MUMMY TO THE MAX

To finish off the year I thought I would finish the end of the year on a high and write down 5 of my most happiest, memorable moments of this year which have happened to Mummy To The Max.  I hope you have enjoyed reading our blog and you are looking forward to sharing some new memories with us in 2014.


Being sponsored to go to Britmums by Silentnight and working with Silentnight in 2013 - This year I was amazed when I was given the opportunity to go to Britmums. Being quite a new blogger and not as established as others around me I was so happy to be picked. I had such an amazing time there and I learnt so many new things not to mention I made some fantastic blogging friends that I now talk to every day! Silentnight have continued to support me this year and I am looking forward to working with them in 2014.



Being picked as Tomy Official  Blogger - This year I was surprised to have the opportunity with Maxwell to become a Tomy Official  Blogger. Maxwell has had a opportunity not many children his age have had and I truly want to thank Tomy for all there support and help they have given us, not to mention the parcels we have gone on to receive from them.

2013 was a fairly cheap Christmas for me. Most of the present I gave to people were either won, were freebies, recycled or were cheap however I still think I could have done better and got Christmas for much less. 2014 I have set my target to get everything for Christmas under £100, the £100 which I am using for Christmas 2013 was won this year (December) through a competition so the Christmas will still be costing £0 of my own money IF I manage to stay in budget.


I am staying hopeful that I will reach my target and every month I will be writing a post to update my readers on how my Free Christmas 2014 is going. I plan to:

• Collect as many reward points as possible - Tesco, Boots or Nectar... I will be making sure I get as many points as I possibly can.
• Use websites such as Top Cashback  - When I make purchases on the Internet, I get a  % of money back through the purchase. Nearer Christmas or through out the year I have the option to swap the Cashback into cash or vouchers for me to spend in stores such as Boots.
• Collect as many coupons as I can for food products to enable me to get lots of snacks/food in for free.
• Win as many items as I can which will help me get Christmas for free. This includes gifts, vouchers to buy products with and even food items.
• Use sites such as Instagc which reward me in vouchers for doing simple tasks such as watching videos and listening to the radio. Each month I am hoping to make at least £10+.

Christmas 2013 was the 3rd Christmas Maxwell had got to celebrate. Unfortunately Maxwell and I were both ill, I was at the end of the cold which had bugged me for over a week and Maxwell was at the start of his cold however we both did not allow this to ruin our Christmas.

Ben worked all over Christmas which meant we missed having a lot of family time together. On Christmas eve Maxwell was given his Christmas Eve box which he really enjoyed. He loved the chocolate which he got to nibble on as he watched his Christmas films and he loved having a nice hot bubble bath at the end of the day with his new towel and his "special" bubble bath. He loved getting in to his new PJ's and snuggling down under the cover whilst I read him his Christmas book. Overall we had a fantastic Christmas Eve and once tucked into bed Santa came with lots of treats!


Christmas morning was a lazy one. We did not get up until 9am and once up we let Maxwell enjoy opening his presents.  I was surprised to see this year that Maxwell actually knew how to unwrap his presents and he loved attacking the paper whilst he excitedly unwrapped. Maxwell loved unwrapping his sesame street toys and he screamed in delight when he saw he had a new wooden puzzle train.

After breakfast we got ready to go and celebrate Christmas with our families. Each year we split our day so that we spend time with both our families. First we visited Ben's family and we also had our Christmas lunch there. We had a nice time there and then we rushed off to spend the remainder of the day with my family. Everyone was very generous with their gifts and Maxwell especially loved the Noahs ark my sister gifted him and a Vtech robot my parents gifted him.

On boxing day we spent the day as a family of 3 and we went shopping.  Our day was sadly shortened as Ben had work however we managed to get a few bargains and we enjoyed spending out day together. When we arrived home, Maxwell managed to spend some well deserved time playing with his Noah's ark and his new Megablok truck.


The following day we spent at my sisters, we had a lovely dinner there and Maxwell and I managed to catch some more of our family which we had not got round to seeing at Christmas. We had a brilliant day and Maxwell enjoyed opening more presents.

Overall we had a lovely Christmas. I just wish Ben had a little more time off so we could have got to enjoy the run up and the few days after however I am sure this will change next year. We are looking forward to Christmas 2014 and I have already started present preparing!

On my Birthday this year, we thought it would be nice to take Maxwell somewhere that little bit magical. For weeks and weeks I had been planning on a nice trip and finally I came up with the idea of taking him to our local farm to meet Father Christmas.

The local farm is not that far away from us. It is around a 10 minute drive and is situated in Ashurst which is in the New Forest. The farm is called Longdown Dairy Farm. I had heard nothing but good reviews from other parents so I was excited to go and see what all the fuss was about.

Upon arrival we parked in a large car-park. The car-park was large and allowed many visitors to park in it. There were no set bays which enabled us plenty of space for Maxwell to get in and out of the car which I find is always important. From the car park the farm is a short walk across the road.

Once arriving at the farm we were shown into a marquee where activities were set out for children to have fun with. There were a long row of benches for people to sit down on and small table which let people buy refreshments. Maxwell loved the activities which were set out for him. One being a huge wooden standing cow with wooden boards that he lifted up and was able to see pictures of animals as well as facts about the farm.


After Maxwell had enjoyed the activities we were shown into the Christmas barn. First of all we were able to sit down and enjoy holding chicks. Unfortunately  Maxwell was not keen on them and we ended up putting the chick back however it was a wonderful experience and perhaps when Maxwell is a little older he will enjoy chicks more.


We then had the opportunity to meet a few other animals which included sheep, a donkey, goats and a turkey. Maxwell adored the donkey and spent a while touching him and stroking him. Maxwell was sad to leave the animals as he was called to go into Santa's Grotto by a giant elf.

Once in the Grotto we were able to sit next to Santa and we were given a small gift by the elf. Santa tried to talk to Maxwell however Maxwell seemed a little scared by him and was reduced to tears meaning we eventually had to leave Santa in his grotto however Maxwell was impressed with his present which was a lovely board book which will help him learn colours as he grows.

Overall we had a lovely time at the farm. There were a lot of things to see and do for children including colouring and dressing up and I would definitely reccomend it to families. We paid around £10 to get in which included 3 adults and 1 child which I found was quite reasonable.

I am hoping to take Maxwell again next year, hopefully he will no longer be scared of Santa!

This year I decided I really wanted to start a Christmas tradition with Maxwell. I want him to grow up remembering certain things we did each year as a family and keep the tradition going as he grows. I want him to remember small things which bought him a little joy and happiness around the festive season and remember it through his adult years. Some people frown upon this tradition but I simply think its a brilliant idea, the idea being Christmas Eve Boxes!

Marley the Musical Accordion - Marley is a cute bright coloured dog. Marley has a few special features that no other toy we have come across has, Marley is a Musical Accordion dog.  Marley can be played with as a four note accordion or pulled along. In Accordion mode we found Marley to be a little hard to use for Maxwell's small hands. Maxwell found it hard to push the 2 sides of Marley together and in the end he opted in to pushing one side of Marley into the floor so he could get a little sound out of him. As Maxwell continues to grow, I don't think this issue will be such a problem. On a brighter side, when Marley is pulled along by his string he makes a lovely clack sound and his body is animated by the squishy accordion movement. Maxwell loved pulling Marley along and especially loved it when I made Marley chase after him.

I always enjoy reading books to Maxwell, I believe they help him with his speech development however since he has got older he always likes to make his own little mark when I am reading a book to him and he loves to get involved. As part of the Parragon Book Buddies we are sent a different book to look at and review each month. This month we were sent a book called "Thank you for being my friend". Thank you for being my friend comes in a lovely little gift box. Inside the box is a cuddly giraffe teddy and a small hardback book.

This set is a good size set which makes it ideal for families. Not only is the set perfect for using on camping holidays, it would also be great to use at BBQ's in your own back garden, a picnic in the forest and would be the perfect set to  take to the beach in the summer when you have that summer BBQ.

At Christmas I always think the perfect present for someone is something you know they will enjoy, and something which many people I know enjoy is chocolate. A few weeks ago we were sent some lovely Thornton's gifts to enjoy over the Christmas period and so far we have definitely enjoyed them. We were sent: A Christmas box jammed full of chocolates, a beautiful chocolate snowman for Maxwell and a favourites box for us all to tuck into and enjoy.


This hamper is the perfect gift for someone who loves lots of little treats and doesn't like to eat things in one go! The box is packed with a Classics Milk Caramel Bag, Assorted Toffee Bag, Vanilla Fudge Bag, Continental Milk, White & Dark Bag. The whole hamper caters for every one and would make a great stocking filler or a present for children, adults or even work colleagues. The box is priced at just £9.99 which I think is reasonable. It is presented well and the contents of the hamper taste divine.

Maxwell is a typical little boy who loves to play with cars. He spends a few hours a day whizzing around the lounge playing with different cars. This week Maxwell was in for a treat when he was sent a Tow Truck Tim and Rolling Ray from WOW Toys.
Tow Truck Tim and Rolling Ray are a fantastic lorry and car duo. They are brightly coloured, large enough for toddler hands and robust. These toys offer hours of fun for children. At the age of 2, this toy encourages Maxwell to explore and learn.
The toy is easy to use, there is a magnetic winch which connects to the car, once connected it pulls it onto the truck when your child holds down a green button on the trailer. To release the car you need to drop down the click opening tailgate and press the red button and watch as Ray rolls back down ready for action.

You are able to purchase and find out more about Tow Truck Tim who is available from Amazon. Wow Toys would also love to see you over on there Facebook and Twitter pages.

This week saw Maxwell have his 2nd Birthday, a Birthday which was filled with a lot of happiness and joy. We threw Maxwell a lovely Birthday which was attended by some of our family. I wanted to make his Birthday that extra bit special so I decorated the house a little and decided to have a key piece on the table which everyone would see as they walked into our lounge - A cake stand filled with cupcakes.

I always like to prepare for special occasions and this year  was not an exception. I started Christmas shopping in January and I even went as far as buying a Christmas tree, decorations and wrapping paper as it was cheap in the sale but there was something missing which we did not manage to get Maxwell. That missing thing was a Christmas sack!

Recently My 1st years kindly offered to send Maxwell a special Christmas sack which he could use to store his presents in when Father Christmas came to visit. The sack we were sent was a Blue Hessian Gift Sack. The sack came with a blue star on the front, the sack also had your child’s name printed on the star, you were able to change the colour of the name on the star however we went for a white colour. The clever thing about having your child's name on the sack is that your little one will always know which sack of presents under the tree is theirs.


The sack is large enough to fit plenty of presents inside. There is a special feature about this sack however and this feature is that it features a draw string which means it is easy to hang up at Christmas but after Christmas the sack can then be used to store toys in a playroom or be used as a laundry bag.

If you love Drumond Park’s ‘big brands’ LOGO picture board game concept like we do, you’re going to be blown away by The Official LOGO board game app. It’s on the Apple list (for iPhones and iPads), and it’s absolutely free – until the end of December 2013.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Family time recently has been neglected due to our family's busy lifestyles, however last week we managed to have a small get together and we had a fun night in thanks to the brilliant board game Logo. I was extremely excited to review this game as it was something I had wanted to play since the game had first come out.

Logo is a game for 2-6 players or 2 teams and is suitable for the ages 12 - adult. Our family opted to play in 2 teams as we found this would be a easier way of playing. We split the teams into girls and boys and found we had a fun but competitive game.
For more information please visit the Drumond Park website for stockists and to see their full range of games available.