Me To You is such a lovely brand, and it has as many adult fans as child, so this Friendship Journal for £5.99 instead of £9.99 has 40% off and should have a wide base of appreciative recipients.

• Create your own Tatty Teddy Friendship Journal*

Journaling is such a good thing for especially teenagers to do, and has been used in healing therapies for ages. It's a wonderful outlet to encourage, and this 'Frienship Journal', suited for ages 6+ is a great way to get started.

This fantastic kit has everything you need to bring your creative ideas to life. You can write stories and adventures on the journal pages and decorate them with lots of character stickers in different poses. There are speech bubbles to write inside, ink stamps, and glitter pens for added sparkle.

The journal cover has a space to share your pictures and pages, if you wish.

The Tatty Teddy journal set contains a cover, 12 journal sheets, 12 sticker sheets, 2 glitter pens, 1 fine line black pen , 1 ribbon, 2 stampers, 1 ink pad and an instructions and ideas sheet.

There's half off Me To You Aluminium Bottles at Mothercare right now with the usual £5.49 dropped down to £2.74.

• Take your drinks with you*

I can't find anything on the information that says whether the Me To You Aluminium Bottles are suitable for hot drinks, but I know that whenever I sit in a park on a dark and overcast and freezing late afternoon I really want a hot drink. Same can be said for summer. A nice cool drink extends play time a little!

This Tatty Teddy drinking bottle in blue is gorgeous. It's made from lightweight aluminium, but it's quite strong and durable, we're told. They don't say anything about hot drinks, but they do say juice and water, and that's great even if you're buying for summer, it's a good price and worth it.

The bottle has a flip top and is leak resistant with a secure pull-top drink spout. And it's cute. So that's a good thing.

Oh, and to top it off - it's dishwasher safe. My favourite thing about kitchenware ;)

Thanks to sapphire1 at HUKD

I’m sure we’ve all seen or at some point owned something from the Tiny Tatty Teddy range, right? And just when you think there’s no more they could possibly bring out, something super cute appears on the shelves. Tiny Tatty Teddies are the one range of teddy bears even adults shamelessly collect, and now they have a new range of functional toys and products for babies.

The items featured in this review aren’t available online yet, but when they are, you’ll be able to find them at By Carte Blanche, where you’ll already find a whole range of baby goodies. These products will be available in the next few months.

We were sent three items for our little girl to review – which was a nice thought, but since she can just about stop herself short from  hitting herself in the face involuntarily, she’s not really at the playing with soft toys stage yet. As such, this is my review, from my perspective.

As the name suggests, the Buggy Squeaker has a squeaky centre, which when pressed emits a squeaky sound. I do think this is more for parental diversion, rather than for the child to play with as it requires quite a bit of force – even my two year old couldn’t really get the full squeak out of it.The Buggy Squeaker (£6.99) is a soft and squishy Tiny Tatty Teddy with a yellow t-shirt, with the word ‘tiny’ written on it.  It’s has a buggy loop on it which can be twisted to open and attached to a buggy to keep it safe. We don’t use a buggy, so we’ve attached it to the arch on our playgym for testing purposes. You’ll be happy to know it hangs perfectly ;)

The buggy clip is quite wide, which is nice because if you’re a sling-wearer, you can put the Tiny Tatty Squeaker on your shoulder strap for on-the-go entertainment too.

Next up is the Musical Teddy (£16.99). This is a musical pull-toy. You activate the music by pulling the legs away from the body. As the body gathers again, a little melody plays. It’s only about 25 or so seconds of play time, then you have to pull the string again, and I can’t quite place the tune, though it is very familiar.

While activating this toy has a similar problem as the squeaker for babies, it has a tie at the top, so you could tie that to one end and let natural force do the rest as baby pulls on it. It certainly provides a lesson in cause and effect: put in the effort and you get music. Although that’s way too much life lesson for a 9 week old, who just lies looking at it.

While toys are always nice, something practical that can help with clutter and disorganisation is always helpful when it comes to babies and children. The car seat organiser (£14.99) is quite a useful concept and is a definite preference to a back seat filled with car toys, random wet wipes and whatever else comes with a car-and-children.  It’s really handy if you’re as notoriously disorganised as I am. I never go out with snacks and consider it a good day if I open the nappy bag to find both nappies and wipes.

The organiser has three shallow pockets for small items – think a snack pot, extra nappy cream or smaller items – a long covered pouch, ideal for nappies, a change of clothes, a burp cloth and other items that can be folded up quite flat, and two net pouches, which is probably where you’d keep excess toys and so on.

While I do like the idea of the car seat organiser, I do think it could have done with a bit more thought. For a start it’s polyester, so doesn’t have a large amount of ‘give’. I guess you don’t want a storage unit in your car, but that seems to limit it quite a bit. Also, for something made for car tidiness, it could have done with a few loops to hang loose toys on. I know my daughter is forever taking things off the play gym arches, and off the play mat and car seats toys to cuddle, so they end up on the floor of the car. Being able to attach them to the organiser with a stretchy string seems like a missed opportunity to me.

The design on this is really pretty  - they’ve definitely gone for cute and achieved it. I must say though – even if you don’t have a car, you could attach this some way to something in your play room, like the back of the door and it would make a pretty, handy, nifty and streamlined changing bag for a non-baby room, like the living room.

Verdict

These are all very pretty, great quality, excellent workmanship and a lovely gift from a known and loved brand. It’s probably because they’re known and loved that they’re so expensive though. I do think they are expensive. While I would pick them up and look at them and uhm and ah over it, I doubt I’d buy them after looking at the price tag (with the exception of the car seat organiser, which I think is a reasonable price.) But maybe you have more money than I do, or you’re looking for a gorgeous gift and are not too fussed by the price. If that’s the case, these are brilliant, and I say go for it.

Play.com are selling a Me To You Seaside Hooded Poncho for just £5, including free delivery – saving you a lovely £7.99.

• Cuddle up with Me To You

It’s called a “Seaside” hooded poncho because of the image on the towel, rather than the fact that it is meant to be worn on the seaside.

In fact, it would be perfect for swimming in your local pool, or even for bath time, if so required – and of course, if you’re jetting off somewhere sunny this Christmas, well… lucky you – and your little one has a really cute towel to take along!

These Tatty Teddies are popular with young and old – my sister loves them – and kids generally do too.

I think they’d make a great little gift, or a stocking filler, even, and at a fantastic price… and if these don’t float your boat, Play.com have a few other hooded towel-ponchos for not much more available too.

Thanks to Natz85 @ HUKD

YIPPEEEE!

You know the end is in sight; you can see the light at the end of the summer school holiday tunnel when all the Back to School promotions start popping up, and Clinton Cards have a 3 for 2 promotion on Back to School things.

• Click HERE to go over to Clinton Cards

There are 37 items you can choose from in either the Boofle, Me to You and Tokyo Toys ranges.

I, personally, don't like the Tokyo Toys design, Me to You is ok but I'm utterly in LOVE with Boofle!

I even bought my husband a little Boofle teddy back in April - I must admit I felt a bit like  love-struck teenager buying him - in my defence, I've NEVER bought a teddy for anyone other than the kids - but that little knitted bear was just TOO cute to resist.

As with all 3 for 2 deals (well, all that I've ever come across) the cheapest item in your basket is the one you get for free

The cheapest item in the Me to You range is a ruler for 99 pence and the cheapest in the Boofle range is an eraser tin for £2.49 - you don't really need me to tell you that it's a tin containing various rubbers do you...?

The 3 for 2 Back to School offer will run whilst stocks of these items last; I imagine everything Boofle will sell out pretty quickly, so I'd grab them whilst you can.

Happy Back to School (it can never come soon enough!)

This lovely, cutesy Me To You: Butterfly Toddler Bed is currently £59.99 at Play.com, which is 40% off, and a £40 saving.

• Get cosy with Me To You’s Butterfly toddler bed

We moved our daughter into her own bed recently, and while doing so without too much ado was quite a journey of it’s own, (“ooh, look at that big girl bed”, “ooh, we’re getting a nice new big  girl bed tomorrow”, “hey, do you want to choose bedding for you nice big girl bed”, “ah, what a beautiful big girl bed”, and so on… ) it’s gone really well, and she spends a fair part of the night in her bed, so we’re really pleased.

What really surprised us, however, is how much a ‘big girl bed’ cost! Initially we were just going to buy a toddler bed, but that and then a few years later a single seemed like a waste to us – but then we only have one child and she has the biggest room in the house. In our old house, she’d have had to go in a toddler bed to fit it in the house.

So, this pretty, sturdy licensed toddler bed is cot bed size, and is apparently easy to assemble. It comes without the mattress, so you have to buy that separately and you can find matching linen, but again, it comes separately.

Dispatched in 24hrs – which is better than the 28 days we had to wait – these are in stock, and should make a little girl very excited for at least her first bed time.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

Argos are selling this Me to You Keepsake Treasure Chest with Body Treats for half price, £4.99 instead of £9.99.

• Click HERE to go to Argos

I would have loved this when I was a little girl;  I'm a little bit more 'designer' these days before anyone decides to send in a Me to You Keepsake Treasure Chest with Body Treats pressie for me!

When I was little we used to have big family parties at my nan's house on Boxing Day, this was almost like a second Christmas Day as my nan would buy all the grandchildren more pressies to open from underneath HER tree.

This Me to You Keepsake Treasure Chest with Body Treats is exactly the sort of thing she would have bought for me and my other girl cousins, the boys would have been given typically boy things like cars, cap guns and joke sweets - I remember being given a particularly foul soap flavoured one once.

This is suitable for little treasures aged three years or older and the keepsake chest contains: 50ml foam bath, 50ml shower gel, 50ml body lotion and some body polisher.

As it's consumable, the Me to You Keepsake Treasure Chest with Body Treats is excluded from the 30-day money back Argos guarantee.

It's available for home delivery for £5.95 or you can reserve it online, pop into town and pick it up in-store for free.

Thanks to millarcat at HUKD

This fab little Me To You 1000-piece puzzle is now just £3.89 – down from a whopping £12.98 at Sainsbury's.

• Click here to get personal with Me to You

I love Me To You, specifically because my sister is a massive fan. She has what I'm sure is the world's largest collection and it's one of those things I can by default buy her for Christmas, her birthday, as a thank you and any other occasion. The bonus is that whenever I see Me To You bears, I think of her, too.

Of course, it'll also be a great mother's day gift.

This 1000-piece Me To You puzzle shows Tatty Teddy and his friend in a pretty country cottage scene. One teddy is peeking out through the cottage window at his visitor, who has brought a big bunch of flowers along with him. The country cottage garden is crowded with beautiful plants, but I'm pretty sure he's still going to love his gift!

Buy from Sainsbury's and delivery will cost you £3.95, or use Sainsbury's click and collect service and it'll be free.

Thanks to hotstuffs @ HUKD

Shopping on-line can be a dream and a nightmare, fabtastic and frustrating. For the most part, where you shop makes the biggest difference to your online experience.

24Studio is an established mail order catalogue business that has been in operation for over 40 years (as Studio). It has an extensive range of products, so, with over 35000 items to choose from, we needed to call in some expert help. We asked PlayPennies mums Tara and Laura to select and test 24Studio and let us know what they think.

Tara chose a 3-piece nightwear set (£12.99) and a Me To You Tatty Teddy (£14.99) to get cosy with, while Laura selected the Horrible Science Disgusting Digestion (£14.99) kit for her 5-year old son.

The kit included a gown, trousers, a matching top and a pyjama dress. So what did Tara think?

“They are just adorable. I love the patterns and I’ve worn these consistently for a month now and they haven’t faded with regular washing, they don’t need ironing, and they haven’t shrunk. They also didn’t leak colour when I accidentally washed one with a white load and nothing came up dirty grey as a result of colour leakage. I am very impressed.”

They do look cute, but how do they feel?

“They are supremely comfortable and extremely flattering”, says Tara. “They are also made with 100% cotton. I love wearing both the vest and the pyjama dress. My daughter also loves them. She adores the colours and told me that when she grows up she’s also going to have one just like it.”

Awwww... nothing like a little cheese on a Tuesday!

Any downsides, then, Tara?

“Well,” she says, “The dressing gown isn’t one you’d wear in winter, unless your house is super warm. It is also made of the same cotton but it is quite thin.”

So all round, a bit of a winner we think, as we move on to the next item.

“Tatty Teddy” says Tara, “is just lush. He is unbelievably soft. Soft, soft, soft. There are different fabric textures scattered all over his soft little body and he has crinkly bits and a little squeaker too. Usually textured toys for babies use firm fabrics but this is so easy to cuddle. I would cuddle him all the time but the crinkle and squeak are a little distracting. A stunning pressie but the price is a little painful.”

All round, Tara does seem happy with the quality of the items she received from 24Studio. We wondered whether Laura agreed. Her son is currently highly fascinated with how the body works, so we were excited to see what he thought of the kit too!

“Initially I was disappointed when I opened what appeared to be a largish box only to find a relatively small number of items”, Laura confessed to us, “but actually, there's a lot to do in this kit.”

In the box are: plastic stomach, bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, goggles, plastic kidney with filter casing, filter papers, red food colouring, bladder model and tube, fake poo and tube, fart pot, two funnels and a 32 page Top Secret Lab Notebook.

“Rather alarmingly, from the parent's perspective, is the list on the box headed 'Not In The Box'. This includes some usual stuff like rolling pin, salt and plain flour. But then you find yourself reading blindfold (for who?!), egg, used tea bag, biological washing powder... This made me rather nervous wondering what on earth the kit was going to encourage my son to do to me!

We jumped ahead to Dr Grimgrave's Sick Stomach as the early experiments didn't use the kit at all, and my son wanted to use everything in the box all at once. Using chopped banana, vinegar and some of the bicarbonate of soda you can make the stomach burp and then with a squeeze be sick.”

We thought it sounded a bit intensive for a 5-year old, but Laura didn't agree.

“The instructions are straight forward, easy for the adult helper to read and nicely paced so that they are easy for the young 'monster' to follow. I was worried that this would be hugely messy but it wasn't that bad, and it was a lot of fun!”

On the quality front, Laura was pleased that the box itself was sturdy and made to last, as she doubted you'd be able to do all the experiments at once, and a sturdy box made storage a lot simpler for her.

“Although”, she said, “a couple of items have already disappeared into his toy chest, like the fake poo!”

And finally....

A thumbs up then from our mum-testers for 24Studio.

24Studio gives it's customers credit on their account, enabling you to shop with confidence and allowing you to spread the cost of purchases, and orders can be placed via telephone, post or on-line.

OHHH LOOK!!!  How CUTE are these 'Me to You' bears??!!

• Click HERE and snuggle on over to Play

Fleece blankets - on my list of 'things you can't do without' these rank right up there near the top.

They are THAT useful I think they should be awarded some sort of prize, no seriously, think about it: they are lightweight so you can pack a couple if you're going out for the day on picnics or to the beach - the alternative is lugging around heavy blankets.

Because they are fleece they wash easily and come out of the machine almost dry!  Because they are fleece they don't cost the earth so you can afford to have a few - I keep one or two in the car to wrap up small people on chilly-night journeys home.

Sleeping toddlers on sofas (and teenagers actually) will be found under a fleece blanket, quickly whipped out of the linen cupboard, in this house.  Summer nights (yes they will be here soon) when duvets are too hot but just a sheet isn't warm enough...FLEECE BLANKET to the rescue!

You can tell I'm a fan right?

This pink fleece blanket is far too cute for its own good and any 'Me to You' fan will absolutely adore snuggling up underneath all 120cms x 150cms of it!

Thanks to millarcat over at HUKD!