Dreamland Frosted Fairground Day Out

I spent my childhood and teenage years at Dreamland. I remember once going on the big wheel on my own my poor parents were out of there mind with worry about where I was and where I was going high in the sky. Thankfully the Dreamland team now are more vigilant and won't let any random 8 year old on the ride. Dreamland reopened a few years back as a vintage theme park. It has a wonderful collection of classic rides along with a refurbished rollercoaster. 

We popped along to Dreamland see the Frosted Fairground in an attempt to get in the Christmas Spirit after a busy week. The day we went was rather cold but we wrapped up warm. My husband hasn't been to Dreamland in two years since it opened and was impressed with the progress so far. Ami just wanted to go on the Walzers and to show Daddy which number was the fastest. 

We went as it just had opened so was first on all the rides. The queues were only short so the children got to go on a lot of rides in a short time. The whole place was decorated with Real Christmas trees with sparkly lights everywhere. As we came in there was a chance for the children to write a letter to Father Christmas and have their photos taken where you could purchase the photo for £5 or £6 in a bauble. 

There's a lot going on for Christmas one thing they have opened is a Christmas Grotto where you can meet the big man himself. You get to meet other characters like Elvis the singing Elf and also help father Christmas find his Snow Jo. Each session is 30 minutes and the children get a chance to create some craft and make special VIP badges. The tickets for the Grotto come with ride wristbands so what better way to make a full day of it. 

New this year at Dreamland is the Ice rink which is an indoor 450-metre ice rink. You can book sessions for an hour and feel all festive whilst whizzing around on the ice rink. I have never been ice skating so am looking forward to popping back in the holidays with the kids. Its open until the 3rd of January so there is still plenty of time to book. 

We popped back in the evening to see all the lights in their splendour and we were not disappointed. It looked somewhat more magical in the darkness. The night was rather a quiet one I think because the temperature had fallen a lot but it made it even more special. We had the first choice of all the rides and the children got to experience the rides in the dark. 

All in all, we had a wonderful day whilst at Dreamland. The children enjoy going and they can get on to most rides. The only thing we were disappointed was that they were too small for the dodgems a firm fave with Son Son. It's a great day out for all the family its bright, its cheery and the sea air will make you feel refreshed also. 

Heres Some more photos of our day as I couldn't find a favourite. Thanks Dreamland for giving us some passes so we could enjoy all the Christmas Joy. 

Buggaloop Board Game Review

We love a good board game in our house and my little ones are at the age where they are starting to get a little bit completetive. We recently were sent a game called buggaloop. As soon as it came the kids were so excited to play the game. They had seen an advert for it on the tv and ever since have been going on about Hex bugs.

Buggaloop looks like a simple game but it has a twist. The aim of the game is to get your bugs safely across to the other side. Sounds simple right? Well Every now and then the Hex bug cockroach comes up through the loop and disrupts the gameplay. The kids loved it when the bug came to the top it looks so lifelike climbing through the loop the loop.

We had a great time playing the game and somehow the cockroach took a great dislike to my pieces and I lost all my game. I like how the bug is so unpredictable so you are always on tender hook till the bug comes above from underground. The game is for 2-4 players aimed at six-plus but Ami and Son Son who are 4 and 5 played the game with no trouble.

With Christmas coming I see this being a great game to play on those cosy days. Buggaloop retails at £29.99 and is available at most stores. The kids have had such a fun time playing Buggaloop I can see it being on many Christmas lists this year.

Ready Brek and Despicable Me 3 Review

It sure is getting cold these last few weeks and we have had to dig out our winter coats and hats. There is one thing I love about the weather getting colder is a good hearty breakfast. My little ones love porridge and see it as such a treat in the mornings. I love to make a massive bowl and we all have some each with our different flavours and toppings. For me, I love a little bit of sugar but the kids they love to mix fruit in there's (they are obviously a lot more healthy than me).

Ready Brek have recently launched a despicable me 3 range where there is the chance to win prizes every hour. With this, we were recently sent the new film and toy to try along with some more ready brek. Which my daughter was more excited about the porridge than the toys and film.

I remember eating Ready Brek before school when I was younger the taste of it still reminds me of the long cold walk we had to school. The good thing about ready brek is that it provides such long-lasting energy which keeps the little ones going all day at school and nursery. I sometimes have it before work as a nurse I start early in the morning so need all the energy I can get. Since looking online I have seen ready brek can be used for smoothies and cakes too so its a definite cupboard must have.

The Toy we were sent was the Despicable Me 3 Fiz and Surprise toy. Which as a child who loves any surprise egg toy video went down a treat. The toy contains a bath bomb like the egg which inside revealed a sibutramine with 2 Mineez collectable toys. It works by putting in icy cold water then you watch it fizz until it reveals the hidden toys. The toys also change colour in cold water. There's plenty of characters to add to the collection too. 

My little ones absolutely love Despicable me actually we all do. My daughter cant sleep without her unicorn that we won in the arcades when she was 2, it is no longer fluffy like the film and more of a grey colour but she loves it all the same. Despicable Me 3 sees the characters we all love with some added new ones too such (spoiler alert)  as Gru's long lost twin brother. We see our loved Minions get into trouble and start a prison gang. It is a perfect film to watch as a family as its full of parts that make you all laugh and jokes aimed at adults that go over the kids' heads.

All in all, we love Ready Brek and Despicable me. Ready brek is available in most supermarkets and food stores and if you haven't had ready brek this year then get it in the shopping.

Family Games night - Boom Blast Stix's and Friday night at Freddys Board game review

Children are growing up so fast these days I know my children love to play board games. Its one of the only times they want to get off a screen. We were recently sent some games to have some fun and have a family games night. We were sent two games to try Five nights at Freddy's and Boom Blast Stix. 

The first game was Five nights at Freddys's me being down with the youth didn't know that five nights at Freddy's was a scary video game. The older boys were all well aware of the game although they hadn't played it before they were eager to try the game out.

The idea of the game is to steal the tokens from Freddy without him waking up. My nephew Louie came and played the game and he was hilarious every time he had a go the bear would jump up at him. Whilst you are playing some creepy suspense music comes from the game building suspense in the game.

The game works by spinning the dial to decide how many turns you have and which colour token to get. If you wake Freddy he screams and jumps up from his slumber. If you see the photo below of my poor nephew getting scared. We played it for the little ones that you had to take it in turns to take Freddy's dinner. 

We loved Five nights at Freddy's it was great fun if a little scary. The game retails at £24.99 and is suitable for ages 8 plus. Although my little ones at ages 4 and 5 played too and enjoyed the game also.

The next game we played was Boom Blast Stix which is an explosive game that the idea is to see how high you can stack the pieces. The pieces aren't any old shapes they are plastic springs that ping up at any time.

We started the game by playing it on the lid so it would be easier for the little ones. Everyone enjoyed the suspense and often they would ping straight away causing eruptions of laughter.

The game is so simple yet addictive. Before we knew it we had the lid on the top and the springs flying all over the kitchen. Its almost like an exploding game of Jenga where the pieces end up flying in the air.

Boom Blast Stixs retails at £14.99 and I think its the perfect game for Christmas I can just imagine the springs flying everywhere and people having a good laugh together as they play it.

We loved both the games although I did prefer the Boom Blast one the Friday night at freddys made me scream and jump out my seat. It was really nice having a family games night. Especially as we are all so busy during the week it really made a difference than our usual routine.

Batman Stretch Justice League Character Review

This week is little Son Son's Fourth birthday and all we have heard for the last few month's is how much he wants a stretch toy. He has seen the Stretch armstrong adverts and has not stopped going on about it. Little did we know that a, stretch armstrong had been reborn from the past and b, even better than stretch armstrong you can get Justice League stretch toys too. So lucky Son Son got to try one of his favourite superhero Batman.

All I can say if you have a superhero obsessed child than this is the toy for you. Son Son has not put it down he has taken it to bed with him and even snuck it in his nursery bag. As soon as we opened it from the packet he and his sister took it in turns to see who could pull it the furthest. They were facilitated to see Batman always go back to his original shape.

Son Son is really into fighting at the moment and having one of the justice league he has been in his element. Its not just Batman you can also get flash and superman too. Not just a toy for boys Ami has loved it just as much although she hasn't been able to play it because its been heavily guarded by Son Son .

The justice League toys retail at £12.99 and are availbe in all good toy retailers. I think it

would make the perfect christmas present or even a stocking filler. Me and my husband have had a go to see how far we could pull it. Its actually rather therapeutic a good stress reliever for parents also.

Peppa's Interactive Playmat Review

Peppa Pig has been a big name in our house over the last ten years and all three of my children have loved that cheeky pig. So i knew they would love our latest review of the Peppa Pig Interactive Playmat. I knew Son Son would love it as he loves Peppa and recently has loved recently telling me every number that he sees.

The one thing I love about the mat is that you have to be active to use it. My son Son is like a duracell bunny he just keeps on going so something that can keep him engaged and burn some of the endless energy is something we approve of. The Mat has Peppa and all her family on friends so there and they really haven't missed any of Peppas little friends. The mat has four different modes that you can play.

The modes include a sing along mode with 5 popular songs from the TV show. Son Son loved this mode and enjoyed singing along with his favourite songs. The mat has some of everyone favourite songs including the Bing Bong song that we all know and love. The instructions are very clear and its very east to set up. The voices also sound very life like. The mat encourages developmental learning as it can help children to learn numbers and colours.

Technology is such a big part of children's life now so something like this mat can help get children used to technology though to be honest I already think my children are more clued up than me on somethings. The mat retails at £19.99 and is a must for any Peppa fan. It is sutible for ages 3 plus but I think younger children could benefit also from the mat.

Half Term Fun at Dreamland Get Spooked

Dreamland reminds me so much of my youth. Asking my my for some money to go to dreamland and spend my school holidays on the rides. My personal favourite was the walzers along with this ride that sticks you to the wall. We were pleased to hear that Dreamland had reopened and even the scenic  Railway was up and running again. Even though Dreamland is local to us we have only been a handful of times. 

Dreamland for this October half term have been running lots of family friendly activities mainly about the Get Spooked theme. We chose to go on the day the Gruffalow was there and my little Son Son took delight in queuing up to have his photo taken whilst Ami did some craft making a gruffllows face. 

We started of the day by exploring round the venue we had my two nephews along with us so we could get a mix of the rides. I was grateful I did as I didn't realise some rides would need more than one adult for two small children meaning they had someone they could wait with in the queues. 

All round the park there was people dressed up. Son Son took great delight in telling the Pirates "Your not a real pirate". We also saw walking houses and a scary looking witch man (sorry I missed what it was it was on some kind of segway).

The staff were very friendly throughout and gave the children high fives as they went off the ride. Our favourite to watch was the man on the Scenic Railway he looked like he was having more fun than the children.

We even made it on the big wheel which I have to confess I am not great with heights neither was my poor nephew Harrison but we braved it. It also reminded me of the story when I was younger I think about 8 at Dreamland with my parents and I went missing. My poor parents looked everywhere for my and my little cousin and little did they know they had let us on the big wheel. There we were High up in the sky all innocent. 

Every Day at 4pm there is a Monster ball hosted on the big stage. We saw a ghost dancing with Son Son's new friends the pirates. 

Even though her face doesnt show it Ami like her mum's favourite ride was the Walzers too. She went on it twice and you could hear her laugh all round it.

All round Dreamland there is some fun decorations for Halloween. Including this lovely looking Caravan. We also walked through a scary converted crater (see a few photos down). Ami actually loved it and went through it three times. We don't do Halloween at home so I think for her it was something new. She liked the idea of punching a clown in a random way.

Theres lots of other things happening throughout the day including Crafts and wizarding battles. We also found Nerf wars which was so much fun. Basically a big inflatable arena where you can shoot lots of nerf bullets at each other. The great thing it was included in the wristband price too.

We have had such a fun day out we were there for a good 5 hours on and off the rides. The little ones are well and truely shattered.

If your thinking of heading down to the get spooked event do have a look. We have had such a fab day out little did we know how much fun was on our door step. Also great to see how much Dreamland is coming on and keeps on improving. Our only downside was not winning a toy on the fair ground stools but you never know next time we might!