This is a guest post written by Michelle Ross

HOW TO MAKE TOYS MORE AFFORDABLE?

Toys not only make your kids time more precious, but they also let them learn new stuff. From improving their mechanic to social skills, appropriate toys can play an important role in child's development. But along with this advantage, comes a huge disadvantage – cost of toys. In fact, some toys which you would love to gift to your child need a lot of cash to purchase.

This Autumn Persil Washing Up Liquid have launched a new on-pack collector points campaign called 'Cook With The Kids'. Every bottle of Persil washing up liquid has a code which can be redeemed online for points. The points can then be exchanged for all kinds of Cook With The Kids goodies including aprons, silicone whisks and cupcake cases, and more.


You can also exchange points for money off Haven Holidays, and each time you redeem a code, you are entered into a draw to win a £250 supermarket voucher!

I love baking with my children and have many blog posts labelled 'cooking with kids'. My Food Page  lists the recipes I post and almost all are designed to be simple and serve as a collection for my own teenagers (should they decide they're bored of instant noodles). I believe that we all eat, so we should all have an idea of how to feed ourselves. I include my family in cooking as often as possible.

At some point in our lives we've all believed in fairies, and if you are lucky you still do. Strange, beautiful swirling and swooping creatures who dance around and leave a trail of glitter, much like your average 5 year old girl. The Magic Door Store lets you invite them into your home, but not just fairies, all magical friendly little people are welcome, including elves.

It's very nearly October and Halloween is creeping up on us. Next week sees a specially timed release from My Little Pony. Available on DVD and Digital Download from 5th October, Spooktacular Pony Tales is from the Friendship Is Magic series and features 6 mysterious tales from the Ponyville residents.


My Little Pony ~ Friendship Is Magic: Spooktacular Pony Tales has a runtime of 2 hours 6 minutes and includes the following episodes:

• Boast Busters
• Stare Master
• Luna Eclipsed
• A Dog and Pony Show
• The Mysterious Mare Do Well
• A Canterlot Wedding Part 2

Featuring all of the familiar characters, the My Little Pony DVD's are great whether you have watched My Little Pony before, or not. Aimed at a younger audience, the movies are Universally rated, so that gives you a good idea of how spooky Spooktacular Pony Tales is.

The ponies are friendly and each has it's own character and look, so there isn't too much confusion over who is who, even to a new fan. The Friendship Is Magic storylines are simple to follow, and always have the underlying messages of friendship, care for others and fairness. Spooktacular Pony Tales has the additional message that 'sometimes it's okay to feel a little bit scared' in relation to dressing up and celebrating Halloween.


This is actually our 3rd My Little Pony review from the Friendship Is Magic series. We've previously reviewed 'May The Best Pet Win' and 'Baby Cakes'. My boys still enjoy watching them, and this DVD was no exception. My boys may now be 5 and 7, but thankfully they haven't yet grown out of enjoying a nice story and laughing at quite innocent little jokes.

Hasbro Studios have kindly offered a copy of  My Little Pony ~ Friendship Is Magic: Spooktacular Pony Tales as a prize for one of my readers. Entry is by Gleam form below. The first question is answered as a comment on this post, and no entry is mandatory. UK entries only please. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday 21st October. Please see the bottom of the Gleam form for full terms and conditions.

My Little Pony ~ Friendship Is Magic: Spooktacular Pony Tales

Scruffs make hardwearing clothes that'll survive a bit of rough treatment. Originally a workwear company, they realised that actually sometimes we all want clothes which look good enough to make us feel good, but which will last more than a season or two.

 
Parents worry about their kids the whole time, and it doesn't stop when you get to 16, or 18, or ever. My 21 year old works bars, clubs, festivals and events all year round, often not finishing until the early hours or even coming home on the first bus in the morning. I worry. I worry he's cold and wet and collapsed in a ditch with hypothermia. It's my job. And kids never wear a proper coat....until now!

In the UK we've all heard of Elastoplast. Synonymous with 'sticking plasters', they're a manufacturer we all trust and have always known very well - right from those early days when we fell over and grazed our knees as small children. It may well come as a surprise though to find out Elastoplast have been around for long enough that our Great-Great-Grandparents were just as familiar with them too.


In fact Elastoplast was first founded in 1896, and now sells over 200 different products globally under the brand names Elastoplast, Hansaplast and Curitas. From 'invisible' plasters and those impregnated with silver to help prevent infection, to completely waterproof plasters and butterfly shaped-plasters for the tip of a finger, the range is huge.


There is an Elastoplast product for every cut and graze - and the best seller is the Aqua Protect. 100% waterproof, elastic and breathable. I can see why they're most popular -  they are what I use, especially if I cut my hand during preparing tea.


Elastoplast have recently launched a very cool Vintage Tin, which is not only lovely to look at, but deeply practical. It's water tight and really the perfect thing for plasters, so it's lovely they have brought it back. Not just good for sticking plasters though, it will keep those important little bits like lip balm, safety pins and tweezers safe and clean, even in the depths of your bag - and you'll be able to find them straightaway when you need them!


To promote the launch Elastoplast have offered not one, but two Vintage Tins plus a bundle of plasters (including the Aqua Protect) for one of my readers. It's a giveaway that's useful to everyone! My plasters have been incredibly useful to me already with my young lads - we've had a cut knee and a nasty splinter since Tuesday....


To enter the giveaway please use the Gleam form below. All entries are optional and each extra task completed will earn extra entries into the draw. The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday 18th October. UK entries only. The bundle of plasters might not exactly match those shown in the images.

If you need help using Gleam please visit my giveaways page (where you will also find my other giveaways).

Elastoplast Vintage Tin and plasters bundle giveaway

I'm delighted today to tell you about another affiliation, this time with EasiYo. Originally developed in New Zealand the EasiYo makes it simplicity itself to make your own yogurt at home. It takes around 5 minutes mixing and preparation, a few hours wait for the yoghurt to set, and there you have it. Delicious and fresh yogurt ready for the fridge or table....


I was intrigued by EasiYo. I have never made my own yoghurt at home, although I always fancied it.  My kids love yoghurt, and I knew we'd have no shortage of taste-testers, so I really looked forward to the delivery.

We love Super Heroes in our house, and Batman is a long time favourite. The man who always works in black, or very dark grey is definitely one of the best despite having a serious lack of actual super powers.... Today I am promoting a giveaway on behalf of Warner Bros and DC Kids where you can win a whole basket of toys including Batman and his Batmobile!


DC Kids have recently launched a brilliant game on their website called Super Hero Me! Create your own ultimate super hero. You choose how they look, what powers they have and the all important name! That's mine above - Commander Cobra.... she can climb walls, and probably regularly does....below is my son's character Silver Defender - he has elasticity.....

If you follow me on social media then you may well have noticed just how much we love our LEGO Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, despite the fact that we lost part of it off Yarmouth Pier!

You may even have spotted that our latest LEGO acquisition was the Scooby Doo Mystery Mansion (review will follow). We even blogged about our Mystery Machine On Tour when we went to the Just So Festival, and I will at some point post about the Isle Of Wight #MysteryMachineOnTour


It seems we aren't the only ones who love LEGO Scooby though, WB Kids have taken it a step further and are creating stop-motion animation from the Scooby Doo LEGO sets. They're only about a minute long, each one tells a little story, and they're very well done!

When I was given the chance to review a shiny new HD dashcam from Cobra, how could I refuse? The HD picture is incredibly clear, even in low light, and it has night vision! It removes easily from your vehicle, is neat and small, and it looks good.


This is Manchester. To get just about anywhere you go on the M60, and heaven help you if you need to travel across the country, because then your option is the 'ever-slow-due-to-an-accident' M62. There's a fair bit of traffic, a lot of impatience, and you see a lot more accidents than you'd like.