Katie Collins 14/11/2019 Katie Collins 14/11/2019

Top 12 Toys for Christmas - 2019

8 year-old Gwen (left) and 10 year-old Fiona play with Rizmo toys - ©Katie Collins/EMPICS

This year’s Top 12 Toys for Christmas have just been unveiled at DreamToys 2019 in London.

The list, issued by the Toy Retailers Association predicts what’s likely to fly off the shelves this December.

A panel of retailers and industry experts (rather than the toy manufacturers and makers) have produced the shortlist where prices range from £9.99 to £99.99.

Toys inspired by movies are some of the favourites for 2019, with Frozen 2, Harry Potter and Toy Story 4 themed gifts in the top 12.

7-year-old Liana holds the Frozen 2 'Into the Unknown' Elsa Doll. ©Katie Collins/EMPICS

LEGO Harry Potter Knight Bus ©Katie Collins/EMPICS

Other toys on display at the Dreamtoys press event that caught my eye were the Scruff-a-Luvs pets. We spent last Christmas Day blow drying the wet fur of a Scruff-a-Luvs puppy and my daughter (now 5) has announced she hopes for another this year. This collection has now evolved and for 2019 an electronic version complete with heartbeat has been added to the collection.

The Scruff-a-Luvs collection ©Katie Collins/EMPICS

The Barbie Fashionistas Collection ©Katie Collins/EMPICS

The Kindi Kids dolls with big wide eyes and bobbling heads also caught my attention. They have changeable clothes and brushable hair and aim to act as a companion on your child’s journey through nursery.

For LEGO fans there’s an incredible Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control set to keep you busy over the Christmas holidays. ‘Wraptiles’ is another fun gift to consider. It’s a creature you wear on your wrist with light up eyes, a record and playback feature. The collectable pets have over 25 interactive sounds and sensors.

So with Black Friday offers approaching and Christmas not that far away, here are the top 12 toys to look out for:

Barbie Dreamplane Playset - £79.99

Blume Dolls -£9.99

Frozen 2 ‘Into the Unknown’ Elsa Doll - £39.99

Harry Potter Knight Bus by LEGO - £34.99

L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper - £99.99

Nerf Elite Fortnite SP-L - £19.99

Owleez - £49.99

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Super PAWs Mighty Jet Command Centre. - £59.99

Peppa Pig Peppa’s Stage Playset - £39.99

Rizmo - £59.99

Ryan’s World Super Surprise Safe - £44.99

Toy Story 4 True Talkers - £17.99

All images ©Katie Collins/EMPICS Entertainment

Katie Collins 31/08/2018 Katie Collins 31/08/2018

Book Review - The Forgotten Forest

There's something pretty magical about personalised picture books. And there's nothing like a personalised story to capture the attention and imagination of a 4-year-old.

As we tucked into bed, ready for some bedtime reading this week, I produced a surprise new story to read to my eldest daughter for the first time.

What my daughter did not know was that she was the star of 'The Forgotten Forest' . She couldn't believe it when she heard her own name mentioned along with where she lives, her favourite colour, her cousin's name and birthday.

'The Forgotten Forest' is a personalised book and also a Kickstarter project.

It's the brainchild of Katharine & Matt Harbord. Together they set up the brand Oh Zoe to create personalised picture books focused on high quality writing and illustration.

So what makes The Forgotten Forest so special? It's not just the story that's personal to your child but the illustration too. For the main character you can choose from 8 skin tones, 6 eye colours, 25 hair colours and there are options to include a wheelchair, ear defenders, hearing aids and glasses.

‘Sas and Yosh’ (Sarah Bellisario and Yoshie Allan) are the artists behind the design and illustration. What I particularly love about this book is the beautiful use of colour and nod to Japanese art.

The story is written by Victoria Richards who won the Oh Zoe Rising Talent Award in January 2017 to find new picture book talent. It follows the main character (in our case our daughter Alice) who is challenged to help save the forest from the frost spirit who has stolen the key to Spring.

The book has really captured our daughter's imagination. It is definitely encouraging her love of reading, particularly as the book is so individual to her.

The Forgotten Forest will be available on kickstarter.com until Friday 28th of September - kickstart.ohzoe.com

The team at Oh Zoe kindly sent me an advance copy of The Forgotten Forest in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and views are my own personal opinion.

Katie Collins 28/04/2018 Katie Collins 28/04/2018

Lessons from my daughters

I keep looking at Alice, my eldest and thinking ‘How can you be 4 already?’ School starts in September and soon we’ll be shopping for uniform, shiny new shoes and a backpack that looks way too big on her tiny shoulders.

I didn’t return to work after having my two girls. Instead I have become self-employed - I look after my girls during the week and work as a photographer and on client photo sessions at weekends, editing in the evenings.

Not going back to a 9-5 has meant I can really enjoy these early years with them. They continue to teach me so much. Probably the biggest thing I’ve learnt since having the girls is to slow down and appreciate the everyday.

When they notice the heavy rain lashing at the patio doors - so do I. When they point to the blossom that’s fallen from the trees - so do I. When they spot bugs scampering on the patio and it’s the highlight of their day - I investigate too. These are things I never paid attention to before, I was always rushing.

Noticing the little things - as they do - has definitely had an impact on my photography too and given me ideas for new projects. It’s re-energised me and made me keen to read and learn more about other photographers, listen to podcasts and take many online classes.

I absolutely have my ‘tear my hair out’ days with my girls but being with and photographing my little family who continue to teach me so much feels very special indeed.

Katie Collins 26/03/2018 Katie Collins 26/03/2018

Entertaining kids at home at Easter

With a few weeks off nursery on the horizon, I'm getting my thinking cap on as to how I can keep my 4 and 2 year-olds entertained.

Whilst we're hoping for some crisp Spring days in the park, I'm also prepared for rain and some time at home. To stop the girls from going mad and bickering with each other, I've come up with a few crafty ideas to keep them amused:

Mrs Mactivity

Mrs Mactivity is a website I've only just discovered and it's fab. It's packed full of mostly free designs you can print off and make/colour at home. There are regular themed designs - in the past week we have been having great fun making the Easter cards (see above). It's a website set up by a collective of ex and current teachers and designers with the aim to make learning fun. Many designs are currently free, there's also a subscription option offering unlimited downloads and some extra content.

Collage

Get a stack of old magazines and cut up faces, bodies, objects -anything really.

I tend to cut things out in advance and put them on the table with a piece of white card and glue. Both girls will happily sit for maybe 20 minutes sticking the cuttings all over the page. I find it quite fascinating to see what they come up with!

Shortly after we did the first collage together, our eldest was asked to bring a picture in to nursery school for Show and Tell to illustrate 'Autumn Arriving'. I cut out anything remotely Autumnal from the weekend's newspapers and recent magazines and she had some artwork ready to take to school.

Gingerbread decorating

Some supermarkets - Sainsbury's and Morrisons are two - sell Gingerbread decorating sets.

For under £2 you get at least 5 gingerbread men, coloured icing and sprinkles.

I lay out the gingerbread and accessories and leave my eldest to decorate. She usually spends a good 10 minutes decorating before getting round to eating it.

I tried making gingerbread myself but it was a disaster! This keeps things simple and the children love it!

Window Colouring

A good, no mess activity that works well for getting great pictures of your children.

We use Crayola washables which wipe off easily and let the girls colour on our glass kitchen doors.

You can then get some photographs of them in action by photographing them from outside.

Head to my blog post here to see more examples.

Flower Pressing

I have fond memories of having a flower press as a child - carefully collecting flowers from the garden and placing them in the press - using the results on birthday cards or homemade art.

It's quite an old school idea but there's something quite nice about introducing the little ones to nature and making a game out of collecting flowers and leaves from the garden or on the walk home from school/nursery.