Review - Disney Princess Palace Pets Minis

Regular readers will know that we love Disney! The littlest is obsessed with princesses at the moment, and she also absolutely adores pets! Despite this, the Disney Princess Palace Pets were a new concept to the Glasgow Mummy house * 

Each Palace Pet has been found and adopted by their respective Disney princess and each animal has a resemblance to their owner - either in appearance or the accessories. The pets we were sent are little 1.5 inch versions of the original palace pets and I have to say they are super cute!!  

Littlest showing off the packaging!

Disney Princess Palace Pets Mini Collectables, Windflower and Daisy - £4.99

Disney Princess Palace Pets Mini Collectables, Beauty and Petit - £4.99

The mini pets were a huge hit, with both my son and daughter. Their size is fantastic as they can be popped into little pockets for when we go out to the shops or for trips in the car. They're also ideal for little hands (they are recommended for age 4+). Even I had great fun making up voices for the characters and creating stories with the kids. At £4.99 for a 2 pack, I think they are great value for money.

* I've just realised that my son has Princess Palace Pet Treasure from Build-A-Bear, but I didn't realise it was a Disney Palace Pet!

We were sent two packs of mini Palace Pets in exchange for an honest review. Opinions, as always, are our own.

Review - Disney on Ice, Magical Ice Festival

On Thursday night this week the kids and I headed to the Hydro, Glasgow to see Disney on Ice, Magical Ice Festival. We took with us our lovely neighbour Sandra who had kindly agreed last minute to accompany us to the event. I doubt I'd have managed on my own and Rick was feeling poorly (man-flu!).

We were very lucky to be invited to a special VIP Meet & Greet ahead of the show which was super exciting. 

The littlest of course wanted to dress up in her Elsa outfit as we knew that the sisters from Frozen would be making an appearance at the show.

Here we are with Mickey... my son didn't want to miss out on the dressing up so he put on his soldier costume. I think the littlest was disappointed that we weren't meeting Elsa! They were also given a Rapunzel doll each to keep which was unexpected and they're delighted with their toys. 

We felt very special.

We had amazing seats in the front row of the first level.

Sandra very kindly bought the kids a light up toy... these were super expensive in my opinion at around £19 each! But I guess that's what expected at a show like this.

The obligatory selfie once we found our seats... including Rapunzel!

Then the lights dimmed, and the show began.

It was about this time last year we went to Disney on Ice, and at the time both kids were engrossed by the performers. This time round my son at age 5.5 years didn't seem to be as bothered which disappointed me - he's obviously growing up! He felt that this show was too girly because each of the movies selected had a princess (The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Beauty & the Beast and Frozen), whereas last year Cars and Toy Story 3 featured.

It was the littlest that clearly enjoyed the show the most...

She was just couldn't contain her excitement. She was jumping around in her seat, and the family behind us thought she was super cute, as did I of course!

For me, my favourite songs were 'Under The Sea', 'Be Our Guest' and of course 'Let It Go'. The whole arena was singing along to Frozen! It truly was a magical experience - for the grown-ups as well as the children. 

The show was captivating... pyrotechnic explosions, floating lanterns, fire... One of the princesses put on an ariel show (which didn't look very safe in my opinion!) but it was very impressive as she twirled around suspended in mid-air. The performers were amazing... not a single fall this time which surprises me given some of the huge outfits they were wearing... teapots, fish, candlesticks!!

I was however pretty conscious of the time, as the show didn't start until 7pm. We ended up leaving just before the end to avoid the crowds and hopped in a taxi home (my son fell outside the Hydro on the way to the taxi and scraped his knee pretty badly... wasn't a good end to the night).

I loved all the lanterns in the sky for Tangled

What's On - Disney on Ice

This year Mickey and Minnie are touring the UK with a Magical Ice Festival.

Last year we went to see Disney on Ice at the Hydro, and we are absolutely delighted to be going back this year. Both my kids were captivated by the performers and they truly believed that Tinkerbell was waving just at them as she flew through the sky. This may be a bit OTT, but it genuinely was magical and I loved seeing their reactions to the characters. It brought a wee tear to my eye.

And guess which Disney stars are going to be appearing this spring....

Anna and Elsa from Frozen! 

The littlest is going to be so excited!!!

"Produced by Feld Entertainment, Magical Ice Festival is an enchanting mix of royalty, highlighting the stories of Disney's most beloved heroines with energetic choreography that will have audiences singing, dancing and cheering their favourite Disney characters as they each embark on their own epic journeys. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse guide fans through an enchanting wonderland where they encounter Sebastian and the Daughters of Triton from Disney's The Little Mermaid, the rowdy pub thugs from Disney's Tangled and the loyal enchanted servants from Disney's Beauty and the Beast."

The show is in Glasgow from 26th to 29th March, and you can buy tickets online here.

Getting festive - Disney Store's Share the Magic

This week we were delighted to attend the Disney Store at the St Enoch Centre, Glasgow for the VIP launch of their annual charity campaign 'Share the Magic' with In Kind Direct.

The 'Share the Magic' initiative invites families to post their own Letter to Santa at Disney Stores across the country and for every letter that is posted, a Mickey Mouse soft toy is donated to a child through their chosen national charities*. This is the 6th year that Disney Store has run the campaign and this Christmas is set to see the 100,000th soft toy donated. If you can't get to a Disney Store, then you can still participate online where you can use the letter writing tool and post your letter digitally.

This year Disney Store is supporting In Kind Direct. The charity redistributes quality, usable products donated by some of the UK's best known manufacturers and retailers to charities working in the UK and abroad. Disney Store is one of In Kind Direct's founding donors, first donating in 1997. Since then the Disney Store has donated over £2.6 million worth of toys, clothing and accessories.

The kids and I got into our Christmas clothes & accessories, jumped in the car and headed into town for the event.

We had great fun making snowflake decorations for our Christmas tree and posing with Mickey Mouse. We then wrote our letters to Santa before posting them in the magical post box. I even enjoyed a wee sparkly mince pie, or two (don't tell the PT!).

There were a few celebs attending the event, although I didn't spot any of them at the store on the evening!

If you're CBeebies fans like us, then you'll recognise the stars from Wooly & Tig!

This is Jane McCarry with her family; she is better known as Isa from Still Game

And here we are!! I was loving my son's Santa shirt with red bow tie - we got it at Primark if you're wondering. (Although he looks a bit crazy in this photo!!)

The kids were very lucky to be given a goodie bag each as we left the party that included a festive Mickey Mouse soft toy and a Christmas decoration. We also received a gift voucher for the store which promptly was spent on a small Star Wars set for the eldest and a princess nail polish for the littlest. Nothing for mummy unfortunately!

*A maximum of 25,000 soft toys will be donated.

{Disney on Ice - a review}

We were thrilled to be asked to review Disney on Ice in Glasgow, and in no time it was the weekend of the show! *squeals* (I'm worse than the kids!!)

We took a taxi to The Hydro as I wasn't totally sure where I'd get parked and how far a walk it would be, and I'm glad we did. (Hampden Taxi app was brilliant as I was able to book our return taxi from the comfort of our seat in the arena!)

We ended up being slightly rushed as our tickets weren't at the desk, but thankfully it got sorted out just in time and we made it to our seats just as the lights were dimming. This meant we didn't get a chance to grab any snacks prior to the show starting, but being the organised mummy that I am (ahem!) I had a couple of packets of crisps and Innocent smoothies in my bag for the little ones if they got hungry tummies!

Anyway, the show started and the littlest's face was just so adorable. Her reaction to the characters was just amazing. She was over the moon to see them all.

In awe!

Combine her wee gorgeous face with The Little Mermaid music and I had a tear in my eye!

The Little Mermaid was definitely my favourite part of the show. I think a lot of this is down to the music - proper Disney old school classics. Whereas the music from Tinkerbell, Cars and Toy Story 3 didn't have the same impact for me. The kids loved Mickey & Minnie, as you'll see from their YouTube video below!

It was the innocence of my son that was just so lovely... he said to me excitedly during the show "Tinkerbell waved at me!" and it was adorable that he was so absorbed in the show that he thought the characters were waving just to him. Very cute!!

I had requested tickets for the 2.45pm performance, but I hadn't anticipated how long the show would last. Toy Story 3 came on after the interval and I think it didn't capture the littlest's imagination as much as the other acts, it probably was more suited to slightly older kiddies (although she loved seeing Barbie!). She also got a bit tired towards the end and was keen to go home :-( Thankfully the taxi was outside at 5pm to collect us and we got home soon enough.

After dinner I got the kids seated on their wee kitchen stool to capture their thoughts on the show...



And here are the out takes!! The eldest seemed to find it highly amusing to leap on me every time I started filming!



We'd definitely go back to see another Disney show and I'd love to take the kids to Disneyland. It's on my 35 at 35 list!

We received complimentary tickets for Disney on Ice in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts, as always, are our own.

{Chicken Pox}

The other day my eldest said he had a sore bottom, and after a quick peek I discovered a little blister. I thought absolutely nothing of it until a few more popped up on his tummy, neck, leg. Yes... it would appear that both my little angels have caught chicken pox from their nursery. Poor things.

Just as well I guess... get it over and done with whilst they are young. I was 10 years old when I had it, and it wasn't pleasant.

My work have been great and allowed me to take a few days annual leave at short notice. On the way home from work yesterday I nipped into the shops to get a few supplies as I'll be housebound for the week. The in-laws who were looking after them very kindly picked up some medicine for me - so I'm stocked up with Piriton mixture, ibuprofen mixture, calamine lotion and aqueous calamine cream.

Here are some of the suggestions that I've come across for relieving the itch...:

Give your little one a paintbrush and some calamine lotion in a cup - let them paint the spots to make them better!

Put some porridge oats in a sock and run the bath water through the sock so that the water is milky. 

Control their temperature with paracetamol and ibuprofen mixture, and use an antihistamine such as Piriton (chlorphenamine) which is sedative so will help them sleep as well as ease the itch.

I've also bought a few treats and special things for us to do this week whilst in the house to keep them (& me) amused. Both are obsessed with Disney princesses right now, so you'll spot a certain theme...:

Baking princess cupcakes - I picked up some icing, pink glitter and princess candles

Easter Egg Hunt - I found an Easter craft pack in the shops this afternoon and have teamed this with some mini chocolate eggs. There are rabbit masks for us to wear as we search the house for eggs!

A new Disney DVD

A pack of pink light up balloons - will be great fun in the dark!

A princess magazine each with a sparkly purse attached (which we can use to collect our mini eggs in!)

Hopefully that will keep us going all week!!

What are your tips for dealing with chicken pox?? 

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