Competitions and Reviews

InflataNation – Birmingham

December 6, 2018 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

We were really excited to receive an invitation to visit InflataNation inflatable theme park. My Children have always loved bouncy castles and InflataNation is the perfect place for children of all ages to bounce and play.

We visited the Birmingham InflataNation but you can also find parks in Manchester, Cheshire and Beverley.

What is InflataNation?

InflataNation is a theme park full of inflatables. Exactly what you would imagine it to be. There are inflatable slides and bouncing areas along with ball pits and activity zones. The park is open to all ages and abilities, so yes, the adults can bounce along with the kids. There is also an area especially for the under fours so that they don’t miss out on the fun.

If you don’t want to bounce, or can’t like me, then there is a fabulous cafe area where they sell food, snacks and drinks.

The Theme Park

From the moment you enter you are floating on inflatables. But there is so much more to do than bounce. The slides are great fun for all and you get a choice of height just in case you are not brave enough for the bigger slides. We liked how you could slide down together in two aisles, it’s a race to the bottom.

My kid’s loved the wrecking ball area where you each stand on an inflated pillar while swinging the wrecking ball at each other. The last man standing is the winner.

There is also a gladiator style duel where you hit each other off the podium with inflatable batons. And an inflatable assault course which two people can race to complete.

Or if you just want to bounce or play in ball pits you can do that too.

You get an hour in the park to enjoy all the activities and there is so much to do the time just flies by.

child pushing a large peg into an inflatable wall

The Cafe

The cafe area was clean and spacious and in the perfect place to watch all the action.

We decided to have lunch there and were happy with the food served. Two of my children had meals from the kid’s menu, Star and her Dad had pizza and I had a panini. The kids had slushies with their meals while me and their Dad had some nice coffee.

I thought the prices were reasonable, we spent £36 for five of us, but we could have saved money by not choosing the more expensive drinks. Also available were family servings, so you could have pizza or hot dogs for the whole family at a cheaper price than buying individual meals.

The food was served within 15 minutes which was good and it was brought to our table.

Part of the menu, there were also kid’s meals and snacks available

Safety

You are advised to wear long sleeves and long trousers in the theme park because it is possible to rub your skin after excessive play. It is well ventilated to keep you cool, but it’s constant physical work while in there and you are bound to get a bit hot. I’d suggest covering up in something light. You will need to wear socks.

Before you go in you can read the safety rules which are shown on a big poster on the wall in the cafe. There is also a short safety video to watch and you are guided to view this five minutes before your session starts.

Other Features

There is a viewing area which looks out over the park and you can watch your children play. There are also extra tables and chairs up there to take your food and drinks. This area was accessible by stairs only so I didn’t get to see. Graham took some photos for me.

a view of the inflatable park from above

There is also a kid’s party venue, a special place set aside for the party goers before they go into the park to bounce.

The theme park also offers several classes including fitness classes, inflata tots and disability friendly sessions. The disability sessions are for those on the autistic spectrum where a calm environment is created and parents or carers can enter for free.

The Cost

The general cost is £9.95 per person for one hour play for over 4s. £5.95 for under 4s. However, there are many offers available such as family passes for two adults and two children for £32.50. You can also pay for extra time, £7 for over 4s and £4 for under 4s. There are also passports for those that wish to attend regularly and different prices.

Parties vary depending on what package you want but the cheapest price is £12.50 per child.

You can also book adult only parties if you don’t want the kids getting in the way!

Our Verdict

The kids gave the park a big thumbs up and would love to go again sometime. They had tons of fun and it totally wore them out. Graham had fun too, but I think maybe he should have been a bit easier on himself.

I thought the place was clean and spacious. The cafe area was a really lovely place to sit and watch while waiting. Access was easy for my wheelchair and there was a disabled toilet.

The food was nice and the portions a good size. There was a nice variety of fast food to enjoy and service was good. The coffee was especially nice.

I think the cost was reasonable, especially if you take advantage of the special offers. It makes for a great family outing.

Please visit https://www.inflatanation.com/
for more information. It is recommended that you book your session before arriving.

Disclosure: we were given free entrance to InflataNation for the purpose of this review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Christmas Shopping with a Difference at Etsy

November 22, 2018 by Anne Sweet 2 Comments

Have you ever had a difficult gift to buy, someone that you want to treat with something special but just can’t find that special thing? Then you may want to consider the Etsy market place. If it’s handcrafted, vintage, custom or unique it’s on Etsy.

I’ve put together my gift list of some of the special things you can find on Etsy. There is so much to choose from though, if you don’t like anything I’ve put you can always go and look for something else.

Slime

The slime stores are my go to places. It’s where my girls go to spend their pocket money. Forget about those pots of gooey snot like slime you can buy in the shops, on Etsy you can get some incredibly beautiful and long lasting slime. It’s all made to order and there is so much to choose from. Here’s a few from our favourite seller SlimeMarshmallowsUK

My girls will be getting these in their Christmas stockings.

a pot of light brown coloured slime with gold sprinkles from Etsy — Egg Nog Scented Christmas Butter Slime

Egg Nog Scented Christmas Butter Slime is an eggnog scented layered slime, with thick slime at the bottom, butter slime in the middle and a layer of clay on top! Mixing them all together is very satisfying! From £6.

blue and white slime with sparkly snow flakes and stars from etsy — Shimmering Snowflake Slime – Scented

Shimmering Snowflake is a tri toned cloud slime consisting of dark blue, light blue and white! Its topped with snowflake fimo slices and iridescent star glitters! From £6

Jewellery

When it comes to jewellery, Etsy is your place. There is so much to choose from but don’t worry, it’s all easy to find. Just check the categories for what you want and narrow your searches. You’ll soon pick up something that’s perfect.

I’m going to show you a couple of items that I’d love to receive myself.

a beautiful heart shape necklace with lapis lazuli from etsy — Lapis Lazuli Heart Necklace

A Beautiful Lapis Lazuli Pendant

Individually Handcrafted using a water clear resin with lapis lazuli, aluminium and golden metallic glitter. £40

When I saw this pendant I fell in love instantly. I really love lapiz lazuli, but this is really unique.

a green stone bracelet with a turtle charm. from etsy — Sea Turtle Bracelet

The Sea Turtle bracelet is hand made in England. It features Grade-A Green Aventurine and Howlite gemstone beads, measuring 8mm diameter and threaded on to high-quality stretch cord. The Sea Turtle is Peruvian ceramic and hand painted, measuring approximately 13mm

I love bracelets, I love semi-precious stones and I love turtles. This is one example of how you can find something perfect for someone on Etsy.

Musical Gifts

Have you ever given anyone a mix tape? Are they a thing of the past now, do people still share their favourite music. Maybe it’s done on a USB now? Well, I’m old fashioned so this retro mix tape really caught my eye. It’s an actual cassette with a USB stick.

A cassette mix tape with a USB stick from etsy — Mix Tape USB stick

UNIQUE and ORIGINAL gift: This is an authentic USB Mixtape using a REAL TAPE CASSETTE. £15.99

Our retro AUTHENTIC Mix tape is the real deal – manufactured in the UK so premium quality is assured – Exactly the premium quality and original retro design that you would wish to give a loved one as a special gift.

a guitar key ring from etsy — Guitar Key Ring

Abalone Guitar keychain

Guitar keyring, finished with iridescent shimmers of Abalone Seashell. £12.60.

The perfect little gift for a guitar player

Christmas Decor

While you are shopping for your presents, why not take a look at the Christmas decorations on offer at Etsy.

Personalised Wooden Name Family Christmas Tree £8.09

Set of Superhero minifigure Christmas Baubles £4.99+

Personalised Christmas Stockings £10.42

Felt Christmas Tree Decorations £4.50+

A collage of Christmas decorations from etsy

Have you considered buying your Christmas gifts from Etsy?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which will cost you no more to click but may earn me a few pennies. Thank you for clicking and Merry Christmas.

Advent Calenders 2018 Part Two

November 20, 2018 by Anne Sweet 6 Comments

I previously wrote about some unusual advent calendars you can buy this year, from pork crackling to coffee pods! This time I’m going a little more conventional with chocolate and alcohol. Better hurry though, it’s nearly December!

Chocolate

The kids always love a chocolate advent calendar so here’s a few of my favourites for the kids and adults, with some fabulous money saving bargains to boost.

Have more than one kid and forever getting their advent calendars mixed up? Why not get a personalised one from Thorntons, you can even buy 3 for 2 saving up to £20. Here’s the Snowman personalised Advent Calendar for £7.

The Rituals Advent Calendar is my personal favourite from Thorntons. Not only is it full of delicious delights, it’s also incredibly pretty. At £12 it’s also part of the 3 for 2 deal.

Get all of your Cadbury Favourites in the Heroes Advent Calendar and at the moment you can get £1 off making it £8.98

Or maybe you want to go with the traditional choice of a Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar. Currently priced at £2.19.

Alcoholic Advent Calendars

I will admit, I’ve never tried an alcoholic advent calendar, I’ve had chocolate, cosmetics and even stationary, but alcohol is something I’ve yet to enjoy. I think it would be nice to open one after the kids have gone to bed and have a tipple. Of course they tend to come with a higher price tag too! I think I may stick to chocolate (or pork crackling) but here’s a few I’ve found to share.

Gin

Gin is very popular at the moment, as are gin Advent Calendars. This Edinburgh Gin Advent Calendar has 25 5cl bottles of gin for you to enjoy. It costs £120 and is exclusive to John Lewis and Partners.

The Gin and Tonic Advent Calendar is a little different, it comes with a full bottle of Lakes Explorer Gin and then you open the door to a different 200ml tonic mixer each day. Again, exclusive to John Lewis and it costs £95.

Wine and Prosecco

“Wine down” to Christmas with 24 mini bottles from around the world. This Advent Calendar is the ideal way to countdown to Christmas. Each door conceals a 187ml bottle of red, white or rose wine. The cost is £70.

Next is a lovely selection of 200ml bottles of prosecco, cava and sparkling wines. It also includes a 20cl bottle of Lanson Champagne for Christmas Eve. The Prosecco and Fizz Advent Calendar is exclusive to John Lewis and Partners and costs £125.

Beer

This Beer Advent Calendar contains a selection brewed by Adnams in Southwold. Designed to take you on a tasty beer adventure from lagers via pale ales, it provides a very “hoppy” start to your Christmas celebrations. It comes with a total of 9.9ltrs of beer for £70

Have you got your Advent Calendars yet? Which would you go for?

This post contains affiliate links which will cost you no extra if you click them but may earn me a few pennies. Merry Christmas

Super Ski Jump Review and Give Away

October 25, 2018 by Anne Sweet 19 Comments

A Unique Table Top Game

Super Ski jump is a new and unique table top game of skill that’s a whole heap of fun. Played by 2 -4 players (8+) over three thrilling rounds, the aim of the game is to get your skiing character flying down the ramp, perform some tricks and then perfect a landing.

Points are scored for the type of playing piece used, skis, bathtub, sledge or snowboard, how many flips and the type of landing. Practice makes perfect!

How To Play

After choosing your character and playing piece the youngest goes first. The ramp can be adjusted to one of three heights then the playing piece is placed at the top. Turn the knob to send the playing piece flying down the ramp and use your skill and judgement to press the button at the right time to send your playing piece flipping into the air. Count up your points and mark them on the score pad. Then it’s time for the next player.

Each player has three turns, choosing a playing piece for each turn. Then all the scores are added up and highest score wins.

In the Box

In the box you will find the ski jump which requires some assembly, a landing ramp, four characters, four playing pieces, a scoring pad and a page of stickers.

Once assembled the ski jump will not fit in the box, but you can take it apart. In my video you can see how easily my Little Man, aged 8, put the ski jump together again.

the four Playing pieces from the Super Ski Jump game — Four playing pieces and characters

Our Verdict.

This game is totally addictive and will get all the family wanting a turn. The game play is pretty basic, involving turning a knob and pressing a button, but with each different playing piece behaving differently, it’s not so easy as it looks. Also, you can adjust the height of the ramp giving each piece a different speed. Trying to perform the perfect stunt and then landing is a task in itself, but a fun one.

You will want to keep trying and trying until you get it perfect, and then you’ll whoop with excitement when you do.

a skier at the top of a slope — Ready to take on the challenge

Give Away

Would you like a copy of this table top game yourself. It would make a brilliant Christmas present. Just fill in the widget below and keep your fingers crossed. You could be skiing off piste this winter!

First, why not take a moment to watch this little video that My Little Man was so excited to make for you, showing him putting the game together, explaining it, and then having fun playing it. (He wants to be a YouTuber when he grows up!)

To find out more about Super Ski Jump please visit the Drumond Park website.

Drumond Park Facebook page and Drumond Park Twitter

You can purchase Super Ski jump for a RRP of £19.99 from Amazon, Argos, B&M Retail, Debenhams, Hamleys, Littlewoods and Tesco.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. UK only (sorry)
2. Giveaway closes 21st November 2018
3. Entries will be validated according to the rules of entry
4. There is 1 prize of a Super Ski Slide Game from Drumond Park
5. The data of anyone that enters won’t be passed on to any third parties or used for any unsolicited marketing communications.
6. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook or any other social media.
7. The winner will be randomly chosen, and will be shown on this post, with further notifications may be shared on social media.
8. The winner will be notified via email, and will need to respond within 4 weeks otherwise a further winner will be drawn.

9. Prize will be dispatched by Drumond Park Games

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

Unseen Academicals – Terry Pratchett Review

October 1, 2018 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

Way back around 1994 I found a Graphic Book in the staff room of the Elderly Persons Home in which I was working. It belonged to a fellow workmate and when he caught me reading it he kindly loaned it too me. The Book was ‘The Light Fantastic’ the second book of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I loved it and went on to read the first book ‘The Colour of Magic.’ And so it began, my love of Sir Terry Pratchett and his beloved Discworld.

I read Unseen Academicals some years later, but along with the blur of all the other books I was never able to pick a favourite. When logging into my Audible Account last month I decided to spend my monthly credit on the audible book of Unseen Academicals. It took a while to whither down my list and get around to listening to it, but when I did it didn’t take long to finish it.

I do love my audio books, it’s great to be able to crochet and listen at the same time, it’s like completing two hobbies at once. I love the story telling but this is the first book that I’ve listened to that is described as a drama. I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy it but even though it didn’t stick to the actual story it was a fun listen. If you are not a Terry Pratchett fan then you would enjoy the drama. If you are a true fan then you may not like the changes to the book and characters, and even feel that it’s not in true Pratchett style. It’s been a long while since I actually read the book so now I have to the urge to re-read it to fill in the gaps.

Unseen Academicals

Sir Terry Pratchett loved to losely base his Discworld stories on Shakespearian ideas. Wyrd Sisters draws on Macbeth, Lords and Ladies on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Unseen Academicals on Romeo and Juliette.

But there is no Romeo, he is actually a footballer called Trev!

Here’s the blurb from the book.

Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they’re in the mood for trying everything else. This is not going to be a gentleman’s game.
The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt). As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever.
Because the thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football.
Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!

My Thoughts

Although the drama did not stick faithfully to the original book I did enjoy the presentation. David Jason was the narrator with Jon Culshaw, Matthew Horne, Josie Lawrence and Jaime Winstone voicing the characters. It made me chuckle out loud at times and I really got in to the football match which was so well presented you could feel as though you were there watching. Although to be honest, I’m rather glad I wasn’t. I certainly wouldn’t be buying anything off ‘Cut me own throat Dibbler!’

I would like to listen to another drama on Audible, I’m just not sure I will listen to another Discworld one. It was fun, but I don’t like that it did not give you the full Pratchett experience.

Audible

I currently have a credit sitting in my account and I haven’t yet made up my mind on what to use it on. I’m not sure if I want to go for a psychological thriller, which is my usual choice, or to go for something different. It’s a bit of a dilemma for me at the moment, but it’s a nice dilemma as I know I’ll be looking forward to plugging in my ear phones and getting stuck in a new book.

Some of the books offered to me this month are:

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Which one would you choose?

Have you ever tried Audible? You can sign up now for a free trial!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Audible and this post contains affiliate links. They won’t cost you any extra to click but may earn me a few pennies. Thanks.

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