Recently I was contacted by Rockabye Originals and I'd mistakely assumed they only sold baby clothes. In fact, they sell unusual and different clothing for babies and children up to the age of 10. You can tell it's going to be good when it arrives in packaging that looks like this!


Full marks for amazingly simple yet clever design. I haven't pulled anything out of a record sleeve for years, and it took me right back... What was inside might not have been as cool as 12" 1996 remix of The Chemical Brother's Setting Sun, but it was impressive.

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.

Lucky Voice make home karaoke equipment that gives great results whether for parties or a rainy afternoon singalong with the kids. Using their subscription website, you can also access a library of over 8000 songs - there really is something for anyone and everyone...
 

Our household are big fans of music, and when the children were younger we spent many, many hours belting out tunes on Guitar Hero or Rock Band together. More recently our music has been mainly on CD, radio or music TV, but growing up with song has clearly left an impression on my youngest, who is never quiet and sings half the day. This review is for him really, he loves it....


Inside the Lucky Voice box is everything you need to connect together your own TV, computer and sound equipment:

1 × light and chic microphone mixer
1 × metal-bodied dynamic microphone
1 × 5m microphone cable
1 × headphone to phono cable
2 × headphone to headphone cables
1 × instruction sheet
Plus a voucher code for a month of free singing with the Lucky Voice website.

On Monday night we were privileged to be among some of the first people to see 2016's Christmas performance at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. This Winter Cinderella is brought to us in a completely different way, via the rats who live with her in the cinders and ashes...


The Octagon is a lovely intimate theatre in the round, and the whole audience feel very close to the performers. My 6 and 8 year old boys hadn't been before and were incredibly impressed and excited. In the centre of the stage area were a collection of musical instruments, which started much debate about what was going to happen.


The actors were great, not only acting and singing, but playing all of their own musical accompaniment. The instruments in the centre of the stage were never removed, only moved to the sides and used, and were perfect for a Winter tale with lots of metallic percussion. Chimes are just spot on for Prince Charming's Ball.

Chosen as one of the Dream Toys for Christmas 2016, Silly Sausage from John Adams is possibly the daftest looking family challenge game you'll ever play. It tests your speed, co-ordination and memory skills and you do get to look completely silly while you're at it.


Silly Sausage is probably unlike anything you've ever played before. Although it has some parallels with other action games, it plays quite differently, and I think is actually more equal between age groups. Although recommended for age 7+, my 6 year old had the highest score here for a while, and now it's his Dad, but we are all fairly evenly-matched.

Timeline is a fantastic series of card games from Asmodee. Suitable for anyone aged around 8+, the aim of the game is for 2-8 players to put the events shown on the cards into correct date order. It may be history, but don't let that put you off, this can be a quick-paced game and children are often as good at making guesses as adults are!


I love the Timeline games, and we've been sent the newest edition in the series for review - Timeline British History. Also available are Inventions, Science & Discoveries, Historical Events, General Interest, Music & Cinema and Star Wars.


One of the features of Asmodee games is that they care about what happens when you've finished playing, and Timeline games are stored in their own beautiful metal tin. Not only attractive to look at, they are compact for travelling and taking to friend's houses, and will outlast the cards, unlike a cardboard box.

Champions Of The Shengha will be the first game release from British tech start-up BfB Labs. They are on a mission to 'help children develop the skills to combat the stresses of life' using Mindfulness techniques. In this case it actually means controlling your emotions while playing a game in order to increase your score...


BfB Labs work in a new generation of games which use emotional response as part of gameplay. Champions Of The Shengha is a fantasy battle-card app. game suited best to ages 10-15, which requires you to remain level headed and calm while playing, in order to gain power advantages.

A small BfB Sensor (heart rate monitor) is attached to the players ear, and connects to the phone or tablet by bluetooth.  At the beginning of each round the game encourages deep breathing to control your heart rate. The calmer you are under pressure, the more power you earn.


I was a bit dubious at first, I thought it might feel a bit embarrassing or weird, and couldn't really imagine the teenagers going for it. In fact it's a simple case of sitting up straight, breathing deeply and remaining calm while you play. The game gives really effective prompts to assist you in your relaxation, which actually help, and it really does train you to be aware of your own posture and breathing, and understand how to relax. I'm now convinced.

The BFG is an absolute classic. One of Roald Dahl's most treasured books, the tale of a little girl named Sophie and her giant friend has been brought to life with a mix of animation and live action, and it is available for you to own on DVD and Blu-ray on 21st November.


A lovely tale, this movie edition has beautiful CGI animation which really compliments the live action. Starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill and Penelope Wilton, the acting is great, and the characters incredibly likeable.

Yesterday was my birthday, half way to my 'four score years and ten'. I think I have aged about 30 of those years over the last 3, and I'm probably a way ahead of where I should be now. But still I am here. Older, saggier, wrinklier and hopefully wiser. Everyone was so worried there wouldn't be cake that in fact there were 5 cakes. What could be better? Cake plus LEGO obviously - and I'm now also the proud owner of the LEGO Christmas Train...it was a really good birthday.

Yesterday we went to Barton Square at intu Trafford Centre in Manchester, to visit this year's Christmas Santa's grotto. For 2016 the grotto has been turned into The Polar Expedition, and Santa is accompanied by lots of friendly Eskimo Elves.

My 6 and 8 year old boys are at the cusp of understanding, but are both firm friends with Santa this year at least...


We were a staggering 90 minutes late. My partner was called into work, so we ended up tight on time, but then the pre-lunchtime traffic was horrific, we were stuck in a jam for over an hour and our 8 year old was car sick. Christmas has started...

Thankfully it can be very beautiful...