Skinted Vs Minted - Aldi Girls Fashion Shoes - Review

This year I got badgered by Isla for a pair of Lelli Kelly Shoes. I only gave in when I was able to get them in the sale for £32, which felt okay considering they usually retailed at £44! She loved those shoes as they had sparkle and she wore them to death until they were worn through. 

I do believe that Lelli Kelly's are overpriced and so when Aldi offered to send me a pair of their version of the most popular fashion shoe I was intrigued. We received them and I could tell the difference. They are clunkier, not quite as finely made, but the important test wasn't what I would think of them, it was what Isla made of them. And the verdict was a thumbs up! She loves the gems and beads they are decorated with. They are slightly too big for her, so they haven't had a wear yet but she is chomping at the bit to strut her stuff in them. We were sent the black version, which if she'd been give the choice I know she would have plumped for the pink - her favourite colour. For my part I actually like the fact they are black because they won't show all the dirt in the way her white Lelli Kelly's did! 

The shoes come in store on the 19th December, and are part of the Aldi Specialbuys range. So when they're gone, they're gone people! I fully intend to go to our local Aldi and try and get the pink pair too because when they only retail at £8.99 per pair you can afford to buy two pairs.

We were sent a pair of shoes in exchange for this review. All opinions are honest and our own.

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland at The Polka Theatre - Review

Last weekend I took Isla, my best friend Soula and her son Samuel along to the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon to check out their new production of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Soula is a busy mum like me but when I asked her if she'd write the review of the show, she obliged,as in another life she would have loved to write and with the little spare time she does have she wrote this wonderful piece for I Heart Motherhood! Over to you my lovely.

Having a best friend who runs a successful blog does have its occasional perks; so when she invited my son and I to go and see Alice in Wonderland with her at the Polka Theatre I thought I’d be a mad hatter to turn her down! 

I wasn’t even aware of the Polka Theatre (although later discussions revealed that I had indeed been there with my father as a child many years ago). The theatre is solely aimed at producing and presenting Children’s theatre and to my surprise has been there since 1979 (probably why I can’t remember going as a child)!   Samuel and Isla were born 3 months apart and the two of them are good friends, and their excitement as we walked to the theatre was palpable.  As we entered we gathered in the main foyer where the kids could play with the various toys scattered around, whilst we purchased some snacks for the performance  - from a reasonably priced bar which even served a decent cappuccino!  As we made our way to the main theatre we passed a lovely area filled to the brim with teddy bears, which the children can play with, and enjoyed the nostalgia generated by seeing the more collectible bears displayed in beautifully presented glass cabinets;  remember Super-Ted and Fozzie Bear from the Muppets anyone? Well this is where they are enjoying their retirement!

On to the show… Now I have to hold my hand up here and admit that I have never actually read the original book of Alice in Wonderland and have only seen the rose tinted Disney version – and even that was many years ago.  This meant that as the show began, I was trying to remember what I could about the Disney adaptation – and it ended up being quite different to what was actually portrayed!  The show opens with Alice and her sister stuck indoors on a cold snowy day. Alice is energetic, inquisitive and a total contrast to her older more restrained sister. They bicker and at this point I wasn’t really sure what happened as Alice calls her sister a ‘Pig’ and then suddenly she is falling into Wonderland.  If there was a reference to the rabbit hole I must have blinked and missed it because I remain still unsure of how she actually entered Wonderland!   

Alice’s indecision about whether she should drink the potion labelled ‘drink me’ had the audience laughing, and the way she moved her body to represent shrinking and growing, was clever enough that my 4 year old understood what was being portrayed.   The show goes on to accurately portray the chapters in the book (something I have learnt now having investigated the original story)  and Alice progresses through her journey in Wonderland meeting varied and interesting characters along the way.   The scene that introduces the duchess, her cook and the Cheshire cat is noisy and bewildering, with lots of shrieking and sneezing, and banging, amidst a smoky haze – and quite frankly is completely bizarre to those unfamiliar with the book.  

The fearsome Queen of hearts was played brilliantly and her frequent cries of ‘off with their head’ kept the audience amused before we observed the most entertaining game of croquet I’ve ever seen! As Alice’s journey through Wonderland comes to an end, and she herself almost becomes a victim of the queen’s ruthless rein, we breathe a sigh of relief when she is transported safely back to her home, just as she had left it – with head firmly attached to her body!

I thought the small team involved in the production do an amazing job – not only portraying all the main characters between them, but also managing all of the props and stage rotations.  The entire cast is played out by just 6 people, with some playing up to 5 characters each!  The costume changes were so quick it was hard to believe the same person had just been playing something else.  They were all great but of course I think it’s the Queen who steals the show.

Samuel enjoyed it although I think a lot of it went over his head (to be fair he is only 4 and the production is aimed at children aged 6 and over so he was probably a bit too young really).  That said, he and Isla were completely gripped throughout and both had a thoroughly good time. 

All in all I thought it was a clever production and well worth seeing. The Polka theatre in itself is a lovely venue and worth a visit even if you are not taking in a show – they even do children’s tea parties there which I imagine are a nice way to celebrate a birthday if you live in the local area. Thanks to Sharon for inviting Samuel & I to Alice in Wonderland and for introducing me to the Polka Theatre – I will be returning… and to make up for my ignorance I promise to also read the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (more commonly known as Lewis Carroll)!

Thanks Soula for writing a brilliant review! All I have to add is that I thoroughly enjoyed it too and the only thing that Isla was aggrieved about was that Alice retained her head! When her head was on the block she groaned audibly, to which I asked her what was wrong and she sighed and said she thought she would see her head come off….not sure what to make of that, she's not usually such a lover of gore… 

Alice in Wonderland is on at The Polka Theatre until 15th February 2014 and tickets are available here and by calling the theatre on 020 8543 4888. If you're looking for any other shows the kids will love then you should also check out our review of another Polka Theatre show Gorilla.

Thanks to the Polka theatre for inviting us to see Alice in Wonderland. We received 4 tickets in exchange for this review. All opinions and views are our own.

The Snow Gorilla this Christmas at The Rose Theatre - Review

On Monday night I popped along to Kingston to see a fantastic family circus themed show at The Rose Theatre. I can safely say that The Snow Gorilla will wow the kids this Christmas! I wasn't sure what to expect before we went along, I purposely hadn't looked into the show too closely as I didn't want to have any expectations. Any expectations that I did have were exceeded though as the show just kept giving. 

The Snow Gorilla is set in a travelling circus, Circus Marigny where the Ring Mistress, Fanny Marigny is struggling to keep the circus going due to dwindling funds and a thief in their midst. Along comes Sunny, a runaway looking for adventure and that's definitely what he gets, along with a romantic dalliance with the ring mistresses daughter Chloe. He discovers The Mighty Gor hidden in a cage in the circus and strikes up a beautiful friendship with him. Sunny unwittingly becomes the suspected thief within the circus, but between him and Gor they trap the real criminal and restore happiness to all. 

What is brilliant about this show is throughout the story the audience gets to see all the circus acts as they practise for their performance, so we were treated to African acrobats, Flamenco dancers, a contortionist, a juggler and an aerial act. My favourite were the African acrobats, they had such energy, the musicians that played along to their act really got the audience into it. They were massively entertaining, showing skill and humour every time they appeared. I also thought the aerial act was amazing, but just a word of warning if you're in the stalls downstairs at the back you may struggle to see them as they are high up. I craned my neck to make sure I saw all of their daring act. 

Now I have to mention how brilliant the Gorilla is! He is voiced by Brian Blessed who is someone I absolutely love. I couldn't imagine anyone else voicing him now to be honest. Then the look of Gor is amazing. You can't appreciate how clever the costume is until you read about how the costume was made for the man inside to wear it and how he has to use buttons and levers within the suit in order to animate Gor's face and make movements. The way he moved around the stage was so real to a Gorilla, he shuffled around on his knuckles, he rose up in anger and his face had such expression.

The entire cast are fantastic and you can tell that they have a great chemistry. The singing is good, I particularly liked Chloe and was lucky enough to get a snap of her before the show when the cast were circulating amongst the crowd in the foyer. There is a baddie in the show and he got great pantomime treatment from the audience with lots of booing and hissing when he appeared. 

This show has everything for everyone, great songs, spectacular performances from circus acts, to a show stopping singing Gorilla, a pantomime feel to it and an engaging story. We didn't take the children as it was an evening performance but I wouldn't hesitate to go back with them as I know they would love it. 

The Snow Gorilla runs until the 5th January 2014 and tickets are on sale now. For more information about the show visit www.rosetheatrekingston.org or call the Box office on 0844 4482 1556.

We were given 2 tickets to see The Snow Gorilla in exchange for this review. Thanks for inviting us! 

Disney New Release - Frozen

Rating: PG  UK Release Date: December 6,  2013

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to the Odeon Leicester Square for a multi media screening of Frozen, the newest Disney film about to hit our screens in time for Christmas. I always find it so exciting going to see a film before it's full release and the kids were thrilled too. On arrival there were reindeer outside, lots of Christmas trees and fake snow, it made us all feel excited to watch Frozen. Isla loved the reindeer, we didn't get much time with them, so I've made a promise to go find some somewhere before Christmas for her to see. 

We took to our seats, the kids had a good rummage through their goody bags, seeking out the chocolate first with the skill of a police sniffer dog! And then we were treated to a live performance of one of the beautiful songs from the film, 'Let it Go' sung by Willemijn Verkaik, who is currently starring in the show Wicked. It was really fantastic, such an emotional song.

Prior to Frozen there was a short film called 'Get a Horse'. It was a mixture of old school Mickey Mouse animation and amazing 3D animation. The kids loved it and so did me and the OH. This was his and Noah's first 3D film experience and he was so good at keeping the glasses on! I always look forward to the film shorts that Disney do before their films and this was a classic.

And now to Frozen. A stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. 

The film is loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen. And when you research back into Disney's connection with The Snow Queen you find out that making a film about this story has been something they've wanted to do since the 1940's. The look of the film is exactly like 'Tangled' (another film we LOVE!) as it is all computer animation. You get a real connection with the characters, and understanding of the torment that both sisters feel at not being close to each other due to Elsa's powers. There is some light comedy in there in the form of Olaf the snowman, he's goofy and cute and provides some good one liners. Anna is also pretty feisty and funny too even in the face of adversity. The story is all about the female characters though, so I'd imagine it's not going to appeal massively to the boys, although at 2 years old Noah seemed to enjoy it! 

I would only give one small warning, at times it can be quite a dark film, and I mean this in terms of the storyline and also the actual animation itself, there are lots of scenes in darkness and this combined with 3D and Elsa's Icy powers can make it slightly overwhelming to young ones. There were moments when Isla was slightly scared, but we reassured her that it would all come good in the end. When you ask her now whether she liked the film she says yes, but I was slightly worried at one point when she seemed a bit anxious - and this is a child who has watched many many films. It's a bit like Brave in that respect, she found the scenes with bears scary in that. Don't let this point detract from my view that it is a great film.

Check out the trailer here:

All in all as a family I would say we thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm sure it's going to be a massive hit! Thanks so much for the invite Disney! 

For more information about 'Frozen'

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We were sent free tickets to the film 'Frozen' in order to write this review. All views expressed are our own.

Gorilla at The Polka Theatre - Review

I must be really late to the party as I've only just found Anthony Browne's book Gorilla. What a lovely story and what a great job The Polka Theatre has done bringing it to the stage! We saw it on Saturday and had such a lovely time. For anyone who doesn't know it's about a little girl who has a rather big obsession with Gorillas. She thinks about them every waking and (non waking) moment. On the eve her her birthday she goes to bed with just one wish, to get a REAL Gorilla for her birthday. Her disappointment when she opens her present in the middle of the night to find that it's a toy gorilla is very physical, she throws it across the room and returns back to sleep. Only to be woken, not too long after by her toy gorilla who is now fully grown and who offers to take her to the zoo. And there starts a wonderful moonlit night of friendship and adventure between Hannah and the Gorilla; where they share a trip to the zoo, a visit to the cinema and a birthday tea together where Hannah can choose whatever she likes from the menu in unlimited quantities.

I loved the relaxed nature of the show - it's in the very intimate Adventure Theatre at the Polka and the kids can sit on the carpet right in front of the action. There are a few benches towards the back that people can sit on but it's nice to feel a part of the show. It's a two person show and both actors also do the puppeteering and all set moving. They were both fantastically skilled and had a lovely chemistry. I asked Isla what she liked best and she said she liked it when the Gorilla grew big, which is actually when the parts of Hannah and the gorilla are played by the puppets. So even though Hannah and the Gorilla are small as puppets, she grasped that the Gorilla had grown.

We also loved the part when Hannah and the gorilla go to the zoo and they look out into the audience and make out that we're the gorillas! On each side of the set were the haunting faces of the Orangutan and Chimpanzee from the book, both looking so very sad. There is a great song, 'Cherry on Top' during the birthday meal that Hannah and the Gorilla have and you can listen and download it here Both of mine loved it. 

We couldn't fault this show at all, it stays completely faithful to the book and brings it to life just how I would expect it to. For us this is a must see and we're looking forward to returning to the Polka Theatre for more fabulous productions in the near future!

Gorilla is on at The Polka Theatre until February. The running time is 45 minutes and the recommended age is 2 - 5 year olds

We were given free tickets to see Gorilla in order to give this review but all views expressed are my own.

Our Spooky Halloween Party!

This weekend we had a Halloween party. I know it's early, but the kids didn't know any different. Except they do now, as I kept telling them, it's not ACTUALLY Halloween yet but we're just having a party. So now they realise it's still not Halloween and we have to keep all our spooky decorations up for another 10 days! Hmmm. I also got very carried away with the production of bats, ghosts, spiders and webs and the kids loved helping. So here's our Halloween party in photos. We invited a couple of friends and their kids and they had a blast!

Toddler Tantrums Are in Full Swing

Last weekend we decided to go on a bug and nature hunt at a local park. It's a park we haven't been to as a family before as it doesn't have a playground and generally that is the requirement for any park visit. It had been a pretty tantrum top heavy weekend and I was hoping that a stomp through the park on a gorgeous sunny day would blow away the cobwebs and I'd packed a little treat for each of the kids, a sponge snack called 'Barny'. We'd been sent a pack of both flavours, chocolate and milk and they had gone done very well indeed. They are individually foil wrapped so perfect for popping in your bag for a trip out. 

For our bug and nature hunt we took a magnifying glass, container to look at any creatures and also a basket to collect all our nature finds. The kids donned their wellies and Isla especially was really excited about having a rootle around in the hedges and logs that were lying around. Both of them are fascinated by the conkers at the moment, so we collected plenty of those and a few acorns. 

We also came across mushrooms growing and these amazing leaves that had gone all skeletal. I'll leave Isla to tell you what she found here in this video - I can't quite believe how South London she sounds - "Nature Fings"!

Anyway, it was all going swimmingly until Noah did a poo in his nappy, which coincided with us bumping into friends who had a new Golden Retriever Puppy. While I was chatting to our friends I was also trying to usher Noah over to OH to get the smell sorted out and I didn't see that the puppy had jumped up at Isla. She freaked out, was screaming hysterically and then Noah started screaming too and it was one of those moments when you just wish the ground could swallow you up. The puppy was just being friendly, nothing threatening at all but it was enough to terrify Isla and so that began the downward spiral of our lovely park visit. Even the munching of the Barny bear snack didn't turn things around. 

We tried to carry on with our bug hunt but everything had been thrown off kilter and Noah was ramping up to have another one of his 1 hour tantrums (I knew this because I'd experienced two of the most explosive ones the day before.) He was insisting that I picked him up and I was refusing as he is over 2 now, really heavy and my shoulder is really giving me a bit of pain lately. So he followed me through the park screaming and crying, then did all the usual irrational things that a 2 year does. He also does this awful spitty/ dribbling thing when he really goes for it. He'd brought his scooter to the park but then didn't want to scoot. So eventually I ended up carrying him and the scooter and then the major disappointment for Isla was that we decided to cut the park visit short and not go to the cafe, which looked so enticing with lots of outdoor tables. We were supposed to be having a lovely morning at the park and it had just gone tits up. 

About to Blow...

So there you have it, we tried to be Adventurers but the terrible two's cut our exploring time down. But we did manage to have some fun and we did talk about our finds. Not every family excursion is idyllic and I'd be lying to you all if I said it was. It's hard work at the moment with Noah's sudden outbursts, I've even found myself taking solace in a Barny bear snack!

This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Little Adventures Challenge’ in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here