Christmas Gifts for the Family

The 1% Percent Club

We love this show as a family. My eldest and I are a little bit competitive when watching and this translates brilliantly at home. It’s all about logic and reasoning skills and has nothing to do with general knowledge. The gameplay is simple, but it’s highly entertaining. Some of the questions are so infuriating, and this often leads to heated ‘discussion’ but that’s all part of the fun. If you’re a fan of the TV show, this is definitely for you.

Buy the 1% Club for £25 at The Entertainer. Suitable for 3-6 players ages 8+.

Traitors card game

This a new addition to our game repertoire, but it has cemented itself as a firm favourite. The Traitors Card Game brings the suspense and duplicity of the hit BBC show to your living room, making it a perfect choice for festive fun (and indeed fun at any time of the year). Designed for 4-8 players aged eight and up, this immersive game challenges participants to uncover the Traitor/s while collectively building a prize pot of gold. Its simple rules, engaging twists, and option for digital gameplay (highly recommended) create a unique mix of collaboration, bluffing, and deception that appeals to both kids and adults.

Read the full review here. You can buy it on Amazon for £11.99.

Mystery Guides

Mystery Guides turn UK cities into giant outdoor escape rooms where you discover lots of history and hidden gems whilst solving a mystery (and stopping off at a couple of pubs). You can read my review of the City of London Mystery Guide, which I bought as a family present last Christmas. We loved it. Coincidentally, my mother-in-law bought me a Mystery Guides voucher for my birthday. We opted for the Cambridge one and enjoyed a wonderful day out exploring a city we’d never visited before.

Buy one of the the 37 city Mystery Guides (£19.99) here.

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is an engaging strategy game, which is perfect for older children and adults. The goal is to build railway routes across North America, Europe or London (depending, which version you have) by collecting various train cards and claiming sections of track to connect cities. The more routes you complete, the more points you score, with longer routes offering higher rewards. Bonus points are awarded at the end of the game for the longest continuous track, often shifting the final outcome. Be prepared for some sabotage—whether intentional or accidental!

Ticket to Ride – Days of Wonder (North America version) is priced at £33.57 on Amazon.

Christmas Gifts for the Creative Child

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is a great gift for creative teens or tweens. This compact Bluetooth device prints black-and-white photos directly from smartphones without needing ink, thanks to thermal technology. Pair it with the Tiny Print app to add personal touches or generate unique designs and special effects. It’s ideal for scrapbooking, journalling, or decorating, and comes with extras like stickers and pens for added creativity. Read more about this pocket printer.

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is available at various retailers including Amazon & Smyths (prices vary).

Instax Smartphone Printer

The Instax Mini Link 2 is a sleek and nifty gadget, which combines tech and nostalgia perfectly. It links to your smartphone so that you can print your digital pictures in seconds. All too often, precious memories stay trapped on phones hardly ever seeing the light of day. I love how the Instax printer brings back the now old school process of printing so that your photos can be permanently displayed and enjoyed.

I particularly like the retro-style borders of the Instax mini instant film, which you use for the printer. My daughter loves it. As well as using it for her treasured memories, she also uses it for her GCSE art coursework and to create gifts for friends.

The Instax Mini Link 2 is currently on offer at Boots (£99 from £119).

Christmas Gift for the Tween and Teenager

LED Armoire Storage Mirror

We bought this white LED Armoire Storage Mirror, which has great theatre dressing room-style lights, for my daughter (now 16) quite a few years ago. The mirror opens to reveal ample storage for all those bits and bobs. It also has a handy holder for hairdryers. It’s still a favourite fixture and continues to house her constantly expanding jewellery and toiletry collection. It’s currently on sale at £66.99 on Amazon.

The Big Christmas Gift

Playstation 5

We bought the Playstation 5 last Christmas and it has been used almost every single day of the year since they received it. The PS5 loads a lot quicker compared to its predecessor, has improved graphics and provides an all round enhanced gaming experience, which is more immersive due to the superior audio and DualSense controllers. It also supports all the PS4 games. My husband plays a lot of two-player games with each of the girls and they play against each other. Favourite games include: Rocket League, Uncharted and Fortnite.

It’s pricey at £399 (Amazon), but for the usage it gets and entertainment it provides the whole family, I’d certainly recommend.

Subscription Boxes

Subscription boxes are a versatile gifting solution and there truly is something for everyone. Here are a few ideas that have been popular…

Mysteries in Time

You can give the joy of history and mystery this Christmas with a Mysteries in Time subscription. Aimed at children aged 6-11, each box contains everything needed to take children on an immersive journey through historical periods such as Ancient Egypt (the first box), the Elizabethan Era, WW2, Ancient Greece, Wild West, Aztecs, Ancient Rome, Victorians, Vikings, Ancient China and Stuarts.

Read the full review here.

Mandira’s Kitchen – for the foodie

These are Indian ready meals, but not just any Indian ready meals. Mandira’s Kitchen frozen meals are authentic, made with the finest ingredients and are the sort of dishes you’d expect to be served in a high-end restaurant. You’ll find familiar dishes such as masala (chana), biryani and samosas but also lesser-known ones including kaju dhania murgh, chicken xacuti, meen moilee (fish) and the intriguingly named railway mutton curry.

Mandira’s Kitchen offers a range of monthly subscription boxes of varying sizes and you can pause at any time. More details here.

The London Sock Company

Ok, I know they’re a Christmas gifts cliché. However, my husband, dad and brother all love to put on brand new socks.

With the London Sock Company Subscription, you buy the gift card and then the recipient activates their own subscription where they can select their size and opt for specific styles or choose to be surprised each month. There are different levels of subscription (starting from £42) and time period options.

These are a real quality product and very attractively packaged. My husband loved receiving them.

The Sporty Gift

NET1 Portable Netball System

All three of my girls love netball, playing for school and in a league. I bought the NET1 Portable Netball System  (£109.99) from Little Big Sports for our garden quite some years ago as they were developing their interest. It has remained consistently popular and with five different height settings has grown with them. It is on wheels so completely portable. You then fill the base with water or sand and it becomes fully stable. It is extremely durable and has survived many winters without being covered. I can thoroughly recommend it.

—–

I’d love to hear what your tried and tested gifts of Christmas past are. Let me know in the comments below.

The post Top Christmas Gift Ideas for 2024: Tried, Tested, and Loved appeared first on The Parent Social.

Instant printer that’s quick, portable, child-friendly and lots of fun

TLDR: This small, nifty Bluetooth printer from Canal Toys enables quick, easy and quality printing directly from smart devices. When used with the free Tiny Print app you can print photos, generate AI images, create and print drawings and stickers, make printable to-do lists and labels, and apply special effects to existing images. The kit also contains stickers and marker pens for customising your designs after printing.

What’s included

• The Instant Pocket Printer
• 1 adhesive paper roll (to print on)
• 3 normal paper rolls (to print on)
• USB charger cable
• 75 stickers
• Three pens to customise your prints

How to use the Instant Pocket Printer

The printer is really easy to set up. It uses very clever thermal technology to produce the black and white images so no ink is required. Yes, you heard that right. That means no messy ink cartridges to contend with and images dry instantly. Charge its built-in-battery via the USB cable, load the paper roll, install the free app and you’re ready to go.

Our experiences

The app is very easy to navigate. We spent a lot of time printing up some of our favourite images from holiday. The printing is really fast; the quality is very good and images are crisp with no bleed. The images are so good in fact, that my eldest has used them as part of her GCSE art coursework.

The girls then had lots of fun experimenting with all the really cool features. They cartooned themselves, made linear drawing of themselves (from existing photos), prompted the AI image creator to generate weird and wonderful creations and personalised their photos with text.

Their two-year-old cousin has a ticket obsession. She loved the printable labels and the stock images of animals (amongst many other categories), which she could colour.

This would certainly appeal to both tweens and older teenagers. Whilst it says age 8+ on the box, younger ones would definitely enjoy with adult supervision. I think this would make a super Christmas gift.

The Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer is available at various retailers including Amazon & Smyths where it’s priced at £29.99.

Disclaimer:
I have been provided with this product for the purpose of review. I have not received any monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and are based on my honest and unbiased experience with the product.

The post Photo Creator Instant Pocket Printer Review appeared first on The Parent Social.

Let these insights inspire you to plan a baby shower full of creativity, joy, and memorable moments.

Selecting the Ideal Theme for a Baby Shower

Forget the traditional pink or blue and dive into themes that capture the unique spirit of the soon-to-be parents. Whether you opt for a fantasy-filled fairytale, sleek minimalism, or a homage to their favourite novel, ensure the theme weaves through every element of the shower, including decorations, games, and even the menu. Such creativity transforms the event from a gathering to a captivating experience that tells a story or creates an atmosphere they’ll adore.

Choosing The Perfect Venue for the Baby Shower

The venue sets the tone for the baby shower. Whether you’re gathering at someone’s home for a cosy vibe or booking a space for something grander, it’s important to consider the weather, guest count, and accessibility. Decorating and arranging your venue according to the theme can turn an ordinary space into a magical setting for the celebration.

Designing Memorable Invitations

The invitations offer the first peek into the baby shower and should capture what’s to come. The design, colour, and wording should reflect the expectant parents’ theme and personality. Including all the necessary details alongside a creative hint of the day’s theme makes the invitation exciting and sets the tone for the event.

Thoughtful Gift-Giving

Choosing gifts for a baby shower is much more than a simple task; it’s an opportunity to express your support, love, and excitement for the new arrival and their family. Consider setting up a gift registry to ensure that gifts are practical and treasured. Alternatively, proposing group gifts, like a newborn photoshoot, can offer something truly special and memorable. If you find yourself at a loss for words when writing a heartfelt message in a new baby card, these ideas from Adobe can help to inspire your sentiments. Whether aiming for something tender and heartfelt or light-hearted and funny, there’s something to match every tone.

Capturing Joyful Moments

Whether you hire a professional photographer or set up a fun photo booth, capturing the day is crucial. Think about unique keepsakes for the guest of honour and the attendees that link back to the baby shower theme. These tangible memories are wonderful reminders of the love and excitement of the day.

Crafting A Delightful Menu for the Baby Shower

A carefully considered menu pleases all palates and accommodates dietary restrictions, ensuring everyone enjoys the feast. Whether it’s a catered affair, a community potluck, or homemade goodies, integrating the theme into the food and its presentation adds a special touch to the dining experience.

Expressing Heartfelt Thanks

A thoughtful thank-you to your guests is the perfect way to wrap up a beautiful baby shower. Personalised notes mentioning specific moments or a snapshot from the day are a lovely way to show appreciation. This acknowledges their contributions and strengthens the connections formed on this special day.

A baby shower is an exceptional celebration of new beginnings and community. By focusing on personal touches and thoughtful planning, you can organise an event that not only honours the expectant parents but also leaves a lasting impression on all who attend.

The post Tips For Hosting A Baby Shower For A Loved One appeared first on The Parent Social.

Here’s a round-up of subscription boxes that make great Christmas presents for all members of the family.

Mandira’s Kitchen – Indian food subscription boxes

Mandira’s Kitchen provides high-end, award winning (Surrey Life Food & Drink and Great Taste) Indian freezer meals.

The family recipes contain no additives or preservatives and provide plenty of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options. Mandira’s Kitchen offers more familiar dishes such as masala (chana), biryani and samosas but also lesser-known ones including dhania murgh, chicken xacuti and meen moilee.   

I was worried that freezer meals would lose quality. However, that wasn’t the case and everything tasted freshly made. The vegetable samosas were perfectly crisp and flaky, and full of flavour as was the palak dal. The chicken biryiani was, without doubt, the best I’ve ever tasted. I’m a massive fan of paneer and this palak (spinach) version was delicious. The cheese was beautifully tender and the spinach, ginger and garlic liquor had fantastic depth making the dish incredibly moreish. The kaja dhania murgh (chicken in a cashew, coriander and coconut sauce) is something I’ve never had before. It was outstanding.

I also sampled the delectable gelatos. Fig & Almond was my favourite and the Mango & Cardamon was my husband’s. I couldn’t leave the spiced Indian crackers alone and polished off the lot on their own!

Subscriptions are very flexible. The recipient can choose the same or different meals every month, pause the subscription or even exchange for a weekend thali or cookery lesson at any time.

A self-selected six dish (each dish being two portions) box is £55 per month. This comes with a free box of vegetable samosas and a mini chutney. The eight-dish option is £65 a month and also comes with a free box of vegetable samosas and a mini chutney. Finally, the 10-dish box is £75 and includes a free box of vegetable samosas, naan bread and mini chutney.

Website: https://www.mandiraskitchen.com/

Subscriptions: https://www.mandiraskitchen.com/pages/monthly-subscriptions

Popupblooms – flower subscription boxes

Flowers in the house immediately lift my spirits so these are wonderful. I received two different subscription products from Popupblooms: a ready-made, hand-tied bouquet and a box (bucket also available) of flowers to arrange myself. They both consisted of beautiful, high quality autumnal blooms and foliage and arrived in pristine condition via courier.

The hand-tied bouquet was pretty much ready to pop straight into a vase and looked lovely. It comes with a letter detailing how to care for and get the most out of the bouquet.

It’s not something I’ve done before, but I really enjoyed arranging the box of flowers using the well-explained hints and tips provided (see my efforts below). Also included was a ‘menu of stems’ listing exactly what was in the box. This was a lovely touch.      

Popupblooms offers a number of options. There’s a ‘taster’ (one off), three-month and six-month plan for both the bucket/box of flowers and the hand-tied bouquet. These can be paused at any time. 

Prices start from £50.00 per month. 

Website: https://www.popupblooms.com/

Craftiosity – adult crafting subscription boxes

Craftiosity are award-winning subscription boxes of modern, limited edition craft kits. The crafts range anywhere from macrame and ceramics to cyanotype and bookbinding. The one I received was to make a parquet clock.

The boxes contain all the tools, materials and instructions you need so you can dive straight in. There’s also access to online tutorials, but the step-by-step photo instructions were so clear I didn’t need them.

Crafting (when not with the kids) is not my normal thing. Most evenings – when the children are in bed – I’m more likely to be glued to one screen or another so this made a very pleasant change. I really enjoyed it and found it extremely relaxing especially coupled with a glass of wine!

I know it’s not perfect but I was actually pretty impressed with my final product. My eldest liked it so much she’s now got it in her room.

Subscriptions are £24.95 per month (with free UK postage) and you can gift a one, three, six or 12 month subscription.  

Use Craftiosity discount code PARENTSOCIAL10 for 10% off the first craft kit.

Website: www.craftiosity.co.uk

Subscriptions: https://craftiosity.co.uk/gift/

The London Sock Company – men’s sock subscription boxes 

Socks might be a Christmas cliché, but my husband (and brother) is a huge fan and particularly loves putting on brand new ones. I took out a six-month subscription as a Christmas present.

You buy the Sock Club Subscription gift card, which comes in a nicely presented box complete with details of the subscription. The recipient activates their own subscription where they can select their size and choose whether to receive specific styles or be surprised each month.

You can choose to gift one or two pairs of socks per month with the minimum term for subscription being three months. One pair a month for three months comes in at £42 and two pairs for the same period is £75.

The company is also making great strides in becoming a more responsible and sustainable brand. The socks truly are a quality product and very attractively packaged. My husband loved his monthly delivery. 

You can currently get a 10% off discount code for your first The London Sock Company purchase.

Website: https://www.londonsockcompany.com/

Subscriptions: https://londonsockcompany.com/collections/gift-cards

Mysteries in Time – children’s history subscription boxes

Aimed at children aged 6-11, each Mysteries in Time box contains the ingredients to take children on an immersive journey through different periods in history. These include: Ancient Egypt (the first box), Elizabethan Era, Evacuees in WW2, Ancient Greece, Wild West, Aztecs, Ancient Rome, Victorians, Vikings, Ancient China, Space history and Stuarts.

The base box, which can be personalised, is £11.95 per month (if purchased for 12 months) plus postage and includes:

• Mystery/adventure story
• Glossy history magazine full of interesting facts, puzzles, recipes and activities (including colouring sheets)  
• Bookmark  
• Themed sticker sheet
• Lovely, large world map with timeline (this comes in the first box)

This can be upgraded for £6.95 plus postage, so in addition to all of the above the box also includes a hands on activity inspired by history and a history-related gift. You can cancel subscriptions at any time.

My children really enjoyed all of the different components and I thought it was very good quality. Read our full review here.

Use discount code PS10 to get 10% off any three, six or 12-month plan.  

Website: www.mysteriesintime.com 

Noble House Prepared – gourmet frozen meal delivery service

Noble House Prepared is a brand-new venture from a team that’s been working in the fine food industry for over a decade. They offer a national delivery service, which provides award-winning, restaurant-style prepared meals all created by a chef with Gordon Ramsay pedigree. 

I was sent a sample of spinach and ricotta cannelloni (with an arrabiata sauce) and beef bourguignon mains; two sides and desserts of chocolate fondant and passionfruit cheesecake. All the dishes are for two people and include tasting notes from the chef.  

The beef bourguignon and accompaniments were first class and absolutely not what I was expecting from a frozen meal (in a good way!). The beef was beautifully succulent and packed with flavour and the mash was perfect. I wasn’t sure roasted carrots would translate well as a frozen dish, so was particularly surprised at how they’d retained such a great texture.

I’m half Italian and shun preprepared pasta dishes as they’re normally way too sloppy with far too much sauce, and overwhelmingly bland. This dish was so flavoursome and had the perfect level of sauce. The arrabiata gave a lovely little kick and balanced the creaminess of the dish perfectly.

Then it was the desserts… The passionfruit cheesecake was beautifully balanced with rich, buttery crumb, delicious cream and a tart jelly top layer. The fondants were a chocolate lover’s dream. We let the kids loose on these and they gave a huge thumbs up too.    

Use Noble House Prepared discount code: WELCOME10 to get 10% off your first order.

Website: https://noblehouseprepared.com/

Gift voucher: https://noblehouseprepared.com/collections/gifts/products/online-gift-voucher 

The post Subscription boxes – Christmas present round up appeared first on The Parent Social.

I’m no social media influencer but a couple of photos of her sploshing about got a tonne of comments, likes etc. Sure there were a lot of mums who said their daughters (no mention of sons yet) would love such an outfit, but there were a lot of adults that wanted one too!

Christmas wish list

Maria put ‘mermaid tail’ on her Christmas list. I rolled my eyes; her dad said not to get it. However, on her succinct list (edited a couple of times) it remained a constant. I searched for one and discovered that it was indeed quite a thing. There were loads of versions. They generally came as a five piece set including bikini top, bikini bottoms, head band, mermaid tail and fin. I confess, despite not being a girly girl, I could see the appeal.

The girls all like dressing up and role play. I knew the mermaid costume would add an extra dimension as it could be used as a complete costume in and out of the water and also function as a ‘normal’ swimming cossie.

Maria was absolutely delighted with it and her sisters are equally obsessed with it. It has become a feature of every bath time.

Is mermaid the new unicorn?

Mermaids have an enduring appeal, but it certainly seems to have intensified in the last few years. I think they’re starting to displace unicorns.

John William Waterhouse’s 1900 painting

Mermaids have inspired awe for a very long time. They’ve been depicted by many artists; Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale The Little Mermaid was written back in 1836, the Disney film version was released back in 1989 (1989?!?), and let’s not forget Splash. Alongside the book, the films and the toys, there’s the TV programme Mako Mermaids, which my younger two love. There are also the mermaid blankets, a whole raft of mermaid beauty products and services including adult ‘mermaid facials’ (?), mermaid slime, you name it…

Mako Mermaids

The bird/woman combo of sirens and harpies certainly don’t get such a good press. So what is the appeal of mermaids? Well, my poll of three revealed that they are: pretty, kind of sexy, sassy, very interesting to look at, they care for each other and care for all the living things in the ocean. There you have it.

If you your child wants to channel their inner mermaid, here’s where you can get the outfit (child and adult sizes): Amazon.

The post Mermaid Costume appeared first on The Parent Social.

I’ve just taken delivery of that great idea and am really excited to give it as a gift.

The Present Idea

My eldest daughter has a December birthday so I really have to get into gear on the present front at this time of year.

She mentioned she’d like a copy of The Magic Faraway Tree, which they’d been reading at school. I thought this, as part of the series of four, would work as a small Christmas present so looked for the Famous Five series, which she isn’t familiar with. I found the first 10 books, sold as a set, for just over £14 and ordered immediately.

The books arrived promptly and had the lovely retro covers. However, they were just in a bundle wrapped in cellophane. I suppose hardly surprising given the price. I didn’t want to wrap them up to give just as they were so had to think of an alternative.

It’s all in the Presentation

I set about looking for a presentation case, just something simple like proper book box sets come in. I searched for ages and drew a blank. I then had the idea of getting a decorative box to actually put them in, but nothing really seemed to fit the bill. I then thought treasure chest!

It seemed the perfect idea as it all fit in nicely with the whole adventure theme, and of course it would even contain the book Five on a Treasure Island. It is also something that I would have loved at eight year’s old, so I know Sofia will. The chest has arrived today and I actually can’t wait to give this present to her. It even comes with its own lock and key to keep it all secret!

Here are the links to the products:

• Famous Five – books 1-10
• Pirate Treasure Chest
• Other Pirate Treasure Chest (by the same company also looks great – double check the dimensions)

The post A Brilliant Present Idea appeared first on The Parent Social.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m very keen on the topic of preserving memories and keeping mementos. However, my friends and family will tell you that I am not a lover of chintz, frilliness or things that are really soppy or cutesy.

This can pose a bit of a problem sometimes as I often find keepsakes a little on the sugary side.

It was my birthday a couple of days ago. The weekend before my husband took me out for a little shopping spree in Selfridges for a few Christmas presents :-), a few drinks, dinner at one of my favourite restaurants and, even more excitingly, a night away in a central London boutique hotel without the kids (only the second time we’d ever left them over night – ever!).

On the day itself I received lots of lovely presents.

The papercut family tree

However, one particular present appealed to my sense of celebrating the family and clean lines and simple elegance. This beautiful ‘papercut family tree’ from Kyleigh’s Papercuts was the absolute perfect gift for me. I felt compelled to blog about it, as not only do I love it, but my husband Matt told me how helpful they were, rushing through his order so that he got it in time for B-day. Wendy – one of the three friends behind the business – even emailed Matt to say she’d get his late-in-the-day order to me on time: “You men wouldn’t be men unless you left buying presents until the last minute.” – Couldn’t agree more!

There are lots of colour and framing choices. It’s a gift not only suited to families, but for commemorating many special occasions. The website tells you all you need to know: https://www.kyleighspapercuts.co.uk/ 

For more unique gifts check out Loubilou.

The post The Family Tree: A Unique Gift appeared first on The Parent Social.