Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Plop Trumps – Stocking Filler for under £5
It’s tough enough buying stocking fillers for hard to please children and even more so if you are working to a tight budget. So how about giving them a cool new card game forr just £4.99?
Plop Trumps
Plop Trumps, a new card game for kids, is rapidly becoming the must have card game for kids between the ages of 8 to 14.
The cards are all in glorious full colour and all contain essential facts about, er, animal poo. All you have to do is out-gross your opponent and create the biggest pile of assorted animal poo.
Plop Trumps supply all the information you could possibly want about the poo in question. There are 40 animals per pack and each card comes complete with a picture of the plop and details of its length, width, smell and other faecenating facts.
There are even details on how frequently the relevant animal drops the plop.
However, it isn’t all about animal business. Each card has just about the right amount of natural history and educational information about each animal to make parents feel it’s OK to buy them. And at under £5.00 a pack, they will make great stocking fillers for the poo obsessed youngster in your life.
Chris Barnardo, who invented the game, said, “Plop Trumps is good pootastic fun for kids. They can learn about nature and animals whilst grossing out their mates at the same time. Did you know, for example, that a goose goes to the loo around 120 times a day? Whilst for a royal python it’s just once every five days.”
Chris is convinced that Plop Trumps won’t be a bum idea. Or maybe it already is. In any event, he’s certain that Plop Trumps will be the must have card game for Christmas.
Plop Trumps are only available from www.dadcando.com and cost just £4.99 a pack.
How to Make Christmas Decorations and Cards
Christmas decorations and cards can work out very expensive! Why not make your own this Christmas, saving money whilst adding a personal touch to the festive celebrations?
Here are some simple step-by-step guides to making baubles, a wreath, Christmas cards and an Xmas Star, courtesy of Dremel.
HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS BAUBLES
Home made Christmas Baubles
Step One
Cut a length of ribbon long enough to fit around the bauble adding a little extra to overlap the ends. Glue it around the bauble. Cut two lengths of braid and glue them along both edges of the ribbon on the bauble.
Step Two
Work in small sections at a time so that the glue does not dry before the ribbon has been pressed onto it. Alternatively, glue one strip of braid along the middle of the ribbon.
Step Three
Apply dots of glue along the ribbon to decorate it, adding sequins and gems for extra embellishment. Make small dots of glue above and below the ribbon decoration for a more glittery bauble.
Materials required:
Plain baubles
Selection of ribbons and braids
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Sequins
Small glittery gems
HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS WREATH
Home made Christmas Wreath
Step One
Apply glue to the bottom of a pine cone and stick it onto the wreath base. Glue cones around this one, angling them slightly for an uneven look. It is a good idea to tie a length of ribbon onto the wreath base at this stage if needed to hang the wreath to the door when it is finished.
Step Two
Continue to glue pinecones onto the wreath, covering the entire surface so that it cannot be seen. Select smaller cones and glue them on top of this first layer to create a little depth.
Step Three
Using glitter glue sticks, apply small dabs of the glitter glue onto the pinecones to give them a gentle shimmer. Tie two large bows and glue them together to form a double bow. Glue this to the top of the wreath using the glue gun.
Materials required:
Wreath base – use a plastic wreath base available from florists’ suppliers or try twiggy wreath bases available from flower shops and garden centres
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pine cones
Ribbon to hang the wreath
Wired ribbon for the bow
HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS CARDS
Step One
Measure and draw four strips of paper measuring 17cm by 1cm using a ruler and pencil. Cut them out with scissors
Step Two
Lay the strips over each other in a star shape, gluing each one down at the middle. Apply a dab of glue to the centre of the star shape (on the back) and stick the end of one of the strips onto it. Continue with the remaining seven strips to form a 3-D shape.
Step Three
Cut a square of paper and stick the star onto it. Decorate the star with a button and sequin attached with a large blob of glitter glue. Stick the square of paper onto paper of a different colour or pattern and then glue them onto a piece of silver card that has been folded in half to form the greetings card. Apply spots of glue around the edge of one of the squares and add extra glitter on the stars and patterned papers using the glitter glue.
Materials required:
Selection of patterned papers
Silver card
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Scissors, pen and ruler
Buttons and sequins
HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS TREE STAR
Step One
Take two lengths of wire and glue them together to form a cross shape using the glue gun and glitter glue sticks. Lay two more wires across the first two to make a star shape and glue them together in the middle.
Step Two
Start to thread beads onto the wire, using the same arrangement of bead shapes and sizes on each arm of the wire star. Continue until the star is complete and you are happy with the arrangement.
Step Three
Apply small dots of glue between the beads to hold them in place and form extra decoration. Trim the ends of the wires with wire cutters if necessary. Using green glitter glue, add dots to the centre of the star, fixing a bead in the middle. Twist a length of wire around the middle of the star to use as a fixing to hold the star in place on the top of the tree.
Materials required:
Florists wire (four lengths)
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pearl beads in different shapes and sizes
Wire cutters
The Dremel Glue Gun Hobby Set including 12 glitter sticks in 6 different colours plus 10 glue sticks costs just £24.99 this Christmas from DIY shops or online from http://www.dremel-direct.com or http://www.tool-shop.co.uk/
Gogoblin – Children’s Christmas Wish List Service
Gogoblin, the top children’s wish list and party website is a way of making sure that your little ones get exactly what they want on Christmas morning: no duplication; no ‘wrong’ presents, no wasted money.
Gogoblin is a unique site, enabling you and your children to create lists of the specific toys and games they want for any special occasion, giving parents and friends some much needed guidance. They can either buy a present from the list, quickly and simply online, or they can use the list as a pointer as to what that child is into. Gogoblin also provides some great online shopping for the under 16s, and is extremely easy to use – even for grown-ups!
The site is also designed to help organise people who have a lot of kids to buy for: parents, grandparents, family and friends can view and manage all the wish lists of children they are buying for – nieces, nephews, friends’ children – and the important dates, in one place – Gogoblin’s ‘to-do list’. So the site hopes to take the stress out of gift-giving for everyone – both the wishers and the givers.
Visit www.gogoblin.co.uk.
Christmas Toys from Galt
Renowned toy maker Galt offers a wide selection of own brand and licensed toys for all ages, available nationwide in time for Christmas. With the credit crunch upon us, Galt’s fantastic range offers great value and excellent quality toys to suit all budgets and tastes. A selection of the newest products available are detailed below, high-resolution images, samples and full stockist details are readily available on request.
Horrible Science Kits – packed full of horrible experiments such as Dangerous Dinosaurs, Microscopic Monsters and Slippery Snakes. All of the kits contain props and instructions, along with a fascinating fact filled notebook, priced from £4.99 to £14.99 and suitable for ages 8+.
Barbie Arts & Crafts Range – 10 gorgeous kits to make everything from hair beads and jewellery to bags and cards. Priced from £5.99 to £14.99 and suitable for ages 5+.
Hannah Montana Pop Star Glitter Studio – jam packed with over 100 glittery artists tools to make cards and posters of your favourite pop star! Priced £9.99 and suitable for ages 6+.
First Years – Galt Soft Animal Books come in Dog, Lion and Cow designs with matching sound effects, suitable from birth and priced £6.99 each. The Soft Photo Album features eight themed pages with photo slots and a mirror on the back page. Suitable from birth and priced at £9.99.
Nursery Furniture – made from sustainable wood sources this jungle themed table and chairs set features colourful lion, hippo, zebra and monkey designs. Chairs priced from £15.99 and table from £34.99. A toy chest will be joining the range in the New Year.