Party Bags and Supplies - Review

Recently I had the chance to review a party pack from Party Bags and Supplies and although Elliot had a birthday coming up, I decided to look for a party pack suitable for a little Halloween party we were planning for Elliot and a few of his friends.

Firstly, I was so impressed with the website - there is so much choice! Literally every single theme you could think of is there whether thats Gruffalo, superheroes, princesses, Disney, pirates and lots lots more. There were even two options for spooky party packs so I chose the 'Premium Boneyard Boogie Halloween Party Pack'. This pack contained the following:

- 8 cups
- 8 plates
- 16 napkins
- 1 tablecloth
- 8 pre-filled party bags containing a spooky sticker, skeleton noisemaker, evil eye jet ball, a spin top, a halloween tattoo and a chocolate ghost.

Photo Credit - Party Bags and Supplies

When the pack arrived it was well packaged and I immediately noticed that the quality of the items was really good. I've bought party bits from the pound shop before and whilst it's cheap, you really do get what you pay for! The tablecloth was huge and really thick and I loved the spooky spiderweb pattern.

The party bags were great and I think it's such a good idea to be able to buy them ready made. I always find it a bit of a faff sorting out party bags and it can work out really expensive having to go and buy all the toys/sweets separately. So to have them ready made is a big bonus! The party bags were a big hit with our guests :)

The party packs cost £28 which I think is a fair price for what you get. You'd definitely spend more if you were to go out and buy all the bits separately and it's so convenient being able to buy it all in one go! I love the fact that there is so much choice and I will definitely consider buying from Party Bags and Supplies in the future.

Disclaimer: We received the party pack for the purpose of this honest review. All views are my own

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE FOR MUMS

With Christmas only a month away (eeek, I'm so not organised!), you may be struggling with ideas for the important ladies in your life. I've put together a few things which I think any Mum would love...

1. Yankee Candle - Christmas Cookie (£11.99) - I LOVE Yankee Candles and there's nothing better than a home smelling of your favourite scents. The Christmas editions are all lovely but my current favourite is the Christmas Cookie one - husband if you're reading this, this is a hint!
2. AM/PM Yoga for Beginners; Roxy Shahidi (£12.99)* - You may recognise Roxy from Emmerdale but you may not know that she is a certified yoga instructor too! Beat the post-Christmas rush of fitness DVDs and pop one of these in your mum's stocking, she may thank you after over-indulging in mince pies ;)
3. 3D Polar Bear Mug - John Lewis (£5) - John Lewis always have a great selection of Christmas gifts and this cute little polar bear caught my eye. Just imagine him filled with steaming hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows ...mmmm!
4 & 5. Avon Body Butter and Lani Necklace (£5 & £15) * - Avon have some brilliant gifts this Christmas and you will be spoilt for choice for ideas for your Mum. I love this body butter, it feels really luxurious but you know with Avon that you are getting great value!
6. BIC® Conte Colouring Pencils (£5.99) *- Adult colouring seems to have taken the world by storm - apparently it can help destress you after a busy day! These colouring pencils from BIC® can help you colour your worries away. For more info, check out @mybicpen on Twitter
7. Accessorize Snowflake Scarf (£35) - You can't go wrong with a snuggly scarf as a gift and this one from Accessorize is perfect for the festive season!
8. Olverum Bath Oil (From £23.50) * - Olverum Bath Oil is a unique blend of 10 essential oils and has been described as "bath nirvana".  Not only does it sooth tired muscles, it relieves stress and helps you achieve a great night's sleep. I'm usually one for showers but I will definitely be making time for more baths after trying out the oil for myself - I went to bed feeling thorough de-stressed and relaxed!
9. Photobox Personalised Calender (From £22) * - A personalised calender makes such a great gift and it's something I've given to my Mum for the past few Christmas'. Photobox have some brilliant gift ideas and the photobooks would also make a great Christmas present for Mum. The mobile version of the website and the apps are really handy for creating personalised gifts, I'm guessing most of us have lots of photos on our phones! (App available from App Store, Google Play and Amazon)
10. Bakedin Baking Club (From £4.99) * - For something a bit different, Bakedin have launched the Baking Club which is a monthly subscription service supplying everything you need to bake delicious cakes from scratch at home. I love eating cake but my baking skills aren't amazing so this kit is perfect for someone like me! The Baking Club costs £4.99 for the first month and £9.99 per month thereafter but gift packages are available starting at £29.99 which makes it an idea Christmas present.

I hope that's given you some good ideas. 

Are you organised with your Christmas shopping this year?!

*Disclaimer - some of the items were provided to me for the purpose of this gift guide

My Week in Pictures - 21st November 2015

Well after a crazy couple of weeks of birthdays and moving house again (that's a tale for another day), things are finally settling down and getting back to normal.

Here's what we've been getting up to this week:

Top Row:
- I've been nagging my husband for months about getting a bookcase for Elliot's room and we finally got one, woo! It was only a cheap one from Argos but it has made such a difference in his room. He has so many lovely books and it's nice to be able to display them properly now. Whether this will stay this tidy is another matter!!
- Birthday party season has started for Elliot and last Sunday he had a great time at his little mate Finleys' party. They look so cute here with their faces painted!
- Pre-school really took it out of Elliot last Monday, he went all quiet as I was making lunch and I realised he'd dozed off! He never ever does this!

Middle Row:
- We have a Costa just a few minutes walk from our house so we often pop in. Elliot is a big fan of the chocolate babychino's - although after he'd slurped this one, his face was covered in chocolate!!
- Having some quiet time on the iPad whilst I got ready!

Bottom Row:
- He loves bathtime! The family bathroom in our new house has a posh shower with a handy glass door so it means he can splash about in the bath and I don't get wet...providing he keeps it at the right end!
- We braved the cold today and had a quick walk along the cliffs by Bournemouth Beach. It was absolutely freezing but I wanted to stop at this bench which is in memory of a good friend of mine who passed away a few years ago. I might pick a warmer day to visit next time ;)
- We were invited along to an opening of a new baby clothing shop in Bournemouth today, Baby Moos. I will be writing about this very soon!

Have you been up to anything exciting this week? 

Elliot's 3rd Birthday Celebrations

It seems only 5 minutes ago that I was writing about Elliot's 2nd birthday and his amazing Gruffalo Party but in the blink of an eye 12 months have passed and he is now 3 years old. 3 years old?! How did that happen!!

We decided to hire our local village hall for Elliot's birthday celebrations and he told me he wanted a "spooky" party. Fortunately his birthday is a few weeks after Halloween so I was able to get lots and lots of decorations and party bits when the Halloween stock hit the shops in September. I even managed to pick up some party bits whilst we were on holiday in Florida - the shops were full of amazing Halloween displays so I was spoilt for choice really! 

My family were on hand to help "spookify" the hall and they did a great job helping me set things up. We had a bouncy castle to entertain the kids and we laid out tables and chairs for the parents. All the tables had a spooky centrepiece such as skeleton bones or pumpkins and combined with fairy lights and curtains drawn, it gave a really spooky effect. Totally rubbish lighting for decent photos though!

My mum helped me with the party food and as usual we went abit overboard - I always worry we won't have enough so I tend to go in the opposite direction and we end up with way too much! All the food was renamed for spooky purposes, e.g dead man's fingers (cocktail sausages!) and witches wands (chocolate fingers). We also had an amazing birthday cake made by a great local company (Creative Cakes by Nicki) and this of course was fitting for the spooky theme!

It was a very manic day with around 30 kids plus parents coming along the party but Elliot had such a great time and he was absolutely knackered at the end of it. He had a 2.5 hour nap afterwards which is unheard of these days! 

For Elliot's actual birthday we didn't have too much planned because he had pre-school in the morning but he was up bright and early to unwrap his presents. Two of his presents came all the way from Walt Disney World and I'd managed to sneakily buy them on our last day at the parks when he wasn't with me. He couldn't wait to get the figures out of the box and was very excited to see them!

After school we went to my parents house for lunch and Elliot was absolutely spoilt with more presents. Mum and Dad bought him an easel which he loved! Another birthday cake (the third of the week!) and another chance to blow out the candles :)

In the afternoon my husband finished work early and we went to our local Smyths Toy Store - a new one has recently opened near to us so we were interested to see how they differed from Toys R Us. I was really impressed, lots of good value items and I even started my Christmas Shopping! We bought Elliot a Scooby Doo Haunted House as part of his birthday present - he's had his eye on one for ages so he was really happy :)

We ended the birthday celebrations with a meal at Frankie & Benny's which is one of our favourite restaurants to take Elliot to as it's very family friendly.

I think it's safe to say that Elliot enjoyed his birthday celebrations and he got so many lovely presents. I still can't believe he's 3!!