Silver Cross Doodle Highchair

Babies are difficult little people to please. Love it or hate it; they seem to have an opinion on most things. All be it a non-verbal one.

The things I have to put up with if my baby doesn't like something at 10 months:

• Screaming
• Crying so much he makes himself sick.
  
• Arching his back so that it makes it virtually impossible to sit him on a rigid surface.
• Scratching at his eyes and inside his ears.

When you have a million and one things that need doing (what mother doesn't?), the last thing you need is your baby throwing a tantrum. If my baby decides he doesn't like something, it is literally a nightmare. At the moment he seems to hate going in his pushchair. So he arches his back, which is really dangerous as last week he nearly slipped through the safety bar on the front of the pushchair. I've discovered a trick now and that is to distract him whilst putting him in the pushchair. Because of the fact that he seems such an opinionated little fellow (hope he grows out of this), you can be sure to get a trustworthy verdict on any item. He especially LIKES remote controls and telephones. He especially HATES the pushchair, getting dressed or a particular baby food brand.

So to get a true reaction from him on the highchair, I had to give him at least a few weeks adjustment. A positive response would be unfair if it was only based on novelty value. There's no denying the fact that Silver Cross is a premium brand, but would this particular design live up to its glorious brand name?

We set about building the highchair. Husband did this and did it well. It only took him about 20 minutes and the instructions that came with the highchair were very clear. Amazingly, no parts mysteriously disappeared, which is usually what happens when my husband sets about making something.

Highchair built, my initial reaction was that the highchair was much wider than what I had expected. I'm the type of person that doesn't go with measurements but just assesses something by eye. It was apparent that this highchair took up a lot more space than our previous highchair. But aside from this the highchair seemed to transform our dining room into an ultra-modern designer baby habitat. The design looked like it had just come out of the latest designer home magazine and this instantly won me over. Having recently renovated our house, our house is a bit of a blank canvas. So it was wonderful to be able to swirl a dash of colour in to the neutral colour scheme and make it a fresh and funky environment.

A few weeks went by and it was then that I was able to make a non-biased judgement of Baby's opinion. Whilst he wasn't over the moon with being placed in something that required him to curtail his latest obsession for crawling like a lunatic, he didn't throw tantrums like he did in his old highchair. He didn't act like a slippery eel trying to get out of a fishing net. He seemed to enjoy the brightness of the highchair and fiddling with the tray. The crayon cups that come with the play table part of the highchair made excellent toys and didn't matter how many times they were dropped. He also looked much comfier than our old one.

This highchair is certainly a winner in the field of cleanliness. Because of the fact that it is made of durable plastic, it is much easier to clean than porous wood. There are no nasty folds in the design either. So there is no chance of finding an accrued pile of deteriorating baby food down the sides. In fact, the design even has a removable tray so that you can take it off and wash properly.

I had three problems with this highchair; one being that the grips on the base of the legs made it difficult to move this highchair around. Secondly, because the legs protruded outwards, I found myself tripping over the legs. Thirdly, because the highchair was so bulky, it didn't allow Baby Craftiness to get close enough to the table to interact with the family. If the folks at Silver Cross read this, it would be great if you could somehow rectify these problems.

And yet, the advantages of this highchair did outweigh the negatives. The fact that it was so easy to clean was very reassuring for a hygiene neurotic like me. Majorly influencing my decision is the fact that this highchair won't be cast away when Baby no longer requires a highchair. This will then transform in seconds to the play table and chairs complete with crayon cups and toy holders. How fantastic is that?

Overall, I am very impressed with the highchair.

You can buy the highchair from Silver Cross

UPDATE- If you buy the highchair at the moment, there is an offer so that the highchair only costs you £100. Massive saving of £50!

Horrid Henry 5" Figures

If your child is a Horrid Henry fan, look no further for the perfect Christmas present! Master Craftiness is an avid fan and delights in the naughtiness of Horrid Henry.

Some facts about Horrid Henry:

• Over 13 million books have been sold.
• Horrid Henry was the No 1 best-selling annual in 2008
• 3 out of every 4 kids in the UK has a Horrid Henry book
• re:creation plc holds the exclusive license for these toys

Review of 'Skater Horrid Henry' and 'Perfect Peter.'

Master Craftiness revels in the naughtiness and defiance of Horrid Henry. So we were curious to see whether these toys based on Francesca Simon's bestselling book, would evoke our love/hate relationship for Horrid Henry. Would the figures capture the qualities we know and love? Let's take a look......





As you can see from the photographs, I had a lot of fun posing the figures. It doesn't look like Perfect Peter is so perfect anymore, does it? When we took Skater Horrid Henry out of his box, we found that he was accompanied by a skateboard. Henry has holes in the base of his shoes, to allow him to firmly stand on the skateboard. Pull the skateboard backwards and it propels forwards. Nothing really horrid about that, but if you have read the Horrid Henry range of books, you will know that Horrid Henry likes to get up to nasty things with his skateboard. Look beyond the skateboard and study the figure of Horrid Henry's face, you will see that the look of pure disgust with life in general has been captured perfectly. Also, we found that colours were accurately matched on the figures to the ones used in the illustrations of the books. But what Master Craftiness and myself were most impressed with was the weight of the figures. The weight of the figures made them almost seem life-like. There seemed to be weight distribution based on what you would feel if you picked a real human being up. The head seemed heavier and I loved the way that the head could only turn so far, much like a real human head. All the horrid Henry figure range are fully articulated, so children will have lots of fun setting up scenes, performing actions etc. with the toys.

Perfect Peter was next taken out of his box. He was accompanied by a rubbish bin, 'Fluffy' the cat, a few banana skins and a tub of gooey slime. The imagination can run wild here. Did Horrid Henry put the cat in the bin and cover him with slime? Does Perfect Peter have a penchant for banana skins, which causes him to fall in the bin? Or has Horrid Henry framed Perfect Peter? Fortunately, the fact that Perfect Peter is deemed boring in the hit show, doesn't make the Perfect Peter figure any less appealing. Again the figure is very accurately portrayed compared to the illustrations in the book, and feels a great quality toy. Perfect Peter loves homework and never eats chocolate or confectionery, he loves vegetables and he enjoys going to school. If children don't want to stick to conventional roles of the characters, they could have a great time creating new persona's for the figures. How about if Perfect Peter becomes a greedy guts or starts thieving? How about if Horrid Henry becomes an angel over night and then has to deal with the temper of not so Perfect Peter? These toys are so well made and accurately designed that they are sure to become a great source of creative play! They can even be used when reading the Horrid Henry books to bring the stories to life.

There are a few more in the range, which we will definitely be collecting:

• Pirate Henry
• Mischief Henry
• Rude Ralph

Our rating 5/5

Available from Play or Amazon

Flocked Decorations from the "Gifted" Collection

Huge striped and polka dot balls

Set of Cone Trees

Set of 3 Finials

Set of 3 Table Top Trees

Chunky Package Ornaments

Stocking Holders

Glittered Package Ornaments 

 

Red Sequined Bow

Green Sequined Bow

Salter Dome Electronic Kitchen Scale

There are some things that need to be stylish and yet efficient. Luckily for me the 'Salter Dome Electronic Kitchen Scale' falls in to this category. OK I admit it, I love swanky new kitchen items. Items which make the kitchen dazzle and gleam with the latest technology. But how often do items bought for the kitchen get designated for the clutter cupboard. I made sure I gave this item a fair few weeks before writing my review, to get a feel for how useful it would become in my kitchen.

As a household who do a lot of creating; particularly baking, we felt that it was fair to put this scale through its paces before telling the world of it's pros and cons.

I was initially drawn to the scales because of its sleek design; with the dominant colours within my kitchen being silver, the scale suited my scheme beautifully. It looks great within my contemporary kitchen. Sadly, items often promise more than they deliver. Would this be the case with the Salter scales?

Pulling the scales from the box, they immediately looked promising. The design was up to the minute, smooth to the touch and more importantly shiny and new. The most attractive quality being that upon pressing the 'ON' switch, the display of weight measurement looks very attractive. The display lights up blue, which makes the reading of the measurement very easy on the eye.

Now it was out of the box, it was time to get down to some serious work. We had to test how accurate this thing was. As we bake from scratch, we need the scales to be very accurate and I am glad to say it was. There was no making sure you were at the right angle to determine which weight the needle was on. Place the ingredients on and hey presto, you are given the weight.

If you are a neat freak like I am, you will also love the 'Add & Weigh' function. This allows you to save on dirtying various bowls and allows you to measure multiple ingredients in the same bowl.

Here's all the specs:

• Add & Weigh function
Allows for measurement of multiple ingredients in the same bowl - saves on washing up
• Aquatronic™ function
For measuring liquids in ml or fl.oz.
• Switch between metric and imperial
• Animated blue backlit display
• Stainless steel weighing pan
• Capacity: 3kg / 7lb
• 15 Year Guarantee

It looks great, performs well and has been able to withstand little children using it! With a 15 year guarantee on it, the manufacturers are obviously confident of its abilities. I feel very confident with it too and can envision myself using this product for many years to come.

Very pleased with this product.

Rating 5/5

Available from Salter

The "Gifted" Collection from RAZ

Two versions of the "Gifted" tree are shown. The "Gifted" collection is chocked full of lime green and red decorating items.  A new feature this year includes flocked items from curly topped finials, large balls, package ornaments in a flat and chunky box style and matching cone and table top trees. Large lighted presents are used on these trees in lime green and red. Sequin bows in red and green add sparkling color.Wide ribbons are entwined and top off one tree while new sparkle berry ball sprays top off the other.

Captain Cook's Tuck Box

Captain Cook's Tuck Box; a very interesting title. But what exactly is in Captain Cook's Tuck box?

Does 'Hotch Potch pie', 'Caterpillar salad' and 'Worm pie' grab your interest? With recipes like that, this is surely going to be a CD-ROM designed to attract children's interest.

If you are trying to encourage healthy eating in your household, take a look at this CD-ROM packed full of healthy recipes and demonstration videos for children. I initially found this CD-ROM after googling 'healthy eating.' It is a topic being covered this term in Master Craftiness's class. Keen to give him a helping hand, we set about ordering this CD-ROM.

The CD-ROM takes around 10 minutes to install on your computer. You are then greeted with a page where you input your name and other details.
After set-up is completed you are greeted by a friendly parrot who provides comedy content to the disc. He welcomes you to the programme and provides little quirky jokes throughout your use of the disc. You are then required to input some details to make the kitchen area more personalised. Even down to hanging a picture of yourself on the wall. Immediately the personalisation draws in the child and causes them to become very involved in becoming a culinary genius. With rising concerns over obesity in our society, it is wonderful to see a guide that makes fresh fruit and vegetables so appealing.
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Admittedly, the graphics seem a little dated and reminded me somewhat of a 90's school programme. However, this is an attractive quality. Anyone remember 'Storyworld' with Tony Robinson or 'Stop, Look and Listen?' It has the same sort of feel about it. It has taken things right back to the basics and when dealing with children, lack of clutter and simplicity is a very good thing. Too many children's computer programs nowadays are jam-packed and uneasy on the eye. The makers of this disc have carefully avoided that problem, by being selective about what information they show on each page. It is clear that 'Captain Cook's Tuck Box' has had a lot of input from children, which explains the level of appeal it has for children using the disc. An indicator of how good this disc is, is the fact that Master Craftiness spent around 30 minutes watching the 'How-to' videos.

Once you have finished personalising, the content of the disc really cannot be faulted. There is enough to keep your children busy forever! The disc contains three - graded cookery books for age 5 to 12 and children browsing these cookery books can even then create their own menu. If you have any aspiring chefs in your family, this is a great way to get them to think about the planning that goes in to healthy eating. With rising concerns over the level of obesity in our society, it is wonderful to see a guide that makes fruit and vegetables seem so appealing. We will no longer have to hear complaints over stinky cabbage!

You can be assured that you are on the right track in helping with your child's schoolwork as the CD-ROM is designed to support the cookery elements of the KS1 & KS2 design and technology curriculum.


Revamp your old-favourites or try out some new recipes. With over 200 child-friendly recipes there is going to be something that appeals to everyone on here.

Master Craftiness was really impressed with the disc, and has now informed me that he wants to be a chef when he grows up. We loved the disc because it showed how much fun you can have with food. More than just a recipe book, it contains videos of children cooking, and fun activities such as menu designing, dough modelling, making marzipan fruit, and printing out certificates of attainment.

We've already had a go at some recipes and they are fantastic!!! The recipes were really easy to follow and produced some brilliant results. In particular we loved the 'Conspirator's pudding'.

We really feel that this CD-ROM should be highlighted more by media and press, as there is a host of features on this disc which will get parents and children alike to rethink their eating habits, their presentation of food and even the way parents do their weekly meal plan. In fact I have incorporated the use of this CD-ROM into my weekly meal plan already. I get Master Craftiness to choose two new recipes from the disc a week, so that it helps him become involved in meal selections and prevents him from moaning about what we are having for tea. The fact that Master Craftiness is so involved in the production of the meal, makes him want to eat it all to prove to us just how good his work is.

It would be helpful if this disc was more readily available to buy in high-street stores, as the public would become more aware of it's existence. A disc like this provides life-skills and is really worth it's weight in gold.

Keep an eye on Sweet Craftiness in the coming weeks, as we will be featuring some of the Christmas recipes from the disc. There is a huge selection. Yummy!

Our verdict: 5/5

Available from Anastasis

Next kids competition

I have been asked by Next to let my readers know about the latest competition they are running.

They are inviting children aged 0-16 to draw a picture showing “their wish” and upload a photo of the picture to the Make a Wish event on their Facebook page. A panel of judges at Next will choose the top fifty designs and the entrants responsible for the top designs will then be asked to submit their original drawings and join in all the fun of the competition final at Woburn Abbey on 21st December, when an overall winner will be selected. This design will be manufactured by Next, with sales benefiting the Make-a-wish Foundation.

The NEXT GENERATION children's competition isn't only about finding junior models. In association with the Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK , it also includes a very special opportunity for budding fashion designers.

Open to anyone up to age 16, the challenge is to create a unique and original t-shirt for summer 2010.

Entrants should sketch a design, photograph it, and then please POST THE IMAGE TO THIS EVENT TAB on or after 4th November.

Entries close on 25th November when a panel of Next judges will choose the top 50 designs.

The entrants responsible for the top fifty designs will then be asked to submit their original drawings and join in all the fun of the NEXT GENERATION FINAL at Woburn Abbey on 21st December, when an overall winner will be selected.

This design will be manufactured by Next, with sales benefiting Make-A-Wish.

- Make-A-Wish is a charity registered in England and Wales (295672) and Scotland (SC037479)


Master Craftiness is going to get his thinking cap on for this one. There is no doubt that his wish will be something very obscure. But what a brilliant idea Next!! Not are only are you inspiring children to become creative, but you might even produce some future fashion designers.

Even better is the fact that sales will benefit the Make-a-Wish foundation! I am sure I will be purchasing the winning design when it hits the shops! I just have to work on getting my Next bill down while I am waiting......

I can't wait to see the winning design!

Find more info here