As you know, here at PlayPennies we are all about deals, discounts, bargains, vouchers and anything else that can make a parent’s life that little bit cheaper and more cost effective. Considering how every year there is a report that roars out about how expensive one child can be, this mission seems like a good idea.

Today I decided to celebrate those stores that seem to make it their mission to help parents too. These websites and stores always seem to have a tasty bargain or three available for the budget parent and are a great place to start when hunting for a specific item at a discount price. So, here they are….

Wow, ok, this is an ace deal for parents who have tots in need of an endless supply of wipes. These things are great, aren’t they? Come in handy for just about anything. Well, Boots has reduced a pack of 64 wipes down from the usual price of £2.44 to only £1.

• Click here to get some wipes from Boots

This is a fantastic deal really. You can almost get three packs of Johnson’s baby wipes for the price of one – there is about 64p discrepancy there. These wipes are apparently made with an revolutionary new Softwaves fabric and enriched with special moisturising lotion.

These new Johnson’s Baby Wipes are specially formulated to keep baby’s delicate skin cleaner and softer than before. They are alcohol free, pH balanced, have the unique No More Tears formula (although I have yet to see a baby’s bum cry) and smothered in lotion.

I rather liked these wipes as I found them very gentle and great for keeping both my hands and my baby’s bum nice and soft.

Thanks to kamranamjad at HUKD!

Boots has reduced the price on the Winnie the Pooh Go Glow clock from £20 to £10 which is half the original price, very nice indeed. The clock has been created to apparently train kids for bed time and morning routines so that they wake up and go to sleep at the right times. I wonder if this works?

• Click here to get a clock with Boots

The Winnie the Pooh Go Glow clock is available online only and you get 40 points with the purchase. You can also arrange to collect your order instore to save on delivery charges which sit at £2.95 and take about four working days. It’s free delivery if you spend over £40, which is a lot of Winnie the Pooh clocks…

The Winnie the Pooh bedtime trainer is a two in one night light and time trainer that encourages children to stay in bed until morning by using an image from their favourite story. You simply set an alarm and with a smooth transition, the picture will magically change from night to day when it is time to get up. Nice.

Thanks to mummyk123 at HUKD!

Use this Blacks promotional code to get 20% off everything, including items in the sale section.

Click here to use your Blacks promotional code

• Discount: 20%
• Promotional code: MYEASTER20
• Expires: 15th April 2012

To use this code, go to the Shopping Basket and enter it in the Promotional Code box. The discount will appear in the Discount column on the page.

This is a handy code if you want to start stocking up to go camping this summer. I tested it out on a Women's Calisto Jacket, already reduced in the sale from £85 to £60. The code took this down further to £48. This include delivery as the site has a special offer on at the moment - delivery is free if you spend £20 or more. Normally free delivery only kicks in after £79. For totals less than that, delivery is £4.95.

Apart from the fact that I just love to shop at Blacks anyway, this is perfect timing for me. I've got some money to spend, woo hoo! And I want to make sure I am snug and warm this winter when I go out.

Thanks to djmetsandy at HUKD!

Boots has reduced the Littlelife Toddler Day Sack down from £19.99 to £15.99 which is a saving of £4. While this is not exactly an enormous saving, these little day sacks are adorable and would make a great gift for someone.

• Click here to get walking with Boots

The Littlelife Toddler Day Sack on sale is the turtle design which looks really realistic actually, almost exactly like a turtle shell. The day sack has a removable safety rein so you have control when out and about with your rambunctious toddler and plenty of extra storage space.

There is a weatherproof hood that is stored in the top pocket of the day sack and a chest strap to secure the bag to their backs tightly so that it doesn’t slip around. The Littlelife Toddler Day Sack has an internal name and address tag inside so you can keep it, and your toddler, safe. And the sack can be used from 6 months to 3 years.

Thanks to Pupa at HUKD!

This is a pretty cool freebie to start off the day. Boots are offering two free Eucarin samples and you can choose whichever one of these tasty freebies suits you the most. You can choose between Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm or Eucerin Replenishing Face Cream.

• Click here to get some free moisturiser at Boots

With more than 100 years of research, Eucerin is the dermatalogical skin care brand based on skin science. It supports the skin’s basic requirements and gives you the confidence of healthy radiant skin.

The Aquaphoe Soothing Skin Balm freebie supports the recovery of very dry or even cracked skin by soothing and protecting it. It is gentle enough to use on babies and is packed with moisturising ingredients and is free of fragrances, preservatives and colours.

The Eucerin Replenishing Face Cream freebie is a daily care moisturiser that noticeably improves the condition of dry skin and contains Urea and Lactate which are natural moisturisers.

Thanks to Abstract1 at HUKD!

Muddy Puddles (such a cool name for a shop) is selling brand new baby snow boots for only £6 instead of their usual costly £20. That is a fantastic price for some shoes that will keep those little feet warm and toasty this winter.

• Click here to get some snow shoes from Muddy Puddles

The baby snow boots on offer here are available in either pink or blue with a thick fleece lining that runs along the inside of the shoe. The outside of the baby snow boots are covered in water resistant fabric and have a toe bumper along with a sturdy grip design on the base.

The EVA rubber moulded sole makes these light enough for baby to walk in but robust enough to cope with the cold and ice. The front has an adjustable Velcro strap for quick and easy changing in the show. Now if only it would start to snow here. I am very jealous of those of you who have those white sidewalks…

Thanks to malkkymalk at HUKD!

There are only a few weeks left to Valentine’s day – good thing it happens after January pay day, not so?  Boots have a great range of fragrances available, so have a look below and see if anything grabs your fancy. These offers are available till 14 February.

•  Gorgeous Fragrances for Valentine’s Day
  
  
• Fragrance: Lacoste Touch of Pink, Eau de Toilette, 90ml
  Price: now £32.66, was £49.00 – save £16.34
  Description: Combines a playful burst of blood orange with the fresh sparkle of coriander, and notes of jasmine and violet, for the playful and light at heart
• Fragrance: Davidoff Cool Water Man, 75ml
  Price: now £25.33, was £38.00 – save £12.67
  Description: With fresh notes of peppermint and orange blossom, it’s a compelling masculine fragrance that evokes the dynamic vitality of nature and the ocean. Combined with mint, coriander, geranium, cedar, oak moss and musk, it’s ideal for daytime wear and will suit the sporty type.
• Fragrance: CK One, 100ml
  Price: now £22.66, was £34.00 – save £11.34
  Description: Loved by millions, it’s a unique, citrus floral and herbaceous scent. CK One begins with light and refreshing tones of bergamot, lemon and mandarin.  This scent will surely remind you of the good times.
  
• Fragrance: CK IN2U, Her Eau de Toilette, 50ml
  Price: now £21.00, was £28.00 – save £7.00
  Description: Fresh and energetic aromas of pink grapefruit fizz, zesty Sicilian bergamot and notes of luscious vanilla soufflé and smouldering red cedar, this is the key scent for romantic moments.
• Fragrance: Paul Smith Extreme for Men Eau de Toilette, 30ml  
  Price: now £16.09, was £21.45 – save £5.36
  Description: Slightly woody, with notes of bergamot and rosemary and the spice of nutmeg and Cardamom. The perfect scent for the lively and sophisticated man.

It was Boxing Day and I was emerging from a truly nasty bout of the flu, a flu that kept me in bed and completely out of it for about four days. While I was lying on the sofa I noticed that my daughter was scratching her head, a lot. Oh boy, that can only mean one thing. Lice.

Ever since I started using Vosene, I’ve had no problems with lice but we ran out about a week before the end of term and the lice leapt onto her head with glee. Great. Now I had to rush out and buy some lice treatment and get us both deloused as fast as possible.

As I was still feeling really tender, the Hedrin Once Liquid Gel that only takes 15 minutes to kick in seemed like the perfect solution. This extremely thick and oily gel is easy to apply but it doesn’t really work. Sorry.

When we first used it, I left it on for about half an hour and then washed it out as per the instructions. I also combed both our heads with the Nitty Gritty Nit Comb while the Hedrin was still in our hair. A double whammy. A week later we were both still infected. So I had to do a treatment again and redo the entire washing and cleaning of every item in the house.

When you are really manic, having to wash everything you own is more than a little frustrating. I also found that the Hedrin Once left the bath extremely oily and slippery in spite of frequent cleaning with bathroom cleaner. It took several applications to get the slimy sensation off the bath, not great when we stand in it to shower and run the risk of slipping.

For the heavy, heavy price of £17.99 (at Boots), this is not a good choice for the removal of nits. Instead I would recommend their original product that is more labour intensive but really does the trick.

Ok, even I have to agree that this looks like a pretty good deal. These pink wellies are a part of Vertbaudet’s Final Clearance sale and have been marked down from £17 to only £5.10. Nice. This is a whopping 70% discount on a winter necessity.

• Click here to get some welly with Vertbaudet

The pink wellies in the Vertbaudet (I really struggle to spell that word) sale come with a removable sock to keep feet nice and toasty warm all through the winter. The socks are imitation fur with a cable-knit turnback and are made from 100% polyester.

I am really impressed with the price now. To include the socks? Nice. Normally I see a price like this and it turns out that it was JUST the socks! Anyway. The pink wellies themselves have rubber uppers with a slip resistant sole and are built nice and sturdy.

The colour may not be for you, though, as this is a rather startling pink (I love it!), but it appears that there are a lot of different sizes still available so you should be able to nab a pair without a problem.

It is January. You probably already noticed that. Hard to miss it when all the telltale signs are there. Grey skies, dark afternoons and empty bank accounts. Another clue is all the signs up announcing January sales. Although that's not quite as much an indicator as it used to be. Nowadays, the January sales seem to start in December.

However, here we are coming into the tail end of the sales, and anything that is left is going to go bargain basement. Also, there are stores that do GASP start their sales in January, and others that refresh the stock in the sale section each week. Here's a roundup of the big retailers of baby stuff who are still running sales. Boots, for example, have finished their sales so we've not included them here. Likewise, JoJo Maman Bebe still has its sale section, but the winter sale with up to 75% off seems to be finished now.

The same with the Mothercare Clearance shop, although the usual reductions you'll find year round are in there so it is still worth having a look. Such as the 50% Off Top Products section.

Click here to read more...

There’s a bit of a baby products sale on at Boots right now, and the offers below are valid until Tuesday 10 January.

• Head over to Boots for the whole list of baby product offers

There are some really good offers in this deal, like 2 for £4 on Boots newborn size 1 carry pack,  2 for £8 on Boots active stretch easy carry packs and   2 for £12 on Boots Superdry Economy packs.

For branded nappies, you’ll find 2 for £8 on Huggies Pull-ups, Night Time Pull-Ups, Dry Nights and Little Swimmers, as well as 2 for £8 on Huggies 64x4 pack Pure Wipes.

There’s a BOGOF offer on Krazy Kroc Wipes, 50% off on Boots Baby sensitive wipes (64 pack) and also on the Little Me range.

If you’re after a little bit of Mummy-Pampering, you’ll get 1/3 off on selected Boots expert products and 25% off on some Sanctuary gifts – although these two offers are available till the 16^th of January.

If you’re an Advantage card holder, you’ll collect points and if you’re a member of the Boots Parenting Club,  you will receive advice, information and offers online as well as earning 10 Advantage Card points for every £1 they spend on baby products at Boots.

There’s 50% off many items from the Boots’ gift ranges, an offer which started today.

• Head over to Boots for 50% off

We’ve had some fantastic offers from Boots in the run up to Christmas, and if you’ve been shopping for toiletries and smelly things, I hope you managed to grab some of their offers. And now, in the boxing day sales, the ranges have been reduced by 50%, so you can top up your own products or stock up on some gifts for the next few months.

You’ll find brands such as Soap & Glory, Sanctuary, Champney’s, Hello Kitty, Fearne, FCUK, Project D and Ted Baker, as well as selected fragrances too.

In addition, you’ll still get your Advantage Card points – assuming you’re a clubcard holder, of course – with every sale purchase, so you can spoil yourself should January become a bit of a lean month.

Offers are only available while stocks last, and if you’re heading in store you might find the deals differ.

A word of warning: they're selling out pretty fast online, so don't delay if you're hoping to grab a bargain or two!

The Braun Series 3-390CC Limited Porsche Motorsport Edition electric shaver is selling exclusively in Boots for £75.99 instead of £189.99, making a mahoosive saving of £114.

• For a close shave, Porsche style, head over to Boots

If you’re still looking for the perfect gift for your man, father, or son for Christmas, you’re going to have to pop in store to Boots for this one as it won’t be delivered in time now. I’m not sure, personally, whether shavers fall in the league of home-made sweaters and socks or not, but if it’s something you’re after this does seem a sleek and stylish electric razor.

The Porsche Motorsport Edition has optimised foil which apparently cuts hairs more easily, while still gliding smoothly for less irritation, and has ‘improved performance’ on 3 day beards. There’s a precision long hair trimmer for sideburns, beard and so on too.

The NI-MH battery is rechargeable and charges in an hour. There’s a battery status indicator and you can use the shaver both cordless and plugged-in.

The Innotab has become one of the Must Have gifts for 2012 and are selling out everywhere. As of today Boots has these in stock and you can get them for the stock standard price of £79.99. At least you won’t be spending over the odds as you would on Amazon or eBay!

• Click here to get technical with Boots

I am completely against the Innotab if I am honest. The device isn’t that good, doesn’t work very well and is extremely expensive. After you’ve bought several games to go with it, you may as well have bought an iPad or a Transformer and loaded it with better games that cost under £1 or are completely free.

However, if you still want an Innotab in spite of my warnings, you can get one per customer at Boots. And, if you add something else to your pile and make the purchase over £80, you can get £10 off using the code EMAIL80.

Thanks to linzi2301 at HUKD!

Unfortunately this offer is sold out online, and if you read on, you’ll see why. It’s still worth mentioning though, because if you have a Boots anywhere near you, this is an offer totally worth getting out of the house for. The Big Splendour Soap and Glory toiletry set is just £25, reduced from £60 to save you a whopping £35. No wonder it’s sold out, right?!

• Bath in (Big) Splendour with Soap and Glory from Boots

This set contains tons of goodies:

• Clean on Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel has a bonus, built in body lotion, so you can get clean, smooth, sexy skin simultaneously.
• The Righteous Body Butter™ A smooth, creamy, and velvety intense body lotion. With skin softening shea butter and aloe vera to attract moisture.
• Pulp Friction™ Foamy fruity body scrub with fig powder, pumice, peppermint oil, lemonade tree liquid, orange waterjuice™& vitamin balls™(A,C,E). Includes new Fruitigo™ fragrance with notes of frozen yuzu, orange oil, green fig, and jungle pomelo essence.
• Face, Soap & Clarity™ For super clean, fresh & bright skin. A 3 in 1 daily detox vitamin C facial scrub - a great exfoliator and brilliant for flaky skin.
• Off Your Face Wipes™ 3-in-1 cleansing, toning and skin smoothing for the quick ridding of makeup, dirt, oils and dead cell build-up. With a mix of skin softening glycerin, quick cleansing agent and PORESHRINK-RS, Soap & Glory™ Off Your Face™ Cleansing Cloths are your quickest route to clean.
• Heel Genius™ A soak-in foot mask marvel that smoothes and softens while you sleep.
• Hand Food™ A super-silky gorgeously-scented non-greasy hydrating hand cream featuring fennel and lotus flower extracts, which leaves your hands super smooth. Relish in the delightful aromas of fresh bergamot, strawberries and mandarin, with floral and fruity midnotes, musk, amber and warm vanilla.
• Mist You Madly™ A flirty, floral, fragrant body spray featuring notes of bergamot and blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk.
• Sexy Mother Pucker™ Extreme formula lip plumping gloss, in seductive Candy Gloss colour with a fabulous vanilla flavour. Scientifically-proven plumping microspheres that explode in volume up to 10x when they come in contact with water. (They’re like tiny, dehydrated little sponges that expand when you apply them onto your lips. It also contains a rare circulation enhancing ingredient that gives your lips a little ‘electric’ buzz, to move more blood around the area, creating the swelling effect mentioned above).
• Calm One, Calm All™ A double function deluxe formula bubble bath soak. With a built in body lotion and a moisture magnetising skin conditioner you’ll be smoothed while you’re soothed! Indulge in the wonderful fragrances of fresh bubbled bergamot, strawberries and mandarin with floral and fruity mid notes, and musk, amber and warm vanilla.

This week’s star offer of the week at Boots is the No7 The Ultimate Collection which is better than half price now at only £30.00, instead of £65.00, from now to Thursday 15^th December. If you’re an advantage card holder, you’ll get 120 points on your purchase too.

• A hatbox full of beauty for less than half price

This beautiful, and sophisticated hat box is packed full of No 7 favourites to make you feel ultimately glam. The No 7 Ultimate Collection includes:

• No7 Heavenly Hydration Moisture Mask - 100ml – a quenching treat for softer, smoother skin
  
• No7 Cleanse & Care Eye Make-up Remover - 100ml - gentle double action to condition while you cleanse
• No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum - 5ml - proven to restore the skins structure with regular use
• No7 Protect & Perfect Night Cream - 50ml - visibly improves fine lines and first signs of ageing
• No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream (SPF 15) - 50ml - proven to visibly improve deep lines and wrinkles for younger looking skin
• No7 Eye Shadows - six eye shadows in a handy compact palette, complete with mirror and applicator
• No7 Liplicious Lip Gloss - 12ml - sheer non-sticky super shiny colour with shea butter to moisturise, condition and protect your lips
• No7 Exceptional Definition Nutrient Enriched Mascara - 7ml - triple effect brush gives volume and definition
• No 7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes - specially created for your busiest days, they sweep away impurities, tone your skin, remove waterproof eye make-up and moisturise, quick as a flash. Suitable for all skin types
• 5 piece brush set

This week’s Star Gift of the Week is the FCUK ‘The Woman Has It All’ overnight bag, which was £45 but has now been reduced by £23 to £22, and Boots Advantage Card holders will earn 88 points with this purchase.

• Have it all with the overnight bag to prove it

This black faux-leather overnight bag from FCUK is spacious and stylish with large handles you can pop over your shoulder.It has a zipped compartment inside you can use to keep your purse, mobile and keys in and a small clasp for keeping the bag closed. Poppers stop the ends flapping about and it also comes with a range of exquisite FCUK Signature products that are designed exclusively for Boots.

You can awaken your body with the creamy and exfoliating FCUK Body Polish, gently buffs away dead skin cells by using natural exfoliation particles, such as walnut shells and apricot seeds. The almond oil and shea butter leave your skin extra smooth, lightly moisturised and lightly scented with a sparkling Oriental fragrance.

Your skin is left cleansed and soft with the FCUK Body Wash, enriched with moisturising almond oil.

With almond oil and shea butter, the FCUK Body Butter apparently feels like velvet when smoothed onto your skin, leaving it feeling intensely nourished.

The FCUK Body Spray is a seductive must-have and a great way to finish getting ready for a night out. Scented with FCUK Signature, a fruity Oriental fragrance with a luscious blend of exotic fruits over a mysterious and enticing floral bouquet that's simply exotic.

All in all, not bad for £22!

Until Thursday 1 December, the Gorgeous by Gok Vanity Case is on offer at just over half price - £22 instead of the usual £45). On top of this Advantage Card holders will receive 88 points too.

• Make someone feel ‘Totally Gorgeous’ with the Gok Vanity Case

I’ve never tried any of the products in this case, so I can’t vouch for them, but they do sound rather lovely! In this deluxe gift set you’ll find treats to pamper and indulge.

In the Vanity Case you’ll find:

• Liquid Gold Bath Essence – a fragrant bubble bath
• Liquid Gold Body Wash – your shower (or bath) companion for gentle exfoliation
• Deluxe Gold Body Butter for leaving your skin feeling moisturised and looking glam.
• An Oganza Body Puff for lathering up
• A 200ml Body Wash
• A 200ml Shower Scrub
• Another rich and moisturising Body Butter

The vanity case is a lovely colour and has a mirror in the lid. I’m sure it’d make a lovely toiletry bag even after the products are finished.

This set is only available for Christmas, and won’t be on the shelves next year.

Boots have the Ultimate Sanctuary Pamper Case on a better than half price deal at the moment, selling at £19 instead of £40. That’s a saving of £21 and if you’re a Boots Advantage Card holder, you’ll net 76 points too.

• Treat the ones you love with the Ultimate Sanctuary Pamper Case

Now, if I’m honest, if you really want to treat the one you love, send her to the Sanctuary Spa for a day, but be warned – making a decent day of it will cost you a good 10 times this. So if that’s not on the cards for you, this is a pretty good compromise.

The “pinnacle” in home pampering, the Ultimate Sanctuary Pamper Case comes with six products to leave your skin feeling pampered:

• Sanctuary Intensive Rescue Heel Balm contains shea butter and a blend of wheat germ, vitamin E and rosehip seed oil to  leave your skin super moisturised and feeling silky soft, while tea tree and lavender your feet cools and refreshes
  
• Sanctuary Body Wash is infused with essential oils and spices to gently cleanse and condition, with moisturising capsules of sesame oil and jojoba to help leave it feeling soft and silky smooth
• Sanctuary Body Scrub can be used every day to gently polish your skin, leaving it invigorated, alive and gorgeously soft
• Sanctuary Body Lotion is a fragrant, super-absorbent lotion which nourishes and stimulates the body, smoothing away dryness and revitalising tired skin. Invigorating ginger root extract, nourishing jojoba and pro-vitamin B5 combine for a super smooth finish and a warm tingling sensation
• Sanctuary Foaming Bath Soak is enriched with wheat proteins and soothing aloe vera, to fill your bath tub with rich and creamy bubbles and leave skin feeling velvety soft and smooth.
• Sanctuary Body Butter is a luxurious, super moisturising, cream laced with Sweet almond oil, smoothing macadamia oil and protective vitamin E for all over.

There’s also a shower cap for when you’re taking those lovely long baths and don’t want your hair to get wet, and a case to keep your Sanctuary treats neat and tidy.

And as an added bonus Sanctuary products last a really long time…