Zu3D Animation Kit Review

You may have noticed by now, that we live in Bristol. The land of snazzy bridges, waterways, graffiti and Morph. The latter may explain why L has always been completely obsessed with animation. Particularly stop-motion. I even started putting them on YouTube. This 54 second Minecraft animation has been viewed over 2,000 times and it shows how you really don't have to be an animation pro to have a lot of fun with this hobby. He was just nine then and I think we are living in an amazing age of technology, when children of any age can make their own films. We were sent the Zu3D Animation Kit free for L to try and these are our thoughts.

Halloween Spectacular at The Wild Place Project, Bristol

The Wild Place Project, near Cribbs Causeway in Bristol, is a sister park to Bristol Zoo. It opened in 2013 and we have been regular visitors ever since. It has been lovely to watch it grow and expand and it is obvious that the staff and keepers have a great affection for the place. The emphasis is very much on the welfare of the animals and their habitats and this is my favourite aspect of the park. It is very close to our house, so we visit a lot, but this time we were invited to review the new Halloween Spectacular, taking place over half term (21st-29th October) and received free admission in return for letting you know what we thought about it.

Bristol Zoo Events for Children

It's been over a year since our last Bristol Zoo Review and this post is a bit different to the last one. This time, I really want to focus on the additional events that are provided on a seasonal basis, as part of your ticket price  Bristol Zoo puts a lot of effort into making the venue even more entertaining for children in the school holidays and so we're going to be reviewing the recent events we attended, as well as those that are coming up in the near future. Most importantly, the next activity in the Zoo's calendar; the Halloween Festival. Obviously, we can't actually review it, as it hadn't happened at the time of writing, but we can tell you all about it. 

SS Great Britain Summer Events Programme

School is finally out for us and the last few weeks have been crazy busy. Along with school plays, leavers' celebrations and other events, we somehow managed to squeeze in a visit to one of our favourite Bristol tourist attractions to find out what's on over the summer. The SS Great Britain is somewhere we have always been fond of, as it has a way of growing with children. Each time we go, we discover something different that we hadn't appreciated before. During the summer break, you can get even more for your ticket price with the addition of some amazing extras that will amuse your brood, whatever their age.

Spiderman: Homecoming - A Parent's Guide

Another Marvel film has been released in UK cinemas, and many young children will be desperate to see their favourite hero in action. The reason for this is, of course, because Marvel characters are very much marketed at children, despite the films being  routinely given a 12A certificate. The CBBFC defines this as: Films suitable for children aged 12 and over. People younger than 12 may see a 12A so long as they are accompanied by an adult. Responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the adult. Which means parents need to be sure their children can handle it and that the language and references are appropriate for them. So, I went to see Spiderman: Homecoming and this is my parent's guide to help you decide. 

Review: Gangsta Granny at the Bristol Hippodrome

We were absolutely thrilled to be asked to review Gangsta Granny, the stage adaptation of David Walliams' fantastic book. We love going to the theatre and, having read all the David Walliams books, L couldn't wait to see how it transferred to the stage. I wasn't worried about a children's show being less appealing for the grown ups. Walliams has proven to be a visual comic genius and there is no way he was going to let us down in the laugh department. I was not disappointed and neither was L. He was absolutely transfixed for the whole two hours and so was every other child in the nearly full theatre.

BrickBox Subscription Box Review

Lego and other compatible building sets will always be popular with children. They're just so entertaining in the way they capture the imagination with the endless building possibilities and ideas. Every parent knows how much children love getting post, it's a joy that sadly diminishes with age and the onset of many bills, but in a child, it's still a moment of pure excitement, when they realise a letter or parcel is for them. So, when we were asked to review a Brickbox box, all the way from the Netherlands, I was very keen to see how excited L would be to receive post that turned out to be Lego. Life doesn't get much better than that when you are 11!

Review of the New Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Range

Who can forget the great Hatchimal shortage of Christmas 2016. Easily the most popular toy of the season, everyone seemed to want to get their hands on one and who can blame them. Cute, appealing, and a brand new concept in an interactive toy. If your little ones loved the original Hatchimal, then they are going to go loopy for the latest addition to the range; Hatchimal CollEGGtibles. These tiny, adorable little critters are exactly what it says in the title, collectible, affordable, Hatchimal miniatures. We were sent some for free to see what we thought, ahead of today's launch, and we've been dying to tell you all about it.

Review of Anki Overdrive, and What an 11 Year Old Really Thinks!

L recently had a birthday, and was lucky enough to be sent an Anki Overdrive Starter Set to review to see whether it would make a great gift for an 11 year old. He has been keen to get one since he saw them advertised at Christmas, so I was interested to see how he would get on with it. I have reviewed it from my own point of view, as chief picker of birthday gifts in the household, but have also added a video containing L's review, in his own words. If you are thinking of buying this product for a child you know, it is very interesting to see what a child really thought of it! The Anki Overdrive Starter Set is available from the website and retails at £149.

Leapfrog Read with Me Scout Review

As anyone who has been reading this blog for a while will know, I am a massive fan of education. I qualified as a Teaching Assistant 12 years ago and have always been keen on any subject involving education, particularly inclusion in mainstream school. So, any product that offers little ones a discreet leg up, especially when it encourages them to enjoy the subject it teaches, is always something I am going to want to play with. This is why I was very enthusiastic about reviewing Read with Me Scout. It's cute, appealing and promises to introduce children to the all-important reading comprehension that is a big part of the early years and key stage 1 curriculum here in the UK. So, armed with a host of questions from readers of our Facebook page, I put the little fella through his paces.

Review of the ReimaGO Activity Sensor for Kids

It isn't always easy in this digital age to persuade children to get outside and get the exercise they need. When I was young, we rode our bikes everywhere, but it's not necessarily safe to do that now. I'm not all that old (although I often feel it!) but there are considerably more cars on the road now than there were then. There's also an awful lot more to tempt children not to bother going out. Social media means it's no longer necessary to troop down to your best friend's house for a conversation and the realistic computer games mean there are lots more entertaining things to do sitting down than there were when I was young. Fighting tech with tech, the ReimaGO activity sensor promises to provide children with a fun and engaging way to boost their daily activity levels and push themselves to get more exercise. In essence it #makeskidsmove

Boohookids: Review of the New Range

Boohoo has been a familiar name in online fashion for many years. Originally launched in 2006, the website had a relaunch in 2010. Since then, popularity has continued to grow, leading to the introduction of boohooMan in 2013. In October this year, though, boohoo decided to bring fashion to a younger audience and produced a range of children's clothes, with everything you could require to dress your youngsters from onesies to winter coats and everything inbetween. As an online seller, how easy is it to choose clothes, compared to high street stores and how do they compare? We were given a voucher free, so that we could let you know how we got on. This is our review of the Boohoo Kids range.

What Happened on The DanTDM Live Tour

YouTube baffles me. I use it when I want to find a clip I remember that was once on the telly, or, most often, to listen to music. It's like a reference library for the 21st century. Except it isn't. For many people, particularly the younger ones, it's almost like a TV. They have their favourite shows, which they look forward to each day, and, most importantly, they have their favourite Youtubers. Who knew there was such a thing as celebrity Youtubers? With one or two exceptions, I had no idea this was even a thing. So I was amazed to find, when I went to book a stage show for L's favourite Youtuber, that it sold out pretty quickly. Yes, there are stage shows now and this one was actually pretty good. Two things I learned from this event, DanTDM knows his audience and there is a good reason why children love him. 

Bogs Footwear Review and Giveaway - Amazing Wellies!

I'm not saying that my son is fussy, but he is a little bit obsessed with comfort. If it isn't comfortable he does not see any need to wear it and I am inclined to agree with him. There's plenty of time for sensible shoes and collars and ties when he starts caring about girls. In the meantime, his shoe of choice is always the welly. He loves a welly. Plenty of room to wriggle your toes and easy to pull on and off when you need to rush out and do something important at a moment's notice. L lost his favourite wellies, in a distressing experience at the beach, and after hearing about this, Bogs Footwear sent him some new ones to review, and as you can see, he loves them already!

A Voyage on The Matthew - Review

This is the last week of the school holidays for us, so we thought it would be nice to have a couple of last days out, before we have to start being all sensible and going to bed on time. We were lucky enough to be able to review Bristol Zoo Gardens this week and we were also invited to attend a cruise of Bristol Harbour on board The Matthew. We have sailed on The Matthew once before, but it was a very short trip, due to bad weather, so we were really excited to find it was a beautiful day, when we were due on board. We've been so lucky this summer with the weather, I can't remember ever having so many consecutive sunny days and it has really meant we could make the most of the holidays. 

Bristol Zoo Review; A Summer Send Off

The husband and I had our first date at Bristol Zoo, so it holds a special meaning to us. I've watched it grow and change over many years and seen it develop its habitats and enclosures to meet the growing needs of an increasingly endangered population. It's a really special place. Wedged into a beautiful, but heavily populated, part of Clifton, space is at a premium and it's a balancing act to give all the animals the best environment for their needs, whilst also accommodating a vast number of visitors 364 days of the year. In recent years, there have been many changes and developments within the zoo and if you haven't been in a while, you may be surprised by how different it is now. It was the perfect place to begin our last week of the school holidays!

A Review of Stretch Armstrong, Relaunched for a New Generation

I remember Stretch from my youth. Which might have been the 1970's. Just. Nearer the 80's, though, actually. *ahem* In 2016, Stretch has been relaunched, still wearing his trademark trunks, and is ready to captivate a whole new audience with his phenomenal stretching abilities. You can buy your own Stretch Armstrong from the Character online shop. L was sent a Stretch to try out and, since he had never heard of him, I was interested to see what he would think. We took Stretch for a little outing to the park, to test his twisty-stretchiness and really put him through his paces. Here's how we got on.

Robinsons to the Rescue, Now My Son Drinks Water!

How much, and what, L drinks has been a bit of an issue in our house over the years. When he was younger he had some struggles with food and we did our best to work through them and encouraged him to try new things, until he had a relatively varied diet and wasn't afraid of new tastes. One final battle has remained though, and it would rear its ugly head every time the weather began to warm up. He wouldn't drink water. At all. In any shape or form. Milk, mainly, or tea. Fizzy drinks were agreeable, but for some reason anything else was a real struggle.

Fantastic Time at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort

My son L is totally obsessed with Lego. He has been for about six years. My Lego-strewn carpet and reinforced slippers are testament to this fact. So it is understandable that his Holy Grail of destinations is always going to be LEGOLAND Windsor. Pricewise, it is comparable to other theme parks, but it does work out expensive for a family of four, if you are on a budget. However, we managed to get two tickets from Sun Perks and another two with my Tesco Clubcard. It costs £13.50 in Clubcard vouchers, as opposed to up to £50 for a day ticket on the gate, so definitely worth doing! It was such a fantastic day, for a variety of reasons and I'm going to try to condense the whole experience into one reasonably sized post, which won't be easy! 

A Fantastic Party in the Trees with Go Ape!

I find it gets harder and harder to think up fun birthday party ideas as L gets older. I always try to come up with something a bit different, like the Spy Party we had a couple of years ago. Ideally something that will fill them with glee, whilst soaking up as much of their boundless energy as possible. We are surrounded by beautiful countryside here and the children tend to be fairly outdoorsy as a result, so this year, I opted for a trip to the Forest of Dean and booked a spell on a Go Ape arial assault course for six 8 to 10 year olds. It was March when we went, so we were a bit unsure on the weather front, but the centre assured us rain wasn't a problem, as long as it wasn't really windy. So, we loaded up two cars with excitable children and set off for the Forest. Here's how we got on...