Christmas with ALDI

    Aldi have some great treats for all the family this Christmas !

We was sent some lovely Christmas treats to try from the lovely people at Aldi, why not check out the website here for many more of there great offers.

Below are a few of the delicious treats we received.

Stollen Bites

These delicious Stollen bites are made with juicy raisins, almonds, citrus peel, hazelnuts with a delicious marzipan centre. Myself and my 8 year old son Callum absolutely loved these, the flavour remind me some much like cherry bake wells cakes our favourite. They were delicious, moist and packed with fruity flavour. The icing sugar that is sprinkled over the top of the Stollen bites adds extra flavour. We will definitely be buying these this Christmas, excellent treat with a class of wine or cup of tea if you prefer.

Stollen bites- £1.59 per 350g pack 

Specially Selected Orange Topped Christmas Pudding

 Aldi's specially selected orange topped Christmas pudding is made with, sultanas, whole cherries, crunchy almonds and pecans and laced with Spanish Sherry, Cognac and rum and topped with a ring of whole glace of orange slices. We served our Christmas pudding with some custard, it was so delicious and moist. There were lost of different flavours and textures. My favourite part was the yummy flavours of fruits and the glace of oranges added colour and mouth watering flavours.

Specially Selected Luxury Mince Pies

Aldi's specially selected mince pies are just gorgeous, a few years a go you would never of caught me tucking in to a mince pie I loved apples pies, but one day I thought I saw a delicious looking mince pie and thought ill have a little try and omg it was the best mince pie I had ever tasted, since that day if I ever get near a mince pie its all mine I'm not sharing. I'm not a massive fan of mince pies and love trying any one I can get my hands on, so when Aldi asked if I would like to try there Specially selected mince pies I jumped in for a chance. I must say they are so yummy I didn't want to share the pack but I had to. The all butter pastry was delicious lovely and crumbly not dry like some mince pies i have tried, is was also packed with luxury mince which I thought was gorgeous soaked in the finest French brandy. I must admit I tucked into the mince pies before even reading the box and didn't know they contained brandy, I cant wait to buy more of these for Christmas.

Specially Selected Luxury Mince Pies- Contain 6 mince pies for as little as £1.69

Amador Cava Brut

Aldi's Amador Cava Brut is delicious with fine and persistent bubbles with citrus and green apple aromas. It's elegant and balanced there is a purity of fruit and a refreshing acidity in this impressive Cava. Cava is made using the full traditional method (i.e. the same way as Champagne), and the wines must spend a minimum of nine months in bottle before disgorgement.

Amador Cava is great for parties and special occasions it's Ideal as an appetiser or to accompany fish and savoury pastries. Its complexity also allows it to be enjoyed with pasta or white meat dishes.

I'm not a big fan of Alcohol but i must admit i finished this whole bottle, over two nights and i will definitely be buying some to have over the Christmas and New year.

Originally from Spain and in Aldi supermarkets at a great price of £4.49.

Specially Selected Irish Cream

If you love baileys you will love Aldi's Specially selected Irish cream, to me it tasted just like the Original named brand the only difference is the price, you will save money buying Aldi's Bally Castle brand at the price of just £5.99. Try it for your self you wont know the difference.

Vist Aldi's Webpage here

Review : Bazooka Candy

We was so excited when we was sent some delicious candy treats 

to try from the lovely people at Bazooka candy, there delicious candy is not only tasty its fun keeping you children occupied a little longer (he he). Here is a some of the yummy treats we received.

Rattlez Candy 

This yummy candy comes in the shape of a Baby rattle that is fun for kids,  In side its filled with candy and has a lolly pop attached to the handle so when you open it you have a lick of your lolly and place it back in to the lid and shake it like you would a normal baby rattle, make sure you have put the lid on tightly you wouldn't want to lose all your tasty sweets.

 Once you have had a good shake open it up and your lolly will have been covered in all the tiny candy balls.

The great thing about this design is it has a lid so when you child has had enough, you can store it away a save some for later, so there's no more sticky mess. Callum and Michaela are forever leaving sweets lying around or throwing them in the bin as they have no where to put them when they've had enough. Rattlez candy is a fun sweet that your kids will love. You can also get  Red and blue Flavors include strawberry, raspberry and blue raspberry.

Ring pops

 

You will definitely feel like royalty with one these diamond shape blings, Ring pops come in a variety of different flavours, strawberry, blueberry, water melon and many more.

These brightly coloured edible rings are great for girls and boy who love wearing rings, These tasty treats are delicious and last for a while unless your children likes to bite them instead.

I think they could do with a cover that fits over the sweet part so you are able to still wear it even when you don't want to eat it, that way you wont get sticky and fluffy.

Snap it

My son Callum loved the new Snap it lollie pop he thought it was cool, Snap it is a lolly pop that is attached to a lolly stick inside a case that flips open, you then close it and start licking away when your done you can open the case and put your lolly back inside and snap it shut saving some for later.

There are two yummy flavours to choose from Blackcurrant and Strawberry.

Snap it is perfectly designed so it can be carried around in your pocket where ever you go with out leaving any sticky mess.

Bazooka baby bottles

Bazooka baby bottles come in a variety of different colours and flavours, they have a hard candy teat that can be dipped in to a sour powder by unscrewing the teat, inside the teat you will find a long plastic stick that you can hold while dipping your teat into the power giving your sweet some extra flavour. I think its great they have added a clear plastic lid as it adds detail to the bottle making it look realistic,it also keeps your sweet clean and letting you keep it longer.

We loved all the Bazooka Candy's we tried well worth every penny.

Review: Skylanders Spyro's Adventure

Bring your toys to life !

I couldn't believe it when the lovely people at Activision asked if we would like to test one of there amazing Skylander- Spyro Adventure game packs for the wii.

This is the first time i have saw this game as I'm normally buying PS3 game for my son and haven't really played the wii lately, since receiving the Spyro Skylander pack we've played nothing else since, its a really fun game and once you get started you just want to keep going and completing each level.

This great Spyro Skylander game pack comes with a Portal of Power which connects to the wii wireless which is great as you haven't got any trailing wires  and the portal can be placed some where little ones cant reach it, Davina aged 1 years tries to run away with our toy characters.

There are three toy characters included in the pack these were Trigger happy, gill grunt and spyro, the pack also includes a game, and batteries which is fantastic as you always find a lots of toys say batteries not included so we was relived when we saw there was batteries, this meant we could get stuck in straight away, no trip to the shops.

I must admit I'm not very good at setting gadgets up but it was really easy after a few simple steps it was ready to go, Just set your wii up like you normally would, insert the Spyro game in to the wii, turn on your Power Portal, once the game has loaded on your screen place the character of your choice on to the portal and as if by magic your character appears on you television screen. The Portal of power even flashes colours which is an excellent feature.

 The toy character save your game data eg, levels, points etc for the next time you play even if it’s on a different platform at your friends house so if for example you have an Xbox and your friend has a Wii you can still take the toys to your friends house and play, then once back home you can then finish the game from where you left of at your friends house.

This amazing game pack is also 2 player, you can place a minimum of 2 characters on to the Portal of power allowing you to play a classic battle mode which  provides a selection of different game modes and arena maps for players to face off against each other. Each unique arena map contains a variety of obstacles, hazards and power-ups. Players will want to make sure they build up their army of different characters and level them all up to battle their friends on equal ground.

I must state you will need to have two wii controls and two nun chucks to be able to play battle mode, we only have one nunchuck so we haven't had chance to try that yet.

There are a whole lot more characters to buy making it so much more fun as each character opens more contents of the game.

There are 32 characters to collect all together, we cant wait to see many more adventure games.

Spyro Adventure's is suitable for ages 7-13

We give it a whopping 5/5

For more information, be sure to visit the official Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure game website located at www.skylandersgame.com.

 

Here Comes the IKEA 2011 Soft Toy Campaign!

Get an IKEA Soft Toy as a gift for a child you love, help give an education to a child.

IKEA celebrate their soft toy campaign this year by holding lots of fun  in-store kid's activities across all UK stores, including teddy bear picnics and children's story time sessions for kid's to enjoy.

From October 24th to the 23rd December, every IKEA Soft Toy or children's book you buy, the IKEA Foundation www.IKEAfoundation.org will donate one euro to education programmes worldwide supported by UNICEF www.unicef.org.uk and Save the Children www.savethechildren.org.uk.

In addition to the UNICEF and Save the Children projects, local charitable causes will be supported as part of “give twice” activities, where customers can choose to buy an additional soft toy which will then be donated to local children hospitals, children crisis centres and institutions in areas around each IKEA UK store. This gives the chance to touch the lives of thousands of children across the globe this Christmas.

Since the campaign started in 2003, donations from the annual  IKEA Soft Toy Campaign have totalled 35.2 million euro, supporting 94 programmes in 45 countries, and helping 8 million children enjoy their right to a quality education.

IKEA Soft Toys and children's books are great to have on this year’s Christmas wish lists, to get a gift for a child they love while giving the gift of education to millions of children. Cuddly, huggable, washable IKEA soft toys are priced from 39p and are easy to find at any of the IKEA stores nationwide. Find your local store here: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/ikny_splash.html

We was kindly sent some of IKEA'S BJORN bears who is the hero bear of this years campaign, this super soft teddy is adorable and will make your little one happy, my daughter Davina aged one takes hers every where with her. So why not head down to your nearest IKEA store.

 

Review: Branston Peanuts & Crakers

BRILLIANTLY BRITISH NEW BRANSTON SNACK

I was kindly asked by Crosse Blackwell to try there Branston pickle peanuts & crakers snacks.

 These tasty treats of Branston coated peanuts and mini cheese crackers emulate the nation’s favouritoe cheese and pickle sandwich in a snack size bag and can be enjoyed all year round but with Christmas rapidly approaching these nibbles are perfect to share with friends and family.

Crosse & Black have announced: "Pickle lovers can now enjoy the delicious taste of Branston in the form of a brand new snack, Branston Peanuts & Crackers".

 A modern twist on a British classic, Branston Peanuts & Crackers deliver the tantalising taste of the nation’s favourite cheese and pickle sandwich in a handy snack-sized bag. The delicious oven baked peanuts are coated in the unique flavour of Branston and are accompanied with tasty cheese mini crackers – perfect for tickling the taste buds of any pickle pundits.

These sweet and tangy nibbles can be enjoyed either at home or on the go; and in the run up to Christmas make the fantastic addition to any festive occasion.

We was sent two snack size bags to try, so myself, Callum and Michaela be began our taste testing and i have to say having tried Branston pickle and huge lover of it the tangy, bit spicy peanuts to me at first tasted more like Worcester sauce until i finished my tasting i then could taste a hint of Branston after taste, as for the cheese cracker the combination of peanuts & crackers worked really well but i couldn't taste any cheese from the crackers which would have been much nicer as i love Branston pickle and cheese, Im thinking the sharpness of there Branston was to over powering so there was no flavour to the crakers which was a shame.
Michaela 5 loved them but Callum thought they were to spicy, but then again callum doesn't like Branston like i do.

4/5

Available in Aldi, ASDA, Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose stores nationwide - Branston Peanuts & Crackers are priced from £1.49 for a 90g bag

Review: Shloer Berry punch

      Shloer

  the sparkling juice drink

Are you looking for a non Alcohol festive drink this winter Shloer has created just that, Shloer's Limited edition berry punch has a delicious flavour that is packed with blackberries and a warming hint of spices making it the newest and tastiest drink this season,Who needs alcohol when you've got Sholer,


Shloer berry punch is a delicious non alcoholic sparkling juice drink that is best served over ice, fresh blackberries and slices of pair which make it a delicious sparkling autumnal drink that's perfect for sharing with the family and those who would like to enjoy the winter months without drinking alcohol, The lovely festive colours in the glass show its just the best alternative to wine that would be a perfect Christmas.

When i took my first sip i could feel my taste buds tingling from the delicious mouth watering flavours of fruit that left me wanting more, the added ice and fruit helped to make it sweet and have less sharpness from the berries.
I'm not a wine fan so I'm glad i took the opportunity to try Shloer as i have now found the perfect drink to go with my Christmas dinner and my children can join in too.


Shloer is also available in White Grape, Red Grape, Rose, Apple & White Grape, Raspberry & Cranberry, White Grape & Elderflower and new Berry punch
RRP £2.29

Review: Method pink grapefruit handwash

Keep well this winter with Methods pink grape fruit hand wash which helps by reducing the spread of colds and flu viruses, Its paraben and triclosan-free and safe leaving you skin feeling lovely and soft.  Method pink grape fruit comes in this gorgeous tear shape bottle and has a lovely fragrance  that you just cant resit the smell of.

Method had wash is made with naturally-derived, biodegradeable ingredients and containing vitamin E and aloe which has never been tested on animals.

I have tried many hand washes and a number of them have left my hands feeling dry, I can honestly say Method has left my hands feeling smooth and soft and smelling fresh.

Method Grape fruit hand wash is available at Superdrug store at a price of £2.49

5/5

Method have even achieved a cradle-to-cradle certificate for there stunning hand washes.

Review: Colmans Instant Onion Gravy paste

 Colman’s launches instant gravy with real meat juices

When i was first offered Colman's instant gravy paste to try the first thing that popped into my head was mustard and i do not like mustard, then i saw the word gravy and i thought it would definitely be worth a try as i love gravy. I think its nice to try something new now and then having used the same gravy brand for a while. When they arrived there were three different flavours these were Colman's instant onion gravy paste, beef gravy paste and chicken gravy paste. 

Having now tried Colman's Instant onion gravy i must admit it tastes nothing like mustard (he he) but what it does contain is real meat juice which adds a delicious flavour to to they gravy.

It’s fair to say that gravy is a national passion whether poured on bangers & mash, or splashed on a Sunday roast, many meals are simply inconceivable without it!

We tried our Colman's instant onion gravy on our Sunday roast and found it was really  delicious and tasty, full of flavour and had no lumps, its really simple to make you just squeeze 2 heaped teaspoons of pastes into a jug, Add 250mls of boiling water and stir continuously with a hand whisk but we didn't have one so we used a fork, you whisk for 30 seconds allowing the gravy to thicken.

Colman's 130g squeeze tubes are available in all major UK supermarkets and are

available in three delicious flavours – beef, chicken and onion,Colman’s Instant Gravy Paste looks set to become a firm family favourite. The innovative new paste format – replacing traditional gravy granules – makes it quick and easy to use, enabling Mum to make great tasting, hearty, authentic, homemade gravy in an instant which is great for us busy mums.

Colman's instant gravy paste is free of any nasty preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.

They are priced at (RRP) £1.59 which provides approximately 5 servings.



Competition: VERSACE Red Jeans

Competition

Red Versace Jeans

EAU DE TOILETTE

We all love smelling beautiful so I'm holding a competition for one lovely follower to win this 7.5ml bottle of VERSACE Red Jeans.

To Enter  Simply

Follow my blog by clicking the Follow me site button on the right hand side on my blog and leave a comment saying you have done so.

Please a details for the best way to contact you if you are the winner.

For an Extra chance please re tweet the following: Rt "I want to #win perfume @kirsty22xx http://is.gd/CcX9Gs "

Competitions open to UK Only and will close on 30th November at 10pm

Winner will be chosen by random.org

Competitions now CLOSED
Tonights winner is @baggiesbabe69
Congratulations
Thank you everyone who took part.

Review: MU Cheese

MU cheese is a brand new fun and tasty cheese range which you and your family will love, each cheese comes in these great eye catching resealable bags to keep your cheese fresh and moist.

We was sent two block cheese to try one was MU mature cheddar the other was MU mature lighter cheddar with 30% less fat. I'm not a big fan of cheese but i must admit after trying both MU cheeses i found them to be really lovely, not to strong just how i like them, I couldn't get enough we had cheese on toast, cheese and potato pie, cheese and pickled onions on sticks, I even cut slices so i could have them as a little snack.

MU cheese is also available in handy grated and sliced packs as well as block which are great for us busy moms, these can be found in Tesco store priced from £2.49, you will also see the full range of MU cheese which is- MU mild cheddar, MU medium cheddar, MU mature cheddar, MU lighter mature cheese, MU mature grated cheddar and MU mature sliced cheddar.

We think MU cheese is delicious and look forward to buying many more of there range.

5/5

For more insperation go to www.mucheese.com

Review ; Method Mint Tub & Tile bathroom spray



Method

detoxes your bathroom

Method tub & tile bathroom spray is a biodegradable formula which removes soap scum and hard water stains without leaving nasty toxins, tub & tile bath food spray is people freindly and no rubber gloves are requierd.

Method bath spray has a gorgous smell of eucalyptus mint which leaves your bath room smelly fresh and your tub and tiles gleaming so you can see your refection in them.

Its easy to use just spray, wipe, breathe and admire leaving your bathroom yuck-free and free from any harsh chemicals.

Method tub and tile bath room spray is available from Tesco, Sainsbury's, B&Q, Homebase and many more stores.

They are priced at RRP £3

Review: Lego Mini Figure display case by Re: creation

Lego Mini figure Display Case

Re: creation bring the hottest new toys to the shops, They have produced this cool new Lego Mini figure display case where you can show off you Lego figure collection.

The Display case comes in two sizes small or large. The smaller display case comes with 8 spaces for your mini figures. The larger case comes with 16 spaces, which would be enough spaces to fit an entire series of mini figures in.

The display case has been designed to either fit on a wall or stand on a flat surface, each display case comes with two plastic feet to help stand it up,This Lego mini figure display case has also been designed stack able so you can keep on collecting.

The display case is well made and has clear plastic so you can view your figures with out having to keep opening the case, it also has a push to open button located on the top of the case.

We unpacked our display case and managed to fit it on one of the beside cabinet's in the kids room  our walls are hard concrete and very hard to drill through.

We have now started collecting our Mini figures and adding them to our display case, the children love getting a new one each week which there pocket money.

Its fun and exciting each figure comes in a little pack and they get to put them together before putting them in the display case.

We found one of the figures a little difficult to place in the case as he held a guitar case which was a little to big and when we closed the case it would knock the figure over as the case hit the door, but after a little play around i managed to move the arms around.

I think the size of the sections need to be a little wider for the mini figure that come with bigger objects.

Each figure cost £ 1.99 and can be purchased from your WH Smith's or Argos store.

Even with those minor issues I fully recommend anyone who collects mini figures to purchase one as they are great and kids love them.

The small case is priced at (SRP £12.99) and the Large is priced at (£19.99), The LegoMinifigure Display case hit the shops in Autumn and will be avaliable from Amazon and  Toymaster and is available in shops now.

John Crane Ltd and Sevi ! A Perfect wooden Partnership is born

We haven't got any John Crane toys but just looking at them makes me want to go and buy one there bright and colourful toys look fantastic.

We would like to share with our readers that the fantastic company John crane have formed a partnership with the wonderful Italian company Sevi how exciting.

Sevi

The history of Sevi spans almost two centuries in its devotion to wood and the success of Sevi is down to its designs, quality, commitment to professional service and hundreds of satisfied customers.

1920- At the beginning of the 1920's Sevi excited the local markets with their small, hand made masterpieces.

1930- 1940 - To keep up with now a growing market, new machinery was purchased to supports the craftsmans' s skills. Automation did not affect the high quality of Sevi but enhanced it.

1950-1960- The booming economy lead to a craze of giving children small 'surprise' gifts. Inspired by this Sevi continues today to producing not only toys but objects that express warmth, wonder and friendliness of a child's world.

1970-1980- This was the brands boom years with new characters born- the Happy Clown is still in the line up today, reborn in the newly styled Le Cirque collection

1990-2000- Sevi is acquired by the Trudi Company in 1998, remaining faithful to its founding principles and values; Sevi continues in hand crafted wood, caring for detail and dynamic creativity. Stringent safety testing is applied to all products ans Sevi was awarded UNI EN ISO 9001 certification in 2001.

2010- Sevi chooses John Crane Ltd to distribute to retailers in the UK, and a strong wooden partnership is born.

 To take a look at the full range of Sevis products available from John Crane pop over and take a look here :
www.john-crane.co.uk
www.facebook.com/johncranefanpage
www.twitter.com/johncraneblog use #sevi-by-johncrane

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Review Dycem Non-Slip Mats

Dycem Hippo Place mats

Is you child forever chasing their bowl and round their tray with their spoon i know Davina does so she ends up slouching and falling sideways or her bowl ending up on the floor as shes tried to put food on her spoon.

Meal time has been so much easier since the lovely people from Dycem sent us a pack of 3 colourful Hippo place mats to try, These bright and colourful place mats can be used for meal times or play time which is great if you have laminate flooring or a table your children can now play without their toys slipping or sliding across the floor or table.

Dycem mats provide a secure surface that anchors items effectively in place,they stabilize objects and firmly hold and give objects better grip, they are available in a variety of different colours, shapes and sizes. We was sent a pack of 3 Hippos which were red, yellow and blue.

Dycem Award winning multi purpose mats are Non-toxic and latex free and easy to clean by washing in soapy water and instantly dry ready for use when required.

Ive grown fond of Dycem place mats they are fun,colourful and they have helped Davina so much, we have tried bowls with suction underneath buy they never seem to stick long enough, I'm so glad we got to try Dycem place mats.

They're excellent.

I would love to see bath mats in the kind of shape and form.

We give Our Hippo place mats

5/5

You can find the place mats on there website they also have other Non-slip products too

these can be found at

 www.dycem.com

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