MUMMY TO THE MAX

If you have followed my blog for a while you would know that Maxwell adores dressing up. Maxwell now has a whole toy box full of dressing up costumes and his box of costumes is continuing to grow. Maxwell has costumes for all occasions for the year and has costumes suitable for him to wear daily. All Maxwell's costumes are bright, fun and are costumes which he loves to wear. Recently Maxwell was given the chance to choose a new costume to celebrate the new year in.

Maxwell was given the opportunity to choose a costume from the online shop Time To Dress Up. From the word go we had great customer service and were kept in the loop the whole time. We were advised about fittings and were given advice about sizing which I found to be very helpful due to the fact Maxwell has a tiny waist but is quite tall for his age.



In the end Maxwell decided on a Triceratops Dress Up costume. Maxwell adored the costume due to it being dinosaur themed however as  I parent I loved the costume as I thought it was practical for Maxwell to wear and was a costume which Maxwell would not grow out of easily.

Once ordered Maxwell and I awaited for the costumes delivery. The delivery was fast and the costume was well packaged. Once received we were excited about dressing Maxwell up and allowing him to run around in the costume.

Maxwell wanted to put the costume on straight away. In my opinion it is one of the most detailed dinosaur costumes I have seen recently and it was a costume that I was proud to see Maxwell in. The costume itself was well made, was a perfect fit and the design was fantastic and well thought out.

The Triceratops costume is a dark green costume and is made from a plush material. The costume features a soft tummy and a cute tail. The head of the costume includes a hood design which allows Maxwell to either have the hood up or down which I think is a great feature as often Maxwell can get hot and bothered with having things on his head. The hood has horns and spikes which I feel gives the costume a great effect. On the hands and feet the costume features soft claws, the claws are the final special touch to the costume and make it look great.


The costume seems to be hard wearing and Maxwell has worn the Triceratops costume in the garden, around the home and around relatives houses. I have no negative points to make about the costume. It has become one of Maxwell's favorite costumes and Maxwell loves to roar at people whilst wearing it. Although we got the costume in age 2-3 years and Maxwell is now 3 years old, there is plenty of growing room in it yet.

The costume can be bought in sizes 18 month up to 6-8 years and costs just £31 with free delivery. When Maxwell has worn the costume, he has had a lot of feedback. If you are after a eye catching costume for your child, this costume is for you.

Last year we started a new tradition of creating Maxwell a Christmas Eve Box. I wanted to make it into a tradition to make Christmas that little bit more exciting. As always I wanted to do Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box on a budget this year so I shopped for bargains and decided to reuse some of the bits that we had from last year.


In Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box 2014 you will find:

Orchard Toy Christmas Surprises Game: I bought this around July this year and I payed just £4 for it. Maxwell is now at the perfect age where he can start enjoying games and he adores the Orchard Toy Games. They are great to help with learning and development. This item will feature in many more Christmas Eve Boxes.

2 Snowman and Snowdog Crackers: I picked up a pack of these for £1 in the January sales this year and I have saved them for Maxwell to enjoy this Christmas. I shall save the rest of the pack for next Christmas as I think 2 is plenty for Maxwell to have in his Christmas Eve Box.

Disney Pjs: These were a bargain which I picked up in Tesco. Tesco has been one of my favorite clothing shops this year due to there highly reduced items. These Pj's normally are priced up to £5 but I spent just £2.50 on them. They are themed with Maxwell's favorite Disney character and I think he will love wearing these on Christmas Day.

Santas Magic Key: No box is complete without a key! I have always taught Maxwell that it is important that we lock the door behind us when inside for safety. I would hate for Maxwell to grow up thinking Santa was a intruder. This was in our Christmas Eve box last year so of course this year it cost us nothing.

Peppa Pig Chocolate: Maxwell adores Peppa Pig still and watches her daily so I knew she would need to feature in Maxwell's Christmas Eve box. Upon wondering around the 99p store a few weeks ago I spotted the Peppa Pig chocolates and I knew I had to grab a box to include in Maxwell's Christmas Eve Box.

Numberjacks And Smurfs Christmas DVD'S: This year Maxwell has not been interested in Christmas TV. His favorite film which has been on TV has been the Railway children and he has also loved watching the pantos on Cbeebies. These were the 2 Christmas DVD's which I purchased Maxwell last year, he loves Numberjacks and the smurfs so I am hoping he will enjoy watching one tomorrow.

Santa's Coming To Southampton  Book: This was a buy last year which I adored. Since buying last year I have seen a lot of people have now purchased them for their children. I have to say the book is magical and the pictures are amazing. The book goes into detail about local places Santa will visit this Christmas and includes illustrations of local places as well. I think I payed around £6 for it last year and it is well worth the money. This book will be used for many more Christmas's.

Christmas Dish: This was a buy from the 99p store last year and  I think it is perfect to add nibbles into but also to eat Christmas dinner out of. It is simple, childproof and a little bit of fun.

Soft Toy Santa: Maxwell is very much into soft toys at the moment so I thought this would be a nice little extra to add into his box. It is a simple soft toy from the 99p store and he is super soft. Maxwell adores talking on the phone to Santa this Christmas so it will be nice to tell him that he can talk to Santa on  Christmas eve and Christmas day as he has his own soft toy version.

Magazine: I won a few magazines in a recent competition and I decided to save one for Christmas. Maxwell loves looking through magazines and he enjoys sticking all the stickers in the magazine once he has had a look through it so this is going to be a popular item in his box this year.

As you are able to see, Maxwell's Christmas Eve box cost me under £10. I didn't feel the need to go mad on his Christmas Eve box this year and I thought it was nice to keep it simple for him as he is still very young and I did not want to overwhelm him. I am looking forward to seeing his face when he opens his box Christmas Eve morning.

- Use a cordless kettle or one with a coiled flex

- Never leave your toddler on their own in the kitchen or bathroom

- When running a bath turn the cold water tap on first and always check the temperature first before placing your child in the bath

- Put a fire guard in front of an open fire

- Keep matches, cigarettes and lighters out of reach from children

- Try and do the ironing when your child is asleep.

- Keep hot hair straighteners and curling tongs out of reach of children

If your child gets a burn or scald:

- Cool the burnt skin as quickly as possible by placing it under cold running water

- Remove any tight clothing from the burn before it starts to swell but do not remove clothing or material that is sticking to the burn

- Cover the burn with a sheet of cling film or a clean plastic bag as they will not stick to the burn

- Phone your surgery for advice or take your toddler to an Accident and Emergency Department (A&E).

As you are able to see I really had fun creating my 2 outfits. I love that  I was able to use the same accessories and shoes for both the outfits however at the same time I was able to get the 2 looks so different. My first outfit is inspired so that I can wear it in the day times, when the weather is not so warm and the second outfit is inspired when it is hot and I am ready to hit the beach or in my case, the back garden. Since have both outfits I have really enjoyed wearing the outfits out. They have given me a lot more confidence and I wore the first outfit on Mothers Day. All the clothing washes up really well and I am impressed with not only the sizing but how cheap the clothing also is. I found that all the clothing on F&F website was actually really stylish and I am hoping to perhaps buy some more goodies before the summer really kicks in.

And Maxwell's Spring And Summer Outfit was:


I just wanted to thank F&F for allowing us to take part in this incredible campaign. As a mother, I used to be fairly choosy over what brands Maxwell would wear but thanks to F&F thinking out carefully what children need, I am more than happy to buy Maxwell plenty more clothes this summer from their incredible range.

Since Maxwell was small he has always had a interest in music, he loves to sing and he loves to dance however he also loves to make music. When Bee Smart sent Maxwell a musical gift, I knew before we even got it Maxwell would love it.

Babymel was established in 2006, with the aim to offer parents a changing bag that is stylish on the outside, yet functional on the inside. Due to their chic and stylish design and innovative features, Babymel bags are stocked in leading Baby stores as well as prestigious retailers that thrive on stocking high quality, leading brands and seven years on they are now sold in over 23 countries worldwide.

The big slouchy vintage bow is a modern and spacious bag with room to store all your essentials and more! This bag comes with a bow print perfect for the winter season as well as the cream colour to help carry you through the warmer seasons. This unique print has a wipe clean laminated canvas material, stylish hard wearing and practical.

When I saw that Travel Supermarket were running a children’s photography competition, Kids Capture the Colour, I knew it was something Maxwell would love to get involved in. On entering, we were lucky enough to receive a camera for him to get snapping with. I was excited to show Maxwell how to use the camera as Maxwell was already a pro at using my Iphone to take "Selfies" of himself.

I love making memories but most of all I enjoy keeping memories. Since Maxwell was born I have kept a lot of his baby things which I can not bare to part with however they were sat in a draw as I had no where special to keep them. This all changed when Treat Republic recently sent us a lovely wooden keepsake box to keep all Maxwell's baby memory's in.
When the box arrived I was extremely impressed by the quality. The box was well made and had a smooth finish. There were no rough edges, no sharp corners and the acon design looked beautiful. The box had a easy to use clip clasp opening which ensures all the items in the box are safely kept. The box is a good size and I found I was able to put a lot of items in it.

You can find more about Treat Republic on their website, Facebook and Twitter.