Personalised Videos from Santa with Portable North Pole (PNP) - Review

(AD/Gifted - We received a code for a free Magic Pass in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Christmas is the most wonderful time of year but Christmas with children is utterly magical. My two are seven and five now and I dread the time they tell me that they don't believe.

I always want to try and keep the magic alive and the Portable North Pole app does exactly that. We were very kindly gifted a Magic Pass to use on the app (available on the App Store and Google Play or online too). The Portable North Pole is the original Santa messaging service which has sent over 220 million messages since its launch in 2008.

Downloading the app is super simple then there are lots of videos to choose from once you've purchased your Magic Pass. This is £12.99 at the moment but there will be free videos available later on this month so be sure to sign up to be notified!

With the Magic Pass, you get:

• Unlimited Premium videos and calls for an unlimited number of kids
• First name guaranteed
• Multi-device scenarios
• Reaction recorder
• 2019 PNP Nice List Certificates
• 1080hd downloads
• Family options
• Video calls from Santa

There is so much to choose from, from a simple personalised video, to birthday messages, and finding out if you are on the nice or naughty list! I started off with a simple personalised video for each of my children and it's very easy to customise. You type their name and you will be able to hear how Santa will pronounce it. You can also select gender, date of birth, a photograph of your child and some information about them such as what country they live in and what they do, such as going to nursery or school.

Once the video is created, it gets saved into the parent's section. You can then make it available to watch on the children's section, which means you won't get caught out! The parent's section is password (or, in my phone's case, fingerprint) protected so there's no chance of them ruining the magic.

Within the children's section, as well as being able to watch their videos, there are things like an advent calendar, bedtime stories and games.

When your child is ready to watch their video, you can opt to record their reaction. I absolutely love this aspect and genuinely thought I was going to burst into tears when watching them back. The smiles on their faces are absolutely amazing and E even asked "How does he know where I live!?" when Santa mentioned Northern Ireland. I mean, look at their smiles!

I am honestly blown away by what is available on the app and how convincing the videos are. The scenes are beautifully snowy with Santa and his elves all working hard. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with little ones.

What's even better is that PNP have partnered with leading hospitals around the world so that whenever you purchase a call or video, a portion is donated to the participating children's hospital closest to you.

You can find out more about PNP on their website.

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.) 

The Kids Visiting Santa 2014

I love taking the kids to see Santa. My mum took me every year and I wanted to do the same with my children so they always have the photos to look back on. 

C has developed a bit of an attitude lately. I'm not sure if it's down to the fact that there is a new addition to the house or that he's in the midst of the dreaded Terrible Twos! 

He finally behaved long enough to be allowed to see Santa - hooray! This year he is old enough to understand more. Every time he sees a picture of Santa he recognises him and shouts "ANTA!" so I was hoping he'd be excited to see him. 

Standing in the queue was fine. He was happy and looking forward to it. Sitting on his knee was a whole other story. He began to whinge but I think this was partly because 'Santa' was a stranger and partly because he thought we were leaving him. They took quite a few photos but because he was so upset we had to settle on the best of a bad bunch! 

E fell asleep in the queue - typical! and would not wake for us. She screamed bloody murder every time we tried so she had to have a sleeping photo. 

All in all, the trip wasn't a complete success but at least I have my Christmas 2014 photos! 

C Visited Santa!

On Tuesday, Chris had the day off work so we decided to take C to see Santa. I was a little worried in case he cried. Last year was fine as he was only 3 months old but he's more aware now. 

C and Santa - Christmas 2012

We took him to Victoria Square and because they were just coming back from a break, the queue wasn't too long, thankfully!

In we went and Chris handed C over, he looked straight at the camera but looked a bit like a deer in the headlights! At one point C turned around to look at Santa as if to say "you're not mummy or daddy. Why am I on your knee?" and the photographer captured that moment. 

I think it is a gorgeous photo and it's always good when Santa has a real beard! He even got a little wooden jigsaw as a present too. Definitely worth the £12!

Has your little one been to see Santa? How did they get on?

GoodHeartGifts Personalised Santa Sack Review

Regular readers of my blog will know that I absolutely adore personalised items. If you came into my house you'd probably think I was afraid of forgetting C's name with the amount that we have!

When GoodHeartGifts came along and asked if I'd like to review an item from their range, I jumped at the chance.

GoodHeartGifts is a young company based in Manchester. They specialise in providing personalised gifts that you can give to your loved ones, making that special day truly memorable. What I didn't know was that when you buy, you are helping a charity. GoodHeartGifts give 10% of all their profits to nominated charities.

I scoured the website for a loooong time and with Christmas coming up, I chose the Jolly Personalised Santa Sack.

When ordering you are able to submit the name that you would like on the sack (up to 12 characters). I was really excited to receive mine as it looked amazing on the website.

A few days later, I received a little square box in the post with a GoodHeartGifts sticker on it. When I opened it, I wasn't disappointed! It really does look amazing.

The stitching is fantastic for such a low price (£14.95). The sack measures 70cm x 50cm so I was able to fit most of C's Christmas presents inside. C is only 14 months so doesn't really understand the concept of Christmas and Santa Claus but older kids, I think, would love seeing Santa's face with the words "Santa's Coming" hung up ready for his arrival.

You can find out more about GoodHeartGifts at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

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