I was asked if I'd like to write a blog post listing the top 10 essentials in my bag. This is a fairly easy job for me right now because I'm still travelling light after my hernia operation and keeping my handbag contents to a minimum - yep, you heard right. My handbag currently weighs less than a small bison. It's a miracle....

1. Phone. It has to be. It's my camera, my contact with all of our kids, my social media, my email, my torch, my news and my GPS - plus I'm sure around 400 other things. Just occasionally I make a call on it too...


2. Purse. Teenagers can smell from 40 metres whether a purse is empty or not. Try to change all of your notes into small coins as quickly as possible because they've actually been known to refuse shrapnel on the grounds that it's 'too heavy' or 'I'm not taking a wallet'. This does leave you with a massively full purse, but you always have change for parking and shopkeepers love you when you pay for your shopping in 20p's......maybe.

3. Keys. Don't leave home without them...

Scruffs are makers of hardwearing clothes that are ideal for workwear. They're also ideal for camping, gardening, home mechanics and whatever else you want to get up to. Plenty of pockets, reinforced material and easy to wash.


We've reviewed Scruffs clothes before, a brilliant sweater that looks as good today as it did then, and it's had a heck of a lot of wear and wash, and a lovely bright blue t-shirt. It seemed only right to bring out my eldest son as model again...

The Interplay Electric Racing Truck is a cardboard motorised vehicle model in the Technokit range. Aimed at children aged 8+ it's quite a technical build and the model maker will need to use their brain a little in order to put it together successfully following the included instructions.

Who doesn't like Haribo? They're the sweet of choice for grown ups and children the world over, and this Summer they've launched special Frenzy editions of the very popular Starmix and Tangfastics. They'll only be available for the next few weeks though - so you have to be quick!

Hotel Kids Only: Amsterdam is a big book full of information, activities and ideas specially designed to entertain children who are on holiday - in Amsterdam! When they aren't at home children can find it difficult to amuse themselves while adults do all that boring stuff like shopping, sorting meals, driving and getting little ones to sleep.

On the Lamaloli website it says 'home of the world's favourite characters', and a quick look around confirms that - Minions, Star Wars, Disney, Super Mario, Hello Kitty, Skylanders and a host more. Lamaloli have licences for over 40 different TV and movie ranges. All of my children's favourites are available on t-shirts, pyjamas, swimming costumes and an array of clothing and accessories.


We were given a voucher to choose some clothes for review, and my young lads took ages to choose becausethey liked so many of the clothes! We could have spent our 40€ five times over, and I did top up the order to get a few extra bits for the Summer, because the prices and designs are lovely.

Today I am absolutely delighted to announce a truly awesome LEGO giveaway. On sale tomorrow (1st August) the LEGO Technic Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 is a gorgeous vehicle collaboration between LEGO and Daimler AG and I have one to give away to one of my readers courtesy of LEGO.


Priced at £169.99, this is a giant 2,793 piece set, which creates a model 31cm high and 54cm long. It's humungous. It's not only the size that's impressive, this is a real working machine, powered by an electric motor and using the advanced new Pneumatics 2.0 system.

Littlest Pet Shop: Little Pets, Big Adventures is a brand new release from Hasbro and will be available to buy in the shops and on digital download from 3rd August. U rated and suitable for everyone, it contains 7 episodes where we meet the star Blythe, and her Dad, as well as all of the pets who hang out in the shop.


The Littlest Pet Shop is a concept that my boys are aware of, but a show that's new to us. My boys hadn't seen it at all before our review DVD arrived. My first impression was that it's more 'girly' than I expected, but although the main character is a young teenage girl, the storyline is something all children can appreciate.

We had a really exciting delivery today - the brand new LEGO Scooby Doo The Mystery Machine set 75902.  I wasn't expecting it yet, so this is awesome timing because it can come away on holiday with us! This set is now released tomorrow - along with the other Scooby Doo sets, including the Mystery Mansion and bargain Mummy Museum Mystery.



The Mystery Machine is recommended for age 6+, and is a smaller model with around 298 pieces (the press release isn't ready, nor do UK boxes help with this, so I had to count!). In the set are 3 minifigures - Shaggy, Fred and a Zombie, and Scooby Doo himself....

If you haven't heard of Google's Chromecast then you could be missing a trick. It's a handy little gadget that allows you to watch what you can watch on your phone or tablet - on the big telly! I'm being given one myself, and I've got one to give away thanks to the lovely people at the Manchester based JNB Aerials.
The Chromecast is a really small USB style device that plugs directly into the TV in a HDMI port. The Chromecast then talks to your phone or tablet when you tell it to, and it will stream your movie, music videos, TV shows etc directly to the TV.