WIN Milkshake! Brand New Besties DVD

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Milkshake! Brand New Besties DVD is the latest release from Abbey Home Media available from Monday 23rd October with over two hours of fabulous fun, magical mischief and awesome adventure. Whether it’s keeping a secret, learning to compromise, solving a problem, searching for clues or planning the best sleepover ever, our heroes put their friends firmly first!

Featuring in this new collection are:-

PAW Patrol – In ‘Pups Save the Paw Patroller’, Mayor Humdinger has swiped the PAW Patroller! The pups need to get it back and save that meddling mayor too.

Digby Dragon – In ‘Disappearing Spell’, Digby’s friend Sprite comes to visit, and Fizzy casts a disappearing spell on her. When Grizel and Mungo take Spellbook it seems impossible to magic Sprite back again.

Bob The Builder – In ‘Where’s Pilchard?’, when Muck has to shoo Pilchard out of his way, she suddenly vanishes. Leo and the machines run around trying to find her before Bob realises she’s disappeared.

Peppa Pig – In ‘Playing Pretend’, when Peppa’s bike gets a flat tyre and needs fixing, Peppa and her friends have fun riding their imaginary bikes and jumping in pretend muddy puddles./

Shimmer and Shine – In ‘Flying Flour’, the girls bake magical flying cookies, but Zeta and Nazboo sneak in to steal the flying flour.

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom – In ‘Lucy’s Elf & Fairy Party’, Lucy celebrates her birthday with an Elf and Fairy party. Lucy’s Dad does a magic show but things get a bit out of hand when Princess Holly and her friends join in…

Fireman Sam – In ‘Best Sleepover Ever’, Norman, Mandy, Sarah and James are having a sleepover at Mandy’s house. Norman is determined that it will be the ‘Best Sleepover Ever’.

Simon – In ‘The Secret’, it’s Gaspard’s birthday. Simon has found out where Mummy has hidden his brother’s present. But Simon has sworn he’ll keep it a secret!

Poppy Cat – In ‘Underwater Picnic’, when Zuzu and Alma both arrive with plans for the group, Poppy teaches them the art of compromise. They set off in the submarine for Seaweed Sea to look for the speedy turtle and have an underwater picnic.

Floogals – In ‘Project Caterpillar’, Boomer has become very fond of the 3 stripy caterpillars the kids are keeping in the shed. When one vanishes the Floogals stake out the container they are in to see if they can solve the mystery.

Olly the Little White Van – In ‘Bad Luck Olly’, Olly is going through a run of terrible luck. The more he tries to help people the more things go wrong. Help comes from the most unlikely place as Bazza helps him relax and do what comes naturally….Helping!

Puffin Rock – In ‘Mossy Impossible’, Oona is in danger. She’s tangled up in fishing twine near Seagull Cliff and the seagulls will be back soon! Mossy and Bernie try to free her, but they need help from Mama and Papa Puffin.

Noddy, Toyland Detective – In ‘Broken Crystal Memory Game’, Noddy needs to find out who broke the Crystal Memory Game before the start of the Daredale Challenge Obstacle Race!

Thomas & FriendsTM – In ‘Toby’s New Friend’, Philip spots Toby and assumes that he is a diesel boxcab just like him. Convinced that they will become best friends, Philip rushes up to introduce himself, but Toby finds him rather overwhelming.

For your chance to win a copy just fill in the Gleam form below:

Milkshake! Besties DVD

Peppa Pig Muddy Puddles Jumbo Jet – Review

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Peppa Pig Muddy Puddles Jumbo Jet from Character Toys is a fabulous new addition to the Peppa Pig toy range that I’m sure any little Peppa Pig fan will love.

Mister B’s eyes lit up when he saw the Peppa Pig Jumbo Jet, he’s never forgiven me for getting rid of Miss M’s Peppa Pig toys earlier this year and is constantly asking when they are coming back as he wants to play with them! I knew the Jumbo Jet would be perfect for him as he loves planes and doesn’t have anything like this, he has a great imagination for play and I knew this would suit him perfectly. He enjoyed studying the back of the box to tell me what other Peppa Pig toys he would like!

The Peppa Pig Jumbo Jet is a very sturdy, durable toy that will withstand plenty of play. It comes with one Peppa Pig figure and two plastic suitcases. The plane has an opening side door with three seats inside, perfect if you have additional figures to fly away with Peppa. The luggage compartment and the back also opens up to put the suitcases in or any other luggage items you wish to pack. The only issue I had was that Mister B got a little frustrated trying to get Peppa into the front seat of the plane without her tipping over, I agree it was a little awkward to get her in there but he soon moved on to some imaginative plane play!

The wheels are free wheeling underneath to really help with play although Mister B tended to have the plane flying through the sky once his passengers had boarded. It is the perfect size for lifting, not to big or heavy and he loved making his plane sounds to go along with the flying!

The Peppa Pig Jumbo Jet has been a hit with us and provided lots of fun play. It easily fits in with other toys for extended play value therefore I’d recommend it for any little Peppa Pig fan!

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

Personalised Peppa Pig Book from Penwizard – Review

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Penwizard offer personalised books starring your children alongside household name characters such as Peppa Pig, Fifi, Roary the Racing Car, Ben and Holly etc. We chose a Peppa Pig book which is A4 size, 24 full colour pages with a personalised story throughout.

When 3yr old Mister B saw the book, he immediately recognised Peppa Pig and then I pointed out his name. It’s only in recent months that he’s become aware of his name written down, but when he realised what he said, he thought it was hilarious – he was so excited and couldn’t wait to read it.

What I like about the story is that not only does it incorporate your child’s name, but you can modify the characteristics of the image of your child to make it more realistic. I was able to select hair colour, hair style, eye colour, skin colour etc to help make it more lifelike. Also on one of the pages it mentions the full name of the child, which reinforces to the child that the book really is about them.

I have never seen Mister B so excited reading a book, he genuinely giggled everytime we read his name almost in disbelief that it was a real book. Big sister Miss M has kindly sat and read the book through to him a few times – they both were genuinely excited and thoroughly enjoyed the story of Mister B in the swimming pool with Peppa Pig and George. This has also been a firm favourite that has been on his reading pile every night for mummy or daddy to read at bedtime.

I think the Penwizard personalised books are a great gift for little ones. The delight in their faces to see themselves in a book alongside their favourite characters is so special. These books are ideal for birthday gifts and one that you know will get used over and over again.

The ordering process is very simple, and takes just a few easy steps that the website guides you through, delivery is fast too. If you are looking for a personalised book then I’d definitely suggest checking out Penwizard.

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

Carpet Picture Stains with More Th>n Insurance

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Recent research by MORE TH>N Insurance revealed that 35% of Brits have spilt or knocked food, drinks and other substances onto their carpets while getting over-excited watching sport on TV.

This led to award winning artist Ed Chapman to create some carpet art to celebrate Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory, using common stains/spills on carpets. e.g. red wine, beer, coffee.

So MORE TH>N insurance came up with a challenge, to create some artwork on a piece of carpet using common household stains.

I’m no artist but I have two young children and I asked them for inspiration as to what to create. I explained that we could use ketchup that was red and real mud along with make up, wine, soot etc.

They suggested Peppa Pig because her dress is red and she loves jumping in muddy puddles! What a great idea, so I took their advice and set to work.

I didn’t realise it’d be so hard to draw/paint the design onto the carpet. The only stain that went on easily was the coffee which happily mad a big muddy puddle for Peppa Pig to stand on.

So after using the coffee to create a big muddy puddle for Peppa Pig to stand on, we used tomato ketchup to paint her dress, her face is pink emulsion pain, the darker pink is nail varnish, we didn’t buy anything yellow, so later when Mister B had a banana to eat he left his skin strewn across the floor so I picked it up and used it to make the sun. We always have raisins dotted around our carpet so we used them for some eyes. We used some orange coloured emulsion for Peppa’s wellies, and attempted some white french polish nail varnish for a white cloud but it was harder to draw on there than first thought.

With some blue and green from a children’s paint pallet we put some sky and grass on the background, then we finished the design with mud – straight from the garden, to give the true effect of jumping in muddy puddles!

My kids loved it!! Who’d have thought that all those things that usually stain the carpet could be made into a design the children love and want to keep – unfortunately we can’t as it smells a bit and I suspect will go a bit mouldy over the next few days.

We were sent a square of carpet and £10 for materials to create this.

Jumping in Muddy Puddles Peppa Pig – Review

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Fiona Martin

Having two huge Peppa Pig fans in the house I was pretty sure that Jumping in Muddy Puddles Peppa Pig from Character Toys would be a success. As soon as I removed her from the box it was a battle as to who could be the first to touch her.

By pressing an area near the top of her dress Peppa comes alive and delivers various phrases such as :

‘Oink, I love jumping in muddy puddles’
‘Splish Splash Splosh Splish’
‘1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, Ready or not here I come!’
‘Tee Hee’

whilst at the same time jumping up and down in muddy puddles! I thought this was a really clever idea and was surprised at how stable she was. I thought she may have tipped over but no, she remained upright every time she jumped. Peppa comes in her traditional red dress but is covered in muddy splashes from head to toe which have been very well replicated and do actually look like crusty dried on mud stains – something which 4 yr old Miss M was convinced were real!!

This Peppa toy is aimed and boys and girls aged 3-5 years although I would say that 2 yr old Mister B was absolutely fascinated by her and his first words on seeing Peppa in action were “I love it”. The fact that Peppa can also count up to 10 is a really helpful way for toddlers to improve their numeracy skills and Mister B copied Peppa straight away repeating 1 to 10 after her which is great as this will help him master his numbers in a fun, enjoyable way. He also loved jumping up and down alongside Peppa.

Although her feet are solid the rest of Peppa is plush and Miss M insisted on taking her to bed for a cuddle. I think the Jumping in Muddy Puddles Peppa is a fantastic toy encompassing a plush and interactive play. Both my children enjoyed listening to Peppa chatter away and either copied her, laughed with her or made their own fun up around what she was saying.

This would be a perfect Peppa toy for any young Peppa Pig fan and is sure to keep them entertained whether jumping around chattering with her or snuggled up in bed with her.

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.

Peppa Pig World of Playsets – Review

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Fiona Martin

We were asked to review the Peppa Pig World of Playsets by Character Toys for izziwizzikids.

Being a massive Peppa Pig fan, Miss M was thrilled when I told her we were going to be reviewing this toy. When she saw the box her eyes lit up in amazement and she couldn’t wait to get inside. Out came the Peppa house with carry handle which opened up to find a further 5 buildings stacked inside. Miss M thoroughly enjoyed the process of unpacking the buildings (a bit like russian dolls) and happily lined them all up across the floor.

And then the role play started – I was actually quite surprised at the conversation that I heard!! With the 1 Peppa Pig figure supplied there was a constant flow of chitter chatter from Miss M as Peppa Pig visited the cafe, bought an endless supply of cakes, then went home, had a bath, played with her doll’s house, then off to the vets, in and out all the opening doors as she went.

Although the play houses are all plastic they are very sturdy and well built and will entertain little ones for houses with plenty of room for imagination. It would be nice to have some extra figures and accessories for the playsets so these were immediately requested by Miss M to go on her list to Father Christmas. (Shh – mummy may already have some bits stashed in the loft) so can’t wait to see the further play value and Miss M’s delighted face on Xmas day.

The fantastic thing about these sets is unusual way they stack into each other creating a really compact, easy to store toy – fabulous!!

A delightful little set worth buying for any Peppa Pig fan this Christmas for hours of fun and entertainment.

Here is our video review for izziwizzikids:

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.

Gull Pink Spotty Dolls Pram by Brio review

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Fiona Martin

We were asked to review the Gull Pink spotty Dolls Pram by Brio for izziwizzikids.

When the big box arrived I immediately hid it out of view from Miss M so that I could build it when she was out. I spotted my opportunity and opened the box to reveal all the parts of the fabulous Brio dolls pram. It took very little effort to build as was already partially assembled. In under 5 minutes I had this amazing pink spotty dolls pram standing in front of me that any young girl would be very proud of to push along.

When Miss M arrived home I asked her to close her eyes and come into the room – well if only I’d captured the look on her face when she saw it. Her eyes were like saucers and a cute little grin spread across her face – she couldn’t quite believe that it was for her to play with and try out.

The Brio pram was an immediate hit and Miss M couldn’t wait to push it along. First we filled it with an assortment of dolls and teddies, not forgetting Peppa Pig of course!! Then off we went to the park – capturing lots of smiles from passers by on the way. Miss M found the pram very easy to push along and manoeuvre and loved the extra details like the removable cover and brake which she insisted was put on every time we stopped.

Back at home Miss M delighted in the fact that she could remove the carrycot from the frame of the pram and use it as a bed to put her dolls/teddies/Peppa Pig to sleep in – this has now become a bedtime ritual and goes on the floor next to her bed each night. And if mummy goes into a room to say something I get a big “ssshhhh!!” because the dollies are sleeping.

We absolutely loved this pink spotty Brio dolls pram along with all its beautiful features and give it a big 10/10. We would highly recommend it and think it would make a fabulous Christmas present for any little girl to treasure for many years to come. This is a very durable toy that can be used both indoors & outdoors and can be folded down for storage or portability.

Here is our video review for izziwizzikids:

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.