I recently got a bunch of things from Clintons to prepare for the upcoming Mother’s Day fun on Sunday 18 March 2012. I wanted to do something special for the grandparents and parents this year and needed to get started early!

The first thing I got was the utterly scrummy Me to You teddy bear gift bag. At £2.50 it is a little pricey but very solidly made with thick paper and a huge print on both sides. It’s the picture that totally has me smitten, this cute little bear making a card for his mummy. Ideal for storing really precious handmade gifts, I got this to put the homemade biscuits into for grandma number one.

Next up were some cards. I wanted to sort these out early because I am so bad at posting things on time. Really bad. The first one I got was specifically for Grandma Noodles (my daughter’s nickname for her grandma that makes her favourite noodles) and had a cute little pic of a child on the front and was tastefully done. I also nabbed a genius card that said, “Mother’s gravy was just like her kids…nice and thick” – it made me laugh so hard I had to own it.

I was impressed with the variety of cards on offer at Clintons and the fact that many of them can be personalised and that you can order them online and get them delivered for free. There are plenty of options to personalise your cards so do take a peek online.

What got me was how many different cards there were to choose from. Huge embellished ones that oozed ostentation, tiny cute ones that would guarantee a smile, and all fitting into different budgets quite neatly.

Finally, I also got the wrapping paper to match the Me To You bag I mentioned earlier. As our big push this year is to hand make every gift and do things from the hearth, I wanted to spend a little on paper to wrap the goodies up nicely. It’s not available online as yet and costs around £1.50 per square. Many of these items are not yet available online but will be instore or online soon!

If there's one shop that really stands out on the high street at this time of the year, it is Clintons. The very open store fronts that all their shops have virtually pulsate with pink around Valentine's Day. It's probably the first place you think of to buy a card or pick up a little sappy trinket for a loved one.

So when Clintons asked us if I'd like to see a little bit of the new additions to their Valentine's Day range I said heck yes! Read on to see what they sent us, and more importantly, what I thought.

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Clinton’s have a new range of Back to School goodies, which they sent to us to review. We sent them on to PlayPennies mum Lara, and her 7 year old daughter Tessa, as the Back To School theme is quite girly: Boofle, a little knitted dog.

Every girl needs a bag, so the first item, the Boofle My Lovely Bag, is a satchel style bag made for carrying around books and folders to and from class.  Tessa, loved the bag from the outset.

“Immediately a hit with out tester, Tessa felt that going into Year 2 she ought to have something a bit more ‘grown up’ than a backpack.”

But Lara wasn’t quite as sure about it.

“As a parent, I wasn't that impressed with how flimsy this bag felt, considering the price.”

The fact that there was also only one internal pocket didn’t work for Lara either, although it did zip up, which she thought was good. “However, there are no internal compartments or pockets at all, and nothing on the exterior either.”

The strap is adjustable, which at least makes it flexible, but at £12.99, Lara felt it didn’t really tick all her boxes, despite Tessa loving it.

While Father’s day doesn’t seem to bring out the Hallmark moments, pastel posters and commercial overkill that mother’s day does, there are still plenty of ideas around for how to treat dad.

Of course, one of the first places that comes to mind when I’m looking for little bits and pieces for gifts and cards is Clintons so we asked PlayPennies mum Tammy to review a selection of their Father’s Day stock for us.

Tammy was sent a bell which says “Ring for Beer”, an “I’m a Retro Dad” T-shirt, and a Mr.Grumpy mug.

To get us started, Tammy shares her thoughts on the “Ring For Beer” bell.  “This is a small dark blue bell with white writing. It comes packaged in clear plastic and is rather good to look at.”  That’s a good start, as we generally like our gifts to be good to look at!

However, the joke was a little lost on Tammy’s partner. “My husband is not the kind of man who appreciates this kind of humour so he glared at the bell a bit and muttered about male stereotypes. I have to say that I kind of agree but the point isn't really about philosophy is it? It is about the fact that someone could buy this for their other half as a cute little extra joke pressie. And for that it is very cute.”

My mum had a bell she used to ring when we were kids. No matter where we were, we knew it was time to get home for dinner/bath/bed or whatever was next in the day. As did the rest of the neighbourhood, but this was life before mobile phones. At least it saves dad running around trying to find his kids.

“I don't know the price yet” – its’ £3.99 -  “so i can't comment on that but it is well made, rather solid and has a pleasant ring to it. Once it was out the packaging our child adopted it until we both hid it to preserve our sanity. I then used it one morning to ring for coffee in bed, sadly this did not go down well.”

And, as a final thought, Tammy says, “Ok on further investigation you can get Ring for a Cuppa which I think I'd like for Christmas please :)”

Next up is the “I’m not Old, I’m Retro” T-shirt, which you’ll have to pick up in store.

“Like most Father's Day t-shirts,” says Tammy “this one is sweet and pretty targeted”.

She’s pretty impressed with the quality too. “The fabric is good quality and not too thin and crap”.

But it’s not really her sense of humour. “I didn't get the joke about Retro Dad if I am honest. Well, I got the joke but it wasn't funny. Not my sense of humour at all. The husband refuses to wear it as it says he is old (that's what he says) but I reckon that grandpa's will dig it and so sent it on to my Dad from his granddaughter. He thought it was hilarious and wears it on Sundays to ‘slooomph’ around in”.

Tammy doesn’t get told the prices of items she receives, so she’s guessing here. “If this is under £10, it’s good value for money with quality stitching, thick material and a nice transfer that hasn't washed off and gotten all peely after 5 washes so far.”
It’s just £5, so doubly good value, by my calculations!

The final item Tammy received from Clintons was the Mr. Grumpy mug, which was a massive hit.

“A few years ago,” she tells us, “I bought my husband a Mr Grumpy T-shirt which he loves and my daughter loves (especially now she is into Mr Men more) and when I whipped out the Mr Grumpy mug both their faces lit up in big fat smiles.”

Tammy was really happy with the mug, and thinks the mug and T-shirt should come out as a set.

“The mug is cheap, dishwashes nicely and is big. I hate tiny little mugs that give you one sip of bloody coffee.” Said, of course, in her best “I’m a tired mummy” voice!

Tammy’s final thoughts on the mug? “This is a MUG and does everything very nicely. I think this is a definite winner for our house, especially with the low price.” Which is £4.99. “Oh, and I see they also have Mr Happy mug, so I ask this - how did they KNOW my husband was Mr Grumpy? (HAHAHAHA)”

There are loads of other options for Father’s Day, so check out the website, and if you pass one, pop in store too, and have a happy Father’s Day!