Happy 5th Birthday Mister B

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Ten days ago the handsome Mister B became a 5yr old! It doesn’t seem possible, the years have whizzed by, but he is still as cute and cuddly as ever, although I’m sure that will change in future years!

His birthday fell on a school day, but he was more than happy with that as it meant he could choose something out of the present box and everyone would sing two songs to him. He was also insistent on wearing a birthday badge to school as he was a little worried that the teacher wouldn’t know it was his birthday and he’d miss out on that much talked about birthday box.

After school I picked up a very happy 5yr old, who couldn’t wait to tell me all about his day, but also eager to get home to see if he had any presents (he only got cards in the morning!).

Fortunately in the lounge lay await a bundle of presents which we opened whilst having his choice of birthday tea (pasta, ham, cut up cocktail sausages and grated cheese) followed by a star wars birthday cake.

He was a very happy boy with his newly aquired minions winter hat and gloves, along with minion top, minion goggles, minion balloon amongst other things.

We delayed his party by a week to allow for his cousins to come down for a few days so this weekend it’s been Mister B’s birthday all over again with a party at our local soft play centre. He was a very lucky boy and received some really lovely presents from his school friends which we have had fun playing with over the last few days, a favourite being a tube of slime full of monsters – ewww!, a remote control car and a superheroes playdoh set!

It’s been a fabulous week, enjoying watching my little 4yr old become 5. He has made me so proud, doing really well in his first term at school and constantly being a little joker, he always makes everyone laugh with his silly dances, funny jokes and quick witted comments.

He dressed himself yesterday in his new birthday cap, t-shirt and socks which did make me smile when came downstairs – he’s such a cute little character full of energy and always with a cheeky grin on his face! (well.. most of the time)

Little Live Pets Butterfly – Review

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Little Live Pets is a new range of butterflies and birds from Character Toys, that come alive in your hand to become your pet friend. The more you feed and play with them, the more they interact. We received Angelic Wings, one of the six butterflies in the range to collect.

Angelic Wings is a pretty gold and silver butterfly with a pink sparkly flower base. The base requires 2AA batteries and this is used to feed (charge) the butterfly. The butterfly is aimed at children aged 5+ due to being slightly delicate. It has thin wings that flutter at different speeds and length of time depending on how much it has been fed and played with. It also comes with a press on window holder so that you can display your butterfly on your window if you wish.

You can let the butterfly just rest in your hand and it will flutter away showing you how happy it is, the happier it is the smoother and longer it will flutter for. If it is not very happy then it only flutters for a short time with fast rapid movements.

Miss M was intrigued by the butterfly and liked the idea that the more she played with it, the happier it became but was also a little disappointed that all it did was flutter it’s wings. I think she had seen the bird, also from the Little Live Pets range which sings to you and you can record a tune with and had expected something similar with the butterfly.

For £12.99 you get what you pay for although I would have been happier to pay a little more to get some additional features with this. The children do let the butterfly flutter in their hands each day for a few minutes but there’s not enough to keep them interested long term. For a child that loves butterflies then they may love this and with six different coloured butterflies in the collection, there is something to suit all tastes.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and the butterfly was sent to us in order to write the review.

Animal Safari by Orchard Toys – Review

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Animal Safari is a fun, tactical board game from Orchard Toys suitable for ages 5+. With Miss M being a huge fan of games and loving her Orchard Toy collection I knew this was sure to be a hit and I was also keen to try a game with a higher starting age to give Miss M the challenges she needs and thrives on.

The game is suitable for 2-4 players who use a stand up jeep playing piece to move from the camp in the centre of the board, around the board hoping to collect some animals before returning to camp. There are various viewing points across the Animal Safari board that if you land on you can pick up an animal card.

To move around the board are two dice and this is where the game gets interesting. In place are the number six on each, is a picture of binoculars, and rolling one of these allows you to take an animal card of your choice from another player. You can also tactically use the amount rolled on the dice to determine where you land on the board by either moving the amount on just one of the dice or the total of both. By having to total up the two dice also brings in basic mathematical skills which is perfect for young players. Miss M who is 5 is just learning basic addition in her first year of school and I felt this really benefitted her in practicing without realising it.

I was surprised by the variety of different animal cards – to include monkeys, parrots, flamingos, lions, tigers, zebras, meerkats, giraffes to name just a few. They are all brightly coloured and fun pictures to look at which helped add value to the game. Miss M loved looking at them and picking her favourites when she had the opportunity to take some from my pile.

Animal Safari retails at £11.75 which we think is good value for such a durable lasting game that is fun, enjoyed by all and contains hidden educational aspects.

Please watch our short review video of the game in action:

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.