Showing posts with label Fun gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun gifts. Show all posts

Saturday 3 December 2016

Letterbox cakes by bakerdays - A Review

I love surprise post, though obviously not the kind of surprise post where you receive a bill you weren't expecting, but nice unexpected surprises like a birthday card from a friend, flowers, or a treat from a family member. I was therefore really happy to learn more about bakerdays who provide quality cakes from artisan bakers and specialise in producing personalised celebration cakes. In addition to the usual range of cake sizes, they offer a fantastic product that allows you to create personalised letterbox sized cakes. Yes you read that right, letterbox sized CAKES!

Cake & coffee are two of my favourite things, so when I was offered the opportunity to review their service and product, the thought of this whole concept immediately grabbed my attention. I thought how surprised family members would be if they received a cake through the post instead of a card, or what a nice treat it would be to send to a friend at their works address. I was keen to find out more so I headed over to their website to see what it was all about.


The website was easy to navigate, and featured a wide range of categories that covered cakes for every occasion.  There was an explanation at the bottom of the home page that described the ordering process which sounded really simple. All you have to do is choose a size, flavour and then add the special message of your choice.  The process sounded too easy to be true, so I set about trying to design my cake.

The cakes come in a round shape in a range of sizes that can cover between 3-60 portions. The choice of sizes are as follows:
  • Letterbox cakes - 5 inches ( 12cm x 2.5cm). Suitable for 3-4 portions.
  • Small party cake - 7 inches (17cm x 5.5cm). Suitable for 10-12 portions.
  • Medium party cake - 9 inches (24cm x 6.5cm). Suitable for 18-25 portions.
  • Large party cake - 12 inches (30cm x 7.5cm). Suitable for 40-55 portions.
Bakerdays state on their website that all cakes are made to order and shipped in rugged packaging. They also offer a guarantee that it will arrive safely and on time. The company are clearly confident in their product and service which is great to see.

I chose to order a Letterbox cake, and with it being close to Christmas I decided that I wanted to go for a fun festive design. There were so many to choose from, but in the end I selected a Teddy design wearing a Santa hat that was surrounded by twinkly stars and a selection of presents.  I had a choice of fillings including dairy free and gluten wheat free options, but I decided to go for a Vanilla sponge cake with buttercream which had a price tag of £14.99.


You then have the option of having a personalised or unpersonalised cake. I thought it would be lovely to have a personalised one for my children and so I wrote Merry Christmas Riley, Ben & Emma. You can have a maximum of 40 characters so I was pleased that this just fitted nicely. The very clever website then even gives you a preview of your cake so that you can be sure it is exactly how you want it before you complete your purchase.

Once you are happy with your cake you simply add it to your online basket and checkout! There is a large range of postal options and you can even send your cake abroad using international delivery. My cake only took a couple of days to arrive and I couldn't wait to open it up.


The cake came presented in a cake tin that was in a letterbox sized cardboard box. Inside the box there was a cracker, along with a card. When you order other celebration cakes these also come with balloons instead of the cracker. There was a sticker on the inside lid of the box that provided the list of ingredients and I loved the fact that I would be able to use the tin again myself in the future which was an added bonus.


After I had sneaked a peek at the cake myself, I closed the box up and waited for the kids to get home. I hadn't told them about the cake beforehand so it was a total surprise and I couldn't wait to see their reaction. On opening the box, they were amazed that the cake had their names on it, and they loved the image I had chosen. I liked the fact that the text was really clear, as you can see in the image below. However, as much as they loved the look of it though, they couldn't wait to tuck in and try some.


It is described as being suitable for 3-4 portions, but we managed to have a small slice each between the 5 of us. The cake tasted perfectly fresh and soft, and the icing was lovely. I hadn't expected it to be as good a quality as it was, so I was quite surprised by how enjoyable and delicious it actually turned out to be.

Overall we were really pleased with the service that bakerdays offered, and the product that was delivered. I particularly liked how easy it was to order, and the wide range of occasions that the cakes cover. I have decided that I will most likely buy my children's teachers one each at the end of the school year as it is something both unique and delicious, and I will definitely be considering them as birthday gifts instead of cards in the future.

If you would like to connect with bakerdays or simply find out more, then why not take a look at their social media pages which can be found here:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Website

Disclaimer - I was provided with this product free of charge for the purpose of providing an honest review.

Sunday 27 November 2016

Family Fun with Stoopido - A Review

We are big fans of fun family games that get you giggling, and so we were absolutely delighted to be offered the opportunity to review this fab game Stoopido, which is sure to be a popular addition to children's Christmas lists.

The game is made by Drumond Park who already offer a whole host of games to the market, but the fun and silliness of this particular one, had us keen to find out more!



The packaging for this particular product is really eye catching, bright and colourful, and features a selection of funny faces on the front of the box. It is recommended for 2-4 players, and for ages 8+. You can already gain a good idea of what the game involves from the images, so you can tell straight away whether it looks like a game that would appeal to your family. 

The reverse side of the box, shows you a visual guide as to where the pieces attach onto your glasses, along with some brief instructions informing you of how to play the game. Along with this is a list of contents, the manufacturers contact details, and an important notice that the game is NOT suitable for children under 36 months due to the small parts.

I could already tell from the packaging alone, that this game was going to be hilarious!



Inside the box, there was a bag containing 4 pairs of red glasses and 15 plastic clips, a bag with the Stoopitoot (love this word) and dice inside, 1 sheet of card featuring the 4 slap pads, 25 x Stoopido face pieces, 1 Stoopido Loser Sign, and the all important instructions. The Stoopido face pieces, slap pads, and loser sign, are featured on 6 sheets of card, and you simply just press them out to get all the individual pieces.



We began by pressing out all the pieces from the cardboard sheets and attaching the nose and ear clips to the face pieces. My children's first instinct was to try and make the funniest faces they could, before even starting to play the game, but then we sat down and my daughter read out the instructions. Although recommended for over 8's my youngest son (nearly 4) was also keen to get involved too and I was happy for him to do so, since I was playing aswel and could keep an eye on him. 

We each put on our pair of glasses and then placed the Stoopitoot in the middle of the floor with the Slap Pads surrounding it and then spread the face pieces around and we were ready to play!

To begin play, you simply roll the dice, and see where it lands. If you land on a Nose, Eyes, Hat or Ears image, then the first player to touch the corresponding Slap pads wins that round. The winner of that round then gets to pick a Stoopido Face Piece and add it to the glasses of ANY player that doesn't already have a face piece of that feature. So for example you couldn't add a nose to someone that already has one. If you roll the glasses side of the dice, then this unfortunately means that the player to your left can add a feature which you don't already have to your own glasses, and lastly if you roll the Stoopitoot then the first player to squeak the Stoopitoot can choose to either pick a Stoopido face piece of any feature and add it to any players glasses, or they can remove a feature from their own glasses.



If you win a round and each player already has the piece that you rolled then you can remove this piece from your own glasses. Once a players glasses are completely full then they are the LOSER and out of the game and have to sit there looking hilariously ridiculous!

The aim of the game is to be the last player left without a full Stoopido face on their glasses. For added fun you can take pictures of all the other players that lost holding the Stoopido Loser sign.

After reading the instructions a couple of times we began to play. I had been a little worried that it sounded a bit confusing, however once playing it all became really clear and the game is very easy to follow. It was so funny seeing each others funny faces and being able to choose what we added to each others glasses. My son especially liked the "Bogey nose" piece, ewwww! We played it a few times together and loved the fact that there are so many different combinations that you can make, so the game is never the same as the last time you played it, with everyone looking ridiculous on a whole different scale, each time we played.

I also loved the fact that no-one actually minded losing in this game, as the kids were quite keen to totally cover their glasses as quickly as they could just so they could see how silly their Stoopido face was. This helped to make it much more enjoyable, as my children weren't as competitive and as a result it prevented arguments, that can often arise when playing a more serious game.


Would I recommend it?

Absolutely! If you enjoy family time and a good giggle then this is the game for you. It has an RRP of £17.99 which I think represents good value as it can be played over and over again without becoming boring, due to there being so many different combinations. If you enjoy your more serious games, that involve some element of skill then sadly this game would not be for you, however I believe that everyone enjoys just relaxing and being silly with the kids every now and again and I am sure that many families would really enjoy this product. In fact, we enjoyed this game so much that I have decided to also include this in my Christmas Gift Guide for Children which I will be posting at the beginning of December, so make sure you check back to the blog soon to see what else we will be featuring.

If I was to change one thing, it would be that I would have preferred the dice to have been a bit larger, as sometimes it was hard to see which feature it had landed on, especially the yellow side, but we soon learnt what colour represented which feature. I would have also have loved to have had a fold-able picture frame included so at the end of the game you could take a picture with you all in it like a portrait.

Disclaimer - I was sent this product for free to provide our personal review and opinion on this product. This review is my honest opinion of our experience with the game.



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