This competition is now closed.

I’ve got a little competition for you today. When I was first approached about it, I have to confess that I saw the word ‘IQ test’ and immediately wanted to take part. It’s not that I’m competitive, I just like to be the cleverest. All of the time.

"Be food smart"Don’t panic though, it’s not an ordinary IQ test – this one is a food IQ quiz, to see how much you know about hidden nasties like fat and salt. Apparently 77% of respondents have scored 50% or less, so I’m sure you won’t be able to resist seeing if you can do better.*

The quiz is part of the he Government’s healthy living initiative Change4Life and the new ‘Be Food Smart’ campaign, and as an extra incentive, everyone who signs up to Change4Life gets one of these funky ‘Meal Mixer’ healthy meal planners:

"meal planner"

If you’d like to win a meal mixer AND £50 to spend on food at the co-operative, all you have to do is take the food IQ quiz and share your score. There will be a bonus entry for liking the Slummy single mummy Facebook page and for every time you share this post.

Entry will close on 30th January and a winner will be picked at random after that date.

Good luck!

*I got 75%. Just saying. Not that it matters. *Whistles casually*

Also listed at ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

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With only ten days to go until Christmas, and vast quantities of food, gifts and decorations littering the house, isn’t it time you deserved a little treat?

Of course it is.

And I’m not just talking a sneaky glass of sherry in the kitchen while you’re cooking. I’m talking about a proper fancy kitchen gadget.

Now, if you’re like me, forever grinding spices by hand and what not, you’ll be secretly hoping that someone buys you a James Martin Wahl spice grinder for Christmas. When you don’t find a spice grinder in your stocking though, (because to be honest, who knew you loved grinding spices so much?), what will you do? Sob into your sprouts?

No!

You’ll enter this competition instead of course. Silly billy.

"Spice grinder"

If grinding spices isn’t your thing, you’ll be pleased to hear you can grind coffee beans in it too. Or simply stick it under the bed and wait until next Christmas, when you can whip it out as a thoughtful gift for the budding chef in your life.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favourite spice is. (I like a bit of cumin myself.)

The competition will close on 29th December, to give you chance to enter once you’ve opened your presents and been disappointed.

Good luck!

As featured on Loquax Competitions

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Christmas isn’t exactly the time of the year when you think about saving money, but today I’ve got some advice and a competition that should be just what you need to start the New Year with good financial intentions.

You’re playing for two fab prizes today, so get your best competition hat on. First off, you get a copy of the super new book  ‘Money Smarter – a Family Guide’. Money Smarter is a really interesting and practical guide to teaching children the value of money, with over 50 activities that you can try with your family:

"Money Smarter"

Look after the pennies and all that…

Then to go with it, you get this adorable leather purse from Lyla and Tilly, to put all your pennies in once you’ve saved them:

"Bird picture"

Tweet this post for an extra competition entry.
(See what I did there?)

You see? Everything you need for a debt free 2013!

To enter, all you have to do is have a read of these four family finance activities, taken from Money Smart, and then leave a comment offering your own money-saving tip or learning activity. The competition closes on Christmas Day, so you can get your money-saving kit in time for the New Year.

Good luck!

Four ways to teach children the value of money

Where does money come from?
As children, it’s hard to get your head around the idea of money, where it comes from, and what it gets spent on. Sitting down with your kids and explaining exactly how adults earn money is a really useful way to teach children the value of skills and experience. To make it more real, have a look at a selection of job ads. Talk to your children about the different kinds of jobs people do, how much they are paid, and what sort of skills they might need.

Need versus want
Children always seem to need the latest gadget or toy, but how do you teach them the difference between wanting and needing something? Imagine with your kids that you’re stranded on a desert island. Get them to think about what they’d actually need to survive, and what luxuries they might want.

Good debt versus bad debt
People tend to fear debt, but the important thing to learn is the difference between good and bad debt. Debt that will put money in your pocket at a future date is a good debt, a debt that doesn’t is bad. For example, investing in going to university is a good debt, as it will help you earn more money later, but just borrowing to go on holiday isn’t such a great investment. Look through some magazines and newspapers with your kids. Cut out three pictures that represent good debts, and three that are bad.

Your fun fund
Managing your money doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. As well as saving for the future and paying the bills, there should always be a slice of your budget set aside for fun. How you spend that slice is up to you! With your children, come up with a list of things that you’d like to spend your fun fund on. Can you work out how long it would take you to have enough money for each of your fun activities?

Competition open to UK residents only. Competition closes on 25th December 2012. Your information may be used for marketing purposes by the Money Smarter team. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.

As featured on Loquax Competitions and ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

Disclosure

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Today I’ve got a fantastic competition for you, where you can win £100 to spend on pampering yourself at a spa near you. Christmas for parents can be a little on the draining side, financially, physically and mentally, so what better way to recharge your festive batteries than with a spot of self-indulgence?

"lovetub"

The prize has been very kindly donated by lovetub. Lovetub is an indulgent chilled dessert, (not a saucy outdoor hot tub, as the name might suggest), packed in to one single-serve tasty tub. Each tub can be popped in the microwave and in 30 seconds you’ve got yourself a delicious gooey centred treat.

To celebrate the launch of their latest two new flavours, lovetub wanted to share the love and give one of my readers a voucher which entitles you to a beauty treatment of your choice, at a spa or beauty parlour near you, to the value of £100.

If that wasn’t enough, you could also bag yourself a free lovetub or a money-off coupon by visiting the lovetub Facebook page. Everyone’s a winner! If you haven’t already tried the delicious desserts, this is the perfect opportunity.

To be in with a chance to win a personal pampering session, you’ve got a few options. Each will count as one entry, so the more you do, the more chances you have to win!

  • Leave a comment on this post telling me why you deserve a treat
  • Go and like me on Facebook and leave a comment there saying hello
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following – ”#Win £100 of pampering with @mummyblogger http://wp.me/pJA3j-124″
  • Sign up to receive new posts by email or RSS feed

The competition will close on 11th December and a winner will be chosen at random after that, so you can have your lovely treat in time for Christmas.

Good luck!

As featured on Loquax Competitions

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Do you have young children? Do you like telling people what you think?

This competition could be just for you…

Babyhuddle is offering two £100 Amazon vouchers to two lucky Slummy single mummy readers! Ideal for a spot of Christmas shopping or picking up some bargains in the January sales. (Or, if you’re like me, just buying yourself shed loads of books).

Babyhuddle is the UK’s number one social baby shop for parents to share their top tips on what products to get, when to use them and how to use them. They’re laying on this fantastic competition to help more parents discover Babyhuddle and to encourage parents to share their own views and experiences.

There are two ways to enter, both of which are based on earning as many points as possible.

You will get:

  • 1 point for creating an account on Babyhuddle with a user picture/avatar (this is the obligatory bit)
  • 2 points for every unique product review of at least 80 words

One £100 voucher will be awarded to the new member with the most points at the end of the competition.

Another £100 voucher will be awarded through a raffle system in which each point earned will count towards one raffle entry, so your chances of being selected for this voucher increase as you earn more points.

So long as you enter through the link below, Babyhuddle will automatically be able to add up your points for you, so you don’t have to worry about keeping count!

"Big shiny button"

P.S. Do you like my big shiny button? Can you tell I made it myself in Paint? No, I didn’t think so.

Terms and Conditions

  1. The competition is open to UK residents only
  2. Competition closes 11th December 2012
  3. Only one registration entry per person is allowed. Multiple, automated or bulk entries will result in immediate disqualification
  4. Users who have a profile picture will quality to win a £100 Amazon voucher
  5. The winners will be contacted by email using the email address provided during registration with Babyhuddle
  6. Entries will only be deemed valid if a valid email address is provided when signing up

As featured on Loquax Competitions

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When I was little, one of my favourite things to do was to make domestic appliances out of cardboard boxes.* Washing machines were a particular favourite. I would cut the flaps off the box, turn it upside down, cut out a door and draw buttons and dials on the front. Then I would arrange it nicely in my bedroom, pop Teddy’s clothes in through the door, and Bob’s your uncle, hours of fun.

When Bee was born and I was quite poor, I even had a bedside cabinet made out of a cardboard box turned on its side and filled with books.

Fortunately nowadays I don’t rely on cardboard boxes for any of my furniture, apart from the box bed in the corner of the kitchen that I make Boyfriend sleep in, but Belle has definitely inherited my love of turning cardboard boxes into things.

This week she has been working on an entry for a new monthly competition from Cartoon Stripz. The competition involves taking a creative photo or video of her Cartoon Stripz characters, and as much as I’d like to think Belle was drawn to the competition because she was fed up of watching CBBC and wanted a more wholesome activity, I suspect it was more to do with the prizes.

Have a look at what your kids could win and you’ll see what I mean:

  • November Prize: an amazing Apple iPod Nano
  • December Prize: a super-cool Sony Digital Camera
  • January Prize: a monsterrific Moshi Monsters 7-inch Capacitive Touch LCD Tablet
  • February Prize: a huge voucher to spend at Toys ‘R’ Us, worth £75
  • March Prize: a brilliant Nintendo 3DS Console

See?

Now, fortunately for Belle, I have been getting into the Christmas spirit lately by ordering masses of books from the Book People, so the house is awash with cardboard. Belle has turned one of said boxes into a two-storey home for her Cartoon Stripz, complete (obviously) with a giant penguin. The characters are perhaps a little out of proportion, but I think all in all it gives a desirable, high-ceilinged town house effect:

"Cartoon stripz"

Belle has now sent off her entry, and has her fingers crossed for an iPod Nano. If you’ve got young children, perhaps they might fancy entering themselves? Full details can be found on the Cartoon Stripz website, but don’t tell Belle I told you, I’m not sure she can handle the competition…

*I am very old. We didn’t have computers or anything in those days.

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There’s less than a week to go until Halloween. Are you feeling spooky yet?

To get her in the mood, Belle has been reading some scary Halloween stories this week from Miles Kelly. They are aimed at 6-9 year olds, beautifully illustrated and each book includes four or five individual stories. They include a mixture of classic stories with a creepy twist, plus lots of lesser known tales that have been imaginatively retold for children.

"Halloween stories"

To win your own set of three books, which includes The Wicked Witch of the West, Jack the Giant Killer and The Little Mermaid, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favourite book was as a child.

A winner will be chosen on 31st October.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my competition to win a pair of Cheekyshoes too!

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As you know, I’m a big fan of comfortable shoes. Even if it does mean my children scoff. I don’t care – rather that than bunions.

How do you feel about shoes though? Do you have a life-long favourite pair? A pet peeve? A ‘must have’?

Cheekyshoes are a brand new company, who want to create fun and funky shoes that are comfortable enough to wear every day, yet colourful enough not to make you feel like you’ve been relegated to the ‘cushioned sole, wide fit’ corner of Clarks.

You can see for yourself that they’ve definitely checked the colourful box:

I have a red pair, and can verify that they are succeeding on the comfy front too. So far so good.

Cheekyshoes really want to know though how you feel about shoes. What is important to you when choosing shoes? What colours or designs would you like to see? What do you struggle with when trying to find shoes that are both fun and functional?

Cheekyshoes have given me three pairs of shoes to giveaway, in return for your honest feedback. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with all of your shoe thoughts before the end of October, after which a winner will be chosen at random.

If you’d like an extra chance to win, you can tweet the following:

I’ve just entered to #win a pair of @cheekyshoes1 courtesy of @Mummyblogger – you can enter too now! http://wp.me/pJA3j-Vb

If you’re feeling super lucky, you could follow Cheekyshoes on twitter as well. I’d suggest you follow me too, but I’m sure you already are. *stern look*

That’s it!

That was easy wasn’t it?

Open to UK residents only – sorry!

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I want you just to take a minute.

Close your eyes and picture this scene. (Except don’t close your eyes, because then you won’t be able to read.)

You’re lying face down in a warm and sweet-smelling room. The children are miles away (in safe hands, not just abandoned at a motorway service station), and you’ve spent the day relaxing, reading your favourite book, taking the odd dip in the hydrotherapy pool and being brought cups of tea. Later on you’ll be enjoying a wonderful meal, and right now you are being massaged by a man with the looks of David Beckham, the wit of Stephen Fry and the credit card limit of Bill Gates.

All this could be yours.*

"win a spa break"If you’re in desperate need of a time out, then you need to pop along right now and enter the Four Pillars Hotels competition to win a weekend spa break for two – a whole two days and two nights of pampering, including dinner, treatments and, in my opinion the best bit of staying in a hotel – breakfast. I don’t know what it is about the breakfast, but somehow it feels really special. I think it’s the toast racks and the tiny jars of jam.

Enter now for your chance to indulge in the delights of miniature jams. And the spa obviously. Don’t forget that.

*Apart from the quality of the masseur. I absolutely cannot promise that.

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I’ve always loved Argos. They’re one of those brands you grow up with aren’t they?

The Argos love started at a young age, getting excited around September time, cutting pictures out of the catalogue to make my Christmas list. Then in my late teens and early twenties, when I first moved out on my own, I would spend happy hours at home picking out my ‘dream crockery’. I always have been easily amused.

Now though, you can buy clothes at Argos! Who’d have thought it! Girls clothing, boys clothing, men, women, dogs…*

Anyway, on to the important part – would you like to win £50 to spend on clothes at Argos? Course you would! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, telling me which animal you’d most like to see wearing clothes, and what you’d like to see them in.

*I put the dog bit in as a joke, but when I checked you can actually buy clothes for dogs from Argos. I should have known really.

The competition will close on 21st March, after which a winner will be chosen at random. Featured on ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions and Loquax Competitions

This competition is now closed.

PS I am currently on the short list for the ‘Style’ award in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards. Please take half a minute to cast your vote and tick the Slummy single mummy box.

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A few weeks ago I was asked to take part in a Bananagrams Blogger Battle. Sounds a bit ominous doesn’t it? I pictured bloggers in ‘Total Wipeout’ style protective costumes, with padded hats and shin guards, whacking each other with bunches of bananas and shrieking like monkeys.

Turns out it was letting my imagination run away with me a little.

Bananagrams is actually a game, with lettered tiles like scrabble, in a bag shaped like a banana. I was intrigued.

The game itself is fairly simple, and I won’t bore you with the rules – you’ll have to enter my competition to win one and find out for yourself. The challenge though has been slightly different every week, and this week we had to create a Bananagram of ‘things that are yellow’.

It’s actually harder than it sounds. Once you’ve done ‘banana’ and ‘sweetcorn’ you get a bit stuck. I tried looking around my desk for inspiration, but didn’t have enough room or letters for  ‘lidofayellowhighlighterpen’.

This is what we managed to come up with:

bananagrams review

We were particularly pleased with Big Bird and yolk.

If this post has given you a burning desire to create your own Bananagram, then you’re in luck, as I have a copy of the game to give away. To be in with a chance to win, just leave a comment, and name something yellow that isn’t included in my picture. I’ll give you until Friday 9th December and then I’ll pick my favourite word.

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I love Christmas.

There. I said it.

I’m not ashamed to be one of the people who gets excited hearing Slade played in shops in November. It makes me happy.

It’s not the actual day so much, which tends to be a bit of an anti-climax, dominated by that slightly over-full-probably-shouldn’t-have-had-bucksfizz-for-breakfast feeling, it’s the build up I love. And the longer the better in my opinion. The smell of a Christmas tree in the morning, choosing presents, eating mince pies and brandy butter for breakfast. It’s all good.

To try and get even the scroogiest of readers into the Christmas spirit, I’m giving you the chance to win £100 to spend on presents in the Tesco Christmas Gift Guide. One hundred whole quid. That’s not too shoddy is it? View Post

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