Items The Boys Have Loved Over The Summer

We are big book fans in our house. I read all the time and we read a story to the boys every night before bed. Lucas has started to read on his own in bed which pleases me greatly as I always worry that boys won’t think it’s cool. Ladybird have been a publisher I grew up with and I love that I can share that with my boys. The Read it Yourself range has 4 different stages of their books depending on the level of the reader. Lucas was able to read levels 1 and 2 without any help, a little help with level 3 and I read level 4. But it’s good to know he can go forward. There are over 50 titles in this series, from well loved stories, to ones with current characters children will recognise. I love the vast choice in this range. There is also a great app to go with the series which is worth checking out.

With Lucas reading away on his magazine, I needed to find one suitable for Tyler. Tyler loves superheros, Batman, Spiderman, etc. We tried him with the DC Super friends magazine and he really enjoyed it. It’s aimed at younger children up to about 5. There are simple quizzes, pictures to colour, things to do and things to cut out. It’s a great magazine, comes with free gifts, you know those plastic toys, this one was pretend walkie talkies which the boys had lots of fun with. Tyler hasn’t bought this magazine yet, but once we are back out at the shops I’m sure he will. We read the little stories together and he enjoyed it.

Crazy soap is great bath time fun, we were sent sparkly bubble bath, which I was surprised you could see the sparkles in the bath. The boys and I are big fans of the foam soap that you can mould, I love making little animals out it for them of course. The boys were in awe when I added the colour change bubble bath, it looks fab, especially against a white bath tub. And the body paint, let’s just say the boys were covered from head to toe, but there were no stinging eyes and no tears, just lots of giggles. All of my children and myself have very sensitive skin, but we have had no issues what so ever with these products. Nothing stains, it’s all just good clean fun.

Tonka Town Fire Station was one of the boys favourite toys over the Summer. So much so it’s on their Christmas and birthday present lists. They would like the rest of the sets in the Tonka Town. The new Tonka Town sets are great for those who love Playmobil or sets like it. This set features an extendable garage which has opening doors, the lights change colour through manual operation and it comes with a car and two little dudes. Best of all, when you open this you don’t have to have batteries to hand. They come pre-installed. Both boys who are 4 and 6, love this and play with it again and again. A big thumbs up for us.

Scooters are great in my eyes. They are easy to travel, easy to use, lots of fun and most importantly it’s getting kids out and some exercise. Lucas loved the new Zinc Nitro Lights and Sounds Scooter over the Summer and so did I. It’s sturdy, well made, looks great, has lights and sounds, and it folds, meaning we could take it with us on holiday. Lucas loved this, it has a key to start the pretend ignition with realistic sounds and some screeching break sounds to go with it. Perfect for my little racing car driver wannabe. We loved this.

My youngest boy Tyler who is 4 absolutely loves soft toys and he loves nothing more than Pillow Pets. He has 8 of them, I’m sure he’s sneaked in his brothers too. He has them all round his bed, lies on one and cuddles one. To add to his collection he fell in love with the Pillow Pets Dream Lites. These are new Pillow Pets, but not only are the so soft and fluffy, they have a hard shell on their back which lights up and projects beautiful stars onto the ceiling. It’s stunning and so peaceful when the lights are out. The shell is high enough on the animal’s back that it doesn’t interfere with cuddling I’m told by Tyler. He adores this and Lucas loves his one too, when he gets it off Tyler. These are a massive hit with us, especially Tyler who has even taken it to school. He wants the whole collection from Santa.

We are big fans of crafts in our house, especially living in Scotland where the weather isn’t all that reliable. You’ve got to have some things up your sleeve for those wet and miserable days over the holidays. This is where Sabbiarelli sand kit. Sabbiarelli Sand Kit is a creative kit which originate in Italy and is now available via Amazon over here in the UK. You can also have a look at their facebook page for more information. Sabbiarelli is a bit like a painting by numbers kit, but instead of using paint you use sand. Now before you panic about the mess, there is very little mess and just lots of fun. The pictures are pre-made where you peel off each section of the picture and sprinkle it with the coloured sand which comes in handy little pen shaped pods with little lids. They are very precise and you can shake the excess sand into the tray the kit comes in. The pictures turn out wonderful, a great piece for the wall and the children have been quiet for the last half hour and had lots of fun. I loved these, I was wary at first and thought there would be a mess, but there really wasn’t. Only a small amount of sand was on the table none on the floor. The pictures looked very well done and the boys loved it. There are limited edition Halloween pictures that can be made, these are available until Thursday to order. We’re planning on making these this week, we’ve had so much fun with the rest. There is also a great app which goes with this kit, don’t forget to check that out.