Ben 10 Deluxe Power Up Figure

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Ben 10 and his Omnitrix (alien watch) is a key part in the Ben 10 series and sees him transform into various different alien beings taking on their appearance and powers whilst still being a ten year old boy underneath. The perfect way for a kid to have fun and play for the day. Flair have launched a range of three Power up Figures fully articulated and with their own lights and sounds. Here we check out Heatblast.

The Ben 10 figures stand at around 14cm tall and easily stand unaided with a steady balance. Arms and legs can be moved easily for imaginative fun and play but the big feature with these figures is the little button on the top of the back which can be pressed as little or often as you want giving your alien a surging burst of energy. The character lights up in various ways and makes a great selection of sounds. From little blasts the more you press the button, the more it powers up creating larger and better sounds. By holding the button down you get an instant alien blast which really adds to play value.

My just turned 7yr old enjoyed this figure and found the sounds really encouraged play and his imagination to get working. He is often found carrying the figure around the house and imitating it’s blast off sounds.

A fun toy for Ben 10 fans and one that’s durable for lots of play but has an interactive side to add to the excitement!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Great Festive Bake Off Blog Tour

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Fiona Martin

The animated film of The Snowman first graced our screens back in 1982 when I was just seven years old, although it is one of those films that I remember clearly and have watched many times over during it’s annual viewing each Christmas. The 20th anniversary film released in 2012 shares the snowman’s adventure with another little boy along with a Snowdog, of which has become one of my little boy’s favourite cuddly toys since taking part in last years blog tour. If you haven’t seen the film or want to watch it again then keep your eyes peeled as The Snowman™ and The Snowdog will be shown on Channel 4 again this Christmas!

This year we have received some lovely Snowman & Snowdog gifts to try out as shown below.

The Snowman Indoor Light String with LED bulbs is available from Christmas Trees and Lights priced at £15.99. The set contains 10 moulded snowman which gently illuminate to a soft glow. The set requires 2AA batteries to operate it, which I do like as it means they can be hung anywhere. We chose to hang them from our picture rail between our lounge and dining room. The children really love these lights and can’t wait for me to turn them on each evening.

A product that will always prove popular in this house is chocolate and when it’s a white chocolate snowman from Thornton’s, you know you are onto a winner! The chocolate is creamy and very yummy, a firm favourite with my little ones and also myself, great for a Christmas treat!

The fun twist on this years Snowman & Snowdog blog tour is a bake off along with the other bloggers taking part. We have all been sent this lovely set of Snowman & Snowdog biscuit cutters available from John Lewis and Party Delights to see what we could come up with.

I didn’t have to ask my children twice if they wanted to help, they absolutely adore baking, and as soon as I mentioned we were starting they were in the kitchen doing up each others aprons and sitting at the work top ready to begin. Due to an imminent house move my food processor is all packed up, so luckily the children love getting their hands in the bowl and effortlessy rubbed the butter into the flour for our biscuit mixture. They then rolled out and cut a variety of shapes ready for baking.

I love their results, so sparkly and festive!

And aren’t these snowdogs super cute?

Then it was mummy’s turn with the other half of the mixture. I carefully cut and baked my shapes before attempting to ice them! I’d had a long weekend of DIY at my new house and was feeling pretty shattered, so was a little rushed, but I gave it my best shot!

I really enjoyed this challenge and found it really fun to do. I’ll definitely be trying out some more biscuit designs in the new year when I have a bit more time on my hands.

Mister B’s snowdog came down to the kitchen for a visit and approved of my biscuit creations of him and thought the children would love them!

I have to say the finished biscuits are very tasty and the children couldn’t wait to sample them. I can confirm they do taste absolutely delicious are make the perfect festive treat this Christmas time.

For more Snowman & Snowdog gifts and bake off adventures head over to Madhouse Family Reviews tomorrow for more wonderful festive ideas.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the Snowman & Snowdog goodies in order to write an honest review.

Gardening with Home Bargains

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Fiona Martin

When the sun starts shining and the warmer weather appears, it’s great to get out in the garden and spruce it up after the winter months. I only have a small courtyard garden but like to make the most of it, after all, it gets the sun and the kids love eating out there in the summer months. Home Bargains have a vast range of bits and pieces for the garden from decorative items, things to grow and more useful, practical items.

We received a selection to try out and coudn’t wait for a dry day to get outside. The green, stacking chair cover (£1.99) was perfect for me. We have a stack of four chairs that live permanently outside and look a little more weathered each year. I also get fed up of having to wipe them down everytime we go outside. This cover fitted perfectly over them and keeps them nice and protected from the elements in this strong cover.

My children love helping me to plant seeds so the Seed Starter Kit in Orange & Peach was set up straight away and within a few days we had little seedlings. We also had a basket liner (99p) which we will use when our seeds get a little bigger to hopefully create some hanging basket displays. We are looking forward to a lovely display of Marigold and Nasturtium flowers over the summer.

The children decided to put the Frog ornament (49p) in their tray of sunflower seeds that they are growing. They also couldn’t wait to have a dig with the yellow fork (89p) and even wore the green gloves (49p) to help plant some seeds from the 6 in 1 seed pack (79p) in seed trays. Fingers crossed we may get a crop of vegetables later in the year and the garden netting will prove useful in protecting them from nasty pests (99p). The thermometer (69p) is great to hang on a wall outside, or in a greenhouse so you no how hot (or not) it is.

For a bit of outdoor decor, this green solar lantern (£1.99) can easily be hung up anywhere, and the pretty green leaf fairy lights (£1.59) look great draped across a tree in the early evening. Also this gold coloured butterfly (79p) makes a pretty addition hanging down from a small tree that we have and twirls around in the breeze.

Our garden has certainly been brightened up and tidied up with these useful gardening bits from Home Bargains and at some amazing prices!! Why not check out Home Bargains and see how you can improve your garden?

All reviews are my own opinions and I received the products in order to write the review.

Princess Alexa Barbie Doll – Review

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Princess Alexa is a newly released Barbie doll along with a range of other Barbie toys, especially for the soon to be released film, Barbie and the Secret Door. The film follows Princess Alexa, a shy princess but during the film she discovers a whole new fairy tale world and along with two magical friends helps to save the kingdom. Other characters include a magical unicorn, mermaid and a fairy.

Miss M’s face lit up when she saw Princess Alexa, she thought the Barbie doll looked beautiful and when I told her about the new film, she can’t wait to go and see it. Princess Alexa is a standard size Barbie with the additional feature that she sings! The dress on her bodice is solid and this flashes coloured lights as she sings. Her skirt is satin like and can be removed. It has some large flexible flowers on it which really help it stand out and look pretty.

The highlight of this Barbie doll for Miss M is most definitely Princess Alexa’s songs. To play the songs you simply press gently down on her arm and a song plays. There are clips of two songs, both of which become quite addictive and we all know the words now after hearing them endlessly each day. Even Miss M’s little brother Mister B joins in, singing along.

See Miss M and Princess Alexa’s songs here:

Miss M has loved playing with the Princess Alexa Barbie doll. She is a beautiful doll with great added features in the songs and lights. We are looking forward to the film Barbie and the Secret door which is released on DVD on 1st September 2014 and it’ll also be screened exclusively in Vue cinemas.

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

Colour Changing Bike Wheel Lights – Review

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Cycling on the road at any time can be dangerous, but particularly at night when you need to be visible. As we are nearing winter it’s important to make sure you can be seen on the roads at all times. On looking through John Lewis’ cycling equipment you’ll find these rather interesting Colour Changing Bike Wheel Lights.

Each pack contains two lights, one for each wheel and they simply screw on to the wheel valve. The lights are LED and are designed to increase visibility when it’s dark by creating a solid rim of light around the wheel as the bike moves along. The light also changes through a rainbow of colours as it goes around.

My daughter was very excited to try these colour changing lights on her bike although she wasn’t really outside when it was dark enough for the full effect – perhaps when the winter evenings draw in she can test them out a bit more.

My husband however was very keen to try these on his bike as he cycles to work everyday, and doing shift work travels at various times across the day. It so happened he was on a run of nightshifts when we received these so he eagerly attached them to his bike. I tried to capture the full circle effect of light which was incredible effective and certainly made him stand out, but the movement was too fast for the camera.

The lights are designed to only be activated when you cycle in order to preserve battery life, although we did find this a little tempermental but overall a welcome addition to visibilty when cycling. He found himself to be a lot brighter on the road having these in addition to his normal front and rear lights and said they were very effective for use at night.

Overall these are great addition to have on your bike as a cyclist with the added fun element of them changing colour.

This is a sponsored post