Keeping the Christmas Magic Alive with Portable North Pole Magic Pass

C is four years old and this is the first year where he properly understands what is happening at Christmas and gets excited about Santa. We have already done a few Christmas themed things this year to spark the magic - visiting Santa was probably his personal highlight.

Portable North Pole (PNP) website and app is back to delight children across the world and this is the first year that I have tried it with C. The 2016 edition has lots of new features and its aim is to bring the magic of Santa into our homes with personalised videos and phone calls.

The PNP Magic Pass costs £9.99 and for that price you get:

• Unlimited premium videos
• A reaction recorder (mobile app only)
• Unlimited Santa calls
• HD downloads of your videos
• Storytime with Santa - a video each week in December

You can also get a Santa approved certificate to print for each of your videos.

They have packed so much into these videos and the scene is so realistic. Santa can say your child's name, display personalised photographs and there is a huge list of items to choose from so that Santa knows what is on your child's Christmas list, from games consoles to toys. You can even choose specific topics for him to talk about, for example, I chose the fact that C had been asked to share with others. The videos vary in lengths depending on which one you choose and how much information is given. I particularly like the Christmas Eve video as it's sure to get your child excited about the fact that Santa is just about to leave the North Pole with their presents in his sleigh. There are even personalised birthday videos too, I'll definitely be creating those for the children in September.

The Reaction Camera for the mobile app is fantastic idea. You get to see, and keep, the memory of the happiness in your child's face when Santa speaks to them by name. 

Like many parents, I hope we aren't the only ones!, we do use the "I'll phone Santa and tell him you're misbehaving!" threat so C truly does believe that we have a direct line to Santa. C got quite excited about the fact that Father Christmas was able to call him (it comes through like a real phonecall) and it's great that there are little pauses for your child to answer his questions.

For £9.99 you really get a lot for your money as there are just so many different scenarios and aspects to choose from. I think that any child would be delighted to experience the magic through PNP.

(I received a free Magic Pass to Portable North Pole for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Christmas Gift Ideas: Moochies Phone Watch

C is only little so doesn't play out on the street yet, but when he does I know I'll be absolutely terrified as I can't see him every second of every day. I have maybe 2 year before this starts and at 5 he will, in my opinion, definitely be too young to carry a mobile phone around with him so this is where Moochies comes in.

The Moochies phone watch is amazing! We received a watch for C and a phone which had the app pre-downloaded (Chris searched and it is easy enough to find on Android too). The phone watch takes a micro SIM card which can be on any network provided it gets 2G coverage. We have a pre-paid one that came with the watch and you can purchase these alongside your watch.

The phone watch has voice calling, parent set contact numbers, an SOS button (which when pressed sends an alert to the parents phone), GPS tracking, safe zones and also a watch function.

With the labelling to show which button does what. This can be removed.

The parent can set up two numbers that the child can call by simply pressing a button but have 20 numbers that can call the phone which makes it great for grandparents and other relatives. The voice calling is so clear and C thought it was great fun being able to talk to mummy through his watch.

The GPS has been wonderful for me when we take C to our local park. In the past I'd keep him either on his reins or by my side when all he really wants to do is run around. The watch has given me peace of mind that if he does go a little too far for a second, I'll know straight away where he is.

The Moochies watch is, in my eyes, an amazing concept. I've suffered from anxiety since C's birth and I honestly think this will be a huge help now and also as C (and E!) gets older. 

The watch retails at £79.99 and you can purchase it from the Moochies website. You can also keep up to date on Facebook.

(Disclaimer: We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Hello Kitty's Kindness App to Combat Online Negativity

It's no secret that I am addicted to the internet. I'm logged on one at least one device every day. When I log into Facebook or Twitter. I see all of my friends updates alongside some negative posts. Be they statuses from my friends who have been treated badly or news items that make me feel sad.

With technology usage on the up, it is inevitable that my children will be using the internet a lot as they grow up and I don't want them seeing some of the things that I see. If we inspire this generation to be kind to one another, maybe it will continue on in the future.

Hello Kitty has develeped a new Twitter app in order to combat negativity online. Scientific research shows that 46% of Brits have experienced unkind messages online and being kind to others can actually reduce stress. Hello Kitty is campaigning for the nation to do #OneKindThing either by using the #OneKingThing app to share messages of kindness over social media or to do small acts of kindness.

To access the app, users sign up to Twitter and the free web app shares friendly messages on their Twitter feed, helping to inspire others to also do #OneKindThing for a friend or stranger. Users can share an image of Hello Kitty alongside the post or change their profile and cover photos in support. As I mentioned before, being kind can reduce stress levels so Hello Kitty wants you to spread the kindness while also keeping yourself healthy.

"People who are kind to their friends, family and strangers become happier and healthier in the long run. These simple acts of kindness can benefit the heart, reduce anxiety and make everyone a much happier human being. Our country flourishes when people look out for each other and that is what Hello Kitty hopes to inspire with the One King Thing campaign."
- Clara Wooller, Hello Kitty Brand Manager

To use the #OneKindThing app, visit http://onekindthing.eu/

Get spreading kindness!

(Disclaimer: We have received some product samples in exchange for this post.)

Tommy's Launch #MyPrematureBaby App

1 in every 14 babies in the UK are born prematurely. They need huge amounts of monitoring and support for the first few days, weeks or months of their lives. 

With today being World Prematurity Day, the baby charity Tommy's is launching the first ever UK app designed to support parents through the complicated early days of a premature birth. The free app 'My Premature Baby' gives parents access to any facts that they need about prematurity at any time of day, right at their fingertips. You can also keep track of your baby's progress and get practical and emotional support on topics such as breastfeeding and expressing. There is also a feature to 'Find Friends' so that you can connect with other parents who are going through a similar experience. 

The app has been developed in consultation with parents of premature babies and it includes features such as:

• Tommy's expert Having a Premature Baby guide
• A diary, allowing parents to record their baby's progress, milestones, and their own thoughts and feelings. You also have the option to search for other parents diaries. 
• The ability to plot your baby's height and weight on special development charts that are specifically designed for premature babies
• The ability to record times, amounts and types of feeding (ie set alarms for breastfeeding or expressing)
• A sharing function so that you can share your baby's progress quickly and easily to Facebook 
• Finding Friends feature. Here you can enter your postcode and contact local parents going through the same experiences as yourselves. 

As a mum to a premature baby, this app seems like a brilliant idea and I only wish it had been around when C was born! 

The app is called "My Premature Baby" and it is free of charge. It is available to use today.

(Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation in exchange for this post.)

TOMY Winnie the Pooh Balloon Nightshow & Protect n Play iCase - Review

We love TOMY (see our past reviews of the Winnie the Pooh Stack, Pour, Post & Play, Jungle Magic Sounds Aquadoodle & Lamaze) and ever since I was younger, I've loved Winnie the Pooh. I've since introduced C by watching Piglet's Big Movie etc so we were really pleased when TOMY sent us the Winnie the Pooh Balloon Nightshow (RRP £19.99) and Winnie the Pooh Protect n Play iCase (RRP £12.99) to try out.

As soon as I opened the cardboard box, C was straight in trying to see what the nightlight did. He has been a bit of a fussy sleeper and will only sleep if I hold his hand. This gorgeous little nightlight has come in very handy! 

Winnie the Pooh holds a balloon which lights up in different colours and plays music. At first, I did think that maybe the music would keep C awake because he wanted to look at it and listen to it but it did send him off to sleep. It plays 5 different songs and you can even set a timer for it to play for either 10 or 20 minutes. Very handy if your child is in their own room as you won't have to sit in to keep switching it on. 

This Winnie the Pooh Balloon Nightshow is suitable from birth so you will really get the use out of it. I think I'll even use it when Baby Girl is born too!

We also received the Winnie the Pooh Protect n Play iCase. C is forever touching our phones. I think it's because he sees us on them all the time and he wants to see what the big deal is. The idea of this case is to put in on your iPhone like a regular case (it's suitable for iPhone models 4, 4S, 5 and 5s) and your child can play with it. It comes with a free Winnie the Pooh app. Add that to the fact that you can hang it from a car seat or pram and you've got the perfect travel entertainer.  You just put the app on before inserting your phone and your child can interact with Pooh by tickling him, feeding him honey and many other things! It even has a mirrored 'honey pot' on the front with little balls inside so it doubles as a rattle!

C has loved playing with this and I love that it fits both mine and Chris's phones (models 4 and 5) so he can always play even when one of us is out. 

This Winnie the Pooh Protect n Play iCase is suitable from 6 months. 

You can find out more about TOMY and their range of toys and baby items at the TOMY website. 

(Disclaimer: We received these items free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Pregnancy+ App - Review

I am addicted to my iPhone. It's never out of my hand so when I fell pregnant it was a cert that I'd download a pregnancy app. 

I had the chance to try out a great app from http://www.health-and-parenting.com/ called Pregnancy+. Now, this app has a paid version and a free version, but I'm going to speak about the paid version first. 

When you first open the app, you are prompted to enter either your Estimated Due Date (EDD) if you know it or the first day of your Last Menstrual Period (LMP) and it will work out roughly how far along you are. You can also connect up with Facebook. 

The main menu looks like this:

I have connected my Facebook account so my profile picture is displayed in the corner. As I have filled in my due date as being 8th September, I get a high quality image of roughly how my baby would look at this stage of pregnancy and a timeline of how far I am.

If you scroll down, you can get an RSS feed of the Health and Parenting's daily blog which is filled with great pregnancy tips and information; information of your due date; more information about thoughts or worries that you may have; weekly information about your baby, body, health & tips and information for your partner; images of how your baby might look at the stage of pregnancy that you are currently at in the form of a 2D scan, high quality image and 3D scan; a size guide which compares your babys size to fruit or vegetables; a place to chart your weekly weight changes which is then graphed; a handy calendar to save your appointment dates and times, you can set alarms too; a to-do list which is very handy for pregnant ladies suffering with 'baby brain'; a place to save your monthly belly photo alongside how your baby is positioned in your womb; a list to select and shortlist your favourite baby names; a checklist of things that you may need to buy for your baby and you can even tick them off once you have purchased them; a phone number list - very handy to store your midwife and maternity units numbers; and information about the app.

If you tap on the 'buttons' (play, baby, me and more) along the bottom you will get the following information:

Play - a slideshow of how your baby is growing alongside an estimated length and weight. I think that this is a lovely way to bond with your baby as you more or less know how your baby is looking.

Baby - daily information on any thoughts or worries that you may have (also available in the main menu); weekly information about your baby (also available in the main menu); images of how your baby might look at the stage of pregnancy that you are currently at in the form of a 2D scan, high quality image and 3D scan (also available in the main menu); a size guide which compares your babys size to fruit or vegetables (also available in the main menu); a timeline which tells you what is happening at each stage for example, at 22 weeks the baby will begin to develop voice recognition and at 27 weeks it has a good survival rate if born at that stage; and a kick counter which is a lovely way to document your babys movements.

Me - guides on: food (what to eat, not to eat, vitamins & minerals, how much to eat and weight gain), labour (preparing for labour, signs of labour, stages, positions, breathing, information on different types of births and birth companion), exercise (general tips, why exercise, exercises to avoid, enjoyable activities and pelvic floor exercises), medical (medication, pain relief, induced labour, assisted births, when to call a doctor); a place to chart your weekly weight changes which is then graphed (also available in the main menu); a place to save your monthly belly photo alongside how your baby is positioned in your womb (also available in the main menu); information about what a birth plan is and you can even select your birth wishes from a handy checklist such as who you want and don't want in the room with you, how you would like to be monitored, what pain relief you would like and many more!; handy calendar to save your appointment dates and times, you can set alarms too (also available from the main menu); a to-do list (also available from the main menu).

More - app settings, list of phone numbers (also available from the main menu); a list to select and shortlist your favourite baby names (also available from the main menu); a list of things that you may need to buy for your baby (also available from the main menu); a list of what to pack in your hospital bag, your partner's bag and your baby bag; a contraction timer.

I really don't think that anything has been missed out or overlooked with this app. As a second time mum I am still finding out things that I never knew and the checklists are fabulous so I'm sure a first-time mum would feel very at ease using the app during pregnancy. The paid app costs £1.99 and it is available on the App Store, Windows Store or Google Play, but if, like me, you're a bit dubious about paying for something without knowing whether it's really worth the money, you can always download the free app first. The free version only gives you information on the first 14 weeks of your pregnancy so you will have plenty of time to try it out and maybe purchase the paid version later.

I am really enjoying using this app and it has made me feel comforted knowing how my body is changing, baby is growing and is keeping me organised when it comes to purchases!

(Disclaimer: I received the paid for version for my iPhone free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)