Playpennies

Use this Toys R Us promotional code to get £5 off when you spend £30 or more. It worked on my basked, which contained an item on special offer. A tidy wee saving if you're buying one item, for example, as a birthday gift. To use this instore, click HERE for the printable voucher.

Click here to use your Toys R Us promotional code*

• Discount: £5
• Minimum spend: £30
• Promotional code: 9908081919994
• Expires: 31st August, 2013

To use this code you'll need to go through to checkout. You'll have to either log in or register on the site. Then when you get to the Check Out page, enter it in the Coupon Details box and hit apply. You don't need to enter any other details to see if the code works.

The code cannot be redeemed against gift cards or baby milk. Delivery on the site is £4.95 so effectively this amounts to free delivery.

Thanks to Amerviv at HUKD!

ASDA has a Little Tikes Playhouse in natural colours on sale for £85. That doesn't seem like a saving, except when you realise it's actually half their usual price and Amazon are selling it for £179!

• Set up house in the garden

Actually, the nice things about these houses is that they can be used both indoors and outdoors, I guess.

The playhouses are suitable for children over 18 months, though I can't imagine why - my 14 month old loves the one at the soft play centre.

The Playhouse in Natural reflects classic wood cabin design for playhouse which presents children with different outdoor fun activities and plays. The playhouse features detailed styling on outside walls and shingled roof top.

The playhouse is equipped with drop leaf table, phone shutters and a Dutch door for added fun. The high brick chimney on the rooftop makes it look like a wood cabin making it perfect for role play.

Reviewers say it's solid and sturdy, easy to put together and a great present for kids.

Thanks to biggysilly at HUKD

Amazon is selling this cool Play-doh candy jar for only £7.04 including free super saver delivery. It was on sale for a heftier £12.99 so you’re saving 46% off the original price and £5.95.

• Click here to get some sweets with Amazon

This iconic candy jar package includes 19 accessories to help kids bring the Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe to life. It includes four cans of Play-Doh modelling compound and a huge range of accessories and extras to help kids make delightful creations. The set is an add-on for the Sweet Shoppe I mentioned earlier, but it doesn’t look like you have to have that.

The candy jar container, which also doubles as storage, has 20 moulds as well as extra Play-Doh inside. Kids can make a bunch of cool sweets and treats with the included items and you can even create cute little cakes. The set has good reviews on Amazon and the price is just perfect.

Thanks to chan1305 at HUKD!

If you've been reading the competitions for a while then you'll know that I'm not fussed about iPads, mini or otherwise, so you're on your own when it comes to entering competitions for them.

Up for grabs this time is a 16GB iPad with wifi (I thought they all came with wifi, shows how much I know!) and you just need to like the Globehunters Facebook page, answer the following three questions, and enter your details before 31 July to be in with a chance of winning it.

Q1: Name 2 of the 3 Featured Destinations on the Globehunters Flight Page

Answer: New York and Bangkok

Q2: Name 2 city Break Hotels featured on the Globehunters website
Globehunters City Breaks Page

Answer: Arabian Courtyard and Circus Circus

Q3: All Globehunters flights and holidays are fully protected by which organisation

Answer: ATOL

River Island's been around for ages! I remember when they first opened (that gives away my age somewhat!) and I loved shopping for clothes in there. I still like the occasional rummage around their racks and rails, and I could easily spend £100 in there.

If you fancy the idea of having £100 to spend in River Island too, then enter this competition.

The answer to the question is: 87 and you need to submit your entry before 7 June.

So YOU can have the iPad and I'll have these Jimmy Choos, okay?!

They're worth £360 and I WANT them! I will never have too many pairs of shoes, it's just not possible, and I'd rather win a pair of JCs than pay for them - I'm sure you would too.

The answer to the question is: Shoes (what else?!) and entries have to be in before 14 August 2013.

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks to pjj1805 and billc at HUKD

Aid the battle of the Skylanders with the exciting Nintendo Wii Skylanders Triple Character Pack for only £24.97 at Curry’s. They offer free home delivery within 5 days or you can order on the website and collect in an hour from your nearest Curry’s. But hurry, there are only a few left so click through NOW!

• Save the Skylanders at Currys*

Skylanders are HUGE in my house. My daughter has the range of Skylanders and giants and is well on her way to saving the Skylands from the evil Kaos. This cool pack comes with the characters Pop Fizz, Whirlwind and Trigger Happy and I find they work brilliantly as rewards for excellent behaviour – I call it ‘incentivised training’..

Just so you’re in the know.. Trigger Happy lives up to his name turning up in a small village one day with his custom-crafted shooters and saving it from bandits. Pop Fizz is known to be a little crazy, his experiments are reckless, and the accidents they cause are on a dangerous scale. Whirlwind is an air dragon with unicorn ancestry, harnessing the tempest power within her. She uses her ferocity in a brilliant and powerful rainbow that can be seen throughout Skylands. As well as these exciting characters, Nintendo have included trading cards, stickers and posters, adding an exciting touch to your game.

So if you already have a Portal of Power connected to your Wii, PC, PS3 or Xbox 36, make your child’s day with this Skylanders Triple Character Pack – at only £24.97, Curry’s will send your popularity points with your child sky-high!

Parenting daughters is tough. There are so many messages about what girls should be, and more still about how they should look. Blogger Virginia Sole Smith has put together a resource of books about Brave Girls. I think I'm off to Amazon to do some shopping!

Get this sweet ceramic baby set including bowl, spoon, mug and plate from Argos for only £14.99! Previously marked at £19.99 that’s a welcome saving of 25% - PLUS Argos will deliver to your door for free!

• Click here to save at Argos*

My nephew is being christened in a couple of weeks and I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with a gift that he’ll use. Porcelain Bunnykins sets are lovely but will never be used in a house full of energetic boys who think they’re Zorba the Greek as most meal times their plates end up on the floor.. Then I found this little nugget from Argos! Ceramic (so it’ll bounce when thrown!) and featuring a cute design of a bunny, mouse and puppy I reckon I’m on to a winner! It’s dishwasher safe (can’t tell you how many plastic plates Ive thrown away after the Princess peels off after a wash in the dishwasher!) and suitable for little hands and at only £14.99 I’m sold!

So if you’re stuck for a gift check this out – not only are you saving 25% but you’ll get a mug, plate, spoon and bowl that’ll be used and loved for years.

I really struggle to write reviews on nappies because they are so subjective. It's like writing a review on a pair of trousers. Just because they fit me doesn't mean they're going to fit you. I love trousers from M&S, but my sister thinks they hang funny on her, and they fit well around her hips and gape around her middle. We have different body types, so different brands work differently for us.

It's the same with cloth nappies and with disposable nappies.

When my oldest was in disposable nappies as a baby a friend recommended a specific brand, and they happened to be on sale, so we bought bulk - and I mean BULK. We had hundreds of nappies. And I had to change my daughter's outfit with every single nappy change, because they leaked everywhere.  We had to shop around a bit till we found something that really worked for us, and we found that in reusable nappies.

So, while I can tell you about our experience with Asda's Little Angels nappies, my advice would be to buy one pack and try them for yourself before stocking up in bulk, just because we're overall happy with them.

If you're in the market for a kid's character backpack, then you need to get yourself over to Tesco - they have a few, starting from £3, up for grabs at the moment.

• Click HERE to take a look at the kids backpacks*

Back packs are handy things to have around the house and I came to the realisation, many years ago, that one is just not enough.

My youngest has a back pack for his swimming kit, a back pack that he likes to keep his Skylanders in and a back pack for carrying general 'stuff' around with him when he goes out.

I can't stop myself from teasing him about having 'man-bags' at the age of almost seven, but he doesn't care - man-bags are COOL, and I know nothing! 

What is very cool is that he carries his own things around; my niece, by the way, also has a REAL 'thing' for all things 'bag' - whether they be backpacks or otherwise, she won't be seen out without one; she's only just turned five.

There are a few different character designs available for you to choose from: Thomas and Friends, Disney Princess, Disney Princess Fairies, Disney Cars, Fireman Sam, and even a couple of plain ones, if none of the character ones take your fancy.

Obviously, the cheapest way to get your hands on your backpack is to pop into your local Tesco store and collect it, that doesn't cost anything.  Otherwise you're looking at an additional £3 for home delivery, and then your backpack bargain won't be such a bargain any more.

Thanks to samzam at HUKD 

Rochelle and Marvin Humes have welcomed a baby daughter into the world and named her Alaia-Mai - Alaia means joyful, and Mai translates as ocean or elegance in Chinese

She was born yesterday morning and was clearly in no rush to arrive, as her arrival date was supposed to be Friday 10 May! No wonder it felt as though Rochelle had been preggars for ages.

Like all self-respecting socially-networked celebs, Marvin revealed the news on his Twitter page.  He's been very forthcoming and gushy about his impending fatherhood, since Rochelle tweeted the news back in November, saying things like:

"I’m feeling massive excitement. I’m definitely ready for it, it’s not anything that scares me. Rochelle is the most beautiful pregnant lady," not that he's biased, of course.  "We are both at a great point in our lives and we are in a relationship in where we both feel comfortable to extend our love. It's amazing, incredible and we can’t wait."

Rochelle's tweeted a fair bit too; by far my favourite tweet from her, though, was when she put a stop to the rumours that she'd gone into labour, writing, "Heard on Twitter that I'm in labour. Thanks for letting me know guys hahahahaha..I hope this is what it feels like cos I'm chillin!"

So that's two Saturdays babies now, and a third one on the way too - Frankie Sanford has recently announced that she's expecting too.  Three down and two to go then!

The Book People are selling this Doctor Who: Who-ology, in hardback, for £3.59 when it's recommended list price is £12.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Doctor Who: Who-Ology *

I love Doctor Who - although, I have to confess that I still haven't warmed to Matt Smith.  After all the episodes he's played the Doctor for now, I'm guessing I never will - BRING BACK DAVID TENNANT!

This Doctor Who: Who-ology is a must for any Doc fan and reveals all sorts of facts and trivia about everyone's favourite Time Lord, such as: Who are the members of the Doctor's family? What are the 20 best ways to define a Dalek? What are the galactic coordinates for Gallifrey?

Then there are the ins and outs of the Tardis to discover, and a complete listing of all the scary monters and bad guys that the Doctor has defended planets from, for the last 50 years.

You'll need to use a couple of codes: one, to bring the price down from £3.99, to £3.59 and another to bag yourself free delivery - they are MAYWEL and TENWIN - don't forget them, otherwise you'll end up paying more than you need to!

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD

Amazon are selling bags of pink Mega Bloks Buildable Bags for £9.50, including free delivery - the usual price is £14.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the pink Mega Bloks

From experience, and I have plenty, I can promise that this bag of Mega Bloks classic building blocks will be played with over and over and over again, for years and years and years to come - if you could work out how the cost per play, I'm sure they'd work out to be one of the best value toys you can buy.

The bag contains 60 Mega Blok pieces in bright purple and pink, they come in PVC-free packaging (if that's important to you) and are compatible with all the other Mega Bloks First Builders blocks, so you can easily extend your collection.

They're ideal for little ones aged one year and older, and if anything like all of my children, they'll spend many happy hours building towers and other kinds of Mega Blok creations.

Here are a couple of reviews for you to consider:

"Building blocks aren't just for boys, my little girl loves them! (She's 17 months) Brilliant for hand eye coordination, counting and learning colours :-)" 

"Although this does suggest 1-5 years of age I have these for my six month old. She absolutely loves playing with them and knocking over the towers that I build. The bag is great too, it means you can tidy these away where they'll stay clean and out of the way.

Great for learning about colours, a very durable multi use sort of product. Perfect size for small hands to grasp. It's also great if you have friends round with slightly older children. Brilliant way of entertaining quite a wide age range."

Thanks to thomascomer at HUKD

Get 20% off full price items using this French Connection promotional code. Promotional codes for French Connection don't come along that often, so finding a 20% one is pretty cool.

Click here to use your French Connection promotional code*

• Discount: 20%
• Promotional code:  STYLE20
• Expires: 25th May 2013

To use this code go to the Shopping Bag page, and enter it in the Promotion Code. Click on the update button and it will be applied automatically. This is done in a slightly different way to other sites. On the left will be the price as advertised on the website, and on the right will be the reduced price.

Now, I know that the French Connection aren't exactly a budget line of clothing, but I do so love their stuff. Nice to treat yourself to something nice too, especially with summer fast approaching.

Thanks to X4N at HUKD!

If you like making your baby and toddler food from scratch, this pretty new book from Ella's Kitchen has 100 recipes for mums and dads who want to cook for their toddlers. (I'm assuming it's all food anyone can eat though!) The book has an RRP of £14. 99 and is still selling at Amazon for £8.69. The Book People are selling it for £4.99, and there's a 10% off code too, and a free delivery one, both of which work together.

Take 10% off at the Book People

• Discount: 10%
• Discount Code: TENWIN

• Discount: Free Delivery
• Discount Code: MAYWEL

I''m sure we've all seen the Ella's Kitchen baby food products in the supermarket? Well, this is a book produced by the makers of the same.

It's their first book aimed at creating nutritious, convenient home-cooked food that the whole family will love.

The book includes 70 recipes including snacks, light meals and filling dinners like Salmon Fishcakes, Blueberry Pancakes, and more detailed Pasta Weekend meals.

Along with being a recipe book, there' are als0 vegetable prints, colouring-in and sticker pages too, to keep the little ones busy.

Thanks to jammy1012 at HUKD

Today’s exclusive Daily Deal from The Works is this fabulous Meryl Streep 3 DVD set including ‘The Iron Lady’, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘The French Lieutenants Woman’ for only £5.99! Originally selling for £18.99 that’s a super saving of £13! Plus you get FREE delivery on orders over £25!

• Click here for Meryl’s greatest hits at The Works*

There’s no doubt that Meryl Streep is a legend. She’s won every acting award that’s worth winning and she still manages to be a mother and wife. As an actress and role model she beats the hell out of LiLo so introduce your teenage girls to her work immediately. Love her or loathe her, Meryl Streep portrayed Baroness Thatcher’s life and love of Denis so perfectly in ‘The Iron Lady’ and I wanted to run away to a gorgeous island just like her in Mama Mia (who knew she could sing? And dance!)

Bear in mind that this Meryl Streep DVD Set deal is only valid for TODAY, 20 May so place your order NOW!

Have you ever wanted to send a little something to a loved one, but drawn a total blank on what to choose? Flowers don't last, not everyone will thank you for chocolates, and a bottle of something bubbly just isn't always appropriate.

If so, look no further than the Tea Gift Company - who can arrange for a small but beautifully-presented package with a difference to be sent to your lucky friend or family member, from as little as £5.75 plus postage.

Founder Pip Gorst explains the inspiration behind the Tea Gift Company: “In Brisbane the heat can be relentless, meaning traditional gifts such as flowers or chocolates just don’t last. As an alternative I created unique tea-related gifts. Everyone commented on the beautiful packaging and the originality of the gift. Then back in the UK I realised that tea gifts are the perfect alternative to flowers or chocolates – especially as we are such a nation of tea drinkers."

Pip selects only the finest ethically-sourced, quality teas (available loose or as pyramid teabags) from specialized Tea Masters. Each tea blend is chosen carefully for its individual characteristics relating to special events or celebrations. I love the Mr. & Mrs. tea caddy - perfect for newlyweds - which combines a fine Chinese speciality black tea blended with layers of rose petals. Or choose from a range of tea gift sets including: Mother, Birthday, New Baby, New Home, Thank You, For Him, and For Her. And for Father's Day look out for the Strong Man gift set (£19.95). Also new are the Baby Boy and Baby Girl gift sets.

The Scalextric Formula 1 C3171A McLaren MP4 12C Hamilton/Button car set is down from £80 to £72 on the website. However, if you add this item to your basket it will appear as £40 and checkout as £40, a huge saving of 50% off the original price.

• Click here to zoom on over to Tesco Direct*

The set is presented in a limited edition twin pack with the McLaren MP4-12C slot car set specially selected by Formula One Champions Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button. These cars are highly detailed and feature working lights, easy change pick-ups, and a Magnatraction system that will keep them firmly on the track.

These are suitable for kids aged eight and up and you only get the two cars in the kit, nothing else. There is no track or anything here. You are paying a ton of cash for two limited edition cars so it’s a cool save for anyone who loves Scalextric and Formula One.

Thanks to capriboycraig at HUKD!

Use this Castaluna promotional code to get £10 OFF when you spend £30 or more when you order from any full priced collections only.  Plus receive FREE delivery when you spend £75 or more on your order including when you order from any sale items. This offer runs from the 20th of May until the 26th of May.

Click here to use your Castaluna promotional code* 

• Discount: £10 Off £30 (& FREE P+P MOV £75)
• Order Code: 4741
• Expires: 26 May

Castaluna offers curvy, confident style in sizes 14-36. They have a full range of gorgeous things for us normal ladies from dresses and jeans to footwear and lingerie – AND they have menswear too! I particularly liked this trendy one piece swimsuit featuring extra support and wider straps which herds my post-breastfeeding bust back to its teenage location. To sparkle in this swimsuit next to the poolside this summer all I had to do was create an account, go to the Shopping Bag page and enter my promotional code (4741) into the Promotion Code box. Easy peasy!

Baby has  taken his or her first toddling steps. They can get about, and you feel rather proud. This is a huge achievement.

The thing is, what they want to do now is walk everywhere. Get back in that pushchair? Are you mad?! And a toddler has their own agenda when it comes to getting anywhere. In fact, getting anywhere at all seems to be pretty optional for them.

They like going out. Some will be sociable, and want to mix with other children. Some won't and will prefer your company. But from now until they go to school they will want to go out and do things - and so will you. It is fun!

Activities at this stage are generally best if they offer a mix of stuff to do, which includes the ability to run, fast, in any direction they want.

So what do other parents recommend? I drew on the collective experience of our PlayPennies parents, scoured the internet, and asked every parent I know.

The Works is selling the complete Mr Men collection for £37.99 instead of the usual retail price of £117.50. The collection includes 47 books and you are saving 68% off the original price – a total cash saving of £79.51.

• Click here to get Mr Men at The Works*

The complete Mr Men collection will keep fans entertained for hours and I would love, love to get this for my daughter. She loves Mr Men and we’re missing quite a few titles in the series. All the much loved classics are in this box, all the ones published as far back as 1971.

You get every title published, including the new Mr Nobody, and none of the ladies are included here. This is a really cool gift for someone special if their birthday is coming up!

Thanks to JohnnyRoller at HUKD!