Category: Gift Guide

Gift guides featuring products recommended by relentlesslypurple.com

Christmas Gifts For 3 Year Olds Under £40

christmas / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

It’s tricky finding Christmas gifts for 3 year olds, there is just so much out there these days. What do you buy!? I’ve put together a list of perfect gifts for 3 year olds this Christmas. I try to cover a little bit of everything when gift buying and I’ve found some fantastic gifts for 3 year olds! I’ve found a toy, a book, Santa letter, costume & colouring book all under £40.

Christmas Gifts For 3 Year Olds

A Toy

My First Scalextric £39.99 is a great gift aimed at children 3+ that everyone can join in with. It’s a great way to get the whole family playing together in a friendly race. This is a great gift to introduce children into the world of Scalextric racing.

scalextric

My first Scalextrics promotes Hand/Eye Coordination, Manual Dexterity, Risk-reward thinking, Face to face interaction, Three dimensional & Motor skill development.

christmas gifts for 3 year olds

Assembling the figure of 8 design is simple and comes apart easily for storing too. The set also comes with two rally cars and adjustable power hand-controllers. The cars & controllers are colour coded in red and yellow to match the chevrons on the circuit. Scalextrics Magnatraction technology helps to keep the cars on the track. My first scalextrics

The My First Scalextric is fully compatible with our Micro Scalextric range of sets and cars, allowing you to extend your track and add new cars too. A gift that can be added on to is always a bonus for us! Find out more here.

A Book

Next on the list of Christmas gifts for 3 year olds is fantastic personalised book from Dr Niamh . Find your Name in the Alphabet Train is available for £16.99 in soft back or hard back. I reviewed this book in full recently and I have to say it is definitely an ideal gift for Christmas.

Personalised Alphabet Book

Personalised books make lovely Christmas gifts for 3 year olds. Children benefit greatly from being read to and reading, personalised children’s books are read on average 9 times more than traditional books. Books like this encourage early learning and a passion for books.

Izzy

The Find my name in the alphabet train book is available in soft or hardback. The story can be personalised with your child’s name, gender, skin & hair colour. The personalisation includes a personalised message printed on the last page, making this alphabet book extra special. I love that you can personalise the book, Izzy’s personalisation turned out great.

A Santa Letter

Lapland Mailroom have a fantastic Santa letter & Activity pack with free nice child certificate for £8.95. Nothing beats the magic of a letter arriving addressed to your little one from the big guy himself and Lapland Mailroom make it quick and easy to order one.

Giveaway

I’m running a giveaway in my Lapland Mailroom Santa Letter giveaway too so head HERE to find out more about Lapland Mailroom and enter for a chance to win one for free!

A Costume

All 3 year olds love to dress up & Pretend To Bee Have an amazing range of costumes. Costumes make perfect Christmas gifts for 3 year olds, helping them explore their imagination. Pretend to Bee’s Garnet Fairy Dress for £25 posted makes a gorgeous Christmas fairy outfit too and can be teamed up with a Santa hat. Izzy still prefers the headband though!

Garnet Fairy Dress From Pretend To Bee

 

Pretend To Bee also have this fantastic Deluxe Elf costume ! A boutique-quality novelty children’s Elf Costume, hand made with the best Fabrics and Trim. The costume includes a jacket, belt, trousers with boot covers and Hat for £19.95

Pretend to Bee - Elf costume

A Colouring Book

I think it’s always nice to add in a lovely colouring book at Christmas. When everything calms down it’s nice to just sit and colour. We found these fantastic Princess & Fairies Dress Up Masks book in Aldi for just £1.99! A bargain & so pretty!

Dress-Ups Masks

What do you think of my Christmas gift guide for 3 year olds? Which products to you like best?

 

 

Burnished Chaos

UK Gift Shopping Habits Infographic

Gift Guide / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

With Christmas approaching I’ve been looking at UK gift shopping habits. What2buy4kids has provided a fantastic infographic (below) which shows how much we spend in the UK on gifts, when we buy them and more.  It’s quite interesting learning more about the UK gift shopping habits & reading the facts.

Women spend more money on average than men in the UK gift shopping, with over £100 difference! I guarantee we get more for our money though 😉

Over half of the UK buy gifts 2 months earlier. The majority of Christmas shoppers start in November. I always hope to buy gifts with plenty of time and have managed to over the last 2  years. I find last minute gift buying way to stressful, it gets far too people out there!

Mothers day is the most popular gifting occasion in the UK outside of Christmas and Birthdays whilst gifting new parents is the least popular. For both occasions gifts are usually bought a week before unlike occasions like Christmas and birthdays.

Shockingly UK parents spend the most on toys for their kids beating the USA, France & Germany. I guess we must get a little too excited. Lets face it though there are some awesome toys out there!

What2buy4kids sell some fantastic Birthday and Christmas gifts and created this infographic to show the UK gift shopping habits. I think they have put together some brilliant statistics and interesting facts on our gift shopping habits, what do you think?

UK Gift Shopping Habits

uk gift shopping habits

 

My Ever-growing Yarn Wish List

Crochet / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I have an ever-growing Yarn wish list right now. Whilst I do have 2 projects on the go right now, a granny square blanket for myself and one for my brothers cat Mia. I’m still using up all my sparkly yarn but I’ve been eyeing up some lovely new colours and brands I’ve discovered.

I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to crochet and I openly admit to being clueless when it comes to different yarns but some are just sooo lovely! I love self patterning yarns, anything purple, grey or super soft. The girls regularly point out yarns they like and want used on a project too but this list is just for me.

My Yarn Wish list

 

Caron Cakes

Anyone who loves to crochet or knit has no doubt heard of Caron cakes, self-patterning yarns that come in a glorious array of colours. These are fantastic for a range of projects and look especially lovely when used for shawls. Here are my favourite 4 Caron Cakes.

Yarn wish list- Bumbleberry caron cake

Bumbleberry

I love the gorgeous combination of purples in this Bumbleberry Self Striping Aran Yarn. I could use this on so many projects for myself!

lilac frosting caron cake

Lilac Frosting

The Lilac frosting would make a lovely scarf for winter with just a hint of lilac throughout. I usually avoid lighter colours but I do love the way this Caron cake turns out.

 

Mixed Berry Caron Cake

Mixed Berry

I’ve had my eye on this gorgeous Mixed Berry Caron cake since I first discovered them. I think this would be perfect for a project for Eva. Maybe a nice cardigan if I can work out how to crochet one!

Faerie cake caron cake

Faerie Cake

The last yarn on my Caron cake wishlist is this gorgeous Faerie Cake. I just love the colours in this, I’ve no idea what I would use it for but I definitely need it in my yarn stash asap.

 

purple fizz

Purple Fizz

Stylecraft Wondersoft DK Merry-go-Round in Purple Fizz is another self-patterning wool which I would love to make some cushions out of. I want to funk up my sofa soon and have a few different cushion cover ideas.

candy

Candy

King Cole Flash DK Knitting yarn in Candy is gorgeous. I would love to make some cushions for the girls room. Ok I know I said this list is for me but I couldn’t help but slip one in for the girls too!

What’s on your Yarn wish list right now? Which of the above yarns is your favourite?

Personalised Alphabet Book: Find My Name In The Alphabet Train

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Dr Niamh recently launched her first fully personalised Alphabet book: Find My Name in the Alphabet Train , Illustrated by Valeria Leonova. I received a lovely copy for Izzy in exchange for an honest review.

Personalised Alphabet Book

Personalised books are always a lovely gift idea for children. A gift children can both learn from and cherish for years to come. Children benefit greatly from being read to and reading, personalised children’s books are read on average 9 times more than traditional books. Children love being centre of attention and books like this encourage early learning and a passion for books.

Izzy

Personalised Alphabet Book

The Find my name in the alphabet train book is available in soft or hardback. The story can be personalised with your child’s name, gender, skin & hair colour. The personalisation includes adding a personalised message, printed on the last page which makes this alphabet book extra special. I love that you can personalise the book, Izzy’s personalisation turned out great!

The personalised Alphabet book contains great animal characters who take your child on a journey through the entire alphabet to find special letters in your child’s name. This gorgeous personalised alphabet book written in rhyme and uses phonics throughout the story. Learning phonics help’s young children learn the sounds and personalities of each letter. Perfect for Izzy’s age group!

Find your name in the alphabet train

The Storyline

The storyline and animals throughout the book make it colourful and lively. I found the book fantastic fun to read out loud with the phonic sounds and rhymes making the story sing. Books like this are a fantastic gift for Birthdays and Christmas which is just around the corner.

Izzy

The end of the story is laid out with the last page containing your personalised message & their name on the train. Dr Niamh’s Personalised alphabet train children’s book really is a gorgeous gift for any little girl or boy.

What do you think? Would your little one love this too?

 

 

Burnished Chaos

 

Role Play Teacher Pack From Wannabee’s

Gift Guide / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

We received a Wannabee’s Role Play Teacher Pack to review at the perfect time! Eva has had a fantastic week at school and had her sharing assembly. Standing up and reading the most lines enthusiastically Eva caught the assistant head teacher’s attention and was asked to stand at the end. When asked what she wanted to be Eva told everyone she wanted to be a P.E teacher.

Wannabee's role play teacher pack

At 7 years old Eva’s aspirations to be a teacher are high, she can’t wait to grow up and be a teacher and regularly writes her own registers pretending to be Izzy’s teacher. When I showed her the Role Play Teacher Pack from Wannabee’s she literally squealed with excitement.

Role Playing - Teacher

Wannabee’s Role Play Teacher Pack

Created by 2 working mum’s, Wannabee’s stemmed from one of their daughters asking for a “grown up Teachers pack just like the one that they use in school”.Wannabee’s offer 3 different role play packs – Teacher, Café & Doctor. All roles children generally enjoy the most. The role play packs are full of everything your child needs to be whatever they want to be. At just £14.99 they are fantastic gifts for children. Wannabee’s also offer a 2 pack deal for £24.99 and a 3 pack deal for £32.99.The role play teacher pack includes everything your child could need to be a teacher with several sheets of each too! The pack stands up and uses high quality paper and coloured inks which is really noticeable.

There are 12 different parts to the Teacher pack:

Registers –

 

Timetables

Role Play Teacher Pack - Timetable

Lesson Planner

Role Play Teacher Pack - Lesson Planner

Classroom Jobs List

Role Play Teacher Pack - Classroom Jobs

Lunch List

Role Play Teacher Pack - Lunch List

Weather Chart

Role Play Teacher Pack - Weather Chart

 

Counting Sheet

Role Play Teacher Pack - Counting Practice

Letter & Number Sheet

Role Play Teacher Pack - Letter & Number Practice

Reading Log

Role Play Teacher Pack - Reading Log

School Report

Role Play Teacher Pack - School Report

Achievement Certificates

Role Play Teacher Pack - Achievement Awards

Stickers

Role Play Teacher Pack - Stickers

We really loved the Wannabee’s Teacher Pack and we are definitely going to buy the Café & Doctor Packs too as they are so much fun. Eva has spent all weekend using her Teacher Pack with Izzy and it has kept them both happy for hours. I remember as a child my friend had one of those old post office role play toys and the Wannabee’s Role Play Packs remind me of those and the fun we had pretending to sell stamps.

Watching the girls go through the register, lesson plans and watching Eva set up activities is been great. It’s encouraged the girls to play together too which is always lovely. The Role Play Packs are perfect for kids.

What do you think of the Role Play Teacher Pack? Do you love the sound of the Café & Doctor Packs too?

Burnished Chaos

Weekend Box – Snazaroo Face Paints

Crafts / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Weekend Box have teamed up with Snazaroo and created a fantastic face paints box. Eva loves Weekend Boxes, you may remember she reviewed some boxes last year and had her photo featured on Facebook too! We love subscription boxes that keep us entertained over the weekend. Weekend Boxes are suitable for 4-9 years. This fabulous mini box is just £2.99!

Weekend Snazaroo Box

Of course Eva was extremely excited to discover a Weekend Box addressed to her this week and couldn’t wait to see what was inside and start having some creative fun!

Inside The Weekend Box

Weekend Box

Eva still loves the characters on the box and how it is packaged, she loves that she can open the box and read about the animals before finally discovering what’s actually inside the box. She remember the cute woodland characters from last year and loves Hattie the Hedgehog.

Weekend Box Snazaroo

Snazaroo Face Paints!

As you can see Eva was really excited to discover her Weekend Box had Snazaroo face paints inside! Snazaroo face paints are suitable from 3 years. They are so easy to use, just add water, even Izzy joined in and had a go. Snazaroo face paints are made in the UK, they are skin friendly, fragrance and paraben free and are formulated from premium cosmetic ingredients to be gentle on skin. We all have sensitive skin, cheap face paints causes rashes but we have no problems at all with Snazaroo face paints.

With 2 fun Snazaroo face painting kits to use Eva couldn’t wait to start using them. Eva loved the Birthday party face paint stamp kit. She especially loved the cupcake and face stamps so we started with those.

Cupcake Face Paint

We tried out the mini face paint kit next and decided to follow the directions on the box to see if it was as simple as it looks. We need a little more practice but Eva loved the end result! The 3 step guide was so easy to follow and Snazaroo have more guides online.


The Snazaroo Weekend Box is so much fun and something we can use again. You can invite some friends round & paint all their faces as there is plenty of paint in those kits! This is definitely something we would recommend as it kept us busy for quite some time. Of course we then had 2 clowns running around causing havoc in the flat haha!

Because Snazaroo face paints are water based they are so easy to clean off. Using wet wipes we had clean faces again in minutes! We love the mini kit so much! There are five vibrant themes available – Summer, Carnival, Halloween, Christmas and Easter. The colourful summer packs include a fun Festive Mask (made up of bright pink, white and royal blue) and a Jester (featuring grass green, white and purple).

Snazaroo paint a smile

Do you love the look of the Snazaroo Weekend Box too?

*I received this product in exchange for an honest review.

 

Pretend To Bee Garnet Fairy Dress & New Arrivals On Our Wishlist

Gift Guide / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

We received the gorgeous Garnet Fairy Dress from Pretend To Bee for Izzy’s 3rd Birthday. Pretend To Bee are a small family run business. I love to show small businesses like this my support especially when they are outstanding in what they do. All costumes go through rigorous training and conform to EN71 Toy Safety Standards and carry the CE mark. Pretend to Bee also offer free UK delivery on orders over £25 & free International delivery on orders over £50.

Garnet Fairy Dress

Garnet Fairy Dress from Pretend To Bee

The beautiful Garnet Fairy Dress would be top of the list for any little girls birthday! Izzy wanted it on from the second she unwrapped it. She was in such a rush to get it on we had to leave her pyjama top on to begin with!

 

😍

A post shared by Ember (@relentlesslypurple) on

With soft velvet straps and a stunning rose detailed body any little girl will feel like a fairy princess wearing the Garnet Fairy Dress. When we finally managed to remove the pyjama top we got some lovely photo’s like the one above which I shared on Instagram.

Garnet Fairy Dress

I love the matching headband, wings and wand. The wings are much better quality than any we’ve bought before and are decorated with silver glitter. Of course every fairy needs a matching butterfly wand too! 

Sizing

I make no attempt to cover the fact Izzy is pretty big for her age, at just 3 years old she is on the 95th percentile and is already in 4-5 years clothing with a little belly room due to her height. We asked for 5-6 years as we’ve previously had issues with dresses being far too tight and a little too short. Izzy is pretty stocky and it can be difficult to find dress up clothes that A) Fit well and B) Don’t feel like they will fall apart when pulled on. Using Pretend To Bee’s size guide I was pleased with the outcome as she will be able to wear it for a while.. until another growth spurt at least!

Having seen the quality and detail of this dress we couldn’t help but take a look around the Pretend To Bee website to see what else was available, especially for Izzy as she is lacking dressing up clothes at the moment.

New Arrivals

We couldn’t help but notice the fantastic new arrivals such a this Giant Peach Costume with a worm puppet for just £16.95! Such a fun costume for world book day or a Roald Dahl party for 3-7 year olds. We are great Roald Dahl fans and the girls instantly recognised which book it was from.

Giant Peach Costume From Pretend To Bee

 

Both girls absolutely love this Pink Unicorn costume which is also for 3-7 year olds and super cute! Eva is a little sad that she is too old for it though haha! We love the wings and tail and at just £15.95 it’s a great addition to any dressing up box.

Pink Unicorn Costume From Pretend To Bee

For Nursery children these High Vis Nursery Jackets are absolutely fantastic at just £2.95 each. Available in 4 colours – Yellow, Orange, Pink & Blue and in 2 sizes – 2 to 3 years and 3 to 5 years. These are great for Nursery day trips or useful during the holidays when going to busy parks.

High Vis Nursery Jackts From Pretend To Bee

Children love dressing up whether it’s for a special occasion, world book day or just for the fun of it. Pretend To Bee have a wide range of choices and is such good value for the quality. We have bookmarked the website so we can add to our dressing up box as soon as possible.

Pretend To Bee are over on Facebook & Twitter too so head over and give them a like/follow.

Do your kids love to dress up? Would they love any of the costumes mentioned here?

 


Izzy’s 3rd Birthday Weekend Celebrations

Family / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
Garnet Fairy Dress From Pretend To Bee

It was Izzy’s 3rd Birthday yesterday! Thanks to Martyn, Hannah & all the kids Izzy also had a lovely BBQ party. Izzy loves food so although she said she didn’t want a birthday party a BBQ was acceptable.

She loved munching away on sweet treats, sausages & burgers across the day.  I caught her looking pretty chilled out with all the kids watching TV, munching away haha!

Munch time

Hannah had some fab party supplies that the kids all loved, especially the Pinata and party bags! All the kids had fun scrabbling to get the most sweets.


We loved the pirate cake candles too & this lovely birthday cake. 😍 I totally need those for my birthday too! 😉

Birthday Cake

We had a slight accident where Izzy hit her head quite hard and ended up with a small cut. She was soon happily playing and eating again though. She even seemed slightly impressed looking at herself in the mirror! 

Proud of her war wound

Izzy loved spending the day with everyone and singing her favourite song with Martyn. ‘Beer Beer Beer – an ode to Charlie Mops’ she heard at the Rochester Dickens festival and has loved it ever since! 

Izzy & Martyn

Izzy’s 3rd Birthday

After a very long busy day and a rather late night she finally woke up after an hour of me waiting impatiently to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Snuggling up on the sofa with daddy to help her unwrap her presents she squealed excitedly as I passed each one over. 

Izzy's 3rd Birthday

Along with my Paw Patrol haul all from pound shops apart from the lookout tower I think she did fairly well! Izzy also got a cool looking scooter with tilt steering which she couldn’t wait to try out. She is slowly getting the hang of tilting it and pushing herself along.

Garnet Fairy Dress from Pretend To Bee

She received this absolutely gorgeous Garnet Fairy Set from Pretend to Bee which she couldn’t wait to put on! Complete with wings, wand & headband this gorgeous outfit is adorable & something Izzy would have picked out herself. She has barely taken it off since and wanted it on first thing this morning! I wouldn’t definitely say it is well worth £25 for this stunning fairy set, the dress is so well made and lovely and soft inside.

Garnet Fairy Dress From Pretend To Bee
Putting a spell on Mummy!

Across the day a few of our friends came by with even more presents & she was most definitely spoilt! It was most definitely all about Paw Patrol this year, she has a huge Sky & Everest balloon and lots of new characters & vehicles! Eva got a lovely soft Rainbow Dash too so she didn’t feel left out which was lovely!

We ended Izzy’s birthday with yet another birthday cake. Afterwards she happily went off to bed hugging her Skye LED Night light. I think it’s safe to say she has had a fantastic 3rd birthday!

3rd Birthday Cake

I always worry that lack of family will make special occasions a bit rubbish, most kids have aunts, uncles, cousins etc to play with so Martyn & Hannah organising a BBQ for Izzy means a lot. It meant she got to spend the day playing with other kids and having fun!

 

Hallmark Father’s Day Gift Guide 2017

Gift Guide / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Wondering what to buy for Father’s Day? Hallmark & Tesco are making buying for dad easier this year. With a fantastic choice of gifts & cards available there is a little something for everyone this Father’s day! Father’s day is all about showing dad just how much you care & with a range of personalised gifts and fun cards Hallmark at Tesco make it that bit easier.

Hallmark at tesco fathers day gift guide

Hallmark Cards At Tesco

Hallmark’s choice of cards ranging from £1 – £4 are brilliant, with different styles & sizes available including cards for stepdad’s & granddad’s too.

Large fathers day cards

 

 

 

These large cards ranging from £3-£4 are so adorable! Eva loves the cat & breakfast card & Izzy loves the monster one. Perfect from little ones to their daddy to make fathers day special.

The Shed card is so cool! It turns into a little pop up shed for Dad.

 

Medium Cards

 

 

These medium-sized cards are £2-£3 with a variety of styles. There are cute ones like the family ferris wheel card, the tiger one which opens its arm’s for a hug and a popcorn card that wiggles too! I love the superhero card with pop out superhero mark & the DAD foldout card looks fabulous.

 

 

stepdad fathers day cards

 

 

Hallmark have 2 brilliant cards for stepdad’s too! I absolutely LOVE the card on the left with its googly eyes and humour it’s perfect and at only £1.50 it’s great value too. The right hand card is lovely too with a simple design that says it all for just £2.

 

smaller cards

 

 

These super cute & cool cards ranging from £1.50 to £2.50 are awesome too. Choose from a cute fox, loving elephants, daddy’s princess, a cuppa or for that super cool dad the 24ct gold dad card! Whatever you are looking for Hallmark & Tesco have exactly what you need!

granddad fathers day card

 

 

 

Don’t forget Grandad this father’s day either, this awesome card is just £2 to make grandad feel special this year!

 

 

 

Gift Ideas

Looking for some gift idea’s to go with your choice of father’s day card this year? Tesco have you covered with this fantastic range of gifts. Why not treat dad to a new T-shirt for just £5 or 2 for £8 & decorate it just for him with these fab T-shirt Graffiti Pens below? Father's day

Socks & Card

 

 

I absolutely love these socks & ‘You know you’re officially a dad when you receive socks as a present’ card. Just £1 for the card and £2 for the Best Dad Ever Socks from F&F at Tesco, dad is sure to laugh!

 

Sweet Gifts

 

 

 

Looking for something sweet to bake for dad this year? What about some home-baked gingerdad biscuits? Tesco have this fantastic mix, bright writing icing & this awesome gingerbread man cookie cutter set. To top it of add this fantastic card  for just £2.50!

father's day

 

 

 

I love this fold out card & it would go fantastically with a box of Cadbury Milk Tray, perfect for the dad with a sweet tooth! (If they make it out of your hands that is!)

 

 

 

 

Which would your dad enjoy this father’s day? What do you think of the choice of Hallmark Cards at Tesco?

*I received these products to feature in this gift guide. All opinions are my own.