A Letter from Santa & Reindeer Food Review

We have just received our letter from Father Christmas and I cannot wait to give it to Isaac as it is a perfect way to create the Christmas spirit and I plan on doing it to coincide with the start of advent, to really add to the excitement.

It is really simple to order too - you give Looking Glass Designs the details to fill in and they will send you a special letter in a Christmas red envelope complete with a North Pole Postmark!

The letter is printed on Parchment-coloured Paper and comes in a red envelope addressed to your child. It is delivered to you in a plain plastic shipping bag ready for you to pick the perfect time to give your child the letter, which is fully personalised with their details.

I have also ordered and purchased Reindeer food too, which I think is a fabulous idea.

This Magic Reindeer Food comes in Burlap Sack and is the perfect start to Christmas Eve! Make a path with the reindeer food somewhere around your front or back door (we don't have a working chimney) to make sure Santa/Father Christmas doesn't miss your house. 

It comes in a resealable plastic bag, finished in a handmade burlap sack tied with twine. The sack can be stamped with your choice of Snowman, Santa, Reindeer or Christmas Tree. The reindeer food does not contain glitter and can be eaten by the birds, but isn't suitable for cooking or eating.

What a great new family tradition, and you could even keep the Burlap Sack for next year and refill it yourself!!

To order just the letter click here

To order the letter and Reindeer food click here

To order the Reindeer food on its own click here

I also have an exclusive offer on my blog - simply enter the code CMH10 at the checkout and receive 10% off!

If you hurry, I am also giving some reindeer food and a letter to Santa away here, but the competition ends tomorrow (30th November).

Christmas at Marwell

A few weeks ago I got to review Marwell Wildlife as part of the Britains Best Days Out feature by Money Supermarket.

We had a fantastic time and when they invited us to return to see Christmas at Marwell we couldn't say no!

Christmas at Marwell runs from 24th November until 24th December and you are required to book in advance - hurry though as slots are filling up fast!!

We chose to visit Marwell during the day to give us a chance to re-visit all the animals, although they are doing evening visits where you are transported to Marwell House from the entrance via the Gingerbread Express.

We arrived just before 11am and our Santa visit wasn't booked until midday, so we took advantage of the sunshine and visited some of our favourite animals, some of which we didn't see on our last visit which was cold and damp - like the Cheetah.

Just before Midday we headed for Marwell Hall which was looking lovely with a few decorations outside.  They had a large marquee outside where we could leave the pushchair and then we headed inside into the warm.  When we arrived at Marwell the children we given passports to collect stamps, so they eagerly clutched these as we went inside.

Just inside the door, we turned left and joined the elves in their magical toy factory, where we sat on colourful soft cubes were warmed up with a glass of Mulled Wine (or Ribena for the children) and a Mince Pie.  The Elves were led by head Elf - Jingle, who made sure everyone was comfortable and the children had the stamps in their passports.

Eliza and Isaac were fascinated by all the wonderful colours and sparkly decorations and I wanted to take Fluffy (the bear) home.

Once everyone had arrived, we heard a lady calling and turned to see Mrs Claus (or Mrs C as she called herself).  She beckoned us into her parlour, where she introduced herself and asked a few of the children and parents what they wanted for Christmas.  Shortly after, she sat down and read the children the story of Pinocchio, with a helpful Elf operating a Pinocchio puppet and I was surprised that all the children sat entranced from beginning to end!

When the story was finished we proceeded into the kitchen where we decorated our own Christmas cookies, which was great fun.  Again like all the rooms before, it was beautifully decorated and I wish I could have taken some if the displays home.

Once we had finished decorating our cookies, we were called by name to see the big man himself.  There were not many people on each sitting, so we didn't didn't have too long to wait, even as one of the last to go in.  It gave us a bit of time to chat to the Elves and admire the decorations.

When we were called through, we were led through a green maze with toys and fairy lights dotted here and there, before being taken in to meet Santa.

Santa was warm and friendly and knew each child by name.  Eliza at 21 months, wasn't sure but Isaac had a good chat with him and Kian enjoyed it too.  Children up to the age of 14 get presents so Abbey didn't get one, but she enjoyed seeing the little ones face light up.  It is a shame that Callan couldn't come as I adore this photo and it would be perfect if he was in it too!!

The presents were age appropriate and good value.  Eliza got a board book about animals and a wooden jigsaw, Isaac got a JCB set and Kian got a YoYo and a Metal Kit aeroplane.  The YoYo caused much amusement for the rest of the day and I am pleased to say that Mummy hasn't lost the knack (I didn't gloat much - honest).

After saying our goodbyes, we went in another room with more elves, Pickle the Penguin and a huge Christmas tree.  They had a colouring table and a tombola, but sadly we didn't win anything and then we headed off to see some more animals.

We had a really fantastic time, and the best thing about the experience was that we could make a full day of it, as entry to the zoo is included.

For more information on Christmas at Marwell, see their website, visit their facebook page or follow them on twitter.

Mummy Constant Gruffalo Competition Entry

We adore the Gruffalo in this house and a Gruffalo Trunki is one of the hard wished for items on Isaac's Christmas lists.

The gorgeous Mummy Constant has a fab Gruffalo Trunki competition and here is my verse:

A Mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood

A Bat sensed the Mouse and the Mouse smelt good.

"Where are you going to little brown Mouse, come and have tea in my musty Cave house"

"It's terribly kind of you Bat, but No - I'm having tea with the Gruffalo!"

"A Gruffalo, what's a Gruffalo?"

"Why didn't you know?

He has ears sprouting hairs as sharp as razors

And eyes that glare green and bright like lasers"

"Where are you meeting him?"

"Right here, by this knoll

And his favourite food is Bat Casserole!"

"Bat Casserole" The Bat did exclaim

And off he flew, never to be seen again.

"Silly old Bat, doesn't he know,

There's no such thing as the Gruffalo!"

I had great fun writing this verse - why not check out some of the other entries here

Is it safe where you live?

I have always felt comfortable where I live.  It doesn't have a high crime rate and I am happy that the children are safe to play outside.

That's not to say that there haven't been issues - I am pretty sure that there are problems wherever you live.  Rowdy teenagers with nothing better to do than hang around on street corner and doodling offensive comments onto play equipment, or the boy racers hanging around in their souped up Fiesta's, revving their engines thinking they're cool!

The last month, however, seems to have escalated into an apparent crime spree in our area.

We have had torched play equipment in the park behind our house, which is incredibly frustrating as the local residents and children worked incredibly hard to secure funding to update the play equipment in our local area, after it was withdrawn by the government.

We have also had a torched car, which I have no idea if it is related.

Yesterday, our local area was surrounded by police and under a Police helicopter for much of the day and night, for what turned out to be an armed rapist on the run, who had been spotted locally.

We had a knock on the door at around 19.30 by a police officer to ask if we had heard screams in the park behind our house.  To be honest, I hear them all the time, but that is because there is a BMX track there so in the day it's kids and at night it is the local teens who hang around.

I didn't think much of it until I started looking into what had happened, and I genuinely felt frightened, despite checking the windows and doors were locked and having hubby at home.  In fact it took me two hours to get to sleep as I was concerned.

The story so far:  Bournemouth Echo Live Updates

The helicopters started up again this morning, and sirens on the school run didn't help the nerves, but I am relieved that they no longer think he is in this neck of the woods.  That said, I hope he is caught very very soon.

My one question is:  This man has offended before, gone on the run before........so what the bloody hell was he doing roaming free on our streets?

Have a Happy Cutemas with Zulily UK - Giveaway

I discovered Zulily back in the summer thanks to some of my fellow Mummy Bloggers and have used it several times since.

Zulily is an online store offering daily sales events on top-quality clothing, toys and other goodies for mums, babies and kids. They carry the best brands at the lowest prices. Members can enjoy savings of up to 90% off retail prices, but you need to hurry as offers go fast and are gone within 72 hours - sometimes faster if they're popular!!

Zulily is perfect for getting those final Christmas bargains and because of the way Zulily works, delivery takes between 10-14 days so their cut off for ordering in time for Christmas delivery is 7th December.

Zulily is a members only site, but it is free to join and you can even earn credit for your account by recommending friends and family!  What's more is they tell you which brands are coming so you can make sure you don't miss out!

I have even more exciting news - I have a £25 Zulily voucher to give away!  If you are the lucky winner you will need to sign up to a Zulily.co.uk account (if you don’t already have one), to use your voucher. The vouchers will be allotted in Pounds Sterling.

To Enter:

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Closing date: 8th December 2012

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Silent Sunday - 25th November 2012

Joe Browns - Quilted Riding Boot Wellies - A Review

When I was contacted by JoeBrowns with an offer to review an item on their website, I quite literally squealed with delight.

About Joe Browns:

Joe Browns is a true lifestyle company, which was started to offer something more exciting and more individual than the other clothing catalogues in the UK – it's a state of mind, for those that enjoy life and want to live a bit, and although it's a cliché, we feel the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

The business continues to grow and long may it continue - over 900,000 customers can't be wrong!

Browsing through their website I mentally spent £100's on items from a beautiful Owl Tunic (Owls are my current obsession), to this stunning Warm as Toast Coat.  It was a really tough decision choosing which item I wanted to review.

It didn't even register that they had a footwear section, and I had pretty much made my decision when I stumbled across this gorgeous pair of Quilted Riding Boot style Wellies - £34.99.  Riding meets welly in one awesome boot! Warm, comfortable and quilted - these will earn their keep ten times over!

Upper: Polyamide, PVC & PU. Lining: Polyamide. Sock: PU.Sole: PVC

Safe to say, it was love at first sight!  I have been after a pair of wellies for ages as I am always out and about with the children, whether a football training, at the local farm or exploring the New Forest.

They arrived super fast and it wasn't long before they got their first outing to football training.  They were warm and comfortable, but most importantly, gripped the ground so I didn't slip in the squelchy mud, kept my feet dry and were easy to wipe clean.  

I love the silver stitching through them, and they look fab over a pair of skinny jeans!

I also ordered these fabulous Welly Socks to go underneath them for colder weather.

They are warm and fleecy and give a different look to the boots.  They are quite loose fitting, as you would wear your normal socks underneath them too.

They did feel warm and snuggly, but as these boots were shaped around my feet, unlike traditional wellies, they did make them feel too tight.  If you are ordering the Welly Socks, I would buy a size up in the boots to accommodate them.  I did however try them in my daughter's traditional wellies and they were perfect.

Joe Browns are now definitely one of my first stops when looking for clothing & footwear, and you can keep an eye out for their latest offers by following them on twitter and/or liking them on facebook.

Saturday is Caption Day - 24th November 2012

We went to a family Christening last Sunday and although the food was delicious, there was only one type of food that the kids wanted - Cake!!

Can you give this picture the caption it deserves?

Healing for Kerry

MultipleMummy was one of the first blogs I ever followed after meeting tweeting Kerry on twitter.



Kerry was warm, friendly, always ready for a chat and seemed to be on twitter whenever I was.  When I decided to set up my blog back at the end of 2011, Kerry was the one who really encouraged me and told me to go for it, and I have never looked back since.

I took part in her Family Frolics blog posts and we would often discuss how lovely it was to live so close the sea and the New Forest, and I always look forward to Science Sparks which she runs with @emvanstone.  

I finally got to meet Kerry at CybHer12 and found her to be just as warm and friendly as I had imagined.  We had just been listening to the equally lovely @tara_cain give a Q&A on blogging when we spotted each other and she instantly flew over for a hug.  Sadly it was just a short conversation as the whole day was a bit of a whirlwind, but we did grin and wave a few more times before it was time to head home.

I was shocked to hear that she was stuck down ill with a blood clot on the brain in August, just after reading all about her fun trip to Peppa Pig World with the kids.  Kerry is fighting to get better, but has been hit by setbacks with repeated infections which the doctors have battled to get on top of.

Her husband has been a tower of strength, looking after the three children and keeping the blogging community updated on her progress by updating her blog.  I cannot imagine what he is going through so tomorrow - Saturday 24th at 10pm, we’re all going to stop and send positive healing thoughts out to the universe in the hope that Kerry gets well soon and is home with her family for Christmas. 

If you’d like to take part please find all the information on Liska’s Google + page If you’d like to write a post and show your support they’re all being collected together on a blog hop where should Multiple Daddy want to stop by and read them he can.

Get Well Soon Kerry - we cannot wait to have you back!!

Love ChelseaMamma xx

Win A Pair Of Running Shoes

Calling all hard-working mums! 

Want to get rid of that mummy tummy once and for all? 

You are in luck, because I’ve teamed up with sportsshoes.com to offer one lucky reader a brand new pair of trainers up to the value of £90!  

With a huge selection of running shoes on offer, Sportsshoes ensures mums have plenty of options to look and feel fabulous. 

View the range here: www.sportsshoes.com/running  

The winner will choose a pair of running shoes up to the value of £90 which will be sent out directly. 

Here’s how to enter….

Fill in the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries

Entries can be via comment, Facebook, Twitter etc

Please read the rules below

Closing date: 10th December 2012

If there is no form hit refresh (f5) and it should appear

If it still not working check that your computer is running Javascript

You need to complete the mandatory entry first – Leave a blog post comment

Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter

Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via Twitter

Please see the Terms & Conditions in rafflecopter. 

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Funky Watch Review

I first heard of FunkyWatch on twitter and immediately thought they would stock just watches, however, when I looked into them further I was delighted to discover that they stock a wide range of products for the young people in our lives.

I cannot say too much as you never know who might stumble across my blog, but FunkyWatch do stock the most fantastic watches too, and I have my eye on one for one of my brood, whom shall remain nameless.  Not only do they stock character watches, but time teach watches and ones perfect for teens too!

I got chatting to @Funkywatch on twitter after enquiring if a watch would be suitable for one of the children and found them most helpful.  They kindly offered me a Tyrrell Katz Pirate Backpack to review.

The bag was intended for Isaac who started school in September, but someone else had other ideas, and insisted on putting it on her back and parading around the lounge.















Eliza loved modelling the bag, but to give her credit she did hand it over to Isaac when he got home from school (after some bribery with his Gruffalo bag).

The bag is bright and colourful with pictures of lots of pirates on it, and has received lots of wonderful comments since Isaac started using it as his school bag.

The bag is plenty big enough to hold Isaac's Book-bag and PE Kit without swamping him or being to heavy. From me or the buggy being the normal dumping ground for bags, Isaac insists on carrying this everyday too - plus it is showerproof too (always a bonus with our Great British weather)

The other Tyrrell Katz bags are just a funky and I love the Knight one, and the cupcakes for the girls.  Funky Watch also stock Paul Frank, Hello Kitty, GorJuss and Disney, plus many more and all at reasonable prices - perfect for stocking up on Christmas presents to give Santa and his elves a helping hand.

You can also find Funkywatch on facebook and twitter for more news, new products and offers.