I think I've nearly got an entire wardrobe just full of costumes. Son loves dressing up, and there seems to be an outfit for just about everything these days!
This particular outfit comes from Angels Fancy Dress. You may already be familiar with the online retailer as they do a spectacular array of dressing up outfits. For this review we received a Ninja aged 5-6 years costume. Read on to find out how it stood up to some active testing over the Christmas period.
If you're into messing around with your hair or know someone, young or older, who does, then have a quick look at these 24 coloured hair chalks - Lync Me Up are selling them for £10 rather than their usual £49.99.
If you're of a certain age you'll remember that Christmas parties often meant spraying some of you hair with bright lurid hair colour - I have a very vivid recollection of boys in my class at junior school with punked up hair in bright green and pink!
It seems the method of temporary colour application has changed a bit and that chalks are now the way to go - all you have to do is: spray your hair with water, draw on the colours you want to use, then set them with a hair dryer or pair of straighteners, that's all there is to it. Then, when your party is over or you've had enough of your multicoloured hair.
I have to say they're not my cup of tea, but will make a fab stocking filler for someone and be great for Crimbo and New Year's Eve parties that demand such hair effects.
When I said have a QUICK look though, I meant it - this deal expires at 11.59pm tonight!
Happy hair colouring!
Fancy dress is a major source of entertainment around our house, and while we have the seemingly mandatory plethora of butterfly wings and fairy wings, we've managed to largely avoid the princesses - so far. We have plenty of ballerinas and tutu's though! But we also have a few other things, like a viking hat, kings' crown and fireman's hat.
I realised pretty early on that basically any outfit can go with a hat. Sure, it's great to have a fireman's suit to go with the hat, but really, there is just as much requirement for fairy firemen, didn't you know?
I decided to invest more money in hats than in costumes as I figured the hats would last longer than different sized clothes too, and while I'd happily take on a theatre's dress room for our fancy dress box, it's just not practical. So far we have the Great Pretender's crown*(£13.64) and the Rainbow Halo* (£5.99) and they are great!
The quality of fancy dress clothes from Great Pretender is really good, and can endure even my toddler's play. Of course if you're too harsh with delicate bits, like the Rainbow Halo, I expect it won't last forever, but so far we've been really happy with them.
The crown can go in the washing machine and line dry too, which is always a bonus, but so far any messy hand spills and so on, I've just been able wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Great Pretenders have some of the most beautiful fancy dress butterfly wings I've ever seen and I was a little frustrated at wanting to buy more when we really don't need them, but they are gorgeous.
As far as value for money goes, with the fancy dress costumes you'll find many of them are reversible, so you can have two outfits out of one - for example a knight and a dragon.
When I was browsing Amazon* for the Great Pretender's range recently I saw many of their items on sale, some for up to half price, so it's well worth checking there before buying anywhere else. If you want to see the whole range, you can see their catalogue online, although if you have a weak spot for fancy dress, now might be a good time to hide your credit card. I don't think these are overly expensive for what you get, but if you buy one of each, it'll soon add up!
If you're looking for fancy dress that will last well beyond the £1 tat, this is a great way to go, and if you keep an eye out on Amazon, you might just snag a great bargain.
Amazon are currently selling this Snazaroo Halloween Face Painting kit for £3.82 instead of its usual £12.49.
There's no law which states you have to wait until certain times of year to buy things; in fact, if you do, you'll often end up paying full-price for things or run the risk of them being out of stock by the time you get round to sorting out what you need.
This was the case last year with these Snazaroo Halloween Face Painting kits - they came up on a deal, like they are now, and were out of stock within a matter of hours.
I think we can safely assume that there won't be quite such a mad rush on all things Halloween at the end of June, but you know how quickly this year is going and it will be Halloween before we know it!
If you're of the dressing up for Halloween persuasion then it might be worth buying these Snazaroo Halloween face paints now and putting a note in your diary, close to Halloween, to remind yourself you have them tucked away in a draw somewhere.
Thanks to jmcderm1 at HUKD
Use this Angels Fancy Dress promotional code to get 15% off your order. Really handy if, like my son, your offspring love dressing up.
Click here to use your Angels Fancy Dress promotional code
To use this code go to the Basket page and enter it in the relevant box. Interestingly, the site appeared to add quite a few extra items to my order. I think these were accessories associated with the costume. I hadn't noticed that it was going to do that, so I would check your order carefully.
Likewise when you get to the Checkout page, make sure you take note of the delivery options. The most expensive is chosen by default. You want to make sure that the Economy option is selected. I was annoyed to find that they charge for delivery to a store. Most places don't charge for this.
Thanks to missgem at HUKD!
Amazon are currently selling this Snazaroo Scary Face Painitng Kit for £3.89, at the moment, rather than £7.49.
My youngest's birthday is in July; last year he had an outdoor party in the park, complete with music, bat and ball games, beat the goalie and a bouncy castle.
The same is planned for this year and this Snazaroo Scary Face Painting kit could come in pretty handy - there is a particularly arty parent among Edward's social circle and she could paint the kids' faces as another party 'something' to enjoy.
If you're super organised, then of course you could always buy this Snazaroo Scary Face Painting kit NOW, in time for Halloween - just put a note in your diary/on your calendar a week before Halloween to remind yourself that you have it!
If you're a regular fancy dress party goer then I guess face painting kits come in handy for you all year round.
Any which way, if you have need of paint for faces then this Snazaroo Scary Face Painting kit is a little bit of a bargain at just a few pence over half price - they're fragrance free, non-toxic, water based and easy to remove; marvellous.
Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD
It is Halloween on the 31st of October. As it is every year! For the past three years we've gone trick or treating. But this time around we're going to a children's party. My son loves getting dressed up. He has half a wardrobe full of costumes, and wears them whenever the mood takes him. Like going to the supermarket dressed as a penguin, or to the park in pirate costume.
There's a costume that he has that I thought I'd review as it makes a great alternative to scary types of Halloween costume. Interestingly, that's the one sort of outfit he really doesn't want to get dressed up in.
It is a clown costume. Specifically, the Mr Brighty Buttons costume (£17.99) that we got from Angels Fancy Dress. At least our one is, it is possible it is undergoing a name change as the costume is called Mr Brighty Balloons Clown. I rather prefer Buttons though, and that's what my son insists he is called when he has it on.
The costume is an all-in-one outfit, with fake braces. It also comes with a fabric 'top hat' - be careful in storage of this as I found it crushed easily. The material is bright and cheerful, with lots of strong primary colours. I've given it a hand wash after it was worn a few times, and it came up looking fresh and bright afterwards.
The instructions say sponge clean only, but I found that really only works for a while. The felt type fabric on the braces, for example, did start to look dingy.
My son absolutely refused point blank to wear the hat as the flower on, which looks purple on the photo, is definitely pink. Possibly an odd choice of colour given how sensitive boys get to this as his age - the costume is a medium for ages 7 to 9.
As such the costume is too big for him (he is six and a half) but nothing that rolling the sleeves up doesn't cure. The trousers are meant to be short anyway, so on him they just look normal.
I don't think that £17.99 is expensive for a good quality costume. Most of my son's dress-box is full of outfits I've bought for around the £10 mark and the seams are usually full of loose thread. Also, my other bugbear is the use of Velcro fasteners. On cheaper costumes with flimsier material, these are usually bulky things that create a weak point and are generally the first part of the costume to come apart. I'm pleased to say that this is not an issue on this costume.
Overall, it is a great outfit, but I do wonder at it being targetted at boys. It doesn't seem at all gender specific to me, and girls love to wear it when they come to visit.
The Disney Princess dress up shoes at £7.47 instead of £14.97 at Tesco will make a great little gift for a little girl.
These fun play high-heel shoes are designed in the unmistakable styles of the Disney Princesses, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel, Belle ad Jasmine. The pink, red, blue and yellow shoes have bows, fluffy furry tufts, and pictures of the princesses that decorate their open toed prettiness.
The Disney Princess dress up shoes come in a handy carry case to keep them neat and tidy, and the case has a handle for easy dragging around the house.
The parents who've reviewed this on the Tesco website have generally been happy with it – I guess if you're expecting toy quality shoes in a cardboard box, this set won't disappoint and will provide hours of fun. But don't expect long lasting quality – your Princess won't be handing this down to her grand daughter – and you won't be disappointed!
These also match the Disney Princess dress up dresses. If you have a Tesco clubcard, you'll still receive the full price worth of points.
Thanks to clgay at HUKD
*baby feet picture - Sawyer Party of 5
If you're heading to a Halloween party this month, or even just stepping out with the children for some trick or treating, you might find this adult Halloween costume sale from Littlewoods Clearance for £14.99 really useful.
Even though Halloween is on the list of things that make me raise a sceptical eyebrow, I do love a good fancy dress party. There's so much fun in seeing, and sometimes guessing what other party-goers are meant to be and it can be a really good way of breaking the ice in a party where all the guests don't know each other.
But adult costumes are either one-size fits all, cheapy costumes that at least two other people will be wearing too, or speciality fancy dress or theatre suppliers, which aren't really penny-pinching friendly.
Littlewoods Clearance, have a few great costume choices. For men there are such choices as Optimus Prime, Super Man, Darth Vader, and Spiderman. If you've always wanted to be, or be with, a man in uniform, they also have police man, fireman and doctor outfits.
For women the options are somewhat less, but they still have Super Girl, Spider Girl, police woman and nurse outfits.
Littlewoods Clearance only accepts payments made through PayPal and delivery can take up to five days, so although you have time, don't wait around too long.
And do have a frightfully good time!
OOOH dressing up!! I loved dressing up as a kid!
The amount of photos from yesteryear that my mum has of me and my brother dressed up in various guises is quite amazing! We lived in a little village and every year the school had a summer fete with a fancy dress competition - I've been a hula-hula girl, a flamenco dancer, my brother was covered in green grease paint and won first prize as the Jolly Green Giant.
But that was the late 1970s and times have changed. Dressing up is no longer the reserve of quaint village summer fete competitions, it's just something to do if one day your little one wakes up and decides they want to be a fairy or a doctor (nothing wrong with a bit of future medical career role play I say!)
Not all of the dressing up outfits are half-price so I've listed them for you in case you don't want to wade through all the others which are nor - most of the half price ones are a fiver and a couple are £6.50.
Other than spending over £50, or perhaps popping in to your nearest Mothercare store, there's no other way to avoid being hit with the rather extortionate £4.95 standard delivery charge.
I wonder when companies like Mothercare will catch on to the benefits of offering free delivery? Perhaps they should have a nice chat with our good 'free delivery friends' Amazon et al, it doesn't seem to have done their business models any harm does it...
Thanks to Little_em00 over at HUKD!
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