If your kids love surprises, then they will LOVE the NEW Smashers Epic Dino Egg from Zuru, with over 25 exciting surprises nestled safely inside. With Easter on the way, this is a great option for a chocolate alternative Easter gift, with lots of different elements inside to keep them entertained as they work to create their very own dinosaur!
We were lucky enough to be sent a Smashers Dino Egg to put through its paces, and the kids quite literally couldn’t wait to crack it open and see what was inside. I tried to hide it in my wardrobe (and failed!) and once they’d set sight on this Giant orange egg with bone sticking out the top, there was no delaying it! 🙂
What is the Smashers Dino Epic Smash Egg?
Inside this giant egg are over 25 surprises to slime, fizz and smash their way through, tracking down the bones hidden inside in order to collect everything needed to build their very own exclusive Smash-o-Saur Dinosaur! There are 3 different dino types to create, and you don’t know which one you are going to get until each of the bones are gradually revealed.
The Smashers Epic Dino Egg retails at ÂŁ24.99 and is available from Smyths and all good toy stores.
Our Experience of Smashers Dino EggÂ
As I mentioned above, somewhat unfortunately for me, Neve spotted the Smashers Dino Epic Smash Egg in my wardrobe as we were getting read for bed, and decided she really wanted to hold it right there and then! Having hoped to save it until a time when we were all at home together, it turns we didn’t have to wait long, as the schools closed the following Friday and we were thrust into the unknown with two children at home!
The Smashers Epic Dino Egg is a pretty impressive giant egg – so much so that the girls were really excited even at the sight of the outer case itself – with a giant bone poking out the top.
As a parent, I am always a little bit nervous when it comes to slime, but it soon became clear that this egg actually comes with lots of distinct activities, meaning the fun can be spread out over a number of sessions, making it far more easy to do with supervision and less risk of the girls wrecking the joint!
The first surprise inside the Smashers Epic Dino Egg was 6 mini orange smashers eggs -which I will be honest – the girls smashed open so quickly I didn’t even manage to get a photo! However, if you are familiar with the original mini smashers, you will know the concept. Whack them against a table or floor and the smasher eggs crack open to reveal mini characters inside – these ones were all dinosaur themed and there were enough for the girls to share between them.
Next up we tried the Fizzy Lava Bomb, adding the volcano shaped bomb into a bowl of water and watching it bubble and fizz as it turned the water bright orange. It smelled lovely, and as the bomb disintegrated in the water, four small dinosaur hands were revealed inside. The girls really enjoyed fishing these out with a slotted spoon!
Next up was the Fossil rock, and one of the parts of the Smashers Dino Egg that the girls enjoyed the most! Once the outer wrapping was peeled away, the girls were able to take it in turns using the little fossil hammer to chip away and the soft sand like rock, before slowly revealing more bones underneath!
Seeing the girls reaction when they finally started to see some white peeping out beneath the surface was really cute, and they were really chuffed when they revealed some dinosaur legs hiding within!
The next Blind Bag inside was Dino Dirt and whilst Neve was trying to attach some feet to some legs, we cut open the bag and Erin quickly got to work.
Inside this bag was some golden kinetic sand – and whilst it fell away much more quickly than the video online might have you believe (ie. not much effort at all required to ‘find’ the bone inside’). Erin was chuffed to discover the dinosaurs head and jaw hiding amongst the sand. The sand is also lovely and soft and pretty therapeutic to squash and mould between your hands. Obviously some of it does flake away so there may be a little mess, but nothing that particularly concerned me as a parent!
The next bag was the glow slime, and I am not going to lie, this is the bag I feared the most. Inside was a gloopy luminous green slime, housing the rib cage of our dinosaur. The girls LOVED the slime – me not so much!!
Last but not least was a large blue Smashers egg, which cracked open to reveal a small bag of blue Ice age putty covered in little sequins.
The girls could see the bones poking through this one straight away, but Neve really enjoyed peeling away the stretchy putty and squashing it between her hands as she did so. I much preferred this to the slime, as it felt far less likely to be stuck somewhere that it shouldn’t!
After quite some time (having entertained the girls for a good hour or so, we had collected all the bones inside our Smashers Epic Dino Egg, and were ready to bring our dinosaur to life!
The pieces slot into each other and whilst a few pieces were a bit fiddly and needed a bit of my help, overall the girls were able to build him pretty much unaided. The finished dinosaur looks amazing and the girls were really proud of the fact they had been able to find all the pieces and put him together themselves. A real sense of achievement!
Overall the Smashers Epic Dino Egg was a HUGE hit with the girls, and whilst they aren’t traditionally big dinosaur fans, I was pleasantly surprised at just how much they enjoyed not only creating their dinosaur, but playing with him afterwards too.
At ÂŁ24.99, I think this surprise egg is fantastic value for money, with so many different elements involved in bringing the dinosaur to life. Its ideal for siblings to share, can be done over a number of days / sessions to prolong the fun, and the finished product is a high quality dinosaur, and not some flimsy cheap looking creation. You really do feel like there is something to show for your money and not just a few tiny items once the packaging is thrown away.
Want to win a Smashers Dino Epic Smash Egg?
Thanks to the team at Zuru we have one Smashers Dino Egg to giveaway to one lucky reader! Use the gleam app below to enter!
PLEASE NOTE – With the current unprecedented situation across the globe at the point of writing, things are changing rapidly from one day to the next. For that reason I have updated my Terms and Conditions to include longer lead times. You can read the full terms of entry here. By entering this give-away you are deemed to have accepted these revised terms.
Giveaway opens on 2nd April 2020 and closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 26th April 2020, UK entries only. GOOD LUCK!
Like many fans of the Peter Rabbit movie, my girls were left a little disappointed to hear that understandably given current affairs, the release of Sony Pictures “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” movie has been delayed from its planned August release date. Unlike some movies which are now being streamed online instead, the makers of Peter Rabbit 2 have now postponed the movie release until January 2021.
The story follows Peter who starts to get bored of life in the garden and makes a break for the big city. There however he meets a number of shady characters who end up creating havoc for the entire family!
For Peter Rabbit fans who may be disappointed by the news, or who may be celebrating their birthdays in lockdown over the next few weeks or months, we have teamed up with Enescoto giveaway a Peter Rabbit themed prize bundle to one lucky winner!
Beatrix Potter by Enesco have had a strong 30 year partnership with Beatrix Potter, and sell hundreds of different types of gifts for children and adult fans alike, from hand-painted resin and ceramic figurines, Peter Rabbit (plus loads of his friends) cuddly toys, organic bamboo dinner sets and money banks, all of which have been inspired by the timeless and iconic illustrations from Beatrix Potter’s world-famous tales.
As well as figurines, they also offer adorable soft toys from GUND’s Peter Rabbit Collection (as pictured below)- America’s oldest and most prestigious soft toy company (founded in 1868!)
Thanks to the team at Enesco we have a Peter Rabbit Prize Bundle to giveaway to one lucky reader which includes:
1 x Peter Rabbit GUND Soft Toy (as pictured on the right above)
1 x Peter Rabbit Ceramic Money box.
For your chance to win, simply use the Gleam app to enter below:
PLEASE NOTE – With the current unprecedented situation across the globe at the point of writing, things are changing rapidly from one day to the next. For that reason I have updated my Terms and Conditions to include longer lead times. You can read the full terms of entry here. By entering this give-away you are deemed to have accepted these revised terms.
Giveaway opens on 2nd April 2020 and closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 26th April 2020, UK entries only. GOOD LUCK!
AD – This post includes press samples sent for reviewÂ
Have you heard of Rainbocorn Sequin Surprises yet? A great alternative Easter gift for those who want to maintain the egg theme without giving the kids too much chocolate, Rainbocorn Sequin Surprises are a super fun and sparkly treat for little ones to hatch their very own plush animal!
The Rainbocorns Sequin Surprise Series 2 eggs retail at ÂŁ24.99 and come with lots of fab surprises to unwrap and reveal.
Inside this giant brightly coloured egg (with its very own sparkly unicorn horn!) children will find one of 13 sweet scented characters to collect from six different animal species – the Pandacorns, Flamingocorns, Llamacorns, Unicorns, Lioncorns, and Owlcorns, as well as an ULTRA RARE golden Flamingocorn! You can’t tell what you’re going to get inside until they’re hatched which really enhances the surprise element and makes them lots of fun to collect and swap with friends.
As well as the surprise animal inside, each egg has lots more surprises inside including Rainbocorn poop, character accessories, stickers and over 40 new collectible baby Boo-Boocorn characters, which come in their very own little egg!
We were sent a Rainbocorn Sequin Surprise for the girls and as you cab see, they quite literally, couldn’t wait to get their hands on it!
The first part of opening the Rainbocorn egg, is to take off the outer packaging and peel off coating to reveal the first clue – a little message which gives a hint as to which character you may find inside!
Embedded into the egg is a large reversible sequin heart that once swiped reveals yet another clue to the character inside. The sequin heart can then be removed from the egg and played with on it’s own. I am yet to meet a child who isn’t completely obsessed with swiping these reversible sequins up and down, and this one didn’t disappoint, changing from a bright pinky purple to reveal a snowflake design underneath. In all honesty, the girls would have probably been quite occupied with just that!
Once the heart was removed, the girls were then able to ‘crack’ open the egg – with the top and bottom separating fairly quickly to pop open and reveal the Rainbocorn character inside.
We found this adorable little fella inside, and I will be honest I am not entirely sure which one of the six species he is meant to be – but I would guess based on the clue that he is an Owlcorn – a snowy owl perhaps, as he appears to have a bit of a beak and wings. He is very soft, and Neve immediately wanted to scoop him up for a cuddle.
Inside the egg were various different surprises – the first a heart shaped sheet of holographic shiny stickers, and I had to try pretty hard to stop Neve from starting to stick them on EVERYTHING right there and then.
Embedded into the base of the large egg, is a smaller plastic egg similar in size to what you would use for an Easter egg trail at home. Once popped open, a small Boo-Boocorn character was nestled inside, and Erin really loved this.
There were two other blind bag style surprises inside the egg. The first Rainbocorns bag with a large question mark on the wrapper, in which the girls found a fun bracelet with large dangly squidgy rainbocorn charm hanging from it. The bracelet was made from coiled plastic a bit like a stretchy hair bobble (one size fits all).
Finally the last surprise was the Rainbocorn Poop, which comes in a rainbow shaped blind bag. I wasn’t sure what to expect of this, and like most Mums and Dads had to take a sharp intake of breath at the prospect of a big sticky mess of slime. Instead however, the rainbow poop was more stretchy and play doh like than gloopy and sticky, and it was quite a cathartic sensation to mould and squeeze it between your fingers – a bit like a stress reliever – which at the moment, lets face it, a few of us grown ups could do with too!
The girls were really chuffed with the contents of their Rainbocorn Sequin Surprise egg, and for ÂŁ24.99, I thought this was great value for money, especially when you compare the contents to other surprise products on the market – you certainly get a lot more to show for your money with this one when the packaging has all been removed.
The only real negative is that there is still however quite a lot of single-use plastic, which I feel could have been avoided by using boxes or cardboard to house some of the surprise items inside. The reality is that once the large egg has been cracked open, there is no real need to keep it.
That aside, I think Rainbocorn Sequin Surprise would make a great gift for children who love surprises, sparkles and cuddling up to a fluffy friend, as this product offers a great combination of all three!
You can learn more about Rainbocorn Series 2 Sequin Surprise here and purchase from The Entertainer and Argos online.
Mother’s Day is fast approaching and whether it’s treating your own Mother, your Mother in Law, the mother figure in your life, a grandparent or even simply taking a moment to celebrate your own role as a Mum, Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to say thank you to those special people in our lives that look after us, keep us safe, and always have our backs no matter what.
Whilst Mother’s Day is a bitter sweet day for me personally (having lost my Mum to breast cancer in 2013), but I still enjoy celebrating my own Mum status with the girls, and we always have Mike’s Mum round for a homemade afternoon tea to say thank you for everything she does.
If you’re looking to treat your Mum or want to drop some nut so subtle hints for your own gifts this Mother’s Day; here is some inspiration for every kind of Mum! Read on for your chance to win a prize or two below!
For the Outdoorsy Mum
For a Mum who loves the great outdoors, a TOG24 Pier Waterproof Jacket makes a stylish and practical gift. Highly rated waterpoof and windproof, with angled cuffs and adjustable hood, this is a great way to protect your Mum from the elements, which ever letter of the alphabet this weekend’s storm and extreme weather warning brings.
The Pier jacket comes in this gorgeous Sangria colour which is great for brightening up a gloomy dark day. The Piers waterproof jacket is available in sizes 8 – 18 and is currently on offer at Tog24.
For the Chocoholic Mum
I don’t know many Mums who would be disappointed with the gift of chocolate, and what better way to say thank you thank than this Cadbury’s Mother’s Day Treasure Box? At just ÂŁ10 this is a super affordable yet touching gift for any Mum on Mother’s Day, and comes in a Love You Mum Box. Inside you will find a 200g bar of classic Dairy Milk in a special edition Love you Mum sleeve, an assorted Roses chocolate carton and an organza drawstring gift bag featuring 5 classic bars. With enough for everyone, Mum might even be kind enough to share (bagzi having the Crunchie!)
If dark chocolate is more her thing, then this Green and Blacks’ Velvet Edition Dark Chocolate gift set would make a great alternative. A handpicked selection of dark chocolate Velvet Edition 90g bars in delicious and ultra luxurious flavours including Raspberry & Hazelnut, Salted Caramel, Mint and Roasted Almond all packaged in a corrugated brown gift box with hand tied ribbon. Not only does this look great, but again at just ÂŁ10 is a bargain price point for those who can’t afford to break the bank! Whether you decide to sneak a bar out before you gift it is up to you!
For the Mum dreaming of Summer
Let’s face it, who isn’t dreaming of Summer. It feels like we’ve had nothing but storm after storm as of late, and the sight of yet another extreme weather forecast when the weekend hits is enough to make me want to hibernate. I won’t be the only Mum who is looking forward to the clocks going forward in a few weeks time and the arrival of some much needed sunshine, longer days and hopefully some time in the great outdoors. Why not make sure your Mum is summer ready with a fab new pair of Havaianas? These New Season Haviaianas Flash Urban are available in 3 different shades and are the perfect balance of casual and sporty, and more of a sandal than the traditional Havaianas flip flops you may be used to. They retail at just ÂŁ22 and come in a canvas gift bag!
For the New Mum
Celebrating your first Mother’s Day as a new Mum is really exciting and a special milestone to record. This Mum and Baby gift set from Aveeno Baby makes both a thoughtful and practical gift. Inside the gift box is an Aveeno Baby Dailycare Hair and Bodywash (perfect for those pre bed time bubbles) and a daily care baby moisturiser for baby. Specially designed for the first few weeks of baby’s life, this lotion moisturises their dry and delicate skin for up to 24 hours. As someone who’s child suffers from eczema and dry skin, Aveeno has been a big part of our baby bedtime routine, with a calming baby massage using the lotion being a great way to soothe and calm her skin before she drifts off to sleep, snuggled up with the adorable little soft teddy comforter of course!
Mums also deserve a bit of me time too, and the Aveeno Daily Moisturising body lotion is formulated with colloidal oatmeal which is great for replenishing dry postnatal skin.
The Aveeno Baby Mum and Baby gift set retails at ÂŁ15 and is available to buy at Boots.com
For Fun Together with your Mum
Some of my fondest memories of time with my own Mum include when we went out on mini adventures together. From the time we laughed all the way around our Segway Rally (she was hopeless!) to the day we spent walking around the gardens in our dressing gowns at a local spa. Spending TIME with your Mum can be the most gratefully received gift of all.
The Buyagift Fun Together Smartbox makes the ideal Mother’s Day gift as not only can Mum pick for herself what activity she wants to do, but you can go along too, and spend some quality time together enjoying each others company! From sharing a pot of jam at a scrumptious afternoon tea, to a relaxing pamper treat or if your Mums a bit more of an adrenaline junkie, a Segway rally or zorbing! The opportunities are endless with trusted brands and based all around the UK.
Thanks to the team at Buyagift we have a Fun Together Smartbox to give away to one lucky reader. Head over to my Instagram page for your chance to enter.
For the Mum who likes a pamper
For the Mum who deserves a bit of a pampering treat, Smith England hair products are a cruelty free, professional range inspired by Nature and made in the UK using 100% recyclable packaging. From the moisture ready shampoo, conditioner and the intensive moisture mask not only smell great (with chamomile, nettle and rosemary) but are a great eco friendly option for Mum too.
Smith England hair products are available at Sainsburys stores nationwide. Fancy getting your hands on a set of Smith England Hair Products? Enter our giveaway using the gleam app at the bottom of this post!Â
For the Mum who likes a choice
If your’e not sure what Mum would like for Mother’s Day, why not let Mum decide for herself? The VEX gift certificate allows your Mum to exchange the credit for vouchers at a huge range of top brands and retailers including Debenhams, John Lewis, M&S, TKMaxx and Oasis. Mum can exchange the card for the retailer of her choice and then happily shop to her hearts content!
From as little as ÂŁ10, help your Mum find her perfect gift at Voucher Express.
A gift from the little ones
So Bomb DIY Crystal Geode bath bombs let your kids treat Mum, Nan or (lets be realistic here – them!) to a wonderful homemade gift. Children will LOVE creating these awesome new colour changing bath bombs with glistening crystal geodes! They can design their own unique gift with their choice of colours and give Mum the pampering present she’ll adore, with some much needed me time alone in the bath!
With everything you need in the box, not only is this a great gift for Mum but a fun activity and entertainment for the kids too! The So Bomb DIY Crystal Geode bath bomb kit retails at ÂŁ9.99
The Mum with a sense of humour
I adore my children with all my heart, but MY GOD, there are times when they really push my buttons. If your Mum doesn’t mind a bit of cheekiness and has a sense of humour, these “I love my Asshole Kids’ socks are sure to raise a smile; and also make a great gift to a Mum from their partner as a way of saying thank you for putting up with the night feeds, the relentless tantrums and the school run madness.
The I Love my Asshole Kids socks are available from Prezzybox and retail at ÂŁ8.99 – a funny message that’s self deprecating and keeping it real!
However you spend your Mother’s Day this year, be thankful for one thing in particular, the fact that for ONCE, the clock change doesn’t fall on Mother’s Day this year, so at least we won’t be getting the gift of an hour less in bed!
Do you have a car fanatic in your house? Ever since Erin was tiny, her and my nephew Nathan have been a little bit car obsessed. They would sit for hours on a mat on the floor, acting out little stories and racing each other in imaginary challenges. It was lovely to watch! 🙂 Nathan now collects Hot Wheels cars, and has amassed quite a impressive collection which are all stacked up on display, pride of place in his bedroom.
Hot Wheels is the number one selling toy in the world with more than 16.5 cars sold every single second, and the demand for them doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon!
We were really excited to learn that the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live tour is coming to the UK for the first time ever in 2020 and heading to our local Birmingham Arena from the 31st January – 2nd February 2020.
You can see the trailer for the tour below, but OMG it looks amazing, and I know they are both going to be on the edge of their seats the whole way through!
The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Tour offers exhilarating and fast paced family entertainment for kids of all ages, bringing all the kids favourite Hot Wheels Monster Trucks to life, including iconic jumps and stunts and epic crashing and smashing!
The show also includes speciality acts such as performances from the superstars of freestyle motocross, real life World Record attempts and of course Megasaurus – the MASSIVE car eating, fire breathing, prehistoric robot who LOVES chomping and eating anything with four wheels.
As if this wasn’t enough, each event will feature the Crash Zone Pre-Show Party with Monster Truck photo opportunities, driver meet-and-greets, VIP autograph sessions, and other special prizes and promotions.
If you have a car fanatic in your house and you are looking for a fun and different experience to entertain them in 2020, then what are you waiting for? Tickets are available now from HotWheelsMonsterTrucksLive
Fancy winning Family Tickets to Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live?
Thanks to the team at Rhodes Media – we have a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) to giveaway to the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live event at Birmingham Arena on the Sunday 2nd February at 3.30pm. To enter simply use the Rafflecopter app below. Giveaway ends 11.59pm on 21st January 2020.
#AD This post is in collaboration with Learning ResourcesÂ
As a Mum to two daughters, I absolutely love combining learning and play and always seek to find toys that offer a some educational benefits during playtime. As someone who has also recruited into the IT industry for many years, I have sadly seen first hand just how few females applied for our software engineering programmes, and as such, try and encourage an interest in STEM subjects by introducing toys that help the girls think logically, gain practical skills and solve problems. The girls are also bought up to know that there are no “boys and girls” toys, activities or career paths, and that they can grow up to be whatever they want to be, as long as they try hard and always do their best.
Learning Resources Coding Critters are super cute interactive pets, and a fun screen free way to introduce children as young as four to early STEM concepts. Through basic coding and activities, with a number of fun coding games to discover and explore, children can learn and laugh whilst they play, and build some of the foundation skills required for a long term interest in STEM.
This 22 piece playset features Ranger and Zip, a dog and her pup, and accessories including a house, slide and tennis ball launcher.
The Cosy Critters set comes with a storybook that encourages children to learn basic coding and programming to instruct Ranger and Zip to carry out basic activities, such as playing and seek, retrieving the tennis ball or launch down the slide.
With two modes of play (coding mode and play mode) Ranger and Zip can also be played with as interactive pets, where children can feed, pet and take care of them, even making them dance and sing a silly song!
Children will love following along attempting the different coding challenges using easy to use buttons before attempting to create some code challenges of their own!
Thanks to the team at Learning Resources, we have a Coding Critters Ranger and Zip set to giveaway to one lucky reader – the perfect gift for a child with a curious mind.
To enter simply use the Gleam app below. Giveaway opens 19/11/19 and closes at 11.59pm on the 8th December 2019.
Please note, our standard terms and conditions apply, and whilst every effort will be made to deliver the prize before Christmas, please allow 28 days for delivery. UK entrants only. Good LUCK!
Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
3rd Party Cookies
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
