The 8yr old LOVES the Tollins – and the new book is just as good as the first!

Conn Iggulden is a bit of a hero of our family. I stumbled across his Emperor books in the library and was transfixed. Then came the Big Book for Boys – instant love from No.1 son. Then, as if half the family were not enough for him to have collected, he writes these really quite brilliant books for younger bigger readers.

You know, the tricky 6-9 age where they’re clever enough to read chapter books, but are either bored or daunted by most of them?

And cleverly, it’s in essence a fairy book – but Tollins are NOT fairies. And they’re tough and exciting. Welcome in, boys-who-won’t-read-fairy-stories. Set in the 1920′s, there’s captures and escapes and flying, a le-ee-tle bit of romance, lots of bangs and fireworks and a horrible end for Wangle, courtesy of a Cat.

The books are a joy to read – witty and warm and exciting and fun to read aloud. And as they’re a collection of four short chapter books, they’re perfect for short bursts at bedtime.

You’ll love them. Honest.

You can get the first Tollins book here and the latest collection,Dynamite Tales, is available from Amazon for £9.69 here

Love this.

Romantic and utterly enchanting.

That swooping bird with it’s sweet little tucked-away head is in brass, and it’s surrounded by the loveliest of vintage turquoise glass beads, finished with a nice simple toggle.

Just £17 from Gama over at Not On The High Street.

For me, these are a le-e-e-tle bit pointless.

I mean, the whole point of a Lego figure is to play with it, yes?
Hmmm.
Apparently no.
Apparently, that comment is worthy of a most disdainful (and pitying) look, combined with a ve-e—ry pa-ti-en-t explanation  for the dear and aged Mama who doesn’t Get It.

Apparently the ONE thing that drives any Lego-er insane is never ever being able to find the right figure. And never being able to fully appreciate their magnificence properly when they’re languishing in the depths of Lego crates.

And so, whilst I sniffed at this little shelving unit, there were three collective gasps of “Oh, that’s totally brilliant!” from three smaller life forms behind me.

So there you have it – the Lego Minifigure Display Case. A totally pointless stroke of genius…

The Lego Minifigure Display Case available on Amazon for a head under £18

Did you know there’s a new volume of seven Dr Seuss stories out? Brand shiny new ones you’ve not read before?

No, me either!

*excited*

But you need to be quick – Waterstones is the only place I can find it in stock online (your local bookseller will be able to help though).
They’re older stories, previously printed in magazines and never before in a book, and they are beyond the One Fish, Two Fish stage.

I love them all, and I can’t possibly choose…

“It’s hard to decide,”

Said young Henry McBride.

“it’s terribly, terribly hard to decide.

When a fellow grows up and turns into a man,

A fellow should pick the best job that he can.

But there’s so many jobs that would be so much fun,

It’s terribly hard to decide on just one.”

It’s a wonderful hardback collection, I suggest any Dr Seuss fan (and lets face it, who isn’t?) should go rootle one out as soon as you possibly can.

(I found it In Stock for £8.71 at Waterstones)

What IS it with children and magnets?

Well, whatever the attraction (Attraction! Geddit?! Oh, I make myself larf…), this book has it in spades. The Gruffalo’s Child – almost as beloved in this house as The Gruffalo itself – And a heap of magnets to play with, creating your own scenes in the book; having the owl tell the fox off, the bird peck at the snake…. oh, sorry, that’s just our bossy 4yr old, probably…

Now usually these magnet books are a monster price – but LOOK! Just over a fiver on Amazon! BARGAIN! And a tippety-TOP stocking filler…
The Gruffalo’s Child Magnetic Activity book on Amazon for £5.49

One thing my boys LOVE to do (and I know it’s not just mine) is make videos. I always think it’s their equivalent to us talking into a clunky top-loading tape recorder – they put on shows, perform ‘the news’, the sneak up on each other, they record super-fantastic moves on computer games… And as parents we just love watching what they come up with (even the odd expected ‘surprise’ video that naturally occurs when you leave two brothers alone with a video camera. You just know that a penis mention is going to happen somewhere…).

Boy (just 10) was sent the Playfull camera to review, and he has really been putting it through its paces. He uses it a lot – and I’d love to show you the fruits of his labour, but mostly it is nonsensical 10yr old type stuff. I will come back and post a clip, honest. Just as soon as I have a couple of hours to plod through the mindless giggling and flashes of body parts ruining a perfectly good small-sister-singing clip (yes, really *eyeroll*).

In the meantime – is this a good video camera? Is it a good buy? Is it a Great Gift Idea?

Yes, yes and thrice YES.

The quality is excellent, the controls are dead easy, it hasn’t failed on us once, the downloading / sharing couldn’t be easier, and the screen for viewing is excellent (Boy has a particular fondness for playing back movies in B&W at double speed – makes him helpless with laughter. In fact he creates movies with the aid of Jolly, purely so that they can be played backwards and look like old Laurel & Hardy slapstick sequences… now THAT is the clip I should show you…)

It’s a small camera – around the size of a mobile phone – which is a great size for keeping it handy. D’you remember when we used to lug those enormous tape video cameras out at Christmas and birthdays? Thank goodness things have moved on!

Now you can have a full HD res video online and winging its way to Grandma before you can say “look who’s walking!”.

The Kodak Playfull has been reduced to £99.99 – and we would seriously recommend you take a look if you’re thinking about buying a video camera for Christmas (either as a gift or just for your to use – it’s good for both!).

Oh this book is BRILLIANT!

I was sniggering just from a first flick through, before I got anywhere near bedtime stories and reading it aloud to the 4yr old.

Telling the Christmas story from the seriously sleep-deprived (and VERY grumpy) Inn Keeper, this book will be read again and again.

Unusually for a book telling this story, it is neither overly heavy or sanctimonious, nor is it irreverent with its Christmas message.

However, one word of warning – small children will frequently bellow “ROUND THE BACK!” at anyone who knocks on the door…

Jesus’ Christmas Party is currently £3.38 on Amazon. Tis Bargainous; Go, Buy!

Did you know that for every soft toy, kids meal and book purchased in IKEA stores until December 23rd, the IKEA foundation will donate 1 Euro to UNICEF and Save the Children to support Children’s education programmes throughout the world.

No, me either.

And those bods at IKEA? They know how to make soft toys, no? I *want* that stoopid reindeer… and this little man down here is the newest version of Monty, y’know. Monty is a bear which my No.2 son, Boy, was given as a baby – and who still adorns his bed, even now. In fact, he has three Monty’s, as we were afraid to lose one – and at this price you can afford to get spares…

Want to see Monty in action? Here…

Why was he called Monty? Because he can do a mean shoulder action, like the scene in the Job Centre queue in The Full Monty of course... *tut*

Boy turned ten this summer – and Monty still looks much the same (only he looks smaller when Boy hugs him now). Yes, IKEA soft toys really are that good. Oh, and d’you how much Monty cost? 49p. The price has DOUBLED in ten years. Shocking, I know…

IKEA’s soft toys can’t be bought online, but if you find yourself in a store, don’t forget to grab one on your way through. There’s no such thing as too many soft toys for a house – and you’ll be helping some needy children of the world while you’re at it.

Oh me oh my.

Now don’t tell me you’re not swooning at the idea of a pretty notebook.

If you do I simply shan’t believe you.

And honestly? You’ll go a ve-e-e-ry long way before you find a notebook as lovely as a Paperblank.

My own lustful ways are currently hot-flushing over the Pocket Companions series – it might be the rounded edges, the smooth mock-cracked-leather exterior, the totally perfect smooth-but-not-slippery paper texture or the perfect maxi size with its 224 pages of delicious thickness.

But I have been known to flirt a little with a William Morris…

And of course, there’s always room for a pant over a Good Dog…

Whichever design you choose (and there are a hundred or so to mosey through), whichever size you choose (me, I’m a Maxi sort of person, but you may be a Biblio, or a Grande for all I know), whichever fastening you choose (Elastic band? Magnetic wrap?), whichever paper you choose (Lined? Plain? Gridded? Musical Staves?) I can absolutely guarantee that you will love love LOVE your Paperblanks notebook – almost to the point where you don’t want to write in it.

Almost.

But not quite.

Paperblanks are available from a number of High Street and online retailers – but right now WHSmith have up to 50% off…

These Lego storage heads are just a brilliant idea – even by Lego standards.

What’s the age old issue with Lego? That one complaint that we all have about this modern toy-majig?

The tidying up.

I’ve seen parents restrict the child to keeping the Lego in one tray to ease the tidying… but where’s the creative fun in that?
The alternative, of course, is not only risking serious Lego Foot injury by allowing Access All (floor)Areas, but there’s the problem of one large crate of Lego. How exactly are you supposed to find that essential little red tile / head / 3-way-join in a large crate of a thousand or more pieces? There’s only one way of course – Rummaging. Hence Lego play is ALWAYS accompanied by much muffled chunterings and the sound of plastic bricks being shooshed around.

Clearly, this bothered those clever Lego bods too.

Because they came up with the Lego Sort & Store Head.

Now it wasn’t until I actually got my hands on this that I understood (I was still completely sold when I thought it was just a big container for Lego – after all, how cool is THAT?).

But.

Then it’s sheer blatant genius was revealed to me.

Inside that head are sieves. In ascending sizes.

And when the time comes to tidy up the Lego – you simply scoop the lot into The Head, plop on the lid… and shake it.
And hey presto – your Lego is sorted into three different sizes.
Mad, but true.

And THIS is why every parent in the land kisses those clever Lego people on the cheek. They think of everything.

Available from John Lewis for a brick under £40

Top (and bottom, and a few times in between) of Boy’s Christmas list this year is the Skylanders game.

Oh, how he LONGS for one.

And whilst at first glance I sniffed and sighed and said “ANOTHER game, Boy? REALLY?”, the more I looked and listened to his (endless) tales of its wonders, the more I was convinced…

And then I played it for myself.

Wowsers it’s good!

The thing about Skylanders is that it is MORE than just a video game . You see you get a ‘Portal of Power™’, and some figures. You place the figures on the ‘Portal of Power™’ and hey presto! They are on screen, and you are they, as it were. Yes – your little toy comes alive on screen, and you get to play AS that character. GENIUS!
Each figure has its own powers and abilities, and naturally, whilst the system comes with three there are many many more to collect. Each new figure unlocks worlds and introduces mini games, and accomplishes tasks, so will want to collect more.

A-HA! Money-grubbing Games designers, I hear you cry.

Well… yes, you could say that…

BUT.

It does mean that the game has longevity – no 3hr run-through only for it to be left on the shelf for the next 6mths. This is a game that keeps on bringing in the fun. Bringing toys to life – really, what’s not to love?  You need 8 toys to access all the bonus areas – one of each type (36 in all to collect, but not all have been released yet). And fear not, the con is not so deep as you first thought:  you don’t need to access the bonus areas to complete each level, and you CAN complete the whole adventure with the three characters in the starter pack (its just easier if you have more characters).  Being able to add to the characters just means a line of toys to save up pocket money for (or ready-made Grandparent spoilings…).

The game itself is a simple platform game; following the story line, doing battle, solving puzzles and finding hidden treasure over the 20 levels.
Even after completing a level, playing again as a different character necessitates a whole new strategy – and bop! You’ve gained a whole new game experience. And, of course, you may have missed a chest or a scroll first time through.

PLUS – plop a 2nd character on the ‘Portal of Power™’ (*sigh*) and it’s suddenly a co-operative play game. Brilliant!

And of course, when the Xbox or Wii are off (i.e. Sun-Thurs in our house) those figures still have great play value. And they can be taken to a friends house and used on THEIR Portal of Power™’ (*eyeroll*) too. I also love the fact that the upgrades and levels you have earned remain with the toy, not your gaming system – so bring it to a friend’s house and it will have the same level and upgrades.

Honestly? We love it. We love it’s beauty, it’s attention to detail, it’s total immersability – and it’s sheer fun-to-play goodness.

Skylanders really is a breath of fresh air – reminiscent in mood to the simple fun games of 20 years ago, the original Sonic’s and Mario’s and Zelda’s we all spent far too many nights pre-children up bashing our thumbs over. but with far better graphics.
No guns, no driving, no violence… just a highly appropriate, charming and ever-so-slightly genius modern toy.

Skylanders Starter Packs for the Wii and the Xbox start at £47.99 from Amazon

Oh, what’s NOT to love about a Corgi Die Cast model?

Solidly Heavy and GORGEOUS to play with.

And these new 2012 Olympic releases are no different. Of course, you CAN tuck them away, as they’ll no doubt be worth money in the future – you know how Corgi cars go. But me? I think that’s sad. This is a toy. And it’s built to be played with.

And oh how lovely they are to be played with!

These aren’t little mini matchbox-sized cars. Oh no. These are big, 12cm long, wrap-your-hand-around-them-and-go-VROOOOM models.

There’s five models in the new Great British Classics range of London 2012 vehicles.  The London Bus and Taxi have London landmarks on them, and the Mini, Concorde and Tube Train feature the Union Flag – and all five have the 2012 Olympics emblem on them too.
All five are available from Amazon, for a ribbon under £10 each

I’ve never done a Zumba class.

There, I said it.

Always wanted to… always been a it afeared to take my sweaty puffing hulk into a room full of lithe bobbing lovelies.

I did borrow a friends original Zumba game, but found the steps hard to learn – the sensor was very forgiving, and as long as I was moving it said I was doing fine, but I wanted something that would actually teach me the Merengue, y’know (Yes, yes, I hear you all you Dirty Dancing-ites; “she can’t even do the Merengue…”)?

But then along came Zumba Fitness 2 to my doorstep.

I looked at it for a week, half-excited, half-fearful.

Then one morning, post-school run, I closed the sitting room curtains and slid the disc in the wii.

Oh.

Cripes.

I chose to ‘learn the steps’ first (yes, yes, I went for Merengue!), and the tutorial was excellent, even for a total beginner like me.

Next day, as I had the steps mastered I moved on to a short class.

Cripes again.

Exhausted.

Sweat.

Puffing.

Not pretty.

But hells bells it’s FUN!

Oh, how much I LOVE it!

I haven’t moved above the short classes yet – they’re quite enough for my wobble-arse to be going on with.

But as a fitness tool there’s loads more progression sitting waiting for me, and I can’t wait to move on; there’s mid-classes before I reach the dizzy heights of a long class (*whimpers*).

The belt that comes with the disc works really well (you tuck the control into the pocket and away you go) and unlike the old version you really do need to do the steps, not just wiggle! For the competitive ones amongst us it also tracks your weight, your calories burned, and gives you a score.

The only thing I’d like is a clock, to be able to see how much more class I have left to struggle through enjoy.

Zumba Fitness 2 for the Wii can be nabbed from Amazon for a sidestep under £25

Fab, isn’t it?

I popped over to So Indigo to swipe one of their amazing lions, and got sidetracked by these little beauties.

As with ALL of So Indigo’s products, these are individually made, covered with 100% hand woven cotton and coloured with eco-friendly dyes.

Talk about a cheery little book to lurk in your bag or decorate your desk!

And at just over five and a half pounds, this is a good one to wave at gift buying relatives…

She has baby rabbits in her skirt!

Oh she’s so gorgeous – pyjama or nigtie cases are a bit of a lost art, aren’t they? BUt i bet if you show this to any Granny, they’ll snap it up for their granddaughters.

And I absolutely bet the granddaugters would love using her too.

Who wouldn’t?

Her apron can be personalised with a name – oh, and she comes in pink gingham too!

£25 from Spottiswoode Trading.

Oh how we love love LOVE the Tag reading system!

Right from the very early days, when it was in an enormous plastic folder that was bulky and horridious to carry around, we have owned at least one – thankfully they have got smaller and cleverer over the years!

The latest pen (in classic green and also purple – which thankfully isn’t pink, though it is called that) holds up to 10 books at any one time – toppety top choice for long car trips and visiting relatives over Christmas!

The principle is simple – when the pen is run over the words, the story is read aloud to the children. By watching the words at the same time as hearing the story, children subconsciously pick up the basics of reading. It’s exactly the same principle as my daughters Reception teacher telling us parents to read to our children whilst running a finger along under the words.

But far more fun than the stories are the ‘extras’ hidden in each page – the sounds and descriptions and games you can find whilst running the pen over the pictures.

With the Tag pen, your child who can’t read yet will sit happily for an hour or more poring over books. Bedtime calm down is easier – just a book and a pen and they’re quiet and content (and LEARNING!).

Over time, of course, your child will only use the pen on the tricky words, until eventually they are reading the stories themselves. It’s a classic toy for a reason – it’s well-built, holds infinite play value, and really genuinely works.

The range of books is excellent – old classics like Paddington, Thomas and Cat In A Hat sit alongside contemporary titles like Disney’s Tangled and Pixar’s Cars, and there are more than 30 titles to choose from (See all Tag books currently HALF PRICE on Amazon!). There’s even Interactive World Map book available to help with geography and world knowledge.

The Tag Reading System is a dot under £30 – books usually retail for around £12 each (so take advantage of the half price sale!).

Oh these are GREAT! They’re by Melissa & Doug, so you just know they’ll be of fabulous quality.

Two dolls, and 56 items of clothing.

The dolls have stands, so you just prop them up and start dressing them – brilliant.

Also a great travel toy if anyone’s on long journeys these holidays, I’m thinking…

The Abby & Emma Magnetic Dress Up set is a hat under £19 over at Toys of Essence.

Oh we LOVE these little chaps!

Six skittles and a bright yellow ball, all packed away in a lovely cloth bag.

Don’t they just make you want to play?

Wooden Soldier Skittles available from Carry Me Home for £9.50

*pauses while you still your beating heart*

Look. LOOK! His socks! Meeep!

And if that’s not enough, check out his sister…

Her smile! Her Bow!

Sigh. These are by far and away the very absolute cutest bears I’ve seen this year. Made from wool and tweed, I just can’t imagine how amazingly wonderful they are to cuddle and carry about the house and to serve tea & cakes to.

*swoon*

Both Little Pocket bears are available from my top new find, Little Blue Owl. Hurry – I may have to buy them all. And a Stripy horse too.

Every year in the week before Christmas we sit as  a family and watch the Polar Express.

And every year it works its special magic – and every year I long for one of those sleigh bells.

I do.

So just LOOK at what I have found this year…

The ONLY Authentic “Polar Express Sleigh Bell Gift Set!”

*claps hands in an excited burst of happy*

The Polar Express sleigh bell is handcrafted by artisans, brass-cast and then chrome plated so it will not rust or peel, and rings with rich authentic tones. It measures 2″ wide x 2″ tall and weighs a substantial 3.1 ounces (the exact weight of 2 golf balls). A soft piece of brown leather is attached to the sleigh bell, just like in the story.

It comes in a soft silk velvet drawstring gift bag, with a “Polar Express Golden Ticket”, plus a note from Santa.

And we love love LOVE it.

But be quick – it’s got to be shipped from the US, so you’re running out of time…

The Polar Express Sleigh Bell Gift Set is available from Magical Bells for £37.42 (the bell on its own in a velvet bag is just £8.30. And we love that too…)