BubbleBum inflatable car booster seat

Cheeky Rascals  recently sent us this BubbleBum inflatable booster seat to try out for Betty (four year old).  

This seat was invented by a mum called Grainne Kelly who had to travel a lot to see family and got frustrated about the difficulty in carrying bulky booster seats or hiring decent ones.  

It came at an apt time because Betty and I will be going to London soon on the train for a few days and I was worried about what I was going to do about a car seat while we were there - problem solved!  It is easy to inflate and Betty has been showing it to anyone and everyone who enters our house.  For occasional use, I think it is great, and it folds up very neatly, taking up hardly any space at all.

This is what Cheeky Rascals say:

It is safety approved for groups 2 and 3 (age 4 +) and is great for taking on holidays, car sharing, playdates, rental cars, relatives  and generally just to have as a spare car seat in the car for when you need to pick up an extra child. It is deflatable and folds flat to put in your bag (or the child’s bag) or just to store. It’s also great at fitting 3 kids across the backseat of a car. 

It has passed all the relevant safety tests and crash tests both inflated and completely deflated. The key point about booster seats is not actually the boost (that just makes the child more comfortable) it is where the seatbelt goes across their lap, the seat belt guides on the BubbleBum ensure that the seatbelt sits over the child’s lap and not their stomach which helps to avoid nasty internal injuries in the event of a crash. 

My All Grow’d Up Cup

Happy Hollydaisy has just brought out a new drinking beaker for toddlers aged 18 months plus.

This actually came to us at the perfect time - Dolly is two in a couple of weeks, and so I have been gearing up to replace her milk bottle with a cup, and what better than a fun cup such as this one to excite her and make her forget all about her beloved baby bottle.

My All Grow'd Up Cup is a drinking beaker that comes with its own holder that can be fixed (with suction pads) onto the fridge, car window etc.  When the cup is placed into the holder by the child, it makes an elephant sound, causing much delight to Dolly (and Betty!).

I casually presented this cup to Dolly last Saturday evening with her warm milk in it, and she seemed thrilled with it and excitedly kept saying 'my phant [elephant] cup' over and over, and guzzled all her milk from it, and we haven't looked back since!

It requires 2 x AAA batteries (which are included) and is available in pink, blue, orange and lime green.

The cup has just won its first industry award, which was presented by the Baby Products Association, and it won best feeding product in the Baby and Nursery Trade Awards

They are currently available from Tesco Direct, Amazon, Letterbox, Halfords, Party Pieces, and Parent Supermarket and cost £12.99.

Angelina Ballerina - new toys from Mattel

We were kindly sent a couple of Mattel's new Angelina Ballerina products, which included this Chipping Cheddar Sweets and Dance Shop Mini Playset.


If I am totally honest, when I opened up this product and had a look, I didn't think Betty, my four year old, would be that interested in it.  She loves Angelina but isn't really one for plastic toys of this nature - she is more of a mud and stones and digging holes kind of girl.  So I was a little bit floored that when I presented this Sweet and Dance shop to her, she played happily with it for two hours (and then it was time for bed) and then continued with it the next day.  Now, when she gets home from pre-school this is what she wants to play with!  I think perhaps the smallness of it may be the appeal - the little mice come with removable dresses/trousers and tiny shoes - and Betty is so careful with each little item and carefully places them inside the dance studio all lined up neatly.  It is very sweet.  This set also comes with removable counter with register, dining booth with removable umbrella stand and a dressing table.  The whole set folds up neatly and has a little carry handle.  


It certainly wouldn't have been anything I would have picked out for Betty, but it seems to have really hit the spot with her.  So thank you very much!  This product retails at around £20, and there are also many other new Angelina products out there, which I am sure would be just as appealing to a four year old girl (or boy?).


A 'real-life' Angelina is doing a tour in April - she's visiting various John Lewis stores around the country to give dance tips and hand out free goodies - it sounds like fun for any Angelina fans out there!  Here are the dates:


Saturday 9 April - John Lewis, Oxford Street;   appearances between 10am -4pm
Sunday 10 April - John Lewis, Blue water;  appearances between 10am -4pm
Tuesday 12 April - John Lewis, High Wycombe; appearances between 11am -4pm
Saturday 16 April -  John Lewis, Peter Jones store, Sloan Square; appearances between 10am -4pm
Saturday 17 April - John Lewis, West Quay, Southampton;  appearances between 11am -4pm
Saturday 23 April - John Lewis, Cheadle; appearances between 10am