#KISSSummerParty at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast

A little over three weeks ago (I can't believe how late this post is - apologies!), I attended the KISS Summer Party on the roof of the Merchant Hotel in Belfast. I was invited by the lovely ladies at Alex Silver PR and I just HAD to say yes!

I've only ever been to the Merchant once before for afternoon tea with my mum, so I was excited about the prospect of an evening blog event there. It was actually my first ever blog event too. I find them hard to come by here in Belfast! 

When I arrived, I met Hannah from Hi Baby Blog outside and we ventured in together. Hannah and I have been friends on Facebook for quite a while now and despite living in the same city, we had never met. It was so lovely to meet her in person and she is just a doll!

The whole event itself was amazing from start to finish. When we arrived, we were greeted by the beautiful Danielle from Alex Silver PR who asked us to sign in and we handed a drink straight away - you can't go wrong there! We were also told to help ourselves at the bar for the remainder of the event - something that every Irish person likes to hear! 

We made our way onto the roof terrace and there were stations to get your KISS eyelashes applied and KISS or imPRESS manicure nails done. I spotted the wonderful Paddy McGurgan at an eyelash station and I had to have him apply mine for me! As I wear glasses, I don't ever apply false eyelashes as I never really saw the point. Would anyone notice them behind my specs? Because of this, I had no idea what style of lash would suit me so Paddy chose a style he thought would work well and oh my goodness, my opinion on false lashes changed instantly. They were incredible and I've definitely found a new love. 

Excuse the wide eyes due to my lack of glasses but seriously, how amazing are these eyelashes?

As there were quite a lot of bloggers there and I had to leave an hour early, I unfortunately didn't get a chance to have any nails applied. I did however try some from the goody bag (I'll chat more about that below!) we received when I got home. I chose a KISS pair and you can either apply them with glue or sticky tabs - both are included in the box. I opted for sticky tabs as I thought they'd be quicker and I was really surprised by how strong they were. How great do they look? 

The KISS Summer Party was so much fun and I loved mingling with new bloggers who I was only familiar with online. There were waiters floating around handing out lots of fantastic food from burger sliders and fish and chips to bruschetta - the fish and chips were divine! 

Meeting the PR team and finding out more about the KISS brand was really interesting. They are a US brand which has recently brought their products to the UK market. I think they are absolutely fantastic, even for a busy mum like me, so I can definitely see them being a huge hit! Who knew that there were so many different styles of lashes and nails?!

We all left with a fabulous goody bag packed with nails and eyelashes to try at home. I do have some other blog posts lined up where I will focus on some individual products so keep an eye out for that!

Thank you for inviting me, Alex Silver PR!

Win a family ticket to PAW Patrol Live in London

PAW Patrol is one of those TV shows which has taken the UK by storm. My own children are obsessed with it and I find myself singing the theme song in my head on a daily basis. You can buy PAW Patrol emblazoned clothing, notebooks, anything you can think of so there's no doubt that it's very popular. There's no escaping the hype!

The PAW Patrol pups are now coming to an arena near you in their first ever UK and Ireland live tour! When Mayor Goodway goes missing during the day of the Great Adventure Bay Race, the pups come to the rescue. Families can enjoy Ryder, Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Zuma, Skye and Everest for an action-packed adventure that shows that no job is too big and no pup is too small.

The live show sounds absolutely fantastic and it's sure to be a magical day for all little ones.

I have one family ticket to the PAW Patrol Live 10:00am show in Wembley Arena, London on 6th August up for grabs! The family ticket covers 5 people (adult or child) and is worth £150.

To be in with a chance of winning, just enter via the Gleam widget below. As this prize is for an event at a specific location, please be sure to read the terms and conditions and only enter if you are available to attend.

T&C's:

• One winner will win five A-Reserve tickets worth £30 each (children under 12 months are not required to have a ticket as long as they are sat on a ticketholder's lap and do not occupy a seat)
• The tickets are only available for use at the 10am show at the Wembley Arena, London on August 6th 2017
• The winner will receive a ticket voucher via email which they will have to bring with them to the box office in order to redeem their tickets
• The is no cash alternative
• There is no contribution towards travel expenses
• The giveaway will run from 11th July until 24th July
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• One entry per person
• No automated entries

A family ticket to PAW Patrol Live at Wembley Arena, London on August 6th

 

The Entertainer's Easter Unboxing Event #TheEntertainerUnboxed

Last week I wrote a post on The Entertainer's Easter unboxing event which would be happening all this week. C had preschool on Monday and Tuesday so we were only free to attend Wednesday's unboxing. I was keeping up to date with the #TheEntertainerUnboxed hashtag on Twitter so I did see the other toys that had been unboxed previously and felt pretty up to speed. 

We arrived at our local Entertainer store (CastleCourt, Belfast) at 9am. I was aware that the actual unboxing would be taking place around 10am but because my past visits to The Entertainer had been flying ones, I was happy enough to have a look around at what they had to offer. The children's birthdays are both in September so they were running around telling me which toys they wanted to add to their "birthday list."

I must make a point of saying that they staff were all so lovely. Kayleigh, Jennifer, Lindsey and James were the staff members that we encountered and they all went above and beyond to make it an enjoyable experience for the children. As we were there so early and the shop was relatively empty (understandable at 9am on a Wednesday morning), Kayleigh very kindly invited C and E to have a play with the two toys that were unboxed on Monday and Tuesday; Little Tikes My First Flyer RC Helicopter and a NERF gun. Both of these were very well received by C and he had lots of fun having the freedom of playing with them in the store. E much preferred the toy animals that were on display - something which I'm not surprised about at all.

By this point, C had noticed the wrapped box complete with bow at the front of the store - Wednesday's unboxing gift! His excitement built a little by this point but we still had a little while to wait until it was time for the big reveal. We took this opportunity to browse the rest of the store that we didn't get to see earlier, then James let C have a go at driving an RC car around. He was giggling away to himself and having an absolute blast ramming it into things and knocking them over.

When it was time to unbox, the children dove right in and couldn't wait to see what was inside - it was a Wobbleez Dalmatian! They each had a little go at "walking" it around the floor. I think they really enjoyed the fact that they were able to have the toys opened and out of their packaging and they did surprise me as they didn't ask if they could take them home!

I let C and E choose a toy each to buy and getting to walk up the little steps at the front of the tills and scan their items was just the icing on the cake. C loves doing this sort of thing at the self serve checkouts at the supermarkets as it makes him feel very grown up and involved.

C is the type of child who can either be very shy around new people and not speak much to them at all or he can instantly feel comfortable with you and tell you his life story. It was definitely the latter when it came Kayleigh and Jennifer especially. When they were choosing what to purchase, C actually told Jennifer that she was "the loveliest lady" and told me on the way home that he had hearts in his eyes for her because he loved her. I definitely think he will making me bring him back to The Entertainer a lot! E also discovered that they had a mutual love of Disney Princesses so that makes her a winner in her book.

#TheEntertainerUnboxed event concludes tomorrow (15th April) and I would definitely urge you all to get down to your local store to get involved. If you share your photographs on Twitter using the hashtag, you will be in with a chance of winning the entire set of unboxing toys!

In addition to this, there is a fantastic Buy One Get One Free offer with lots of great brands such as My Little Pony and Star Wars. You can always stock up for Christmas (it's never too early to mention the C word when you have children)!

(We have been compensated for this post/attending the event. All thoughts and opinions remain my own and have not been influenced by this.)

Come Join #TheEntertainerUnboxed Event this Easter!

Easter is on the horizon and school's have either broken up already or will be doing so soon (C's preschool doesn't break up until Tuesday!). Either way, that means us parents have over a week of keeping the children busy and entertained.

From Monday 10th to Saturday 15th (with the exception of Good Friday), The Entertainer stores nationwide will be hosting an Easter Unboxing Event. I'm sure you're all very familiar with the popular YouTube unboxing videos - my two children are obsessed with them! - so from 10am each day, your child will be able to see an actual unboxing in front of their very eyes as well as play with well-known products including the latest toys for this Spring.

In addition to this, throughout the events over the five days, five lucky customers who take photographs at the event and share them on Twitter using the #TheEntertainerUnboxed hashtag will be in with a chance of winning the full set of unboxing toys worth £100!

The Entertainer will also be running an exclusive Buy One Get One Free offer over selected lines such as Lego, Barbie, Marvel, Star Wars and My Little Pony. I definitely think my purse will be a bit lighter afterwards!

We will be attending the event at Belfast's Castlecourt Shopping Centre store on Wednesday 12th so please do let me know if you're also attending this FREE event - I'd love to meet you! If you are unable to attend, I'll be sharing my day on my social media accounts so be sure to give me a follow.

For more information about The Entertainer's unboxing event, as well as the Terms and Conditions for the competition, just visit the www.thetoyshop.com website.

You're Invited to the Ella's Kitchen Event

To all of my London readers, I just wanted to let you know about a fab public event that baby food company, Ella's Kitchen are hosting on Wednesday 26th February.

Calling all adventurous little ones…

Baby and toddler food experts, Ella’s Kitchen, is creating a totally incredible, edible experience for little taste explorers to enjoy.

Created to celebrate the launch of the ‘my little BIG meals’ range, the super-secret taste adventure is designed to introduce little ones to a world of scrummy fruit and delicious veg, and features a whole host of fun things for little explorers to taste, touch, smell and discover.

The incredible edible event opens to the public at The Horniman Museum and Gardens, London on Wednesday 26^th February from 10.30am – 1pm and is free of charge for parents and little ones to explore.

WHEN? Wednesday 26^th February, 10.30am – 1pm

WHERE? The Horniman Museum and Gardens, Victorian Conservatory

ADDRESS: 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ

CLOSEST TUBE: Forest Hill

If you do end up attending, I hope you have a great time! Living in Northern Ireland sucks some times ;)