Summer Holidays Activity Books

 (ad - gifted)

It's the summer holidays! The kids are excited about it, but some parents dread it! 
A whole 6 weeks of having to keep the kids entertained, however will you do it? 

Well for starters, you could head in the direction of Books 2 Door, a website dedicated to bringing you the best selection of books you could ask for, and all at a reasonable price. 

We were sent some books that are great ideas for keeping kids entertained during the summer holidays. And here they are...

Sticker Activity Book 100 Words

Kids love stickers and this collection of books is sure to keep your kids busy. Each book features 100 words, that your children will love learning, and each word is accompanied with a wonderful picture. But some of the pictures are missing and this is where the stickers come into play. The stickers are all nice and large, so great for little fingers to be able to hold and stick. There is also other things to do in the book such as colouring in, and also things to pop out of the books such as bookmarks and door signs. This collection comes with an amazing 10 books each with a different theme. Books 2 Door sell this amazing bundle of books for an amazing price of £12.98, which is a bargain and well worth buying to keep your kids busy. 

Lots to Spot Flashcards

These sets of flashcards are sure to be lots of fun for your little ones and also really great for learning numbers and words. Each pack contains fun pictures, and also games to play. The cards are a great size for younger ones and nice and thick and easy to hold. They will love the detailed pictures and will enjoy learning and talking about about what they can see. This collection from Books 2 Door has 4 different packs inside all with different themes. You have Bugs, Animals, Dinosaurs and Under the Sea. This amazing set is only £10.00 to buy and is aimed at children aged 3+. 

Jr Grab n Go Puzzles

Nothing keeps kids busier than puzzles and these grab and go puzzle books are filled with them. From word searches, mazes, dot to dots, number puzzles, and more, there is bound to be the type of puzzle in these books that your kids love. 

Each puzzle book is a different colour, which is great so you know which one you was using last. They all also come with a mini pencil which slots into the cover of the book. These books are small in size so they can easily be taken places with you, like in the car or inside your backpack. They also come in a handy little case so you can take the entire collection with you. 
The puzzles are recommended for children aged 6+ and are an amazing price of £10.48

The Books 2 Door website has so many books that are going to be perfect for these summer holidays, whether your child loves colouring, activities, games, or reading. Head to the website now to check out all they have to offer!

Which of these books would your child like to read?

Summer Fun Guide for Kids

 (ad - Gifted)

With the sunshine finally out, and the summer holiday fast approaching, you may be looking for ways to entertain the kids outdoors. The stores are full of fun things and you may have thought about the obvious, swimming pool, slide, swing etc. But this guide is all about fun toys you may not have thought of. 

Check out the following 8 toys that will provide great fun for your kids this summer.

1. Find it Activity Books

These activity books are great for keeping kids busy and are also a little different with their theme of finding things. My kids love a good hunt, so they found these super exciting to use. So far we have used Find it in the garden and we plan to use the car journey and at the beach when we go on holiday. Each of the books has 25 things to search for and find, and they are also packed full of facts to learn and puzzles to complete. Plus for every 3 books completed, a parent can send off for a Free Find it badge. Each book is £4.99 and are aimed at children aged 5 to 7 years old. 

2. Learning Resources Camp Out Set

Children of all ages love playing out, so this toy is for the younger children to enjoy. It's a super cute camping set that is specially designed for little hands. The set comes with 11 pieces. A campfire with removable fire and logs that come apart, a lantern, a fork, sausage, marshmallow, and smores, plus a camping bag to keep it all in. The toys are all very lightweight which means they are perfect for young children to carry about and the plastic is also super soft with no nasty sharp edges. Henry loves walking about carrying the little lantern and we are currently teaching him how to pretend to cook the marshmallow on the fire. This set is perfect for early role play and imagination development and will be wonderful to play out in the garden with. The set is £25 and can be bought from the Learning Resources website.

3. Brainstorm Mega Globe

We have had so much fun with this Mega Globe, and it has been perfect to play with in the garden. This globe is a blowup ball, which took all my effort to blow up because it's massive. But massive means more fun and the kids firstly took to play catch and piggy in the middle with it. Of course, this isn't just a beach ball, it's a globe, and so it has great learning advantages to it. To make learning fun, we played a game of Alphabet Globe. Each time you caught the ball, you had to shout out a country or place that you could see written on the globe, starting with the letters of the alphabet. We played all the way from A to Z and the kids didn't get bored for a second. This ball is also waterproof so perfect for paddling pool or swimming pool fun. Even Henry enjoyed pushing it around the floor. You can buy this fun summer toy online. 

4. Waboba Backnine Disc Golf Game

Sporty games are always a firm favorite to play with in the garden and this one is no exception. The game is played like golf, where you keep taking a turn until you get it in the hole. Apart from this game involves discs and throwing them into the centre of a hoop. You want to get the discs into the hoop in as little turns as possible, as the person with the lowest score wins. The way to score low points is to land directly into the centre, as if you land on the hoop, you gain more points as the hoop has landing zones that give you either 1, 2 or 3 points. The game contains the hoop and 4 silicone discs and also has a score pad and a bag to keep it all inside. We have played this game over and over and it is so much fun. To keep the game varied, you throw the hoop in a different place each time. You can even make it trickier by making it a crazy path to throw it down, a little like crazy golf. You can buy this for £14.99 on Amazon.

5. Hape Toys Periscope

Having fun in nature is always great. And so this Periscope can make exploring even more fun. It also helps a great game of hide and seek by letting you see without being seen. It is also great for peeking over walls or for looking for animals without disturbing them. This lovely periscope is great for nature as it's all made out of natural materials. The plastic is made from green PE which is a plastic derived from sugarcane, and the wooden part is made from bamboo. It comes with a handy strap that can be put around the wrist or attached to things like backpacks. The periscope is £9.99 and can be bought from the Hape Toys website.

6. Geosafari Bugnoculars

Bugs, you either like them or don't. But these bugnoculars mean that your child can get up and close with bugs, without having to touch them. (Well, as long as they get an adult to help get it into the tank.) Lily isn't a big fan of bugs but she loved using this to be able to have a good look at them. We found a ladybird, a baby snail, an earwig, an ant, and an interesting looking fly that I could not identify. The tank is made from a light weight plastic, so if it is dropped it does not break. You can either look down on the bug through the soft eye pieces at the top, or you can look through the magnified areas that are on the side of the tank. The lid is easy to open and shut and it also comes with a handle so it can be carried around. If your little one really doesn't like bugs, this is also great for looking at other aspects of nature like leaves and flowers. These can be bought from the Learning Resources website for £12.50.

7. Zimpli Kids Toys

Messy play is best done outdoors, so these Zimpli Kids activities are perfect for outdoor play. Zimpli kids has so many different fun messy play packs, but these are 3 really good ones for the outdoors. Firstly Snoball Play, this is pretend snow which is perfect for throwing around in summer pretending to have a snow ball fight. Each pack can make around 30 snowballs. It all washes away after too, meaning you don't have to worry about the mess staying. The colour-changing Gelli baff is great fun, perfect sensory fun in the garden, as it is perfect to feel and to watch the colours change. And best yet, the crackle baff, which is perfect to make your outdoor paddling pool more exciting. Its perfect to add to the water to splash in while it goes crackle and pop. You can buy these and more from the Zimpli Kids website. 

8. Early Years Resources Tuff Tray

This is something every garden needs if you have kids. A tuff tray. There are so many activities you can do, and the tray keeps the activity all in one place. I also found that Henry was more likely to play with things when put inside the tray. I think he found it more comfortable to sit down on than the floor. We have done drawing sat in the tray, played with mega blocks and we also investigated rocks, which was his favourite activity to do. These are also perfect for messy play activities, sand or water play. These tuff trays are heavy duty, but also super smooth, so they are perfect for babies and small children to not hurt them self on. They also clean super easy as you can just wipe them down. You can get them in 2 sizes, and there is also a choice of colour. To see more of the range, head to the Early Years Resources page. 

Which of these summer ideas do you think your child would love?

Frugi Clothing Summer Collection

 (ad - Gifted)

We finally have some sunshine, which means that we finally get to wear some summer clothes. But that also means if you have children, you may need to also buy new summer clothes. 

We were sent 2 outfits from Frugi from their new summer range which came just intime for the nice weather. 

I have always been a fan of Frugi clothing, I've always loved their bright colours and interesting patterns and prints. Plus Frugi is an organic brand, meaning that they are super kind to skin. 

We were sent an outfit for Lily and one outfit for Henry. 

Lily's outfit was a beautiful blue summer dress in a skater style, with a super summery print of sea shells. Lily loves the colour blue and so it's nice to find a dress in a colour other than pink for a girl. The print is repeated all over the dress and I think it looks great. Not too plain but also not too over the top. The dress is made from organic cotton, which means it is super soft and so comfortable to wear. It is also stretchy so easy for her to get on and off and doesn't feel tight to wear.
I got Lily a size 6-7 as she is always a size smaller than her age, and it fits perfectly for her. It was the perfect length for a dress for a little girl. The dress can be bought all the way from 0-3 to 7-8 years old. I also have washed the dress since, and I can happily say that washing it did not affect the size or quality of this dress.

I took Lily out for a walk in her dress and we got some lovely pictures of it that you can see below. 

Henry's outfit was some trousers and a t-shirt. In summer time it is great to still have some pairs of pants for babies as when playing out, it avoids many scuffed knees and also their legs not getting burnt on things on the park. Also perfect for little crawlers. 
His little outfit looks so cute on him. The pants are blue and filled with sharks and surf boards, making it a very summery pattern. The t-shirt is orange and works with the pants very well as the surf boards on the trousers are orange too. The T-shirt also has a shark and surf board design on it. 

Both are made with comfort in mind. The crawler pants have special patches on the knee's which give an extra layer of comfort for crawling and kneeling, they also have an elasticated waist, which I always find helps keep the pants up on babies. But failing that, the drawstring can be adjusted to make a tighter fit, which is what I had to do for Henry. Although Henry is now 16 months old, he is still tiny, so I got size 6 -12 months for him. But these can be bought from 0 months up to 4 years old. 

The t-shirt is also size 6-12 months and also fits really nicely. It also has buttons on the neck to make it so it's easier to pull over a baby's head. As it is also made from organic cotton it is super soft for henry to wear, and again, this washed really nicely. 

I took Henry to the park in his outfit and so here is some images we took that day. 

You can see these items and more on the Frugi website. 

Which of the outfits do you like? 

Activity Books from Books2Door Review

 (ad - Gifted)

With half term coming up and summer holidays looming, you are bound to be looking at ways to keep the kids entertained. That's where Books2Door can help. 

They have an extensive website of books for all ages, but I am going to tell you about some of the books from their range of Activity books. 

Activity books are great for keeping kids entertained, especially when these activity books can be taken outdoors to be enjoyed. 

We were sent a bundle of books to tell you all about. 

Books2Door has lots of different books perfect for different age ranges. We were sent a selection of ones for different ages seen as the age range in our household is from 1 to 9 years old. 

Firstly ones for our youngest at 1. We were sent Usbourne Peep Inside books which come in a collection of 6. Due to the text inside, they are recommended for children aged 2+ but Henry is just delighted by the colourful pictures and the flaps. Each book has a different theme. There is the Zoo, The Farm, Dinosaurs, The Garden, Nighttime, and Animals Homes. Each book has storylines about what you would find there, and you lift the flaps to explore and find out. 
The books are hardback and have sturdy pages, which are great for little hands. And the flaps, are easy to open and also not flimsy, making them harder to rip. 

The next set of books is another lovely set of lift flap books which are aimed at ages 0-5. These books are all about nature and are all about homes of nature. The set of 3 books are Bug House, Animal Homes, and Bird House. Each book shows delightful images of creatures and their homes, with flaps for you to explore more. For an older child, they can read all about the different birds, bugs and animals and learn all about them. Henry loves birds so opening flaps and seeing birds was lovely for him. These books are all shaped like a house, which is a cute design. They are also hardback which means they are great for small hands. They also have lots of peepholes which is another aspect of the books that Henry loved.

The next set of books is aimed at children aged 3 to 5 years old and are a lot more hands-on activity type of books. These are playtime learning books, and they come in a set of 5. These activity books are all about keeping your children entertained with things they love to do. So the set comes with Dot to Dot, Trace and Colour, Number Puzzles, Word Games, and Search and Find. Not only are these activities super fun, they are also sticker books, and we all know kids love stickers. Each book comes with a whopping 250 stickers which are such to keep your younger ones entertained. Lily is now 7, but she still loves a good dot to dot book and still loves playing with stickers. All the books are also filled with cute characters and animals that little ones would love. 

The next collection of books was a lovely collection of I Heart Colouring Books. Colouring is such a good activity to do, its relaxing, its creative, and its mindful. It is something that can pass the hours along without realising they are passing. These mini colouring books are perfect to take places with you to keep your child entertained, they are also perfect to take along outdoors for some relax time. This set comes with 6 different colouring books in 6 different themes, narwhal, mermaids, butterflies, flamingoes, unicorns and cute unicorns. The book has back to back choices of images to colour and all the images are filled with lots of shapes, patterns and details to colour in. The books are paperback and although there isn't an age range for colouring, I would say with the details in them that they are better for children aged 5 plus. 

The last selection of books we were sent is a bundle of STEM starters for Kids. These paperback activity books give a fun way of teaching children all about STEM, (science, technology, engineering and maths). Children are often fascinated with how things work, so getting to learn more about things while being out and about, will be great for them. The collection of books are for ages 7+ and come in a set of 8. You have Meteorology, Geology, Biology, Robotics, Maths, Science, Engineering and Technology. In each of the books, there will be a page all about parts of that subject, there then will be a fun activity that is in conjunction with that subject. They are perfect for learning while having fun. The books are paperback and also full of colourful pictures which will keep the attention of your childs interest. 

Books2Door also sell single books as well as collections and the prices are super reasonable. The collections of books above range from £6.99 to £16.99 as you find them in brilliant sale prices. 

Head to the Books2Door website and have a good look around at the Activity Books to see for yourself. 

Which of the above sets would your children love?

Care Bears I Care Bear Review

 (Ad - Gifted)

If you care about the environment, then I Care Bear is the one for you. 

I Care Bear is here to remind us to all care for the environment and the world around us. It is super important to look after Earth and I Care Bear is a super believer in this. 

I care encourages us to recycle, reduce waste and go for walks instead of using transport. 

Just like all care bears, I care bear is there to become your new best friend as friendship is also super important. Rain or shine, I care bear will always care about you and be there for you. 

Of course, I Care Bear couldn't love the environment and be made of nasty materials, so this care bear is Eco Friendly and made completely out of recyclable materials. This does not make a difference to the amazing quality of the care bear though and it is still super soft, fluffy, and snuggly. In fact, my little one was so impressed with how soft she actually was.

As well as I care Bear being made from recyclable materials, the box it comes in also is. It was also sent in an outer care bear box which is perfect for reusing after. My girls decided to use it as a bed for their carebears before we decided to put it out into the recycling. 

My favorite thing about this care bear is the colours. They are a beautiful ombre of green and blue. It also has a lovely rainbow on its tummy which connects the world to a heart. The perfect emblem for a care bear that loves the world. 

This Eco care bear is 35.5cm in height and is £19.99 to buy. 

Celebrate Fathers Day with TrendHim

 (ad Gifted)

Fathers Day is soon Approaching and where better to look for gifts than TrendHim. Their website has a super range of gifts for men. Ranging from bags to belts, bow ties to jewelry there's bound to be something that is suitable for a Father in your life.  

Prices also really vary meaning that it's affordable for most, but there is also some lovely items to splash out on.

I have used the TrendHim website many times now and there is always something I find for Fathers day on there. Plus the website is super easy to browse and use.

We would like to celebrate Fathers Day with TrendHim by offering you a fab competition. There is a chance you could win a £50 spend on the website to treat that man in your life. 

Why not have a good browse and see what you would choose here. 

What would you choose from the TrendHim website?

Enter below on the Gleam App!

Terms and Conditions

Uk Only

Ends 12th June 2022

Winners Email to be Shared with TrendHim

Win £50 to Spend on TrendHim

Giddy Up Board Game Review

 (ad - Gifted)

Games have got to be our favorite pastime in this house. Ideal offered us this Giddy Up game, and it looked so much fun that we most definitely had to give it a try. 

The Giddy up game is horse themed and all about fast reactions. 

I was super impressed when it arrived. The horse's head was a decent size and was really emotive and happy. Lily was so excited to play it and Henry just loved the look of it. 

We are all massive horse fans in this house so to have a game themed upon horses is just great. 

The game comes with a horse's head, attached with reins and an extendable pole. It also comes with game cards and instructions. 

The game has 3 modes to play, Training, Challenge, and Cross Country. 

We tried the training first to get used to playing. Lily found sitting on the pole easy enough and as it was quite light she could move around on it really easily. 

The horse is interactive and you have to do certain things and move the horse in certain ways to complete an action. So for example, you can pat the horse's head, feed the horse by putting your hand into its mouth, and you can also move to trot and jump. 

In the challenge game, you will have to follow a set of commands to win the game. Lily found this great fun, but also challenging. You have to make sure you do the correct action otherwise you lose and have to start again. Also, it's a challenge to how fast you can do it which adds loads of excitement to the game. 

In Cross Country mode, there are little cards that you can use to set out a track. These cards all have instructions on them, such as pat me, jump and even more complicated ones such as do a 360. This then becomes a challenge of how fast you can complete your own track. Lily loved that she could be creative with this part and choose what pattern of commands she wanted. 

The little cards that come with the game are stored in the horse's head. This is really handy because otherwise, they would have ended up lost for sure. The cards slot in and out the head easily and it's something your child should be able to do themselves. 

Lily loved that this game you play all by yourself, and you don't have to wait for a friend to play with you. But she also enjoyed taking turns with her sisters and having a good giggle at the actions that had to be done. 

It is such a good game and it's also going to be great fun to play outdoors now that the weather is getting better. 

The game is £17.99 and can be bought from the Smyths Toy store Website. 

Do you think your children would find this game fun?

If you like the sound of this game, why not enter to WIN it using the Gleam app below. 

Uk Only
Ends - 04.06

Win Kids Game Giddy Up