[Ad Gifted] We were sent this product for the purpose of this post

The whole Harry Potter mania passed me by a little bit. I had a couple of friends who adored the books but I never really saw the appeal. Obviously when the movies came out I was familiar with the premise but again, I wasn’t really “into” it. 

However. When my eldest, Col, started becoming interested in the franchise I did start to pay attention. We rewatched the movies together and it was through his eyes – as it so often is when you have children around – that the magic felt a bit more real. 

For his birthday one year I booked for us to go to the Harry Potter Warner Bros studio tour. Even at this point I was a bit nonplussed. That all changed over the course of that visit. Fast forward to a few hours later when we emerged from our tour filled with Butterbeer and a new found love of all things Potter. 

Since then I have read the books, seen the movies and even worn the t-shirt. I have been sorted into my house (Ravenclaw, since you asked) and can recite most of the spells. 

The cloak of invisibility

When we were asked recently whether we would like to have a play with an invisibility cloak, it wasn’t a tough decision! 

Fans of the books will know that the invisibility cloak was given to Harry in The Philosophers Stone. Previously owned by his father, and crafted from the cloak of Death himself, the invisibility cloak was used many times throughout the Harry Potter series. 

What’s in the box?

Well, not a lot to be honest. Inside the box you will find a set of instructions, a phone stand and a cloak. The cloak has been made to look like the cloak in the movies with a grey and silver design on a velvet material. The other side of the cloak is a bright green material. The cloak is definitely long enough for most children and teens (and even adults) to be able to play around with it to great effect! 

How to play?

The first thing you need to do is to download the free WOW Stuff app (available on Apple and Android) and enter the unique code on the instructions to link the two together. 

The green lining of the cloak acts in the same way as a green screen. Used in conjunction with the app, you will disappear when wearing the cloak on the outside. 

What did we think?

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was to set up.

You have to be really careful not to move the phone while recording otherwise it will fail and you will need to have another go. It is simple to set up. Simple to use too. The cloak itself is great quality and a good size. Definitely a winner for any Potter fan! 

The RRP of the cloak is £59.99 but it is currently on sale at Smyths and many other retailers!

We were sent this product for the purpose of this post. All opinions are our own

If there is anything that I have learned from being the Mother of 3, it is this; Toy companies love a bandwagon and children are drawn to slime and gloop. Basically if a toy looks like it will take longer to clean than to play with, kids are IN!

We were recently sent a new slime/gloop themed toy. For the reasons given previously I was pretty sure Moose would like it but me? The jury was definitely out on that. 

Goo Goo Galaxy Slurp ‘n’ Slime Goo Drop is quite the name isn’t it? Full marks to whoever decided not to go catchy but to go long. I think 3 Goo’s is a good number to be honest. You wouldn’t want anymore, would you? 

I have to admit though, Bowie Beamhart is cute. She (we are going with she) comes packaged in a box that looks like a flying saucer spaceship. 

What’s in the (spaceship shaped) box?

Inside the box you will find;

• A large Goo Drop Doll
• 1 x Candy Comet
• A Goo Drop stand
• 1 x bowl
• A whisk
• 1 x Regoovintaor
• 5 x glitter fills
• 2 x slime sachets
• 1 x passport
• 1 x glitter seal sheet

How does it work?

The idea is that your child is able to make their own slime. By adding just water (up to the handy fill line) they can stir their way to thick, gloopy delight. Then they can add the glitter bits to customise their very own galaxy slime. 

Each glitter fill packet can be resealed which means they can be used more than once. I quite liked that. 

Once your child has made their slime it is time to move on to part 2. That is, you have to “feed” the slime to Bowie Beamhart. This is done by using the reegoovinator (it’s a syringe)

You are supposed to hold the reegoovinator in the slime and pull the plunger up to fill it. You can but it is a bit slow going – we ended up just spooning it into the syringe. Much faster.

When your reegoovinator is full, you pop it into Bowie’s mouth and fill her up! 

Because Bowie Beamhart has a see through body you can see the slime sloshing about in her tummy. Moose thought this was utterly hilarious. Once this starts wearing a bit thin it’s time to get the slime out. This means taking the Candy Comet out of her mouth and pressing her tummy to make her do a “comet vomit”. 

What did we think?

As predicted Moose liked the slime mixing. He especially liked that he could add the glitter fills. Bowie is pretty cute and Moose loved being able to see the slime inside her. 

The comet vomit was a great touch and much appreciated by my 5 year old who currently loves anything vomit or poo related. I found her surprisingly easy to clean. Just remove her head and wash her out with water. Because she is so easy to clean I think this considerably increases how much play time Moose will get with Bowie. 

Goo Goo Galaxy Slurp ‘n’ Slime Goo Drop is available from Smyths as well as other retailers and is priced at around £29.99 

We were sent these products for the purpose of this post

I find October half term a bit of a challenge. The wedding season is over, so work is hardly flooding in, and, when you are self employed, no work = no money.

No money at half term is not so great when you have little ones to entertain and it’s tipping it down every day.

Luckily we were asked to have a go at some Milly & Flynn crafts – just in time for the school hols. We were sent a Panda 3D foam puzzle, a Lion 3D foam puzzle, a Puzzle & Grow build your own treehouse and garden set, and a ‘Cake in a Mug’ mug.

3D Foam Puzzle

As a parent who hates cleaning may I first of all extend my thanks to whoever designed these puzzles. Clean crafts that you can just let your child get on with without fear of them sharpie-ing your sofa are to be applauded.

Inside the box you will find

• Foam puzzle pieces.
• 1 x Double connector.
• 2 x Single connector.
• 2 x Pupil inserts.

The first job for Moose was to push out all of the foam shapes, which are pre cut and come on foam boards. There are a lot of pieces. The foam is pretty thick and sturdy though and he managed to press out every single piece all by himself. It took quite a while, which I feel is an excellent plus point as it allowed me to drink a cuppa in peace. A rare occurrence!

Moose didn’t get bored. 3D puzzle was just challenging enough. I think he liked being able to get on with it by himself. On the back of the box, you will find instructions. Milly & Flynn have printed them in picture form. An easy to follow step by step so great for non readers. It says on the box that 3D puzzles are suitable for 5+ and I think this is spot on.

I really liked that Moose was able to put the 3D puzzle together without help. As well as this though there is plenty of play value after the puzzle has been completed. Moose quite happily played for ages. If you every wondered who would win in a Lion Vs Panda battle, we have you covered..

Priced from £7.99, the 3D foam puzzle would make an excellent stocking filler or party gift for any boy or girl. We will definitely be buying a few this Christmas!