Over the year I end up with quite a collection of random goodies. I've given some away to local charities and school, and the rest I am putting into a big box to send to one of my readers. I've called it the Grand Pile 'o' Stockingfillers because it makes it sound fantastic, but with a little humility. No-one ever reads this bit above the photo... I can say anything...

Bio-Oil is the Uk's No.1 multi-use skincare oil. It is a really popular skin moisturiser which reduces the appearance of scars, stretch marks and other skin blemishes. What everyone really needs for Christmas this year is to feel special, and that can start with pampering yourself.


I've used Bio-Oil for many years on stretch marks and scars and to moisturise my skin.  Bio-Oil have recently redesigned their boxes and bottles and it will look good on any bathroom potion shelf or dressing table top...


Aside from reducing redness, scarring and stretch marks, Bio-Oil is a brilliant skin moisturiser for anyone. It has a unique smell that isn't masculine nor feminine, floral or spicy, just very slightly sweet and warm. The oil is very light and soaks instantly into your skin, so you don't feel at all greasy or have to wait to get dressed.

Stationery is always popular at Christmas. Every stocking should contain a special pen or pencil from Father Christmas, for you to write a thank you. Bic have recently released an awesome range of Star Wars stationery and this Christmas they're giving one of my readers a big bundle. Not only that, but the giveaway winner will also receive a tin of their excellent Conte Drawing Pencils and a pack of 20 Intensity Fineliners.


The Star Wars range includes Bic Ball Pen, Bic 4 Colours Ball Pen (and Bic 4 Colours Shine Ball Pen), Bic Evolution Graphite Pencil, Bic Glue Stick and Tipp-Ex Mini Pocket Mouse Correction Tape. Each has great easy to spot Darth Vader packaging and the products inside are printed with characters from Star Wars.

The new Paddington Bear movie, Paddington 2, was released on 10th November and to accompany the film Harper Collins have released a whole range of fabulous books. We love books and I'm delighted to have an awesome bundle of 5 to give away to two of my readers in my Christmas Present Giveaways...


Paddington Bear has been around for almost 60 years now. As a child I watched him on TV and read the books, I even had a well-used jigsaw puzzle. The lovable little lost bear from Peru has stood the test of time and I think most children have at some point wished they could be like the Brown family and bring their own bear home.

Zing Games make active family games that will keep everyone awake this Christmas. They have given me two of their new games to give away to one lucky reader - Blast Box and Stik’em. Lively and fast-paced, these are party games everyone can play and if your children are anything like mine, they will love them!


Blast Box (£19.99rrp) is not one for the faint-hearted! Inside the box are a big plastic crate, spinner, hammer, 30 plastic nails (not sharp), a balloon pump and 100 small balloons - plus 20 cardboard fasteners (brilliant because my kids can never manage to tie off balloons themselves). You can see where this is going!

Pass The Pigs is a time-served dice game for anyone aged 3+ or older and more recently they've added 2 extra versions to their range. They have kindly offered me all 3 different Pass The Pigs games as a prize for one of my readers - Pass The Pigs (in a travel case),  Pass the Pigs Giant and Pass the Pigs Party.


Pass The Pigs is a dice game with a big difference - there are no dice. Instead you use small, cute little piggies to count and score, with different poses scoring different totals.


There are now 3 different variants of the Pass The Pigs game priced from £9.99 to £14.99, so there's something to suit everyone.

If your house is anything like mine then you'll be very familiar with fidget toys. Zing make a great range of Every Day Play fidget toys that are played with by children, but also used by professionals, and they have offered a bundle of 6 awesome and varied toys for one of my readers - Metal Chucks, Tumblstix, Spinbladez, Klixx, Thumb Chucks and Zing Dama.


The quality is great and 4 of the 6 light up - which was quite a surprise when I opened my box and everything inside was glowing! They are all packaged in card with a plastic front cover and open very easily and quickly, so you can play immediately - Christmas morning friendly.


Thumb Chucks (£7.99rrp) are the original light-up fidget balls which have been joined by several variants. I've seen Thumb Chucks demonstrated at events several times and there are loads of videos online - basic tricks are easy to learn, but trickier moves take hours of practice to master. This isn't just a fidget toy, it's a skill toy.

Who's The Dude? is a very different sort of game and it is designed especially for the more mature members of your family. Mature in age possibly, but certainly not in behaviour! This game revolves around a pack of cards and a full size blow up dude... yep - you read right!


Suitable for 3-8 players (or more in teams), this is a great game for after the younger children have gone to bed because you can't help but end up with some very suggestive actions. Hilarious and active, we all laughed non-stop, but funnily enough people were reluctant to have their photos added to this post (I've saved them for birthday embarrassment later on).

We reviewed Mayka Tape for the Rainbow Toy Awards and it's a great fun product that my 7 year old has used all over his furniture and walls to suspend his favourite minifigures. Super easy to use, it adds a whole new dimension to playing with bricks.


You can read my full Mayka Tape review here. Mayka Tape is a rubbery studded tape that is compatible with LEGO and other plastic bricks and has a sticky tape on the back. It is really beautifully presented in a really handy case that stops it unravelling and keeps it safe - it makes a great gift.

Megableu make great family games that everyone can enjoy and they have given me a bundle of 3 of their newest games to give away to one of my readers - Beat the Flush, Tumball and NAME THAT!

A Book Advent Calendar is a great way to get into the Christmas mood and spend real quality time with your child doing something they'll remember forever. Forget chocolates and windows, your child can open their imagination every day in the run up to Christmas.

Scholastic have put together 2 fantastic bundles of 24 books for advent 2017 and I'm truly delighted to be able to give away one of each. If you bought all of these books individually then they'd cost over £145rrp, but Scholastic are giving everyone an early Christmas gift and this Advent Pack of 24 books for age 0-7 is available to buy for only £29.99 while stocks last.


Scholastic Books are responsible for my earliest memories of loving books, I waited for the Scholastic Books leaflet each term with a great deal of excitement as I was allowed to choose a brand new book for myself. It gives me great joy to be working with Scholastic on such an awesome Christmas giveaway.

A Book Advent Calendar is a genius idea and something I wish I'd thought of years ago. Opening a new book each day during December with your children will create fabulous warm memories that you'll all remember forever.

This year Scholastic Books have put together 2 fantastic Advent Calendar Bundles and I'm delighted to be giving one of each away. Both bundles contain 24 specially chosen books and have an rrp of over £145 - but while stocks last they'll be on sale for only £29.99 for the pack.


Over 90 years after they started, Scholastic are still bringing great literature to children and this bundle of 24 Young Fiction books for younger independent readers aged around 7-11 contains some real gems.

Shnooks are cute little plushy toys which make great stockingfillers - although the packaging is a bit bigger than your usual stocking. At first it almost looks like you have a book, but then you realise the small bubble on the front of the packaging is going to turn into a much bigger toy - 8 times the size in fact!


This is an excellent toy to give as a gift and totally Christmas morning friendly. Opening it takes seconds, although you might want to take the time to enjoy the novelty because it's not your average box opening.

My 9 year old loves facts. He gets a lot of pleasure from knowing everything and telling me things I don't know. For the last month we've been receiving a copy of the weekly young people's current affairs magazine The Week Junior and he's read each issue cover to cover.


Your children will hear or read some adult news coverage and this can be scary or confusing for them. It's often hard to know exactly what they've picked up on and how they feel, so it's difficult to know what you should tell them or bring up to discuss.


The Week Junior is pitched at the right level that they will learn the facts and the background and not just the scandalous headlines and terrifying soundbites.

Steenbergs Organic are a family-run Yorkshire company passionate about the environment and those who live in it. They are committed to Fairtrade and provide organic spices, loose leaf tea and organic cooking ingredients full of flavour and aroma, each with a known provenance, so you can be assured you get only the best. And they're one of my favourites.


I am truly delighted to have been sent the gorgeous Taste Of Baking Jute Bag gift set, which arrived beautifully packaged and opening it felt just like Christmas to me! This is not only a practical jute shopping bag, it is crammed with exciting goodies.


The Taste Of Baking bag is full of of Steenbergs baking ingredients, as well as a set of 3 very special T&G /Sophie Conran designed wooden spoons and a huge Steenbergs Tea Towel.

The Game Of Things is a truly hilarious game for 4 players or more. It's very easy to play, but does often lead to answers which could be a bit risque or rude, so it's recommended for age 14+ only. Players secretly write down the answers to questions, and it's up to everyone else to work out who said what?


The Wooden Box is a lovely tough and it makes this a really excellent present. It feels special, it protects the contents well and it'll look good on the shelf for as long as you own it.


Inside the box are the game cards, scoresheets, answer sheets and pencils, as well as instructions. The answer sheets are serrated, so once you've written your answer, you can cleanly tear it off to pass to the reader.

The Awesome Little Green Men are 2 troops of small collectible Army Figures. They aren't all men and in fact half of them aren't even green, they're blue! My 7 year old will happily tell you just how awesome they are though...


There are several different sets to collect, each with mystery figures and the smallest is the individual Blind Box with one figure, a dog tag and a collectors sheet.

We recently reviewed the Lumie Bedbug and it's absolutely excellent. Sleep optimised lighting for children, soothing them while they go through the bedtime routine and making it easier for them to drift into a high quality sleep.


My 7 year old loves his Lumie Bedbug because when he wakes during the night, one button click will turn on the nightlight and once he's ready to go back to sleep, he can turn down the light, set the timer and drift off before his room descends completely into darkness.


You can read my full Lumie Bedbug review here - we are still just as happy with it as we were when we opened the box. Although the recommended use is for babies and younger children, it's incredibly useful for anyone who is likely to wake during the night, or who has trouble settling off to sleep.

At The Brick Castle we love science and we love the fact girls are getting their share of interesting science toys too. SmartGurlzUK are a new company who are passionate about getting girls into coding and engaged in tech toys from an early age, and they've come up with a really cool way to do it, creating a unique toy that supports STEM learning.


This is an interactive self-balancing robot scooter and doll that connects via Bluetooth to a tablet or phone via a free app. It has a range of features from remote control free-play, instructional coding challenges, games and coding area (using block code/ scratch approach). The range of features means it’s suitable for all ages from 5 to 16 years.