Face Paintoos - Review

(AD/Gifted - We received this item for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

My children absolutely love getting their face painted. As soon as we've got an invitation to a birthday party, they're already thinking about what to ask the face painter to do.

Unfortunately, mummy is not creative at all so me trying to paint the kids faces at home ends up being a shambles.

Face Paintoos by Interplay eliminate the faff and mess of face painting and make it so simple that anyone could do it.

We received the Party Pack and inside there were 5 'Wild Animal', 5 'Pet' and 10 'Magical' face tattoos. You also receive a sponge for application and 30 individually wrapped removal sheets.

As soon as the kids had a look at what there was to choose from, dog lover E typically chose an Dalmatian and C went for a leopard.

Firstly you need to cut each part out and apply them individually working from the top of the face down. You remove the plastic sheet and apply to the correct area of the face, similarly to a temporary tattoo. It works in the same way; you dip the sponge in water, sweep it over the paper of the transfer then hold each bit down with the sponge for around 15 seconds. By this time, you should be able to remove the paper and the design should be on the face.

Parts of this I found a little tricky, especially on E because her face is quite small. The proportion was slightly off but it worked better with C as he's older and bigger. A few times I found that I hadn't held the sponge on long enough so it would lift, particularly around the bridge of the nose, but patting it gently with the sponge seemed to restick it.

All in all, they do remove the faff and I think they'd be great if you were having a small party and were planning on doing the face painting yourself. C and E didn't keep them on very long because they felt a little tight on their face but weren't opposed to trying them out another time when we have an event to go to.

Removal wise, we needed to use two wipes each due to the size of the design then rinse with soap and water as the wipes feel a bit slimy. We had no reaction to the wipes or actual transfers which I was very pleased about.

Face Paintoos retail at £19.99 and are available from Very and all good retailers.

PJ Masks are back!: Our Series 2 Viewing Party

We are so excited that brand new episodes of PJ Masks will be back on our screens starting Wednesday 28th March on Disney Jr. PJ Masks is probably my children's number 1 TV show and as a parent, I love it too! So many children's shows can get annoying but PJ Masks isn't one of them - I'd happily watch along!

We were lucky enough to get the chance to watch the first two episodes of the new series before it's shown on television and what better way to do it than by setting up a viewing party? We were sent everything needed to have a fun-filled PJ Masks day which just added to the children's excitement.

We received a huge box of character goodies; an inflatable chair, glow in the dark puzzle, art case, stamp and sticker playset, Catboy bedding set (RRP £29.99), two character masks, a blind bag (RRP £3.99 - we got Romeo!) and lots of partyware. 

The kids were so excited to get playing and the Ravensburger Glow in the Dark Puzzle (RRP £7.99) was a huge hit. They both loved seeing the bad guys as well as their beloved PJ Masks. 

The Art Case (RRP £7.99) and Stamp and Sticker Play Set (RRP £4.99 from B&M and Sainsburys) kept both C and E entertained for ages! I definitely think we will be using these a lot over the Easter holidays. The Art Case reminds me of the types that I had as a child; filled with crayons, markers, paints, scissors, pencils - the lot! E especially loved using the little stampers in the Stamp and Sticker Set and branding the PJ Masks symbols everywhere. Stickers are always a hit in this house too!

We had both children fighting over the awesome Inflatable Chair (£9.99) and I advise you to use a pump for this. I blew it up myself and felt like I was gonna pass out. Must buy a pump!

I got the partyware (RRP £29.99) all set up and ready to watch the brand new episodes and the children donned their super cool Gekko and Owlette masks (RRP £9.99 each) in preparation. 

The first two episodes are called Moonfizzle Balls, where Catboy works a bit too fast to kick Luna Girl's moonfizzle balls and Gekko and Owlette can't keep up, and Soccer Ninjalinos, where Owlette learns that being part of the team means coaching Catboy and Gekko to defeat Night Ninja who has trained his Ninjalinos in kung-fu football! Judging by these two episodes, series 2 is set to be just as much fun as series 1. C and E couldn't take their eyes off the screen and even asked to watch a second time! It's safe to say that they cannot wait to see the rest of the episodes.

PJ Masks is back on Disney Junior on Wednesday 28th March at 4.30pm then every Wednesday after that at 4.45pm.

(We received this bundle in exchange for this post.)

 

Eat Your Photo Personalised Cupcakes

Eat Your Photo are a fabulous company that make cupcakes, cakes and chocolate with your own personalised photograph on them. 

When I was offered the opportunity to try a box of their cupcakes I jumped at the chance. I am a big cake fan and the fact that I could get them personalised was a lovely addition. You can choose either vanilla or chocolate cupcakes and I just had to go for chocolate. 

When they first arrived in the post, I was surprised by how big and heavy the parcel was. I really did expect small, little cupcakes and I was genuinely shocked when I opened them. They were huge! 

I chose my favourite picture of the children to go on top and they looked perfect. I was pleasantly surprised that no cupcakes were damaged in transit either. 

Now, for the taste test. 

They are easily the most beautiful cupcakes I have ever tasted in my life. The sponge is so soft and on top of that you have a delectable chocolate fudge icing. The icing with the photo on is a lot thicker than I thought it would be. They are so rich so you couldn't eat too many in one go. 

I honestly cannot put into words how beautiful these cupcakes are. All I can say is, you NEED to try them! I can't fault them at all. Chris is very fussy and even he said after biting into one, "they're nice. They're really nice!  Really moist. Not dry at all. Really nice!" Do you think he though they were nice? Ha! 

You can buy a box of 12 cupcakes for £20 or 24 for £35. The price is well worth it. I think they are a great idea for birthday parties or any event that you may have. You could even get your blog logo or business logo on them! 

You can find out more at the Eat Your Photo website. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received a box of 12 cupcakes for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Halloween at Aldi

I was never a huge fan of Halloween before I had kids. Now, I love to dress them up in cute costumes and have the house spookily decorated even though they don't really understand what is going on. 

Aldi have recently released their Halloween range and it's packed with loads of reasonably priced items. I do sometimes worry that cheap items equal rubbish quality but we recently received a few samples of their Halloween range to put them to the test and hopefully find that I was wrong.

Firstly, we received 2 boxes of their LED Berry Lights in green and orange (£4.99 for 90 lights). I think that this is a great price for quite a lot of lights. In addition to this, you are supplied with the 3 AA batteries that are required and they come with a 3 year warranty. They shine brightly too which is great! Aldi also do similar battery-operated lights in ghost, eyeball and pumpkin shapes for the same price! 

Secondly, we have the Halloween gel stickers. I love gel stickers. I always have the Christmassy ones up during the festive season but this is the first I've spotted Halloween ones! I love the running fake blood and they stick really well. Perfect bargain for only 99p! Their decorations don't end there though. You can also pick up hanging decorations for £1.49, and a stretchy indoor spiders web for 99p. If you're planning on throwing a Halloween party, you can scare your guests with skull, hands, feet and arm and leg bone table decorations for £3.99 and a fab 'Enter if you Dare' wooden sign for only £1.49. 

Thirdly, we received a gorgeous witches costume. This is 3-4 years so a little too big for my baby girl but I love it so much that I actually think I'll keep it for her! The material and colours are fantastic for it only being £3.99. I love the tutu underneath the skirt and spooky ghost print on the skirt and hat. The children's costumes go up to age 8 and also come in vampire, skeleton and baterella designs. 

There are some fab children's accessories too and C is quite taken with the felt masks. I prefer felt masks over paper ones any day (less chance of children ripping them and tantrums ensuing. We received a pumpkin one and a Dracula one but bat and witch designs are available too for only 79p - bargain! 

You can purchase your child a Halloween headband for £1.49 or stripy Halloween tights to finish off their costume for £1.29. These are available in black & purple, black & orange, black & pink and black & white so there is something for every costume! 

Aldi stock adult costumes too. From vampires to skeletons and witches for only £7.99 and you can add Halloween accessories such as a witches hat or red devil horns for only £1.99. 

Lastly, no Halloween is complete without kiddies trick or treat bags. Getting sweeties is the most important bit! These gorgeous felt bags are just £1.49 and I can't wait to use them on Halloween night. You can also pick your child up an LED Glow in the Dark torch for £1.99 for trick or treating in the dark. 

When you've come back home from trick or treating with all your goodies, Aldi will help you settle down with some Halloween DVDs for £2.99 or your child can unwind with some playtime using the Halloween Play Doh (£4.99). 

These items are available from Aldi stores from 2nd October 2014 and are available while stocks last. 

(Disclaimer: We received these samples free of charge in exchange for a review and piece on Aldi's Halloween range.)

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Yesterday was C's 2nd Halloween! Last year, he was 5 weeks old and I had bought him a First Size pumpkin babygrow which ended up being too big for him as he was so small. This year, he's in a 12-18 month Spidar costume :)

C last Halloween

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween with your little ones! We didn't do very much, I must be honest. In the early afternoon we did a grocery shop, came back home and got dinner started then went to my mum in laws for a bit. 

On Saturday, we'll go to my parents house but I will have C in his costume again as they didn't get to see him and we'll have a little party then. 

What did you all get up to?

C's First Birthday Party

Just over a week ago it was C's first birthday party. I already can't believe it's been a week. 

We rented out 2 halls at a leisure centre. The first hall had a bouncy castle and footballs and other little things to play with and we had that room for 1 hour. 

At first, I thought it might be a bit boring. A bouncy castle for the kids and all the adults would be left standing about but I was wrong. Once the party got started, the kids really enjoyed themselves and us adults chattered away. 

When the hour in the bouncy castle hall was up, we had an hour in a food room. The night before we had made sandwiches and spent the morning of the party cooking food and making sure we had enough for everyone!

At first I thought two different rooms was a bit weird but it worked out better. The kids worked up an appetite playing and also, I think having the food in the same room as the bouncy castle would mean that the kids probably wouldn't eat as they'd be too interested in playing!

I was a bit nervous thought and kept asking everyone repeatedly if they were okay. My mother-in-law said to me, "Rebecca, the kids are all eating and no ones crying.  Everyone's happy" and she was right!

I was really stressed out in the lead up but the party went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. I'd just like to say a huge thank you to my lovely sister-in-law Emma who helped us set up the food room, thank you to my best friend Jessica who very kindly made C'a birthday cake and thank you to my parents-in-law Michelle and Ian for bringing all the party food over for us. 

Why was I so stressed!? Parties are easy :P

Neviti 'Ahoy There' Party Decor Review

Planning birthday parties can be pretty stressful with the amount that you need to buy and making sure that all the party decorations match can be an expensive job.

Neviti very kindly sent us some supplies for C's first birthday party. They sell a wide range of partyware for any occasion, Halloween, birthdays, Christmas and many more in between. I was able to choose which range I wanted so I opted for Ahoy There. I love a good nautical theme!

We received:

• 2 x packs of 8 1st Birthday Plates (RRP £2.99 each)
• pack of 20 Paper Napkins (RRP £2.99 each)
• 3 x packs of 8 1st Birthday Cups (RRP £2.99 each)
• 1 1st Birthday Bunting (RRP £7.99)
• 4 x packs of 5 Party Bags (RRP £3.99 each)
• 1 pack of 100 Cake Cases (RRP £3.99)
• 3 x packs of 8 1st Birthday Balloons (RRP £2.99 each)
• 1 Cake Stand (RRP £7.50)

I was really surprised and very pleasantly so at the amount that we received. It was definitely enough to throw a fabulous party.

The plates are really thick and good quality - especially for such a great price! Each plate is 23cm in diameter and we had no problem whatsoever with grease from hot food seeping through onto the bottom and then onto peoples hands!

The napkins are great! They're 3-ply which makes them really durable and able to mop up any spills without a problem. The design is different compared to the rest of the range but that just makes them stand out more.

The cups, again, are really thick and durable. We had no leaks through the bottom even after the juice had been in the cup for quite a while. Each one holds 8oz of liquid which is a perfect amount for people walking around and chatting at a party.

The bunting (top right corner) is thick and durable just as the rest of the range. Throughout the duration of the party, it didn't fall down or snap. It is 2.5 metres long.

The party bags are my favourite. They are very pirate-y and the paper/plastic blend is so much more long lasting that traditional plastic party bags! They are 230mm high and 120mm wide. I thought that they were quite roomy and able to hold the treats comfortably.

The cupcake cases are really cute and come in two designs - red anchor and blue boat. 100 cases were a bit too much for us but I've kept them to use the next time we bake! They really spruced up our cupcakes (we had pirate ones!)

The cake stand is fantastic. Again, thick cardboard and so easy to put together in two simple steps. The stand is 275mm high and 250mm high. We were able to fit 24 cupcakes on comfortably.

The balloons were a real hit and the kids loved playing with them. The motif in the middle was a lot bigger than I'd expected. They are a great addition to the party range and really set the party off.

There are more items in the range such a invitations, thank you cards, snack boxes and more. Neviti really took a lot of the stress out of planning a party by having such a great range of items.

For any subsequent parties that I may host, I will definitely use their services again!

You can find Neviti at their website, Facebook and Twitter. Pop over and Like or Follow them!

(Disclaimer: We received this range of party products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Paper Themes Kids Party Invites Review

C's party is edging up closer and closer and I'm realising just how stressful and costly childrens' parties are!

At the perfect time, I was given the opportunity to review some of Paper Themes' kids party invitations. I opted for the Circus invites, but they do have a great range of birthday invitations. The prices start at £1.25 per unit, I received 20 invites (inc. envelopes) at a price of £25. I realise that people may think that it would be so much cheaper to pop down to the Pound Shop and pick up a pack of paper ones and fill them in yourself but the price is really worth it.

They are really easy to order, all I needed to submit was the child's name, date, time and location of party. You can also add event type, additional info & and RSVP contact email/number.

I patiently waited for my invites to arrive and when they did I was more than pleased (it was actually quite laughable how excited I was!).

(I have hidden the location - no gatecrashers allowed!)

They're a great, thick cardboard and the colours just pop out. They are very, very professional and I couldn't have imagined his invitations being any better than these.

I shared them and had a lot of compliments and people asking where they were from. For any future parties, I'll definitely be reusing Paper Themes!

You can find Paper Themes on their website, Facebook & Twitter.

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