AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell AD | Christmas has arrived at @thelexiconbracknell and there’s so much to entertain the whole family whilst you do your Christmas shopping! 

Visit The Lexicon Glow Room for a magical light experience that will dazzle you with 20,000 LEDs. It feels like the room goes on forever! Then, take a dip in the Light Pool, a magical ball pool with golden balls to be found and prizes to be won!

If that wasn’t all, have a photo in the giant Christmas bauble ‘sparkling selfie station’ and follow the Twinkle Trail, spotting baubles in shop windows to collect the clues and enter to win fabulous prizes this Christmas. Plus, share your sparkling selfie station pictures, tagging #thelexiconbracknell or email them to marketing@thelexiconbracknell.com and you will automatically be entered in a competition for the chance to win a restaurant gift card too. 

There are also special performances from local choirs, bands and singers and even the chance to meet Bluey, Hey Duggee and Chase from Paw Patrol! You can be sure that a trip to The Lexicon will have something for everyone over the festive season this year. We loved our visit to The Lexicon last weekend and know we’ll be back again before Christmas!

Find out more on @thelexiconbracknell website.

#TheLexiconBracknell #Merry&Bright
AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! AD - Press Trip | What a lovely evening that was! We had our first Glow Marwell experience tonight - and we loved it. It may even be the best light trail we have been to.

We spent well over two hours at @marwellzoo, enjoying the light installations, indulging in the food stalls and cafe, toasting marshmallows and even meeting Father Christmas! 

Glow Marwell was such a nice way to kick off the festive season - and it’s on all the way through December! If you’re looking for a really nice festive activity the whole family can enjoy, this could definitely be it!
AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparent AD | Are you looking for gifts for the grandparents this year? @famileo_uk is a wonderful gift, giving the recipient a personalised gazette of family news regularly throughout the year - and it costs from just £5.99 a month. 

Multiple family members can use the same subscription, all posting messages to be added to one gazette - and sharing the cost of the subscription too! It’s great for parents, siblings and children to all share their news with grandparents each week, fortnight or month. 

We’ve been sending my dad Family gazettes for a while now and he absolutely loves them. It means we tell him all the little things that are happening and not just the big news you remember to mention in phone calls. The children get to upload their own messages to their grandad and it’s definitely made them feel closer, building a stronger relationship despite living far apart.

Find out more about Family over on the blog - link in bio - and buy a subscription for your nearest and dearest this Christmas. It’s a gift they will definitely love to receive.
Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing the Two weeks of Fred & George! I won’t be doing these updates every week but I like having somewhere to put all these photos!

They’re now three months old, super loving and happy, making biscuits and purring constantly.

They stay in ‘their’ room overnight but explore the house during the day, getting more confident as time passes. They even got to the point of relaxing on the sofa with us last night.

Fred & George are now very much part of our family and I can’t imagine them not being there now - even at 7am when they’re miaowing at the door for breakfast!
AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your AD | Stuck for screen-free entertainment that your kids will love? Claim your FREE Banjo Robinson activity pack today!
 
Reading for pleasure is a key indicator of a child’s future success, but if your child doesn’t love to read, what can you do? We know it’s not always easy keeping kids entertained and away from screens, so we’ve partnered with the award-winning @banjorobinson to gift you a FREE activity pack, worth £9.99.

Here’s a little look at the Banjo Robinson subscription - Troy loves it! Travelling to world with Banjo is so much fun! You can read our full review over on the blog and claim your free activity pack too - link in profile.
A whole week of Fred & George. We weren’t meant A whole week of Fred & George.

We weren’t meant to get more cats just yet but sometimes the universe sends you things when you don’t expect them.

These little guys needed a home and a family to love them. And we had a home and a lot of love to give. We still miss Leia but this pair are definitely helping make me feel whole again.

They are both used to us now, and love us. They’re less nervous, give us cuddles and let us pick them up. They’re still living in our spare room but starting to explore the rest of the house under supervision. 

They play fight constant. Love toys, especially a crinkly feather thing on a string attached to a stick, and love being up high. They are an awesome pair and we are so glad to have them.

Thank you @millbrook_rspca @rspca_official for trusting us with ‘Lonestar and Starfish’. We could not love them more. 

#catsofinstagram #catstagram #catsofig #catsofinsta #catlovers #adoptdontshop #rspcarescuecat #kittensofinstagram #kittens_of_instagram
[AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing abo [AD - Press Trip] I’ve just finished writing about our half term break at @pottersresort and it’s over on the blog if you want to go have a read.

I wanted to put some of my favourite photos on the grid too as the kids did so many fun activities - they had THE best time. 

Giant swing, segways, climbing, archery, laser clays… there was so much to do that we couldn’t fit it all in - we need another trip!
And there ends our October half term - well, apart And there ends our October half term - well, apart from Troy who has a bonus week off!

This half term has been pretty lovely. Troy had his school residential the first weekend and then we had a really lovely few days in Norfolk before heading home and picking up two new members of our family - Fred and George. 11 week old rescue kittens who have pretty much stolen our hearts.

It’s been so nice to have a chunk of quality time with this pair and now I’m looking forward to the Christmas holidays. These two are the best company and I really do live for the school holidays. 

How has your half term been?
[AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term [AD - Press Trip] We’ve loved spending half term at @pottersresort in Norfolk. With great food, an action packed schedule of entertainment and activities plus everything included in the price of your break - even drinks - it’s a fantastic way to holiday as a family, giving quality time together in the nicest of surroundings. 
I’ll write a full review soon but for now here’s a little Reel  of our trip.
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Reviews, Toys, Games and Crafts · November 11, 2021

Introducing Whirli – A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea! | AD

*This is a paid post

Each year it gets harder and harder to think of new and exciting gifts for children. But what if you could gift them unlimited new toys to play with whenever they wanted? Rather than just one present under the tree, they could have months of new toys to play with. Doesn’t that sound great? Well, that’s just what you get with Whirli.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

What is Whirli?

Whirli is a more affordable and sustainable alternative to buying new toys and, put simply, it’s a toy swap service. With Whirli you pay a monthly fee – as little as £7.99 – and get tokens to use to rent toys which can then be kept for as long as you like, returned and swapped for new ones or even bought at a reduced price if it’s something your child ends up really enjoying.

Who is Whirli suitable for?

Initially I thought Whirli was just for young children but I soon realised that although it’s for birth upwards I found plenty of options that LP and Little Man loved as older kids of 8 and 10. Whirli has all the big name brands you can think of – from Brio, Nerf and Baby Annabell through to Barbie, Fisher Price and Hape. You can be sure that whatever age your child is, Whirli will have toys perfect for them.

Whirli have over 1000 toys that you can browse through and they can be filtered by age, type, brand or even what skills they’d be helping to develop. All the toys show clearly how many tokens are needed to choose them and you can easily see which toys are new too – great when you’ve been a Whirli customer for a while.

What toys did we try through Whirli?

Since we started using Whirli the kids have enjoyed so many new toys. One of their favourites was the Hape Marble Run which even Dave and I loved helping them to build and play with! This really showed us the quality of toys through Whirli and how they like to supply well made, wooden toys where possible, knowing how much children love them.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

They also had quite a few Smart Games sets which are great one player brain games, getting harder and harder as you progress through the levels. From saving penguins from the ice through to herding animals into pens, I loved how these games got the children thinking and kept them so engaged whenever they played them.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

A similar game was ThinkFun Rush Hour from Ravensburger. Both LP and Little Man loved trying to free the cars from the rush hour traffic and really enjoyed competing with each other to see who could get the cars out quickest!

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

Whirli also has a lot of outdoor toys and LP and Little Man loved doing Garden Games Limbo. The Garden Games brand is fantastic and we have some of their toys already but the children loved doing limbo for the first time.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

With Whirli you can also rent books and board games, not just toys. We loved playing Operation and the children spent ages testing each other with BrainBox Space. I love how varied the options are with Whirli and how you can adjust the types of products you order through the year – with more outdoor toys in the summer and family games for cosy nights in over the winter.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!
Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

What did the children think of Whirli?

I wondered how LP and Little Man would feel about Whirli. Whether they would be happy trying toys and then sending them back to swap them for new ones or if they’d just expect to keep the toys forever. But, as soon as the first delivery arrived and I explained how Whirli worked, the children were excited.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

They couldn’t wait to start playing with the new toys and gave me their thoughts on each thing as they played with it. It was interesting to see that they thought more about whether they would enjoy something for a long period or were happy just playing with it a couple of times before sending it back to switch it for something new.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

Really Whirli has taught the children a real life lesson. Do they really need things forever? The children have pocket money and they will walk around a toy shop looking at all the toys and we’ll now have conversions about whether they’ll enjoy something forever or whether they’d just like to try it first and see how much they like it through Whirli.

Whirli has a great ‘try before you buy’ element to it and, if you do love something from Whirli you can always choose to keep it, paying a reduced price for it and never sending it back. The reduced price depends on how long you’ve had the toy for and you can see a quote to keep any toy in your Whirli account.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

I also know from toy renting through Whirli for a while already that our children are happy to just have new toys regularly, they don’t need to keep them forever to really enjoy them. And this is where Whirli is fantastic. It gives the children new and engaging toys to play with whenever they want them – and that makes them so happy. It also reduces the number of toys in our home and the need for endless storage solutions! Whirli is great for a less cluttered life.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

How do you return Whirli products?

With Whirli you get a postage label in each box to return products when you’re done with them. You also get tape strips and you can reuse the packaging that the toys were sent to you in. Whirli are all about reusing as much as possible, reducing waste and thinking more sustainably.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

Because of this, you won’t find any plastic in a Whirli delivery, aside from the toys. Most are removed from outer packaging – aside from board games – and sent in gorgeous reusable bags that keep all the pieces together and enable you to store the toys really safely whilst you have them.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

You can pay an extra £6 a month for unlimited free standard delivery and standard return or you can pay £3.49 for each delivery and each return that you do.

Is Whirli safe?

You may be worried about the implications of renting toys, especially since the pandemic. But, everything that is returned to Whirli is checked and cleaned, making sure everything is there that should be, that nothing is broken and that everything is freshly sanitised to make it completely safe for the next child to enjoy.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

How much does Whirli cost?

With the Whirli toy subscription service you choose the amount of tokens you would like each month and pay a fee related to that. The cheapest option is a Toy Sack of 80 tokens a month. Then there’s a toy box, toy trunk and toy chest, each with an increasing monthly price. As a guide, 80 tokens a month costs £9.99 if paying monthly and gives you £80 worth of toys at any one time.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

You can also choose to pay half yearly which gives a 10% discount on subscription fees or yearly which gives a 20% discount – reducing 80 tokens to just £7.99 per month. When you pay monthly you can also cancel any time.

Whirli keeps track of how many toys you’ve borrowed, their combined value and the amount of time you’ve been signed up with Whirli. This gives a really clear picture of the amount of money saved by renting toys rather than buying them. Whirli is great value for money and it’s so easy to see the positive environmental impact the service has too.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

Whirli as a Christmas gift

As well as buying a subscription to Whirli, you can also give a Whirli voucher so that any child can enjoy Whirli themselves. This is great if you don’t know what to buy for a child or you don’t want to buy them something that they will only enjoy for a couple of weeks before abandoning it to the bottom of the toy box.

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

The Whirli toy rental service is a fantastic idea for anyone wanting to be more sustainable, reduce waste and give children more experiences at a lower cost. Our children have loved Whirli and can’t wait for our next delivery. It’s been a complete revelation to us and I’ll be recommending it to everyone going forward. It really would make a lovely Christmas gift.

You can find out more about Whirli and subscribe here. Also, use code JVH9LYOJ to get £10 or 30% off your first payment (whichever is greater).

Introducing Whirli - A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea!

In: Reviews, Toys, Games and Crafts

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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