Win a SafeSip Set (worth £38)!

Made in Great Britain, SafeSip is the revolutionary invention from Melissa Edmunds, fitting virtually any drinking vessel. It keeps your drink in (and everything else out). Parents, children, campers, party guests, the elderly and disabled – SafeSip simplifies the world for everyone. Go out and spill no more!

Ideal for:
Families - From soft drink cans in the car to taking some of the drama out of family dining, SafeSip gives you and your children peace of mind. No more juice stains and clean-up panics. Your beige sofa will cringe no more.
Outdoor fun - The problem with the outdoors is the number of wasp and other bugs trying to get into your glass or mug. And if you have small children, there’s the added drama of liquid, gravity and clothes. You say: fishing trip, hike picnic, sporting event or a day at the beach. We say: SafeSip!
Drinking with dignity - By eliminating spills, SafeSip enables everyone to drink with dignity. SafeSip improves care, lowers costs and reduces dehydration. It is less expensive than alternative drinking aids.

The Safesip also has the following benefits:
- Food grade silicone and 100% BPA-free;
- Dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe;
- Designed to fit single and double-handled mugs/beakers;
- Fits virtually every mug, glass, cup or can.

We were sent some SafeSips to try and we have found them really useful. We have lots of picnic style beakers without handles and our youngest child manages to spill her drinks regularly, especially as she likes to use a straw and for some reason tips the cup as she drinks. Popping on a lovely pink SafeSip not only pleased her (especially as everyone has a different colour and she is the only one with pink) but also means we can now use cups we avoided before.

The 9yr old child likes to use the SafeSip as she is now allowed to take her cup in the lounge which I have always banned before due to spills on the carpet, she feels as if she has a grown up takeaway cup having the lid on her drink. Another plus for these is that by using different colours and everyone knowing their own colour we now avoid mixing up drinks.

We love that the SafeSips can be used over cans of fizzy drinks keeping out unwanted pests in summer as well as keeping drinks from spilling all over the teenagers precious technology avoiding costly repairs. The SafeSip comes in a variety of colours including clear so each member of the family can claim their own.

These would be brilliant for an ill or elderly person to avoid them spilling drinks on themselves, it also means they can still use their favourite cup or mug and keep some independence.

A really useful product, you will wonder how you managed without out them!

To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic family-friendly SafeSip Picnic Set (comprising a hessian bag containing  four Safesip,4 Cups, 1 SafeSip Straw Jar and pack of Straws), worth £38, simply check out the website and email us the colours in the Quad pack of SafeSip simple!
dorset@mumsnetlocal.com.

 Terms & Conditions:

1. The closing date is 13th December
2. The prize is subject to availability, and SafeSip reserves the right to replace the prize with an alternative product or colour of equal value if necessary.
3. The prize will only be posted to a UK address.
4. The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative.
5. Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

Free parking for Christmas shoppers

Free parking and the return of the popular Park and Ride service will make Christmas shopping even easier in Poole this festive season.

Residents and visitors shopping in Poole can enjoy free parking in all town centre car parks, courtesy of Borough of Poole, on the run-up to Christmas:

* every Sunday between 10am and 6pm from Sunday 22 November until Sunday 20 December 2015.
* Thursday nights between 6pm and 9pm from Thursday 26 November until Thursday 17 December.

In addition there will be free parking on Monday evening, 21 December between 6pm and 9pm to help shoppers buy any last minute Christmas presents.

People shopping in Broadstone, Ashley Road, Penn Hill, Ashley Cross and Canford Cliffs can also benefit from free parking in district car parks from noon until 6pm on the three Saturdays before Christmas - 5, 12 and 19 December.

Alternatively, for those who want to beat the rush and miss the queues, the council's Park and Ride service will be running from Creekmoor every Saturday from 28 November until Christmas.

Damory Buses will be providing super low floor buses making it even easier for wheelchair users and parents with buggies to get onboard.

The service will leave the Creekmoor Park and Ride site every 15 minutes from 8am until 6pm on 28 November, 5, 12 and 19 December.

The short 10 minute trip to town costs just £1.50 for an adult return, and accompanied children can travel for just 50 pence return. Holders of an English National bus pass can use the service free of charge.

The service drops passengers within easy reach of the shops at the entrance to Falkland Square, where they can then board the bus back to Creekmoor every 15 minutes from 8.15am until 6.15pm.

Councillor Ian Potter, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Transportation, Borough of Poole, said: "Despite significant pressures on council budgets we are delighted to be able to offer people who shop in Poole these opportunities. Poole's shopping centres are busy and vibrant all year but the atmosphere around Christmas time is fantastic. We are sure shoppers and businesses will welcome the benefits that this offer provides."

Ed Wills, Operations Director, Go South Coast, added: "We are delighted to be working once again with the Borough of Poole to help deliver Christmas shoppers hassle free into Poole this Christmas. The Park and Ride site has proven to be extremely popular over the years and we hope this year will be the most successful ever."

For more information please visit www.boroughofpoole.com/christmasandnewyear.

Review - When We Were Babies personalised print and framing service.

 

When We Were Babies

‘When we were babies’ is a unique personalised print and framing service which allows you to create your own beautiful piece of personalised wall décor of family and loved ones in their younger years….whether its everyone as babies, toddlers or teenagers the options are endless!
Alternatively if you are stuck for present ideas or looking for a unique gift, the prints are amazingly special so the range make great gifts for women and great gifts for men.
Everything is handmade and of the highest quality.

We found the ordering process very easy,  just upload your photos to the website and choose your background colour and frame adding any text you like. We used scanned photos and we are very pleased with the finished product. We chose to use baby photos but also like the idea of first day at school and final school year photos. They would make a lovely wall display and lots of opportunities for future gifts!

We were sent the proof so we could check all the details and from start to finish the service was excellent. We received emails and text messages regarding delivery and we were even given a 1 hour delivery time.

 

A great idea and brilliant service, check out more ideas here:  

 

http://whenwewerebabies.co.uk/ 

 

Keep an eye out on our website as we have a discount code and competition coming up!

http://local.mumsnet.com/dorset

 

 

Win! Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs tickets

 

 

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

BOURNEMOUTH PAVILION THEATRE

SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER 2015 – SUNDAY 3 JANUARY 2016

 

 

Heigh Ho, Heigh ho, it's off to the panto we go! On Thursday 24 September 2015, the cast of Bournemouth Pavilion's much anticipated panto donned their costumes for the first time to kick off the season in style.

 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Bournemouth Pavilion's 2015/2016 Pantomime and the cast is undoubtedly the fairest of them all. Eastenders pair Gillian Wright and Matt Lapinskas will be playing The Wicked Queen and The Prince respectively, while kids favourite Milkshake! Presenter Olivia Birchenough plays Snow White.

 

The show also stars Quinn Patrick as pantomime dame, Nursie and Noel Brodie is back by popular demand as Muddles.

 

With spells on Coronation Street, Casualty and most famously as Eastenders' Jean Slater, Gillian Wright is no stranger to the stage and screen. In December 2011, she played the Fairy Godmother in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, starring alongside Jonathan Wilkes and over Christmas 2013, she appeared as (a different) Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage.

 

Matt Lapinskas is best known for his character Anthony Moon on Eastenders. Between 2011 and 2012, Matt racked up appearances in over 100 episodes before leaving The Square in May 2012. After leaving Eastenders, Matt was revealed as one of 12 celebrities taking part in the eighth series of Dancing on Ice where he went on to finish runner up to Olympic Gymnast Beth Tweddle.

 

This year we are proud to announce that our pantomime is sponsored by Hot Rocks Restaurant and Bar! To celebrate this; when you buy your panto tickets, Hot Rocks are also giving you a voucher for 'Kids Eat For £1' when purchasing one adult meal. And to top it off, for each kids meal purchased, that £1 is donated to Julia's House.

 

Join us between 5 December 2015 and 3 January 2016, for what promises to be another brilliant pantomime at Bournemouth Pavilion, with close to 10,000 tickets sold already, this year's pantomime is looking busier and better than ever.

 

Buy Tickets

We have 2 Family tickets to giveaway for Tuesday 8th December at 7pm...

 To enter please email dorset@mumsnetlocal.com stating why you would like to win.
We would also love it if you would visit our Facebook page!

Open to UK residents over 18's only.  Competition closes 30th November. Winner will be picked at random and notified by email within 72 hours, we reserve the right to choose another winner if we receive no response.

Win! Christmas Spectacular 2015 at the Regent in Christchurch

 

This year the Glad Rag Production Company will be entertaining everyone when their magical Christmas treat opens on stage at the Regent on Saturday 19 December 2.30pm and 7.30pm.  Bookings are already under way for this seasonal favourite but there are plenty of shows to choose from with a run that includes further 7.30pm shows from Sunday 20 – Thursday 24 December and more Matinees at 2.30pm on Sunday 20, Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December.  So, if you want to join Benji and Bruce, those fun-loving polar bears, for another show stopping, all singing and all dancing adventure with Santa, Rudolph and Mrs Claus, then early booking for this Christmas Cracker of a family show is essential!

Book here

 

We have 2 tickets to giveaway for Tuesday 22nd December 7.30pm, just send us an email stating why you would like to win. dorset@mumsnetlocal.com

We would also love it if you would visit our Facebook page!


 Open to UK residents over 18's only.   Competition closes 15th December. Winner will be picked at random and notified by email within 72 hours, we reserve the right to choose another winner if we receive no response.

Review - Nutty Putty

 

Crafty kids and creative grown-ups will love the new Nutty Putty for Christmas. Made from silicone, it’s a new modelling putty that you can mould into any shape you can imagine and then bake it in the oven for 10 minutes to create glossy, rubbery models that you can play with.

Nutty Putty is also fantastic to create your own Christmas decorations. It comes in bright inviting colours and your decorations will last for years to come.

Nutty Putty can be played with for hours. Non-drying, hypoallergenic and antibacterial the putty is soft and pliable for little hands to mould and it creates wonderful, brightly coloured models that kids can keep or squash down for more creativity. Kids favourite creations can be baked in the oven for 10 minutes, creating fun, rubbery models (similar in texture to silicone utensils) that can be played with, bounced, used as key rings, jewellery and much more.

Nutty Putty Sets:
Nutty Putty is an award winning- new play putty and is available for prices to suit any pockets. The range comes with a selection of vibrant coloured Nutty Putty, tools, play mat with instructions and a baking sheet.

• The eight colour set - £18 - 8 colours (inc. glow-in-the-dark), 2 tools, 6 shape cutters, 1 roller, 1 baking sheet, 1 play mat
• The six colour starter set - £15 - 6 colours, 3 shape cutters, 2 shaping tools, 1 baking sheet, 1 play mat
• The jewellery accessory set - £10 - 4 colours, 2 tools, 2 glow in the dark bracelets, 1 pair of earrings, 1 hair clip, 1 ring, 1 baking sheet, 1 play mat
• The cake deco set - £10 4 colours, 2 tools, 1 silicone cake mould, 1 baking sheet, 1 play mat
• The zipper packs - £1.90 - 1 colour Nutty Putty packs with baking sheet

We tried out Nutty Putty on a wet weekend and our young testers decided to make their own Club Penguin models completely on their own. We used a 6 colour set.

 

The girls were quite keen to get started and as there were two of them we decided to use the glass chopping boards from the kitchen to work on, but the set does include a playmat for this purpose.

 

The Nutty Putty is easy to work with and a lot less messy and crumbly than the homemade dough we usually play with.

 

 

There are some tools with the set but we also used some of our own tools so both girls could make their own models.

 

The girls were keen to follow the simple instruction sheet and did so without any adult help. They started off with a butterfly each and then spotted the penguin, this gave them the Club Penguin idea and they went on to make some puffles too!

 

We were surprised that we had no mess to clear away at all, this would encourage me to use the product again, sometimes the thought of the mess puts us off getting out this sort of activity so this is a big bonus!

 

One of the finished penguins! The girls went on to make more models, we did use up all of the Nutty Putty in one afternoon but they had lots of fun making the models. It was a no mess easy activity and one we would do again but we would give them a set each so they didn't have to share the colours and instructions.

 

We decided to bake the models following the instructions for 10 minutes and once cool they went on to play a game for the rest of the day with them. The Nutty Putty becomes rubbery when baked and the models held together despite being thrown around and played with.

 

We would recommend the Nutty Putty as a lovely gift idea this Christmas. Here are some of the baked models.

 

 

Win - A Family Ticket to Peter Pan at Lighthouse, Poole

Fly away to Neverland this Christmas with our magical Peter Pan competition!

Starring Christopher Ellison (The Bill, Celebrity Big Brother 2015) as Captain Hook and Jamie Quinn (Bluestone 42) as Peter Pan, J M Barrie’s enchanting story is brought to life by Lighthouse, Poole in an original version of the timeless classic from Friday 4 December – Sunday 3 January.

Travel to a place where no one ever grows up as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell whisk Wendy and her brothers off to Neverland - a fantastical world of cutlass -waving pirates, mermaids and tick-tocking crocodiles - where they must help The Lost Boys battle the villainous Captain Hook.

With live music, pirates, a baddy to boo at, and a hero who can fly, Peter Pan is a real treat for all the family. Lighthouse is teaming up with Mumsnet to offer the chance to win a family ticket (valid for four people, minimum one child) for the 7pm performance of Peter Pan on Tuesday 8 December

http://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/peter-pan

To enter please email dorset@mumsnetlocal.com stating why you would like to win.
We would also love it if you would visit our Facebook page!


 Open to UK residents over 18's only.   Competition closes 30th November. Winner will be picked at random and notified by email within 72 hours, we reserve the right to choose another winner if we receive no response.

Review - Moochies Phone for Kids and Win!

We are testing out the new Moochies phone for kids. The phone uses a pay-a-you-go sim card and is worn just like a watch and allows parents to keep track of their children using the Moochies app.

Many parents dread when their child asks if they can walk to school or the park on their own for the first time or that moment in a busy theme park when you lose site of your child. Although we will always worry about the obvious risks we have come across a new product which is extremely useful in lots of these situations. You can contact your child wherever they are and they can also contact you.

Moochies are simple for a child to use, the two buttons on the side of the phone are pre-set with phone numbers set by the parent or guardian using the Moochies app. To phone the parent the child just holds down one of the buttons on the phone.  There is also a SOS button at the front of the watch which the child can press if they are in trouble. This sends a 15 second recording of noises straight to the parents phone.
The Moochies app is free to download for iOS and Android

 



Using the app the parent can set up safe zones for example visiting a friend's house, and they will be notified if the child strays from this area. Parents can also add the numbers of other contacts who are able to call the phone, these are the only numbers able to call avoiding unwanted calls from strangers.

 

 

We are really impressed with the phone, it's easy for a child to use and because it looks and works as a watch the children are happy to wear it. As well as the designs above there are two new designs in both black and blue which an older child could easily wear. It gives great peace of mind watching the profile of your child moving around the area which has been pre-set as 'safe zone' and at the same time the child feels at ease knowing they can call if they are worried.

What we really liked about this product is how easy to is for the child to use and that it comes without the added risks that a mobile phone comes with. We think it really stands out as a must have phone for children in their 'tween' years. For 9-12 yr olds starting to ask for a bit more independence, going for their first sleepover to taking public transport to secondary school this phone could be very reassuring to all parties.

Moochies for Kids £79.99

 www.moochiesforkids.com

We have one Moochies to giveaway!

To enter please email dorset@mumsnetlocal.com stating why you would like to win.
We would also love it if you would visit our Facebook page!


 Open to UK residents over 18's only.   Competition closes 14th December. Winner will be picked at random and notified by email within 72 hours, we reserve the right to choose another winner if we receive no response.

Charity Christmas Cards

 

Seven Springs Studios in Dorchester are opening their doors for a charity photoshoot day to raise money for Children In Need.

 

Would you like the chance to have some lovely Christmas photos taken and to give out Christmas cards with a personal touch?

 

The studio will photograph whoever or whatever you would like to be on your Christmas card this year. The studio take relaxed photos of you, your family and even your pet and they can print the cards for you. They are asking for a donation to Children In Need so please join the event and give generously to a great cause.

 

The shoot is on 22nd November from 10-6 in Dorchester.

 

Join the event here