Top Stocking Fillers for a Harry Potter fan!

Earlier this week I met up with some lovely bloggers and attended a Harry Potter themed games night hosted by the lovely folks at Paladone. #Paladonegamesnight

It was lots of fun and got quite competitive at times! There were lots of fun games to play including Harry Potter Match, Top Trumps, Cluedo world of Harry Potter, Wizarding world of Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit, Mind Reader and more...

Everyone made a fabulous effort of dressing up and getting in the Hogwarts spirit and we even made our own wands!

You can check out the fun and frolics on facebook or twitter and there's a video on youtube too.

At the end of the awesome evening, the generous folks at Paladone didn't send us home empty-handed, they gave us each a goody bag bursting with Potter themed gifts that would make ideal secret Santa gifts or stocking fillers for the Harry Potter fan in your life. (I've included some affiliate links, in case you do decide to buy.)

So here are my top stocking fillers for a Harry Potter fan for (mostly) under £10!

Harry Potter Hogwarts Travel Mug

The perfect gift for the coffee lover who's always on the go, this sleek and sophisticated travel mug has an RRP of £11.99 so would make an ideal Secret Santa gift for a workmate at the office.

Harry Potter Light Up Key Ring

This pocket-sized potion bottle keyring bears the Hogwarts crest and lights up at a touch of the lid. It retails at £7.99 and is a fun little stocking filler for any wannabe wizard. 

Harry Potter Iron On Patches

This pack of 14 fabric patches that iron on to clothes, bags and more feature logos, crests and iconic images from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. At an RRP of £6.99 these make a great gift for fans of all things magical.

Harry Potter Crest Coasters

A fabulous stocking filler for grown-ups, or maybe a great addition to a few bottles of butterbeer (or alcoholic alternative ) as a larger gift. These retail at £8.99 and come in a pack of four colours.

Harry Potter Hogwarts Mug

This stylish goblet shaped maroon mug is embellished with the Hogwarts crest in gold and comes in a lovely gift box. At just £9.99 it would make a great teacher gift if they are fans of the world of Harry Potter!

Harry Potter Glasses and Hermione and Hedwig Backpack Buddies

Perfect for the younger Harry Potter fans you're buying for, these Harry Potter dress up spectacles have an RRP of £5.99 and would be perfect in your child's stocking alongside these Hermione and Hedwig Backpack Buddies, that are just two of the characters from the full range!

Harry Potter Chocolate Frog with Collectible Wizard Card

Now I've got to admit that these weren't from Paladone, but how could I not include the iconic Chocolate Frog in a Harry Potter gift guide? The magical treats are ideal for a Potterhead's stocking whatever their age! I bought these on a recent visit to the British Library's History of Magic exhibition but they are available online too.

Will you be buying for a Harry Potter fan this Christmas? If so I hope I've given you some ideas! If you're a Potterhead yourself what are you hoping to find under the tree on Christmas day?

Top Picks from the Smyths Toy Catalogue

With just twelve weeks left until Christmas, the shops are starting to fill up with toys and gifts as the toy catalogues and gift guides start arriving on the doormat in droves.

The Smyths Toy Superstore catalogue fell through our letterbox this week and my children couldn't wait to get looking through it in preparation for writing their Christmas lists.

Unlike some parents who try to put off all mentions of the big day for as long as possible, I actively encourage them to choose what they will be asking the man in red for fairly early.

No, I'm not just a glutton for punishment, I actually do this for money-saving reasons. I find that buying gifts earlier on means that I can take advantage of store promotions and offers such as the save £10 on a £50 spend promotion that Smyths have been running this weekend.

Another advantage of the children choosing their wishlists early is that I can pre-order or purchase when there is plenty of stock available, especially with the most popular toys, meaning no stressing and queuing in December!

What's great about Smyths is that they have toys to suit all budgets, from the big ticket 'Main' gift, that family members may club together to buy, to the small stocking fillers, and everything in between.

After much research on the parts of my six and ten year olds, we've come together to bring you our top picks from the 2017 Smyths Toy Catalogue:

Blow the Budget toys:

Luvabella

The top name on every doll loving child's lists this year is most definitely 'Luvabella', this lifelike, interactive doll responds affectionately to love, changing her expression just like a real baby and has already sold out in many places. Even with a price tag of £99.99, Luvabella promises to be a favourite this Christmas! Suitable for age 4+

Cozmo

Cozmo by Anki is a clever little robot with a mind of his own and coveted by tech kids young and old! His unique personality evolves as you hang out with him, so there’s no end to the fun you can have together. Cozmo expresses a wide range of real emotions in response to his environment and Anki’s innovative and powerful technology lets Cozmo interact with the world around him to make decisions based on his mood. Both my son and my husband have him at the top of their lists but he may have to be a joint gift with a price of £199! Suitable for age 8+

Great value smaller gifts idea as Stocking fillers:

 Shnooks

Pop the bubbles, shake, and bring your new best friend to life! Shnooks magically grow 8 times in size from their unique shnubble- bubble pack, once fully grown, you can style their hair and play with the comb, hair clip and surprise accessories that come with it. With 6 to collect in the range, they are fantastic value at just £7.99 each but beware your child may want more than one as they each have their own name and personality! Age 3+

MAYKA

Mayka toy block tape is on every LEGO fan's Christmas list this year! It offers builders of all ages a new flexible way to play with and display their creations. It comes in a good range of colours and the option of two or four studs across and a variety of lengths, with prices starting from just £7. With re-usable backing tape that allows you to change it's placement as often as you like this is great value and idea for stockings or 'table presents'. Suitable for age 3+

These are just a few toys that the Children have picked out and we'll be sharing more of their favourite things and some amazing toy reviews on the run up to the festive period so watch this space!

Don't forget you can now pick up your FREE copy of the 300 page catalogue in-store.

Have you started the Christmas Shopping yet? When do you find the the best time to find the bargains? I'd love to read your tips in the comments...

This is a collaborative post with Smyths Toys.

Mother's Day Personalised Gifts for every Budget

Mother's Day is just two weeks away, so it's certainly time to start thinking about gifts if you haven't already! When it comes to Mums, Grans and Nannas they will appreciate most gifts that you give them whether it's flowers, something homemade or a personalised gift.

For me, Mother's Day is about memories, memories of precious times together, memories of loved ones lost, and future memories of celebrating the day together.

How do you give a memory as a gift? As a personalised photo gift of course, take a photo that captures one of those special memories and tun it into a lovely keepsake.

I've teamed up with Truprint to take a look at a selection of personalised photo gifts that will suit any budget; from a few pounds saved up in a child's piggy bank to those with a little more cash to splash!

Under £20 - Photo Teddy Bear

How cute is this little chap? For just £17.50 (plus P & P) you can turn this teddy bear wearing a cotton t-shirt with your image into a wonderful personalised gift for your Mum. This one is perfect for pictures of the grandchildren to give to the Grandma or Nanna who has everything!

Under £15 - Animated Photo Notebook

Mums love writing lists, Fact. So what better gift to get them than some gorgeous pesonalised stationary to write them on? This ring bound notebook has 75 lined pages and can be personalised with two pictures that display in an animated effect. A lovely way for Mum to keep her favourite photos with her in the office or at home. Priced at £11.99 each (plus P & P) or £9.99 if you buy three or more they are a great gift for any stationary addict!

Under £10 - Animated Photo Bookmark

These cute bookmarks are perfect gift for a child to buy for Mum, Gran or Nanna. The same idea as the notebook, you can personalise them with two pictures that change from one to another when you tilt it. A personalised message can also be put on the back in a font and colour of your choice. A lovely way of keeping special memories with you everywhere you go and of course keeping your place in your favourite book. At just £5.99 each (plus P & P) or £4.99 if you buy three or more they are a great budget buy this Mother's Day!

Under £5 - Photo Keyring

Sometimes a gift is even more special, not because of how much it cost but because of where that money came from. If a little one has been saving up their pennies to buy the perfect gift for Mummy then this photo keyring is ideal. Let them choose their favorite photo or maybe even take a picture of their latest drawing and have it made into a sturdy keyring for Mum for just £2.99 (plus P & P).

If none of these take your fancy, Truprint have even more personalised photo gifts to choose from on their website.

To make sure you don't forget the card to go with the gift and to help make one million Mums smile, Truprint are giving away a million personalised Mother's Day cards for FREE* (postage applies).



To claim yours simply click here to create your card and enter  MUMINAMILLION  at checkout. 


When you get your free card why not share it on twitter or instagram with the #millionmumssmile hashtag?


*Terms and conditions of offer

• Awards one free 7x5 folded card
• Standard P&P charges apply (99p)
• Ship to recipient not available
• Complete with envelope
• Code is One time use only
• Strictly one code use per household.

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