More Lego on Sale - Toys R Us, Bolton

Following on from yesterday's Lego offers  there were a couple to be found in Toys R Us, Bolton today.

There were a couple of Lego Chima sets on offer. I think this theme is being retired soon so shops could be selling off what they have left.

Chima Eris' Fire Eagle Flyer 70142, now £19.99 instead of £29.99, but only a couple left on the shelf. 

There were also Lego Chima Crocodile Tribe Pack 70231 reduced to £5.99 but these are also available on Amazon at the same price. 

They also had small Lego storage heads half price, £4.99 reduced from £9.99. Currently £7.98 on Amazon. 

Please note that these were spotted in Toys R Us, Bolton and may not be available at other stores.

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Trafford Centre - A Couple of Lego Offers

Today was my first trip to the Trafford Centre in 2016. For a self confessed shopaholic, it's a dangerous place to live near, but it's a great place to go shopping even if it's just of the window variety! With my New Year's resolve to save money I managed to show great restraint and only bought the book that I went for :).

I did still have a good browse though and apart from the perfume gift sets mentioned in the previous post there wasn't much to take my eye...except for a couple of Lego offers. (As you probably know by now, I have a great affection for Lego, especially if it's reduced!)

The first one were these Lego Simpsons series 2 Minifigures. £1.40 reduced to clear at John Lewis. Normally £2.49.

I also came across these Lego LED brick lights in Hamleys. £7 reduced from £11. I did do a quick online search to compare the price of these but couldn't find them apart from Ebay. Maybe they are discontinued old stock, but if anyone is looking for one, Hamleys, Trafford Centre had plenty.

Lastly in the Legoland shop over at Barton Square, they had Lego Turtles keyrings for £1.85. (£2.99 on Lego shop website.) They had all four turtle figures available.

And Lego Castle figure packs for £6.75. (£10.99 on Lego shop website.)

Please note these were spotted at shops in Trafford Centre, Manchester and may not be available at other stores. 

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Reduced Perfume Gift Sets - Plan Ahead for Valentine's Day

I think the shops must have really overestimated how many perfume gift sets they would sell in the run up to Christmas as now, in January, they're abundant at much reduced prices.

The gift sets I've seen today at Debenhams and Boots (Trafford Centre, Manchester) have all worked out cheaper, some up to half price, than just buying the exact same perfume on its own.

And I'm not just talking about the cheap types once worn when a teenager or the celebrity flash in the pan ones either. Some classics and popular designer brands can be found at great prices too.

With Valentine's day just over a month away, this could be a great time to buy and spoil that special someone without breaking the bank.

Marc Jacobs Daisy 50ml perfume gift set seen in Debenhams and Boots. They both had plenty left. Reduced from £56 to £37.33 and £37.32 respectively. I did check the price of a 50ml bottle and it is around £50.

Also in Boots, Stella McCartney and Dolce and Gabbana perfume gift sets...

Ellie Saab...

Jimmy Choo...

And Armani Code for men...

And these were just a few of the many on offer. No doubt in a couple of weeks time, new Valentine's gift sets will be hitting the shelves at full price. 

If you've seen them cheaper elsewhere, pleas do leave a comment on this post. 

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Film Review - Pan

This morning, my son and I went to watch Pan at Vue, Bolton. It was screened as one of their Kids am (£1.99) films shown on weekends.

I only remember hearing about it briefly when it was first released at the cinema, and although my son did ask if we could go and watch it then, it didn't seem to have a very long run at the theatres and we never got around to going.

But at least now we had another opportunity to see it on the big screen.

As per the title, the film is about Peter Pan. Unlike previous films based on J.M. Barrie's classic book, Pan focuses on how, the young boy Peter, seemingly abandoned by his mother and left at a London orphanage for boys, fulfills his destiny to become Peter Pan.

Unknowing of his heritage, Peter longs to be reunited with his mother and only after being kidnapped from the boys' home by pirates and being taken to the far away mystical island of Neverland to work in the mines, does he start to uncover who he really is...

I'm not going to give any more away about the plot as not to spoil it for anyone!

Was it worth watching? Well, I suppose so...for £1.99! My five year old son was captivated by the action scenes and laughed at some of the humour so he enjoyed it. I thought it was an enjoyable enough film and visually very beautiful in places, but I can understand why it got, pardon the pun, 'panned' by some reviewers.

I enjoyed the film but probably wouldn't be in a rush to see it again. The film seemed a little confused in places, for example on arrival to Neverland being met with a crowd of pirates and miners singing Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit”! Wasn't sure what to make of that at all!

Also, the young James Hook, played by Garrett Hedlund, could have easily been mistaken for a knock off Indiana Jones. He did provide a bit of eye candy for the mums though :). And for the dads...well, there was a brief appearance from Cara Deleveigne. Don't want to be one sided!

There was also a scene which was very reminiscent of the Ewok Village in the trees from Return of the Jedi. Does anyone who's seen it agree?...probably just me!

It was nice to see Kathy Burke back on the screen as she played the role of the nun in charge of the home for boys. But for me, the highlight of the film was Smee, played by Adeel Akhtar (Gupta on The Angelos Epithemiou Show) although I think he should have had a bigger role.

Hugh Jackman played a pretty good baddie as Blackbeard. I wouldn't have guessed it was him as he looked so different. When I first saw the character though, I did think he might have taken fashion advice from Blackadder ;)

I did think that the boy who played Peter (Levi Miller) was very engaging and had the most lovely blue eyes and I look forward to seeing him in other things.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

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Vue Kids am - Saturday and Sunday Morning Cinema for £1.99

There are no lie ins on Sunday mornings now that we have young children. I can't remember what it's like to stay in bed past eight, and to get to that time is a very rare occurrence!

As well as just being up at ridiculously early o'clock, Sunday mornings for us now also involve some sort of activity, football, swimming, tennis...children's birthday parties! There's always something!

If we've been to an early morning sporting activity, we'll often follow up with a little trip to the cinema as a treat.

I cringe at the thought of paying full price at the cinema, especially when I take a peek into the future and imagine taking a family of four!

For now at least, my son is still young enough not to care about seeing the latest blockbuster. He thinks it wonderful when we go and watch anything on the big screen. Which makes Vue cinema's Kids am film showings perfect for us.

For anyone unfamiliar with Kids am at Vue, they show films that have been released a while ago for a reduced price. £1.99 per ticket, adult or child. The showings are on a Saturday and Sunday morning, 10am or 10.30am. They also run these showings in the school holidays which is great!

The films might not be brand new, but they're still popular with the kids. Today at Vue Horwich, Bolton, there are two films showing, Hotel Transalvania 2 and Pan. My son, having already seen Hotel Transalvania 2, asked to see Pan. And at £1.99 I'm happy to take him...and if need be, have a little snooze whilst he enjoys the film!

Film review post to follow...

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Thunderbirds 2016 Annual £1 at Sainsburys, Leigh

I've seen quite a few reduced children's 2016 annuals in the last week in various shops, but none that would have interested my 5 year old son.

I think there were some Doctor Who ones left at Home Bargains in Farnworth, Bolton. If anyone is looking for one.

When I was in Sainsburys, Leigh, yesterday I picked up this Thunderbirds Annual for £1 as my son really likes the TV show.

Looking through it, there was one page that, for a children's books, could have gone very wrong!

The authors must have really taken their time over this game to ensure a certain combination of letters didn't appear...

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Lego Ninjago and Minecraft Reduced at Sainsburys, Leigh

On my way home this evening, I called in to Sainsburys in Leigh. It's something I often do on a Friday usually for a start to the weekend bottle of Pinot Grigio!

I can never resist a little look at the toy aisles and although they were rather bare there were still some good offers on Lego.

My son loves Ninjago, so this 70734  Master Wu Dragon set at £23.33 (instead of £34.99) really caught my attention. It was marked reduced to clear. When I checked on Amazon it was £29.97.

There was also a Lego Minecraft set, The Snow Hideout Playset - 21120 for £26.66 (instead £39.99). £29.99 on Amazon and Argos.

There were a couple of other offers on Lego City and Creator.

And one which I missed out on! Gutted!...

(Please note these were spotted in Sainsburys, Leigh and may not be available at other stores.)

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Today's Toy Bargains at Home Bargains, Farnworth, Bolton

On a quick trip to Farnworth, Bolton, this morning, I popped in to Home Bargains. There were a few things that caught my eye.

First were these Sesame Street, Furchester Hotel Elmo and Cookie Monster plush toys, only £1.99 each! For such popular characters I thought this was a great buy. Cookie Monster and Elmo have always been a favourite of young children and I can't see that changing anytime soon!

They also had some Furchester Hotel bath toys for £2.99.

Also in Home Bargains were some Collector Barbies. Although aimed at older children or the adult collector and kept on display, at these prices I'd be happy for my children to play with them.

They had 2014 Holiday Barbie in a beautiful red dress for £9.99, rrp £39.99. And a Black Label Divergent Tris Barbie for £6.99.

(Please note these were spotted in Home Bargains, Farnworth, Bolton and may not be available at other stores.)

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Lego Star Wars Microfighters reduced at ASDA, Swinton - and other Lego offers!

Today I popped into ASDA in Swinton, Greater Manchester, to pick up some school trousers that I'd ordered for my son via click and collect. For anyone who's wondered what ASDA school uniform is like I can recommend it. Well, at least the little boys trousers! They fit well and wash well, and considering how often they're worn and what they must go through in an average day of a five year old, for £3-£3.50, they wear very well!

Whilst in there I had a little look down the toy aisle and at a great price were the Lego Star Wars Series 2 Microfighters. Each set seemed to be priced differently and the prices ranged from £5 to £6.73. Normally these are around £8 or £9.

The Snowspeeder (75074) was the cheapest at £5 but out of the series 2 sets, this is one of my favourites! I think these are a great buy if you are going to any boy's birthday parties. Or a bargain Valentine's gift if your other half likes Star Wars. There might be more deals coming soon on these as series 3 will be out soon but at £5 these seem a good buy.

Once again, if you're buying these for your children keep the box and instructions as they're sure to retain some value if you ever want to sell them in the future.

Also in ASDA were these Lego Star Wars buildable Obi-Wan Kenobi figures for £ 12 reduced from £ 15.97. These don't appeal to me as much as the microfighters but thought they were still worth a mention. 

Across the way at Home Bargains they had Lego luggage tags in various colours for 99p. These are great if you are planning a Lego themed birthday party soon. They could make great game prizes or you could even use them as party bag fillers.

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New Year - Time to get the Finances in Order

New Year can be so much more than unrealistic or half hearted resolutions, it really can be a fresh start. An opportunity to get things in order and take control. Even if you've unsuccessfully tried in the past, New Year is always a time to try again.

I've got three things I would like to take control of, or do better at this year:

1. Try and be more organised, keep the house tidy and not put things off until the last minute.

2. Lose some weight and get back in shape! No fad diets for me though, it will all be down to sensible 'calorie cutback' and more exercise.

3. Be more aware of what I spend, keep to a budget and stash as much cash into savings as possible!

For me, numbers 1 and 3 are a little bit related. I need to make more of an effort to save so we can put that money towards a bigger house. The house that was the perfect size when it was just me and my husband is now full to bursting after the arrival of our two children! For such small people, the amount of 'stuff' they've accumulated has completely overwhelmed our lovely little house to the point of suffocation! Especially after Father Christmas has been...eek!

There's no room to move and even when I get the tidying bug there's nowhere to tidy anything away to! Well...except Ebay...hmmm! But that doesn't solve the problem that our growing children could do with more space.

I've been cutting back for a while now but even though I felt I was turning to cheaper brands and looking out for offers, when my credit card statement arrived each month it was always more than I wanted it to be! :(

Especially during November and December when the Christmas shopping took over...!

(Just for the record, I pay my credit card off in full each month to avoid any interest. I just prefer it over a debit card as I get to keep the cash in the bank longer therefore gaining interest and I get loyalty points when I spend on it.)

In order to gain back control, I've installed a spending tracker app on my phone and every time I spend anything I log it. This is set against a monthly budget that I've set myself, so I now have a very CLEAR idea of what I'm spending as the month goes on. Rather than waiting for the bill to arrive and thinking I'll try harder next month!

I've already found that keeping this record has influenced my purchases and has helped me cut back. Especially with small things. I've cut back on magazines, the odd lipstick or eyeshadow that happens to take my fancy, coffees when out and about as well as food on the go. It's surprising how quickly a few quid here or there can mount up! Now, I'll save these as treats towards the end of the month if I've still got money leftover from my monthly budget.

It's also made me question whether the things I want to buy are things we really need or not. Do I really need another pair of shoes, how much am I going to wear them and if I don't buy them will there be other shoes in the future (when I've got more disposable income!) that I'll probably like just as much!

Keeping a close eye on my spending has also made me more likely to return something I've bought if I can't quite justify it to myself once I've got my shopping home or had a night to sleep on it!

I'm not turning into to Scrooge, but I do want my spending habits to be a bit more considered. And how good would it feel at the end of the month if I did have enough left over for those shoes *wink*! What an incentive! Joking aside...I feel like this January is a chance to start a fresh, put things into perspective and enjoy the challenge of a more frugal year ahead!

Some other things I'll be looking to do over the next couple of weeks is review what's going straight out of my bank account, direct debits and the like, and see if there's anything I can cancel, switch or renegotiate. As well as making sure I've got the best bank account for my needs.

Note: The app I'm currently using is called Spending Tracker and was free to install. There are others available but this is the only one I've tried and so far it meets my needs perfectly and is easy to use. If you didn't want to use an app good old Excel or even pen and paper would work just fine! I just find a phone app really convenient especially when out and about.

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