September is the new New Year

September is the new New Year

I really feel like this is true as a Mum. As we head towards each July we tend to build it up in the same way as we do Christmas. Making sure that we have every little detail covered to embrace the six weeks that the kids are home from school. For some this means military like precision in terms of getting childcare organised, or you could be one of those Mums who has to have activities organised for every minute of the day.

September Challenge - Let's get organised

 

I think I sit nicely in the middle as I don’t over organise activities which is just as well going by the summer we’ve had weather wise. I do have huge regret that I didn’t organise any childcare though.

This is the first Summer of being 100% self-employed. Usually I can organise the work I have to do around the kids, but this Summer has been hectic for us with our son getting married and a family holiday to organise. I felt like the school holidays hit me like a speeding train, like I wasn’t expecting it and that’s totally on me.

Don’t get me wrong, I was more than capable of getting my client work done and schedulers are my absolute best friend, but it was all the bits that I wanted for myself and my business that I haven’t been able to do and that’s the huge difference between being employed and self-employed. When you’re employed there are no negotiables – you have to start and finish work at a set time, but when you’re self-employed you can push back and shelve things. That’s the beauty of working for yourself right? I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things on my to-do list done.

Anyway, there is light at the end of the tunnel and next week both kids are back at school and our routine will return.

September is the new New Year

As with the actual New Year, a new school year feels the same in terms of getting organised and starting new things. Having the kids home 24/7 means that there is very little order in the house, always toys on the floor and the constant requests for them to be fed. So, with this in mind I’ve started this September with a 30 Day Decluttering Challenge. I’m therefore working towards getting more organised across everything in my business and homelife to make things easier for all of us.

30 Day Declutter Challenge

Every day for the month of September I’m going to focus on a particular area in the house so that we have less clutter and a more organised way of living. We have stuff in drawers and cupboards that we haven’t used or needed for a very long time so it’s time to get rid of all the excess. I’m going to start with all the random mugs, cups and glasses that we have and go from there. One of the things I will have to tackle at some point is the kids artwork and schoolwork which I know I’m going to find heart-wrenching but do we really need to keep Belle’s maths book from year 3 (she’s now in year 7).

You can keep up to date with my decluttering over on TikTok and Instagram, and you can join in too if you want to using the hashtag #30daysdeclutterchallenge

Getting back into Blogging

I’m also going to blog every day for the month of September. This feels like a huge commitment, but I’m going to give it my best. I’ve been doing quite a bit over on TikTok in terms of making extra money by doing Side Hustles. This has given me a great insight into what I definitely don’t want to be spending my time doing. It has made me more conscious of how and where I spend my money though for example by signing up to cashback sites which I would highly recommend.  You get money back for doing essentially nothing. You can have a look at some of the things that I’ve tried on this post – Side Hustles to Boost your Income from the Comfort of your Own Home. 

 

How to Start Meal Planning: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Start Meal Planning: A Step-by-Step Guide

Meal Planning is a great way to make sure that you’re not overspending or wasting food, but it’s also great for your sanity as well. The amount of times that I would stand in front of a fridge or cupboard full of food and had no inspiration or idea what I was going to make for dinner. It drove me mad, and it’s not great when you’ve just come home from work or got the kids in from school and everyone’s hungry. I already knew it was a great way to save money since you’re only buying the food that you’re going to eat, but believe me when I say that it just takes a little bit of the mental load off. I wasn’t sure how to start meal planning before I did it, so here are the things that I do to make it easy.

Do a Stock Take

This sounds way more official than it is, but knowing what you have in your cupboards, fridge and freezer is going to make it a lot easier. For example, if you have packets of rice or loads of pasta then that’s going to be on the menu for the coming week. Basically you’re going to take stock of the things that you have and incorporate these into your meals. This is an ongoing thing so it’s a good thing to do from the start.

Basic Supplies

This is going to be different for everybody, but we always have a stash of things like tinned tomatoes, baked beans, rices, pasta, pasta sauce, Ketchup etc etc and each week we have a look to see what we’re low on and add it to the list if needed. We like to do it this way rather than buying just what we need for our weekly meal plan as you never know when you need to change your plans such as an extra child for dinner or forgetting to take something out of the freezer. This way, we know that we always have options such as a quick pasta and sauce or beans on toast!

Let’s make a Meal Plan

Ok, so we’re going to start planning out seven meals. Start off simple. What do you like to eat? Keep it simple to start with by picking meals that you eat regularly and then there are just a few things that we do to make it work a bit better. If one of your meals is some kind of salad, that needs to be at the beginning of the week so that your salad isn’t going to be off by the time you need it. The other thing to consider is what you’re doing for the next seven days. If your kids have after school activities then you need to either choose a meal that you can put in the slow cooker or a quick and simple one that you can make quickly when you get home. Likewise, if you have a roast dinner on one of the days, what can you make the following day with the leftovers? Making sure that you get the most out of the food that you’ve bought is just as important. You’ve paid for it, so don’t let it go to waste. Here’s a sample meal plan that we’re having this week:

What to include

You will see that my Meal Plan doesn’t include breakfasts and lunches as these are more on the day decisions for us, but we are mindful of what we buy so that we don’t overbuy and waste food. We always have a selection of options for breakfast such as cereal, toast, waffles, fruit and yoghurt and we do the same for lunches which during the week is packed lunches for the kids. This works for us, but if you started meal planning specifically to budget then I might include that as well.

Get Everybody Involved

If you have kids, then get them involved in the planning. Let them pick a favourite meal each so that you have less chance of anybody moaning on the day.

Leftovers and batch-cooking are your new friend

We consider leftovers as maybe one portion or less than one of us can have as a lunch option the next day, but anything more than that can be frozen and used as a future meal option. Of course, if we’re making things such as bolognaise or curry then we tend to make more so that we have enough to freeze for another day. These are then taken out for days when we’re all busy so that we can still have a tasty meal with zero effort. You can see what we did with our leftover Spaghetti Bolognese over on Tiktok.

Get a Slow-Cooker

If you haven’t already got a slow cooker then you NEED one. The smug satisfaction of a Mum on the walk home from the afternoon school run knowing that dinner is slowly bubbling away is as good as it gets! I’m fortunate enough to work from home, and I love the sense of achievement of popping something in the slow cooker in the morning, and going about my day knowing that dinner is done and I can crack on with work. A slow cooker also works really well with cheaper cuts of meat as it’s slowly cooking and ends up melt in the mouth.

Meal Planning made Simple

Our meal plan is literally a list of seven meals (dinners) and we buy the ingredients that we need to make these meals. We don’t stick rigidly to the plan, so we may eat what we’ve written next to Tuesday on a Wednesday for example. We usually play it by ear on the day. You can buy a fancy planner or you can simply write your meal plan on a scrap of paper. It really doesn’t matter, but believe me you will find it so much easier when food shopping. Here is a meal plan that we had recently.

Meal Planner Download

Making Digital products and templates is actually a bit of me, so I’ve made a very simple pastel meal planner that you can download and print off or you can fill-in digitally which you can buy very affordably on my Etsy Shop. There’s the weekly planner in a few versions as well as a shopping list which you can fill in as you plan each meal.

Give it a go and let me know what you think x

Side Hustles to boost your income from the Comfort of your own Home

Side Hustles to boost your income from the Comfort of your own Home

We’ve all seen and received emails and stuff on the net stating that you can make your first million in half an hour if you just sign up for this or that. Now whilst there are a LOT of scams out there, there are in fact a lot of ways to make an additional income should you wish to, but which of these Side Hustles actually work?

A lady sat with a laptop at home working on her side hustles for additional income

As a Virtual Assistant I see a lot of things online stating that you can make a lot of money in just a few hours a week in your spare time. Now, this is sort of true but not completely. Working as a Freelance Virtual Assistant started as an additional income for me alongside my part-time job, but it has since become my main income. This didn’t happen overnight, you have to be visible and present to attract clients and do the actual work itself. I was also offering services that I have a lot of experience doing, but if you feel that you have transferable skills to offer this as a service then I 100% recommend it.

Anyhoo, the whole ‘side hustle’ culture really intrigues me, so I thought that I would put a few to the test to see how much money I can make in six months. The best way to follow me on this Side Hustle Journey is on TikTok where I talk about the different kinds of side hustles that I’ve seen, and to see if they can in fact make me any money. On a side note, be prepared for your inbox to explode as mine has since signing up for various things.

I’m not going to be doing anything that requires any upfront costs such as ‘pay me £27 to unlock the secrets to six figures’. I might just be a suspicious person, but I’d be happy to bet my soul that this would not be the case.

I will be keeping track of my earning on this Fabulous Spreadsheet that I bought from Jamie Rose. You can find the link on her TikTok profile if you want to jump onboard.

Here are the things that I’ve looked at so far, and most importantly any sign-up codes I may have which will earn me a little bit more money to put in the pot.

Survey Sites

Attapoll Surveys 

This is an App that you can download and sign up for. Every day you are allocated some polls and surveys to complete, and these vary in money paid and time that they will take you to complete. The more stars they have next to them, the more relevant they are to you based on the information given when you sign up. If you sign up for this using my referral link, I will receive 20p for each person that signs up and then 10% of your earnings (not from you) which you can also do by referring your family and friends.

MSR Surveys 

This is a great app that I’ve already made a small amount of money by really simple tasks. It doesn’t pay in cash, but you earn points that can be converted to vouchers which you can use towards Christmas or Birthday presents.

Branded Surveys 

I really like this one, and although they have an App I prefer this one on my laptop. You automatically get 100 points when you sign up and the surveys are both easy and fun (they can be a bit repetitive). You get paid by either Paypal, Gift card or you can donate your earnings to various charities.

Qmee 

This is such a fun survey site and possibly my favourite out of all of them. They also do daily polls which you can earn a few points from.

Testers

Sign up to become a Tester with www.testingtime.com. I have yet to be sent any assignments so will keep you posted.

Selling Sites

Vinted 

Vinted is a great way to sell your unwanted and outgrown clothes, and it’s not just clothes, they sell homeware, beauty and even toys. It’s really easy to upload your items, and no fees are taken from Vinted. There are several postage options, but I find the easiest one for me is Evri which I can send from my local Tesco and haven’t had any problems to date. What’s more there is no bidding, people can make you an offer on your items, which you can accept or decline.

Digital Templates

As part of my job as a Virtual Assistant I’ve made many social media graphics, ebooks, headers, banners etc etc and these are very popular for small business owners who don’t have the skill or time to make them for themselves. I love Canva, it’s such an easy platform to use and has so many capabilities. Creating template bundles and selling them time and again, is a great way to make some extra cash. You can sign up for a FREE Canva account Here. My Canva template bundles can be found:

Etsy Shop – Lisa’s Templates Design

Payhip Shop

Cashback Sites

Top Cashback 

Earn money back off purchases such as your every day groceries, furniture, holidays, gifts. There’s literally loads of retailers that you can earn cashback just by going through the site link. Here is my Top Cashback referral code if you aren’t already signed up.

I’m going to add to this post as and when I find a new side hustle. I would love to know if you have any of your own that you could recommend.

 

What kind of Pancakes do you Prefer?

What kind of Pancakes do you Prefer?

I’ve tried quite a few different types of pancakes, but I think traditional pancakes with sugar and lemon are my overall favourite. My kids love pancakes, and it’s their breakfast of choice for any special occasions such as their birthdays. Here are some of the recipes that I’ve used time and again over the last few years.

Simple Pancake Batter 

I know you can buy packets of ready made mix, but there couldn’t be anything simpler than this recipe, and you’ve probably already got all the ingredients at home already.

My simple Pancake Batter Recipe is easy to make for the perfect pancakes

 

Pancake Kebab Recipe

These pancakes were a firm favourite with Freddie when he was weaning as they’re easy for small hands and bite-sized.

Pancake Kebab Recipe

 

American Pancake Recipe 

I wasn’t sure before I made these, but the bacon with the maple syrup just goes. If you’ve been sitting on the fence, just give them a go. It’s delicious!

Simple American Pancake Recipe

Red Velvet Pancake Recipe 

With cream cheese frosting. These are a great alternative, especially if you’re a chocolate lover.

Recipe for making Red Velvet Pancakes with photograph of pancakes topped with cream and chocolate shavings

 

Happy Flippin Pancake Day!

Do you have a Back-up Plan for Christmas?

Do you have a Back-up Plan for Christmas?

Do we need a back-up plan for Christmas? We all thought that this was going to be the year that normality returned. We are allowed to mingle and there are no restrictions in terms of numbers gathering etc etc. We all know that we have to be personally responsible in terms of if we’re ill don’t knowingly spread our germs around by visiting others, going to work or just carrying on as normal.

But this year, we’re still not in a great position.

Do you have a Back-up Plan for Christmas

Coughs, Colds and Everything Else!

We’re all coming down with coughs and colds, which we’re spreading around. Employers want you to be at work and we don’t want to be penalised financially, so it’s a bit of a vicious cycle.

The school’s stance is that if your child has a general cough and cold that they should attend school, which again adds to the spreading.

People aren’t using their heating as much which probably isn’t great if you’re poorly and need to stay warm to recover.

We’ve also got Scarlet Fever going around both of our kids’ schools at the moment which is very contagious and not very nice. Belle had this a few years ago and it was a very worrying few days for us.

Strikes

It’s not just illnesses that we’re contending with at the moment. Just when we thought we could have a normal Christmas, the rail strikes were announced which is going to impact so many people hoping to travel to see family this Christmas.

Border strikes are also happening, so again if you are planning to travel by air there are loads of warnings that delays and cancellations are inevitable.

Postal strikes have meant that some of our purchases might not turn up over Christmas, which isn’t the end of the world but has a huge impact on small businesses that have taken huge hits over the last few years anyway.

Health strikes are going to have a huge impact on routine healthcare, but all emergency work will continue.

Cost of Living

Never has life felt more doom and gloom than it does at the moment. I’m part of local mums’ Facebook groups, and every day it’s flooded with people asking for advice regarding not being able to cover bills, not having enough money for food and lately a very sad stream of parents offloading their worries over not being able to provide a ‘good enough’ Christmas for their kids.

I should mention that there are a lot of people who are in a better position offering help and support to families which is absolutely amazing. We’ve been putting together presents for children who otherwise might not get anything for Christmas. I think this is a good lesson for our children to know that they are fortunate and not all children have the same as them so showing kindness is always a good thing to do. We’re not well off by any means but are happy to support others.

Weather

We live in Devon and had a very light sprinkling of snow at the weekend. We were predicted snow last night but this didn’t happen. However, we have had heavy snow in the past and given that we as a country are completely unprepared for and may also have an impact on our plans.

Back-up Plan for Christmas

So my point of this post was that given all of the above, many of us might not make it to our preferred destination this year. Given the predicted weather and strikes you may not be able to get where you want to be, and if someone in your household or the household you’re going to gets ill, you may need to change your plans.

So does that mean we all need to have a back-up Christmas Dinner plan just in case?

We’re due to go to my in-laws and it’s about a half an hour drive away from us, Chris’ sister is around an hour away and our son is coming from Winchester.

I’m keeping everything crossed that none of us gets poorly so that we can spend the day together, but obviously, if any of us are poorly we’ll have to stay at home.

I’m thinking that we might have to stock up the freezer just in case this happens so that we can still enjoy a Christmas Dinner. Otherwise, there’s going to be a mass hunting of turkeys, veg and all the trimmings come Christmas Eve!

Do you have a back-up plan?

Cool Christmas Stocking Ideas

Cool Christmas Stocking Ideas

Hands down the Christmas Stockings are my kids favourite part of Christmas Day. We leave ours outside their bedroom doors (Belle didn’t want an old man in her bedroom AKA Father Christmas) and then in the morning we all pile on our bed to open them. It’s total chaos but we love it, so there’s a lot of pressure to get the perfect stocking fillers.

As you know, we as parents don’t fill the stockings, Father Christmas does so these are things that I think the children (and adults) of the UK would like if I were to have to buy them!

Slime Baff is slime that you add to the bath or a tuff tray for kids to play with

Slime Baff – RRP £4.50

Okay, I’m not going to lie, this is messy but the kids love it in the bath or in a tuff tray in the garden and then it can be dissolved with additional water when finished. My only tip if you’re playing in a tuff tray is that it’s super slippy on a patio!

Silicone topped plastic water droppers

Water Droppers – RRP £6.99

These are great for water play on a Tuff Tray.

Things to do while you Poo book

Things to do while you Poo – RRP £4.99

A fun book full of riddles, word searches, facts, mazes, and more….What more could you want!

Reusable Organic Cotton Pads

Reusable Organic Cotton Pads – RRP £7.99

I don’t use any other kind of pads for removing make-up anymore. These are so good and you only need to use one.

Bath Water Flutes

Bath Water Flutes – RRP £8.99

These are great for little ones. The flutes make different sounds based on the amount of water and at the end of play, pop out the plug and the water drains away.

Personalised Hot Chocolate Spoon

Personalised Hot Chocolate Spoon – RRP £3.49

My kids love hot chocolate so would love a special hot chocolate spoon with their names on.

Dinosaur Spaghetti Soap

Dinosaur Spaghetti Soap – RRP £3.50

Baths in our house have become an event where we have to have coloured water, extreme bubbles, or something else. This Spaghetti soap is going to go down a treat for Freddie.

Orchard Toys Dinosaur Dominoes Game

Orchard Toys Dinosaur Dominoes – RRP £6.99

These mini games are a great introduction to games for wriggly children with little attention span.

Grow a Sloth

Grow a Sloth – RRP £5.97

Who doesn’t love a sloth!

Cats Vs Pickles Collectible toys

Cats Vs Pickles Collectibles – RRP £14.49

These little plushies are very popular with my kids. They’re both cats but I feel like I might be a Pickle.

Happy Shopping x

*This post contains items I have been gifted as well as affiliate links which means I receive a small payment if you make a purchase following one of my links at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Gift Guide for Tweens

Christmas Gift Guide for Tweens

This is definitely the age group where the price of everything hikes up and the size reduces. When they were younger, you got a lot of brightly coloured plastic for your money and this age group everything is smaller with a huge price tag attached. I remember the look on our son’s face on Christmas Day (Belle’s first) when her stuff filled half the room (think Jumperoo, megablocks etc) and he got a games console which cost three times as much!

Truck Wooden Model Kit

Wooden Truck Model Kit – £24.99

These are great if your kids are into any kind of construction kit and will keep them busy for a while. You can keep them in their natural form or paint them.

Jenga

Jenga – RRP £14.99

All three of my kids love Jenga, but the only one we have at the moment is a drinking game one complete with shot glasses so maybe it’s time to buy the actual game and let Ryan have his shots one back!

Pastel coloured Nike Socks

Pastel Coloured Nike Socks – RRP £8.00

This is the price per pair of socks but apparently is something that she ‘NEEDS’. There are loads of lovely colours from sellers over at Etsy.

New Look Gift Cards

Gift Cards – RRP As much as you can afford

Belle has reached the age where she likes to pick out things herself, particularly clothes so gift cards are a great option. New Look is her current favourite shop hence the image, but you can get gift cards for pretty much all shops, and cinema ones are a good option too.

Instax Mini Poloroid Camera

Instax Mini Camera – RRP £78.00

These cameras are great for taking pictures with their besties so they can cover their walls with them.

Pink Nike Air Jordans Trainers

Pink Nike Air Jordans – RRP £125

These trainers are on Belle’s Christmas list this year………….

Metallic Marker Pen Set

Metallic Marker Pen Set – RRP £7.98

Belle loves all the different types of marker pens to use in her colouring books or to just make her homework look prettier.

Bop it electronic Game

Bop it! – RRP £17.99

This is a real hit, especially at Christmas. You can challenge each other to see who can follow the instructions for the longest. A warning though – It’s addictive!

LED Light Strips

LED Light Strips – RRP £25.99

Isabelle has put these LED lights on her Christmas list to put around her bedroom. They’re quite clever as they can be controlled by a remote or through an App on your phone.

Bath Bomb Gift Set

Bath Bomb Gift Sets – RRP £14.95

We’ve been giving some kind of bath bomb set to Belle for a few years now as she loves them and these are pretty cool.

Happy Shopping x

*This post contains items I have been gifted as well as affiliate links which means I receive a small payment if you make a purchase following one of my links at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Gift Guide for 9 – 12 Year Olds

Christmas Gift Guide for 9 – 12 Year Olds

Hmm the age when they still like to play with toys but are also trying to be completely grown up and waiting for the teenage years to kick in. Let’s make one thing clear, this age group are still kids and whether they only play when they’re on their own in their bedroom or openly they still need toys to keep them entertained (and off technology).

 

Lite Brite Oval with templates to create a light sensory display using coloured pegs

Lite Brite Oval – RRP £24.99. We were recently sent a Lite Brite Oval to review and it was such a hit with both my 12 year old and my 4 year old. Once you’ve completed a design you can pop it on a shelf for a light sensory display.

fidget Toy box set containing 36 fidget toys

 

Fidget Toy Box – RRP £15.99

These sets make an excellent present for this age group. You don’t know what you’re getting so it has the added element of surprise.

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch Book by Tom Fletcher

 

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch – Tom Fletcher – RRP £7.99

I haven’t read this book but I have it on very good authority (Belle’s) this is a really good book that she has read several times.

Barbie Extra Doll with Accessories

Barbie Extra Doll – RRP £39.99

This is obviously up to the individual child, but our eldest likes to collect Barbies and accessories and so she got this one a couple of years ago.

Kinetic Sand Set

Kinetic Sand Set – RRP Around £20.00

This set is really great for some quiet play and weirdly satisfying for all. It comes with a variety of tools and can be kept in this handy case.

Plasticine Morph Animation Kit

Morph Animation Maker – RRP £26.99

If your kids like making stop-start animation movies then this is the kit for them. Who remembers Morph? We always had Plasticine as kids.

Hip Hoppa

Hip Hoppa – RRP £24.99

This is like a pogo stick without the stick. It takes a while to work out how to get on, but once you do you’re ready to bounce away. We had a play on this recently and it was so much fun!

Word Master is the five letter word guessing game

Word Master Game – RRP £19.99

This is a great family game to play. Guess the five-letter word to be the winner!

Oversized blanket hoodie for kids

 

Blanket Hoodies – RRP £23.00

There are so many designs and colours to choose from but kids seem to be going crazy for these, and with heating being so expensive at the moment it’s a good buy. My daughter has one and loves it, and our youngest is getting one for Christmas as well.

Rainbow Scratch Pad

Rainbow Scratch Pads – RRP £12.99

You can get these in all different designs depending on what your kids are into, but Belle will sit and do these when she’s feeling a bit tired or more than likely when she’s had her phone taken away and she needs to have a bit of screen-free time.

Happy Shopping x

*This post contains items I have been gifted as well as affiliate links which means I receive a small payment if you make a purchase following one of my links at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Gift Guide for 5 – 8 Year Olds

Christmas Gift Guides for 5 – 8 Year Olds

We’ve been through this stage twice now so far and the first time it was all about football, Pokemon and football and then the second time was blind bags and Barbie.

Unicones surprise Ice Cream Cones

 

Unicones – RRP £12.99

If your kids like unboxing blind/surprise bags then they will love these. You can read our recent review of the Unicones here.

Mariokart Deluxe Switch Computer game

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – RRP £49.99

If you’re looking for a fun family game for your switch then I would definitely recommend this as it suits most ages. Freddie’s been giving it a go since he was three.

cutetitos Care Bear Edition. Surprise toys inside

Cutetitos Care Bears – RRP £11.99

Belle has had some of these that came inside wraps and loves them, but this is the Care Bear series which look super cute.

LEGO Spidey and his amazing friends set

LEGO Spidey and his Amazing Friends Set – RRP £18.99

What kid doesn’t like LEGO and this set includes Superhero’s so it’s a win win!

The Dinosaur that Pooped Christmas book by Tom Fletcher

The Dinosaur that Pooped Christmas – Tom Fletcher – RRP £6.99

If your kids appreciate poo humour then this will have them doubled over at bedtime. It’s one of Freddie’s favourites!

Mouse in the House Playset

Mouse in the House Playset – RRP £11.99

This cute playset is for playing along your skirting board and comes with stickers and accessories for your little ones to create their own little school setup. Check out our reels to see it in action.

Dobble Picture matching game

Dobble – RRP £12.99

We haven’t got this game but have heard great things about it. It’s the quickest person to match two items.

Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage

Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage – RRP £79.99

All boys (or girls) like Hot Wheels and there are a lot of sets to choose from. I would personally pick something like this that doesn’t look too complicated to set up. We’ve had numerous sets that nearly set us insane trying to put back together.

GooZonians stretchy characters

GooZonians – RRP £19.99

These squishy characters are great fun for squishing and stretching. There are six figures to collect and each one has a different tactile filling.

Beaker Creatures Science Experiment kit

Beaker Creatures Alien Experiment Lab – RRP £24.99

We were sent this kit to review a few years ago, but have replaced the alien pods several times over as our 4 year old loves it. You can read our review here.

Happy Shopping x

*This post contains items I have been gifted as well as affiliate links which means I receive a small payment if you make a purchase following one of my links at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Gift Guides for Pre-School Children

Christmas Gift Guide for Pre-School Children

I find buying for pre-school children quite tricky since they all have very different capabilities. There’s a sticky point between age 2 – 3 where they may have outgrown the ‘baby toys’ but aren’t quite ready for the 3+ range.

However, it goes without saying that I think a Tuff Tray is a fantastic investment for pre-schoolers as the play possibilities are endless. I think we paid around £75 with a stand when we bought ours for Freddie for his second birthday but it has been played with so many times that I would recommend them to parents without fail.

Kid Knex Zoo Friends Construction 30 Piece set

Kid K’Nex Zoo Friends – RRP £18.00

This cool set comes with 55 K’nex pieces that can be made into more than 30 zoo animals. The pieces are brightly coloured and great for small hands. We recently reviewed this Zoo Friends set and it was a huge hit!

cocomelon wooden peg puzzle for toddlers and preschool children

Cocomelon Peg Board Puzzle – RRP £9.99

Great puzzles to keep little one’s entertained with their favourite characters.

Let's Learn Trivia board game for preschool children

Let’s Learn Trivia – RRP £12.99

This thought-provoking game is a great way to allow your kids to use their imagination through learning.

Dinosaur Colour Sorting set with coloured dinosaurs and cups

Colour Dinosaur Sorting Set – RRP £13.99

We got Freddie a Tuff Tray for his second birthday so sets like this are really great when you’re looking for a quick play idea that will keep them busy for a while.

Superwings Jett Supercharged Deluxe toy with lights and sounds

Superwings Jett Supercharged Deluxe – RRP £17.99

Freddie absolutely loves any toy that transforms from one thing to another and this is a TV show as well. This one has lights and sounds which is doubly awesome!

Playdoh Cash Register with four pots of Playdoh

Playdoh Cash Register – RRP £19.99

We have a lot of Playdoh cutters, rollers and other bits and bobs but this set is really fun. You can even make your own play money.

Yellow Scrambler Ducati Balance Bike for toddlers

Scrambler Ducati Balance Bike – RRP £40.00

We bought this for Freddie for his second birthday and he loved it. It’s the perfect size for toddlers and is lightweight which makes it perfect when you inevitably have to carry it when they’ve had enough.

Tuff Tray play tray on a stand for toddlers and children

Tuff Tray and Stand – RRP £59.99

A Tuff Tray has endless possibilities. You can create play ideas both inside and outside and the stand makes it far easier for your child to stand and play. It can be as basic as filling with water and giving them a selection of cups and bottles, or you can set up amazing play scenes with themes such as sealife creatures or construction.

Owl Waterwheel toy for toddlers and preschool children. Pour water in the top and watch it come down the wheel to the truck waiting at the bottom

Owl Water Wheel – RRP £12.99

This is great for water play on the Tuff Tray. Fill the top with water, turn the tap and watch the water make it’s way down to the truck waiting at the bottom.

Wooden animal bead threading set

Jaques of London Animal Threading Bead Set – RRP £12.99

This set is great fun for little ones who need a quiet activity that will keep them busy for a while. Freddie is also really good at stacking them up as well as threading them.

Kitchen Sink Playset with working Tap

Kitchen Sink Playset – RRP £23.99

Another huge hit for us was this water playset. You fill up the bottom and it has a working tap by pressing the button, and it empties back into the bottom so recycles the water time and again. The set also comes with accessories and fruit and vegetables that you can chop.

Colourful Plastic Tea Set in case

Play Tea Set – RRP £12.99

We’ve used this tea set so much. We’ve had tea parties, used it in the bath and have also put it in the paddling pool in the summer.

Happy Shopping x

*This post contains items I have been gifted as well as affiliate links which means I receive a small payment if you make a purchase following one of my links at no extra cost to you.