We have been very busy building our very first Meccano set!  It's the Mecanno Formula 1 Ferrari and Ethan is loving it already!




The set is aimed at children from age 10 and older, so as Ethan is only 7 he did definitely need some adult help.  Also because it is his first Meccano set and he's much more used to building with different types of toys he took a little bit of time to get the hang of the building techniques and how to use the tools.




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* This is a review post, we were sent the Meccano set to build and play with and write our honest opinions.*

We have been very lucky to have been sent two different sets from Tech Will Save Us to play with and review.  They are the Electro Hero Kit and the Sew and Glow Kit which both focus on electricity and are great STEAM resources.



We started out by playing with the Electro Hero Kit, it is aimed at ages 4 and up, Ivy is 4 and Ethan is 7 and they both really enjoyed exploring the different missions within the kit.  Ivy just liked to see how it worked and for Ethan it was great as they are currently learning about electricity in year two at school, so it extended him knowledge of circuits and challenged him to use it in different ways.




There was even a bit of a challenge to try completing the circuit with other objects around the house to see if they were conductors or insulators.



For Iron Man's mission Ethan created a series circuit using 4 LED lights to help fix the arc reactor.


We also had a lot of fun with the Sew and Glow Kit.  This one is aimed at children aged 8 and up, so it was a bit challenging for Ethan and we did it together.




It is also presented beautifully in the box and is done by following the steps on the website.





We started by attaching the battery pack to the back of the badge using split pins, Ethan was able to line this up and do this step himself.



When it came time to start sewing Ethan did need my help, as the electro thread can be quite fiddly and you do have to make sure that the positive thread didn't touch the negative thread so it does require precision.


Of course we are now in love with Tech Will Save Us, both of the kits that we received are fantastic, they include almost everything that you will need to make these fantastic projects, the instructions on the website are easy to follow along with and they can be used again and again.  I think that for us the Electro Hero Kit was a great place to start and the children will be able to pick it up again and again on their own to play with it and explore their own missions.  We also enjoyed the Sew and Glow Kit, but I think the age recommendation is accurate and we will pick it up again when the children are a bit older.  They would both make fantastic gifts for children of the appropriate ages!

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* This is a review post, we were sent the Tech Will Save Us kits to try out and write our honest opinions.*

We have been sent these Playfoam Pals from Learning Resources to play with, and we are loving them already!  We are definitely big fans of any sort of surprise toy, but the sensory and STEM aspect of these had us hooked straight away!



So, the Playfoam Pals are similar to other surprise toys in that there is a cute little collectible hidden inside each packet.  But the difference is that you get to dig through the Playfoam to find your cute little animal, so it makes the whole process of discovery a bit more fun.  The kids had a blast opening up their Playfoam Pals to see who they got (of course in search of the rare golden pal!)





The packaging is great, the Playfoam is enclosed in a plastic container so that it can easily be resealed to play with again and again.  It's bright and colourful, some of the Playfoam is even sparkly!



A few facts about the Playfoam Pals, there are 12 to collect as well as an ultra rare gold pal!  Playfoam is non-toxic, so it is safe for children to play with (although I wouldn't leave them unattended, as with any sensory material you still want to keep it slightly contained).  



As a parent I love that this isn't the sort of surprise toy that they play with and then toss aside as the Playfoam can be used to build little homes for the pals and the pals themselves come apart and can be mixed and matched.  So this is an open ended toy that can lead to hours of creative fun and play.

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*This is a review post, we were sent the Playfoam Pals from Learning Resources in order to play with them, all opinions are our own.*

We have a new game from Orchard Toys called Giraffes in Scarves that we are reviewing.  It is a great game for children of all ages to play (they recommend from 4-7 but I think that some 3 year olds and older children would enjoy it as well!)




The object of the game is to collect as many scarves as you can for your giraffe, and the winner is the giraffe with the most scarves at the end.



Each player chooses a giraffe body and you all take turns rolling the colour dice.  Whichever colour you roll is the colour card that you pick up and place on your giraffe.


It is a great game for colour recognition, counting and of course turn taking and fair playing as do all of the Orchard Toys games.  Both Ethan (7) and Ivy (4) are really enjoying playing Giraffes in Scarves, it's a simple enough game for them to learn the rules too but also quite different to other games that we have so it is keeping them entertained on rainy afternoons spent indoors!
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* This is a review post, we were sent the game Giraffes in Scarves from Orchard Toys in order to play it and write our honest opinions.*

I've just been to Dream Toys for the first time, and it's absolutely put me in the Christmas spirit and got me in the mood to go toy shopping!

Here's the Dream Toys Top Twelve Toys for Christmas:

1. Barbie Ultimate Kitchen
2. Boxer
3. Cra-Z-Slimy Creations Super Slime Studio
4. Fingerlings Untamed Jailbreak T-Rex Playset
5. Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall
6. Harry Potter Wizard Training Wand
7. L.O.L. Surprise! Pop-Up Store
8. L.O.L. Surprise! Under Wraps
9. Lazer X Twin Pack
10. Monopoly Fortnight Edition
11. Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck
12. Poopsie Surprise Unicorn

And here are some more of the toys that I loved from Dream Toys today:

• FurReal Ricky, Trick Lovin' Pup
• Little LIve Pets Princess My Dancing Unicorn
• Pomsies
• Dobble Classic
• Foxy Pants
• Hairdorables
• Scruff-a-Luvs
• Sylvanian Families Baby Castle Nursery
• Squeezamals

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* This post contains affiliate links, I was invited to attend Dream Toys but all opinions are my own.*

Ethan has recently turned 7, and since I always write about the children's birthday parties I thought that it was about time that I write this one out too.  Although to be honest it was so simple that there won't be much to say, but the children all had a blast and Ethan loved it!




We booked a session at Powerleague, which has locations across the country.  This made it all so simple as they provided a coach to lead the games and play football with the children for an hour and a half.  They also provided pizza and garlic bread for the kids to enjoy after football, so there wasn't too much for me to do!

The party room was set up quite nicely already, but I did bring a few decorations of our own to add to it.

Football Party Decorations:

• football banner
• football tablecloths, plates, cups and napkins set

Football Party Food:

• pizza and garlic bread (provided by Powerleague)
• water bottles (with labels and name stickers for during football)
• apples and oranges
• carrots
• biscuits
• snacks
• cupcakes (I made these egg free for allergies)
• football shaped cake 

Football Party Bags:

• drawstring bags (with names in foam letter stickers)
• football
• football stickers
• football themed wristband
• football keychain
• football whistle
• Skittles
• Chocolate Buttons

Football Party Favours:

The party was a huge hit and all of the children loved it, it was so easy to put together and we'll definitely be doing parties like this more often!

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Easy Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

These simple paper pumpkins would make perfect Thanksgiving decorations.




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