ad Elli Smiles Toy Review

My youngest two daughters at seven and nine years old still love to play with dolls. They push them around in what was my dolls pram, which is over thirty years old and they turn into mini mums as the play.

I've always believed that dolls are great for imaginative play, to get the cogs turning and to encourage interaction. Between the chatter, the dressing up and the role play, there is so much to be gained from simply playing.

Elli Smiles from Zapf Creations is a doll that offers the opportunity for all of the above, she is an interactive doll who really smiles and my girls were lucky enough to be gifted her for the purpose of this review.

Dreamworks Toothless Hatching Dragon - How to Train Your Dragon The Hidden World

My children are huge fans of the How to Train Your Dragon films (as am I). So when we got wind of a certain toy, which is going to be very popular, the kids were more than a little eager to get their hands on it.

Much like a certain other hatching egg, the Toothless Hatching Dragon is an interactive toy which you first need to hatch out of its impressively big shell. My eldest daughter made the comment that she could now be the mother of dragons - if you watch Game of Thrones you will understand just what she was inferring.

Candylocks Collectable Dolls Review

My youngest two girls still love to play with dolls and are alway on the look out for new ones to add to their collection (especially ones that have an added bit of fashion and style.) As it happens, just last week we were kindly gifted a brand new kind of doll and now we're ready to show you.

Meet the newest collectable dolls, Candylocks from Spinmaster.

Who's in there with the cotton candy hair?

These oh so sweet-smelling collectible dolls have unbelievably soft hair and just as their name suggests, it looks just like cotton candy!

L.O.L Surprise Hair Goals and Fuzzy Pets Collectibles

Collectible toys are still all the rage amongst kids right now and one such collectible that remains popular are the L.O.L Surprise dolls. My girls have been collecting various versions of them ever since they hit toy shelves back in 2016.

And now I've been given the opportunity to review two of the latest ranges #Hairgoals and Fuzzy Pets. Right now I'm considered the coolest mum ever!

Celebrating Easter with Num Noms

Num Noms have been around for quite some years now and after all this time they manage to come up with new and exciting ranges that my children would like to collect. And as we come up to Easter, things haven't changed.

These delicious smelling collectables are back with new and yummy selections and to enable me to showcase them to you, I have been sent a few of the new range along with a delightful Easter themed recipe and a few baking essentials to help the kids in the kitchen.

These brand new additions include the following:

Get Your Your Toy Bargains at PoundToy

Toys. All kids like them and all kids want them. Whether you are them for your own children or looking at buying presents for others, it can sometimes be hard to find toys to fit your budget. And that's where PoundToy can help.

PoundToy may not have been a site you've heard of so you may be surprised to read that it is actually one of the UK's leading online locations to purchase high quality, branded character toys and games.

This site was created in 2014 and it is a family operated business. Their main focus is to deliver safe, affordable and quality products which are responsibly sourced and complement childhood through fun, learning and exploration.

Stocking Up For Christmas with Wicked Uncle

As we near the second half of November, you can't deny that Christmas is coming. Now if you're like me, you'll already have most things bought and be rather organised for the occasion but I know I'm in the minority there. So if you the opposite and you've barely started and you are in need of some inspiration, I'm here to help, or rather Wicked Uncle is.

I was lucky enough to work with Wicked Uncle a couple of years ago and since then this is a company who have gone from strength to strength.They stock a wide range of toys that would be suitable for any occasion such including the all important Christmas. 

On their site you'll find everything is divided up into age and gender but they also make sure that you can search by interest too because we all know that girls and boys can play with whatever they like. And with new products added on a weekly basis in the run up to Christmas, there is something for everyone to be discovered.

First Act Discovery Ukulele - Review and GIveaway

When I was younger my musical talents didn't manage to stretch further than twinkle twinkle little star on the keyboard and an ok version of three blind mice on the recorder. It's not that I don't like music, I love listening to other people play their instruments, I just wasn't blessed with the musical genes. My little brother on the other hand is actually quite good, he plays the bass guitar in his own band and is quite the dab hand with his ukulele. 

Now my kids all adore their uncle and all look up to him in a their own way and when I was asked if I'd like to review the First Act Discovery Ukulele, it was my eight year old who jumped for joy and proclaimed that her Uncle Alec could teach her how to play. And if that wasn't enough, it turns out that her teacher is also a really talented ukulele player and she recently bought in her instrument to school to demonstrate just how fun it is to make songs with.

The First Act Ukulele isn't a 'toy' instrument, it is the real thing. It comes complete with:

SuperZings Series 2 - Rivals of Kaboom

Collectibles, they are everywhere, well they certainly are in my house anyway. Any mentions of something new to collect and my children are quick to inform me that they of course need to buy them instantly. Over the past couple of years they've chosen ones mainly aimed at girls but with films like The Avengers becoming more popular, super heroes are definitely on their radar so a collectible you may or may not of heard of, SuperZings, really appealed to my girls. 

These are unique in the sense that they aren't aimed at any one gender. They work for both boys and girls but some of you may already be asking just what are SuperZings and how am I just hearing about them now?

Cool Maker – KumiKreator Friendship Bracelet Maker Review

Friendship, it can sometimes be a hard thing to come by but friends are an important part of anyone's lives. I remember when I was younger the importance of not only friends but of course the even bigger status of best friend, you know your BFF and normally this was shown by giving out necklaces or bracelets that you would promise to keep hold of forever!

Having four girls of my own now it is so lovely to see that over the years traditions like these ones are still very much alive and Cool Maker are aware of this and that's why they've come up with the KumiKreator Friendship Bracelet Maker.

Taking some inspiration from the art of Japanese Kumi bracelets (Kumihimo in Japanese means “gathered threads”), the KumiKreator makes it simple and easy to create stylish and detailed Kumi friendship bracelets.

Style, Cuddle and Play With Rainbocorns + Giveaway

These days there seems to be a new collectible available for children to play with every other week and this week is no exception because today sees the launch of a brand new toy, Rainbocorns. Get ready to hatch, hug and play with these adorable plushies from ZURU.

If you follow me on Twitter you will have seen me slowly hatching and revealing a few of these cuties to my followers, giving you a sneak peek to what could become your child's new sparkly best friend.

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 3 Have Arrived

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles are a spin off from the original Hatchimals toys and if you haven't seen them already then I'm wondering why because Season 3 have just been released. My children are huge fans of the collectible toys and were beyond excited when we had a delivery of the latest little eggs.

Coming inside cute speckled egg, these surprise characters are still a great mash up of different animals but things have changed slightly compared to previous ranges of the series. Now I bet I've got you intrigued haven't I, you're now wondering just what is different about them this time round, well let me tell you...

L.O.L Surprise! Pearl Surprise Limited Edition Review

My girls are huge fans of the L.O.L dolls. They've been collecting them on and off since they were first released and with such a huge range available I don't think they'll ever complete that collection. However they were one step closer when we were recently asked if we'd like to review the new L.O.L Surprise! Pearl Surprise.

This is a larger shimmering turquoise pearl which is filled with both rare and limited edition dolls and accessories and there's an added surprise element as you make your way through unboxing all of the layers.

Disney Vampirina Boo-Tiful Dress Review

My children have always loved dressing up, letting their imaginations run wild and how can dressing up be made even better, well by adding in a Disney costume of course! One of the latest shows to hit Disney Junior is Vampirina, this has become a huge favourite for my five year old so when I was asked if she'd like to review the Boo-Tiful dress I knew I'd be in her good books when it got delivered.

The show is based on the Vampirina Ballerina series of books written by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated by LeUyen Pham and it follows the story of Vampirina "Vee" Hauntley who becomes a new kid on the block after she and her family move from Transylvania to Pennsylvania to open a local bed and breakfast called the Scare B&B for visiting ghouls and goblins.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Toy Review

My first question to you as I begin this post has to be have you seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi yet? I have and I have to admit it didn't rate in my top three Star Wars films but it was seeing Carrie Fisher on screen again and to have a few questions answered. My youngest on the other hand really loved it and honestly that's the opinion that counts isn't it.

Now of course with any Star Wars film comes an abundance of merchandise and that includes some fantastic toys for kids. We were kindly sent a huge bundle of toys to coincide with the release of the movie and the You Tube mini series, Star Wars Forces of Destiny. The bundle included:

Force Link with figure

Interactech Kylo Ren 

Path of the Force Lightsaber 

Forces of Destiny figure

Rey of Jakku Extendable Staff

Build-A-Bear Rainbow Stuffing Station Review

My eldest was bought her first Build-A-Bear by her Grandpappy, she's now twelve and this bear still sits at the end of her bed. Since then we've had many more of these creations come into our house, including my youngest's favourite cuddly toy, Chewbacca. And now we've been able to bring the fun of Build-A-Bear home with their fantastic Stuffing Station.

Half the fun of these toys is getting to be part of the process of making them, pumping in the stuffing, placing a loving heart inside and then of course you need to name your new companion. All of this magic is included when you use the Stuffing Station. So what's included?

Telestrations - John Adams - Board Game Review

I don't know about you guys but one of the things I love about Christmas (yes I said it) is the time spent with family and something we really enjoy doing together is playing a good board game, even though there is always someone complaining that there's a cheater amongst us and of course there is always the obligatory sore loser.

In aid of my love of board games over the next three weeks I will be showing you three board games from the wonderful people at John Adams and IDEAL (before you read on go and check out their Facebook page for more gaming fun). First up is a new favourite of mine, Telestations.

Must Haves For Christmas in the Hazelden Household

With only four more Fridays after this until Christmas I thought I'd share with you what my girls and I are considering must haves for Christmas. The toys they already have and are recommending to you and the ones that are on their lists in the hopes that Santa might be kind enough to pop them down our chimney.

So lets start off small. Think stocking fillers.

Here's one for the adults. I'm thinking retro with TOP TRUMPS, a classic game that I used to love playing as a child and it is definitely making a come-back. A great card game to play on Christmas afternoon as dinner settles.

And for the kids how about Hatchimals colleggtibles. The new Hatchimals surprise can be way out of budget for some people but the colleggtibles make a more affordable alternative.

Disney Tangled The Series Rapunzel Toy Sets

I don't know about you but one of my all time favourite Disney films is Tangled, it just never gets old for me and now with the release of Disney Tangled the Series on TV, there have been some fantastic new Rapunzel toys made available, two of which I happen to have here for review.

My Little Pony Pinkie Pie Swimming Seapony Toy Review

I was a huge fan of My Little Pony when I was younger, I used to watch them on the TV and play with the ponies themselves, my bedroom used to be filled with them. It's nice that I can still share these sorts of things with my children, especially because My Little Pony are still around, even if they are shall we say a little different.

We were recently sent one of the new range of ponies to play with and review, my youngest two were eager to get her out of the box and see just what she could do.