Argos are selling this Inflatable Duck Bath for £7.99 whilst Amazon are currently selling something exactly the same, under another name, for £16.49 - have a look.

• Click HERE to go to Argos for this quacking deal (SORRY!)

A couple of years ago my youngest suddenly took a great dislike to bath times; the SCREAMING that we had to endure for quite a long time was awful.

We never got to the bottom of why he'd get so upset  - we diligently checked the water temperature every time and it was fine, we tried all sorts of mild no-tears shampoo, we went through almost every brand of hypoallergenic body wash there is, in case it was reacting with his skin. And we tried not using anything at all, nothing worked.

The only thing we didn't try was something like this inflatable duck bath.

It's fun and friendly to look at and his beak goes 'Quack! Quack!' when you squeeze it. It's small and contained (maybe my youngest didn't like the huge expanse of the big bath) and has a quick release plug for letting the water out when you're finished.

The Inflatable Duck Bath also has a textured base to prevent slipping and has a White Hot ™ Safety Disc which reveals the word "HOT" when the bath water is too hot.

You can't collect this instore - I have no idea why - so you're going to fleeced £5.95 for delivery I'm afraid.

Thanks to jackiemary69 at HUKD

Amazon have a half-price reduction on this Vtech Winnie the Pooh Walker at the moment – they’ve reduced it from £32.99 down to £18.86

• Click HERE to walk on over to Amazon

Actually, I’d run rather than walk to Amazon and grab one – if you’re in the market for something along these lines – this is such a good price that they’ll either go out of stock a bit sharpish, OR Amazon will put it back up again (I wish I knew what the trigger was for putting their prices back up…).

My niece had a Vtech walker when she was younger and she absolutely loved it.

There are lots of lovely activities for little kiddies on this Vtech Winnie the Pooh Walker; plenty, even, for those who aren’t walking yet.

There’s a light-up honey pot, buzzy bee button, turning book page, sliding caterpillar, fun roller and spinning flower disk with mirror for self discovery.

The Vtech Winnie the Pooh Walker also introduces animals, sing-along songs and music through two modes of play.

It has textured wheels, an easy grip handle and folds away flat so it’s easy to store when you’re little one isn’t playing with it.

The two AA batteries it needs are also included.

Thanks to amibees at HUKD

Fortnum & Mason is where the Queen shops, if you didn't know, although I rather suspect you won't see her pushing a trolley around the aisles.

If you fancy picnicking like royals do then enter this competition to win a Fortnum & Mason hamper - it's rather posh!

The answer is HANDEL and you need to enter before 3 March 2011.

I can't think of any way to link pic-er-nic baskets to iPads and Galaxy Tabs so I'll just move on quietly...

If you'd like an iPad but don't want to pay out a fortune for one, have a bash at winning this one. Just fill in your details and enter before 25 February 2011.

If you're anti-Apple and would prefer a Galaxy Tab (or go for both if you can't make your mind up), enter your details and submit your entry before 13 February 2011.

If your camera has seen better days then here's an opportunity to upgrade to Nikon S3000 Digital Camera.  The answer is University of East Anglia and you need to enter before midday 28 February 2011.

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks to rainbowatcher, 2scoops2 and shadow1 at HUKD

This week PlayPennies Loves...Being A Mummy.

There is a battle being fought right at this very minute, over at Being A Mummy - seriously, grab some popcorn and settle in for the long haul because it's going to get interesting - the boy of the house wants his parents' bedroom as his own and is, seemingly, prepared to resort to every trick in the toddler handbook to get it.

If you like spooky stories then you'll like this post - Being A Mummy's house might be haunted!

I lived in a very old house before I moved to my current only-ten-years-old house; the old one was over 400 years old and there were so many strange bangings, happenings and noises in that place like hearing the front door open and close when no one had actually come in or gone out. The dogs heard it too and used to rush to the lounge door, tails wagging, waiting for strokes from whoever had come home.

Apart from being a mummy, 'Being A Mummy's other job is working with bones as an archaeologist; super interesting!

I love readong rambly posts that muse around all sorts of things that just sprung to mind one day, but I also love the short, snappy simplicity of posts like Famous Last Words.

Being a mother to a 16-year-old and a four-and-a-half-year-old, I chuckled when I read the Dealing With Boys post...

"Boys also respond very well to commands, use as few works as possible with them. They like to know where they stand and what they are doing...."

I learned this a l o n g time ago and it still works today,

"Jack. Room. Tidy it!"

"Yes mum," said in that 'whatEVER' teenage boy drone.

"Jack. Glasses and mugs...downstairs."

"Yes mum."

"And plates."

"K," as saying 'yes mum' now takes far too much effort.

Talking of which, I must go and deliver clean washing to the teenage boy creature along with this simple instruction, "PUT. AWAY!"

Whilst I do that why don't you go and have a read around Being A Mummy, you'll be glad you did.

Are you the owner of the blog above? Click HERE for our resource page for “PlayPennies loves” badges and banners.

Mr Men stories were an almost nightly ritual when I was a little girl, so I'm a bit biased when it comes to this Mr Men Book Collection.

The Book People are selling it for £27 instead of the £125.00 list price - Mr Happy is VERY happy about that (it says £30 on the website, I'll give you a code to bring that down to £27 and one for free delivery too).

• Click HERE to go to The Book People

The Mr Men Book Collection comes with its 50 books all nice and neatly stored in a presentation case – Mr Tidy is very happy about this!

Mr Messy, on the other hand, is willing to bet you a tenner that your kids won’t put them away back in their case once they’ve finished reading them – if my kids were are anything to go by, I wouldn’t take him up on that bet…you’ll lose money.

Roger Hargreaves must have been a bit of a genius because he managed to create a vast array of characters that, although, are called Mr and Miss manage to appeal equally to both boys and girls.

Here are the codes for reducing the price and free delivery, don’t forget to apply them to your basket: R3D10 (this 10% code expires midday Monday 7 Feb’ by the way!) and PP1102.

If you don't already know about five minute chocolate puddings in a mug then you're either going to LOVE me...OR you're going to hate me.

I first came across this amazing little idea a few years ago and, thankfully, it's something that comes and goes off my recipe radar otherwise I'd be the size of a house by now.

If you've got kids who love warm puddingy-cakey type things then this is something you can whip up in a couple of minutes with them, and you'll invariably have everything you need in the cupboards all the time.

Just put the dry ingredients in a mug and mix them together, add an egg, milk and some oil then pop it in the microwave for three minutes - the kids LOVED watching their own little individual puddings getting closer and closer to the top of the mug.

The recipe is basic and there's a lot of fun to be had experimenting with adding different things.

For example, leave out the cocoa powder, if you don't want a chocolatey one, and add some syrup or a dollop of jam instead - please be careful if you try these two because the jam or syrup will be super-hot and take the skin off the roof of your mouth.

If you've used a huge mug there may be room on the top of your five minute chocolate pudding for a couple of small scoops of  ice cream, or perhaps some custard.

Happy five minute pudding making!

If you're a little girl you can never have too much luggage and there’s no getting away from it, it can be expensive. But take heart this pretty four-piece luggage set is on sale at Argos for £7.99 instead of its original £17.99.

• Click HERE to pack your bags at Argos

Even when I was small I was never a big fan of anything flowery, I was a plain black suitcase kind of gal you see. But having grown up and spent far too much of my life waiting for A G E S for my case at the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage carousel, I'm beginning to think flowers might be the way to go. You see, my black cases look the same as EVERYONE elses black case trundling round and round and round.

You know when they’ve all done one loop because someone’s bright, colourful and pretty FLOWERY bag has just gone round again; everytime you see that stand-out-from-the-crowd bag and yours still hasn’t put in an appearance, you start to wonder if you’ve just missed it amongst all the other black cases or whether it’s sunning itself on the beach somewhere having got on a different flight!

So whether you travel a lot with your family, or your daughter just does sleepovers, this cute little Girls' 4-Piece Luggage Set has everything she'll need for all packing eventualities.

It has a wheeled bag, a backpack, a gym bag (ideal for trips to the swimming pool) and a purse; the purse is VERY important you know.

It's available for home delivery - which will set you back £5.95 (seriously Argos, hurry up and take a leaf out of Amazon's SuperSaver delivery book) - or you can collect in-store for free.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Ohhhh I'm in such big trouble, I W.A.N.T this *sigh* Amazon are selling this Star Wars Millenium Falcon Model Kit for £17.99 instead of £36.99.

• Click HERE to make the jump to lightspeed over to Amazon

"What a piece of junk!"

"She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself."

All self-respecting Star Wars fans will now be reciting other great Millenium Falcon lines in their heads (or out loud I suppose) and if you have no clue who uttered the immortal lines above, then you're either under 10 years old or have been living on a desert island for at least the last 30 years.

This Star Wars Millenium Falcon Model is great on so many levels, not least because this is the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs and can outrun outrun Imperial starships. Not the local bulk cruisers mind you, I'm talking about the big Corellian ships.

All 52 pieces snap together so you don't have to worry about getting covered in glue. It comes with fully illustrated instructions and the parts are already painted for you; the wings move, it has laser canons (of course) and a moveable cockpit cover and two figures are also included.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD

With only nine days left until Valentine's Day, hurrah for Boots and their 'Large Bottle, Smaller Price' deals on selected perfumes and aftershave.

• Click HERE to go over to Boots

Getting perfume (or aftershave if you're a PlayPennies dad) is always lovely, as long as it's one of your favourites of course, but it's even MORE lovely to get a HUGE bottle of it.

If you pop over to Boots there are lots of everyone's favourites on offer in their large sizes, but you'll only pay what you would for the small version.

For example, Vera Wang 'Princess' (100ml) will cost you £43.92 instead of £57 - we reviewed this perfume a year ago and it got a big thumbs up from everyone, it's lovely.

One of my favourite aftershaves is 'Boss for Men' by Hugo Boss, 100mls would normally set you back £45.00 but with this Boots perfume offer it will only cost you £35.75.

There are Boss perfumes for women on offer too, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Georgio Armani, Diesel and all the other usual suspects - there's bound to be something here for you that will earn you some Valentine's Day brownie points.

You can have your choice(s) delivered or you can arrange to collect in-store for free.

I refuse to buy my youngest anything JCB anymore as he has more JCBs than JCB themselves I'm sure of it. So it's with a lot of secrecy and sideways glances his way that I tell you about this JCB Construction Set on offer for half-price at Argos; £4.99 instead of £9.99.

• Click HERE to dig up this deal at Argos

I know he's a boy but I'm not sure what triggered his love for all things JCB.

He's been able to say Joseph Cyril Bamford almost since he could speak and his favourite song is the 'JCB Song' by Nizlopi and he can tell you all about backhoes, scoops and front loaders.

The JCB Construction Set comes with 14 pieces, including a JCB backhoe loader with a moveable front loader and scoop (see, this is why I'm shooting furtive glances his way, one sniff of this lot and I'm doomed).

It also comes witih a JCB 'Loadall' that has a moveable arm and crane along with some accessories.

The JCB Construction Set is suitable for little builders and digger fans aged three years or older, is available to collect in-store for free or home delivery if you want to be relieved of an additional £5.95.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD

This Winnie The Pooh Complete Book Collection takes me back to when I was a little girl, I had a set you see and I adored them.

• Click HERE to go over to The Book People

The Book People are selling this Winnie The Pooh Complete Book Collection for £30 (the list price is £149.99) and with the codes I'll give you at the end of this post, the price will come down to £27 and next day delivery will be included too.

Thirty Pooh Bear stories make up the collection and they come in an utterly stunning presentation box so they can be kept altogether.

My original set of Winnie the Pooh Books were so well-read it was ridiculous and we unfortunately parted company when I emigrated in 1992; I ordered a replacement collection back in October when I first came across the Winnie the Pooh Complete Book Collection on offer with The Book People - it is just completely fabulous and I love it.

They tend to go out of stock pretty quickly so if you know someone who would adore these boooks as much as I do, then don't hang around before placing your order.

Here are the codes for reducing the price and free delivery, don't forget to apply them to your basket: R3D10 (this 10% code expires midday Monday 7 Feb' by the way!) and PP1102.

Thanks to shazar at HUKD

Actually, 'portly' is the last word you can use to describe the utterly stunning Natalie Portman even when she is sporting a baby bump.

Life is good for her just now and long may it continue; what with her engagement announcement that was swiftly followed by the baby news at the very end of last year, running into Oscar nominations for Best Actress and a Golden Globe award for the same at the beginning of this year!

"I feel like I'm on another planet or something right now. It's not quite sinking in," she told the LA Times.

She also knows that she's expecting a girl and speaking of her impending arrival (I say impending, some reports are citing Spring as the due date whereas others are saying Summer, so we'll have to wait and see) she said, "I feel really lucky. It's something that's completely wonderful, and I have a very definite goal I'm working toward with that."

Natalie has also made it very clear that she'll be taking a fair bit of time out after the baby arrives to bond with her.

Amazon have taken a little bit off the price of this Guess How Much I Love You Sweetheart Edition, and reduced it from £7.99 to £5.24.

• Click HERE to fall in love with this deal

If you're a regular here at PlayPennies then you may have fallen fowl of Amazon's sneaky price fiddling once or twice.

We can never tell which ones they're going to mess with and when but you know, this Guess How Much I Love You Sweetheart Edition is THAT beautiful, I think anyone who fell in love with this story as a child would happily pay the full £7.99 anyway.

The story inside is the same Guess How Much I Love You that we all know and love, it's just the outer cover that's different and been designed to give to a grown-up.

The Guess How Much I Love You Sweetheart Edition is hardbacked and been bound in red-cloth - perfect to give to the one you love this Valentine's Day (I would literally melt if my husband bought this for me) or to a parent who read Guess How Much I Love You to you as a child.

Every reviewer on Amazon has given it five stars...

"I bought this book as a present for my mother. As a child she read this book to me and so when I saw this sweet heart edition I knew it would be the perfect present.

On my mothers birthday she opened various gifts from friends and family which included the usual things, jewellery, chocolates, flowers etc. On opening my present her eyes filled with tears and she had the biggest smile. The simple yet striking front cover of this book really does make it perfect as a gift."

Guess how much I love this sweetheart edition?  LOTS!

I ADORE ANGRY BIRDS!

It's my four-year-old's fault, he introduced me to Angry Birds and from the first time those pigs laughed at me I KNEW I wouldn't be able to stop until I'd done them all in! Now available to own in 3D plush toy versions you can win the full set of Angry Birds HERE.

I entered this morning - you've got until midnight TOMORROW to enter before the competition closes - and the answer is ANGRY!

I play Angry Birds on my iPhone 3GS - I love my 3GS as much as I love Angry Birds - but at some point I will replace it. Hopefully, by then, all the issues and glitches that plauged the iPhone 4 will have gone.  If you don't mind not holding one the wrong way then enter this competition to win an iPhone 4.

All you have to do is have a quick look-see at the site and tell them which pocket of a Rohan garment you'd put your iPhone in. For example, I'd put mine in the left hand pocket of a Women's Mountain Guide Jacket; see, simple.

The closing date is 31 March 2011.

If you're in the market for a travel system then this competition to win a Norton Storm Travel System, worth £500, is for you. Just enter your details before Monday 7 February for your chance to win.

New Year, New You? If you're up for a complete overhaul and makeover then enter this competition to win a top-to-toe makeover worth over £500 .

The answer is EYES and the closing date is 6 March 2011.

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks to lucerysmum and sepulchre at HUKD

Argos are confused. They clearly still think their Christmas sale is on and are selling this Vtech VSmile Pocket Learning System for £18.99 instead of £59.99; crazy, but GREAT.

• Click HERE to dash over to Argos

Reading the spec' for this Vtech VSmile Pocket Learning System, I learned that there's software out there called Zayzoo - that sounds much more fun than any of the software I use...Adobe just doesn't have the same sort of ring to it.

Zayzoo software teaches word matching, spelling, maths, puzzles and all sorts. So all of the things that we want our children to learn through playing with toys like this.

The Vtech VSmile Pocket Learning System is is compatible with all VSmile learning games APART from: VSmile Art Studio, Dance 'n' Learn or Pocket Power Packs. It aslo requires four AA batteries which aren't included.

The recommended age range for the Vtech VSmile Pocket Learning System is between five and seven years, but I think you could get away with going a litle younger perhaps.

The reviews are excellent and whilst I don't normally write about things out of stock for home delivery (which this is), it would be worth being prepared to chase around a little bit to find an Argos store that has one, if your nearest one doesn't.

Thanks to louise.123 at HUKD

Argos are currently selling this Chad Valley Rocking Horse for half price - £14.99 instead of  £29.99.

• Click HERE to gallop over to Argos

This Chad Valley Rocking Horse stands at 23 inches  (so just under six hands high in horsey speak *grin*), has a metal frame and stands on a wooden rocking base.

(The actual dimensions are: (H)43, (W)25.5, (D)56cm)

He also makes his own galloping and neighing sounds too, so you don't have to feel daft doing them for your child to add a bit of realism.

Chad Valley Rocking Horse requires two AA batteries, which are included, and is supposed to be suitable for little jockeys and showjumpers aged between three and five.

Now, you're going to have to make a judgement call on whether or not you want to buy this Chad Valley Rocking Horse; some reviewers love, and would recommend, it whilst others say it's not so great.

Here are some opposing views:

Not good: "This horse is very poor. The amount of rock is poor, the hair comes away and if you are looking for a horse for your child, this is definitely one to avoid. The distance between the handles and the seat is wrong, our little girl found this very uncomfortable to use, and with the added danger of the hair coming away it is lacking in fun factor."

Good: "I purchased this for my grandaughter. It is a lovely toy. when you press the ponys ear it neighs and makes noises. It states on the box 3+ but please beware that this would be too small for a 3 year old,more like for 18mths old."

The overall consensus of opinion is that the age range is too high and would be suited for younger children.

71% WOULD recommend it to a friend; over to you to decide.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Like the entire world hadn't already guessed that Mariah Carey and her husband are expecting twins!

What with her incredible - how can I put it - 'voluptuousness' from rather early on, to her referring to the bump as 'they' a couple of months ago, it all pretty much gave the game away.

The twins aren't due until April, how can that be?! Seriously, this feels like the longest celebrity pregnancy in history!

The rumours and the speculation from fans and the media, combined with all the little hints and teasing comments from Mr and Mrs Carey have resulted in it feeling as if Mariah's been pregnant for at least the last couple of years.

The first people Mariah told that she was carrying twins was none other than Michelle and Barrack Obama - not many people can say that the US President was the first to know!

Mr Carey (I must stop calling him that), Nick Cannon, spilled the beans on his radio show and Mariah finally relented and took to her Twitter account to spread the news to the masses.

So now we know everything...apart from names. Cue the next Mariah fan and media frenzy.

Mothercare are selling Mr Bump Backpacks for £4 instead £10.

• Click HERE to bump over to Mothercare

Mr Bump was one of my favourite Mr Men characters when I was a kid; he was so accident prone it was hilarious, although I was always quite worried about him spending all night in that deep hole someone had dug in the sand at the beach...what if the tide had come in?

This Mr Bump Backpack is very cute and ideal for Mr Men fans, whether boy or girl, who need a little bag for carrying things in.

Most schools these days want you to have the same regulation school bag as everyone else, so it could be out of bounds for shool, but what about when you go swimming as a family? Or when they go to play, or stay, at someone else's house? Or perhaps just for keeping toys in.

Mr Bump Backpacks are also part of the buy one get one half price offer on selected kids nightwear (don't ask me how they're classed as nightwear, I don't know)  so you could get two for £6 if you have more than one child that would want one. Or the second one could be a nice little pressie for someone's birthday.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD

You've got twelve days to go before the world goes into lovey-dovey overdrive and Valentine's Day madness takes over for 24 hours.

Clinton Cards sent us some of their Valentine's Day gifts to review and we sent them on to PlayPennies mum, Louise to road test for us.

"Reviewing Valentine's Day gifts was actually quite hard, given that it wasn't Valentine's Day," confessed Louise, "surely part of the success of any Valentine's Day gift is the romantic impact of the day itself?"

So Cupid paid Louise, and her husband, an early visit this year with Valentine's Day taking place a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.

"The Clinton Cards Valentine's Day Gifts arrived in a large brown box, nestled in lilac tissue paper," Louise told us, "the first thing I saw when I lifted up the layers of paper was the I Love You Bear"

Some of us outgrow our love of cute teddy bears and you can be treading on very dodgy ground buying one for your Valentine, unless you're sure it's going to be appreciated.

"I'm not a cuddly toy sort of person, in fact I greatly dislike them as gifts for grown ups!" said Louise, "But this one totally melted me. He is incredibly soft, is a good size and is clutching a soft, velvety heart. If this was given to me on Valentine's day by my husband I'd be very happy indeed."

Louise also told us that she couldn't believe the price of the I Love You bear; you can buy him, and others similar,  for £4.99, Louise expected him to cost at least twice that.
The next Clinton Cards Valentine's Day gift Louise pulled out of the box was a book of X-Rated Love Cheques that retail for £2.99; she wasn't very impressed with it at all.

"The X-Rated Love Cheques were rather cheap looking, with no interesting design to it at all," Louise described, "There's absolutely nothing romantic about the booklet, in any way shape or form."

"It also fails on the 'naughty' side too!" Louise continued, "Although it is called X-Rated, the booklet sadly lacks anything scintillating!"

Oooerr missus, we were almost tempted to ask Louise what she felt would have been scintillating...but then thought better of it.

The cheques inside the (not-so) X-Rated Love Cheques book include: a Romantic Dinner for 2, a Special Treat of Your Choice, Dinner and a Movie, a Sexy Night In, a Sexy Massage, and finally A Big Hug. There are four vouchers of each type.

Louise had one final thing to say on the matter, "My husband could only comment that if he got one of those for Valentines he'd be deeply worried about the state of our marriage!"

Not all gifts HAVE to be romantic though and oozing with cuteness and kisses.

"The 'love' socks (£4.99) made me smile," Louise told us, "They come in one size, but look pretty large. The socks are black, and soft. I wrapped them up with a bow, and gave them to my other half over a candle-lit rose petal dinner. He quite appreciated the humour!"

The rose petals Louise mentioned are also part of the Clinton Card Valentine's Day Gift range, they cost £1.99 and come in red or white; Louise said they are just lovely.

"They look beautiful and made a lovely decoration on the table for a romantic dinner. What I really liked is that the box is sturdy, pretty to look at in itself, and the centre part where the petals are kept easily slides in and out. So you can use it to store the petals when not in use."

The final thing we sent Louise was an I Love You toast stamp which retails for £2.99.

"To be honest I've never actually used a toast stamp before. Luckily there are instructions on the back of the packet!"

Louise owned up to the face that she'd have probably done something daft like put it in the toaster with the bread!

"That sounds silly, I know, but then the idea that you could press into the bread and have it appear when toasted sounds a bit silly too! It is quite cute though and made breakfast time fun. I think it is something that will come out for lots of special breakfasts."

And finally...

On the whole Louise was impressed with the items we sent her from the Clinton Cards Valentine's Day Gift range.

She felt they all had romantic merit apart from the X-Rated Love Cheques, which got a very definite thumbs down from both her and her husband.  She also felt that the prices were perfect for being able to give a little something for Valentine's Day without breaking the bank.

All of the items are available from the Clinton Cards website.

Smyths Toys have reduced this Graco Baby Delight Swing by £40, making it a much more affordable £39.99.

• Click HERE to swing on over to Smyths Toys

Baby swings, rocker chairs, bouncy chairs, ANYTHING that has motion is a must, as far as I’m concerned, when you have a baby in the house.

The Graco Baby Delight Swing is compact and portable so you can move it around the house as you go and baby can watch you be busy, whilst they recline and swing in padded luxury – it’s alright for some hey!

It's suitable from birth, the cover is machine washable (very important) and it has two swing speeds.  In addition to that, it had three reclining positions and comes with a padded toy bar and two soft toys.

If you don’t have a Smyths Toys near you then delivery to mainland UK will be £4.25 (sorry Nothern Island and Scottish Islands, it’s more for you) but if you do, and they have it in stock, then you could go and collect it!

Happy baby swinging.