Still looking for Christmas gifts? Check out the choices I made for some of my friends and family!

This week I was gifted a few items by Paladone when they kindly asked if I wanted to receive something as a present for Christmas.

They sell so many wonderful items and there’s always something for everyone.

I picked out three things with certain people in mind which I will wrap and gift them this Christmas.

These are the three items ready for wrapping and sending to the North pole so that Father Christmas can bring them back with him. (Or that’s what we tell the boys!)

a picture showing three gifts, a star wars lamp, a enchanted rose lamp and a fun graffiti light to use with a smartphone

Star Wars Gifts

The first item is for a star wars lover! This Tie Fighter desk lamp is perfect for my Star Wars obsessed hubby! I hope he doesn’t read this…..I don’t think he will!

It’s USB powered so when sitting on a desk work area won’t take another plug, just plug it in to a USB outlet. Why am I always running short of plugs? If you are not then you could always use a USB plug adaptor instead if you’re putting it in an area with no computer.

The Smartphone Light Graffiti can is going to be given to my 7 year old. He had an iPad for his birthday this year so this is something he would love to play with.

For this gift you use a long exposure app to write words or draw pictures with the tiny can. The app captures what you are drawing and makes it look like a graffiti art without actually making any mess!

Disney Gift

The fabulous Disney Enchanted Rose Light from Beauty and the Beast  by Paladone is a very special choice for a friend of mine. She adores the film and this is going to be perfect for her. It’s USB powered meaning it’ll look amazing on her desk while she’s working away at the computer. I know she’s going to love it.

a beautiful rose stands in a glass dome with some petals falling off

Some of my other favourite items by Paladone are in the Harry Potter section. There are some beautiful gifts for fans of the books and films. Unfortunately in this house my boys haven’t caught on to Harry Potter yet despite my best efforts so those gifts would be a waste for now. I’ll save buying Harry Potter items for another year. Or maybe I should buy them for myself!

With grateful thanks to Paladone foe helping me to tick some people off my list!

 

 

Belles Tea Party Cart

This week we were kindly sent a new toy for the boys to test. For those of you who have read my posts before you’ll know I don’t believe in gender specific toys. Belles tea party cart could potentially fall into the toys for girls category but I think my boys have proved that to be wrong!

belles tea cart

This summer we were very lucky to spend time at Walt Disney World. In the run up to our holiday we watched lots of family Disney films. Since Flixster has been little he’s had the nickname chip (given to him by the nursery ladies who said he was cute!) They have never seen his menacing side he he! But he knows who chip is, and he knows the famous song from Beauty and the Beast – Be Our Guest. We were also lucky enough to eat in the beasts castle dining room whilst we were away. So the boys are very familiar with Belle, Mrs Potts and Chip.

Belle Tea Party Cart

The Toy – A Tour

The cart comes boxed and not built however it is really easy to put together, you don’t need any tools, it simply clicks into place. If this is to be a Christmas gift it might be worth setting up first then wrapping as there are some cable ties that need cutting in the package and I know how frustrating it can be on Christmas day to be doing these. In addition to the trolley, Belles Tea Party Cart comes with two teacups (one of which is Chip) Mrs Potts ( the teapot), two spoons and an invitation.

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The teapot and teacups fit onto the inner pink circle on the top of the cart. Flixster was obsessed about putting the teapot, cups and spoon on the bottom level of the trolley. I have no idea why, but as you’ll see in most of the photos I took during play those items are on the bottom!

belles tea cart

Once we’d put it together the boys were away with it. Especially Flixster (who’s 2) he absolutely loved it. Most of all he loved that when you press the button on the front of the cart the teapot and teacups spin round whilst the ‘Be Our Guest Song’ plays. As a result of him discovering this we have heard it many many times since! I think the song being played whilst the teapot spins was his favourite feature of Belles Tea Cart. The cart comes with batteries already installed. Be sure to flick the switch underneath to play the full song not just the demo.

belles tea cart

 

Playtime

The tea cart was just the right height for him to push around the room and serve everyone tea. The detail on Belles Tea Party Cart is most noteworthy. The stickers which come already attached to the cart (thank goodness as I can never ever get them straight) picture the characters from Beauty and the Beast.

belles tea cart belles tea party cart

Toy Test Verdict

We’ve had the cart a little over a week now and it’s been played with every day by Flixster. He absolutely loves it! I’d say this toy test was an absolute hit. I’ve enjoyed watching him use the cart and his imagination to serve tea many times over. He loved pretending to drink and serve everyone else.

belles tea party cart belles tea party cart

(See the teapot and cups underneath!)

 

He ever wanted to take chip to bed the other night, I’m not sure he’d make a good cuddle companion though!

Belles Tea Party Cart can be purchased from a variety of retailers in the UK and would make a fabulous gift for any Beauty and the Beast fan.