more bag space on the pushchair when shopping, without the worries the bags slipping. 

It is available for £8.99* and would be a great addition to any pushchair.

What pushchair accessories have you used and would recommend? 

Thank you for reading :)

Natalie x


* the items in this review were gift, all opinions are my own.