It's been a little while since I reviewed a cookery book, but I've dusted off my apron for Karen Burns-Booth's debut cookbook, Lavender & Lovage: A Culinary Notebook Of Memories And Recipes From Home And Abroad. I think the title pretty much says it all really...


I read Karen's blog even before I had The Brick Castle and her food is good, unpretentious, tasty fare. Born in South Africa, she's lived in countries all over the world and has soaked up the food from every one. This is a gigantic recipe book with around 160 recipes. Alongside are snippets giving history, origins or a short tale about the recipe or it's ingredients. They're short and sweet, and really do add to the dish, often giving useful hints for home cooks too.

Beasts Of Balance is a fantastic family game which we first came across over two years ago when it wasn't quite complete. It was so beautiful and had so much potential that I'm delighted to see the finished product hasn't had to make any concessions. Last week we were sent a copy to review and it's been well-used already!


Beasts of Balance is a 'digital tabletop hybrid stacking family game' for 1-5 players aged around 6-7+. Different animals, elements and special artefacts are balanced in a tower and using the free app. you see them as they interact with each other, your world grows and evolves - until the moment it tumbles....


The box is gorgeous, easy to open, very strong and perfect for storage afterwards. You'll need 3 x AA batteries and you have to download the free app. to play, but that's pretty much it. The rules are only online (I'd rather have a physical copy to refer to), but they are intuitive and easy and you can start to play straight away.

I've got a really exciting toy giveaway today, and sadly it won't arrive in time for a Christmas, but it will make an excellent new year's gift for someone.

Now, you can relive the joy of lying under a van in a car park in the pouring rain at 10pm, but from the warmth and comfort of your own lounge and age 10+. Haynes are making model engines...


I haven't had the pleasure of playing with the Haynes kits yet, but at £36.99 for an Internal Combustion Engine and £54.99rrp for an over 250 piece, fully functional motorised Petrol V8 with its own mini Haynes Manual, it's got to be a fair price.

If your children like gooey, slimey, horrible toys then they'll no doubt be hoping for Slurpees Snot Suckers in their stocking this Christmas. At £5 each, they're sure to be very popular - however disgusting they are. We were sent a delightful green package which excited the boys...


Inside were some Slurpees, plus a bogey green Winter survival kit. Socks, lip balm, hand warmer, hat, blanket and mug. The Slurpees Snot Suckers come in 4 different colour varieties and each has it's own 30g of coloured slime in a resealable pot.

Here at The Brick Castle we have the 2 young boys, but we've also got 4 grown up children. They are all still studying and haven't got their own families yet, so Christmas gift buying for us is more about finding interesting gifts for big kids than it is visiting toy shops...


Here are a few of the things we've been sent to review over the past year or two which have really impressed us and make a great Christmas present, especially if you aren't quite ready to grow up just yet. Oh, and Amazon links are affiliate. It only earns me a few pence each time if you order through my link, but it helps keep the website running and doesn't cost you a penny....

Maqio are based incredibly locally to me and have just launched a new low-cost toy e-commerce store specialising in Maqio Boxes. These are specially decorated storage boxes that will never peel because they use In-Mould Labelling (IML). During curing the labels are fused with the box, so your box can be washed and used for years, but the pictures and patterns won't ever wear away or look tatty.


We've been sent a big selection from the Maqio Box range to review - and the prices are good. This whole lot is well under £50, and if you buy before 20th December, there's an extra 10% off throughout the whole site.

We were sorting our Christmas decorations anyway, so they couldn't be handier - although they will mainly end up storing toys upstairs in the bedrooms.

Slime is incredibly popular this year and pretty much all children love playing with it. We were given the Nickelodeon Slime Station and a large pot of delicious orange slime to review for Sambro. Suitable for age 5+, this is like a little factory for making non-toxic slime, with a big choice of different textures and glittery bits to add to it.


No batteries, packaging is mainly a big handy cardboard box and very little inessential plastic. Opens in seconds, you only need to add plain tap water and you can start immediately. Christmas morning-friendly.


You have the Slime Station itself, plus lots of other items:

3 Storage Tubs With Secure Lids
10 Activator Packs
!0 Coloured Slime Powders
Spoon
4 Beads / Confetti Packs
2 Packs Of Styrofoam Balls
4 Packets Of Glitter
Slime Shaker
Funnel
3 x Lidded 'Test Tube' Storage Tubes
Instructions.

For our latest review SpinMaster Toys have sent us the Air Hogs Supernova. This is a small indoor drone which is unlike any of the others we've used because it moves using the power of your hands. Mostly... Suitable for age 8+, this can turn anyone into a magician or give them the power of the force...


Packaging is attractive for shopping, doesn't take too long to open and you can use it for storage although it's not very traditional. No batteries needed, but you will have to charge the drone for around 1 hour before use, so bear that in mind for Christmas morning.

Learning Resources might not have the snappiest name in the business, but they have some of the most interesting toys. Designed, as you'd expect, to stimulate your child's brain while they play, the hardwearing and long-lasting toys and games from Learning Resources are not only used at home, they're also popular in schools and nurseries.


They've sent us the Botley The Coding Robot Activity Set to review. This is aimed at children aged 5-9. My youngest child is 8 and he's reviewed with a 9 year old friend.


Opening the box is exciting because it has a little window on the front and is full of colour. You will need 5 x AAA batteries (3 for Botley and 2 for the Remote Control) and a tiny Phillips screwdriver, otherwise it's ready to go straight out of the box. Minimal packaging, nothing to undo and a useful storage box for afterwards. Christmas morning-friendly as long as you've got those batteries.

Although Magformers are suitable for children aged 3+, they are such an easy to use construction system, with so much scope, that they can still offer a challenge to my 8 and 10 year old boys. We've been sent the  Special Edition Magformers Sky Track Adventure Set to review. This is a gorgeous and massive 64 piece set which contains lots of special components and a powered Sky Shuttle...


Opening this box is a pure joy. It's beautiful. There's so much colour and the layout is so exciting. Any child would be delighted with this on Christmas morning. You'll need 2 x AAA batteries for the Sky Shuttle and an incredibly tiny screwdriver.


Magformers are a series of geometric shaped frames which have rotating neodymium magnets safely encased in each side. Because the magnets aren't fixed, whichever way you try and connect, two or more of the shapes will attract and stay together.

One of my favourite things we've been sent to review this year is the KURIO SMART 2in1 Tablet. Subtitled as the 'Ultimate Android Tablet for kids 6+', this gorgeous gadget has a 10" IPS screen, detachable Bluetooth keyboard and magnetic protective case. It looks gorgeous and performs really well. Set up was easy enough too...


Packaging is minimal and very effective. My parcel had clearly been thrown around and my tablet is thankfully undamaged. Inside the box are the tablet and keyboard, protective cover/case, quick start guide, power cable and adapter.


The Case is gorgeous. It has hidden magnets which hold it closed and also in place when folded as a stand. The keyboard is also attached by magnets. The tablet is held in position by small plastic corners which have a good tight grip without feeling dangerous against the screen.

My favourite Christmas Present giveaway of the year! The Grand Pile'O'Stockingfillers is an assembled box full of things we've been given for the site over the year. Maybe we were given extra, or already had one, it was a bit young or my boys just don't need another pink blind bag collectible...


Rather than waste all this stuff by putting it in a drawer or letting my boys open it and forget it instantly, I've put together a big box of goodies and one of my readers can win the lot. It is a random assortment, so you probably won't find it all useful, but there's something for everyone...

StikBots are great fun and we've reviewed them several times now. They are little poseable figures with sticky pad hands and feet, which are designed to be perfect for creating animated movies. There are lots of different themed sets available for amateur film-makers aged 4+ and I'm delighted that Brainstorm Toys (StikBot UK Distributor) have kindly offered 3 StikBot Movie Sets as Christmas presents for my readers.


Inside each box is not only the StikBot, but press out thick glossy card pieces to create scenery, backdrop, props and small plastic accessories to complete your scene. They're attractive, clever and don't need any glue or tape.

This review and giveaway is for the family game Reveal, which is a bit of a special one for us. It's been sent for review by the inventor himself and he's also sending a copy to one of my readers as a prize in my Christmas Present Giveaways. Suitable for 2 to 4 players or teams aged 8+, this is a game which has no questions, only answers, and we first tested a prototype almost 2 years ago.


It's lovely to see the development of a game like this and I'm delighted that Reveal has been picked up by Paul Lamond Games and is now available to buy in Smyths.

Inside the box are the game board, dice, 3 packs of Answer Cards (Movies, TV and Music), a cardboard sleeve/slipcase to conceal answers and golden tokens to keep score.


Everything stores in the box and there's minimal single use plastic, plus no batteries, so Christmas-morning and storage-friendly. There's no set up time involved and no complicated rules to learn, just open up the board and place your counter at the corner Start Space.

I've got a very special and somewhat traditional giveaway tonight. Courtesy of Celtic Herbal one of my readers can win Frankincense! Welsh company Celtic Herbal make excellent quality handmade products which last an incredibly long time and are indulgent just as much as they are relaxing.

They've offered a Pine & Frankincense Winter Woodland bundle with a soy candle and a very smart reed diffuser, as a prize in my Christmas Present Giveaways.


I have used Celtic Herbal myself for a while now. I love their products. They are not inexpensive, but they last so long and work so well, that you really get your money's worth. I've used their Exotic Wood & Ylang Ylang Bath Oil for the last 9 months and it's a true treat every time.

Balloon Bot Battle is brilliant. An active and understandably noisy game, sent to us by KD Games to review, it's already a favourite. Suitable for 2 players or teams aged 8+, this is a lively family game which really allows you to let out your frustrations on your family - with their permission...


There is minimal plastic and a sturdy box, which is wasted because once you've assembled your robots they don't fit in it for storage, and aren't designed for disassembly. Assembly is quick and easy though, and actually quite exciting.


Inside the box are all the parts for 2 Balloon Bots plus 20 balloons, stickers and instructions. Assembly is fairly obvious as long as you start with everything turned the right way.

I always like to find interesting stockingfillers and the Bananas we've been sent by Bandai are certainly that! Brightly-coloured and scented, and filled with all kinds of goodies including characters, stickers and a display vine, our girls would have loved these squishy collectibles when they were younger. My boys maybe aren't quite so keen...


The Banana is mainly it's own packaging. It's quite big at almost 13cm long and inside are a host of little treats that make this the perfect stockingfiller. Available as a single Banana or packs of 3.


The Bananas have different contents with 24 ‘surprise’ Crushie friends to collect, including Rare and Ultra Rare Crushies. The Bananas attach together, another feature which makes them a great collectible.

I am truly delighted to have the MiniMaster Sports Company involved in my Christmas Present Giveaways because their 1/8th scale Football game is one of the most beautifully designed toys I've reviewed all year, with absolutely tons of added value and it's genuinely suitable for anyone aged 8-99 or over...


The set comes with 1/8th scale articulated 'kicking' footballer in white, who is ready to customise to any team of your choice (MiniMaster Sports even sell model paints separately at under £2 each) plus all of this:

Action Wand with pull-lever handle
Eye2Ball shot training aid
Goal with net (W)70cm x (H)30cm x (D)15cm
Target Screen
Gameboard with spinning Pointer
Anglefinder/Defensive Wall
5 x Lightweight Footballs
Marker Tape (4m)
5 x position Markers
Display Stand
Instructions

What On Earth Books didn't only send us Absolutely Everything!, they also sent a really gorgeous lift-the-flap book for readers of all ages. Eye Spy is a huge format and incredibly beautiful book that is utterly fascinating. It shows how animals, birds and other creatures see the world and they see it very differently to us! I'm really delighted to have a copy to give away to one of my readers in my Christmas Present Giveaways...


The beginning of the book explains how we see and how eyes work, and why we even need sight at all. It's beautifully written and presented in a fold out page which already makes you feel you are holding something exciting.

This afternoon's Christmas Present giveaway and review is a brilliant non-fiction book which has been sent to us from Carlton Kids Books to review. Suitable for any reader aged 6+, Amazing Optical Illusions is a book which challenges you to look at the world very differently! Especially when our eyes deceive us...


This is a fairly thick book in a large format and the illustrations are really big, so even I don't have to squint to see all of the effects. Inside the book are 96 pages with over 80 optical illusions - enough to satisfy anyone.


Each optical illusion is explained so that the reader understands what is happening and often exactly why it happens. This is a puzzle book with the answers on every page and there is a really varied assortment of different optical illusions and ways to trick our eyes, our brains, or both.