Showing posts with label Christmas Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas Gifts. Show all posts

Saturday 14 August 2021

Crazy Construction Fun with Junkbots from Hexbug - A Review

My family has been huge fans of the Hexbug range of products for many years and my children have enjoyed many of their toys, with my eldest two children building up quite a collection at one stage. My youngest son Riley also loves Roblox and unboxing, so we were really excited to learn more about Junkbots, along with Hexbug's latest project that merges toys with entertainment.

A new eight-part digital series based on Junkbots, is now available to view on the HEXBUG Official YouTube page and from the 20th August, fans will be able to join in with the fun with the launch of the Roblox game that will follow a brand new adventure which all kicked-off when Junkbot Jack Static received a cryptic radio transmission. 

To celebrate the launch of the digital series and game, we held a fun screening event for Riley where he watched some episodes whilst also playing along with some awesome Junkbots toys. Of course no screening would be complete without some sweets and popcorn, so we made sure there was plenty on hand for us to enjoy whilst watching the show. 

Junkbots are the ultimate unboxing experience and there are items galore for you to rummage through and find the rubbish that can help you create your Junkbot character. They come in a selection of different sizes ranging from the Junkbots Trash Bin with an RRP of £4.99, the Junkbots Dumpster with an RRP of £9.99 and the Junkbots Industrial Dumpster with an RRP of £19.99. There are over 36 Junkbots to collect, but the beauty of this product is that items can be mixed and matched, which means that children can create numerous characters of their very own.

The Junkbots Trash Bin has an RRP of £4.99 and is the smallest in the range and perfectly priced for a pocket money purchase. Once you have opened the trash bin lid you can rummage inside to find the 15 pieces that you need to build the Junkbot character. Some pieces are loose in the trash bin, whilst others can be found inside the mini bin bags, providing plenty of unboxing fun. The design is fabulous and looks like a brightly coloured bin. The Junkbots are recommended for ages 3+ however there are some small parts, so I would definitely advise parental supervision if allowing younger children to play. 


The Junkbots Dumpster has an RRP of £9.99 and includes 30 pieces inside allowing you two build two completely different Junkbot figures. This was my favourite in terms of price and value for money as in addition to the two Junkbot figures, the pack also included an energy module. Our energy module was easy to build and was a light which could be attached to Junkbot figures to make them glow. My son Riley absolutely loved this and enjoyed moving the light from one figure to another. Some of the connections and joints can be a little difficult to put together, so I did need to help Riley from time to time, but personally I enjoyed that I could also be involved and it was nice to be able to work together.


The Junkbots Industrial Dumpster has an RRP of £19.99 and is the ultimate construction adventure. It features over 50 different pieces allowing for 4 Junkbots to be built and this set also includes an energy module and a motion module which really help to bring the figures to life. Riley described this pack as being 'epic' and unlike other unboxing toys where the fun can be over very quickly, this set offered Riley hours of entertainment. He loved rummaging through all the bin bags, separating the junk from the pieces and creating the character designs. It kept him entertained for a full afternoon and once he has finished playing with the existing figures, he can do it all over again and create his own. I therefore really like the fact that these toys can be played with over and over again which definitely gives added value to the product.


Overall, we really loved the concept and design of the Junkbots and the fact that they offered so much unboxing fun. We particularly liked the fact that we could create our own characters, which was something that Riley definitely enjoyed. The initial diagrams are slightly difficult to follow and could do with being a bit clearer for children who want to make their character perfectly, but we managed on the most part and for any connections we weren't sure of, then Riley just used whichever part he liked the look of which seemed to work really well for us. The design is really fun and we loved that you had miniature bin bags to rummage through and find the pieces. I also feel that the RRP of the products is very reasonable and offers good value for money. I would definitely consider buying more of these in the future and will also look to buy these as birthday gifts due to their price. Junkbots are available to purchase now from The Entertainer, Amazon, Toymaster and other local independent retailers.

If you would like to find out more about Hexbugs or the Junkbots range of products then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:

Website - Hexbug.com/Junkbots

Facebook - facebook.com/hexbug

Twitter - @HEXBUG

Instagram - @hexbug

YouTube - hexbugtv

Why not also check out the HEXBUG Junkbots series trailer below:

*Disclaimer - We were provided with a complimentary selection of Junkbots toys for the purpose of writing an honest review of the products. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.


Tuesday 10 December 2019

Making Magical Family Memories with An Elf for Christmas - A Review

Christmas is such a special time of year and like most families we have our own little traditions that we like to do each year in the run up to Christmas Day. We enjoy going to pantomimes, Christmas Carol Concerts, creating festive craft and giving Christmas Eve boxes to each other, which all help to create childhood memories that I hope my children will look back on as adults.

However, one of our favourite traditions is welcoming an elf into our home on the 1st December, to help encourage kindness and good behaviour, as well as bringing a little mischievous fun into the household too. We were therefore delighted to be sent some gorgeous Elf for Christmas products, that will be sure to help us create some magical moments in the coming weeks.


An Elf for Christmas brings creativity, imagination and magic into any home and also help to promote good behaviour. The products are suitable for both boys and girls and have a really good quality design, as well as a super cute face and festive outfit.

The Elf for Christmas Magical Reward Kit comes beautifully presented and contains everything you could need to help create some special family memories with your elf. The contents include: An Elf for Christmas, an Elf Living Here Sign, 2 x Letters to Santa, 1 x Reward Chart, 1 x Sticker Sheet, 2 x Arrival Letters, 2 x Nice List Awards, 8 x Elf Cards and a Thank You Postcard.



We received a Christmas Boy Elf in our set, which is approximately 28cm tall with a friendly face, rosy cheeks and long arms that can be velcroed together. Our elf brought an arrival letter from Santa with him which told our family why he had been sent to our home.

The whole set is really lovely and the reward kit contains enough items to be shared between two siblings. However, if you have a larger family, then extra refill packs can also be purchased on the Elf for Christmas website.


We also received a collection of 24 Advent Letters and we have made sure that our elf has delivered one to Riley each day throughout December. Riley loves having these read out to him whilst he eats his breakfast and they are a really fantastic idea for the countdown to Christmas Day.

Each envelope is individually numbered and inside there are beautifully written notes, which together create a lovely daily story about the North Pole and the magic and mayhem that occurs in Santa's Workshop. My son really enjoys having these read out to him and each day we have hidden them with his elf in a different place for him to find.

These are currently sold out on the website, however there are some alternative personalised options still available if you would like your elf to deliver some lovely advent letters. 


To bring even more magic into our home, Riley and I have been enjoying reading this delightful book called Elf's First Adventure, which has the most gorgeous illustrations throughout the story. It is lovely to enjoy this together in an evening and we have read it so many times now that Riley knows it word for word. This is available on the website for only £4.79 at the moment, which makes it a lovely affordable item to read as a family, or perhaps as a stocking filler gift for Christmas.


We also received a stunning North Pole Sticker Scenes Play Set which included 4 different scenes, 12 background sheets and 12 sticker sheets with over 750 stickers. Riley absolutely loved playing with his festive sticker set and producing some adorable Christmas designs.

I feel that this set encourages children to create their very own North Pole scenes just how they imagine it to be, so they can tell their very own story using the stickers and background sheets. It is currently available on the website for only £4.79 which is really good value for money.


Overall we absolutely love the whole Elf for Christmas range and I feel that it can make welcoming an elf into your home such a magical experience for children. Riley absolutely loves seeing what his elf has got up to each day and the he loves reading the advent letters together each morning.

I feel that all the products are beautifully designed and really appealing to both children and parents. I have particularly enjoyed reading the story book with Riley most evenings and he loves the illustrations.

It is great that there are a whole host of accessories available to buy for our elf and I look forward to building on our collection and seeing what mischief (and kindness) our elf gets up to over the next couple of weeks.

If you would like to find out more about An Elf for Christmas, then you can visit the website, or their social media pages on the following channels:

Website - www.elfforchristmas.co.uk
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/anelfforchristmas
Twitter - @elfforchristmas
Instagram - @elfforchristmas

* Disclaimer - We were gifted a selection of An Elf for Christmas products for the purpose of writing an honest review of the items. All opinions and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated.

Friday 6 December 2019

SuperZings Series 3 and Rivals of Kaboom Playsets - Toy Review

We love a good collectible in our home, especially when there are accompanying play sets that allow you to build and play with your collection. We were therefore really excited to learn more about the fantastic range of SuperZings toys, which are based on everyday objects that can transform into Superheroes or Villains. Created by Magic Box Toys, they are a great collectible series that encourage children to use their imagination and create scenarios that bring their characters to life.

We were recently sent a selection of blind bags, a Superzings Hero Monster Roller Truck, a SuperZings Kazoom Lab Battle Play Set and a SuperZings Power Assault Tower to review and Riley couldn't wait to start testing them out.


Firstly, Riley absolutely loves blind bags and gets very excited when he has the opportunity to open some. They create that feeling of intrigue and suspense as you get to see which character you have inside. It was therefore no surprise that Riley was absolutely delighted with his SuperZings blind bags and he very quickly started to open them. Much to our amazement he received no duplicates at all, so we were both really happy with each of the figures enclosed.


SuperZings are now in their third series and have quickly become a popular choice of collectible, and it is easy to see why. The blind bags are ideal pocket money purchases with an RRP of only 80p per pack and there is a great selection of over 90 to collect.

These brightly coloured and cleverly designed collectibles are aimed at children aged between 4 to 7 years old and when combined with the play sets, they can encourage a whole world of storytelling. Riley absolutely loved getting creative and imagining a whole variety of adventures as the Superheroes and Villains took on challenges against one another.


The collectibles are based on everyday objects, so it is easy for children to see what their object relates to and identify it. We absolutely loved the great range of names for each of them and Riley checked through each of his figures to see if he had managed to obtain any ultra-rares. He also enjoyed checking each of them to see whether he had a Superhero or Villain. The Superheros each have white eyes and the Villains have yellow eyes, so it is very simple to tell the difference between the two. There are also team leaders and the Ultra Rare Mr King to look out for!

Riley didn't receive any of the team leaders or the Ultra Rare, however he was really happy with the selection he had and immediately set up his playsets and figures to start their escapades.


The first item that caught Riley's attention was the SuperZings Rivals of Kaboom Monster Roller, due to its brightly coloured and chunky design. I had read the caption on the front which stated 'Catch the Villains' so Riley was hoping that the figures would fit inside and indeed they could.

In addition to the Monster Roller vehicle, you also receive two SuperZings which can sit inside the vehicle to drive it. We found the opening hatch slightly stiff to open the first couple of times, but once Riley had started playing with it regularly it was absolutely fine and you can simply lift this up to place your figures inside.


However, the best bit, is the vehicles ability to capture the villains, using its innovative roller system underneath. Riley placed his Superheroes in the driving hatch and then lined up a series of villains, which he then drove over with the truck. The roller collects them and traps them in the SuperZings Monster Roller cage. This can hold a maximum of 10 figures at any one time and to remove them you simply pull the lever down on the front of the truck, which will open the bars to release the villains.


Riley absolutely loved capturing the villains and it was great to see him using his imagination as he drove the vehicle around the floor. It is a really good quality toy and feels very sturdy and strong, so it is perfect for little hands and SuperZings adventures. The Monster Roller also has another fun feature in the form of a built-in blaster that can be used to fire at the villains, helping to create yet another element of play. It has an RRP of £29.99 which I think is a good price for this product.


Whilst Riley was busy playing with the Superzings Hero Monster Roller Truck, I set about putting together the SuperZings Kazoom Lab Battle Playset. Self assembly is required for this, but it only took a few moments as it was simply a case of slotting the pieces together, so in no time at all the playset was ready for use.


The SuperZings Kazoom Lab Battle Playset was a really good size and it also included a further two Superzings collectibles which were Enigma and Professor K. Riley instantly noticed that there were a number of great features within the lab, so he started to explore it with his figures and began pressing the buttons and pulling the levers to see what each part could do.


He found a number of hidden traps and thought that the super-cannon was great. The set also included a rocket ship vehicle and robot to add to the fun which Riley was really pleased with. He noticed that there were plenty of platforms to place your collectibles on, so he brought in some more Superheroes and Villains to join in with the battle and displayed them all in various parts of the playset.


There is plenty to play with and explore, so with an RRP of £40 I think it does represent good value for money. It has lots of features to enjoy and Riley loved pressing the button on the top of platform that would reveal the hidden Kaboom.

The last set Riley received was the SuperZings Power Assault Tower which has an RRP of £19.99. This is a relatively small playset, but still has plenty to be enjoyed. It includes the Power Assault Tower, a ramp, skateboard and two SuperZing collectibles Metalhead and Skateboy.


Using the ramp you can launch different SuperZings, by placing them on the skateboard and pulling the lever to set the height. You then simple flip the launcher behind the skateboard and watch as your SuperZings fly through the sky to reach the target.  Riley absolutely loved trying to aim them at the tower to get them into the building. This is yet another great item for encouraging imaginative play, as well as helping to improve hand to eye coordination.


Again it was a really good quality item and its bright design and chunky hard wearing plastic, makes it ideal to withstand regular play. It is also a great place to store your SuperZings when not in use, as the cage at the front can hold quite a few inside.


Overall we were really impressed with the SuperZings Playsets. This was our first experience with these products and Riley absolutely loved them, especially the SuperZings Hero Truck Monster Roller. Riley really enjoyed opening all the blind bags and it was great to see the excitement on his face as he opened each pack and built up his collection. I thought that all the toys seemed really good quality and I liked the colour and design of each product. I think that SuperZings will make excellent stocking fillers, especially the blind bags, whilst the playsets will be perfect Christmas presents to put under the tree for Christmas Day.

If you would like to find out more about SuperZings, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:

YouTube - SuperZings
Instagram - superzings_uk
Twitter - @superzings
Facebook - SuperZings.UK


*Disclaimer - We were gifted these products for the purpose of writing an honest review of the toys. Thoughts, opinions and photographs are my own. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Tuesday 23 October 2018

Ready2Robot Toys - A Review

My youngest son Riley has recently become very interested in collectable toy blind bags and has been using his pocket money to purchase a few over the last couple of months. I have noticed that with the majority of them, the main enjoyment simply comes from opening the packaging to see what's inside, with the resulting toy not bringing much entertainment.

However, there is now a fab new range of collectable toys, that not only offer the surprise experience, but also provide you with a super cool toy that you can actually have fun with again and again. Introducing.............Ready2Robot!


Ready2Robot is a fantastic new range of toys, that are not only great to collect, but they can also be mixed and matched to create your own custom bots. These can then be used to battle your friends in a slime-fighting robot brawl! We were recently sent a selection of Ready2Robot items to put to the test and no sooner had the parcel arrived, my children were immediately looking at the packaging and eager to find out exactly what was inside.

Firstly was the Ready2Robot blind pack which retails at £9.99. The first thing that really appealed to me about this, was the size and the packaging. It looked much more interesting than your usual blind bag and was presented in sectioned pod. Each section could be opened up and contained different coloured blind bags. This meant that my children could open numerous blind bags as opposed to just one and then figure out which robot they had received by putting the pieces together.


In total there are 5 chambers to open, providing plenty of unboxing mystery for children. The blind bags in each chamber contain various parts of the robot amounting to 7 unique bot parts in total. My two boys Riley and Ben had been busy opening the bags and connecting all the parts together to construct their bot, but we were then concerned that there didn't seem to be a pilot. We checked all the chambers thinking that we must have missed a bag and having not previously seen these toys before, we weren't aware of how you actually find your pilot!

After some searching Ben pressed a button,which much to our surprise, released a further capsule out of the bottom of the lower chamber. Enclosed was a pot of slime and much to the boys delight, we quickly realised that the pilot was INSIDE the slime pot, which meant lots of gooey messy fun for Ben and Riley as they pulled him out. In total it took us half an hour to fully unpack, construct and slime search for the pilot, which is much longer than your traditional blind bag and much more fun too! Already the boys were hooked and loved how the packets were all hidden inside the chambers.


There are a total of 19 different Mechbots to collect so once you start to build your collection you can customise your robots by swapping and changing pieces or adding weapons and accessories to help build your ultimate brawler!

The product is recommended for children aged 5+ but the parts are quite small so I would always recommend adult supervision as well, especially with slime being involved too. I do think that this is the ideal age for these toys though as Riley is 5 and absolutely loved all of the surprises. He couldn't wait to open each of the bags and he also enjoyed putting all the bot pieces together. With the first bot built and ready to battle, we continued to open the other packages to see what was inside. We were now Ready2Robot!


The next item we opened was the Ready2Robot Bot Blaster. These retail at £14.99 and contain 1 blind packed Ready2Robot chamber pod, as well as 5 accessories, which included a spring loaded missile that is sure to help in any robot battle. Again the boys were excited to be opening the chambers and as we now knew that slime was involved, we placed an old towel down on the floor just in case of any spillages whilst searching for the pilot. I really loved the packaging on these as they really catch your attention with the bright and bold robot design. I also think that they are just the right size for birthday gifts or stocking filler Christmas presents and I am sure that they will be appearing on my children's gift list this year too, since they are now keen to build on their collection.


Lastly we received a Ready2Robot Battle Pack which was fantastic and contained 20 pieces in total. Again the boys had the enjoyment of opening the blind packed chamber pod, but this set also contained a ready assembled and visible Mechbot and pilot, as well as a Bot Blaster.

I really like the fact that you can see one of the mechbots in this set, as it offers you the best of both worlds. If you are after a particular Mechbot then obviously this can help with your purchase decision, whilst still having the mystery of what might be in the blind chamber. There are currently 4 different offerings within this assortment and I think that the RRP of £19.99 offers really good value for money.


Overall we are really impressed with the Ready2Robot collectable toy range and we found all the products to be great fun. It is definitely a collection that we will be building on and my children are already looking forward to mixing and matching their bots with some new ones in the future. I think that the prices of the toys represent good value for money and they are definitely contenders for Christmas gifts in our family this year.

Ready2Robot toys can currently be found at Smyths Toys and you can view their full range here: Smyths Toys

For more information on Ready2Robot you can visit their website and social media on the following channels:

Website - Ready2Robot
Instagram - @Ready2Robot
YouTube - Ready2Robot
Facebook - www.facebook.com/ready2robot



Disclaimer: We received a selection of Ready2Robot toys free of charge for the purpose of writing an honest review post of the products. All opinions and photographs are my own unless stated otherwise.

Monday 4 December 2017

Morse Toad Personalised Chocolate Cards - Review and Competition

It is always lovely to receive a card through the post, whether it be for your birthday, Christmas or even a get well soon card, it is nice to know that someone is thinking of you and making the effort to send a card to put a smile on your face. How fantastic would it be though, to receive a chocolate card, a greeting through the post that you could actually eat? Well this is where Morse Toad's Marvellous Messaging Service comes in, a company who believe that "Some things are better said in chocolate" and they're not wrong there!

Morse Toad specialise in the production of chocolate cards and gifts, with a huge range of choice available on their website, that are suitable for all occasions. Their Christmas selection is fantastic with a great assortment to choose from. The gifts can be personalised to your requirements, even including a photograph for the recipient to keep, long after the chocolates have been eaten. If you aren't feeling too creative though, then you can also opt for a pre-designed chocolate card, which vary from loving messages to humourous phrases. In addition, there are some lovely little stocking fillers which start from as little as £2.75!


The website is really user friendly and easy to navigate. It is a lovely site to have a good browse through and look at all the pictures of designs that have been created to give you some inspiration. When you are ready to create your own personalised chocolate message, then this is a really simple process, that also has an easy to understand pricing structure, which is as follows:

1 Row = £11
2 Rows = £14
3 Rows = £17
4 Rows = £19.50

There is then an additional £1 charge to use your own photograph on the card, but this is optional and if you don't want to do this, then you can choose one of the existing Morse Toad images instead.

The first step to get creating is to write your chosen message, using the four boxes which are provided. Each box represents a new row and you can have up to 11 characters in each one. Once you are happy with your message, then you can add a personalised note, which is printed on the card insert. This message can be up to 180 characters in length. In this step you also have the choice of uploading your own photograph or choosing one of the pre-existing images. The last step is to simply check over all the details and place your order.

The prices vary slightly for in stock items, that have been pre-designed by Morse Toad. Again the pricing structure is very simple and the costs are:

1 Row = £9.50
2 Rows = £12.50
3 Rows = £15.50
4 Rows = £17.50

Postage is free of charge for orders over £7.50 and delivery usually takes 1-2 days. Morse Toad also offer a really quick service with orders placed before 1pm being sent out the same day. Next day delivery and international delivery are also available for an additional charge.

Once we had finished creating our design, we completed our purchase and waited for the order confirmation to come through via email. This arrived within a few minutes, however on checking all the details, I noticed that I must have knocked caps lock off at some point whilst entering the letters and so my message was displayed in a mixture of upper and lower case. I therefore wanted to check that they would all be in capitals like the images on the website. It said that in the event of any query then to email support, so I did just that. I was extremely surprised to receive a response back to my question in less than 2 minutes! Amazing customer service.

A few hours later I also received a dispatch notification to inform me that my order was on it's way. The kids and I couldn't wait to see our personalised chocolate card and we decided that they were going to give it to their dad as a pre-Christmas treat.

On Saturday morning, we returned home from shopping, to find a small parcel on the doormat. I love the fact that the packages fit through the letterbox, so there is no waiting in or worrying about missing the delivery. The front of the box featured the Morse Toad logo, along with a large FRAGILE message on the side.


Riley was very excited to open up the parcel and inside found our chocolate card box, which had been carefully wrapped in tissue paper, along with a discount voucher for future orders. We couldn't wait to see our message and printed photo, so I set about doing the big reveal to the kids and showed them the lovely chocolate treat enclosed.


The product itself comes beautifully presented in a Morse Toad gift box, with a top opening lid. The chocolate is then covered by a clear protective plastic covering, so you can open the box and see the message inside, without actually having to remove any of the chocolates. This is great if you want to check inside before giving it as a gift, to make sure everything is correct.


The kids had created a Merry Christmas card for their dad and had also added a selection of hearts and stars. They had chosen their favourite photograph of them together and used this as the image for the card insert. On the reverse of the photo, was a message written especially for Mr F, wishing him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I was very impressed with both the presentation of the product and also the quality of the photograph we had used on the card. It was really clear and also the perfect size for Mr F to keep in his wallet. This actually made our Morse Toad chocolate card, two gifts in one!

The reverse of the packaging featured a full ingredient listing, product weight and best before date. The bottom also featured the companies contact address, telephone number and email address. The top line also features a clever slogan which is "Eat Your Words With Morse Toad", which is exactly what we did when Mr F got home and was proudly presented with his gift.


The chocolates are really nice and chunky bite size pieces and the fact that they are made with belgian milk chocolate, made them all the more delicious. Each mini solid block of chocolate tasted absolutely divine and we all enjoyed sharing the chocolates out between us on Saturday evening.

Overall we have been really impressed with Morse Toad and have found the service and quality of the product to be absolutely fantastic. The design process was not only easy, but also great fun too and I love the fact that you can add a photograph to give it that extra personalised touch. The combination of tasty chocolate and beautiful presentation makes it a lovely unique gift and I would definitely recommend to others. 

If you would like the chance to create your own Morse Toad chocolate card or gift, then we have a fantastic competition to give you the chance to win £15 to spend on the Morse Toad website. Please read the terms and conditions and enter using the gleam form below. Good Luck!

Win £15 credit to spend online at MorseToad.com

Terms & Conditions
  • Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or older
  • No bulk or third party entries
  • There is 1 (one) prize of £15 online credit to spend on the Morse Toad website. 
  • There is no cash alternative
  • Winner is responsible for any additional spend over the £15 credit provided
  • Competition closes on the 11th December and the winner shall be drawn at random from all eligible entrants.
  • The winner shall be notified by email within 2 working days of the draw date.
  • The winner will have 5 days to reply to the winning email to confirm their acceptance of the prize, before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entrants.

Disclaimer: We were received our Morse Toad personalised chocolate card on a complimentary basis for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. Opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.

Friday 1 December 2017

Letterbox Cakes by bakerdays - A Review & Competition!

For the next 12 days we will be bringing you some fantastic competitions! Each giveaway will run for 7 days and you have a great chance to win some lovely prizes this December.

The first competition we are bringing to you, is thanks to the lovely people over at bakerdays, who have kindly offered my readers the chance to win one of their personalised letterbox cakes. If you haven't heard of bakerdays before, then read on and take a look at the beautiful cake that my children chose for our family.


The wonderful cake company bakerdays, create delicious and personalised cakes for all occasions. Their cakes are available in a range of sizes and not only do they look fantastic, but they are extremely tasty too! Our favourite product that they offer is the innovative letterbox cake, which is a fantastic and unique gift idea for friends, family or even work colleagues that you may want to surprise. Measuring at approximately 5 inches in diameter (12cm x 2.5cm), they fit nicely through your letterbox and can provide 3-4 nice sized portions.


The bakerdays website is really easy to use and features a huge selection of different cake designs to choose from. Everything is clearly displayed and you can navigate through the website, simply by selecting one of the categories at the top of the page. Once you have found a design that you like, then you simply select the size you want, decide on the flavour and then add a special message of your choice. Some cakes can even feature one of your very own photographs, for that added personalised touch!


Due to the process being so simple, I decided to let Emma and Ben choose which cake they would like. After much deliberation they chose a fun festive reindeer design and wrote a personalised message to their little brother Riley. My children thought that the reindeer was really funny with its big wooly socks and they knew that Riley would love it! For the flavour they chose rich chocolate chip, which sounded delicious.


We completed our order and Emma and Ben were very excited to wait for it to arrive in the post. Fortunately they didn't need to wait for too long, as our cake came in the post the very next day, which I thought was extremely efficient.


The website offers a range of delivery options and bakerdays assures customers that your cake will arrive fresh and in perfect condition. They have created special packaging to protect the cake which makes the product suitable for both national and even international delivery. Our cake arrived in a sturdy box, along with a lovely card and mini cracker. It was carefully wrapped and enclosed within a mini cake tin, which made the product look really presentable, which is exactly what you want when purchasing as a gift for someone.


There was a sticker on the inside of the lid which provided a full list of the ingredients, so you know exactly what has gone into your cake and I also really liked the fact that I would be able to re-use the tin again in the future. Even though we had seen a preview of the cake when ordering on the website, we were surprised by just how fantastic it looked when it arrived and the kids couldn't wait to get tucked in.

The image on the cake was very clear, as was the text and the whole presentation of the product was lovely. The cake tasted just as good as it looked too and despite the guide being for 3-4 portions, we managed to have a nice slice each between the five of us. The cake was excellent quality, with delicious chocolate chip sponge and icing.

Overall, we were thoroughly impressed with the bakerdays service. The ordering process was extremely simple and I loved the wide range of designs on offer. There really is something to suit everyone and I saw so many designs that I know my family members would love, so I will definitely be purchasing more in the future.

To find out more about the great range of cakes that bakerdays offer, then you can visit their website or social media channels on the links below:

Website - www.bakerdays.com/
Facebook - facebook.com/bakerdays/
Twitter -  @bakerdays
Instagram - @bakerdays

If you would like the chance to win your very own Letterbox Cake from bakerdays, then please read the terms and conditions and enter our competition using the gleam form below. Good Luck!

Win a Letterbox Cake from bakerdays
Terms and Conditions
  • There is 1 (one) prize of a bakerdays Letterbox Cake
  • The approximate prize value is £14.99 & no cash alternative is available.
  • Whilst every effort will be made to have your prize with you before Christmas, this cannot be guaranteed, so please allow up to 28 days for delivery.
  • Competition is open to UK entrants aged 18 or over.
  • No bulk or third party entries.
  • Competition closes 8th December 2017 & the winner shall be drawn at random and contacted within 2 working days.
  • The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email to confirm their acceptance of the prize, before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entrants.
  • The winners details will be shared with bakerdays, for the purpose of prize fulfilment.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a complimentary letterbox cake for the purpose of providing an honest review of our experience. All opinions and photographs are my own, unless stated otherwise.

Sunday 12 November 2017

Nikko RC Pyscho Gyro Vehicle by Toy State - A Review

For the last few weeks we have been bringing you some toy reviews and recommendations. A lot of these have been aimed at the younger market, but we were very excited to recently be given the opportunity to review the Nikko RC Pyscho Gyro Vehicle, which is recommended for children aged 8+.

My son Ben has always loved anything remote control and has built up a collection of supercar remote control vehicles over the last few years. We were therefore intrigued to see just what the Nikko RC Pyscho Gyro Vehicle could offer in terms of fun, speed and stunts. Could it keep my 9 year old son entertained? Well we couldn't wait to find out!


When the product arrived it came in a large box, with a clear plastic front. This meant that you could completely see both the vehicle and the controller inside the box. I always prefer it when companies do this, so that you have a clear understanding of exactly what the product looks like and how big it is. It looked very impressive and immediately generated a loud "WOW" from Ben. The box displays that there is a 40m range, as well as providing some images of the product in use. It also shows what batteries are required and that there is a fast 1 hour charging time.


The reverse of the box provides some large pictures of the vehicle in different positions, as well as a very clear picture of the controller. There is also some links provided to watch some stunts on YouTube, as well as the Nikko website address www.nikkorc.com, where there is further information on the product available.


Ben couldn't wait to get the box open, but we explained that we would need to put it on charge for a while first, before he could use it. This resulted in Ben eagerly waiting in the kitchen whilst it charged for an hour, asking every five minutes whether it was ready yet. Once it was fully charged, Ben immediately took it into the living room to try it out and get used to the controls. It didn't take him long to get the hang of it and he found the vehicle very easy to manoeuvre.

The Nikko Pyscho Gyro is capable of some fantastic feats. It's gyro stunt technology allows users to spin their cars around on two wheels. Amazingly it is also possible to spin on only one wheel! The vehicle has high grip tyres which allow for high performance traction both indoor and outdoors. This has enabled my son to be able to play with the toy both on the carpet, as well as on the decking and concrete outside without any issue.

Before long, he had realised how easy it was to get it to spin on two wheels and so we were treated to the sound of it spinning on the kitchen floor until the battery ran out, which took quite a while. It had certainly grasped Ben's attention and was keeping him well entertained. He managed to drive it all the way to school the following day. I explained that we were going on holiday the following week and that there would be plenty of places to try the product out there, so he was excited to take the toy away with us too.

As expected there was plenty of outdoor space to play with it and put it to the test. We were staying on a lodge park which had very quiet roads and long concrete areas, which meant that the vehicle could travel smoothly and that we were able to test the distance it could travel accurately.


Ben loved the fact that the vehicle could rotate at speed on both one wheel and two wheels. We found this to be really clever, as each time we thought the vehicle would flip over, but bizarrely it was able to spin around and balance on one wheel without any problem. Here you can see a clip of the Nikko RC Pyscho Gyro Vehicle in Slow Motion:


The vehicle is approximately 27cm in length, which is a great size to be able to carry or store away with ease. As mentioned previously, we took ours away on holiday with us and it fitted in the suitcase, amongst all our other things, with ease.

If I was to change one element of the Nikko RC Psycho Gyro Vehicle, it would be the battery casing on the underneath of the toy. It requires a small screwdriver each time you need to remove the battery and it is also quite a compact fit getting it back in once charged. It is definitely something best handled by an adult as think it would be far too tricky for smaller hands. A clip release battery cover would have been much better.

Overall, we have been really impressed with the toy. It seems very durable and is built from good quality materials. Ben drove it into several kerbs whilst getting the hang of the controls and it has had numerous bumps into walls and other items, but there has been no damage to it, nor are there any visible marks, which is a good sign of a well built product. My son loves being able to control the stunts and the one wheel spin is his favourite. Accompanied with a cool and trendy design in a choice of two colours, this toy certainly looks the part and at an RRP of £59.99 it offers great value for money.

For more information on the Nikko RC Psycho Gyro Vehicle or other products in the Toy State range, you can visit the Toy State website here - Toy State

This product is available to purchase from Argos, Debenhams, Menkind, Hamley's, Smyths & Amazon.


Disclaimer: We were provided with this product on a complimentary basis, for the purpose of providing an honest review of the product. This post contains an affiliate link. Opinions, photographs and videos are my own, unless stated otherwise.