Category / Giveaway

by jo

Lollibop 2013 Family Ticket Giveaway

Fancy a Lollibop 2013 family ticket? It’s less than a month away, and we’ve got a giveaway! LolliBop 2013

A Lollibop 2013 family ticket can work out a bit pricey now the early bird price has finished – we’re getting excited there’s less than a month to go; our leave is booked from work; H is booked out from nursery; we’re ready to bop to Rastamouse so bring it on! If you fancy going too, here’s your chance – we’re giving away a Lollibop family ticket for up to four people, under 12 months go free.

Taking place from 16 to 18 August, the incredible line-up – all aimed at children under the age of 10 – combines some of the hottest names in kids entertainment, as well as hundreds of activities, workshops and interactive areas.

Activities and acts confirmed, include Cbeebies superstar Justin Fletcher (Saturday and Sunday only), Dick and Dom, Roald Dahl Museum & Storytelling, London Urban Arts, Skylanders SWAP Force, Shaun The Sheep Championsheeps, Peppa Pig, Science Museum Live, Postman Pat, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Titan the Robot, The Go Go Go Show, Transformers, Poppy Cat, Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew (Friday only) and Cloudbabies.

LolliBop’s live theatre tent – The Lollipalladiam – showcases performances from pioneering and internationally renowned companies and artists.   Tween Town is especially for older kids, with cool activities like radio workshops, movie editing and beatboxing masterclasses. Imagination Stations are situated throughout the festival for 3-10 year olds to get crafty, there’s also a 3ft and under zone for pre-schoolers. The Enchanted Forest will host reading and stories,  and there’s also a brand new Discovery Zone, Meadows area, Lolli Promenade and much more.

LolliBop offers all the fun of a festival without the hassle of camping and all activity is programmed for the under 10s.   For more information and tickets, visit http://www.lollibopfestival.co.uk

We’ve got one Lollibop 2013 family ticket to give away to this brilliant festival. To enter, answer the following question on the Rafflecopter widget:

Q: Which duo will be at LolliBop 2013?
A: Dick and Dom
B: Peter and Paul
C: John and James

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Terms & Conditions

  • The giveaway closes 8th August 2013
  • We have one family pass to giveaway. The pass admits 4 people, one person in the group must be aged over 18 (NB children under the age of 12 months do not require a ticket)
  • The winning family can attend on the day of their choice, either August 16, or August 17 or August 18. The date must be specified at time of confirming the prize
  • Travel and accommodation are not included
  • The prize is non-refundable and no cash alternative will be offered
  • The prize is non transferable and ID will be required at time of collecting the tickets
  • The prize includes all events and activities at LolliBop but not food and drink from any stalls or outlet

If you like this giveaway, why not check out the Big Fish Little Fish family ticket giveaway too?

by jo

Big Fish Little Fish Events Brixton Giveaway, September.

Big Fish Little Fish events have arrived in Brixton – have you heard of them? We went to a special preview and reviewed it earlier this month and I hesitate to share this as the quality is so poor, but you get the idea (and it’s only 15 seconds), but H came out of her shell and showed off dance moves we never knew she had. I think I spent more time open-mouthed as she twirled around.

This could be YOUR child. Remember those songs from the 1990s to these days you used to dance to? (Voodoo Ray, The Sun Rising, Hanging On A String, Hey Ya and so many more songs that will come flooding back when you hear them).  Your child could let themselves go and twirl around the dancefloor too (the glowstick is compulsory) – Big Fish Little Fish events are a new monthly social and you could go too if you fancy entering this giveaway! (n.b. I say danced as if you’re anything like us you don’t have the time, money, energy or will to actually stand up and shuffle your feet beyond making food or getting to work – it’s not just me, right?).

Big Fish Little Fish Events

I have a Family ticket to give away for Big Fish Little Fish’s September event. It’s on the 21st and is at the Effra Social in Brixton – walkable from Brixton tube and Herne Hill station and runs from 2-4.30 and has a theme of ‘Sailing the Seven Seas’ – it’s also their launch party.

Please note – travel is NOT included – so I’d recommend you’re based in London and can get there easily. Tickets will be provided direct by Big Fish Little Fish.

Tickets are on sale now at We Got Tickets and there are loads of reviews coming in – including a great feature in Time Out this week. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Porridge On Tuesday – Win a 12 Week Healthy Eating Plan – Giveaway

We’re Porridge on Tuesday Ambassadors, overdue an update but for now, how about a giveaway?

Porridge On Tuesday logoPorridge On Tuesday is much more than just a healthy eating plan, though that is a massive part of it. We’re well into it now and doing well (not gaining weight, and finding loads of new quick healthy recipes) – and this is your chance to have a go too.

I have FIVE to give away – so that’s a twelve week plan – which would work out at £2.50 a week, so that’s a fair bit of money saved (please don’t ask me to count right now, I’m tired) – worth a go, I’d say!

It’s a nice simple Rafflecopter entry too, so please read on. Also, POT are offering the 8 week plan for £14.95 and the 15 week plan for £25.95 – so there’s some savings already.  All you need to do is email offer@porridgeontuesday.com.

I’ll be posting an update on how it’s going for us soon – but until then you’ve got until the 8th August to enter – quick! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Adventures In Zambezia – A Review

Adventures in Zambezia is a South African movie – a CG Animated one – featuring the voices of Abigail Breslin, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Adventures in Zambezia

Now here I’d love to do a more detailed review, but H and I sat down to watch after her swimming lesson, and she fell asleep about half way so we’re not quite there yet – BUT! What we did see was some glorious colours, and a story about a young falcon named Kai who leaves home to head to the city of birds, Zambezia. His dad (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) isn’t so happy about that, and eventually finds himself captured by an evil lizard who has plans to attack the city. The story is pretty much Kai rescuing his dad as well as helping save Zambezia with help from his new friends.

With us being half way I can’t be too detailed about the movie but what we saw we enjoyed – H is three and a half and quite sensitive, and there were a couple of moments I wondered if she’d be upset, but she didn’t seem too bothered (which is good!). I think this will be one we sit and watch as a family next weekend, so I’ll add some edits to this when we get there.

There are loads of extras too – it’s a fun family film and what we’ve seen so far we’ve enjoyed! The film is 79 minutes long, so the perfect length for a younger child, and is rated U.

It’s released on DVD tomorrow the 18th March 2013 via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The Official Zambezia website

And!

I have two copies to give away. Fill out the rafflecopter form below, you’ve two weeks and then we’ll pick a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We were provided with a copy of the film for review, and all opinions are our own!

by jo

Review and Giveaway – iPic – magnetic photo frames

As a parent I take a lot of photos. H is pulling a particularly cute face? Obviously I’ve got to take a pic. She’s just smeared chocolate all over herself unintentionally? Hilarious! I must take a photo… and more often than not they’re made into photo books in time, though every now and then I have one of those rare moments when the photo taken is actually really quite good.

I’m a huge fan of putting nice photos on display – we’ve some lovely photos of holidays, scenery and so on, and of course there’s the family photos. The opportunity came to try out iPic and I knew which photo I wanted to use – a gorgeous one of Shaun and H taken in the cafe next to Conwy Castle back in August last year. They were just chatting and it was one of those photos that ‘happened’ – not posed and neither of them are aware they’ve had their photo taken – it’s easily my favourite one from last year. So it was a no-brainer – this photo was the one!

ipicfront

iPic is easy to use too – choose your frame (you can create your own too), upload your photo, drag it to position it (Shaun wanted a person blurred out in the background removing so we zoomed the photo) and that’s it! You’ve also an option to personalise your it. It’s A5 sized, and fits a 6″ x 4″ photo.

ipicback

I like that the photo is mounted onto glass so it’s nice and sturdy. The frame is plastic and feels quite tough, and before you write it off and think that may be cheap, the frame also has some strong magnets at the back – so you can put the frame on your fridge should you choose (so let’s face it, if the frame was pricey there’s every chance it might break if it was pulled off the fridge) – there’s also a stand included; a pole type thing which inserts into the back of the frame – which I completely missed, but it’s part of the packaging the frame comes in and it does the trick.

our iPic creation

Actually, what impressed me most of all was the fact I placed an order on Friday night, and by Monday lunchtime the package was with me – now that is what I call good service.

You can find iPic on Facebook, Twitter, http://www.ipic-uk.com

I have a code to give away – so you can give iPic a go too – simply fill out the Rafflecopter entry form and keep your fingers crossed! The giveaway finishes on the 11th March 2013. A promo code will be supplied for you to make your own creation.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We were provided with a code to make our creation, all opinions are honest and our own

by jo

Giveaway and review – Justin Fletcher – The Best Of Friends

Justin Fletcher - Best of Friends

So, we recently did a little preview of Justin Fletcher’s new album, and our copy arrived today. Obviously it went straight on the stereo, and immediately I had one of those moments. You know the ones – where you feel like you’ve heard a similar sounding song before? There’s a song by Maps who are signed to Mute, and the title track reminded me SO much of one of their songs, so it got a big indie thumbs up from me.

Here’s the trailer…

There’s twenty songs in total, and if your child loves ‘Hands Up’ then ‘The Best Of Friends’ will be a hit (actually, truth be told, if your child likes Justin then it’s a fairly safe bet) It follows a similar vein (up-tempo bounce around the room) and includes versions  of ‘Reach’ (the S Club 7 song), ‘Let’s Go Fly A Kite’ (hurrah!), ‘The Clapping Song’ gets a suitable update, and there’s plenty of classics like ‘Rockin’ Robin’, ‘Ugly Duckling’. ‘Ten Green Bottles’, ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ and many more.

AND… ta daaaaa! We have a copy to give away. We’ve given away so many Justin related things, so I thought we could all try to be a bit more creative this time – if you were to suggest some songs for Justin to cover for his next album, what would you choose (I’m kind of thinking that Maps song might be interesting)? Please enter via Rafflecopter so I can keep track of entries, ‘The Best Of Friends’ is released on the 4th March 2013 so your prize will be sent out at this time. Closing date is the 1st March 2013. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Giveaway – Hotel Transylvania DVD and Book!

Hotel Transylvania DVD

Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend, Dracula (Adam Sandler) has invited all his best friends – Frankenstein and his wife, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Werewolf family, and more – to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis’s (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday.

For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything!

To celebrate the release on Blu-ray™ 3D, Blu-ray™ and DVD on February 4th, we’re giving away a DVD plus The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania book to one lucky winner.

Out now from Titan Books, The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania features over 400 pieces of concept art, character sketches, storyboards and digital art, plus interviews with key filmmakers and crew. A spooky treat for the eyes! Visit www.titanbooks.com for more information.

Hotel Transylvania 3D Book

All you have to do for your chance to win is to leave a comment letting us know what you’d give Mavis as an 118th birthday present – come on, be creative, make us laugh!

If you’d like to win even more Hotel Transylvania goodies, check out the MONSTER ME Facebook competition – you could win a Micro Scooter for the kids by uploading a video of them doing monster impressions from the film, enter if you dare – and there’ll be a weekly chance to win a copy of the DVD.

This giveaway will finish on 12th February 2012 at 10pm – so you’ve two weeks. The winner will be picked using random.org. UK entries only please.

We’re going to a special screening of the film this coming weekend – so keep an eye out for our review…

++

Congrats to Carole B who has won the DVD and Book – your name was picked at random – thank you to everyone who entered!

by jo

Giveaway – What To Expect When You’re Expecting Exercise DVD

Hot on the heels of the ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting’ film is a more-faithful-to-the-book workout designed for expectant mums, released on the 26th December 2012, ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting – The Workout‘ which features exercises put together and presented by Heidi Murkoff, the author of the original book.

What To Expect The Workout

This exercise programme is broken into five segments – three cardio, one for core exercises (based on modified pilates) which also features lots of pelvic floor exercises (which they’ll tell you again and again are important, and they ARE – if you need reminding please read Hollie Smith’s guest post) and toning your buns (it’s American, okay?) as well as some gentle Yoga moves to help rejuvenate your aching body and tight muscles.

What To Expect When You're Expecting - The Workout

The good thing about the DVD is you don’t have to do it all – you can pick sections that suit you. You’ll never get a view into the future and where your body might need more strength, and having watched (and tried!) these exercises, I feel like the core ones were the ones I’d have benefitted from the most. There’s also suggestions for different stages of pregnancy within each segment to make them do-able. In other words, you should be able to do some form of exercise – unless you’ve been advised otherwise of course – and this should suit you.

I felt with the cardio exercises they moved quite quickly – you need to be ready to follow instructions, but my husband did the first two sections and found it to be a good workout.

What To Expect When You're Expecting - The Workout

There’s lots of advice at the start – reminding you to have water handy, don’t overwork yourself, and let the exercise work with you and your routine. They also remind you to have complex carbs before the workout – there’s lots of advice at the start anyway – make sure you watch as it’s all important.

Released: 26th December 2012
RRP: £17.99
Run Time: 60mins
Cat number: LGD94953
Barcode: 5060223768120

I have three copies of this DVD to give away – it’s a Rafflecopter entry, so please follow the instructions and give it a go! I would say that I wish I’d had something like this when I was pregnant. The giveaway closes on the 11th January 2013 – GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Giveaway – DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes

We reviewed the excellent ‘Trick Or Treat – Halloween Peekaboo‘ from Night and Day Studios just a week ago, and now we’ve a super quick giveaway – it’s for an app – DC Super Friends : Haunted Heroes – which we’ve not tried as it’s probably just a bit too old for H (it’s suitable for 4+), though it follows plenty of familiar themes – jigsaws, colouring and sticker activities – and it’s iPad only. Now I know Halloween was last week, but this looks pretty cool – look – Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and more! Proper retro DC Superheroes too, I have to add.

DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes

The local Halloween festival is underway but the children think the haunted house is full of real ghosts! It’s up to the Super Friends to investigate, but are these heroes haunted by something more sinister? This is a Halloween themed story with child-friendly versions of some of DC’s superheroes!

Experience the adventure in this DC Super Friends Reader App!
► Word highlighting for younger readers.
► Read along with professional narration.
► Record your voice reading the story, or have your child record theirs.
► Customize your experience: Text display, audio, and autoplay mode can be turned on and off.
► Easily jump to your favorite page or activity with the visual index.
DC Super Friends: Haunted Heroes
FEATURES:
► Personalize Your App! Use the camera to take a photo with the DC Super Friends. iPad 1 users can import a picture from Photos.
► Collect DC Super Friends Points! Throughout the story, look for opportunities to earn DC Super Friends Points. Collect them all and receive an in-app reward!
► Interactive Pages: Watch animations unfold and tap mysterious hot spots for surprises.
► Stickers and Sounds: Choose an animated background and use digital DC Super Friends stickers to create your own scene with fun audio to match. Use multitouch to spin, shrink, and grow the characters! Share by email or save to Photos.
► Puzzles: Tap the puzzle icons and turn pages into jigsaws to solve.
► Coloring: Get creative with the DC Super Friends palette. Share by email or save to Photos.

From ScrollMotion in partnership with Night & Day Studios.

I have one code for this, which runs out on the 17th November – if for any reason the code doesn’t work, Night & Day will honour the winner – so not long to try win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by jo

Review and Giveaway – Prima Princessa presents The Nutcracker

We were sent a DVD of ‘The Nutcracker’ aimed at bringing ballet to young girls (and boys) and to help them try it out themselves at home.

Now, we’ve never had ballet lessons with H – I was a failed ballerina (I got as far as almost being on stage when I was nine) though I don’t remember any of the specifics.

H practising her balletThe DVD breaks each section of the story up into four or five parts – and after each section you work with the Prima Princessa Ballerinas to learn the key moves – nothing too taxing and perfect for your little one to want to join in. Given H is quite shy and waits a few times to try things, it was her usual reaction – she wanted to watch the DVD and the children dancing, but not join in. I was hit with a genius idea of finding an old swirly lolly and telling her she could be the sugar plum fairy, which did the trick, and we’ve since found her practicing all the moves from the DVD on her own in the room!

H practising her balletOne thing I would say, while it’s very girly based, boys do feature – though it is very much targeted towards girls – so if you have a boy who enjoys ballet it may be a bit girly. But the contents themselves are ones you can learn with (I know the difference between a saute and a glisse now)

The DVD has extras too which we’ve not had time to watch properly (she’s too obsessed with the sugar plum fairy right now), but I’d say if you wanted to gently bring ballet into your little one’s life, this is a great place to start. We’ll never make our local classes due to having other commitments, so it’s nice for her to try this out and an even bigger bonus she likes it too!

AND! We have a copy to give away! This is limited to entrants from the UK only please, and is your chance to win one copy of Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker on DVD.

Buy from Amazon
Prima Princessa’s Tutu Zone
Prima Princessa
Prima Princessa on Facebook

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