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In General, Reviews / Sponsored

Warner Brothers DVDs Make Ideal Gifts

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 1 Comment

Obviously Christmas is coming and as always I’m left scratching my head when it comes to gift ideas. If you read C&C regularly you’ll no doubt have realised that I often have the good fortune to blog for Warner Brothers. We have had some wonderful titles sent through, for Kieran (the 6yr old) and for ourselves and they are always so well packed, often with goodies and themed fun items. Seeing this I have decided themed DVD sets are a great way to get around the “what do I buy?” angst.

Take the Halloween / half term box that we were sent for Kieran this year.

Warner Brothers – great gifts for kids, brilliant to watch DVDs for everyone!

We received Tom & Jerry – Trick & Treats, Ben 10 Destroy All Aliens, Hero Factory – Savage Planet and Scooby Doo – Big Top all of which may be found on Amazon.

Not only did we have these fantastic DVDs, we also had a Halloween mask, spooky bubbles for blowing, Fangtastic Haribo sweets etc. I’m not entirely sure whether initially the DVDs or the whole set up is what had him jumping around in glee yet it did! The movies have been watched time and time again (my favourite is he Hero Factory Lego one which we watched curled up in his bed with movie snacks together!!).

All of the DVDs to review have been delivered in a fresh and funky way that has made what could have been a DVD in a jiffy bag, a box of delights. Thank you Warner Brothers…. we are pinching your idea and will be gifting family and friends with themed WB DVD boxes this year as we are sure that they will enjoy them as much as we have!

 

Of course DVD gifts aren’t just for the kids; we have enjoyed our own piece of Warner Brothers magic in the form of DVDs for adults. I don’t mean ADULT DVDs, I’m talking about the type of DVD that has you on the edge of your seat, will make you laugh, cry and pretty much ensure that you never want to relinquish control of the remote controller to anyone else. Yes, I’m talking about Dallas! I was lucky enough to review Season 1-2 during the run up to the new Dallas that has been aired on Channel 5. It was fabulous (the new and the old). Being able to review 3 and 4 too has been an added bonus (and even Roy has been hooked – although he would never admit it!).

I have to be careful what I say about these two seasons purely because it would be so easy to spoil them (jog people’s memories and spoil the plot). What I will say is that Sue Ellen has a terrible time of it, Bobby’s marriage hangs on a thread, Miss Ellie & Jock have problems of their own when long buried secrets come to light, Cliff Barnes continues his political vendetta against the Ewings and there are consequences to be faced all round.
As for JR, well he is as much of a nasty pasty as ever yet is determined to get his own way and doesn’t care who he hurts in the meantime.

For anyone who loved Dallas the first time round, has enjoyed the new season or just loves fantastically written and filmed drama then Dallas should be on the Christmas or birthday list. If you wanted a themed Dallas box you could of course include a pistol (water) or a replica of JR’s cowboy hat however I think the DVDs alone are just fine (and there are 14 seasons so that covers all birthdays, anniversaries and Christmases for a while!).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vampire-Diaries-Season-DVD/dp/B003ZDNH7C/ref=sr_1_4?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1353234455&sr=1-4

For her and for him….. Vampire Diaries.
For anyone who loved Buffy and Angel or who simply enjoys the high drama that comes with the entangled life of a US town steeped in history, a secret society and vampires then this set is perfect. Having already watched and reviewed the first season I was thrilled when the next hit the mat and again have been on the edge of my seat watching the twists and turns. Roy has thoroughly enjoyed these seasons too and we will be buying the next ones to enjoy.

Whether you are looking for something for a child, a teen or an adult, Warner Brothers has literally thousands of titles for you to choose from, from new films and series’ and ones which have been enjoyed for years. For gifts you can’t go wrong with choosing a Warner Brothers title or two, with and themed box or without.

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In MoneySaving, Reviews / Sponsored

The Importance of Teaching Children About Savings

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

As parents the amount of personal debt that seems to be the “norm” nowadays scares us silly. Our aim is to make sure that the boys not only understand the value of money but also recognise that saving up for something rather than relying on credit is the best way forward.

I work for myself on a freelance basis so while I have regular clients I also have numerous ones that come and go. With one-off projects and invoices that get paid at various points throughout the month (or the next month!) I understand oh so well that having a safety net in the form of savings and spending some time on our financial planning is a must.

Our top tip for teaching kids about about savings is to start early and give them responsibility!

Kieran (my 6yr old) gets £5 a week for his pocket money. While some might gasp at this amount (many on the school yard have), let me explain. Kieran gets £5 a week and this pays for any sweets, magazines, small treats, toys etc that he wishes to buy. We don’t routinely buy him these things, he gets them himself with money that he earns. To earn this £5 he has to have good behaviour etc but also has household chores that he needs to complete. He understands the need to work for his money, and that if he doesn’t he doesn’t get any.

Both boys have a CTF which assorted monies are paid into however they each have a passbook account that they can use to save up with and have easy access to. Kieran has now got into the habit of taking his £5 down with his book and giving it to the person at the building society so that he can save up for larger toys such as the latest Lego set. He loves drawing it out when he has saved enough and taking his money in his own wallet and paying for items himself (he will tell whoever is on the checkout that he has done this every time without fail). He enjoys the sense of achievement that comes with saving up for his own treats!

Kieran has a hamster (called Yoda). This is Kieran’s hamster and he saved up for the cage etc when we got him. As the hamster is essentially “his” pet he helps to clean the cage and makes sure that Yoda is well taken care of. He also gives us £1 out of his pocket money when we need to stock up on bedding, feed etc as this is a financial responsibility that he has chosen to taken on (although we all enjoy the hamster who is not only very cute but clearly possess super Jedi powers).

We hope that by giving Kieran control of his own money in this way, encouraging him to save and taking responsibility for things that we are instilling the notion that saving up is important, rather than have him blindly fall into the trap of instant gratification and using credit when he is older. So far, so good, and he seems to have a real grasp on the value of things that is rare apparently in a boy of his age. We’ll do the same for Taylor as he gets older and hopefully our children can enjoy a life free of debt and the stress and worry that goes with it when they are adults themselves. There is some fantastic debt management advice available nowadays for those that need it however we’d obviously prefer to educate the boys in advance so that they don’t.

We truly believe that educating your kids and giving them responsibility for their own money when younger is a great way to teach them about savings,

 

 

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