Sep 16 2015

Aldi Specialbuy Baby and Toddler Event: Starts Thursday 17th September 2015

Posted on September 16, 2015 by admin

You might have noticed that Aldi have been awarded supermarket of the year by consumer group Which? recently. The award is based on customer satisfaction, value for money, reliability and quality, and comes as Aldi’s growth continues to outperform the market. In fact, Aldi-fever seems to have really caught on over the last few months with stores popping up all over the UK. They’ve totally transformed the way we shop, offering us quality groceries at low prices, and putting on events every so often (whether it be home & interiors, baby products or sportswear) with everyday recognisable brands for unbeatable prices.

This Thursday 17th September their week-long SpecialBuy Baby and Toddler event comes to stores all over the UK. Having looked through their offerings I’ve set my alarm clock to get on down to my local store to snap up some deals. On offer are all the must have essentials for parents, babies and bumps with everything from safety gates to bath toys, car seats to bottles - all from brands we know and trust. The aim is to get us buying smarter. They buy up the things we need by the truckload, and pass the savings onto us.

Here are some of my top picks - hurry though as they’re only available while stocks last:

HAUCK SPEED BUGGY - £39.99

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Yep, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, for £39.99 you could bag this lightweight buggy. With 5-point harness & front bar, swivelling and lockable front wheels, HUGE basket, multiple-adjustable footrest and several lying positions for your little one, they could be leaving their local Aldi in style. Perfect for everyday use, and flinging in the back of your car boot, for this price I’ll be grabbing one for Heidi.

CALPOL 100mls £1.99 / NUROFEN FOR CHILDREN 100mls £2.49 / SUDOCREM 125mls £1.79

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How many times have you dashed to the local garage at 3am for some emergency teething meds? Well with all these medicine cabinet essentials also well under their RRP it’s the perfect time to stock up for all eventualities.

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BATH TOYS £2.85 the set / PEPPA’S MINI WOODEN PUZZLE £2.99 each / PRAM TOYS £4.49 each

Or if Christmas is weighing on your mind, how about these cute toys? A full set of sensory bath toys for just £2.85 including foam letters, a fishing net and octopus ring toy - that’s all you’d possibly need to see them through from baby to toddler. There are also toys exclusive to Aldi such as Peppa Pig mini puzzles in 4 great designs.

SET OF 6 TOMMEE TIPPEE CLOSER TO NATURE BOTTLES £6.99

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Bottle-feeding mums shouldn’t miss out on 6 Tommee Tippee bottles for £6.99 either. Dexter had everything Tommee Tippee when he was a baby. Despite trying to breastfeed him, I wasn’t able to last longer than 6 weeks. He had a Tommee Tippee essentials pack crammed full of everything a new mum needs to safely bottle their little one – and essential it most definitely turned out to be! These bottles are amazing. Dexter was able to grip them comfortably and the teats are designed to mimic the natural flex, movement and softness of a mum’s breast. Can’t praise them highly enough and this is a bargain price not to be missed.

LINDAM EASY FIT BED GUARD £14.99 / HAUCK BABY SAFETY GATE £12.99

AldiBabySafety

Safety bits are covered too with pressure-fit stair gates from Hauck - essential if you live in a rented property and can’t screw into the walls. Lindam’s award-winning bed guards are also included in the event at just £12.99. These will be sure to give you extra peace of mind when your little one graduates to a big boy / girl bed.

GRACO ENDURE 123 CAR SEAT

GRACOAldi

Finally there’s this awesome group 1, 2 and 3 forward-facing car seat from Graco. Suitable for children from 1 year up to 12 years, this seat is rammed with all the safety features you’d expect from Graco; 5-point harness, adjustable height head support, intuitive vehicle belt routing and side impact protection. Now Heidi is ready to come out of her rear-facing infant carrier, it’s time for a re-jig and we’ll be popping her in Dexter’s old seat - this Graco seat is just perfect for him now he’s a big boy and ready to forward-face. At £39.99 this will save us popping one on the credit card - perfect!

There you go! As our older children go back to school, we’re stocking up on baby bits with much lighter wallets, so this event has come just in time! Get on down to your nearest Aldi ASAP to bag yourself one of these bargains - just remember when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Sep 8 2015

Sun Tent and Travel Cot: NSA Travel Centre Deluxe Review

Posted on September 8, 2015 by admin

Pregnancy essentials… Travel essentials… Sun safety essentials…

When you become a parent, suddenly everything becomes “essential” and you’ll end up in a right flap if you accidentally leave it at home. Of course, this is complete nonsense and it is possible to leave the house without a change bag or zillion gadgets and actually survive to tell the tale. However, there are some nifty bits out there that will make the job easier, and this is most definitely one of them…

What is it?

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The NSA Travel Centre Deluxe is a really versatile bit of kit. Not simply a travel cot for overnight stays, it’s great for outdoor adventures too. When the sun is out and your kids are driving you to complete distraction at home, head to the park with this slung over your shoulder and you have the perfect shelter to shade from the sun. The best bit is that your kids will be so excited at the prospect of an outdoor den that they won’t run off and leave you sobbing in a field from the stress of it all. The same goes for your garden… the beach… a festival.

When erected it’s some 135cm (53″) long x 85cm (33″) wide x 60cm (24″) high, so plenty of room for housing two playmates, and a very generous travel cot for one little one at night.

Setting up

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But let’s face it, as useful as it is, if you’re going to have to faff about with a million poles, it’ll frustrate you just as much as your kids. So let’s address this head on - the NSA Travel Centre Deluxe is a joy to set up.

It arrives in a lightweight circular carry case. To set it up, just unzip the case and it’ll spring to life. You’ll want to do this with the kiddies stood well back as it might bop them on the head if curiosity gets the better of them. You then simply attach the sleeping mat inside the Travel Centre along the velcro seams in the base. Then take the air mattress and tuck it away in the zipped section under the Travel Centre.There are also ground fixing pegs included should you need to tie it down.

Simple. The whole thing takes around 1 minute so is perfect when you have an overtired or excitable child threatening to go into tantrum-mode.

There are no poles, no dodgy seams or fiddly frames - meaning there’s nothing for your little guys to beat, pummel or terrorise each other with.

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Packing it away

Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. Having had something similar before (albeit not as good) I already knew how to collapse it. For those new to pole-free tents, you will stand there like a fool for a good 5 minutes trying to stuff it back into the carry case. The trick is to grab each end and bring your arms together - it will feel unnatural but you’ll find it works.

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Portability

I alluded to a carry case above. The whole tent/travel centre weighs a tiny 3.4kg (that’s less than my handbag) and the case is a mini 46cm in diameter so not much bigger than a dinner plate. This makes it perfectly sized for air travel, shoving in the car boot or hanging from your buggy. There’s enough room to also pop in a pair of PJs or a favourite toy if you’re one of those irritating super-organised parent-types.

Comparing this to a cumbersome standard travel cot, already you’ve saved yourself a few tantrums at the airport. It’s perfectly possible to bung this in your hand luggage and it won’t need to be declared as excess. Slung across your back, you’ll also still fit through doors without knocking out someone coming the other way.

Additional features

It offers UV protection equivalent to UPF 25+ from the sun’s harmful rays, so is spot on for afternoon play when the sun is at it’s hottest. It also includes an self-inflating air mattress, and a washable sleep mat to provide a comfy surface for baby to get his/her head down.

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It’s also super-secure. As the zips can only be opened from the outside, you won’t have a little person crawling around your hotel room at night. It has a zip open door with a separate fine insect mesh so makes a great little spot for a secret picnic. No worries that your food will get covered in sand or flies.

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There are also insect-mesh windows so mum and dad have a 360degree view of the inside of the cot from the outside, and your kids won’t be constantly ducking out to find you (- of course you have the option of closing these completely up to black out the light at nighttime). I can’t guarantee this means you can relax on a nearby sun longer and enjoy an uninterrupted glass of Pinot, but it certainly increases the possibility.

Want one?

Thought so. It was the wine right?

So, it comes in two sizes – the standard version, which is suitable for ages 0-2, and the deluxe version, which is 0-4 years (this is the one reviewed above). Our is priced at £84.99 although you’ll deals available from a number of retailers including Amazon and Safe Tots. In my opinion this makes it incredibly reasonably priced - I have reviewed a Magic Bed before which has a similar mechanism and is a fab travel cot, but it can’t compete on the playtent score so this one wins. I guess it all depends on your child’s sleeping preference.

Take a closer look at www.NSAUK.com, or check out more NSA Travel Centre Deluxe reviews on:

Twitter: @TravelEssUK / Facebook: @Travel-Essentials-UK

The Travel Essentials UV tent is a gold award winner at the Mother and Baby Awards and is highly commended at Practical Parenting Awards as well as having the Best Value Award Winner in the Mother and Baby Magazine.

Aug 24 2015

Buff headwear from Kit Shack: UV Junior Cap Buff

Posted on August 24, 2015 by admin

I’m so excited about this review. Simple as it might be, this has been one of the best sunhats I’ve reviewed on this blog, and the only one that Dexter is dare-I-say-it excited to wear. You see, the thing with Dex is he hates clothes in general. The only thing he’s enjoyed about potty training is the fact I’ve let him run around the house in the nudey. The need to pee in the potty is lost on him, but the novelty of having no nappy on is proving a hit.

Spider-Man is Dexter’s greatest love. He’s forever attempting to fire his web at passersby (“tsch’ing” his wrists), and won’t leave the house without his best mate in tow. His school bag is Spider-Man, his PJs are Spider-Man and he’d have the films on the entire day if it wasn’t for Mummy and Heidi interrupting his viewing schedule. Spider-Man clothing is therefore the only thing preferable to nakedness for my little dude.

This Buff Spider-Man Junior UV Cap Buff is therefore perfect for him.

It’s reversible so you get two looks for the price of one, and a hat that is fully adjustable and really grows with your child. As the back features an elasticated drawstring and the material has tons of stretch, it will last as long as his Spider-Man obsession does. I’m not kidding either, the website states it’ll fit children between 4-8, but Dex is just 3.5 years and it also fits me at 30-something! It will stay looking perfect too as the material is fade resistant and colour fast.

Okay, it’s not cheap at £20, but sit tight and I’ll tell you why it is worth every penny.

As this is a 3 panel cap with neoprene flexible peak, there’s no potential for creases or it becoming misshapen sitting at the bottom of your child’s rucksack. It also takes up no room whatsoever owing to it’s lightweight fabric. In fact, there are no annoying seams at all to dig into his head whilst he’s playing. The best way for me to describe the material is that it’s like a thick swimsuit - stretchy, soft and flexible. It’s possibly the closest you can get to not having a hat on at all comfort-wise, and I honestly believe he forgets he’s wearing it.

The peak is deep enough and completely UV resistant to provide the ultimate protection for face and eyes. I also like the way it sits on his head - almost embracing and hugging it. This means he’s can run, roll and jump about without it falling off - I can’t count the number of hats we’ve lost on boating lakes, at adventure playgrounds, playgroup etc.

But Buff isn’t just about great fitting hats & accessories, there’s a shed load of science behind the brand. Loved by outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, Buff are technical fabric innovators. Dexter’s cap (as with many adult Buffs) is made from 100% Coolmax Extreme, renowned for superb wicking performance and moisture management. Given Dexie is still a toddler, his body isn’t able to fully self regulate in extreme heat yet. Instead his body kicks into overdrive and sweat will pour off his head. The fabric of his sunhat is so designed to transfer moisture away from his head, block radiation from the sun all whilst allowing for air circulation.

Yet whilst this is breathable and water resistant in the summer, it will also provide warmth and protect from wind and rain in cooler months. It’s these properties that have seen Buff headwear become quite the hit with athletes. Their original Buff is simply a band of material that is truly multi-functional - it can be worn in any one of 13 ways including a neckerchief, headband, wristband, hair-band and bandana.

With an AW15 collection that has seen them branch into snood-like knits and beanies perfect for hiking, dog walking and more extreme pursuits, Buff truly are the ultimate headgear brand for all year round. There’s even a Buff for your dog - how about that?