Toy Reviews
Chuggington Stack Track – Rescue at Rocky Ridge Mine
Any idea what will be topping the Santa lists this year? I will give you a clue, it’s the same EVERY year…. Train sets!
Children love trains and mine are no exception. My kids are 10, 8 and 4 and they all play/played with train sets. Why? I don’t know. They just love whizzing trains on the track, connecting carriages, going high speed through tunnels and more slowly over bridges.
TOMY have your Christmas gift list sorted with the Chuggington stack track. Look no further, I assure you, this is one super collection of trains and superb tracks. Intrigue is added with the introduction of an ‘adventure’. Join Brewster and koko on their eventful rescue at Rocky Ridge Mine. Imitating the same adventure on the well known television episode of Chuggington, this will keep your children entertained for months! Do they enter the hazardous mine tunnel and fall for the boulder trap? You can have endless outcomes on this adventure and the set can be added to over time to suit the Chuggington enthusiast.
I love these Stack Tracks as we do not have a lot of space in our house. A train set is something that would indicate you need plenty of room, but not with these sets. This space-saving system allows the children to build track up and not so much outwards, which is brilliant as they can have quite a lot of track in a small space. These elevated adventures can be built in a number of ways to ensure boredom does not ensue and with the ability of connecting sets, this is something your children will enjoy adding to.
So, are you ready for a load of imaginative play and buckets of adventure for the good old price of £39.99? Yes, thought so.
Visit Amazon, Smyths or Toys R Us to get the ultimate train track this Christmas.
Rescue at Rocky Ridge Mine Deluxe Playset RRP £39.99
Suitable for 3yrs plus.
Gift Reviews
Mia Tui Bags, Ascot.
Mia Tui means ‘my bag’ in Vietnamese. The bags are developed by a mother of Two, and this generally means they are useful and fulfil their purpose – us mother’s know what we are talking about!
Designed to be the most practical bag on the market, Mia Tui bags have an ‘edge’ over any other bag available. They come in different sizes, colours and styles and we know all women like variety. They also have a clear insert so we can switch from bag to bag without having to empty the contents and re-fill – I really love this concept.
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I have added Mia Tui bags to Pampered Presents as the designer has the common sense to include our men while developing her range. The man bag is no longer a ‘stigma’ and the coolest of male celebs all carry a man bag. My hubby carries a bag but it is a re-useable one from Tesco or Asda! How much more practical to carry the Ascot bag from Mia Tui? This bag is ‘all man’ and is available is different colours and finishes. RRP £48. It is great value for the size – 30x35x15cms.
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Mia Tui bags were launched in 2011 and have sold exceptionally well since then. Do have a look at the site – www.miatui.com. If you have a bag fanatic in the family, this IS the gift to buy.
All the bags are made from ultra-soft faux leather and are both make to last and simply gorgeous. They all close with a zip – this is so important for security and also for when you fling it into the car in a rush, the contents stay inside! The bags have numerous pockets and a key clip, so I can now find my keys, purse and lip balm in seconds, no more searching about for keys while standing outside in the rain.
In fact, I just love everything about these bags, even the price.
RRP £15 – £63.
![Monin-Cocktail-Set-300x288[1]](http://pamperedpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Monin-Cocktail-Set-300x2881.jpg)
Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews, Pampered Foods
Monin Cocktail Set.
Wow, this is amazing! Have you ever, like me, wanted to be able to make the perfect cocktail, the sort that you get in a beachfront bar in the Canary Islands. Well, now you can, with this amazing set.
The Monin Cocktail Set contains 5 mini bottles of Cocktail Liquor – Mojito Mint, Coconut, Curacao Blue syrup, Passion Fruit and Grenadine. A recipe book is included which guides you through the steps to making the perfect cocktail. You can easily produce Pina Coladas, Tequila Sunrises and many other well-known cocktail drinks.
The recipes are simple, some are even detailing how to make non-alcoholic drinks using the syrups such as smoothies and exotic juices. I was introduced last year to Monin coffee syrups and I have been making fabulous flavoured coffees since. Now I will be the perfect cocktail maker too! This will be amazing for Christmas entertaining, I mean, anyone can go to Tesco and buy a bottle of readymade cocktail, but why not make your own in a few easy steps?
Visit www.monin.com for thousands of fab recipes or download the free Monin Ultimate Cocktails App for Android and iPhone.
I can’t recommend this set enough, for your own pleasure, but also as a perfect stocking filler for friends and workmates.
The Monin Cocktail Set retails at £6.49, and is available from Lakeland, and also www.creamsupplies.co.uk
Gift Reviews, Health and Beauty
Angela Langford Skincare.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of Angela Langford Skincare, this is a company that makes Skincare products using natural and organic ingredients, with no parabens, petrochemicals or synthetic fragrances.
Not only are these products pure and natural, but they are tailored to suit you individually. Angela selects products based on your skin type, condition and age. A sample pack is available to try for free, so you can be sure of what you are purchasing.
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I use Scrub Up, which is a natural exfoliator. This is easy to apply and leaves my skin soft, smooth and glowing with health. RRP £15.80
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I have always struggled in finding a cleanser that doesn’t dry out my skin and I am very impressed with Angela’s Clean Sweep which uses Castor and Jojoba Oils to cleanse the skin removing dirt and make up. However this lovely cleanser also contains Sweet Almond, Apricot Kernel and Shea Butter to soften and moisturise and I am happy to report that it works! My skin is cleansed and moisturised at the same time. RRP £21.40
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I have also been using one of Angela’s facial oils, Bloom and Glow, which is a wonderful product that restores and balances the skin. Despite being an oil, it is light and easily absorbed and leaves skin soft and refreshed. RRP £22.50
Angela Langford products are not tested on animals, rather they are tested on herself and her friends, thus allowing her to formulate products that are perfectly suited to the skin, minimising the risk of allergic reactions and the dreaded outbreak of spots!
I love the fact that the products are personally selected for you. Just provide details of your age and skin type and Angela can use this information to find products in her extensive range to suit you individually.
Go online to www.angelalangford.com for more details and product information. There are gorgeous gift sets which would make and ideal Christmas gift for someone special.
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Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews
The Dodo Pad range.
It’s that time of year again, your diary is almost all used up and your thoughts turn to what type you will get for next year…Well why not go for something different in 2014?
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The Dodo Pad is a very useful desk diary with a twist. It is illustrated with funny drawings and witty captions guaranteed to brighten up your week. I mean, anything that can make you smile on a Monday morning can’t be bad! It is a week to view diary with enough squares to organise 5 people, making it the perfect diary for the busy modern family. It is generously sized, 23.8×18.6 cms, perfect for your desk or kitchen worktop. Mine is never far from hand, with 3 school-going kids to organise and keep track of! RRP £12.99
Most importantly, it has a small tear away section on the bottom of each page to help you quickly find the week you are on. This would be a perfect end of term teacher present or a thoughtful Christmas gift, as just about everyone needs a diary.
![adbx_small[1]](http://pamperedpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/adbx_small1.jpg)
This quirky range also produce smaller diaries, organisers, address books and planners so there’s something to suit everyone. The plain note books are perfect for children who love to sketch and my children have these on their Santa list.
I can see myself using Dodo for years to come, it’s a really great company with contemporary products which never fail to make me smile with their sketches and ingenious sayings.
“When it comes to organisation, pen and paper is, in my opinion, the best and most reliable method,” explains Rebecca. “Not only do you commit things to memory much quicker if you write them down, but the Dodo Pad won’t fizzle and die if dropped in the tub during a bath-time brainstorm – though we can’t guarantee that the pages won’t crinkle a little!” (Rebecca, Managing Director)
For more information on Dodo Pad, visit www.dodopad.com or join @Lord_Dodo on Twitter or Facebook. Have a look at the complete range and the Dodo Christmas Book, this is sure to be a big hit at Christmas. RRP £16.99.
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Everything from the Dodo range is very well priced and ‘in my book’ (excuse the pun), this makes the range perfect!
Homeware Reviews
Post-it Notes and Dispensers.
I’m fairly sure just about everyone has heard of those indispensable sticky notes called Post-Its by the brand 3M. My office walls are decorated with them, I seem to be constantly reaching for one for some reason or another. I love the brightly coloured sets and I have several different shaped Post-it notes, brilliant for prioritising my notes along the edge of my desk!
My children have a selection for their school work. They are perfect for highlighting pages as they come in small little individual arrows, and as a ruler with little tabs which peel off and attach neatly to mark pages.
Ingeniously, they are now available in a cute pop up dispenser in a variety of shapes, such as handbags, karate men and pink hearts.
![169966[1]](http://pamperedpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1699661.jpg)
What’s the point I hear you say? Well, apart from the fact that it looks nice and organised on your desk, there’s also the added advantage of being able to grab a Post-It note one-handed, very useful when you’re on the phone and need to scribble something down fast or when you’ve a pen in one hand and a child in your arms! The dispensers are quite heavy so they don’t overbalance when you’re removing a note and they really are a great idea for adding a touch of fun to your work space.
The dispensers are easy refillable with 76x76mm Post-It notes so it’s not just a single use throw away item. I’m getting a few of these for teacher Christmas presents. They’re novel, fun and useful. They would also make an ideal Christmas pressie or a stocking filler for a family member.
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My daughter loves the pink heart and I have the handbag dispenser, a perfect imitation of my ‘longed-for’ Mulberry bag!
These are available on Amazon priced at £8.99. What next will those clever people at Post-It think of?
The Scotch Magic Tape Dispenser is one to check out – Ralph the Dog sure takes the biscuit! This is set to add a little bit of fun to any workdesk, I just love it. Ralph comes complete with a roll of magic tape and he is the perfect stocking filler for anyone with a desk, adding a cute quirky touch.
Visit the link below to reach the facebook site, they are worth a ‘like’ !
Gift Reviews, Toy Reviews
Wow Packs, Snot the Zombie and Cutzee the Kitten.
My 4 year old will be simply delighted on Christmas morning. He has asked Santa for Snot the Zombie. What is Snot and does Santa really deliver Snot?? Yes he does!
Snot is a Wow Pack, one of the first world’s animated backpacks for kids aged 3-7 yrs. They come in 2 characters – Cutzee the Kitten and Snot the Zombie, one for girls and one for boys. Obviously my little boy would like Snot. He is green and with his huge eyes and ‘runny’ nose, he will be sure to be a hit on Christmas morning.
A few months back, my daughter got Cutzee the Kitten and it is really unbelievable the amount of mums have phoned me to ask where she got her school bag and does it really ‘move’!
Wow Packs move and make sounds which can be controlled by buttons on the handle – the buttons control the eyes, nose, whiskers and ‘snot’ depending on which pack you choose. The noises – laughing and funny sound effects will have your children’s friends thinking – ‘Where is that coming from’??
They look fantastic, big enough for a school bag. They would hold A4 books and a lunch box, but also excellent for sleep-overs and for taking on holidays too. No more boring journeys – these packs are so much fun.
The website is very entertaining and perfect for kids to navigate, providing hours of fun – print out a fun colouring sheet, play dot to dot and enjoy the maze, the list goeson. They can even play WOW Packs snap!
Available from Smyths toyshops nationwide SRP £29.99
Toy Reviews
Combat Creatures Attacknid Doom Razor.
This is amazing and I just have to share it. Winner of Dad’s Choice Awards 2013 comes the very scary Attacknid Combat Creature! Perfect for both dads and their sons, this will really shake things up on Christmas day – don’t be expecting any help with the dinner!
This award has been allocated to Combat Creature for several reasons – fun factor, creativity, value for money and whether it actually does what it says on the box, so well done on scooping first prize!
The Attacknid is a remote control toy, from Wow! Stuff. The robots came in different forms, and can also be used with the App-Attacknid. I have Doom Razor, a frightening fierce red robot.
Control your battling robot and shoot discs at the enemy, racing into defence and attack position on spider like legs. Combat sounds really do transport your kids (and dad) into another world and when a hit is scored, the armour flies off and you keep going full throttle until 3 direct hits to the battle brain shuts down your opponent – Yes!! You are the winner.
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This is brilliant fun used alone or with another Combat Creature, and very well priced at £70. I love it as from it arrived, no-one has hounded my computer – its all action in our house now!
Definitely excellent value for money and well deserving of its first place in the Dad’s choice award.
For further information visit www.combatcreatures.com and check out the models – which one will you choose? Stryder would be the perfect sparing partner, and he looks just as mean!
Why not customise your robot using the decal stickers and create your very own unique Combat Creature? If this impresses you as much as it has myself, don’t delay, these WILL sell out before Christmas.
Gift Reviews
Cocobaci ‘Circus Days’ clothing.
Cocobaci is a ‘dream come true’ to all you yummy mummies out there who adore finding absolutely gorgeous and clever items for your children – not to mention, it is also the perfect site for ‘gift shopping’.
My first impression of Cocobaci was one of ‘wow, I love this’ and strangely enough Victoria Beckham and my idol, the Duchess of Kent, immediately sprang to mind. I bet they shop at Cocobaci!
So, I have you curious now? Have a look and be amazed as well.
As usual, here on Pampered Presents we love all things natural, organic, made in the United Kingdom and my personal favourite – a family/friend business. Cocobaci is all of the above. Three friends came up with the business idea, with the aim of creating a platform where we could find exquisite baby gifts/products and purchase them quickly and easily, while enjoying the process. The site is hard to describe, words like beautiful, impressive, luxurious and unique all fall short. I have recommended this site to so many friends and they have all agreed – ‘Kate’ would love these items for Prince George!
Shopping for a baby gift is not like shopping for a necessity, I adore the hunt for something to make the mother smile when she opens the packaging. After my first child I counted 80 dresses I had received and so many of these were repeats. There was even an occasion where two people called to my house at the same time with gifts which was the same little outfit!
Cocobaci is very different, and the selection is vast. Not only will you find clothing, but ethically sourced baby items such as Christening gifts, toys, blankets etc. Each and every item has been approved and deemed fit for appearance on this exclusive site. Local companies are helped establish their business, local craftsmen are given a selling opportunity and we, the customer, are presented with a wonderful ethically sound website from which to purchase a variety of exquisite gifts.
My little sister had her second child 3 weeks ago. Her little girl was tiny – 5lb 3oz and on visiting her in hospital I presented her with my gift from Cocobaci. She was speechless when she looked at the box. A beautiful white thick presentation box with the Cocobaci logo, I actually thought she was not going to open it and that the gift was the actual box! On opening, she unfolded the sheets of co-ordinating tissue paper after breaking the seal on the little Cocobaci sticker holding the contents in place. I choose the Circus set for her baby.
Circus days pink printed all in one RRP £25
Circus Days pink printed two piece RRP £25
Circus days pink printed reversible bib £8
The clothes closed magnetically, so no poppers or buttons and no stretching the clothes so as to go on easily. What an ingenious idea? My sister was delighted and I have no doubt that I have topped the ‘Best baby gift list’, not to mention the ultimate gift box which she will use as a ‘Treasure box’ for all her baby sentimental items as well.
The clothing is made from the finest cotton and with the cute star and circus tent print, they are striking and scream ‘posh’. I was delighted and loved testing the magnetic closing system – perfect, baby is dressed in no time and with no stress or strain.
This would be the perfect attire for small early babies which prefer not to be handled quite so much. It takes minimal effort to dress baby, I am almost sure a man could manage it! Why wasn’t Cocobaci around 10 years ago when I had my daughter. My hubby must be the only man who managed to put a nappy on inside out and wondered why it was leaking!
At the risk of sounding like my mother, do not let the sun set without checking out www.cocobaci.com I guarantee you will be as impressed as myself, and I am not so easily impressed. Nothing beats the personal touch and below I have pasted a quote from the Cocobaci website –
‘At Cocobaci we love finding beautiful treasures & we have put our hearts & souls into making that accessible to you.
We hope you love our collection as much as we do…
Nel, Linda & Sarah xxx
P.S. You’re probably wondering what Cocobaci means?
It’s simple…. Chocolate Kisses
The very best kisses in the world x’
Isn’t this just beautiful? Happy shopping. x
![images[2]](http://pamperedpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/images2.jpg)
Gift Reviews, Pampered Foods
Green&Blacks Organic Tasting Collection.
Well, Christmas is just around the corner, and with it, thoughts of all that yummy chocolate! What better way to treat yourself this Christmas than with this fabulous Tasting Collection of 24 mini bars of chocolate from Green & Blacks, one of the best loved chocolate producers in the world.
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I’ve been enjoying Green & Blacks for many years now, I always say it’s chocolate for the connoisseur. This box contains a combination of milk, white and dark chocolates, some flavoured with little pieces of ginger, honeycomb or butterscotch. This would be a great treat to bring to a Christmas party or just for around the fire on Christmas Day when even those of use on slimming plans allow for a little indulging!
Green & Blacks produce organic and fair-trade chocolate, so you can rest assured the cocoa producers are receiving a fair deal for their cocoa beans and that there are no chemical or pesticide residues in the chocolate. Green & Blacks – chocolate with a conscience!
Available from all good retailers, priced at approx £10.99 – an affordable treat. I have mine tucked away in a secret hiding place, ready for when an unexpected chocolate craving hits! I’m sorry, these are too good to share!
For further information visit www.greenandblacks.co.uk to check out the many choices of gorgeous Christmas gift sets. Prices vary so you will find sets to suit all budgets.