Casdon Happy Helpers - Ironing Set

11:52 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

LM has hit the age where role play toys really appeal and she has started to spend a lot of her time in pretend play. This can take various forms - caring for her dollies, playing with her kitchen or even pretending to put make up on. She recently received the Casdon Happy Helpers Ironing Set and I was interested to see what she would make of another opportunity to pretend to be like the grown ups.

Casdon Happy Helpers - Ironing Set

The Ironing Set includes an ironing board, with funky bright polka dot cover, a toy Morphy Richards iron, a clothes horse and four coat hangers. As soon as LM saw the box she was very excited and wouldn't leave me alone while I constructed it for her. The ironing board took a little while to construct as the legs were a little complicated for me. The instructions were good, I just struggle with this sort of thing but once I realised that the legs lie flat against the board in opposite directions for folding I was able to build it easily. The clothes horse just clips together and then the set is ready to be played with.

Casdon Happy Helpers - Ironing Set Blog Review

We quickly found a few things for LM to iron and she got to work. She was quite funny to watch as she carefully ironed each piece and placed it on the clothes horse. She was quick to say that she was ironing 'like Grandad' who was very pleased to find out that he was her ironing role model! I'm planning to get her doll's clothes and a washing bowl out so she can do the full range of laundry for them. I know she would love that.

Casdon Happy Helpers - Ironing Set Blog Review

This is a good quality toy and one that LM is enjoying very much. The bright purple and spotty colour scheme is refreshing as so many of these toys are pink. Bud has also been playing with the ironing set and I know, sadly, he wouldn't have been keen if it had been pink. This is the perfect toy for any child who loves pretend play and would also be a great addition to a home corner in a nursery or school. We would definitely recommend it.

The Casdon Happy Helpers Ironing Set is available from all usual stockists with an RRP of £20.

All New Bob the Builder Twitter Frenzy on 1st September

08:55 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

Bob the Builder is back with a brand new look. All new Bob the Builder will premiere on Milkshake, this Tuesday, 1st of September at 7:20am and UK Mums TV are getting in on the excitement and hosting a Twitter Frenzy to celebrate!

All New Bob the Builder Twitter Frenzy on 1st September

Bob will have a brand new CGI look, with new voices too, including those of Lee Ingleby (Harry Potter) as Bob, Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) as Wendy, Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners) as Scoop and Jacob Scipio (cBeebies) as new character Leo. The new series will see Bob the Builder continue it's tradition of fun and interesting stories through positivity and teanwork with exciting characters, relatable locations and an aspirational hero.

All New Bob the Builder Twitter Frenzy on 1st September

UK Mums TV are hosting a 75 minute Twitter Frenzy to coincide with the premiere on Tuesday. To join in the fun simply follow the hashtag #BobtheBuilderon5 and follow me (@RedRoseMummy), @ukmumstv and @milkshaketv. There will be lots of prizes to be won, including tickets to Kidzania, remember to watch the brand new episode closely as there will be questions about it to answer. 

All New Bob the Builder Twitter Frenzy on 1st September

The fun starts on Twitter at 6:30am ready for the show to start at 7:20am. Head on over to UK Mums TV to download your own colouring sheet. See you there!

All New Bob the Builder Twitter Frenzy on 1st September


Wild Pets Spider - Creepster

11:22 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

Everyone loves spiders, right? Seriously though, my son loves them. He'll search for hours to find them in the garden or in the house and then sit watching them go about their business. Thankfully our local spiders don't seem to mind the scrutiny! We recently received his very own Wild Pets Spider, Creepter, to put through it's paces and frighten Grandma with,

Wild Pets Spider - Creepster

The Wild Pets Spider is a large toy spider, about the size of the palm of a man's hand. He responds to touch so you can stroke him and see him react. Press his back to cycle through his three different modes and see what happens. When his eyes are blue he's in creep mode which sees him creep around a small area. Press his back again to activate his green eyes where he will explore a wider area. Another press and Creepster will go into Attack Mode (with red eyes) and dart at who or what is nearest to him.

Wild Pets Spider - Creepster Blog Review

He moves in quite a realistic way I think, especially when in attack mode. If you have loved ones who are scared of spiders you might need to play with Creepster when they aren't around as the sight of a giant toy spider scuttling across the floor towards them might not be good for them.

Wild Pets Spider - Creepster Blog Review

Bud loves Creepster, he has played with him often since he arrived Thankfully we're an arachnophobe-free house so he hasn't been able to terrorise anyone too badly with him but he's definitely made a new friend.



There are four Wild Pets Spiders to collect - Creepster, Eyegore, Chiller and Wolfgang - they are available from all usual stockists priced at £12:99. There's also a Wild Pets Spider habitat playset available for if you'd like to give your spider a home.

 

Bright Eyes Tiny the Elephant

20:44 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

LM received a new friend recently and she's been very happy with her. Tiny the Elephant is part of the Bright Eyes range of soft and cuddly, interactive toys. The range includes four animals in total, including Tiny, there are Rosy the Cat, Twinkle the Dog and Breeze the Owl.

Bright Eyes Tiny the Elephant Blog Review

Tiny the Elephant is a bright purple elephant, with blue paws and ears. She's really soft, super-soft in fact, once you start stroking her it's very soothing and you won't want to stop! Her eyes are big and bright and this increases when you stroke her head to activate her interactive features.

Bright Eyes Tiny the Elephant Blog Review

As soon as her head is stroked her big eyes light up blue, and she will start to make snuffling noises, or you'll hear her toot like an elephant should. If you then stroke her back or leave her alone for a while she will start to snore and then will go to sleep.

Bright Eyes Tiny the Elephant Blog Review

The battery box inside is accessible through a velcro strip (the toy requires two AA batteries which are included) and there's a silent night time mode which is accessible by pushing the 'mute' button for if your child would like to use the Bright Eyes as a nightlight without hearing the elephant noises.

Bright Eyes Tiny the Elephant Blog Review

This really is a lovely alternative to traditional soft toys and LM is really happy with her new friend.

Bright Eyes are available from all usual stockists, including Amazon.


We received the toy for review purposes

Choosing Holidays: Beach or City Break?

14:55 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

Choosing holidays can be tricky. You have to keep everyone in your party happy and entertained and this can be even more difficult with children too. The holidays of your pre-parent days don't always work as well when you have demanding little ones to consider.

Pre-baby days my favourite holidays were city breaks. Exploring a new city, finding restaurants and bars to savour the local delicacies and whiling away the hours touring the sites, museums and art galleries was my idea of heaven. We're hoping to plan a few city breaks once the children are a bit older and our pushchair days are behind us and I'll be delighted if they share my passion for exploring.

Krakow Poland


The easy option with a family is usually a beach holiday. Bud and LM were lucky enough to spend a week in Portugal with their Grandparents Aunt, Uncle and Cousins at the start of the Summer holidays and they had a wonderful time. Sadly we've not been able to get away as a family this year but, if we were going abroad I think I'd love to take them all to Majorca or the Costa Brava. I love Spain and speak Spanish passably and both of these locations offer good options for exploring the area as well as relaxing by the sea.


Majorca, Spain

If you're struggling to decide on holiday options then why not take a look at Holiday Gems' Beach Vs City Holiday Hub. It's so easy to use, simply choose which of the two options you prefer then explore their wide range of suggestions for beach and city destinations. I've had a real potter around the City breaks side of the hub and I think I'm adding Lisbon and Krakow to my mental 'to visit' list. I've visited Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris from their suggestions and reading their entries offered the chance for some happy reminiscing.

For sun seekers the destinations offered extend out of Europe as far as the Dominican Republic, Dubai and Mexico! I was pleased to see Majorca and the Algarve featuring too.

I know lots of people have already started to think about next year's holidays already, I can definitely recommend Holiday Gems as a good starting point.

Do you prefer beach  or city holidays? Where is next on your 'to visit' list?

Collaborative Post

What's Happened? What's Happening? 27/08/15 #WHWH

07:00 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

With the Summer holidays drawing to a close our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram timelines have been jammed with bloggers and their families getting out and about together both in the UK and abroad. It was great to see so many of you link up again last time and we're looking forward to seeing your further adventures this week.

There were so many lovely posts last time and we've chosen a holiday theme for this round up. Both The Brunette Says and Mummys Little Stars chose to holiday in the UK this Summer and their posts were a great recommendation for staying at home.

Mummy's Little Stars holidayed at Perran Sands in Cornwall with Haven. Jen, my co-host is a big fan of this site and highly rates it so it's good to see another blogger who's opinion I value feels the same way. The week on the beach and being entertained around the site looked wonderful for the whole family.

What's Happened? What's Happening? 27/08/15 #WHWH
Photo Credit: Mummy's Little Stars

Our second UK Summer holiday feature was shared by Lianne at The Brunette Says, with eleven years between her children it's important that their holiday destination really keeps the whole family entertained, They chose Butlins in Skegness this year and the lovely photos show that a great time was had by all.

What's Happened? What's Happening? 27/08/15 #WHWH
Photo Credit: The Brunette Says

What's Happening saw a few lists of ideas for things to do, pleasingly (for us anyway) they all had a Northern England bias and there are some top tips for getting out and about in there. We loved Helpful Mum's '16 Things to Do in North Yorkshire this Summer', with everything from ice cream to soft play and castles to butterflies covered, Sian gives a great local's view of her particular part of the world. We've visited a fair few of them already but there are some intriguing ideas that we weren't familiar with and they are suitable for a range of budgets too.

What's Happened? What's Happening? 27/08/15 #WHWH
Photo Credit: Helpful Mum

What have you been up to? What are you planning?

We'd love you to link up your blog posts to What's Happened? - featuring events, days out, holidays, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and any other 'happeneds'. What's Happening? is the place for you to link your event previews, ongoing events and ticket giveaways.

We read and comment on every one and share on Twitter, Facebook. Google+, Pinterest and StumbleUpon.

We've created a brand new #WHWH Facebook Page is where we'll be sharing all of your posts from now on so please head over and give it a 'like'.

There is also a Pinterest board where we pin all of your posts, feel free to follow it.


Follow What's Happened? What's Happening? on Pinterest.


As always, please grab our badge to show you've joined in and point your readers in our direction.

WHWH





Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs

11:08 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

We love Scooby-Doo and it's something that Ian and I can share with the children from our own childhoods. We've never had any Scooby-Doo toys though so when the chance came to have our very own Scooby-Doo arrived I knew that we'd all enjoy playing with him. Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs is a brand new toy which brings Scooby Doo to life.

Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs

Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs is a large, plastic toy with a range of features. He's quite heavy with legs which move when he's turned on and the large spot on his shoulder is pressed. The legs give the impression of going in all different directions and he moves across the floor quickly. As he moves you hear lots of his trademark phrases. You can see him in action here.


Bud and LM really love Scooby, from him being put down on the floor they've enjoyed watching his antics and have enjoyed playing with him in other ways too. LM loves to carry him around and he's been on the receiving end of her veterinary skills from her Doc McStuffins bag.

Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs Blog Review

As I mentioned earlier, this is a heavy toy and has a really good build quality. He bangs into furniture and cupboards a fair amount but has so far suffered no ill effects. He takes six AA batteries which seems quite a lot but is obviously needed to power his movements. We put our batteries in about ten days ago and haven't had to replace them yet and I would say he's been played with every day in that period of time.

Scooby-Doo Crazy Legs is a really fun toy that has been enjoyed by all of us. He is available from all usual stockists including Amazon.

We received the toy for review purposes.
We're going on an adventure

The Ugglys Pet Store

11:07 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

Bud is a huge fan of the Ugglys and, while their appearance definitely lives up to their name, I can totally understand the attraction of these funny looking pets. Recently he received the Ugglys Pet Store for review and was rather excited to see it.

Ugglys Pet Store

Ugglys are a range of toys which feature some curious looking pets! They are available in blind bags, and now in their own 'Gross Home' which is where the pet store fits in to the range. The Gross Homes are different to blind bags in that you can see which pet you are buying and those featured in the range are exclusive to it. You can still purchase the blind bags (they are actually in the form of bins) but, for a child who might get upset about the risk of repeats, or have no-one to swap them with, the Gross Homes might be a better option.

The Ugglys Pet Store Blog Review

The packaging for the Ugglys Pet Store is a little deceptive, in that, it shows four 'homes' but, when you open the packet you will realise two of them are made of cardboard and for display only. This may upset some children if they don't notice in advance but Bud wasn't bothered. The Pet Store breaks up into three pieces. the base, a Gross Home for the exclusive to this set figure 'Manic Monkey' and a roof. This makes a one tier Pet Store but, if you buy more Gross Homes you can make the Pet Store larger by stacking them and replacing the roof. The Gross Homes have a door to place your Uggly behind and all make their own 'gross sound'. Obviously Bud likes this much more than I do!

The Ugglys Pet Store Blog Review

Bud is really pleased with this toy. He loves to collect and Ugglys have been a popular toy with us for a while. I think we may add a couple of the Gross Homes to his stocking at Christmas as they are the perfect size for this purpose and he has mentioned buiding the Pet Store larger a few times.

The Ugglys Pet Store is available from all usual outlets, with an RRP of £12:99.


The toy was received for review purposes

Join in With #RavensburgerPuzzles Twitter Party Fun!

17:35 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

We're huge jigsaw fans in our house and we all enjoy completing puzzles. Some of our favourites are from Ravensburger so, when we were invited to host our own Puzzle Party recently we jumped at the chance! We've received a huge box of puzzles, games and activities to enjoy.

Join in With #RavensburgerPuzzles Twitter Party Fun!

You can join in the fun too. Simply head over to Twitter and follow me (@RedRoseMummy), @RavensburgerPC and @UKMumsTV and follow #RavensburgerPuzzles for the chance to win puzzle prizes!

We're really looking forward to taking on the puzzle challenges. LM loves the Farmyard Fun puzzle while Bud loves Alphablocks and wants to complete that puzzle first. I think that the 3D Minion puzzle looks amazing and, as I'll be the only 7+ person at the party I think it's only fair that I get the chance to do that one.

Join in With #RavensburgerPuzzles Twitter Party Fun!

Mae sure you have your smartphone, tablet or laptop handy and join in the fun on Twitter, Tomorrow. Tuesday 18th August, 2-4pm. See you there!

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag

15:27 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

LM is a huge fan of Doc McStuffins and the adventures of the six year old doctor with her list of patients are often enjoyed in our house. We have a fair collection of Doc McStuffins toys already and I like that most of them include a role play element which allows LM to pretend to be Doc and care for her teddies and dollies in the same way she does. The most recent range of Doc McStuffins toys includes a Pet Vet Bag which is animal themed and allows Doc to take care of her furry friends.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Blog Review

The Pet Vet Bag is similar in style to the Doctor's Bag and Eye Doctor bag (LM has the latter already) in that it's a hard plastic bag which contains a range of different instruments for animal care, These include an otoscope, comb, tongue depressor, magnifying glass, brush, scissors and a very exciting bracelet (that you can also use as a collar on your toy pet). The pack also includes a sheet of stickers which feature little plasters for healing minor injuries.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Blog Review

The tools are the perfect size for little hands and LM got to work straight away with her toys, brushing their hair. looking into their eyes and ears and wearing the watch.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Blog Review

The set has a new colour scheme for Doc McsStuffins and features blue and green rather than pink and purple. The trademark sparkly glitter handles are present on some of the bigger instruments. LM loves pointing out the sparkle on these.  The bag itself has a mock zip around the outside with a cute little paw tag but, in fact, opens by simply clicking it apart. The bracelet keeps the same colour scheme going and lights up when you press the paw on it.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Blog Review

LM has been delighted with the arrival of the Pet Vet Bag and she has played with it daily, she's taken it everywhere with her, in case of pet emergencies! The set is the same good quality we have come to expect from the Doc McStuffins range and we'd really recommend it for children aged three plus.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag Blog Review

The Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag has an RRP of £22:99 and is available from all usual toy stockists including Smyth's Toys.

Disclosure: We received the toy for review purposes.

Our Dream Home Improvements

15:25 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

There's so much I'd like to change about our home. While I love where we live - it's close to family and friends, Bud's school, LM's future nursery, our toddler group and local amenities -our house could do with significant improvement to make it into our real dream house though.

Firstly I would love an extension. We have a large back garden so, if we were to build out into it, we wouldn't lose too much space. Ideally we would be able to extend on two levels but we have a semi-detached house and I suspect that we wouldn't get planning permission for this. A single storey extension would still work though and I'd love the chance to open up a large kitchen-diner space with room to eat as a family, entertain and a play area for the children.

Conservatory
Photo Credit: Studio Urban Blu/Homify

If an extension wasn't possible then I definitely think we would consider a conservatory on the rear of our property. The rear of our home is south-facing so a glass conservatory would create extra space and somewhere for the children to play, while flooding the back of our ground floor with light on the rare sunny days we get up North!

I struggle to carve out space to work and keep all my bits and pieces organised and I've been looking at wooden Summerhouses for the garden. I love the idea of having a little corner all to myself and I'm sure I would be able to be more organised that way. Knowing my children they would find a way to colonise it quite easily though! My dream Summerhouse would be painted Duck Egg Blue and have a gorgeous desk and chair, alongside some storage to keep all my files exactly where they should be. I'd make it the centre or all of the Garden Ideas I have in mind for our outside space.

Garden Summerhouse
Photo Credit: Garden Affairs Ltd/Homify

Smaller jobs that we really need to think about sooner rather than later include new windows, ours have hideous fake leading on them and we still haven't got around to replacing them in the five years we have lived here. Our current windows are still sound so it's hard to justify the cost until they need replacing.

I'd love to have shelves built into the sides of our chimney breast at some point. Custom made shelving would utilise the space so much more efficiently and mean that we could add our television and media boxes to them, freeing up some space in our lounge. I love the idea of having shelves which exactly fit DVDs and books, it would look so neat! Storage is generally an issue in our home so I'm always on the look out for clever ways to deal with this. I think these shelves would be perfect.

What are your dream home improvements?

What's Happened? What's Happening? 13/08/15 #WHWH

07:00 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

What's Happened? What's Happening? had a great response again a fortnight ago and we've both enjoyed reading all about your summer adventures, days out and holidays in What's Happened? We've loved seeing previews of forthcoming events in What's Happening? too. Each fortnight we will be choosing our favourites from the previous linky to showcase. 

This week there were two days out that really stood out to us and made us wish we had been there. The first of these was Happy Homebird's account of her family's visit to the Erasmus Darwin house in Lichfield, the Georgian house that was once home to Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin and is now a museum dedicated to the interesting life he led. The images in this post really bring the museum alive and we love how hands on and interactive the museum sounds, our families both love days out of this sort and it will definitely be on or list to visit if we are in the area. 


Photo Credit: Happy Homebird 

The second post we decided to feature was a festival with a difference, Jibber Jabber UK's write up of Upfest, Europe's largest street art and graffiti festival that takes place in Bristol is full of vibrant images that really highlights the art that we often overlook in our cities.


Photo Credit: Jibber Jabber UK

Our What's Happening? choice for this week is a great post from A Family Day Out that showcases some fabulous days out across the UK from Balloon Festivals to Fireworks Championships. Do head over and check it out for some fantastic Summer days out.

Photo Credit: A Family Day Out

What have you been up to? What are you planning?

We'd love you to link up your blog posts to What's Happened? - featuring events, days out, holidays, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and any other 'happeneds'. What's Happening? is the place for you to link your event previews, ongoing events and ticket giveaways.

We read and comment on every one and share on Twitter, Facebook. Google+, Pinterest and StumbleUpon.

We've created a brand new #WHWH Facebook Page is where we'll be sharing all of your posts from now on so please head over and give it a 'like'.

We've created a Pinterest board where we pin all of your posts, feel free to follow it.


Follow What's Happened? What's Happening? on Pinterest.


As always, please grab our badge to show you've joined in and point your readers in our direction.


Red Rose Mummy





Eating Out With Kids: Café Rouge

00:53 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

Café Rouge is a restaurant chain that I'm quite familiar with but it's one that I've never really considered visiting with the children. It's always been somewhere I've visited for a quick pre-theatre meal and I've enjoyed their Prix Fixe menu a good few times for it's excellent value and tasty options. Last Sunday we were invited along to Café Rouge at the Trafford Centre, Manchester to try out the newly revamped Menu pour les Enfants, having had a preview of it on the Café Rouge website I was interested to see what Bud and LM would make of it.

Eating Out With Kids: Café Rouge Trafford Centre

The Café Rouge Trafford Centre restaurant is situated on the first floor in the Orient are of the shopping mall, which makes it a great option for those visiting the centre for shopping or entertainment. Even though it's inside a mall you'll see the characteristic Café Rouge decor and French style that makes them sorecognisable. We were seated in the outside area of the restaurant which meant we got to enjoy a bit of people watching.

Eating Out With Kids: Café Rouge Trafford Centre

On arrival we were greeted by the host, Ben, who took time to speak to the children and give them their own menus and crayons. He stressed that they were theirs to keep and take home with them which Bud and LM loved. I found his manner to be very welcoming and I liked that he crouched down to speak to the children at their level. It really helped my confidence in eating at the restaurant for the first time before we even sat down.

Eating Out With Kids: Café Rouge Trafford Centre Children's Menu

The children's menu was in the form of a leaflet which unfolded to reveal a big puzzle and colouring in sheet so both LM and Bud got busy with their crayons, while we ordered drinks. This really helped to keep them busy and entertained. Bud and LM both ordered apple juice from the selection of soft drinks and fruit juices on offer. They could also have chosen Bottlegreen fruit cordials or milk (plain or flavoured).

The children's menu has one starter option - Warm Fougasse Finger and Crudités with a tomato dip. These were delivered soon after our drinks so Bud and LM both tucked into these straight away while Ian and I perused the menu. I had a little taste of the bread and dip and both were lovely. The bread was soft and fresh while the tomato dip reminded me of an Italian marinara sauce. Bud cleared his plate and LM ate a good chunk of her starter too. I think it's an excellent idea for a starter and I loved that they arrived before we ordered so the children could be getting on with them. A definite thumbs up.

Eating Out With Kids: Café Rouge Trafford Centre Children's Menu Fougasse and Crudites

Children's main courses were a choice of ten options in total. This is a wider choice than many restaurants offer and I think the vast majority of children would be tempted by something on offer. We considered the Petit Croque et Frites (Cheese and Ham toastie with fries) for LM but opted for the Fab Fishcake instead. This is advertised as Salmon Fishcake and Frites but we asked for veggies to be added and it arrived with mixed peas and sweetcorn. The same vegetables were served with Bud's Poulet Goujons (Breaded Chicken Fillets and Fries). Both children tucked in happily, Bud more so when his requested ketchup arrived. He cleared his plate while LM ate all of her veggies and a chunk of fishcake. She was less keen on the excellent fries but I think this was because she was full rather than any reflection on their quality. Both the fishcake and chicken goujons were really tasty.

Cafe Rouge Children's Menu Fishcake and Poulet Goujons

Dessert offered five options (although one of these was ice cream, with six flavours available alongside three different toppings!) I was pleased to see Fresh Fruit Salad on offer and thought one of my children might have opted for this. Instead LM chose Vanilla Ice Cream with Marshmallows. The ice cream was lovely with real vanilla seeds to be seen.

Cafe Rouge Children's Menu Vanilla Ice Cream and Marshmallows

Bud chose the Fruit Ice Lolly (which was Apple and Blackcurrant flavour) and very much enjoyed it. After dessert Ben the host came over to offer the children some popping candy to try. This was a hit with LM but Bud wasn't so keen.

Cafe Rouge Kids Menu Fruit Ice Lolly

The Café Rouge Menu pour les Enfants is £6:95 for three courses and a drink. Drinks refills were available for 75 pence extra. I think this is really excellent value for money, based on the food that was served, excellent service and menu options.  It's much more of a 'restaurant' than many of the options we consider when eating out with the children and I think it helps to them to become accustomed to more formal dining. We had a lovely family meal and I think we'll definitely be revisiting the restaurant in the future.

I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel

22:25 Pippa Ainsworth 0 Comments

We're so pleased to be working with Cuddledry as one of their Superbloggers this year and I'm sharing another of their fantastic products with you today. We're huge fans of poncho towels in our house as they are great for a quick cover up after leaving the pool or the beach and both Bud and LM have had them over the past few years. We were sent the Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel for LM to try and have been putting it to the test over the past few weeks.

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel

We only have a shower in our house which can make bathtime something of an undertaking. It's definitely a two person job but poncho towels stop us having little wet people running around having ditched their bath towels. We also use them at the swimming pool when it is simple to pop them on over wet swimsuits, ensuring the child who is waiting to be dried and changed stays warm.

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel Blog Review

The Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel is bright blue, trimmed with either orange or lime green (we have the orange one. It's made from the beautifully soft Cuddledry mix of cotton and bamboo and is super-absorbent. Often LM is dry just from wearing this and doesn't need to be towel dried.

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel Blog Review

Our poncho towel has now been washed a few times and it's got even softer than it was new. It's so warm and snuggly for LM and she always grabs it before her shower so it's ready for her when she gets out. I think she'd sleep in it if we let her!

There are some nifty design features which show how much thought Cuddledry put into their designs. The deep v-neck makes it easy to pop on and off over your child's head and the poppers underneath the arms ensure that the poncho stays put rather than slipping around. You can simply unfasten them to take the towel off easily when it is wet.

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel Blog Review Underarm Poppers

We'd really recommend the Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel. It's made getting dry after showering and swimming a much easier process for us and LM, we all love it!

Cuddledry Swim Poncho Towel Blog Review At the Beach

To purchase the towel or see the rest of the range please visit www.cuddledry.com and to keep up with all of the Cuddledry news follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

We received the towel for review purposes.