Christmas Recipe: Non-alcoholic Vimto Mulled Wine

I love mulled wine at Christmas. From around mid-November I start getting excited for the day I can officially treat myself to a warming glass of spiced mulled wine. It’s a treat I do want to share with my family, but with it being quite boozy it’s not that suitable for 7 year old boys. My solution is to make Vimto Mulled Wine instead, something which also speaks loudly to my proud Mancunian patriotism.

Mulled wine, or Glühwein, Glögg if you’re feeling continental is usually made from red wine infused with spices and served hot. Red wine is warmed and then steeped in a combination of spices usually including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and coriander. In Europe, mulled wine has been drunk for centuries during the cold winter months and is a lovely warming festive drink.

This non-alcoholic Vimto Mulled Wine is such a delicious treat. If you use one of those mulled wine sachets you can buy, this is a really simple and lovely recipe. It’s really quick to make and it’s a lovely non-alcoholic festive treat for all the family.

Non-alcoholic Vimto Mulled Wine

Ingredients
Vimto cordial, sugar-free is fine
1 sachet of Steenbergs Organic Mulled Wine Spices
Water
Sugar (optional)

Method
Boil a kettle of water and pour enough boiling water for however many cups of mulled Vimto you’ll need into a jug. Add a sachet of Steenbergs Organic Mulled Wine Spices and leave to steep for 5 – 10 minutes or so.

Remove the sachet and add Vimto cordial to taste, stir to make sure it’s all combined. Taste and add sugar if you think it needs it (depending on how sweet your sweet tooth is).

Pour into nice heat-proof glasses and serve. If you’re feeling fancy you could float a slice of orange on the top, or serve it with a cinnamon stick.

Christmas Recipe: Non-alcoholic Vimto Mulled Wine

There you have it, lovely warming spiced mulled wine that’s suitable for all the family. If you enjoyed this, you might like to check out these other ideas for Christmas drinks.

PS. You don’t have to use Steenbergs; but it’s what I had in the cupboard and they’re my go-to brand of mulled wine spices.

Christmas Recipe: Non-alcoholic Vimto Mulled Wine

Toy Review: Get ready for battle with Power Rippers!

Power Rippers are a fusion of vehicles, battle tops and action figures in one. These brand new, no batteries required racing and battling toys can race up to 500 scale MPH. They can battle each other and do crazy stunts, jumping up to 10 feet high. Each of these new collectible Power Rippers can transform and each is armed with either teeth, stingers, a battering ram or saw blades.

We were sent the Power Rippers 2 in 1 Competition Set (RRP £29.99) and the Power Rippers 2-Pack (RRP £9.99) to put to the test. The competition set comes with its own carrying case and includes a 2 lane track set and a Power Ripper and ripcord. The Power Rippers 2-Pack contains two collectible Power Rippers and their ripcords. Power Rippers are suitable for ages 8+.

Toy Review: Get ready for battle with Power Rippers!

Each Power Ripper is a little vehicle which is powered by a ripcord you pull in and out rapidly to fire up the engine. You can release it onto the track and it can race and loop the loop. You can race them against each other. There are no batteries needed so they’re really easy to set up and go.

The competition set comes in a bright green carry case which is packed full of track. There are lots of ways to play with the Power Rippers, you can design your own track if you want, but we followed the design in the instructions. The track is pretty easy to connect together and there are so many different configurations you can try, just use your imagination. Just power up your Power Ripper and watch it loop the loop and race along your track.

Toy Review: Get ready for battle with Power Rippers!

On the other side of the carry case there is a battle arena. You close the flaps on your Power Ripper; power them up with the ripcord and send them down the slope to do battle in the arena. They spin fast, banging into each other. The flaps pop open and bash your opponent in a way that reminded me a little of Robot Wars. The battle mode is great fun and was perhaps our favourite way to play with the Power Rippers.

Once you’ve finished playing, everything gets neatly packed away in the carry case. It’s very neatly designed, which I like.

Toy Review: Get ready for battle with Power Rippers!

It can be a little tricky at first to get the hang of powering up your Power Ripper and setting it on the track. Make sure you have quite a few practice runs first. We all enjoyed playing with the Power Rippers. We loved how fast they zoomed along the track and the way they sprung open when they bashed against each other in the battle arena.

For more information about Power Rippers, visit their website.

We were sent the Power Rippers for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own. This post contains affiliate links.

Crafts: How to make Button Christmas Decorations

If you’re looking for a simple but quite beautiful Christmas craft, then by Jove I think I’ve got it! These lovely button Christmas decorations are really simple to do and look great hanging on a tree.

I belong to a craft group and we are always on the lookout for interesting things to make and do on our craft evenings. We spotted a picture of some button Christmas decorations and thought we would give them a try. All we needed were a huge box of buttons, some craft wire and a bit of patience to experiment.

How to make a button Christmas Tree

You will need –
A selection of buttons, mostly green in different shapes and sizes
Fine jewellery or craft wire

Method –
Sort a selection of buttons to make your tree. You’ll need something to be the tree trunk at the bottom, I used two wooden buttons. You will also need green buttons in decreasing sizes and in a variety of shades of green.

I found it best to find the right buttons and lay them out in order before threading them onto the fine wire.

Take a length of fine jewellery or craft wire, approximately 8 inches in length. Double up the wire and thread one end through one hole on your base button and the other end through the opposite hole. Do the same with all the buttons in your Christmas tree stack until your Christmas tree is complete.

Top your tree with a brightly coloured button, or a star-shaped button if you have one. If you’re happy with your tree, tie a knot on the last button and another knot in the ends of the jewellery or craft wire to create a hanging loop.

How to make a button Bauble

You will need –
A selection of buttons, in various colours, shapes and sizes
Fine jewellery or craft wire

Method –
Sort a selection of buttons to make your bauble. You’ll need to play about with your buttons a little to find a selection of matching buttons. You’ll need one fairly big central button, then some matching ones in various sizes and colours.

I found it best to find the right buttons and lay them out in order before threading them onto the fine wire.

If you’re happy with your bauble, tie a knot on the last button and another knot in the ends of the jewellery or craft wire to create a hanging loop. Easy.

These are a lovely, easy craft to make. One of my craft group friends also make a button Santa and a button snowman, but I’m all out of buttons ad I need to go and buy some more so I can make some more button Christmas decorations.

Check out my other craft tutorials here!

Recipe: Delicious Armenian Red Cabbage Salad

For our wedding anniversary a few weeks ago, my husband and I went to the Armenian Taverna in Manchester for dinner. We used to go there a lot in the days before we became parents, partly because the food was absolutely fantastic and partly because my husband is half Armenian and it’s good to celebrate those roots. Together we feasted on the beautiful mezze plates and chatted like the old days. We both fought over the small but delicious portion of Armenian Red Cabbage Salad, a dish I’ve decided to recreate at home because it was that good!

Mezze is always my favourite part of any Armenian meal. I love piling my plate with little heaps of good salads and sides, with dollops of rich hummus served with still warm lavash bread. Delicious.

Recipe: Delicious Armenian Red Cabbage Salad

This Armenian Red Cabbage Salad is and always has been one of my favourite dishes. The salad is really simple to make and keeps for a few days in the fridge. I like to make a big bowl of it and serve it with almost anything. We had it this week with lamb koftas with a little salad and some lavash bread. It was so good I polished the rest of the bowl off for lunch.

It is better if you can make it the day before you need it as it really allows the flavours to develop. It’s so simple and I think a really flavoursome and slightly healthier alternative to coleslaw.

Armenian Red Cabbage Salad

Ingredients
1 small red cabbage, or half a large one
1 dessert spoon of caster sugar
2 dessert spoons of Balsamic vinegar
1 dessert spoon of good olive oil
A handful or sultanas or craisins
A good handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
Walnuts, optional

Method
Finely slice your red cabbage and toss in a bowl to separate all the slices. In a small jar add your sugar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some seasoning. Put the lid on the jar and shake it hard until it is well combined.

Pour the dressing over the red cabbage, add in your handful of sultanas or craisins and stir. Give the salad a taste and add more seasoning if you think it needs it. Cover the bowl and put in the fridge overnight.

Before serving, remove from the fridge and leave it out for an hour or so to bring it up to near room temperature. Stir through the chopped parsley and taste again to check the seasoning, adjust if you think it needs it. If I have any walnuts I sometimes like to chop them up a little and throw them into the salad too.

Recipe: Delicious Armenian Red Cabbage Salad

Serve however you want. We like our Armenian Red Cabbage Salad served with a mezze lunch or it’s great with lamb or this traditional Armenian Imam Bayildi recipe. This Armenian Red Cabbage Salad hits so many delicious sweet, sour and crunchy notes, I’m sure it’ll become a family favourite of yours too!

Recipe: Delicious Armenian Red Cabbage Salad

Board Game Club Review: Rory’s Story Cubes

I am part of the Blogger Board Game Club run by Playtime PR. Each month 50 bloggers are sent a new (or new-ish, or at least new to them) board game to play and put to the test. This month we were sent Rory’s Story Cubes, a game I am familiar with but have never played.

Board Game Club Review: Rory’s Story Cubes

Rory’s Story Cubes is a simple set of nine dice. Each dice is different and has a different image on each of its six sides. The idea is simple, roll the dice and make up a story based upon the nine images. It’s small, it’s simple and you can play it anywhere.

The game comes in a small magnetic box which contains the nine dice and a set of simple instructions. The only thing you need to supply is your imagination. The instructions are very easy to understand and include suggestions for developing your stories.

I’ve been waiting and waiting for my son (who has just turned seven) to be old enough to enjoy and understand this game. I was a little concerned he would think it was boring, but actually he loved it. He’s an imaginative little soul, so piecing together a story based on the roll of nine dice really floats his boat.

Board Game Club Review: Rory’s Story Cubes

Rory’s Story Cubes are the kind of game that could spark off a whole raft of really lovely developmental activity. The storytelling can help to develop creative ideas and improve communication skills; as well as give their confidence a boost too.

We really loved Rory’s Story Cubes. This is the basic set, but if you really get into it there are a variety of expansion packs to help you grow your stories. This is such a big hit for us, it’s going straight into the activity bag we take with us when we go out.

Rory’s Story Cubes is widely available from a range of retailers and costs around £12.99. It’s suitable for ages 6+ and would make an excellent after dinner game on Christmas Day!

We were sent the Rory’s Story Cube game for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Find other board game and toy reviews here.

Review: Kids Songs – a triple album for kids

Like most children my son is a music lover. He will happily listen to our grown up music and he loves Radio 2, but play him an album of kids songs and he’s in his element. We were sent a copy of the newly released triple album – Kids Songs from Crimson Productions to listen to and enjoy, but what did the boy think?

Kids Songs is a brand new triple album packed with original recordings of children’s favourite TV themes and songs. The album features some of the biggest names in kids TV, including Justin Fletcher and Chris and Pui; as well as theme tunes from popular CBeebies Programmes such as Go Jetters, Waybaloo, Tee and Mo, Boj, Rastamouse, Everything’s Rosie and lots more.

Review: Kids Songs - a triple album for kids

Kids Songs is the perfect album to listen to in the car, or at home for your own mini disco. It’s a habit of ours that when it’s bath-time I put a CD on and we have a listen and a sing along in the bathroom. It’s a lovely bonding thing, singing and dancing around together to some of his favourite music.

Kids Songs will be released on 17th November 2017 and is the ultimate Cbeebies soundtrack of the year and a must have stocking filler for all CBeebies fans. My son absolutely loved it, I think recognising most of the songs and theme tunes and being able to listen to them over and over if he wanted to made the Kids Songs CD very appealing to him.

Review: Kids Songs - a triple album for kids

With three CDs to listen to, it’s really hard to get bored of them, especially if you’re listening to them in rotation. It really is the perfect album to play on long car journeys or at kids parties.

The Kids Songs triple CD is available from a wide range of retailers including Amazon, where it is available for £7.09 or as a MP3 download for £6.49.

We were sent the Kids Songs CD for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own. Post contains an affiliate link.

Review: My Golden Ticket – A Beautiful Personalised Roald Dahl Book

I’ve been reading Roald Dahl books since I was a child and I’m keen to pass on a love of his stories to my own son. I’ve loved all of Roald Dahl’s books, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an especially iconic tale. Who hasn’t dreamed of finding a golden ticket and being transported into a wonderful new world? Wonderbly have recently released a new personalised story book based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – My Golden Ticket.

My Golden Ticket- A Beautiful Personalised Roald Dahl Book

My Golden Ticket is a beautifully illustrated personalised adventure that opens up Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory to absolutely everyone. This isn’t just a version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a Charlie’s name swapped for your child’s name. Everyone gets a different personalised story; including their own unique candy, Oompa Loompa song and Wonkafied family tree.

When you order your copy of My Golden Ticket on the Wonderbly website there are a few questions you need to answer to personalise the book. Obviously there’s your child’s name, in our case Benjamin. You can also choose someone to go on the adventure with him. We chose Grandad who died last year; but he would have been the perfect person to go on this adventure with.

My Golden Ticket- A Beautiful Personalised Roald Dahl Book

You can also add your names to an inscription on the first page. Ordering the book is really straightforward and only really took me a few minutes to do. My Golden Ticket starts at £19.99, but there are a number of different options to choose from which can build the price. We chose a hardback book which took the price to £25.99. I then added a dedication and someone to go on the adventure with. With added gift-wrap and candy scent the final price was £30.99, but that really is the all singing – all dancing version of the book.

My Golden Ticket- A Beautiful Personalised Roald Dahl Book

My Golden Ticket is beautifully illustrated, rich with colour with a stunning golden embossed cover. If you add the candy scent (which is something I recommend for an extra £2) they slip a scented postcard into your book. This gently wafts chocolate smells at you while you’re reading. It’s very clever and is brought to you by “Wonka Smell-o-Vision”.

My Golden Ticket- A Beautiful Personalised Roald Dahl Book

This beautiful (and I can’t stress this enough, it is beautiful) personalised book would make a really magical keepsake for any child (or Wonka mad adult for that matter). It’s the kind of book which we will bring out to read time and again for many years to come. It really is a very special book.

Disclosure: We were sent this My Golden Ticket book for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Sweetpea Pantry – Do their boxed baking mixes work?

Boxed baking mixes are really handy to have in the cupboard for a baking emergency. This week we’ve been putting some of the Sweetpea Pantry range of baking mixes to the test.

In the days before I became I parent I wasn’t known for my baking. I was pretty shoddy at it and used to rely a lot on boxed baking mixes which weren’t that great. Once I became a Mum and it somehow became expected of me to morph into some kind of Nigella creature, I taught myself how to bake. But I still keep a boxed baking mix or two in my cupboard for emergencies.

The Sweetpea Pantry mixes are a little bit different to your standard range of sponge buns with Ninja Turtle decorations. They have a range of sweet and savory mixes which have a healthy twist, more of which later. Many of the mixes are gluten-free and have free-from options; for example their Super-Duper Brownie Mix contains flaxseed and teff, has no added sugar and is gluten-free! They say they are 100% natural, 100% honest and 100% fun!

Sweetpea Pantry - Do their boxed baking mixes work?

The Sweetpea Pantry range includes mixes for cakes, pizza dough, pancakes, flapjacks and biscuits. They’re made with whole grains and nutritious ingredients for delicious, easy and healthy home baking. We were sent a selection of the mixes to try and I was impressed.

The first box we tried were the Super-Duper Brownies. I’m not usually much of a fan of brownies. I don’t really like chocolate cakes and desserts (yes I know I’m weird) but these were the right balance of not too sweet, not too stodgy but with enough brownie goo to please the crowd.

They were so easy to make and all I needed to add was some butter and honey. There is a list of suggested options so you can tailor your bake to meet your requirements, so if you’re vegan you can swap the butter for coconut oil for example. They took ten minutes to make and 12 minutes to prep and 3 minutes to eat the lot.

Sweetpea Pantry - Do their boxed baking mixes work?

In the interests of having a sweet and savory balance, we also tried the Playful Pizza Dough Mix. This contains chia and flax seeds and is vegan, vegetarian, dairy free and contains no added sugar. All I needed to add was a little olive oil and water, plus a bit of flour when I was rolling the dough out.

I followed the instructions on the box, left it to prove and then rolled the dough out to make four different pizzas to feed four fairly fussy people. Here is my pizza, cheese, tomato, chilli and egg. It actually worked really well and I loved the pizza base which was crisp and held the toppings well. We all really enjoyed the flavour of the base, which had a lovely slightly nutty flavour.

Sweetpea Pantry - Do their boxed baking mixes work?

We loved the pizza dough, it was so easy to use. I tend to use a pizza dough mix rather than a bought base these days as they tend to be lighter. I liked the crisp, slightly nutty base and I’ll be buying more to keep in stock for our family pizza and TV nights.

The Sweetpea Pantry baking mixes are available from Ocado, Sainsburys, Booths, Marks & Spencer and a range of other retailers. Each mix costs £2.75 and from what I can tell, they’re delicious, family friendly mixes with a healthy and nutritious twist.

For more information about Sweetpea pantry, visit their website.

Note: I was sent a selection of mixes for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Crafts: How to make lolly stick Christmas decorations

Now it’s mid-November, I’m really starting to get stuck into some Christmas crafts. I made some beautiful button decorations at my craft club last week and over the weekend I had a root through my craft stash to see what we could make. I discovered a large and colourful lolly stick collection which were crying out to be turned into Christmas decorations.