We had such a great time getting out and about over the Summer as you all read in my post about our Summer list. It was all sunshine and trips to the beach, so we had lots of time indoors playing games and having fun. Here are some of the things the boys loved over the holidays.
They are big Moshi Monster fans, and have played with them lots over of the Summer. The are desperate for this game, so had to share this.
First up for two football mad boys is a football game called Foooz, this is by Drumond Park . This is a great game, one that is easily stored and we even took it with us on holiday to the log cabin. The box consists of two footballers which are held by your two hands and spun, a bit like a manual foooz ball table. There is a trick boot, trick shot cards, goals and two footballs. The boys love this and still play with it months on, so it gets a big thumbs up from me. It’s RRP is £19.99 and it is well built, I like this and so do the kids. 
I don’t know about your children, but my boys are full of energy and love to play football, however playing football in the living room with a new baby didn’t go to well. To burn off the excess energy we did The Jumping Bean Bag DVD. We had two bean bags, which look great, I love their wee smiley faces and the DVD. It not only helps the children keep fit, it helps with confidence, co-ordination and balance. The DVD is easy to do, I did it along with the boys, but it’s fun and catchy. Something to keep you fit and do with the kids. A win win for me. This is aimed at children aged 2-7. At RRP of £19.95 I think this is good value for keeping the kids entertained and getting you up and moving too.
You all know how football made my boys are, well Panini have released a football magazine called Strike it. It’s a little too old for Tyler but Lucas loves it, he devours the whole things and thanks to them, I now get to listen to facts about Premiership Footballers I have no idea who they are. I now know who is left footed, as Lucas is left footed. Leaving that aside, it is great to see his passion, reading skills and information being absorbed through another method of media. We get his this magazine each time the new one comes out. It’s great for him. If you have a football mad child around 5-7 they will love this and there are some pretty cool free gifts with them.
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.
Disclaimer:- I was sent some of the above items as stated in the post, others I have purchased myself. I’ve not been paid further for mentioning any of these products in this post. All words and opinions are my own and the links have been included out of courtesy.
This post is protected under copyright. SusankMann 2009 – 2014
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