Five things to do in Manchester in May Half Term

It only seems like five minutes since the kids when back to school after Easter and the May half term is just around the corner. It’s often hard to think of things to do to entertain the troops. Playdates and trips to the park always feature heavily, but it’s good to have a few bigger things in the diary too.

I’ve picked a few things to do in (and around) Manchester with the kids this May half term. We’ll definitely be popping along to some of these.

The Lost Carnival

If you’ve ever been to the Just So Festival, A Day at the Lake or event The Lost Carnival last year, you know that Wild Rumpus know how to put on an event. Last year we went to The Lost Carnival which was in Bury, this year you can experience an evening of wonder in Crewe, and trust me, it is an experience to remember for all the best reasons.

This year features a “Battle of the Carnivals” between the rival carnivals, The Ingenues and the Birds. Together they will meet for a thrilling evening of spellbinding theatre and enthralling installations, circus, music, visual trickery and sideshows galore. Last year was so good it gave me goosebumps and this year looks set to be even bigger and better!

The Lost Carnival will take place on May 28/29/30 (4-9.30pm) at Queen’s Park, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 7SE. Early Bird tickets cost £10 per ticket. Under 3s go free. Carnival goers should dress for the weather, and wear sturdy shoes.

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre & SEA LIFE Manchester

Over the May half term, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester at the Trafford Centre will have lots to entertain families come rain or shine. better still, guests only have to buy one ticket and will have the freedom to explore two brilliant attractions!

In the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre visit the brand new play area, City Builder. Visitors can create their own buildings and structures in the City Builder zone. The only limit is your imagination!

For movie enthusiasts, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre has another new 4D movie starring the LEGO Nexo Knights. Experience this fantastic new 4D film with all the elements – wind, water and smoke – bringing the battle to life all around the cinema.

May Half Term

Down at SEA LIFE Manchester, families can dive deep to the fascinating world of new exhibition, Octopus Hideout and spot the star of the show, the Giant Pacific Octopus called Hank and his Cephalopod friends. A visit to SEA LIFE is always a fascinating, fun and educational day out.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit the LEGOLAND website and the SEA LIFE website.

Roald Dahl’s Tremendous Adventures at Tatton Park

From Easter until the end of 2016, Tatton Park is is bringing Roald Dahl’s imagination to life, with a host of children’s trails and events for all the family. Join Danny the Champion of the World in the gardens, Fantastic Mr Fox at the farm and Matilda in the mansion and you’ve got to be careful of The Enormous Crocodile out in the parkland!

We’ve already visited and explored the farm at Tatton Park where we found Fantastic Mr Fox, and we’ll be visiting again over half term to explore some of the other fabulous Roald Dahl goings on. You can read the full preview of the Roald Dahl adventures at Tatton Park here.

May half term

GeronimO Festival at Tatton Park

The Geronimo Festival is on at Tatton Park (May 29th and 30th) and will feature CBeebies star live shows, a full circus, 3 theatre companies, amazing bands, a full county fair arena including jousting, sheep shearing, motorcycle displays, funfair rides, tortoise encounters, spy school den building and 100 other amazing activities.

This year CBeebies megastar Justin Fletcher will be there, as well as Mr Bloom, presenters Andy Day and Alex Winters and Cook and Line from Swashbuckle. As well as Les Enfants Terrible who present their Imaginary Menagerie. We’ve seen this show before and it is fantastic, so we won’t be missing that particular festival highlight! You can read my preview here.

What else?

Manchester is a lively, vibrant city full of museums, art galleries, things to see, do and explore. Just a short drive out fo the city you have a wealth of unspoilt countryside and fresh air to fill your lungs with.

If the weather is decent then you could visit and explore outdoors at Dunham Massey, Lyme Park, Delemere Forest or Quarry Bank Mill. There’s Manchester Museum to explore; the Museum of Science and Industry, The Police Museum, Manchester Airport Viewing Park, Stockport Hat Museum, the air-raid shelters; as well as Wythenshawe Community Farm and the utterly fantastic Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire.

There’s lots to do this May half term, do you have any interesting ideas for things to do during May half term?

Review: Babyblooms gifts for new parents

When a new baby is born it’s usually a time for celebration. Friends and family rush round for a cuddle and often bring gifts for the new arrival. It’s a kind and thoughtful thing to do, but often it’s not always possible to visit or bring gifts straight away. Babyblooms are a company who have a lovely selection of original, beautiful and practical gifts online for delivery all over the world.

Although I’ve not got a new baby, I do like receiving presents. Babyblooms got in touch and wondered if I’d try out some of their pampering skincare products for Mums. They sent me the following items…

Replenishing hand cream
Soothing body lotion
Rejuvenating facial moisturiser
Lip rescue
Baby care cream

Babyblooms

My pampering presents came in a lovely keepsake box designed by Amanda Bradley and inside was a sachet of lavender and rose buds which was a nice touch.

Over a few days I tried all of the products out. It’s worth noting at this point that I have quite sensitive skin, especially on my face, so any products I use need to be as kind as gentle as can be. All of the Babyblooms products I received were made in the UK, are 100% natural and are cruelty free.

I’ve had a cold so my lips were dry and chapped, and my skin generally dehydrated and drab. The first product I tried was the lip rescue. A little pot of lip balm, an essential for your hospital bag, and something I use every day. Made from a blend of beeswax, calendula, olive oil, sweet almond oil and cardamom, this is a lovely lip balm which moisturises, soothes and really helped my dried, chapped lips.

Next up was the baby care cream, which is like aqueous cream. I used this every day on my dry elbows. I also used it on my five year old who is prone to dry skin, when his eczema patches are very bad I used this cream to wash him with too. It’s all natural, it smelt quite neutral and was easily absorbed.

One of my favourite products was the rejuvenating facial moisturiser. Described as a rich, restorative and detoxifying night time moisturiser, it was reasonably thick but was absorbed beautifully by my hungry skin. The skin on my face is so sensitive I was worried that this would make my skin red and itchy, but it didn’t and I was very impressed. It’s hard enough to find a high street moisturiser that my face can tolerate, so I was very impressed with this find. I’m definitely adding this to my Christmas list!

The replenishing hand cream contains refreshing lemongrass and moisturising jojoba. The cream had a soft lemon fragrance and was non-greasy. It’s a lovely light hand cream you could use every day. I found it nicely moisturising and I enjoyed the uplifting fragrance. You can never have too much hand cream when you’re a mum, constantly washing your hands after changing nappies, wiping bottoms and cooking and cleaning all takes it’s toll on your hands. I go through so much hand cream it doesn’t bear thinking about and it’s lovely to use one with such a refreshing fragrance.

Last but by no means least was the soothing body lotion. This was one of my very favourite products in the box. The lotion contains calendula, lavender and evening primrose. It smells absolutely beautiful and not too heavily of lavender which can be overpowering, this is just enough to help you wind down after a long hard day. Another one for my Christmas list!

The Babyblooms pampering products for mums are lovely, really well thought out and even now, as a veteran mum I would be delighted to receive a box of these treats through the post. There are so many gorgeous gifts for new parents and their babies on the Babyblooms website, and I love that you can send gifts all over the world, which is a helpful thing to know, especially as we have friends and family all over the world now.

For the full range of pampering products, or to view their gift range visit the Babyblooms website.

Note: I was sent the Babyblooms products for review. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout DVD

Last month we managed to grab a week away in Devon, we packed quickly and not particularly efficiently. When we got there it turned out I’d only packed one DVD for the small boy to watch in our wifi-less cottage, it was an old DVD – Peter Rabbit: Tales of the Start of Spring. Thankfully it’s a favourite and was watched every day while we were away. It seems to have re-kindled something of an obsession with Peter Rabbit. Earlier this week, the latest DVD installment was released – Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout.

Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout

The Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout DVD is the fourth Peter Rabbit DVD from Abbey Home Media. The 72 minute long DVD includes 6 exciting episodes, and all our favourite characters from the world of Peter Rabbit. The DVD also comes with a lovely free height chart.

The Peter Rabbit – The Tale of the Great Breakout DVD includes six episodes –

The Tale of the Great Breakout
The Tale of the Mystery Plum Thief
The Tale of Benjamin’s Strawberry Raid
The Tale of the Downhill Escape
The Tale of the Unguarded Garden
The Tale of the Cat and the Rat

Follow Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Lily Bobtail on their adventures and their quest to save the day, overcoming obstacles and outsmarting predators, all the while finding fun and excitement in the most unexpected places.

The Peter Rabbit series on CBeebies is always so lively and full of adventure, my little boy adores it and this DVD is no exception. He was super-excited to open it and couldn’t wait to put it on. We sat down together and watched it in one sitting – 70 minutes of mischief and adventure, with a few hairy moments and lots of fun and friendship. He loved it and I can see this coming on holiday with us next time.

Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout

Peter Rabbit: The Tale of The Great Breakout is rated U and was released on 2nd May 2016. The DVD is available from a wide range of retailers including Amazon.

Days Out: Finding Fantastic Mr Fox at the Farm

This year Tatton Park in Cheshire have a full programme of events to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl. Being epic Roald Dahl fans, we hot footed it down to the farm at Tatton Park to see if we could find our friend, The Fantastic Mr Fox.

Fantastic Mr Fox

The farm is a short walk from the main car park at Tatton Park. I have some mobility problems, but it was a virtually flat walk on a good tarmac road and I found it fine, even in the rain.

At the farm you pay to get in (£6 per adult and £4 per child) and you’re free to explore the farm. We had a good wander around and found cows, pigs and piglets, chickens, ducks, chicks, rabbits, orphan lambs, goats (lots of cheeky goats), horses and much more. There are a large number of permanent displays and things to do at the farm which make it good value to visit anyway.

This year they’ve added a few fabulous features to fit in the Fantastic Mr Fox theme. When you enter the farm you’re given a map to help you explore and find Fantastic Mr Fox’s Den. Dotted in and around the farm are a few key features from the famous Roald Dahl story. Can you find Farmer Bunce’s Duck & Goose Shed? Farmer Bean’s Secret Cider Cellar or Farmer Boggis’s Kitchen? There’s also a craft room where you can shelter from the rain and design an invitation to Mr Fox’s scrumdiddlyumptous feast.

Fantastic Mr Fox

After you’ve explored the farm and (spoiler alert) failed to find the den, there’s only one more place to look, and that’s the Woodland Playground. The Woodland Playground is a great little spot to let the kids run wild. There’s a storytelling circle, an insect hotel, a den building corner and an adventure playground to explore and conquer. The small boy loved it and set to work building a den of his own.

We managed to spot a fox’s tail hanging from a tree and following the signs found Fantastic Mr Fox’s Den. You could clamber inside and have a little sit down if you wanted, but the boy wasn’t keen, there was too much adventure going on elsewhere!

Fantastic Mr Fox

We had gone to Tatton Park wanting to explore a few of the Roald Dahl attractions, but we had far too much fun at the farm and didn’t have time to look at anything else – a treat we’ll save for another day.

To our shame we’d not read any of the Roald Dahl stories to the small boy (now aged 5), so we picked up a copy of Fantastic Mr Fox from the farm shop, took it home and began reading it together that night. We all loved it. It was nice to re-visit a story I’ve not read for *coughs* 30 years, and it was even nicer to read it to my boy who loved it as much as we did.

The farm at Tatton Park is great, but it does have one failing – there’s no cafe so you can’t get a hot drink and have a sit down. You can buy crisps and biscuits etc from the farm shop, but it was a cold wet day and I was desperate for a hot mug of tea. So maybe take a flask if you’re just visiting the farm.

The small boy does enjoy a visit to the farm and this was even more special because we were looking for Fantastic Mr Fox. I think this is a marvellous addition and a real must for Roald Dahl fans. We are really looking forward to going back and exploring what else Tatton Park has to offer Roald Dahl fans this year.

How it feels to be the victim of online bullying & trolling

Tuesday was a funny old day really. I got trolled on Twitter by some men with nothing better to do than pick on someone for being not very feminine. They suggested a number of things about my lifestyle and life choices, but were unnecessarily nasty about it and then patronising when I failed to respond. This is online bullying. I’ve encountered these types before, they were doing it to provoke a reaction, so I gave them none, but it just made me feel very sad and cast a gloomy cloud over my day.

I’m not perfect, but I try where I can to be nice to almost everyone. Online I’m friendly and supportive, occasionally forthright in my opinions, but more often than not I am very happy to see both sides and as a result I rarely get any stick. I’m not used to it, I’m not a fence sitter, but I’m not naturally argumentative. I hate conflict, so when it happens, when people turn on me for no other reason than for their own entertainment, it shocks me and gives me an unwanted shake up.

Of course the right thing to do was to block them and try to give no further thought to it. It’s something or nothing in the grand scheme of things and I doubt they’ll go to bed with anxiety about it twisting in the pit of their stomach.

I’m not even going to attempt to figure out why randomers are mean to people on the Internet. If I was putting myself out there with maybe a slightly outlandish political opinion, or I was inviting heated debate into my Twitter timeline, then I would almost expect some stick or some online bullying, but I’m not. I’m a normal girl who writes occasionally amusing tweets, chats online to friends and Tweets pictures of her breakfast (a lot, sorry about that).

There are plenty of women, ballsy women, who take this unwanted attention in their stride. I am not one of them. I had thought of a rather good retort, but I felt a response would give them some satisfaction that they had got to me in some way, which of course they had.

My anxiety is always there, sometimes it is a big voice, a grinding in my stomach, a pounding in my heart and I can hardly catch my breath. Sometimes it just whispers that I should be fearful, but when it whispers I can usually ignore it. Today it’s been the big voice anxiety. I’ve seen Twitter pile-ups happen and I have a dread that my notifications would be swarming with hate. Thankfully (touch wood) just a couple of nasties said their piece, got bored when I wouldn’t bite and then I quietly blocked them.

Quite simply. Why do some people need to be so mean?

I’ve been watching The Island with Bear Grylls (which has been brilliant). He has a saying which I’m quite taken with, “with courage and kindness you can conquer the world”. And do you know, I think he’s right. I need a bit more courage and mean people need a bit more kindness. Wouldn’t the world be a better place for us all if kindness, compassion and courage were at the heart of everything we did? Nannight xx

Online bullying

“With courage and kindness you can conquer the world.”

Review: Razorun Wet Shaving Subscription Box

For men, the last few years seem to have been about sharp haircuts and big beards. I love a beard as much as the next woman, but there’s an awful lot to be said for a clean shaven man; men who make the effort every morning to look spiffy. With this in mind, I got my hirsute husband to try out a monthly subscription box for men – Razorun – everything you need for your daily wet shave.

Razorun

The first Razorun box contains a double edged safety razor, a shaving brush, blades, soap and a couple of mystery items. Our box contained some matches and a shaving towel. From your second box onwards you will receive aftershaves, soap, blades and more. There are several different payment options depending on the length of your subscription, but they start at £17.99 per month for 12 months.

Razorun

When we opened the box we found that it contained everything you’d need for a wet shave (apart from the water obviously). Fitting the blade into the razor was simple and after a hot shower, husband lathered up and got shaving.

There’s something special about watching a man have a wet shave. As I child I would stand at my father’s knee and watch him lather up and shave. It was one of our things, I’d sit, legs swinging on the bath while he shaved. We’d talk about everything under the sun whilst he carefully dragged the razor across his face. Even now I love to sit and watch a man shave.

Razorun

Using the synthetic brush and the soap provided he lathered up his face. It’s a moment of ritual in a shave that you don’t get when you’re squirting foam out of a can, so it felt a bit more special than usual.

The shave took him a bit longer than usual, I think he was being cautious with the new blade, he has a very contoured face and his beard grows quickly. The double edged razor was heavier than the modern razors he is used to, but he liked the results and his face felt very smooth afterwards.

Razorun

I think the Razorun monthly subscription box is a lovely gift idea for men. Especially those men who like to do things the traditional way, shaving with proper shaving soap and a proper razor blade. Having a box of different shaving goodies sent each month is I think a lovely way of making a daily chore into something a bit nicer.

As a woman who probably cares a bit more about skincare than her man, I’d like to see some manly moisturisers and calming aftershave balms in subsequent boxes. I know each month the products are hand selected, so maybe that’s something which may happen at a later date. No two months are the same, which is part of the fun.

With Father’s Day fast approaching, I like the idea of setting up a subscription for a monthly Razorun box for either my Dad or for husband. Giving them a monthly treat to help them tackle a daily chore will hopefully help to remind them that they’re appreciated year round, not just on 19th June 2016 (Father’s Day).

To get a discount on your Razorun subscription enter SMOOTHSHAVER at the checkout, this gives you 15% off your first order. For more information about Razorun and their monthly shaving subscription boxes, visit their website.

How to have a good wet shave

Anyone who has ever run a razor over their face or any part of their body knows that shaving without due care and attention can leave you with irritation, razor burn or little cuts. Here are some top tips for having a good wet shave.

Get your face wet. Husband likes to have a shower and he exfoliates before he shaves so it is easier for him to shave.
Use a good quality shaving soap, cream or oil. Find a product which suits you and your skin (lots of women use conditioner on their legs and in an emergency it’s ok to use on your face too).
Use a good quality shaving brush – this will help get a good lather up and help lift the stubble making it easier to get a close shave.
Change your razor blade regularly. A dull or blunt razor is more likely to give you razor burn and irritation.
Use hot water, run the razor under the hot tap to clean it whilst you are shaving, this stops it clogging up with gunk and leaves the razor clear to give you the smooth shave you want.
Rinse and wash your face after shaving and then apply some soothing aftershave balm or a light moisturiser.

If you follow these tips you should get a good shave. Do you have any shaving tips you can share?

Note: We were sent a subscription box from Razorun for review purposes. All images an opinions are our own.

How to Scrapbook – Project Craft at Paperchase

I was an invited guest of Paperchase and I was not asked to pay for my workshop place or materials. All images and opinions are my own.

Paperchase (purveyors of beautiful stationery and arts and crafts materials) have recently launched “Project Craft”, a series of special crafting workshops for adults and children. The Project Craft sessions are currently only available in three flagship stores – Manchester, Glasgow and London, but they should be rolled out to a high street near you soon.

Being an occasionally crafty type, I was invited along to their Manchester store for an evening of crafting and cupcakes. The Project Craft workshops cost from £10 and include all the craft materials you will need for the session. Current Project Craft workshops include –

How to scrapbook
How to make a tissue paper pom pom
Card making with dye-cutting, lino print or foil
How to make kids crafts
How to make paper flowers
DIY stationery

A small group of happy crafters sat in a quiet corner of the store, next to the little cafe upstairs in an area set aside for Project Craft. We were there for the “How to Scrapbook” workshop, which costs £20 and includes a scrapbook and some materials. You are also advised to take along some photographs, old tickets, paper keepsakes and souvenirs that you might want to incorporate into your scrapbook.

project craft

If you’re a bit of a hoarder of tickets and little bits of paper, a scrapbook can be a lovely way to keep it all together and make something of your memories. At the workshop you create at least one double page layout and learn lots of useful tips including how to arrange your photos, layer pages and embellish your scrapbook with different products.

Sadly I’d forgotten to bring some things to scrapbook, but undeterred I rifled through some magazines and had a good rummage through the papers and embellishments they had. Thankfully I managed to forage enough nice things to make a few pages for my scrapbook.

project craft

There was expert tutelage from the Project Craft team at Paperchase. They gave an overview of the scrapbooking process, showed us some examples and sample templates and set us to work creating our masterpieces. There was always someone on hand to give advice and encouragement when required. I was the only scrapbooking virgin in the room, but I didn’t feel too far behind the others and whilst what I created was probably a bit basic, I was happy with the results.

project craft

Whilst my crafting heart probably doesn’t lie in scrapbooking, I did enjoy the process and I think this would be a nice thing to do with my son. Something we can use to document our days out together and something we can use to look back on in later life. I really like the idea of scrapbooking holidays and visits to museums and such like with him.

My scrapbooking might not be perfect, but it was very enjoyable and I learned a few things that I will take forward with me. I enjoyed my little taster of Project Craft at Paperchase and I will be booking in to try the lino print craft workshop soon.

Project Craft Workshops are available at Paperchase in Manchester, Glasgow and London, with more stores to follow soon.

Note: I was an invited guest of Paperchase and I was not asked to pay for my workshop place or materials. All images and opinions are my own.

My Sunday Photo 1.5.16

Yesterday we went to A Day At The Lake at Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. Despite the rain we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The festival was a delight, full of everything you’d expect from Wild Rumpus (who also organise the Just So Festival and The Lost Carnival). The day was full of magic and wonder; mermaids, marching bands, Victorian Jugglers in their bathing suits, circus sideshows, a fabulous storyteller, a helter skelter and an amazing tightrope walker who walks across a high-wire stretched precariously over the lake!

The small boy came home with a head full of imagination (more so than usual) and it’s really got us in the mood for Just So this summer. If you’re at a loose end this Bank Holiday weekend, then A Day At The Lake is well worth a visit! You can read my full review here.

I took lots of pictures of the day and I have a few favourites, but I love this one of the rowing boats. Hope you like it too.

Rudyard Lake

Review: A Day At The Lake 2016

I think any right minded person who opened their curtains this morning and saw hail (it’s blooming well May tomorrow) would have just closed them again and gone back to bed. However, we are a household of optimists and packed our wellies, a warm jumper and a waterproof and headed off to Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire to experience A Day At The Lake.

By the time we got there (about a 45 minute drive from South Manchester) the rain had dried up and the sun was winking away from behind a cloud. We parked up in the free car park and walked to the entrance, this took ten minutes on firm but muddy paths which were fine for me to walk on (I can struggle with my mobility). You can get the train for a few pounds, but we’d just missed it so chose to walk instead.

A Day At The Lake

We’ve never visited Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire before (it’s technically a reservoir) but it is incredibly beautiful. A long lake in a valley surrounded by woodland and with a small steam train line puffing up and down it.

During the day there was a full programme of events including –

Bullzini the amazing tightrope walker
Storytelling
Marching bands
Victorian Bather’s Juggling Show
Circus sideshows
Mesmerising Mermaids
A Helter Skelter and Swing Boats
Rowing boats and Vintage boat trips on the lake
Donkey and steam train rides along the shore
Craft and Vintage shopping at the Treacle Market
Street food and local ales

Everything you would expect from a Wild Rumpus event! For us the real highlights were Bullzini who walked a very high tightrope across the lake which had everyone watching in awe. The small boy enjoyed the donkey rides, the fabulous storyteller in his caravan, the ice cream from Gingers Comfort Emporium and the vintage boat trip.

A Day At The Lake

Hubs enjoyed exploring the street food stalls and loved the scenery and I really enjoyed the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Ensemble who played their socks off. I thought the Victorian Bather’s Jugglers were great fun and very brave to be wearing so little given it was raining ice. I enjoyed pottering around the Treacle Market and had I brought more pocket money I’d have filled the car with treasures!

A Day At The Lake

The weather was a bit hit and miss, lovely blue skies followed by dark clouds and heavy rain. Thankfully we dodged the worst of it by taking a boat trip for one heavy shower and having a cuppa in the picnic yurt during the other downpour. It’s an event in the countryside, so it’s always wise to wear wellies and bring a waterproof coat to these things anyway. I don’t think many people minded the weather and almost everyone was dressed for it.

It’s a small site, but there’s plenty to do and explore, plus lots of different street food stalls to enjoy (don’t forget the hog roast up near the Treacle Market which shouldn’t be missed if you enjoy a porky lunch). There’s a new spectacle to enjoy on the hour, every hour from 11am until 8pm and lots to do in between. We had a lovely day out, discovered a very beautiful spot and the boy came home with a head full of aspirations to be a tightrope walker (oh dear).

A Day At The Lake

For the full line-up and tickets visit www.dayatthelake.org.uk. Follow A Day At The Lake on Facebook and Twitter at #dayatthelake.

A Day At The Lake will take place on 30 April, 1 and 2 May 11am – 9pm at Rudyard Lake, Staffordshire ST13 8XB.

a day at the lake

Creative Kids – Trying Out The BIC Drawy Book

I like to think of us as a family in touch with our creative side. We often spend an afternoon painting, drawing or crafting together and I’ve always encouraged a love of creative pursuits in the small boy. We were sent the new BIC Drawy Book to test out and it unleashed a new and exciting creative adventure for the boy and me.

All three of us had spent the week snuffling, wheezing and coughing, the small boy getting the worst of it with yet another ear infection. Friday was an inset day so I decided we needed a day of rest and some gentle crafting, so out came our new bag of BIC Drawy goodies and we set to work.

BIC Drawy

We were sent a BIC Drawy Book pack to play with, it contained a special colouring in book and a set of felt tips. The book is linked to the app, so you scan in the page to unlock a virtual experience. It is priced at £9.99 and you get the drawing and activity book , a packet of good quality BIC felt tips and access to the App. We didn’t get as far as trying that out, but what we did do left the small boy in wide-eyed awe.

First off, I should have read the instructions before we unpacked everything. I needed to download a free app (available from the Apple Store and Google Play) which did take a few minutes. Once the app was downloaded we opened it and followed the easy instructions.

BIC Drawy

We created a profile for the small boy and turned the volume up. There is only one story available at the moment, ‘Marty and the Alien’ which is suitable for ages 5+ and suited us down to the ground. There were three difficulty settings, but we chose the easy option to begin with.

The story opens with the engaging tale of Marty, a boy who wants to go into space, an alien lands in his garden and before you know it he’s in a rocket and zooming off to Planet X. Along the way the app has various activities which you need to complete, they’re all explained and my 5 year old soon got the idea and wanted to do them without my help.

Throughout the story the app pauses and asks you to draw certain objects, photograph them with your tablet or phone and then it uses the images you’ve drawn in an animation. You can add stickers and embellishments to your drawings too.

BIC Drawy

They suggest that you draw the outline of your picture in black felt tip on white paper and then colour it in as you wish. The small boy could hardly contain himself as he saw the rocket he’d just drawn fly through space dodging asteroids and space debris, and he virtually rolled around laughing when the alien ate the cheese he’d drawn and did a cheeky burp afterwards. He was genuinely upset when we’d finished the story and we had to do it all over again from the start.

Despite being skeptical at first – I had to draw the first drawing for him and show him how it worked – he loved this BIC Drawy Book set. I loved it too, it was very well thought out, the story was engaging and it’s a great way to encourage creativity in kids. It can often be a little bit more difficult to encourage boys in particular to pick up a pen and get creative, but once he understood how it worked there was no stopping him.

I feel like we’ve only touched the surface of BIC Drawy and the app, there are several more levels of Marty and the Alien to explore, and we’ve not even really looked at the accompanying book yet. There’s a good deal of learning to be had from this too, for those interested in space there’s a part of the app where you can find out more about the planets in our solar system and there’s a quiz to test your space knowledge. On top of that it also develops their fine motor skills, concentration and creativity.

We were very impressed with BIC Drawy, we think it’s got so much potential. The boy is very happy with the existing story, but if they could develop a range of these then he’d be very happy indeed. I can’t wait for him to go to bed so I can have a go by myself – always the hallmark of a great product!

BIC Drawy

You can find out more about BIC Drawy by visiting their website.

Note: We were sent the BIC Drawy Book for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.