My Mini Monsters Blog

Based on the popular carol Twelve Days of Christmas, we’ve put together a My Mini Monsters special treat list for all those girls and boys who deserve much more than coal this Christmas! Here goes…

On the First Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Second Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Third Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Fourth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Fifth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Sixth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Seventh Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes,Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Eighth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Eight Luxury Baskets, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-Shaped Trike

On the Ninth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Nine Humphrey Books, Eight Luxury Baskets, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Tenth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Ten Single Beds, Nine Humphrey Books, Eight Luxury Baskets, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Eleven Cosy Cushions, Ten Single Beds, Nine Humphrey Books, Eight Luxury Baskets, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas we’d like to offer you, Twelve Wicker Baskets, Eleven Cosy Cushions, Ten Single Beds, Nine Humphrey Books, Eight Luxury Baskets, Seven Storage Pieces, Six Bedding Bales, Five Snuggle Robes, Four Canvas Arts, Three Precious Boxes, Two Bailey Beds and Zimba the Lion-shaped Trike

There’s not long to go until Halloween and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be quaking with excitement and the anticipation of a fun-filled weekend!

In honour of this spook-tacular event, here are a few of my favourite things to give you some great ideas for costumes, pumpkin carvings, tricks and of course lots of treats!

Spider Costume

Very easy to make - just use old wire coathangers and screwed up newspaper to pad out your extra legs!

Night Before Christmas Pumpkin

In honour of our favourite spooky Christmas film, try this funky carving!

Family Fave Toffee Apple

I’m a big fan of the traditional Toffee Apple, the epitome of Autumn! Put your own spin on them for Halloween.

Trick Somebody with Kindness

Try not to terrify your neighbours (especially the older ones) this Halloween. Play a trick with a touch of kindness, why not give them a treat when you knock on their door?!

Stay Safe this Halloween

Trick or Treat-ing can be great fun but remember to stay safe!

Why not throw a Halloween Party at home for all your friends and family instead?

A Helpful Guide

Check out the My Mini Monsters guide to Carving a Pumpkin! Just click the image:

At long last, Summer arrived in the North this weekend and it’s about time too! So, instead of my usual surfing the net for ways to entertain the kids on rain

y days I wanted to get them outdoors and sharpish! My logical, somewhat simple train of thought went “it’s hot, we all need to cool down, where can we find a lot of water?” - and so I was transfixed on finding a local waterpark to get active next weekend.

As usual, Google was my saviour and brought me to

my new favourite website www.DayOutWithTheKids.co.uk

Not only does this fab site let you search through an array of activities by location, but also by age of children or by attraction type, so you can be as picky as you like and it still returns loads of great days out!

Just wanted to share this little goldmine with you x

Decorating your home might throw a spanner into the works for some couples - discussions like pattern vs plain, paper vs paint, space vs storage… but as a general rule we don’t consider how our colour/furniture choice will help or hinder our development, we just go with personal preference for guidance.

It might come as a shock, therefore, when new parents come to tackle the age-old dilemma ‘colour or cream’ for their newborn’s nursery! Our instincts and timeless traditions would say go blue for boys and pink for girls, for the ’surprise’ baby stick to neutrals. Easy. BUT if you’ve done your research you might happen upon a popular argument which says bright colours are important for baby, so adding lots of vibrant shades in the nursery will stimulate faster development…so what’s the verdict?

Research does show that colour stimulates development. However, it is not necessary for the whole nursery to be vibrant for baby to benefit. In fact, for the first 6 weeks, baby won’t see most of their surroundings, so it is more important to provide colourful objects of focus which act as stimulants. It is also more important that the nursery is a peaceful place to promote safety and tranquillity for baby to sleep and feel calm. Other rooms in the house can be more vibrant and will be much more effective as ‘development areas’ whilst baby is awake.

So what’s the best plan?

As always, it’s down to personal choice, so don’t let ‘expert’ opinions worry you or sway your choice too much. We recommend a neutral nursery, at least for the first few weeks after birth. After this, if you want a more colourful nursery, try adding big wall stickers, wallpaper borders or large pictures as points of colour and focus. Lots and lots of bright toys are always great for development but should be stored away when it is time for sleep. This is even more important as baby grows and becomes more active, so there is a clear distinction between areas for play and sleep, even if the same room is used for both.

And our survey says?

Don’t compromise on colour, bold is beautiful! Try to keep the base of the nursery neutral, fresh walls provide longevity and a great backdrop for individuality. Add colour in bursts - stickers, borders, canvases and fabrics will provide stimulating points of focus. Separate sleep from play using colour and light so that baby gets lots of rest in order to enjoy playtime.

As expected, the Great British ‘Summer’ was very brief this weekend, so we’ve spent a few hours working hard to compile a list of our favourite family films to while away the coming days of overcast weather. If you haven’t seen our favourites, get to your nearest rental shop today before you miss out, we promise you’ll have a smile on your face watching any of these films! Let us know what you think, do you agree and more importantly, do your little monsters agree?

1. Gnomeo & Juliet
2. Despicable Me
3. Up
4. Tangled
5. Ratatouille
6. Monsters Inc
7. Finding Nemo
8. How To Train Your Dragon
9. Wall-E
10. Toy Story 3

We’ve already had two fantastic bank holiday weekends in the past month, but why stop at two?

May 30th celebrates the Spring Bank Holiday and whole week off school for those lucky little ones! If, like us, you’re wondering how many more parks you can visit and games you can play, here’s a list of our favourite sites for great days out and trips with the kids!

Grab a bargain with www.MoneySavingExpert.com - loads of 2for1 offers and money saving tips for days out across the UK including Madame Tussauds in London, Cadbury World in Birmingham and lots more!

Similar deals can be found across the UK with www.DaysOutGuide.co.uk - including 2for1 on The Wheel of Manchester and 25% off City Sightseeing Tours across Lancashire, Merseyside, Yorkshire and more!

We’re loving www.Groupon.co.uk at the minute, perfect for last minute deals all over the UK. Offers change daily so keep checking in your area, you could grab activity days from Paintballing to Snowboarding, or fantastic Restaurant and Hotel offers to treat your family! Recommend to a friend and you save even more!

Let us know how you get on and what your mini monsters get up to this Bank Holiday!

Unsurprisingly, the past 6 months of ‘Royal Wedding’ fever has now given way to post-wedding excitement and gossip, with everything being discussed from that dress to the JU5T WED numberplate on the new couple’s getaway car!

Not to be outdone here’s our tuppence worth - we LOVED it!

…and our favourite piece of gossip to come from the wedding so far???

Prince Harry and his parenting skills!

According to sources, little Eliza Lopes was very anxious prior to the wedding so the ‘Royal Joker’ Prince Harry nipped out to purchase a £1 wiggly worm for her. When Eliza, the Duchess of Cornwall’s grand-daughter, became scared by the cheering crowds on the way back to Buckingham Palace after the service at Westminster Abbey, Prince Harry swiftly pulled out the wiggly worm and it worked a treat! The bright pink toy can even be seen on the official wedding photographs as Eliza could not be parted from her soothing gift.

So next time you have an anxious child, maybe a quick trip to the joke shop for a wiggly worm will solve the problem, who knows? But we love Prince Harry for his joviality, who says the class clown can’t come top? Maybe we should be watching for Harry & Chelsy having kids before the newlyweds???

There have been two celebrity Baby births this week.

Coronation Street star Kym Marsh and Fiance Jamie Lomas announce the birth of their Daughter, five weeks early!

In a statement, Kym’s publicist said: “Jamie Lomas and Kym Marsh are delighted to announce that they are the proud parents of a baby girl, Polly Lomas.
“Polly was born on Wednesday evening weighing 4lbs 1oz. Mum and baby are doing well.”

On Tuesday comedian James Corden and partner Julia Carey welcomed their baby boy into the world.  Julia gave birth at the exclusive Portland Street Hospital, babys name has not yet been revealed, but the are debating whether to continue with the family tradition of having the middle name Kimberley!

Guy Ritchie is to become a dad for the third time as girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley is pregnant with their first baby together.

The film director from films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’  already has biological 10 year old son Rocco and adopted 5 year old boy David with ex-wife Madonna and his model girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley are expecting their first child together in September and are thrilled at their impending arrival.

A source has said: “They have been keen to start a family for a while now. They’re absolutely made up. We expect to hear wedding bells next year.”