When I spotted Treads school shoes have a '1 year Guarantee Against Destruction', I had to question if it was real. It is, and they're confident that their specially designed moulded soles and reinforced shoes can withstand all the punishment your little angels can put them through.


Treads asked if I wanted to review, and as my youngest is on his 3rd pair of shoes already this school year, I was utterly delighted to put them to the challenge. Obviously this post is our initial reaction, but I will revisit our shoes once my children grow out of them to see how well they did!

We might love books and theatre and kitchen science, but we also love a good traditional day off. Last Tuesday we had an awesome stress-free fun day off in Blackpool courtesy of Coral Island. Right by the pier, the tower and the best parking spots behind SeaLife, Coral Island is Blackpool's largest indoor free-admission family-friendly attraction.


I had no idea just how much Coral Island had to offer until this week, but the claw prize machines are just the start. They have a huge selection of arcade machines from brand new through to those which bring back memories from my SEGA days, 3 rides and 4 restaurants with freshly cooked food and staff who really care about their guests. We spent almost 6 hours there - by sheer fluke getting back to the van 3 minutes before the parking ran out!

A couple of weeks ago we were guests of Z-arts and Half Moon to watch the interactive spoken word play Friends For All. Suitable for children aged around 5-11, it was a really excellent performance with a clear aim to empower youngsters and help them realise they are already special, and they already have the ability to create change. I think we all took something away from it.


I visited with my partner and 8 and 9 year old boys. We love Z-Arts because it's so warm and welcoming, and you feel like you are back with friends. The cafe is excellent and on this visit had children's milkshake cartons for something fabulous like 25p! You can't ask for more than that.

The stage set was sparse, with the only scenery several white rectangular blocks. Once the performance started they became populated with the projected characters from the story. The lighting and projection were virtually spot on, timed to perfection. It was really well executed, with the supporting cast remaining almost still except for subtle movements - just enough to remind you they were there.

My Fairy Garden might seem an unusual product for my boys and I to promote, but pretty much all children love miniature gardening. Indoors or outside, it's an excellent way to celebrate the arrival of Spring at last!

Getting closer to nature through plants teaches children about life cycles and gives them a better understanding of where a lot of their food comes from. It helps them learn about taking care for living things and loads of other skills that will be useful forever. Growing plants is science!


This Easter My Fairy Garden had the idea to create a beautiful Easter Basket and one of my readers can win all the sets they need to fill one for themselves. The prize includes a Fairy Picnic Basket, Fairy Watering Can, Fairy Flower Pot and Magic Bean Pot (basket, cellophane, ribbon, flowers and chicks not included in prize)...

Fingerlings are awesome, but Fingerlings have evolved and Untamed Raptors have an extra, more ferocious dimension. They caught my attention and will appeal to a huge range of children - they're dinosaurs! We've been sent Stealth to review and he doesn't disappoint.


Your Velociraptor takes a couple of minutes to open, and you may benefit from scissors because he's held in place by a plastic band around his body. Batteries are included, so once unleashed he's ready to go - just switch him on!

Today I'm delighted to be taking part in the My Little Sous-Chef Blog Book Tour. I'm the second blog in the tour, check out the list towards the bottom to find the rest. As it's Easter, we took one of the recipes and added a little Easter twist....


My Little Sous-Chef is a brand new cookery book release from Caterina Falqui, Francesca Grassi and Laura Pantaleone. Completely unlike other cookery books, My Little Sous-Chef is actually two books.


One book is for children and the other is for their grown ups. Both books have exactly the same recipes, but one has all the boring stuff like oven temperatures, and the other focuses more on those tasks that children can take charge of.

Molang is an incredibly popular TV series and this Easter Tomy have released a range of incredibly soft and cuddly toys based on the two characters on the show - Molang himself and Piu Piu. What ciould be more perfect? Prices start at £5.99rrp and these Easter bunnies and chicks last so much longer than chocolate...

When I Dream is an interesting and unique take on an old tried and tested favourite, and it works very well. A family game for 4 to 10 players aged around 8+, players guess the words that are being described, but then must also weave them into a dream and try to remember as many as possible to score more points.


When I Dream is a beautifully illustrated game with characters and pictures which remind me of the original Grimm fairy stories. Played mainly with a large deck of cards, it's almost a shame that you don't see them for longer! As well as the 110 double-ended and double-sided Dream Cards (4 items per card), there are 11 Dream Spirit Cards, 104 point tokens, bed and headboard, game board, sleep mask, sand timer and rulebook.

Covering Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, St Helens and the Northwest UK. There are some great events and activities for families in the Northwest this Easter holiday, here are just a few of the museum and theatre productions that you can go to see. Manchester and other Northwest schools mainly break up on Maundy Thursday, so most events take place in the first 2 weeks of April.


Don't forget your local library and museum - most have special events or storytime and very often it is free.  As ever, if you want me to add your event, send me an email!



Until Monday 28 May
The Lowry arts centre in Salford celebrates its 18th birthday in 2018 and will mark the milestone through its biennial Week 53 festival, which will have a ‘Coming of Age’ theme and includes 66 contemporary art, dance, drama and spoken word performances by more than 130 artists from seven countries.
Some elements of the programme are free of change and those that are ticketed are set-priced at £10 or £20. For all ticketed performances there will be an allocation of ‘Pay What You Decide’ seats available both in advance and on the door – to encourage audiences to ‘try something new’.
Find out more on the website: www.thelowry.com
Tickets: Free, £10, £20 and ‘Pay What You Decide’

Tech Deck are a long-standing toy in my house. 96mm Fingerboards that look as good as the full sized skateboards, with designs from genuine brands and which you can customise in a variety of ways. You can also use them to perform tricks just like a real board - but in miniature and with fewer grazed elbows.


It was around 15 years ago that my eldest boys started playing with Tech Deck and they may have been away for a while, but over that time these tiny replica skateboards have barely changed in construction, although the design is very different.