[Ad- gifted products] Our household is always on the lookout for toys, especially toy kits and items that will keep the three kids entertained. With the half term coming up, PoundToy reaching out with their very affordable toys seemed like a really good fit. Pound Toy is an online retailer that sells loads and loads of children’s toys at extremely affordable prices. They have some name brands, but mainly loads of cheaper off-brands that work pretty well. A few of their toys are free ad-ons (one per order) and there are toys that come in at £0.01, which can be added to an order, but do have a limit depending on what it is.
[Ad- gifted product] We really like stories before bedtime in our house as they are a great way to wind down and enjoy just a little bit more family time. Books that have a very positive message are always a plus when it comes to picking what to read before bed. When we were offered the books Meet Henry Heartbeat and Meet Henrietta Heartbeat, we were pretty excited to see what these two new characters had to offer.
Both of these books serve as introductions into the lives of these two characters, defining who they are and what they like. They are short stories that can be read easily by younger children or can make for a quick bedtime store being read out loud to children. Both contain fun and simple rhythms and cute pictures to go along with each page. When reading these books, the children pointed out some of their family members and friends who had shown the same traits, recognising kindness in their own lives.
[Ad- gifted experience] After a major refurbishment, we all were invited to The Blackberry Jack pub in St Albans. We always enjoy a classic British pub meal and there is always something for everyone, from the youngest picky eater to our adult pallet. As we’ve not been to Blackberry Jack, we aren’t really sure what the pub looked like before the refurbishment, but when we went, everything seemed very clean and quirky. We sat at a big, oval table with different colours painted onto various bits of the wood. Each of our chairs were a different design, giving a really quirky feel to the place.
The car park is actually at the back of the restaurant, meaning we entered through the back, which was a bit confusing for first-time visitors, but someone quickly noticed us and helped us to our table. Like most pubs, we ordered at the bar and items were delivered to our table. The Sizzling Pubs have an app that you can install and download so that you can order from your table, but by the looks of things, Blackberry Jack wasn’t on the app at the time that we went (probably due to the refurbish) so we just ordered at the bar. There are a good amount of variety on the menu, as well as a children’s menu and a children’s dessert menu. We were also given some colouring sheets for the younger kids, which was fun.
I kept seeing the Artbox Cafe on Instagram – a cafe that serves different desserts, with a different character featured at the cafe for a limited amount of time. When it comes to holidays, the cafe also changes, having special Halloween items and Winter themed desserts. The cafe is split into two floors, the bottom floor is where you can get takeaway ice creams or drinks, as well as purchase a bunch of cute, themed items. As the theme was Pusheen, the items in the bottom floor was all Pusheen; notebooks, books, mugs, jewellery, sushi sets, tumblers, squishes – something for everyone. Upstairs, you can find a small, sit down dining experience where you can order from a slightly larger menu. Dann, Claire (who wrote her own post on this) and I went to the Pusheen x Artbox Cafe in the last week that Pusheen was there!
At the end of last month, I went along to the Toy Fair 2020 – I go each year, mainly to check out board games for Big Boss Battle, a site I am one of the owners of. As we’ve been reviewing toys on this blog, I figured I’d spend more time looking at the Toy aspect of the Toy Fair. Sadly, on the day we were meant to go to the Toy Fair, our car’s catalytic converter was stolen while parked in a parking lot – what a wild ride. Because of this, I ended up only having part of one day to explore the Toy Fair, but I booked a few appointments and checked out a bunch of different toys. I wanted to share with you what I found to be the coolest toys of the fair!
