Theatre Tokens, the Perfect Gift this Christmas

Photo by Gwen King on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

I'm all about making memories; I'd much rather experience something and spend time with a friend or loved one than receive a physical gift. I probably won't remember the coat my husband bought me in ten years time but you can bet that I remember the trip to Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria I took 31 years ago. That was my first taste of going to the theatre in London and I have never looked back; I absolutely adore it and I'd go every week if I could. 

Moving from Hertfordshire to East Sussex nine years ago scuppered my regular theatre trips a little as it takes a lot more planning when you are no longer 25 minutes from central London but my trips to the West End are one thing that has not stopped. Even after the Covid chaos of the last couple of years, I managed to see Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in August, The Prince of Egypt in September and Cinderella, The Musical in October.

Then Miss M and I are off to London for the weekend in early January and we are planning to see a show and this is why I have asked my family for a Theatre Tokens gift card for Christmas. This way we can go along to the TKTS booth in Leicester Square to secure on-the-day tickets at a cut-price, or if we won't be in London for when the booth opens at 11.30am we can even go online now and book for a show later that day and still secure the discounts available. That is such a great addition for those of us who live further out of London and are trying to use rail discount cards so can't travel too early. 

Out of interest, I just had a look today to see what I could secure if I was booking for a matinee or evening show today and I was thrilled to see there are great discounts available -

• & Juliet - best stall seats for £47.80 each (40% off)
• The Woman in Black - best stall seats for £31.55 (47% off)
• Life of Pi - in the stalls of Dress circle for £30 (66% off)
• Mary Poppins - in the best stall setas for £49.50 (46% off)
• Les Miserables - in the best stall seats for £49.50 (48%)

Perfect Personalised Gifts for all Occasions from Wanapix

My son loves his Puss personalised blanket

{This is a collaborative post}

When you think of personalised gifts, especially photo gifts maybe your mind just heads to mugs with photos on, or a keyring or mousemat. The kind of items that schools photographers offer for far too much money. But if that is the case then let me tell you, you are seriously out of touch. The personalised gift market has exploded and there are now so many amazing gifts you can buy that are unique and personal to your friends or family. They also don't have to cost the earth and you can get a high-quality gift for an affordable price. 

For quite a number of years now I have been buying personalised photo gifts for my family and in the case of my mum, I think I'd have an uproar if I didn't get her a photo kitchen calendar each year. I truly love the whole process of sitting at my laptop and spending a while going through my photos to choose the perfect ones for whichever project I am working on. It gives me a different pace to my regular work and I'm able to daydream and relive the memories from when the images were captured.  

Then the software used by Wanapix makes it really easy to personalise your chosen item, be it with photos, text or both. The upload times for the photos was really quick (although of course, some of that is down to your internet) and the system was easy to navigate with an advanced edit mode making each item truly customisable. I have to be honest, it was far easier and more intuitive than another similar website I've used recently. I do love finding a new great supplier that I can order from!

Let me share with you some of my favourite picks from the Wanapix website, they have crazy amounts of items to choose from. You certainly will find something for every occasion or recipient.

For your Tween/ Teen - Personalised Blanket, from £21.12

My kids all love to have a good snuggle, whether it is on the bed, sofa, floor or even outside enjoying a smore. Personalised blankets are an amazing gift that lasts for years. In this time of throwaway gifts and things only lasting a short while it is great to invest in a gift that washes well and is timeless. Have a look at my daughter Miss M who I caught snuggled up the other day with her photo fleece. We made this back in 2016 and it was a Christmas gift for her. Here she is five years later still using that gift and it looks like new. 

Christmas Gift Guide for Food Lovers

{This post contains samples given to me for review and also affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchase, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}

With just 39 days to go until Christmas, I think it is prudent to start thinking about the gifts for those loved ones in your life. We all know someone who counts themselves as a foodie and the good news is that you don't have to spend hundreds on a superb meal experience for them, you can get them a present they'll love for a reasonable amount.

Check out my ideas below, I hope you'll find a good variety of fo things to suit people of all ages.

AnySharp Pro Knife Sharpener - £16.50

There is nothing worse than having blunt knives when you are preparing foods and it can get expensive to keep buying new knives but the AnySharp Pro knife sharpener is an excellent idea, as it will almost instantly sharpen any knife (including serrated ones). It is super safe as it has a strong suction cup at the bottom to ensure it stays in one place as you sharpen. It is also small and compact making it easy to store in even the most compact of kitchens. It comes in a variety of colours to suit your kitchen, or is tiny enough to store in a drawer and it has a 10-year warranty too.

Buy the {#ad} AnySharp Pro Knife Sharpener from Amazon. 

Personalised Gifts from Vistaprint - Review

Vistaprint is a brand name I've known for a very long time now, in fact it was the first place I ever bought proper business cards when I went to my first blogging conference back in 2011. Their service was great then and I am pleased to say that now, having used them in 2019 too, I can honesty say it is still great.

They asked me if we'd like to try out their personalised gifts service, and yes of course we wanted to. I love photos and I love gifts that are made using my photos, they just feel so very special and are great to give to others to show you put some thought into what to buy them.

I found the photo upload and product creation process really easy with Vistaprint, their system is very intuitive and things were created in moments. It was also good that it was very obvious where I needed to allow photos to cover to ensure a good print coverage on the item.

We ordered a few different things, let me share them with you -

Personalised Mug, from £6.65
I absolutely adore this mug, the exterior could be white or black and you can choose from 6 interior and handle colours. Then you personalise with text or text and photos, and there are so many templates from you to chose from; you definitely could find something for everyone. You can go for separate images on each side, or go for a wrap around photo, the choice is immense and totally yours!

The colours I chose (white exterior) means my mug is microwave and dishwasher safe, but if I had gone for a black exterior then it would have been hand wash only. The mug capacity is 335mls and it is a good size with a very comfy handle.

The regular price is £6.65 for a white mug with white handle, or £8.64 for a white mug with coloured handle and inside, however there seems to be deals on all the time. I've looked on the site many times in the last 3 or 4 weeks as I have been creating things and every time there has been a deal to be had. At the moment it is 50% off, which is fantastic.

As you can see I went for a washing line effect and pegged photos on for my Dad of all his grand and fur babies! This mug customised in this way would normally be £10.64, but as mentioned there is 50% off right now.

Christmas Gift Guide for Teen Girls - 10 Great Ideas

{This post contains samples given to me for review and also affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}

Teen girls can be tricky to buy for; I have two of them and they really are chalk and cheese, so it is clear to me that no one solution suits all of them. The thing that they do have in common is that they are like magpies and are attracted to pretty, shiny things in beautiful wrapping. 

My girls still badger me to do them a stocking each and apparently it is the best part of the Christmas presents but I am finding it gets more and more expensive as they get older, so you have to become creative and make sure your stocking is a realistic size!

e.l.f Make-up sets - From £6

My girls are going to be thrilled to receive these elf cosmetics (#ad) sets. The prices are so reasonable with the pack of three lip balms and 3 eyeshadow duos both selling for just £6 each at Boots, and the Haute chocolate eyes shadow set is £12. Extra good is that they are all included in the Boots 3 for 2 gifting deal. The colours look really pigmented and totally on-trend. 

Personalised Notebook from Norma and Dorothy - £22
This is a really stunning notebook (#ad) that Miss E will love using as her artist's sketchpad as the pages are blank. It has a nice hardcover and is spiral-bound, so it is easy to use and firm to lean on. The personalisation is in real gold foil and makes the book unique and special. There are loads of gorgeous personalised gifts on Norma & Dorothy and they all come beautifully packaged.

Christmas Gifts for All the Family to Enjoy Together

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

{This post contains samples given to me for review and also affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchase, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}

It won't be long now friends! We have to get on board and admit that Christmas is fast approaching, I won't tell you that I am completely organised as yet but I am well on the way and the piles of presents hidden around my house are adding up!

As my children get older I find it is harder and harder to buy physical presents for them, often they want experiences, money, clothes or tech and that's OK, they are growing up so I have to respect their wishes. However, I miss the days when they were little and we would be able to enjoy their presents together, building LEGO, playing a board game or doing some craft.

Then a couple of weeks ago it occurred to me, why do things have to change? Last year I bought Risk and we all enjoyed paying it together, so this year doesn't need to be any different, I am going to invest in some gifts we can all enjoy together and then I get my favourite Christmas gift - all my family together.

Here are a few ideas for gifts all the family can enjoy together (if you have older kids like me) -

For the Home

ASDA personalised photo cushion - £26
My first idea was to make a generic one to go on the sofa, but then I knew that my Miss E would really love one with all her favourite cuddlies on it, so here it is with her Alfie teddy, my parents dog Archie and our cat Puss Puss. This will stay in the lounge and we can all enjoy it as it is big enough for two to share. I went for the XL cushion, which is 25" x 14.5" and retails at £26.00 with £4 postage (there is also a smaller size available too).

The cushion is really good quality, it is soft suede, plain beige on the back and printed on the front. There are loads of templates you can choose from for printing, to make it totally unique to your home and I found the process simple, and the delivery quick. I'll happily use ASDA photo again for personalised gifts and I see there is 10% of all personalised cushions until the end of this year too, which is a great deal!

Sharing your LIves with the Grandparents in Print, by Neveo

My three kids and my parents, they have such a wonderful relationship

My parents would love nothing better than to live on our doorstep. Well, OK, not actually that close but I know they'd love to have us in the same town, just a short walk or drive away and this has never been the case. It has meant that we have to be more intentional in our efforts to see each other regularly, which is a good thing but nothing beats just dropping in for a cuppa most days, without it having to be a big effort.

One of the reasons I started this blog a decade ago was so that my parents and other friends and family who lived away from us would be able to see and read about the kids regularly, so they didn't feel they were missing out, but over the years the kids have appeared less and less on here. Also, I find that people of my parents age tend to like a physical photo, rather than a digital one, so I have created some photo books over the years, but they do cost a bit and feel like a lot of effort if I'm honest.

Introducing Neveo
However, I want to share with you a better way and one that won't break the bank.  Even my husband's 94 year old Grandma can enjoy this way of sharing too, without a gadget in sight. Have you heard of the app Neveo? No, well I hadn't either until recently but we've been missing out.

Neveo is a brilliant app you can download (iOS or Android) for free or use directly on your laptop and it makes creating a monthly photo journal super easy. For £9.99 per month (including postage - anywhere in the world) you can upload 50 photos a month and caption them or even write a small essay with each and then on the first day of the next calendar month, your photos and personalised captions will be made into a beautiful photo journal for your loved ones, specifically in our case, the grandparents, to enjoy.

Right now, it sounds a lot like other photo book sites, doesn't it?  But it isn't. The beauty of Neveo is that you have the whole month to add your photos and it takes literally minutes. So each time you take a photo you like, you can instantly upload it direct from your phone to the app and it is super quick, I found no lag time at all and I live in an area with rubbish Internet speed, as I'm in the middle of nowhere.

18 Great Ideas for your Teen Girl this Christmas | Gift Guide

On the one hand teen girls are so easy to buy for, there is so much she wants, but then on the other, boy are they fussy! Depending on your girl, and maybe her age, will dictate whether you can pick up bargain items from Poundland as stocking fillers or whether she'd just rather one great gift, like some tech, a pair of Adidas trainers or an Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie. 

I've put together some gift ideas for teen girls (probably the younger end of teen) with a range of price points from £1 to over £50.

Gifts for under £5

False Nails - £1

Poundland do a great line in false nails, all sorts of styles, colours and both glue and adhesive sticker application. These are a real quick win and an easy way for your teen to be able to change her look, even when she had a fatal nail break!

5 Pack of Lip Glosses - £2
This pack was such a bargain, again from Poundland. There are five great colours, so something to suit all skin tones and cheap enough that it doesn't matter if she loses it the first time she takes it out with her.

15 Great Gifts to buy a Teen Boy for Christmas - Gift Guide

Christmas is fast approaching and I do love to get ready nice and early so that I can spend most of December spending time with my family and enjoying Advent. I have to admit that I far prefer buying for women than men, probably because I'm a woman but it just seems so much easier.  I'm determined that my teenage son won't miss out on the fun though and I thought I'd share with you some suggestions of items to buy for a teenage boy this year.

If you ask my son what he'd like for Christmas or a birthday his stock answer is money, that's because he is always saving up for the next laptop, gaming headset, phone or other such gadget. I'm sure we will give him some money but he needs some gifts to open too and I've found in the past when I give him items that he doesn't even know he wants, he ends up having fun and it keeps him off his tech for an hour or two and that's a win in my book!

Gifts for under £5.00

Haribo Festive Treats - from £1

Who doesn't love Haribo (#ad) sweets? I don't think there is any age cap on them and I know all my kids will be pleased to receive a selection box, cracker or tree hanging gift this year. With prices starting from just £1 they are a delicious bargain and can be picked up at any supermarket.

Sudoku Cube Puzzle - £2.99

I love this 6cm x 6cm x 6cm cube, it is an amazing price and looks great quality too. Even better it will fit in JJ's stocking. Here is what they say on the Find Me A Gift site - "through the ungodly union of Sudoku and Rubik's cube, we bring you the Sudoku Cube! This fiendishly difficult little puzzle might look unassuming, but it's here to make you grit your teeth and swear under your breath in frustration." Just perfect for my smarty pants to keep him occupied for a few hours over Christmas, or in the car on a long journey.

Posterhaste Family Portrait Review - A Perfect Gift

I love personalised gifts and I think this quirky family portrait from Posterhaste is a perfect Christmas gift for my husband. It was super easy to create, I could customise it to get it just how I wanted and there are a range of options to make it affordable for all pockets. An 8" x 10" print is just £20 and the largest size 20" x 32" print, in a 24" x 36" 100% wooden sealed frame is £115.00.

We went for a 12" x 16" print in a 16" x 20" black frame, as chosen by Miss E. I did fancy the light natural wood, but she (quite rightly, I expect) pointed out that my husband would probably prefer the black. This retails for £70.00.

I found the customisation tool on the Posterhaste site to be very easy to use. On the right hand side of the screen you choose whether you want a print, poster, framed print or box canvas and then you have the options for orientation. We went for landscape as there are five members of our family and also our new cat, so this seemed the most spacious way to display everyone.

You then choose the size, colour background for the picture and a title name. Next you add each of your family members and customise them to get a fun but recognisable likeness. I liked the fact you can choose some quirky items like headphones and a crown. It was an obvious choice for us to put a crown on Miss M's head and I'm sure it will make my husband smile when he sees it.

Christmas Gift Guide: 5 Things Every Teen Girl needs for a Break Away

{As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}

Every young woman loves to go away, whether that's with school, youth club, their family or perhaps a friends family. There is so much excitement in the preparations and getting ready for that special time.

Years back with our eldest we started to give experience gifts rather than money or physical gifts, as we found that the kids had everything they needed and frankly the thing they wanted most was one-on-one time with either my husband or I.

JJ and my husband have had so many great stays up in London, visiting museums, going to the cinema, exploring the Thames and of course eating too much. Once our twin girls Miss M and Miss E were old enough they wanted in on the action too and the first year I took them both away with my Mum for to a holiday park for some girlie fun . Then this year they choose to split up and Miss M went to London with my husband and Miss E and I headed to Surrey for a spa break.

Who knows where next year will take us but the girls have already said they want to go away as their Christmas gifts, so I suppose I ought to start scouring sites like Secret Escapes now to see what luxury hotels I can find for bargain prices.

Miss M, in particular, is a very girlie girl and loves the excitement of the holiday preparation and packing as much as she does the time away, so I'm thinking that for Christmas I might ask the family to get her some great gifts to make her time away really special. Here are five tops picks I think every teen (or even tween) girl will love -

1.   Alfa Italia Viaggio TRAVEL styler set
Miss M has just got into straightening her hair and she religiously washes and blow drys it a few times a week, so this travel style kit from Alfa Italia is just right. It is super stylish in black with gold accents and combines Italian design with premium quality professional hair styling tools. It retails for £39.95 and is exclusively available from the Chill Cabinet.

Completing the One4all Challenge - What will we Do?

Recently I wrote about how the people at One4all Gift Card had challenged me to treat one of my kids to a truly memorable Christmas activity.

After checking out the One4all website I discovered that we had hundreds upon hundreds of options open to us for great things to buy or do. I didn't want to use the money on the card to just buy things that might be used once and then forgotten so I decided that the bulk of the money would be spent on a night away for the two of us. When I had asked Miss E what she wanted for Christmas this year she had said 'time with you mummy' and this seems the perfect way to fulfil that wish.

Hotel Stay over
I discovered that I could book hotels via the Superbreak site using my One4all card, so after a good look round the site, I decided to book the Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel and Spa in Surrey. My husband and I have stayed at this 4* hotel before and had a wonderful time and it is only about 30 minutes drive from my parents. This is perfect as Miss E had said she'd love her Nanny to be involved in her treat too, so this will be an extra nice surprise for her. The one night stay for the both of us booked via Superbreak is £110.

Images thanks to Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel

Stepping up to the Challenge with One4all Gift Card

Red Wine Image, thanks to Shutterstock

I do love a good challenge. You know how it is, someone starts off a sentence with 'I bet you can't...' and that's it the competitive spirit in you rises above the parapet and snaps 'challenge accepted, of course I can!'

So here I am with a loaded One4all gift card and the challenge to do something really special for one of my children for Christmas. Now of course that doesn't sound too difficult, does it? We can all make our children smile but my challenge is to sort out the whole gift experience by just spending money off the One4all gift card and that means I can only shop with retailers and outlets signed up to their scheme.

I must admit I was a little worried, how many retailers could they have where I am able to use the One4all gift card without any issue? Surely not that many I'm thinking, maybe about 50 but the little voice in me is wondering if they will be big retailers that I know and what to shop with.

You Can Spend it Everywhere (well nearly!)
Well let me tell you, worry not! The One4all gift card is accepted by over 120 different High Street brands and you can spend it directly in more than 50,000 branches or use it online with many of them too. And these are not just random shops these are massive names like M&S, Argos, Clarks, Carphone Warehouse, Pizza Express, TK Maxx, The Body Shop, Red Letter Days, ToysRus, Halfords and I could go on and on, as there are so many reputable and fantastic brands.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Older Family Members

Full Afternoon Tea Image, thanks to Shutterstock

Sometimes buying gifts for the older members of your family is a bit tricky. Often, the person you are buying for already has most of the things they want or need. Plus, they tend to have very different tastes from you or the younger generation. This can make it a bit trickier to choose something suitable.

However, there are in fact a lot of great gifts out there that are perfect for even the oldest members of your family. Here are a few of my favourites. Hopefully, they will inspire you.

Photo Related Gifts

Most people like to have photos up around the home. As a result, photo related gifts can make great presents. There are many different types available and amongst the best are canvas prints. As you can see here they are not particularly expensive and are really easy to order. You can use any image for this, so it is a very flexible present idea. It can be pictures of the family, a nice landscape or even an image that you have bought on the internet.

Photos can also be used to create other unique gifts. One of the most popular is phone cases as most people own a smart phone. To order a photo customised phone case you just need to be sure of the make and model of the phone and it is also worth checking that the person you are buying for is not planning to update their handset any time soon. 

There are lots of other customised items you can potentially order online, so this genre of presents is a good starting point if you are trying to find a gift for someone who is hard to buy for. Over the last few years my Grandparents and the children's Godparents have received photo gifts, such as mouse mats, personalised Christmas tree decorations, calendars, mugs, bags and even a cosy fleece throw and they always seem very happy with them.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide Linky - All the Best in One Place!

Christmas Decoration image from Shutterstock

Have you written a fabulous gift guide this year?  Of course you have, so many bloggers do, so lets put all that amazing knowledge and inspiration in one place so that we can all be inspired by each other.

No need for any of us to be scratching our heads wondering what to buy for our friends or a family member! I bet I can guarantee they'll be a guide for every eventuality!

Bloggers

*  Link up your gift guide and I'll be over to visit and comment

*  Tweet me a link on @michelletwinmum and I'll be happy to share and give you an RT

*  I'll pin your post to the Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide Board board

*  Leave me a comment with your Pinterest name and I'll add you as a collaborator on the Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide Board if you fancy.

The linky will be open right up until Christmas Day for any late shoppers!

Simples, right?

If you want to add my badge to your gift guide, that's cool as it means your readers will be able to find all the fab guides but no pressure, it's up to you!

<center> <a href="http://mummyfromtheheart.com"><img width="200" alt=" The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide Linky at Mummy from the Heart" src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPtA_nZ8TL9NpKwJKq-DCxjUesxxaX93hsBFe1bQi9R37LNYnOc06Jv7bs1waLqs6MyVPUX9TGjgn8itKyayhu-jgPKBFatB_IuG8TS61zgKehf251ur8QTA0zJelpvYJ3AvLOJB2lyQ/s320/Untitled+design.jpg" height="200" /></a></center>
Have a very Happy Christmas, Mich x

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10 Fabulous Tween Girl Christmas Gifts for under £25

 

{Many of the items in this post have been gifted to me in exchange for inclusion in my gift guide. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}

The big C is practically here and if you are anything like me you want to be getting organised and be able to tick some of those gifts off the oh-so-long list.

My twin girls are 9 going on 13. So I thought I'd share this list of ideas of what to buy for your tween (8-12-year-old) girl.

1.  Smiggle (*ad) is such a massive hit with my girls and all the kids in their class, to be honest. So you can't go wrong with any gift from there but how about this gorgeous DIY journal. It retails for £18 and with the cute fur heart detailing on the front and the stickers, glitter and gems you can style it any way you fancy.  Of course, you have their iconic pop-out pencil boxes with all sorts of pop-out drawers and left up pen rack. The newest ones are even smelly - good smelly of course and you can invest in one of those for £15.

5 Great Christmas Gift Ideas: For Him

My Christmas shopping is in full force now. I do like to be organised and get it all done early but the ones I find it hardest to buy for?  Well my husband and dad of course. They are both the kind of men who don't really have any hobbies, are not interested in boozing, are not keen followers of fashion and don't want for anything. They are very happy to spend time with those they love and to bypass presents all together.This doesn't help me though as my kids would never let me hear the end of it if we didn't get them something.

So here is my list of the top 5 gifts for the man who wants for nothing -

1.  Personalised cheese or breadboard - If you have a man who likes to cook or loves some cheese and biscuits with a glass of port in the evening (like my husband) then why not check out this new supplier of personalised wooden gifts. Burn Me On make really nice gift bread/ cheese/ meat boards - really quirky and something a bit different. At £20 for a 30cm x 20cm the price is reasonable and the quality of the board (hevea wood) and the packaging is excellent and really pleasing to the eye. The postage of £2 is also reasonable and I think you will like your board enough to use it on the table as a serving platter too.

Guinness World Records Books 2016 - Great Christmas Presents

I mentioned before that all my kids love the Guinness World Records book and there does not seem to be any sign of them growing out of it. JJ is now 12 and the girls 8 and it is as popular as ever.

When the 255 page book arrived at my house a couple of weeks ago there was a scrum to see who would read it first. JJ being the biggest won and it remained in his bedroom for over a week. Each time I popped my head in his room he was buried in the book and told us the girls could not have it yet as he was busy reading and he was no-where near finished. This week I got a bit firm with him and now the girls have it back in their grips. This means the next few weeks of school car journeys will be full of chatter with all the kids I drop off discussing this years records and interesting facts.

Socks to make you smile

I'm not big into socks, in fact most of the time I don't wear them. I'm not really sure where my dislike came from but it has been around for years and even on the coldest winter days my feet are often bare in my shoes. Socks only really ever get put on if I want to wear boots and need to stop them rubbing.

This might all be about to change though as I really am quite taken with the Chatty Feet socks that were sent through to me to review. I ordered a gift set in large and medium with the intention that one set would be for my husband and one could be shared by my son and I have as we have the same size feet but JJ might not even get a look in at this rate!

A single pair of adult sized Chatty Feet socks retails for £7 but you can buy a gift set of 4 for £21 which I think is a good deal when you consider that they have a design on both the top and bottom, they are very good quality and fabulous fun.

Chatty Feet socks are available for adults in medium (UK size 4-8) and large (UK size 8.5 - 11.5) and also for children in sizes 12-24 months (UK infant size 3.5 - 6), 2-4 years (UK infant size 7-9) and 4-7 years (UK infant size 9-12) so there is a real gap as currently you cannot buy the socks in infant size 13 and adult sizes 1-3. I have two 7 year olds and one is a size 1 and the other a size 3, so both my girls had to miss out and I'd advise anyone buying these as gifts not to go on the age guide but to check the actual size of the child's feet.  Children's socks retail for £5 a pair.

Chatty Feet socks are 75% cotton, 23% polyamide and 2% lycra. They are best washed at 30 degrees and it is recommended that you do not tumble dry or iron them (really, do some people iron socks?). I have washed mine and they were filthy as they were worn in the sloppy mud to the reenactment of the Battle of Hastings last weekend and they have come up fabulous and look as good as new, thankfully no bobbling!

Delivery of my socks was very quick by Royal mail and the costs is included in the price you pay, it should take 2-3 days in the UK and they deliver worldwide.

Chatty Feet seems a really fun family company and each month they give away free socks in their competition, so once you have a pair, wear them somewhere memorable, get a picture and share it on Twitter, FB or Instagram with the hashtag #ChattyFeet to be in with the chance of becoming a winner.

I think Chatty Feet socks are both a great product and a fun novelty and as such I'll definitely be giving some some Christmas as presents.

You can follow Chatty Feet on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

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Our favourite book - Officially amazing

For the last three years we have been very lucky to attend great events with Guinness World Records (GWR). All my family have attempted to break world records and sadly as yet, we have not been successful. We have had great fun trying though, JJ was so close to attaining the most hats on your head in one minute record and I almost got the most socks paired & rolled in one minute and most party poppers popped in 30 seconds. Next time I vow I will do it and will go home with one of the coveted world record framed certificates.

The fact that we have not managed to bag a world record has not diluted the kids thirst for all things GWR though, not at all. Last year they each had a copy of the Guinness World Records book and I can’t believe how much they were looked at. I did wonder at first if three books might be overkill but it has proved perfect as one or two are kept in the car and others float from room to room in our house. I shouldn’t be surprised if the kids could now tell you some of the facts in that book off by heart.

They haven’t been selfish though, oh no. The books have been shared with their three mates that we take to school each day and the six of them chat about the woman who had eight babies, the tallest elevator in the world or which country has the most mobile phones per 1000 people (UAE if case you were wondering with 1709 per 1000 people). They have also been into school and other kids been allowed to read them and used as fun props in lessons.

This year is the 60^th anniversary of Guinness World Records and that is quite some time for it to have been running. I remember it right back to 40 odd years ago as a child when it was presented on TV by Roy Castle and I can still sing you the tune and hear him playing his trumpet. It’s a shame there is not a Records Breakers prime time show anymore as I think we miss good old fashioned variety show fun entertainment nowadays. Of course the kids can still watch a similar program with Officially Amazing being aired on CBBC.

Last year when we was at the GWR blogger event they used us as a focus group to talk about the book and get the kids input and feedback on what they liked about the book and perhaps what could be changed or updated. There were some interesting conversations but in truth I didn’t think much about it at the time, it was only when the 2015 GWR book arrived on my doorstep last week that I recalled the group and felt a little proud that we had helped to choose that cover and had an input to how it might look this year. That sure does make this year’s book feel even more special.

JJ was gutted that we won’t get to make the blogger event this year as we are away in Jersey at the same time. Hopefully we will get an invite to the next event and JJ can console himself by reading he book.

So what is the book like this year?

To put it simply - it's great. Full of all the fun facts and great pictures that the children enjoy but fresh and with lots of new content. It is amazing really how they manage to keep such a big book interesting year on year. It is 255 pages of non-stop entertainment and there is a bonus chapter available as an e-book, which will take you on a behind the scenes tour of GWR. As always it has a strong hardbacked cover so it remains nice and the pages are thick and glossy.

As with the last two years the augmented reality feature is here again. You can download the app for free (on apple and Android) and then parts of the book come alive. It really is very simple and very effective, what a great way to engage the kids. They have the tech they love but it is still book based and educational. The sort of experiences you can have are measuring yourself against the worlds tallest man, explore the planets of the solar system and witness the worlds most venomous spider leap from the page (ekk!).

Here is JJ with Craig Glenday the GWR Editor last year looking at the augmented reality app.

The Guinness World Record 2015 book has an RRP of £20 but I see it is currently £9.00 on Amazon and I've seen it for £10 in some shops, it really is a snip at those kind of prices and for sure I'll be buying copies if JJ needs any birthday gifts for his mates in the coming months.

If you have youngsters who are interested in world records then they must check out the new kids GWR website, as it has all the information they love presented in a way that appeals to them.

Yet again GWR have done good and the book is a big hit in our house. It is juts a shame we only have on copy this year as there have been arguments so far and JJ is now asking me for the gamers edition.

Disclosure: We was sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!