Showing posts with label January. Show all posts
Showing posts with label January. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 January 2019

Happy New Year - It's 2019!!

I would like to thank each and every one of my readers for taking the time to support the blog during 2018. The site has grown from strength to strength and we have some exciting new projects planned for 2019 which I cannot wait to get started on. We have worked with some amazing brands, attractions and travel companies in the past 12 months and look forward to sharing more news and reviews over the coming year. We would therefore like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!


Thursday 25 January 2018

Making my money go further with the January Sale at B&M Stores

With Christmas out of the way, January brings another two expensive events for our family as my son Ben has his birthday at the beginning of the month, followed by my other son Riley a couple of weeks later. This means that we really need to budget well over Christmas and throughout January, to make sure we can afford everything to make our boys birthdays special.

One thing that really assists us with this is the January sales, as we are able to pick up some great bargains that can help us to save money and prevents us from having to spend too much. One of our favourite stores to go bargain hunting in is B&M Stores as we have a huge shop just less than a mile away from our home and there is always plenty in store. We particularly love their homeware range and toys selection as there is a great choice to choose from, which helps to make a shopping trip enjoyable.

My youngest son Riley absolutely loves building, this can be anything from constructing vehicles, to creating little houses. He will use anything he can find to do this including building bricks, wooden blocks or even cardboard boxes that he quickly takes from me when any post arrives! I therefore recently visited my local B&M Stores to look for some construction toys that I could add to his birthday present collection. There was certainly no shortage of items to choose from! After a good browse around, I found some fantastic bargains that were just perfect for what I had in mind. For less than £20, I managed to pick up this fantastic haul:


Firstly I noticed the Brick by Brick Police Mission set on the top shelf. I saw the £14.99 price sticker, but underneath there was a large mega value label on the shelf stating a price of only £6.99. I thought this was actually an error as it seemed so cheap, so I grabbed one of the boxes and took it to the till to have it price checked. I couldn't believe it when the shop assistant confirmed the price.


The set contained a humongous 487 pieces which gave you the opportunity to build all the following items:

  • 1 x Police Station
  • 1 x Police Helicopter
  • 1 x Police Transporter
  • 1 x Police Motorbike
  • 1 x Police Car

The set also came complete with 6 individual figures and a set of instructions. It also stated on the box that it was compatible with other brick brands, so this meant that Riley could combine these bricks with his existing toys and that sounded like a winner to me!

On my return to the toy aisle, I noticed that there were some different sets in the same range. Realising that this was a bargain not to be missed, I had a look at the other choices that were available. One of them consisted of a dinosaur and some vehicles and the other was of a construction yard. I decided to opt for the construction set as Riley loves diggers and again I was very impressed with what the box included.


The Brick by Brick Site Crew Collection contained 448 pieces which allowed you to build the following:
  • 1 x Building
  • 1 x Scaffolding
  • 1 x Crane
  • 1 x Excavator
  • 1 x Heavy Load Transporter
Again this box also included six figures and a set of instructions to help with the building process. This meant that for only £13.98 I had managed to purchase over 900 building bricks. Bargain!

I also wanted to buy some large base plates for Riley to build on, I wasn't sure if B&M would sell these, but I soon found them located a little further down the same aisle.


These base plates were only £2.99 each and were ideal for Riley to be able to build his creations on. We have only had smaller base plates previously, but these were really large and meant that he would be able to build several buildings on them with ease. I opted for two different colours just for some variation and again I was pleased to see that these were compatible with other building block brands. This took the total price for all of thes items to only £19.96 which I think is excellent value for money!

B&M is now one of the leading variety retailers in the UK and it is easy to see why. Stocking a great range of both value and top brand products, there are now an incredible 560 stores across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you aren't sure where your nearest one is, then you can use this handy store finder tool that is available on the B&M Stores website.

As you can see I chose to make my money go that bit further by purchasing some toys that I know Riley will love. However, B&M also have some amazing products across all their ranges in the January Sale and you can view some of these online on their website, or keep up to date with the latest offers by following the B&M Social Media Channels which are:

Website - B&M Stores
Facebook - facebook.com/bmstores
Twitter - @BMStores


*Disclaimer - This is a collaborative post with B&M Stores. I received £20 vouchers to purchase items of my choice for the purpose of this review.

Sunday 31 December 2017

Dates for your Diary - Shrek the Musical is coming to Manchester in January!

Most families enjoy a good film night together and ours is no exception, cuddling up on the sofa when the dark winter nights settle in, is absolute bliss. One of our firm favourite films to enjoy is Shrek which always guarantees to get us all giggling, no matter how many times we have watched it together before. We were therefore delighted to find out that Shrek the Musical, which is based on the story and characters from the Oscar® winning DreamWorks Animation film, will be heading to Manchester in January 2018!

Promising an entertaining mix of adventure, laughter and romance, this magnificent production is sure to delight audiences of all ages, as the smash hit blockbuster comes to the stage of the Palace Theatre, Manchester from Tuesday 16th to Sunday 28th January.

The family show tells the story of the lovable ogre Shrek, who along with his loyal steed Donkey, embarks on a quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona from her Dragon guarded tower. Featuring a whole host of fairytales misfits, a biscuit with an attitude and the pint-sized Lord Farquaar, you can be sure of an entertaining and dazzling experience with this all-singing, all-dancing comedy spectacular.

Photo Credit: Helen Maybanks
Shrek the Musical welcomes a wonderful cast, with Steffan Harri starring in the main role of Shrek, having previously appeared in the original UK tour as a cover for Lord Farquaad. His other theatre credits include Les Miserables, Spamalot and Children of Eden. In addition to these theatre productions, he also starred as Lyn in the welsh language soap opera Rownd a Rownd.

Princess Fiona shall be played by Call the Midwife star Laura Main, who is very excited to be starring in this marvellous show. Laura commented "I've been waiting a long time for an adventure like this to come along and now that it has I am ready to swap the surgery for the swamp in one of my favourite musicals. Shrek has made a Believer out of me and I can't wait for this fairytale to take me across the country". 

They will be joined by Marcus Ayton as Shrek's sidekick Donkey, whose recent credits include Sammy Davis Jr in The Rat Pack Live and Ray Charles in A Tribute to the Brothers Live. The vertically challenged Lord Farquaad will be played by Samuel Holmes who has recently appeared as George in the UK Tour of The Wedding Singer, as well as other stage credits that include Mrs Henderson Presents, Kiss Me Kate and Crazy for You.

Nigel Harman, who appeared in the original West End production as Lord Farquaad and also won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, will be returning as Director. He previously made is directorial debut on the first ever tour and has since gone on to direct Lunch & The Bow of Ulysses (Trafalgar Studios) and will also direct Kelsey Grammar in Big Fish the Musical (The Other Palace) this Autumn. 

Photo Credit: Helen Maybanks
My family and I are very excited to be heading into Manchester this coming January to watch Shrek the Musical and if you would like to obtain further information on the show, then you can find the listing details and link to the booking website below. With a running time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, this production is the perfect family treat to enjoy together in the wonderful city of Manchester at the beautiful Palace Theatre.

Listing Details

Show - Shrek the Musical
Venue - Palace Theatre Manchester, 97 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6FT
Dates - Tuesday 16th January to Sunday 28th January
Times - Show times vary, so please visit the website for the most up to date information.
Ticket Prices - Ticket prices range from £18.00 - £56.00 (plus £4.00 booking fee)
Box Office - 0844 871 3019 (calls cost 7p per minute, plus phone company's access charge).
Website - www.atgtickets.com/shows/shrek/palace-theatre-manchester/

Photo Credit: Helen Maybanks
Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.