Today sees the DVD and Blu-ray release of epic family-friendly adventure, The Kid Who Would Be King. We've watched it and it's a great family action movie, and I have a DVD copy to give away to one of my readers, courtesy of 20th Century Fox.


My boys will watch quiet and considered films, but mainly they like a good lively film with plenty of action, so The Kid Who Would Be King was a hit with my boys. It's PG rated and there's no gore, but a strong storyline with plenty of peril and fight scenes. Some characters do not survive to the end of the movie.

Alex thinks he’s just another nobody, getting bullied at school and told what to do by his teachers, until he stumbles upon the mythical Sword in the Stone, Excalibur. Now old school magic meets the modern world and with the help of the legendary wizard Merlin, he must unite his friends and school yard enemies into an allied band of knights to defeat the wicked enchantress Morgana. With the future at stake, Alex must become the great leader he never dreamed he could be and save the world.

Treetop Nets has recently opened at Heaton Park in Manchester and we were invited along to review. Treetops Nets is exactly what it sounds like, an aerial adventure completely encased in nets. Visitors aged 3+ can bounce, run, jump and slide in complete safety without the need for a harness.


There are only 4 attractions like this in the whole country and Treetops Nets is the biggest, with over 2000m2 of giant trampolines, walkways, slides and tunnels all made out of netting, suspended between the trees and rising up to 12m off the ground..


Stunningly you can barely see it from outside, so we missed it and went into the park, when in fact it's just to the side of the St Margaret's (play area) car park.

Hatchimals from SpinMaster Toys were incredibly popular last Christmas and today sees the launch of their smaller, pocket-money friendly (£1.99) CollEGGtibles. With 70 colourful little Hatchimals CollEGGtibles characters to collect and a surprise inside your egg each time, these are sure to be a huge hit with children aged 5+.


We've been sent two of the blind bags and one 2-pack to review. The blind bags contain an unknown colour of egg, so you have no idea at all who could be inside.


The 2-pack has visible eggs, so you can guess the family groups that the Hatchimal CollEGGtibles will be from by looking at the colour of their speckles, but you still don't know which ones you have.

STABILO make great stationery for all members of the family, so when I said we'd be getting a handful of new products to look at, 4 different people here immediately got excited. We've been sent the new STABILO BOSS Original Pastel Highlighters, a beYou! Ballpoint Pen and EASYstart Colouring Pencils.


The STABILO BOSS Original Pastel Highlighters are that very familiar shape and style which we've all used, but now available in pastels! Reliable and long-lasting, they really haven't needed to change since before I was a student.

If you are going to make something cool then you want people to see it. What better place to display your creations than your own head? BrickHats come in 6 different colours and somewhat bizarrely proved the perfect canvas for my partner to create an amazing tribute to the host of The Joy Of Painting, Bob Ross...


Usually I accept an item for review because I think we'll like it, but just occasionally I'm more intrigued than certain. I honestly couldn't decide about BrickHats, but it turns out they're actually brilliant...

Ayuda House B&B, in Bowden near Altrincham, Cheshire is the winner of the Hidden Gem North West award from eviivo - and as soon as you arrive at this huge family home tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac corner, you know that description is perfect.


Ayuda means 'Helpful', and I honestly believe that is the owner Melinda's raison d'etre. Before we even set off, we'd been warned via text message where roadworks were so that we could avoid a 20 minute detour, and offered a sandwich when we arrived. It wasn't far for us, so not necessary. Ayuda house is incredibly easy to find, 4 miles from Manchester Airport and 10 miles from Manchester city centre.


Melinda and her partner Derek were ready to greet us, and spoke to the children as well as the adults - something I'm always impressed with. The boys were anxious to investigate, so we were shown the downstairs shared areas.

It really wouldn't be Christmas in our house without Star Wars LEGO, and very kindly Santa and LEGO conspired together for my latest review. My 8 year old found the LEGO Star Wars Captain Rex's AT-TE in his stocking, and it was built by Boxing Day lunchtime....


There are 5 minifigures in this set, which is based on characters and the AT-TE from Star Wars Rebels. Captain Rex, Commander Gregor, Commander Wolffe, Imperial Inquisitor Fifth Brother and a Stormtrooper.

I've been asked to take a look at dealspotr, a website relatively new to the UK which aims to bring you the most up-to-date deals, offers and voucher codes, to save you money on just about anything.


Money is tight, so I save it whenever I can, and I hate it when I've lost a coupon or can't remember where I saw an offer. I'm a big fan of vouchers and voucher websites, but I do hate it when all you can find are expired deals.

dealspotr is full of publicly viewable user-generated content. Each submission made by site members can be validated by other members and commented on, even including photographic evidence, so you know whether or not it is live and actually works.

My kids have almost all loved Star Wars, and I love Star Wars. The Bladebuilders Lightsaber is the best Lightsaber I've ever played with by miles. It's also the first Lightsaber we've ever had (and we've had many) that 2 children can play with at once...


The Bladebuilders Lightsaber is made by Hasbro, recommended for age 4+, and my boys wouldn't leave it alone while I was trying to take photos. It's one of the most exciting things any young Star Wars fan could ever review.


The packaging is great, almost all recyclable card with thin plastic fastenings that pull out easily. Christmas morning-friendly, the Bladebuilder arrives with 3 x AAA demo batteries in the Red Lightsaber, and you'll need 3 x AAA for the smaller White Lightdagger.

Today we were up bright and early to go to the Trafford Centre to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and be among the first people to see the brand new LEGO NEXO Knights 4D movie, The Book Of Creativity, which launched this weekend.


It was a great opportunity for me to complete the photos for my post showing what's inside LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, and if you haven't been before, then it should give you a good idea of what you will find when you arrive.

The Beets BLU Key Finder Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Pager Tag with Audio Alarm may have a hefty title, but at 9g it's light as a feather. Paired to your phone it can tell you where you left your keys and when your child has wandered too far away, and it can let you take a family photo by remote control.


My partner has lost quite a bit of his memory since having Meningitis, so now he has the super-power to lose the car keys within 3 seconds of entering the house or arriving at work. It's a bit frustrating and annoying, and so reviewing the Beets Blu Key Finder may just save my sanity. Irony notwithstanding, it took us 40 minutes to find the keys to attach the key fob. It was the happiest 40 minutes searching I've spent in years.

The LEGO Minifigure collections are brilliant because they provide such an amazing range of faces, hairstyles, clothes and accessories. It widens general play value for all of your LEGO because you can bring in crowds, bystanders and extra people, and they can be doing pretty much whatever you want. You even have a great chance of finding one that looks just like you.


The Series 13 Minifigures are brilliant, they're my favourite series for quite a while, and they seem to be a real response to the criticism LEGO was receiving about gender roles, as we have a few really strong female characters, as well as some epic outfits and brilliantly funny characters. I mentioned them in my post about the new LEGO coming up this Spring.

Ever since I was little I always loved the idea of having a LEGO street. A miniature world I could immerse myself into. Last year we were lucky enough to find a few of the older LEGO Creator 3in1 house sets reduced massively, so I bought a few with my birthday money and I went home a happy person.

This set may be a little harder to find now, but I did find it in many of the larger shops online still, although it's currently unavailable from LEGO.com




The smallest model is a very small cottage.