You're welcome to #Ben10Toys Twitter party (+ giveaway)

If your children are Ben 10 fans, make sure you are on Twitter this Thursday, 31st of August between 1 and 3pm. There will be an epic #Ben10Toys Twitter party run by UKMumstv.
Save the date and follow the hashtag #Ben10Toys

There will be plenty of competitions and prizes galore. My blog will offer one of the toys as a prize as well (scroll all the way down to find out how to join in).

We are taking party as one of the hosts of the Twitter party along with several parenting bloggers who you might know and follow, like Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews, Eileen from ET Speaks from Home and others.

Our party will include lots of activities based round Ben 10 toy range from Flair.
We'll be playing party games, doing colouring and sharing our party on Twitter. It is usually really hectic but great fun.

We received a big box of the latest Ben 10 toys as well as activities and sweet treats to share with our guests.

I will be writing a separate review of the toy range, so if you're interested, watch this space.

Just to give you a sneak peek from the future review, here is my son Eddie demonstrating a Heatblast mask and fire-thrower.

Our son Eddie is thrilled with the toys and can't wait for his pals to cover over and play

During the Twitter party you'll have many chances to win prizes with @UKMumstv.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chez Maximka will be offering a prize along the main host.

You will have a chance to win a Ben 10 Heatblast figure, a hand iced printed cookie and a poster.

T&Cs:

The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.

The toy is suitable for children aged 4+ (due to small parts).
To be in with a chance of winning, please RT any of my tweets during the Twitter party on 31 August between 1-3pm (only with #Ben10Toys hashtag, as there might be other tweets from my account, unrelated to the event).

My Twitter name is @maximka25

You don't have to follow me.

I will pick a winner from all of RTs of my tweets. Again, you don't have to RT all of them. Even one RT will give you an entry.
The more you RT, the more entries you get.

One winner will be selected randomly from all RTs.
I will tweet to the winner, who will have 28 days to get back to me with their address details.

I will post the prize personally, after the 6th of September, once my children go back to school.

If the winner does not reply to me within 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person who takes part.

Disclosure: We received a box of Ben 10 goodies to host the Twitter party. All opinions are our own.

Fun with Rusty Rivets

Did you happen to visit Twitter last Thursday between 4.30 and 6pm? Have you joined the Rusty Rivets Twitter party run by ukmumstv and hosted by a number of parenting bloggers? The party coincided with the launch of the first episode of Rusty Rivets on NickJr.
We don't have NickJr channel, and watched Rusty Rivets on Youtube, on big screen TV.

Rusty Rivets is an animation series, aired daily at 5.30pm on NickJr. It follows adventures of a young chap named Rusty who's into all things engineering and inventing. He has a dedicated team of customised robots who help him. Rusty is pretty clever at engineering and upcycling machine parts into new inventive gadgets.
Rusty lives in a town called Sparkton Hills, along with his friend Ruby, a robotic T-rex Botasaur and smaller robots who are known as the Bits.
The animation is showcasing a series of basic scientific concepts and techno-ideas.

To tune in with the engineering theme of the show we received a box with several activities which challenged us to use our grey cells and create technical stuff.

We sent out the invitations to the Rusty Rivets party.

And waited for Thursday with eagerness.
We started with a memory game, taking turns to pick two cards to reveal the pictures beneath. If the pictures match, you keep the pair.

The most anticipated activity involved building a robot. Who wouldn't want to build a robot?!
Have a look at the materials which were in the first activity pack. As you can see, we had lots of cool things, just like the Rusty Rivets team has in their junkyard. We had a couple of flat cardboard boxes, paper cups for arms and legs, stickers and lots of colourful bits.

It was a team effort, but I think our robot is super. What do you think?

We had colouring sheets and crayons, but engineers wanted to keep building, so rather than do the colouring the guys have chosen a Rusty Rivets construction course. This cool activity lets kids be creative with the shapes. We had a selection of wooden skewers, polysterene balls, plasticine, as well as sweets - marshmallows and gum drops.

The boys first started working with gumdrops, but it wasn't easy to skewer them, and the fingers were getting too sticky. The joint decision was to eat the gumdrops and proceed with the polysterene balls.

The shapes kept being changed.

It was a fun educational activity. Edgar told us that they did something similar recently in his class, building tunnels with dried spaghetti and marshmallows.

Afterwards it was time for a noisy Rusty Rivets treasure hunt. Cards were hidden around the house with the clues. When our guests went home, they left with a goodie bag each.

Visit nickjr.co.uk for fun Rusty Rivets activities and games.

Disclosure: We received a box of Rusty Rivets-themed goodies and crafts materials for the purposes of hosting a party.

Join Rusty Rivets Twitter Party on 16 March

- Eddie, we are going to have a Twitter party with your friends!
- Mummy, you are amazing!

Save the date for the forthcoming Rusty Rivets Twitter party - on 16 March, from 4.30pm to 6pm @UKMumsTV will be running a Rusty Rivets Twitter party, and you're cordially invited to join in.
During the party there will be online spot competitions and more fun and games to take part in, so make sure your laptop or gadgety thing is ready to join in.
The hashtag to follow is #RustyRivetsUK

We will be there, taking part along the other bloggers-hosts. It is always very chaotic, but great fun.

I can't wait to show Eddie the big parcel which was delivered this morning, with all the activity packs (four of them), Rusty Rivets invitations and goodie bags.

It takes a lot of organising and planning, but my son Eddie and I enjoy creative challenges.

This party is celebrating the brand new Rusty Rivets episodes on Nick Jr.
Visit nickjr.co.uk for more fun Rusty Rivets activities and games.

Disclosure: We received a parcel of Rusty Rivets goodies to host a party.

Our #PJMasksToys party

Meet Catboy, the leader of the PJ Masks gang. He has amazing super powers, and is ready to rescue you...
Eddie was very excited to have an opportunity to host a #PJMasksToys Twitter party.
If you were with us on Twitter on Wednesday, you might have seen our party in action.

Before the party we received a big box with PJ Masks-themed goodies, which Eddie was very eager to explore. I had to stop him from unwrapping. Imagine his impatience, he couldn't wait for the party to begin.
Our pack included everything for a successful party at home, including toys, snacks and party bags.

The PJ Masks toys and costumes range was launched at the start of February. It includes a variety of role play, plastic and plush toys. The range is going to be expanded later this year.

One of the first boxes we opened was a PJ Masks costume set (Catboy). The costume is well packaged, though a child would need adult help to remove all the packaging.

It was just the right size for Eddie. He loved it so much, he wanted to wear it to school for the World Book Day.

As you can see, the set consists of a one-piece full body suit with fasteners at the back and a mask. The outfit is made of soft fabric, for the ease of movement. I appreciated that there were no padded bits on it, as we have a couple of superhero costumes with padded chests, and they're not comfortable to wear.

The costume is bright in colour, and is big enough to wear a cotton vest and undies under it. The costume fasteners are Velcro, which allows a child to get in and out of the outfit independently.

There are two other costumes in the range - Owlette and Gekko. Judging from the photos posted during the Twitter party, all children loved wearing them. Each costume costs £24.99.

If you don't want to buy a costume, there are free character masks and colouring sheets to download. The masks are pretty easy to make.
In fact this was our first party activity. We received printed template cards, ribbons and scissors. The ribbons even matched the colour of the masks.

I did help a bit after hearing "I'm not very good at making masks".

The next activity was to Match the item with the character game. There were three plush toys of Catboy, Gekko and Owlette, a drawstring bag including character bio sheers to help with the answers, some pictures of random objects and items as well as coloured paper rings for the game.
Each child took turns picking a picture out of the bag and decided which PJ Masks character it suited the best.

The game finished, I have suggested to do a bit of colouring. I made a mistake though, showing the cake for the party. The cake was calling them.

My original plan was to bake my own cake and decorate it. But as the previous day happened to be my birthday, when I spent a few hours attending a school concert rehearsal, I had no energy to do any baking. I got a plain vanilla cake from Waitrose, already covered with the white icing, and decorated it with the blue sugar paste and icing pens.
It was pronounced delicious.

Children were happy to explore the new PJ Masks toys. We had three different PJ Masks vehicles. Each comes with a mini-figure.
The vehicles easily zoom around the room, taking their drivers "into the night to save the day".
You will find Catboy and his Cat-Car, Gekko and his Gekko-Mobile and Owlette with her Owl Glider.
The figures can be swapped around, and the cars can fit in the whole gang.

The vehicle and figure sets costs £13.99.
There is also a range of mini-collectibles, perfect for pocket money. They come in blind bags. You can collect 12 characters, including a super rare Connor figure.

Catboy was our favourite.

A memory game is always a fun activity. If you want to play the same game with your children, the rules are:
- each child is to stand up in turn with their mask on and say "If I was a PJ Masks Hero I would be able to..." The line is then followed by a superpower. Then the next child stands up and repeats the line, the previously named power and adds another power. If the child is unable to remember all the mentioned powers in correct order, they are out.
Just like the "I went to the shops and bought.." game, the winner is whoever the last one standing.

No party is complete without a game of Pass the parcel and party bags.
We all enjoyed the party, loved the toys and stuffed ourselves with the cake.

Find out more about PJ Masks and meet the heroes at PJ Masks and FlairPLC.

Many thanks to Evolution PR for sending us the PJ Masks goodies!

Join PJ Masks Twitter Party on 1 March 2017

We are true Twitter party animals! Earlier this month we hosted a We're going on a Bear Hunt Twitter party, and then there is one more in the pipeline (can't reveal yet what the theme is). It takes a lot of organising and planning, but it's great fun, and my son Eddie is loving them all.

This coming Wednesday, @UKMumsTV are running a PJ Masks Twitter party, and you're cordially invited to join in. It will start at 4pm, and will last until 6pm. There will be lots of giveaways where you could win super duper prizes from the newly launched PJ Masks range.

PJ Masks range was launched at the start of February, and includes a variety of role play, plastic and plush toys. There is an exclusive Deluxe Vehicle set available at Argos.
There are three dress-up costumes in the range.
"Your kids can explore their imaginations and transform instantly into their favourite heroes at home. Whether it is Owlette, Catboy or Gekko, each set includes a mask and full body costume to complete the hero look."

I will do a review of PJ Masks toys next week, so watch this space.

Several parenting bloggers, myself included, will join forces with @UKMumsTV to host a party on 1 March.
Selected bloggers have received a big party pack with invitations and party goodies, and we can't wait for our party to commence.

As you can see, we received the most marvellous box of goodies for our guests including colouring sheets, crayons, PJ Masks toys - vehicles and figure sets as well as beanie plush toys, a costume set, snacks and treats. Eddie is very excited about having his friends over.
He also can't wait to try on a Catboy costume.

You might wonder how you can get involved? Make sure you're following @UKMumsTV and use the hashtag #PJMasksToys this Wednesday between 4 and 6pm.

Our #BearHunt Twitter Party

If you were on Twitter yesterday, you might have seen a hashtag #BearHunt trending and wondering what it was all about. Perhaps you even joined in with the activities and competitions run by @UKMumsTV. Several bloggers were hosting We're Going on a Bear Hunt Twitter parties and tweeting-tweeting-tweeting.
With Twitter parties, it's all about the organisation and planning, everything has to be prepared in advance for it to go smoothly.
Eddie loves having his friends over, and if they have activities to do and a film to watch, he is very happy.
Days before the party we received a big box of party goodies with invitations, colouring sheets and pencils, tasty snacks, bear-ears making sheets, toys, books and DVDs.

"We're going on a bear hunt" by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury has delighted several generations of children and parents alike since 1989. Our old copy, from the days when my 14-year-old son was a toddler, is quite battered and has chewed corners.
I remember reading this story hundreds of times, when he was little and enjoyed the rhythm and repetition. He was delighted when I made all those Squelch squerch, Splash splosh sounds. We definitely knew the book off by heart.
The plot is quite simple:
Children are led on a challenging adventure by their big brother. They have to go through the high grass, a river, a thick oozy mud, dark forest, snowstorm until they reach a bear cave. The bear is startled to see them. Terrified, the kids flee back home, in reverse order, before finally hiding under the duvet in their big bed. They vow never to go on a bear hunt again. The poor bear who was woken up from hibernation in his cave, looks sad and desolate.
This children's classic appeared on the screens last Christmas as an enchanting animation (see my full review - We're Going on a Bear Hunt DVD review)

To celebrate the release of the DVD of We're going on a bear hunt, selected bloggers were invited to host a Twitter party.

We managed to pack in a lot of activities in those two hours of the party.
First, Eddie and his friends watched the film. I was a bit anxious about the story, as it has been changed from the original book, made darker and more poignant. But nobody was particularly distressed or affected by the sad parts. If anything, it was I who felt my eyes were brimming when the girl put her late Grandpa's scarf on the bear's neck. It made me think of my own Dad who died many years ago, and who never met his grandchildren. But I digress.

As soon as the film has finished, the quiz sheets were out. Eddie got all of his answers right except one, he forgot the name of the dog.

Decorate a Bear Hunt Biscuit activity was great fun. We had a packet of digestives, two bags of chocolate buttons and chocolate-flavoured icing pens.

Eddie always enjoys decorating cupcakes and biscuits, but doing bear biscuits proved to be quite a challenge. I also had to remind the guys that chocolate buttons were for decoration, as they kept sneakily eating them, one after another.

Eddie's bear was an Angry Birds hybrid, with bushy eyebrows, but he was proud of his creation.
I had a quick go too, though my bear wouldn't win me any prizes. Well, my excuse is I had to entertain and tweet at the same time.

Some of the icing ended up on the sleeves, but it didn't really matter. It was great fun.

Some of the biscuits were promptly eaten as soon as I have taken photos.

Bear Hunt Treasure Trail was another great activity. Who doesn't like the idea of looking for treasures - DVD, book, toys and sweeties.

By then I was a bit exhausted, running up and down the house, shouting Hot or Cold to give a hint how far they are from the next prize.

And then there was a turn of Pin the tail on the bear. We used scarves as blindfolds. The poster on the wall showed the bear from the animation. You had to stick a fluffy pom pom tail as close as possible to the bear's bum.

We were supposed to make our own Bear Hunt ears, but by that time our company was in such high spirits and way too giggly to do anything sensible, they were getting sillier and sillier, so the Bear Ears activity sheets went into the goodie bags to take home together with colouring sheets, pencils, toys and other gifts.
You know how it is with kids, sweets and fun games.
I was in need of a cup of tea (or perhaps something stronger) and some peace and quiet.

Our party was a big success, and Eddie can't wait for us to host a new Twitter party.

Disclosure: As mentioned in a pre-party post, we received a big box of party goodies. All opinions are our own.