One of my favourite blogs is See Kate Sew. She has is very creative, very talented, and has some great ideas. These DIY cupcake holders look great and solve a problem I've had.  I use silicon cupcake holders for baking cupcakes, a good money saver on buying paper disposable ones. But when I take cupcakes to parties, or to bake sales, I don't want to use the silicon holders. Making recycled magazine cupcake holders to pop them in when they're out of the oven looks fabulous. Also, here's a good cupcake holder template to use.

I saw a fabulous idea for a cake - a tie dye cake - on the internet. How did they get those bright colours? I figured that, as it was an American site, it was something they had that you couldn't get in the UK.

I was a little bit right. Almost immediately the range of icing and colouring gels from Dr Oetker appeared in my local supermarket. I had to try them out, and see if they really worked. You know how you see something on Pinterest that never quite works out the same in real life?

But how much fun could you have with baking for children with a palette of neon colours? I had a bake sale coming up at my son's primary school, so I decided to go ahead and use it to give the icing gels a proper testing.

Click on the link below to see what happened when I made my version of the tie-dye cake, using Dr Oetker's Neon Food Colouring and Neon Glitter Writing Gel.

I hate having to admit this in a public forum, but I have a confession to make. It turns out I can't make biscuits. They just go all runny and mishapen. I swear I am following the recipe precisely. And I have tried three different recipes now, none of which worked. Is there some sort of black art involved in making biscuits? Am I committing some sort of basic error? Is it my (gas) oven that's at fault?

All I know is that I had to bring in help to get the 3D T-Rex Cookie Cutters (from the gadget website Red5) reviewed, much to the disappointment of my son. Although he did have a lovely playdate around at his friend's house, with his much more competent mummy, making and icing, and eventually eating, their very own dinosaurs.

What, exactly, is a 3D biscuit? And how do you make one? Well, read on to find out!

If you're a dessert and cakes person, and would like to add a new recipe book to your collection (or start one, even!) then you should take a look at Sweet by Levi Roots.  It looks rather good, as does the price: £4.99 instead of £18.99 - it's in hardback and Amazon keep selling out with it priced at £12.15!

• Click HERE to pick up a copy of Sweet by Levi Roots *

I'm not usually a dessert person - I'm quite happy with an apple sliced into some fat free Bulgarian yoghurt (if you haven't come across Bulgarian yoghurt before, track some down, it's the best!) BUT, a couple of weeks ago I badly injured myself whilst training and am feeling VERY sorry for myself!

I was (well, still am, as much as I can) training for a competition and have torn the ligaments in my left ankle, there'll be no lower body resistance training for me for at least another four weeks, no spinning, no running, in fact - walking in anything that's not flat is a complete no-no, and stairs are a challenge.  I'm NOT HAPPY!

In times like this I turn to mooching through recipe books full of scrummy things - and I look at the pictures, that's all. I'll have to leave the actual baking and eating of all the scrummy cakes and treats in Sweet by Levi Roots, otherwise my coach would have some very choice things to say to me.

There are recipes for ice cream, some seriously amazing sounding desserts, a Maltesers Milkshake recipe, along with Butter Maple Popcorn and Apple Crisps <----- YUM!!

There aren't any reviews on the Book People site, but there are a few on Amazon, here's what one person has said about Sweet:

I have made several recipes from this book and, as with all Levi Roots recipes, they turned out well. I love this book and would recommend it to everyone. The photographs are bright and the recipe instructions are clear and, although it sounds daft, this book makes me feel full of sunshine and joy! 

Try this free delivery code when you checkout - FWELLB - I don't know whether it's single-use, or first time orders, only but give it a bash; if it doesn't work then postage for a single item is only another £2.80.

Thanks to millarcat at HUD 

If you're looking for something easy to make for Mothering Sunday, that Dad can do, older kids could do on their own, or you can do for the grannies, then look no further. This Meringue recipe is so easy, my three year old can - and did - do it. Okay, she helped. I had to redo the eggs after she broke the yolks, but still she had fun. For ingredients you need 2 egg whites, 100g castor sugar, and your choice of food colouring. In a subsequent batch I've also added half a teaspoon of vanilla essence, just to give it a little more flavour.  

• Heat the oven to 110C
• Separate the eggs (I save the egg yolks for fabulous home made mayonnaise) If you get yolk in the white, the eggs wont stiffen up.
• Beat the egg whites till they are frothy and stand at peaks. 
• When they are firm, add the castor sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating all the time. Add the vanilla essence. 
• If you want white meringues, scoop out spoon fulls onto a greased tray. 
• In the mixing bowl we added a drop of yellow, a drop of blue and a drop of red food colouring in three different areas and lightly mixed them gently in those areas. Then my toddler scooped from each area, onto the tray, sometimes getting a mix of colours and sometimes just a mix of white and blue or white and pink.
• She scooped them onto the tray and we left them just like that. 
• Put in the oven for 40 minutes 
• If you want them chewy on the inside, you can take them out of the oven after about five minutes and leave them to cool. If you prefer them crunchy leave them in the still warm oven until it and they are cool. 

We then popped them in an over-sized cup wrapped some cellophane around it all, and that will be a mother's day gift for Nanna from her grandchildren.

We're rapidly heading into October; we all know it will go by in a flash, that Halloween will be upon us then swiftly followed by putting the clocks back again.

If you're having a Halloween party for little ones - or a birthday party that falls around that time (my birthday is 20 October and Halloween themed birthday parties were always my favourites) - then here are three homemade Halloween treats you can make that are sure to go down a storm (I came across them at thebusybudgetingmama.com via Pintrest.com)

There are:

• Pumpkin Spice Bars with cream cheese on the top (think carrot cake made with pumpkin instead)
• Owl Cupcakes - very cute; and
• Itsy-Bitsy Spiders - an 'interesting' use of pretzel sticks, Ritz crackers, peanut butter and chocolate; sound weird, will be true diet killers, but I bet they taste amazing!

If you have a go at making any of these three things, do let us know how you get on, OR feel free to share your own tried and tested home made Halloween treat recipes.

When I first received the Stork Easy to Mix Baking Liquid, it sat in my fridge for ages and I had no idea what I was going to use it for, and I was a little afraid of it, to be honest. One day I started making cupcakes when I realised I didn’t have enough margarine, and up stepped the Baking Liquid – metaphorically speaking, of course.

So, what is it? Well, it’s a 500ml squeeze bottle of liquid margarine, with a measurement guide built in to the packaging, and a recipe on the back.

The obvious pro’s to this product are that you have liquid margarine on hand. You don’t have to melt it, don’t have to wait for it to warm up to room temperature, don’t have to spend as much time creaming the butter and sugar.  It literally takes a few seconds to mix into your other ingredients for a smooth batter. You replace 100g or 100ml of Baking Liquid for 100g of butter or margarine and it’s pretty simple. It has a long shelf life, but not crazy long – mine is okay for about six months from the date I received it, which is pretty standard for margarine, I guess.

We love cooking together, my 2 year old and I. She does loads of mixing and stirring and pouring and it’s normally great fun and generally not too messy. When Little Cooks Collection brought out the Dora the Explorer set, it was something we just had to have. The magazines are £4.99 per fortnightly issue (issue 1 special price £0.99 and issue 2 special price £2.99)

The Little Cooks Collection is a fortnightly magazine subscription which is delivered to your door. When you subscribe you receive a magazine tidy box – a godsend in your kitchen – a cooking timer, an ‘on the go’ lunch bag, and a hat and apron decorated with Dora (these come along with your first five shipments). You also receive cooking equipment with each magazine, and the list of what you’ll get is way too long for me to share here.

In fact, that’s been one of the bonuses of this set – you could kit out your kitchen with the sheer quantity of baking equipment you get with all this. Also, you’d expect it to be pretty mediocre quality, being for kids, and while the rolling pin is quite small and the cooking timer doesn’t always buzz when it stops, the rest of the goodies we’ve received in our first seven magazines have been really, really good. I even use them in my baking sometimes!

The magazines are great – they have a main recipe, a few smaller recipes, a story, a craft activity and so on, so you can bake or cook together, then have a read and an activity, or spread it over a few days. I find the activities a little ‘old’ for my two year old, but she enjoys all the rest.

We really love this collection and look forward to it arriving in the mail. Now, it’s supposed to be fortnightly, and it isn’t. I’m not actually sure, now I think about it, but I know it’s pretty sporadic and we normally get two or three issues at the same time. It hasn’t bothered me, and it hasn’t been a problem for my little girl either. We certainly haven’t gotten to the point of waiting by the post box.

The recipes are easily adaptable, and really simple. They’re basic and easy for children to follow.

The only negative we have for the Dora the Explorer Little Cooks Collection is that it can be quite packaging heavy, with things wrapped in heavy plastic and over packaged.

Apart from that though, we love cooking with Dora the Explorer.

If you're after some birthday cake inspiration then you might want to take a look at this Birthday Cakes for Kids book that's on sale with The Book People - its recommended list price is £12.99, you can grab a copy for £7.79.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Birthday Cakes for Kids book

Two weeks tomorrow I'll be getting ready to go and help set up this year's Birthday Party in the Park for my youngest son - he'll be six and is very excited about his Science Party in the Park this year, along with all the cake and presents that accompany such occasions.

He's been bombarding me with requests for cakes and other scrummy sweet things - I have to make a twist on Rice Krispie cakes to take to him on Monday to test and either give the thumbs up or down; they're not just made with chocolate, OH NO, they're made with melted Mars Bars and have glace cherries and raisins in them too.

I have a few friends who make the MOST amazing birthday cakes though and now I can't help but wonder if their genius is due to having a Birthday Cake for Kids Book tucked away in a secret draw in their kitchens!

To bag yourself free delivery too, just add FREECHATJUNE to your basket before you check out.

Happy birthday cake baking 

There's a Diamond Jubilee celebration at my son's school this Thursday for which I have to bake something vaguely in theme. Then we're off to the country on Saturday and Sunday, with a BBQ to go to, and dessert to bring. And finally our street is having a party on Monday.

So I've been spending the last week drooling over all sorts of wonderful Jubilee-themed baking and desert ideas.

Here's some of the best, yummiest, or easiest ideas that I've come across or have been suggested by our PlayPennies parents.

The weather forecast for the weekend made me laugh though. Apparently it is going to cool down but still be fairly pleasant. Kind of sounds like how most people I know feel about the actual Jubilee. Not exactly excited in any way, but a pleasant four days off and a chance to close the street and let our kids play outside for a change.

Now just make sure you stock up on plenty of red and blue colouring for the inevitable icings!

Click here to read more...

This Bake-a-Brick silicone cake mould has me chuckling away at my desk; I have a friend with a birthday coming up in three months time and it would make the perfect comedy birthday gift for.  I think kids would love it to - a brick cake, how BONKERS!

• Click HERE to take a look at the Bake-a-Brick silicone cake mould

So my friend - she loves to potter about in the kitchen and bake cakes, cookies and other scrummy things. The thing IS, despite her best intentions and best effort, she's fairly rubbish when it comes to most things culinary.

Seriously, you can see fear flash across people's faces when she announces she'll be cooking when they're going to hers for dinner or offers to make cakes for an event - still, at least she keeps trying to improve and refuses to give up <----- although please let that happen soon hahaha!

Some of her past creations are still the subject of great hilarity and provide an endless source of teasing - I'll be sending this Bake-a-Brick silicone cake mould to her in the post so don't worry,  I'm not in danger of having it hurled at me upon opening!

I think it's awesome and it even has the word 'London' stamped into the inside brick bit (you know the bit I mean - the V that you slop the cement into) for that extra bit of brick authenticity.

The full price for this Bake-a-Brick silicone cake mould is £8.99, but you can pick one up from Play for £3.49 at the moment.

Thanks to Syzable at HUKD

The Gruffalo Baking set is on sale at Play.com for £9.99 instead of £15.95, saving you £5.96 and as usual, offered with free delivery.

• Bake and play with the Gruffalo Baking Set

I really enjoy baking with my two year old, so I’m always tempted to buy when I see really cute baking sets on offer. I’ve only recently actually watched the Gruffalo, and have yet to read the book, but it is such a sweet story, I’ve fallen for it immediately.

This Gruffalo Baking Set consists of a rolling pin, a wooden spoon and two plastic woodland shaped cutters (an acorn, and an oak leaf, I think!), and a recipe card with a recipe for ‘Woodland Cookies’ but my eyes aren’t good enough to make out what those actually are.

There’s also an apron which is apparently easy to wipe clean, and a fab Gruffalo drawstring bag for it all to go in when not in use – although I see the bag being quickly incorporated into other uses myself!

I think this is a lovely set, and would make a really sweet gift or surprise for cooking with kids in the kitchen.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey @ HUKD

No you're not seeing things, I really am posting a deal for this Kids' Christmas baking set in February with 299 days still to go before 25 December!

The thing is, and this is the only defence I have, it's a LOVELY little set and you can pick one up for £5, instead of its usual £25, then stash it away - the trick with doing that, of course, is to remember a) that you have it and b) where you put it.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Kids' Christmas baking set

I've had as close a look as I can to see whether there's anything included in the set that is going to have a pre-December 2012 expiry date,  the only candidates are the two tiny packs of red and white icing and they're not going to be difficult, or break the bank, to replace.

The other bits and pieces included in the Kids' Christmas baking set are:

• A white mixing bowl, decorated with a cartoon snowman face
• A red mixing spoon, decorated with a cartoon reindeer face
• A tree mould
• A candy cane cookie cutter and
• A wipe-clean recipe card

I'm really rather taken with this Kids' Christmas baking set - my youngest son loves baking with his dad so, you know, I might just buy this for them and set a diary alarm on my phone so I don't forget to give it to them in 10 months time!

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

This week I have mostly been making Whoopie! Unfortunately that sentence isn't quite as exciting as it sounds. Although it isn't un-exciting either. What I've been doing is making whoopie pies. Specifically Betty Crocker Whoopie Pies (£2.15 from Tesco Direct).

You have been able to buy ready made Whoopie Pies before, or so I'm told. I've never actually heard of them myself. This is a new addition to the Betty Crocker line, with a mix that you make yourself.

The selling point is that it is a fun activity for you to do as a family. Well, both my son and I love cooking, but our baking is done from scratch. It would take a bit to sell me on using cake mix. Here's how I got on.

Click here to read more...

Home Bargains are selling this Salter 'Kids in the Kitchen' baking set for just £4.99 - they claim the rrp is £24.99

• Click HERE to go over to Home Bargains

I say they 'claim' the rrp is £24.99 because there was something about this Salter 'Kids in the Kitchen' baking set that rang a few bells, then it dawned on me - I wrote a review about it last year!

So I scooted off back through the archives - you can read it in full HERE - and discovered that back then the price was £14.99, well I can't imagine it's gone up by £10 since then; either way - whatever the proper retail price is, you're not paying it at Home Bargains.

The Salter Kids in the Kitchen baking set includes the following:

• Large double handed sieve
• 2.5ltr mixing bowl with level markings
• Rolling pin
• 3 cookie cutters

I remember Lynley saying that whilst she was a bit disappointed with the items in the set, and I quote, "As the parent, I was very disappointed with the contents; there seemed to be more air in the box than items, and it didn't contain anything that you probably haven't already got in your kitchen anyway," her son absolutely LOVED everything and was chuffed that he had his own bowl and cooking things.

If you're going to be cooking up a Christmas storm in your kitchen (oooh that reminds me, I must give the Christmas cake more brandy today) and you have youngsters crying out to help, then this Salter 'Kids in the Kitchen' baking set might come in handy.

Happy baking with kids!

I have a love-hate relationship with cakes - I LOVE baking them, I LOVE eating them but HATE that it doesn't take long for my unforgiving clothes to start getting tight.

So a huge sigh of relief (from me at least, I can't speak for the rest of the PlayPennies office) accompanied the various Lakeland Homebakes parcel that we sent to PlayPennies mum, Tanya, to test on our behalf.

Now, I know this might sound a little unkind but we sent the Lakeland Homebakes to Tanya, specifically, because she's no Nigella Lawson; if she can create cupcake magic with Lakeland then anyone can!

This Cooksmart Kids Chef 7 piece set is in the sale at Wilkinson. It has been marked down from £5 to £2. You can order it online, and delivery is free if you can collect instore. Otherwise delivery costs £4.95.

• Click HERE for your Cooksmart Kids Chef set at Wilkinson

In the set you get an apron, rolling pin, wooden spoon and a heart, butterfly and girl shaped pasty cutter. Which comes to six pieces by my counting, so I'm not sure what they've missed out. There is something else in the photo, and I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps it folds into a hat? Still at £2, it is still a great bargain.

I wish they'd one that wasn't pink for my son. He absolutely loves cooking, and baking. His favourite activity on a weekend is to make a cake. Although he tends to eat a lot more of the mix than goes in the baking tin sometimes. And he does get carried away wanting to throw all the ingredients in at once.

He does love using the hand mixer though. And our kitchen always looks like a bomb has hit it afterwards, which is really a part of the fun. It is easy enough to clean up.

According to the website, the chef set is suitable for ages 3-7 years.

There's lots of reasons to make the birthday cake yourself. For one thing, you know what's in there. And you can make it to the size you need. If you want a cake that's different to the kind you find in supermarkets, and you don't want to pay through the nose for a cake from a bakery, then making it yourself is the only way to go.

It's also a good option if you're on a really tight budget. There doesn't need to be anything fancy about a cake really. The birthday boy or girl just wants the joy of being the one to blow out the candles, and the children at the party just want a slice of cake they to eat. So if you like baking, why not do it yourself?

Here's some great ideas to help you along the way. And please do let us know what you do yourself. What great cake ideas have you come  up with in your parenting experience?

Coolest cake ideas

For ideas you can't do much better than this website run by two sisters, Coolest Birthday Cakes. The site has a fabulous tagline, describing itself as "thousands of homemade birthday cakes even amateurs can make."

The premise is a simple one. People submit photos of the cakes they've made, and the two sisters vet the submissions. The photos that are accepted are put up on the site. Along with the photo, there's also a description of the cake and its creation from the person who made it. To help you if you want to recreate any of the cakes you see here.

Annabel Karmel ideas

Did you buy into Annabel Karmel's cookery books for tots too? I did. I have to say that for a certain type of parent, ie me, who needs to know how to make mashed potato her cookery books an absolute lifesaver.

Personally, I think most of the recipes she has in there are absolutely revolting for adults let alone trying to get toddlers to eat them. But that said, there are a couple of recipes of hers that are now firm favourites in our house. And I've wowed many a person who's stopped by for dinner with the butternut squash risotto (mmmm buttery!).

These two Annabel Karmel birthday cake recipes are available online thanks to the archives of The Sun newspaper, of all places.

The first one is the No Bake Cake, pictured above. A cake you don't have to bake sounds like a favourite to me although this one looks like it might take a bit of time to put together! The other cake, the Princess and the Pea Cake, is a beautiful looking yet devilishly simple creation. I think even I could have a go at that.

Nigella Lawson's easy option

That famous domestic goddess and cook, Nigella Lawson, also has a super easy cake for hassled mums and dads to make. Nigella Lawson's easy birthday buttermilk cake is featured on The Guardian's website. Where, and this is the bit I really like, journalist Justine Pattison has a short video clip showing you how to make it.

It is part of the websites Cooking with Kids section. Making this cake could be a fun project to do with the kids. Perhaps a great idea for getting them to make the birthday cake for mum or dad.

Angry Birds cake

How's that for a simple but cool idea? If you haven't heard of Angry Birds then you need to have a chat with your offspring. My five year old doesn't have any sort of games console in the house, yet he talks about them all the time and draws pictures of them. These strange little creatures are the product of game called, as you might have guessed, Angry Birds.

If like me though you're not exactly artistic and have never attempted to do anything at all with icing except scrape it on a cake with a knife, then something like this might go horribly wrong.

If that happens don't let it get you down. It even happens to the professionals. So much so there is in fact a website dedicated solely to their mistakes. Cake Wrecks for "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong".

Number Five

Or indeed number 6 or number 8. You could adapt this idea from the blog of Elsie van Rooyen to a variety of different numbers. It is fiendishly simple though. She took a ring cake and a couple of loaf cakes, and fashioned them into the shape of the number. |She's then used icing and shapes like liquorice straps to create a road and car theme. A very sweet cake and perfect for a five year old's birthday.

And now for something completely different!

On my travels around the internet I found this idea for a cake, which is totally off the wall. And yet I find myself thinking, I want one of these! Possible this is better as a Halloween cake than a birthday cake, and definitely not one for the kids unless they're teenagers. In which case, the boys will probably find this the height of cool.

It is, wait for it, the Killer Rats Cake. And I'm not putting the picture up here. You'll have to go to the website for a look. Go on, you know you can't resist...

I remember drowning in well intentioned advice when I announced my pregnancy. And yet with all that information thrown at me, there were as it turns out several crucial items that no-one ever told me I'd need to have in my cupboard, or that I should do, or that would come in handy.

Mostly you find this happens as your darling child reaches nursery school age, and upwards. Maybe it is because by then the advice has tailed off. Or maybe it is because you've got more sure of yourself, and assertive, and the various elderly distant relatives, complete strangers at the clinic, and bossy motherly types at the playgroups move on to easier-to-manipulate prey. Or that could just be me being a tad cynical.

So what sort of things should we have been told? Here's what I (and other PlayPennies parents) learnt the hard way!

1. Buy Cases For Cupcakes

This is really the top of my list. It is crucial. Your life will be so much easier if you just start stocking up on cases for cupcakes now, even if you're just at the 12 week mark! OK I'm exaggerating, a little. As your child starts playgroups, nursery school, primary school there will be summer fairs, cake sales, birthday parties - more than you really want to know about right now!

Cupcakes are a hit with all kids, take about 15 mins to throw together, and are impossible to get wrong. And they don't need any special ingredients - you're likely to have all the stuff you need in the cupboard already. Which is good because you'll probably only remember you need them about hour before you have to leave.

That reminds me. Next time you're in the baking aisle pick up some vanilla essence. Just throw it in the cupboard. One day you will need it.

How easy are cupcakes? Try this. Get 125g of butter, half a cup of sugar (use a teacup to measure) and a teaspoon of vanilla in a bowl. Stick your hands in and mash it all together until it is throughly mixed and going a bit fluffy.

Mix in two eggs, one at a time. Get one cup of plain flour and a teaspoon of baking powder, or a cup of self raising flour, and just tip it in. Don't fret about sifting if you haven't got a sieve. Mix it all together then mix in a quarter cup of milk.

Spoon a teaspoon into each case - this will fill the case up about half way when cooked, leaving space for you to put on the icing below the edge of the case, making it easier to stack the cakes in an ice-cream container for taking to the school cake sale.

2. Make Icing

If you've never done this, it can seem a big daunting! But, icing is way easier than you think. Your corner shop may even have icing sugar - it is easy stuff to get hold of. Take two cups of icing sugar (I don't bother to sift it if I am in an rush, the kids don't really care) and rub in a teaspoon of butter with your fingers. Add in a quarter teaspoon of vanilla (see tip above), then a little bit of cold water at a time. Start with two dessert spoons of cold water. Mix it up for a bit - it will get more icing like as the sugar reacts with the water. If it is too stiff to put on the cakes easily then just add a few dribbles of water at a time. You don't really need too much.

Then top with sprinkles. That's all the kids really care about! Pink icing is always a winner, even for boys. Some cochineal food colouring in the cupboard will come in handy - you only need a couple  of drops honestly, so a tiny bottle will last you until the kids have gone to university.

3. Stock Up On Glue

Both for yourself and for the kids. Buy fabric glue - it is a quick fix that will save your life one day. Get some superglue and model glue - for that precious toy that breaks.

And, most crucial of all, glue for crafts. You've got no idea that you'll need this until one day the whole craft thing kicks in big time. And not just one type of glue either. You will need to have at least one Pritt Stick, a big container of PVA glue, and if the budget will stretch to it, invest in a can of Spray Mount. Mum Sadie swears by this stuff "not for the kids to use but for you to make those quick last minute costumes/school projects/picture frames."

4. Bulk Buy Batteries

Experienced mum Patricia says the one essential is "AA batteries. Hundred of them". I remember when my two stepkids reached those golden ages of 6 to 12, when ALL their toys needed batteries (and until you have had kids you've got no idea how wide a variety of batteries there are) we finally gave in and invested in the biggest rechargable battery sets we could find.

Of course there are toys that will thwart you because for various technical reasons they can't use rechargable types of batteries. And it will do your head in trying to keep a track of the rechargeable ones, make sure they're put back in their slots when not needed (and not down the back of the sofa), and are kept topped up. And eventually, one day, you'll find that the set you bought six months ago is now half empty and yet you don't seem to have a battery in the house. But other than that, they are a good investment.

5. Get At Least One Torch

In the free and easy life you had as a couple or singleton before the happy bundle arrived, you had probably forgotten that torches even existed. They were relegated to some dusty recess of your mind along with Scout/Guide camps, and sleepovers.

Buy one now. Or two. Mum to two Ellie says "get at least one torch that can be operated by a child, and comes with a certificate (hey they don't know you made it) to show that monsters find it scary."

As a parent you will need a torch for finding things in recesses like the back of the sofa, and in that gap under the skirting board that you'd never actually noticed was there before. There are a lot of gaps in your house. You may not know it yet, but as your kids get older you will find every single one of them.

What did we miss?

Well that's just a quick poll of a few of us at PlayPennies. But what about you? Got any advice for us?

Promotional packets of Green's cake mixes are currently offering FREE kids tickets to top family attractions across the country, including LEGOLAND, Chessington World of Adventures and Warwick Castle. You can save up to £28 per child on great family days out.

• Click here to take a closer look at Green's

From April to September 2010, pick up a pack of selected Green’s cake mixes from just £1.49 giving free child entry (*with a full paying adult) to LEGOLAND Windsor, the new LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester, Chessington World of Adventures, Warwick Castle or your nearest Sea Life Centre.

For your voucher just pick up a pack of fun kids baking mixes such as Tom and Jerry, Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Tank Engine and Dennis the Menace. Plus, for the adults Green’s have also included some of their family favourites in the offer so you can indulge in the Velvety Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Crunch or Butterfly Tops to satisfy your sweet tooth and your wallet! From just £1.49 each packet will include a free child coupon saving you up to £28 per child on favourite family attractions.

Head to Morrisons, Co-op, Asda, Somerfield, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s while stocks last and let the baking bonanza begin!

And if that’s not enough, all Green’s kids cake mixes come with an action-packed activity sheet to entertain and collect, plus jam decorating tubes to really add the icing on the cake.

For more Baking News log onto www.greenscakes.co.uk and join Green’s free cake club today. The website is jam-packed with games to entertain and educate the little ones, top tips on party planning and all the latest deals!