Tuesday 30 October 2018

Giveaway #703 : Win a Jazwares First Act Ukulele - closed - winner Jackie Howell


 For a few years now, 9-year-old Pierre has been totally fascinated by the full-sized guitar that belongs to his grandad. He loves picking it up whenever we visit and twanging it and trying to get a tune out of it, but it's just too big for him to play properly. When the option came in to review a ukulele from Jazwares First Act range, I knew that this could be a great solution. You can tell from the smile on Pierre's face what he thought of it !


 As you can see from the pictures, ukuleles have a much smaller, more child-friendly size, which is great when you're just learning to play. It has guitar-style tuning gears to let you tune up and stay in tune and nylon strings for that traditional ukulele sound. Pierre started off tuning it by ear, but then his grandad lent him his electronic tuner which he loves playing with using !


It was my birthday at the weekend and Pierre was determined to learn how to play Happy Birthday on his ukulele. I could hear him practising all the time over the days beforehand and, sure enough, he presented an (almost !) faultless rendition on the big day !

The ukulele, also available in white with blue butterflies, is suitable for children aged 6+.It's is available over on the Smyths website for £14.99.

But don't go away - I have good news ! I have a lovely Jazwares First Act Ukulele to give away to a lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. The winner will receive one of two designs of ukulele picked at random; either black with blue stars or white with blue butterfly design. Fill in your entries in the Rafflecopter widget below.


UK only. Closing date : 15/11/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

Giveaway #702 : Win Drumond Park Word Bandit - closed - winner Jane Willis


Well, now that the clocks have gone back, there's no denying it ... autumn is upon us and Christmas isn't that far away ! We've packed away the outdoor toys for the year, brought out the hot drinks and snuggly blankets and are gaily working our way through some brand new board games, including this one called Word Bandit from Drumond Park.


There are four easy word games to be played in two teams of any number, so it’s a great way to get the whole family involved and having fun! I ended up playing a game against Juliette and Pierre, which worked fine.


The central part of the game is a one-armed bandit, which reveals the word combinations that you will use in the games. As you move around the board, the space you land on dictates which of the four games your team will play.


Things that begin with - (yellow space) using two Rows. Your playing piece is on a yellow space with a category printed on it (e.g. Boys’ Names). Spin the word wheels as before and you must come up with as many words as possible in that category, beginning with one of the letters on show. You can use any letter as many times as you like, as long as the words are different.


Famous People – (green space). The aim here is to find the initials of as many famous people as possible during one turn of the timer, and here, the letters do not need to be touching in the grid. Anything goes – from Beyonce to Snow White!


Winding Words – (purple space) using four Rows. Find as many words as possible that wind around the grid of letters. The letters of these words must follow-on either sideways, up, down or diagonally with words spelled in any direction, top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right or right to left.


Words Containing – (red space) using one row. Reveal just one row of letters, then spin the word wheels. Here, you have to call out as many words as you can that contain any two of the letters you have spun. The letters contained in your words can be in any order, and repeating the letters in your words is OK. Master wordsmiths may choose to think up words with all three letters in them!


Every now and again, you'll get a cheeky beggar's face come up. This is the Word Bandit and he means you have one less letter to play with. It’s unlikely, but if the Word Bandit appears on all three wheels (there is one face per wheel), the playing team gets a free spin.

It's a great game that the whole family can play together, especially if you can create teams with mixed ages and abilities.

RRP £24.99, age 8+

For more information and stockists please visit www.drumondpark.com

The social media team at Drumond Park would love to hear about what you get up to when you’re playing this fab game – send pictures, too! Just get in touch on Facebook or Twitter and catch up on all the news on their crazy blog

Want to join in? I have a copy of the game to give away to one lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Fill in your entries in the Rafflecopter widget below :


UK only. Closing date : 14/11/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Monday 29 October 2018

DVD review : The Littlest Reindeer


This time next week, Halloween will be done and dusted and it will be all systems go for Christmas ! Just in time, The Littlest Reindeer has been released on DVD and Digital Download (from 29th October).

Get ready to meet Elliot, the adorably ambitious miniature horse who is determined to become the “littlest reindeer” on Santa's team, to replace  Blitzen, who has suddenly announced that he is retiring. The odds are already not looking good for Elliot, but, accompanied by his friend Hazel, he is determined to achieve his dream.


As they work hard on the North Pole reindeer try-outs, Hazel and Elliot don’t realise that a sinister lady has turned up at the ranch and their friends are in serious danger. Now the equine hero has a dilemma : will he save his new friends or follow his dreams and save Christmas?!


With an all-star voice cast lead by Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise), Samantha Bee (TV’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), Martin Short (The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool; Deadpool 2), Jeff Dunham (The Nut Job; Smurfs: The Lost Village), and the legendary John Cleese (Monty Python), this heart-warming tale about little dreamers and bigger dreams will lift your spirits this holiday season. It proves, once again, that size doesn't matter and that, with a little Christmas magic, everyone's dreams can come true !

THE LITTLEST REINDEER Release Details
 EST & DVD Date: 29th October 
Running Time: 86 mins
 Certification: PG 
Special Features: “Making The Littlest Reindeer” 

(Currently only £5 on amazon so get in quick !)



Disclosure : We received a copy of the dvd in order to write an honest review.

Sunday 28 October 2018

Giveaway #701 : Win Roblox Master Gamer's Guide - closed - winner Julie Ward


Pierre loves playing Roblox on the ipad so I knew he'd love this book from Carlton Books. He's not alone - Roblox is the largest user-generated online gaming platform - but with over 15 million games to try, you'll need this guide to help you pick and beat the best ones ! 


The Roblox Master Gamer's Guide is the perfect guide for learning the basics of game-making in step-by-step form and it's given Pierre loads of new ideas.


The contents of the book are split into three parts, focusing on Playing, Game Tips & Tricks and Content. This allows you to return to the book time and time again, as you unlock more and more content.


Roblox is a very social game, so this is a great way to keep on top of what you can do, including customising your avatar, exploring different worlds, earning badges and Robux (and spending them !) and creating your own games. Top games including Jailbreak, Hide & Seek Extreme and Neverland Lagoon are all profiled in detail, with tips and tricks on how to master each one.


It also includes some useful reminders on keeping yourself safe online, which I was very pleased to see.

Roblox Master Gamer's Guide | 9781787392120
Author: Kevin Pettman
Paperback | £8.99 | Published: November 2018
Age: 8+

I have a copy of  Roblox Master Gamer's Guide to give away to one lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Fill in your entries in the Rafflecopter form below.


UK only. Closing date : 11/11/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

coming soon !

Saturday 27 October 2018

Fab freebies of the week 27/10


This week has been great. After a busy first few days of the holidays, we've been chilling out with the Madhouse grandparents - aaaah ! Even better, it's my birthday tomorrow ! I'm not looking forward to heading back to work, but luckily we have another week to go so I intend to make the most of it ! In the meantime, here's another roundup of the week's fab new freebies. Enjoy ! :)

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The Insiders are looking for 1,500 parents with a baby between 6 and 12 months old to try SMA® PRO Follow-on Milk.

They are also looking for 3,000 Insiders who are looking to swap out sugar and try SPLENDA® Sweet Minis. Does this sound like you? Apply before 30th October

You have the chance to win one of 300 festive Zoflora prizes.

Grab a free bottle of Robinsons Refresh’d at Tesco or ASDA on the Shopmium app.

Get a free 8" x 8" photo canvas (£29.91 value) for only £0.00. No Coupon code required at checkout. Pay £0.00, plus shipping.

Claim a free BEAR yoyo sample from Bear Nibbles for your cubs!

Grab one of 5000 free The Collective suckies coupons


To try the new protein bar from KIND, just say to your voice assistant, “Ask Send Me a Sample for a KIND Bar”

Kinder are offering you the chance to win 1 of 100 animal-themed colouring books for your little ones, personalised with their name!

You can add a free sample pack to your basket which will include a sample of simply argan oil together with some samples of other products when available.

Pets At Home have free workshops that you can take the kids along too.

You can see previous weeks' freebie roundups by clicking here but be warned, many of the offers are only valid for a short time. Let me know if any have expired and I'll remove them from the roundup.

You may also like to enter my current giveaways :

coming soon !

Friday 26 October 2018

Trick or Treating Supplies from Cadbury ! (review)


Are you all ready for Halloween? Have you bought the glow-in-the-dark skeletons, fake blood and cobwebs? What about your goodies for the trick or treaters who are bound to come and ring your doorbell? Well, Cadbury's kindly sent us through some of their Halloween offerings to give out to the local kids, and we've been busy sampling them !


The Cadbury Heroes Party Bag is a great option for trick or treaters (or just for anyone who likes something to nibble on in front of the TV!). They come in various sizes, with 40, 20 or 16 sweets in the bag, and each bag contains mini versions of Dairy Milk Buttons, Flake, Twirl, Crunchie, Curly Wurly, Chomp and Fudge, so there's bound to be something to appeal to everyone !


You may prefer to choose your favourite chocolate bar, in which case, you might like the Fudge Treat Size bag, with 15 treat size bars per bag, 202g RRP £2.79.


My choice would be this one - Crunchie, with 12x treat size bars per bag, 210g, RRP £2.79.


If you want something a bit spooky for Halloween, how about these brand new Goo Heads, a spooky twist on the much loved classic Crème Egg and the perfect treat for trick or treating? They come in three sizes : Cadbury Goo Head, 40g, RRP £0.55, Cadbury Goo Head Five Pack, 200g, RRP: £2.85, Cadbury Goo Head Mini’s, 89g, RRP £0.89.


They are delicious Cadbury chocolate eggs filled with gooey white fondant. The spooky wrapping is what the kids love the most though ! Each gruesome head comes in a range of eerie characters, with a scary skeleton, petrifying pumpkin, frightening Frankenstein, dreadful Dracula or terrifying Were-Wolf.

Happy Halloween !

Disclosure : We received the products, in order to write an honest review.

Wednesday 24 October 2018

Getting ready for Halloween with Feisty Pets ! (review)


Awww just look at the cute little pets that the postie dropped off for us earlier in the week, along with some Halloween make-up. On the left, there is a unicorn called Glenda Glitterpoop and on the right a cute dog called Sammy Suckerpunch. If anything, they actually look quite sad and in need of a cuddle ...


Until you put your hand around the back of their heads and they turn into snarling, aggressive monsters that are just perfect for welcoming in Halloween ! Aaaggghhh I don't like the teeth - they're scary ! 


The best thing is, once the toys are out of the boxes with the labels removed, nobody knows what to expect so there will be lots of scared reactions and surprised faces when they show their teeth ! They're well made and seem to appeal to adults as much as kids. Giggles guaranteed !

Available in Argos, Smyth's Toys and numerous other retailers.

RRP : £14.99



Disclosure : We received the products in order to write an honest review.

Tuesday 23 October 2018

Book review : Pieces of Me - Natalie Hart


Pieces of Me by Natalie Hart follows the story of Emma, a British woman working in Iraq to interview those seeking visas to America, and Adam, an American soldier working as a medic. They are brought together by one of Emma's unlucky-in-love friends, who is busy chatting up Adam's friend. 

Following the trauma of a bomb blast close to where Emma works, she finds herself drawn to Adam and his calming, reassuring influence. Sure enough, after a fairly swift courtship, they end up getting married and moving back to Adam's home town in Colorado. This perfect set-up is unfortunately way too short though, and Adam is whisked back to Iraq, leaving Emma feeling unsettled and decidedly bored. She manages to find a new circle of friends and gets involved with helping out an Iraqi family. 

Unfortunately, just before they come home, Adam's unit is targetted and one of his colleagues is killed. This deeply affects him and his relationship with Emma suffers, to the point where she has to decide whether she wants to stick around or go back home to the UK. 

While I felt sorry for Emma, I found it hard to really empathise with Adam, who seemed totally selfish. I appreciate how hard it must be in the armed forces, especially when this kind of tragic event happens, but Adam refused all offers of help, both professionally and personally. I would have preferred to see a few chapters offering a narrative voice to Adam from time to time, to get the insider's view on how he was feeling, to help continue to connect with him and see him in a positive light. However, I suspect that this is a fairly honest and realistic account of how military families get on, and this really made me think.

It's an interesting novel, that provides you with more questions than answers. It would be great for reading groups, who would enjoy discussing who is right and who is wrong, or what could be put in place to help military families in such cases.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £8.99

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Legend Press (4 Oct. 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9781787198036
  • ISBN-13: 978-1787198036
  • ASIN: 1787198030




Disclosure : I received a copy of the book in order to share my honest review.

Monday 22 October 2018

The October Winter Warmer Degustabox review


The holidays are upon us - yay ! - which means that the house is full of constantly-starving hungry kids - boo ! Perfect timing for this month's Degustabox to be dropped off ! The first glimpse in the box looked very promising and we could see lots of things that are sure to appeal peeking out. Time to get a closer look.


This month's box has a Winter Warmer theme going on, which sounds perfect. This looks like a great box for families to enjoy, along with a few extra treats for grown-ups (notably in the alcoholic version).


Starting off with this month's Product of the Month, we discovered a pack of Lift Instant Lemon Flavour Tea (£1.49). This product has been in existence since the 1970's and I actually remember my best friend at school drinking this, so it was nice to rediscover it. It can be made with hot or cold water so is ideal as a warming winter drink or a cooling summer drink, depending on the weather (and it's good for both, with the current temperature changes of the last week or so !). We love the sweet, citrus flavour, the simplicity of use and the fact that it also contains vitamin C - bonus !


Staying on the drinks theme, we found a box of 80 Clipper Fairtrade Tea Bags (£2.89). I don't drink tea, but I've been using them when we have visitors and there have been no negative comments at all. This also comes with a free tea towel in the box, which is very handy.


The Get Fruity Bar (70p) is a delicious snack bar, containing "no artificial bits", that it is also gluten free and suitable for vegans. It has a Moist Mixed Berry flavour, and includes a mixture of real berries and wholegrain oats. If you like the sound of these, you may be interested to learn that they will be on offer in Morrissons for just £1.88 for four from 25th October to 15th November. 


Ginger Beer by Supermalt (£1.19) is a brand I'd never heard of. They have created a drink that uses real ginger extract, as well as a hint of lemongrass, for a fiery kick. This definitely needs to be chilled to save having your mouth on fire ! It can be drunk on its own or in cocktails, and there is a recipe sheet included, with recipes for three cocktails : Dark & Stormy, Moscow Mule or Rhubarb Gin & Ginger.


For those who receive the alcohol box, there were two cans of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey & Lemonade (£2). This is a drink that I hadn't tasted since I first started going out and drinking alcohol back when I was in sixth form ! It was a nice trip down memory lane.


Upbeat Spring Water Enriched With Protein & Vitamins (£1.59) offers a pleasant tasting drink to help improve strength, energy and mental performance. I'll be honest, I'm not overly convinced by that, but they do taste very nice, in both Blueberry & Raspberry and Summer Lemon flavours. I love the fact that they are sugar free, low in calories and use real fruit flavours.

Spoon Granola is, I think, in place of the Jack Daniel's in the non-alcoholic boxes. It's a Cherry Bomb flavoured granola that offers wholegrain oats, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and a natural cherry hit. Very tasty for breakfast or in cookies - yum !


Heinz Creationz Mexican Beanz Chipotle Style with Chorizo (£1.75) can be used to transform tacos or brighten up burritos, according to the pack, but they can also just be enjoyed with rice. They count as one of your five-a-day and provide a mixture of haricot and red kidney beans in tomato & chipotle sauce with chorizo. They're high in fibre, low in fat and ready in 90 seconds. What's not to like?! 


The Santa Maria Latin American Kitchen range often features in Degustaboxes and this month, we get to try Mexican Spiced Tomato Sauce (you might have received Venezuelan Coconut & Lime Sauce instead - £1.89). It's a vegetarian and vegan friendly option, that can be added to cooked vegetables, fish or meat to zip them up. It has a medium spice rating, but adding a side dish of rice or couscous and chopped tomatoes will tame things down if it's too hot.


Kit Kat Chunky in Salted Caramel Fudge flavour (65p) made a nice change to the original bar. You get the same smooth milk chocolate and crispy wafer along with a caramel fudge topping - delicious.


The final product, great for breakfast or a light lunch on the go, is Shreddies Breakfast To Go (£1.99).


As well as a bowl of Shreddies, you get a mini carton of semi-skilled milk and a plastic spoon. It's great for a special day out, but seems a bit on the expensive side, so I think we'll stick with the big boxes to share !


This month is a great box, and it will definitely all get eaten and drunk. A subscription to Degustabox costs £12.99 per month including delivery, with each box having a value of much more than that, but the great news is, I have a discount coupon code for you which means you'll get the first box for just £7.99 - enter code 0BS6T at the checkout.

for more information :




Also now on Instagram @DegustaboxUK

Disclosure : We received the box in order to write an honest review. As a Degustabox blogger, I receive all of the products that go into the monthly boxes, but subscribers may not get exactly the same selection.
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