Sainsburys has a 10% discount on a range of Hello Kitty furniture items at the moment and this offer will last until 14 February. There are quite a few notable items included in this discount and while they are not astonishingly cheap, there are some pounds saved.

• Click here to get Hello Kitty with Sainsburys

The first item I uncovered was the Hello Kitty Sling Bookcase that was £30 but is now £27. It has an MDF frame and four fabric slings that can store books of different shapes and sizes. I rather like that feature because, honestly, do no children’s furniture makers realise that their books are huge?

Next up is the substantially more expensive Hello Kitty Light Up Headboard which, er, lights up. It has an integral night light that automatically turns off after 15 minutes and the MDF board fits all standard single beds. It is down to £53.10.

Another item I like but think is grossly overpriced for MDF is the Hello Kitty toy box that costs £40.50 in the sale.

Thanks to lara4eva at HUKD!

The Step2 Easel is half price at Sainsbury’s online while stocks last. It was £54.98 but is now £27.49.  Standard delivery is £3.95 but click and collect is Free of charge. It’s £50.50 at Amazon,  and £50 at Tesco, so I think it’s a really good deal, even if you’re paying delivery.

• Step up to the Step2 Easel from Sainsbury’s for half the price

I reviewed the Step2 Easel a few weeks ago after buying it for my daughter back in October, and four months later it still has pride of place in our lounge, one side covered in magnets – the ones that come with the easel and a few others too, and the other side full of crayon scribbles. The centre bit has papers for colouring and the two trays have a mix of crayons, pencils and pens. We’ve left off marker pens (it doesn't come with them) for the whiteboard for now as they just ended up all over the sofa.

The Step2 Easel is recommended for children 3 years and up, but we’ve loved it here from 2 years old, and other reviewers have used it from an even younger age.  If you’re concerned, just don’t put out the 77 magnets until after your child gets over the ‘everything in the mouth’ phase.

It's sturdy, more than big enough for two kids at a time and provides endless hours of fun.I think this is a great buy at a great price. And perfect for wintery days indoors.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

Jackson Reece Wipes have been reduced from £1.98 to 99p for 72 wipes. I’m not sure if this is available in store at all, but it’s a brilliant price for what I think are the best wipes on the market.

• Go natural with Jackson Reece Wipes

The wipes from Jackson Reece have made an appearance on PlayPennies from time to time, and for good reason – they’re fab.

We reviewed the wet wipes and the flushable wipes and the only downside to them, in my view, is that they’re usually double the price of whatever’s on the shelf next to them.

With this sale, that’s not a problem, as they’re about the same, but a better quality, stronger and last longer. We also tend to use less wipes when we use these as they are quite wet.

Standard delivery in the UK is £3.95, but click and collect is free of charge.

If anyone has seen these in store, do let us know if they’re half-price there too –it’s certainly worth the £1 parking at my local!

For most of England and Wales it is back to school today. And all I can say is woo hoo! What a relief. It is so hard to work when you've got people running around the house who don't have to. Judging by the gloom on my husband's face though I am clearly the only one glad the holidays are over.

Son went off with a hop and a skip though, so eager he was ready to leave the house as soon as he could. That's what two weeks away from your friends will do I guess. I expect it to be all back to normal by the end of the week, with dragging feet and threats of doom just to get his shoes on.

What better way to add a little sparkle to their school lives than some cool back to school stationary? OK so yeah, that doesn't really amount to a whole lot of sparkle but you might be surprised. Just before I was asked by Stabilo if I wanted to review these products I was in the queue at Sainsbury's behind a little girl aged about 9 who was positively glowing because she was getting a packet of these Boss Mini Ocean Friends.

I didn't think the love of stationary gene that is clearly on most X chromosomes kicked in so young. So maybe there's something to making these items fun for kids. I thought it would be a good idea then to take a closer look.

Stabilo sent us their pack of 6 Easy Colors too, just to make it a bit more interesting I guess.

Click here to read more...

Sainsbury’s have up to half price on loads of things at the moment, some quite old and some new and available while stocks last. One such item is the Cosatto Cabi Car Seat in Grey which is normally £115 but is currently just £57.50 and comes with 114 Nectar points for card holders. You can find similar at Boots for £83.32 and Toys R Us for £119.99

• Travel in safety and in style at half price

The Cosatto Cabi Car Seat is perfect from newborn babies to around 13kg / 29lbs or about 12 – 15 months of age.

It features a padded seat cover and a soft cosy liner to keep your baby extra snug – although I found that ‘newborn insert’ caused my daughter to overheat even in winter and she wouldn’t stop screaming in the car till we eventually took that out.

It has a removable canopy to protect baby from the sun and has a rear storage section – perfect for an extra pack of wipes or spare nappy or two.

The Cabi Car seat is designed to fit on to the Cabi Chassis.

This set comes with a car seat, head hugger, tummy and chest pads and chassis adaptors and complies to the safety standard ECE R44/44.

Looking for a Christmas gift for nieces and nephews? Or any child who's tastes and preferences you're not sure about? You feel like a proper idiot buying a toy for the 'in' TV show only to find it is one they don't like. Something like the Junior Jamie Baking Kit is the perfect alternative, plus you'll win brownie points with the parents (in both senses of the word!). Sainsburys has the Junior Jamie Baking Kit in the half price sale, reduced from £12 to £6. Delivery is free if you can collect at a store, otherwise it is £3.95.

Click here for your Junior Jamie Baking Kit at Sainsburys

Even if they're not interested yet (and truthfully, all kids love cooking when it comes to making cakes and biscuits) you can get little ones interested in cooking, with the Junior Jamie Baking Kit.

There's quite a lot included. You get five metal cookie cutters, a non-stick baking tray, a wooden rolling pin and a printed cotton oven glove. Much better than adding to the massive pile of plastic tat that the kids will be undoubtedly getting on December 25th. This could also make a fabulous stocking filler. My son loves cooking and I'm seriously tempted to get this myself. Problem is he already has a couple of cooking sets of his own!

Thanks to sharonlilley2 at HUKD!

Sarah has already reminded y’all about the awesome Sainsburys half price toy sale that started today and here is another deal that has oozed out of the special offer woodwork. This Scooby Doo mega pack has mystery figures and creepy goo and is down from £39.99 to only £19.99.

• Click here to get Scooby Doo at Sainsburys

My daughter is a huge Scooby Doo fan, I am so proud. I loved them as a kid (still do) and it’s so cool to see her share my sense of humour. This Scooby Doo kit consists of 5inch tall figures that are fully articulated and posable, a Mystery Machine and a Monster Truck.

There are monsters, vampires, and creepy critters as well as a tub of extremely weird goo. You also get the whole gang ready to save the day and rescue people and put paid to the bad monster behaviour. I love this set and I think it would make a stunning Christmas gift.

Sainsbury’s delivery charges are always hideous but if you use click and collect you can fetch it for free.

This is a pretty cool Disney deal at Sainsburys Entertainment where you can nab two Disney DVDs for the price of one. A perfect buy for those of you stocking up on, um, Christmas stocking gifts and, depending on whether you aim for Blu-ray or DVD, can cost you as little as £11.99 for two.

• Click here to get watching with Sainsburys Entertainment

There is a rather nice range of DVDs available with this deal actually. You can choose from Tangled, Beauty & The Beast, Tron Legacy (aargh), Alice in Wonderland (original), UP, Bambi, Toy Story 3, Fantasia, The Princess & The Frog, Cars, and a Christmas Carol…

….you can also get Dumbo, Finding Nemo (do you speak whale?), Aladdin, Monsters Inc., The Aristocats, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Robin Hood, Tinkerbell & The Great Fairy Rescue, Wall-E (awesome), Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Lemonade Mouth, Mary Poppins…

…The Fox and the Hound, Bolt, Ratatouille, The Rescuers (brilliant), Mulan and Fantasia. Ta da!

Thanks to jakejakejake at HUKD!

Spring and autumn tend to find us redoing the house. Whether it’s painting or redecorating or changing everything in the home, something has to be shifted to welcome the new season. So, if you are like me, then this deal should appeal. The Ashley sofa is down from £998 to £499 at Sainsburys, a nice half price discount.

• Click here to get comfy with Sainsburys

I rather like corner sofas. I love the way you can all squeeze onto it or you can have an awesome nap without having to scrunch up your legs. Finding a truly comfortable one can be quite tough though, so in spite of the fact that this is a great price I do recommend you go and sit on it first.

The Ashley sofa features faux leather and supersoft jumbo-cord mix with chenille plaid accents. It is idea for families thanks to the wipe-clean fabric and fake leather (no real animals harmed here) and the colours are nicely neutral to fit most lounge styles.

Thanks to mymymy at HUKD!

Well, this is a really cute deal for those of you who have tots that adore the Disney movies. This Disney Cars play tent has been reduced from £22 to only £6.74 which is a whopping saving of almost £16 off the usual price. You’ll have to pay extra for delivery or you can collect it instore.

• Click here to get some cars with Sainsburys

The Disney Cars play tent is smothered in Cars pictures and imagery and will definitely amuse the kids that enjoyed the films. I thought the movie was ooohhhkay but not worth a sequel and the reviews I’ve seen have agreed with that. Just because the movie is for kids doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have a storyline!

This cheery play tent is great for imaginative play and helps promote physical activity and role play (well, so the details say, anyway). It is quick and easy to assemble and folds compactly for storage. I used to have a pink one of these for my daughter and she utterly loved it. A great buy for summer and winter.

Thanks to Becky2010 at HUKD!

Well, folks, it’s that time of the year again and we’re all looking at spending some hard earned cash on items the kids need for school. The holidays are almost halfway done so now is the perfect time to look into sorting out supplies and getting everything ready.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on clothes and extras though, there are plenty of ways you can save money on the back to school essentials without cutting important corners. I’ve gone out and unearthed some of the best deals on schooliforms, stationery, accessories and more so you can save some cash.

The Schooliform

I did steal that name for school uniform from Charlie & Lola but can you blame me? It is so darn brilliant that our entire family has been using it for years.  Now, down to business…

Thanks to supermarkets hitting the uniform creation game, they are all in these lovely price wars to ensure that they get your much needed money. This means that the cost of many essential items has gone way, way down and you can nab things for a fraction of what they used to cost.

Tesco has a £15 back to school bundle deal on at the moment – hurry, though, the offer ends on 14 August. You’ll get a coat, trousers, skirts or pinafore plus a three pack of polos or shirts for the lovely price of £15. You can also find cheap school shoes here, although I tend to spend on shoes while saving on clothes. Feet are important.

Debenhams have a 20% discount on selected back to school items with some uniforms down to £3 with free delivery. You may need to poke around on the site to find the real savers, but it is worth it. This is a good place to visit when you need one or two items you haven’t found elsewhere.

Sainsburys school uniforms start from as little as £2 an item, which is really, really cheap. This is where you can stock up on items that can get scuffed or crushed or smooshed. And they will deliver if you don’t fancy battling with other mums and dads in the queue.

ASDA’s George range is being heavily advertised on TV and it makes me laugh every time. Teflon coated trousers! In case of emergency you could always cook on them I guess. Still, in spite of the Teflon, the range is cheap and even comes with a guarantee (that lasts about as long as the school year funnily enough…) And M&S have free delivery on their uniforms if you enter the code (wait for it…) UNIFORMS at the checkout. They also have many items from as little as £1.50 so take the time to take a look.

The Stationery

You really do not need to spend much money on school stationery. You don’t. The first stop is Poundland where you can get so much stuff for so little money that there is really no reason to splash out on fancy pens and pencils and their accompanying bits and pieces. We have done quite a few reviews on their back to school goodies so check them out first.

While you won’t find these online, Sainsburys currently has a BOGOF deal going on their stationery for back to school so take a look the next time you’re doing your weekly shop.  Tesco is offering selected items at half price instore as well, with the stationery varying from store to store. It is worth a visit instore, or perhaps some time spent online poking through the sale to get things like erasers and sharpners et al.

Woolworths is another great stop for stationery deals but not necessarily for school uniforms. I’ve found that their occasional bundle deals are excellent but the individual costs of items are quite high compared with the other deals we have seen on here.

Other ideas

Use deal sites like our lovely sister site, HotUKDeals, to find the latest bargains on items you need - and us too, obviously, as we are constantly hunting for awesome discounts and deals. It is slow going but you’ll soon get addicted to getting the best prices around. Family Action is an organisation that is dedicated to helping families through tough times and they even give grants to families to help them with education and other similar needs.

Make sure that you label all your child’s clothes. It is tedious, I know, but that way things will be found so you’re not spending money on replacing perfectly good clothing. You can also check out local charity shops for items that can bulk up your child’s school wardrobe although first see if you can get new for cheaper using the ideas above.

There's a sale on Johnson & Johnson wipes and toiletries at Sainsbury's right now. Everything is half price, meaning you can get a 4 pack of 64 fragrance free baby wipes for £2.49 instead of £4.98. Or a 300ml bottle of Johnson's Baby Shampoo for 96p.

• Click here to get a Johnson's product for half price at Sainsburys

The offer finishes on the 9th of August, so now is a good time to get in some supplies. Handy for bulk buying if you want to stock up for the year. Plus items like the shampoo, baby lotion and talcum powder make for great baby baskets if you're looking to put together your own gifts.

I got a few of these when I had my son, and it was great. I didn't have to buy a thing until he was about four years old! Came as a bit of a shock to realise I had to buy my own baby shampoo.

There's also Johnson's nappy rash cream, bedtime oil, and soothing bath oils too. All of which are nice to tuck into the gift basket, or store in the baby supplies cupboard.

Thanks to sufchenko at HUKD!

This is an excellent bargain price for this adorable blue beach barbeque from Sainsburys. What you have here is a 70% discount on the original price of £14.99 for a portable and adorable little barbeque that can make your beach holiday into something fun and special.

• Click here to get cooking with Sainsburys

The beach barbeque will cost you only £2.24 if you arrange to click and collect it instore. Do call ahead to make sure that your local store has it in stock though.

The barbeque itself is nothing enormously special but I do find myself looking at it speculatively and wondering if it wouldn’t make an excellent flower pot too? I do love that tatty tin look and it would fit nicely in the garden…

Anyway, the product has three legs to lift it off the ground to eliminate wobbling and the charcoal is contained in the inner bucket. The cooking grill ahs its own handle so you can life the food off easily and the barbeque itself also comes with a handle so the entire affair is easy to carry. Brilliant for less than £3.

Thanks to deborahm at HUKD!

The VTech Winnie The Pooh Play And Learn Laptop at Sainsbury’s has £5 off at the moment, dropping the price from £19.99 to £14.99.

• Click here to play and learn with Winnie the Pooh

My daughter was given a little started laptop for Christmas, with not many more buttons on it than this one, but seven months later, she  not only still loves and plays with it, but can also say all the animal names, their sounds and number on the laptop. It’s a great toy, but is educational too – and when Mummy and Daddy sit ‘working’ she sometimes likes to ‘work’ on hers too, so it’s a really useful tool when there are things I just have to finish.

This laptop features three play modes including a fun follow the lights game.  There are lots of features including five light-up shape buttons, a spinning disc, a sliding bee, a flipping butterfly wing and a roller ball.

Ideal for early learning, the VTech Winnie the Pooh laptop introduces shapes, colours, numbers and favourite characters.

The laptop requires 2xAA batteries which are included.

Standard delivery is £3.95, but click and collect is free of charge.

Jackson Reece wet wipes are discounted to 99p a pack at Sainsbury’s at the moment, which is 50% off and is fantastic value in my opinion.

• Hop over to Sainsbury’s for half price Jackson Reece wipes

Jackson Reece wet wipes are unscented and fragrance free. They are biodegradable, compostable and chlorine-free. They contain to SLS, SLES, Parabens, alcohol or lanolin. The packaging is recyclable, and there are no chemicals harmful to sensitive skin.

You can read Tamsin's  Jackson Reece wipes review from last year, calling them the “Ferrari of wipes” and I have to agree. They are my favourite wipes on the market.

That said, I have never yet found them in store anywhere, and only ever get to buy them online. In this case at 99p a pop, they’re great value. Five bags will cost £4.95, but delivery will cost £3.95, so unfortunately, unless you’re buying masses, it’s not the best option and if they don’t stock them in your local store, you’re out of luck.

If you’re adding this to your regular shop or can click and collect, however, it’s a fantastic deal.

Thanks to hillsbills at HUKD

This giant Winnie the Pooh soft toy has been reduced from £19.99 to £4.99 at Sainsburys, a saving of £15 off the original price. It is currently out of stock on click and collect but that status changes quite rapidly so you may be one of the lucky ones who can save on delivery charges.

• Click here to cuddle with Sainsburys

The Giant Winnie the Pooh toy can be delivered for £3.95 which is quite high but if you are doing a grocery shop it will fit in nicely, and it is still a whopping saving off the usual price. The toy is ideal for kids over 18 months old and is 52.1x34.7x52.1cm in size.

He is a whopping bear and little fans of Winnie the Pooh will utterly love him. I know that I fancy nabbing him myself, only we have so many soft toys that this may well tip the house over the edge. Kind of like a wafer thin mint.

Thanks to deborahm at HUKD!

Sainsburys is selling this adorable Postman Pat and Ted’s garage playset for a mere £11.99. Originally retailing for £39.99, you are saving 70% off the usual price! That’s a whopping saving for a really nice present or toy for a lucky child.

• Click here to get postal with Sainsburys

You can save money on the heavy delivery charges by arranging to collect your playset in store. The Sainsburys delivery service will add on an extra £4 to the price if you get it handed to you at your front door.

The playset lets you recreate your favourite scenes from Postman Pat and the Special Delivery service. The garage features moving parts and accessories and is brilliant for encouraging imaginative play. It is ideal for kids over the age of three thanks to the multitude of small parts included in the kit.

There isn’t very much info as to what is included in the set really. From the pic I can see that you get a truck, a postal van, Postman Pat and possibly Ted.

Thanks to Yorkie1962 at HUKD!

Sainsburys has taken 75% off the original retail price of this adorable giant soft toy. The toy is Holly from Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom on CBeebies and usually sells for £29.99. That is a mahoosive saving of £25 off the usual price. Enormous. Huge.

• Click here to get cuddly with Sainsburys

You can arrange to Click and Collect your Holly soft toy instore, or you can arrange for standard delivery at £3.95, which would be a bit silly considering how the price of delivery is almost as much as the item itself!

The toy is made from nylon and polyester, is ideal for kids over the age of three, is 60x20x20cm in size and is impressively big! The customer reviews put it as an excellent toy that has cute floppy hair and a lot of appeal.

Most of the reviewers agree that the full price was a bit much. I do too. That was a high price to pay for a stuffed toy. But £4.99? That’s a steal!

Thanks to Yorkie1962 at HUKD!

Have you ever considered baking your own birthday cakes? Now, before you run away screaming, stay with me a moment.

I am not one of those mummys that has a house full of eco friendly toys, turns up to school fetes with perfectly decorated cupcakes, or knits her own yoghurt.

My baking is pretty rubbish really. But I do it anyway mostly because I like it. Baking is dead easy. You follow the instructions (and if you don't have anything to measure in, like me, then a cup is a tea cup, and a tablespoon is about two and a half dessert spoons), pop it in the oven, and in about 15 minutes (for a dozen cupcakes or cookies) you have the house smelling luscious and everyone talking about how fabulous you are.

In short, I'm lazy. I want maximum returns for minimum effort. I want to bask in adulation and admiration, and have people gasp at my domestic prowess. Naturally this does not involve bringing them around to my house. All illusions would be well and truly shattered.

When it comes to a home made birthday cake, you want something that looks fabulous but really can be done by anyone who has zero artistic ability. And doesn't really know how to bake. So here's the top five, easy, birthday cake ideas that I managed to find.

1 Smashable Cake

The top spot belongs, without a doubt, to PlayPennies reader Nicki, mum to three aged 6 and under. This is the birthday 'cake' for her son's third birthday. It is a smashable cake. The chest is a chocolate shell. With the help of a hammer, the child can smash it open, to reveal treasure (lots of gold wrapped chocolate coins).

Nicki says "I used a plastic tupperware container, brushed it with vegetable oil and put it in the freezer for an hour. Then melted chocolate melts in a double boiler and using a pastry brush created a mold. I put the chocolate back in the freezer to set." She used icing pens to decorate the chest. The sand is soft brown sugar.

Her son had a great time, armed with dad's hammer, reducing the cake to pieces.

I really don't think it can get much easier than that to create a cake that will impress children and adults alike.

2 Snake Cake

One reason I'm put off making a birthday cake is that in the week before a birthday party there's just so much to do. I work from home, but still I work full time. So fitting it in is pretty tough. I love the idea of this cake, which I found on an American parenting site (recipe HERE) for several reasons.

First, my son loves snakes. Second, there's no cutting up involved. It's all cupcakes so you can just hand them out. Third, cupcakes are dead easy to make and, crucial this point, you can freeze them. So you can make the cupcakes weeks beforehand. Just don't forget to give them time to thaw thoroughly!

The recipe uses a cracker to make the snake's snout, but I would be inclined to use a very thin square of chocolate. I think that fruit leather is the same as a fruit strip. Alternatively, see the last entry for using Fruitellas or Starbursts instead.

3 Castle Cake

There are lots of ideas for this online, and they all use pretty much the same sorts of things. Especially the ice cream cones for the turrets. Some use the pointy ones, and others the flat bottom ones, and yet others a mix of both. You could use a shop brought Victoria sponge too for the cake.

It works for boys and girls - just change the colours you are using to the child's favourite. Here's a video for one cake HERE. And while I didn't like this cake overall, I did like the idea this cake maker had HERE for making the turrets using sheets of icing.

4 Cake Pops

Be the trendiest mum at the school fete. Wow your child's friends at their next birthday party. The coolest thing to hand out at the moment are cake pops.

Cakes on a stick! I first saw these advertised in a magazine by a bakery that specialised in children's parties. Just one month ago. I was impressed and thought you had to go to a bakers to get something like that.

But no. I have found this recipe HERE and honestly, it sounds so simple. I'm also going to do a test freeze on these. If they do freeze, I'll be able to stockpile them in advance. And if that happens, then this recipe falls in the category of total genius!

5 Easy with icing

Baking the cake is, for me, the easy bit. It is the icing that takes the time. I love both of these ideas here! How cool does the stripy one look? And all it uses are normal and mini sized M&Ms. The other cake has been iced by softening candy fruit chews (maybe something like Fruitellas or Starbursts?) and rolling them flat. Simple or what?

To make the wet sort of icing you'll need for the M&Ms idea, put a cup, or two cups, of icing sugar into a bowl. Scoop out a teaspoon of butter and then rub that into the icing sugar. Add a little cold water one table spoon at a time, mixing it up, until it is the thickness you want.

Here's something for the next cake sale at school. Do two sponge cakes in square tins (use something like Sainsbury's Basics sponge mix). Do a filling of mock cream and jam. Then ice it over and cover in softened fruitellas or M&Ms. Genius!

I've edited this post to add a picture of my own 'smarties' cake. I took the M&Ms idea and did it with smarties for my son's school's summer fair. It certainly made an impact and I got lots of comments about how fab it looked.

Sainsburys have a half price sale on baby wipes and toiletries at the moment, a brilliant chance for you to dive in and get yourself some supplies. The offer runs from tomorrow until 29 June so get shopping as fast as you can.

• Click here to get half price at Sainsburys

The offer of half price on toiletries and wipes at Sainsburys includes a pretty broad spectrum of stuff. There is Bepanthen, Dentinox cradle cap shampoo or infant colic drops, Dentinox teething gel, Huggies baby wipes and changing mats and Drynites.

You will find quad packs of name brand wipes, Infacol, bubble bath, Johnson & Johnson products, baby powder and more. The products are reduced to as low as 89p in some cases and a good bout of exploring should net you a ton of stuff for, well, half what you usually pay.

This is a good time to get some bulk buying in so you have everything you need for baby and it will last you for ages.

Thanks to nicster08 at HUKD!