Exclusive competition - Win Where The Wild Things Are goodies!

 

We’re HUGE fans of Where the Wild Things Are in this house - the book and the film. And to celebrate the release of the movie on DVD, we’ve teamed up with Play.com to offer you the chance to win three sets of exclusive merchandise.


The prizes include:

  • A childs fuzzy monster suit – as worn by the character Max in the film
  • A Where The Wild Things Are Kite
  • A Where The Wild Things Are T-Shirt
  • A Where The Wild Things Are Wacky Wobbler Bobble Head
   

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to send your answer to the following question from your KidStart registered email address with your name, address and daytime telephone number to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date 14 June. (Please note that entries from non-KidStart members will be disqualified. If you’re not a member, click here to join).

Q: Who wrote Where The Wild Things Are?

Good luck - let the wild rumpus start! 

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Perfect pasta recipes from Annabel Karmel - plus win her latest cookbook!

As you know I’m a HUGE fan of Annabel Karmel, MBE so I’m very excited about her brand new cookbook, Top 100 Pasta Dishes (RRP £9.99, available from Waterstones and Ebury Press). It’s packed full of healthy, yummy meals for the whole family, including mouth-watering recipes for babies and toddlers. There’s a huge variety of recipes ranging from Spicy Sausage Meatball Pasta to my personal favourite, the Japanese-inspired Stir Fried Beef with Noodles.

   

Here are two recipes for you to try – plus, below, win a copy of Top 100 Pasta Dishes!


 

Baby vegetable pasta

Annabel says: ‘As your baby gets older it is important to encourage him to chew, so dice vegetables instead of pureeing them. Frozen peas and sweetcorn are good standbys to keep in your freezer.’


Ingredients
50 g (2 oz) baby shell pasta
10 g (V oz) butter
50 g (2 oz) onion, finely chopped
30 g (1 oz) carrot, finely diced
30 g (1 oz) red pepper, finely diced
30 g (1 oz) frozen sweetcorn
30 g (1 oz) frozen peas
10 g (V oz) plain flour
250 ml (9 fl oz) vegetable stock
2 tbsp basil, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
30 g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

Method
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and pepper, cover with a lid and sauté for 10 minutes until nearly soft. Add the sweetcorn and peas and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the flour, then add the stock, stirring until thickened. Simmer for 3 minutes, then add the basil, lemon juice and Parmesan. Stir in the drained pasta. Serve.


Salami, red pepper and mozzarella pasta

Annabel says: ‘Most children like salami, so here is a simple recipe that you can put together in about 15 minutes.’

   

Ingredients

180 g (6 oz) pasta shells
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 small garlic clove, crushed
50 g (2 oz) thinly sliced salami, roughly chopped
150 g (5V oz) cherry tomatoes, chopped into 8
75 g (3 oz) mozzarella, cubed
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Drain. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the pepper for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and salami. Fry for another 5 minutes. Add the drained pasta, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella and season. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

 

*Competition: WIN a copy of Top 100 Pasta Dishes!


   

There are 10 copies to be won in our fab competition. All you have to do is send an email from your KidStart registered email with ‘Annabel Karmel’ in the catchline and your full name and address, plus your answer to the question below, to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date May 28. (If you’re not a KidStart member, click here to join.)


Q: How many recipes are there in Annabel’s new cookbook?

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The beautiful game

Now I'm not *really* a football fan. I have a team I support (Chelsea, since you ask) and I do watch the World Cup - when England are in it. I love having a big barbecue with the whole family and settling down to watch a big game and saying in the middle 'what's the offside rule?' and 'which team is winning?' (Just to annoy the males, obviously. I understand it really *cough*)


Of course the rest of my family are actually proper footie fanatics - No 1 Son has even been a mascot at Stamford Bridge - so this summer I imagine we'll be spending a lot of time in front of the box.

And if you're thinking of getting a new TV then Argos  have the most amazing competition on at the moment. They're offering the chance to win £5000 worth of goodies including TVs, laptops, games consoles, sofa and BBQ, plus lots of footie stuff!  To find out more about how you could win simply click here.

 

And not only that, KidStart are giving everyone who shops at any of their retailers between now and 11 June the chance to win a 42" LG LCD TV from Argos worth over £1000! To find out more, click here. Good luck!

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Amazing opportunity - could you be a Simple star?

I'm a big fan of Simple so when they asked me if I'd tell you about a competition they're running to celebrate their 50th anniversary I was only too happy to help. Basically they're looking for a 'Simple Star' - you'll be an online spokesperson for the brand, and the role is perfect for a mum. No previous marketing experience is necessary and the incredible prize package includes a luxury trip to the Caribbean, plus lots of runners-up prizes. More details here - if you decide to enter, let me know how you get on!  

 

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The brilliant 1st birthday blogoversary bonanza!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the first post on LivingwithKids. And what better way to celebrate the 1st blogoversary than with a very special competition!

So here we go (drumroll please). One lucky winner will receive ALL the following prizes:


 

*A gorgeous Rainbow sleeping bag from JoJoMaman Bébé. The 100% cotton sleeping bag, worth £26, is for size 6-18 months, features zip and popper opening and prevents your baby from pulling the covers over their head or sliding down under a blanket. Wherever your baby is sleeping they will feel safe and secure in the familiar surroundings of their sleeping bag.


*Two sets of Candela Tooli nightlights from OXO. These fab lights come in sets of two, with blue/green or orange/fuschia colourways, and retail for £50 per set. They make great bedside companions to help keep little ones cosy, with each light providing eight hours of soothing light to encourage sleep throughout the night.

 

 

*A fantastic Terrance Trunki plus Travel Chums Wash bag, pencil case and wrist purse, all from Trunki. Terrance retails for £29.99 and features locking catches, teddy bear seatbelts (that’s internal straps for grown-ups) a ‘bits’ pouch and a convenient carry handle. He comes with his own passport, secret compartments and a multifunctional carry-tow strap.


The reversible wash bag (available in pink or blue, £9.99) is perfect for packing toiletries and the pencil case (£7.99) can be clipped onto a car seat, belt loop or your Trunki and is also available in pink or blue. And the velcro wrist purse (£4.99) allows your tot to carry their essentials and keep them close to hand.

*A selection of delicious chocolate from Divine, including gold coins, mini eggs and the wonderful Divine Dark, which is 70% cocoa. PLUS a copy of the gorgeous Divine Heavenly Chocolate Recipes cookbook by Linda Collister (£19.99, available from Waterstones).

 

 

*DVDs of Glee Season 1 and New Moon, courtesy of play.com, the UK's leading entertainment retailer. Play.com offers hundreds of fantastic deals on DVDs, blu-ray, video games, toys, books, CDs, digital downloads, mobile phones, electronic equipment, gadgets and more, with free delivery and big savings on everything. Also check out the Play.com kids store for all kids films, books, games and toys.
 


*A range of products from the Simple Sun Sensitive range, featuring the goodness of Sunflower Extract and Green Tea to enhance the skin's natural protection to defend against the sun's harmful rays.   

How to enter:

Send an email from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk with the word blogoversary in the subject line by Tuesday May 4, including your name, address and contact telephone number.

Don’t forget... you MUST be a KidStart member to enter this competition. Joining is free, only takes a few minutes and gives you heaps of exclusive offers plus the chance to shop at your favourite retailers and earn money back for your kids. Click here for more info.

Good luck!

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Come on get snap happy

I don’t know about you but we seem to have loads and loads of photos all over the place and I've been meaning to organise them for a while now. Which is why I was so excited to discover Photobox’s personalised Photobooks.

 

 

They’re just fab. Basically you choose which photos to include (you can have anything from 26 to 100 pages holding up to 1200 photos), and then customize each page with captions, backgrounds, fonts, colours and layouts (or you can autofill if you’re pushed for time).


Then they send the book back to you, beautifully bound, like a coffee table book. Uploading the pics can take a little time but the end results are definitely worth it.

The photo books start at £23.99 plus P&P, but if you order through KidStart you get 5% back for your kids and 2 for 1 on Photobooks and canvas prints. PLUS all orders taken in March will be entered into a draw to win one of four £50 vouchers. Click here for more info.

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Win a limited edition Mini Micro Scooter!

Kids love scooters - and here's your chance to win one!

The Micro Scooter team is introducing a new, limited edition set of eye-catching colours to their Mini Micro collection - they're available in green, yellow and red. But you can also buy red, green and yellow handle grips, decks and brakes as separates, allowing existing Micro Scooter owners to ‘pick n mix’ accessories to ‘revamp their ride’!

 

 

The Mini Micro Scooter in the UK’s number one selling scooter for kids aged 3-5 years.   Its high quality Swiss design makes scooting fun and easy for youngsters who love the independence and sense of achievement the Mini Micro Scooter gives them.  The new limited edition colours are available exclusively at http://www.micro-scooters.co.uk/, costing £54.95.


But we have three to give away in our fab competition!

All you have to do is email your answer to the following question with your name, address and daytime telephone number from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date March 9. If you are not a KidStart member click here to join.

Question: Which limited edition colours is the Mini Micro Scooter available in?

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WIN tickets to the Ideal Home Show

I LOVE looking at new things for the home and listening to expert advice, which is why I'm definitely planning to go to this year's Ideal Home Show.  It takes place at Earl's Court in London from 20th March to 5th April, and among the well known faces appearing at this year's show are Linda Barker and Monty Don - total TV legends!

 

The fantastic news is that we have 10 pairs of tickets to give away (travel not included). All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is send an email from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk including your name, address and daytime telephone number by the closing date February 24th.

If you are not a KidStart member click here to join.

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Disney's Princess and the Frog - review, special events and competition!

Back in December I gave you a sneaky peek at Disney's The Princess and the Frog - and the good news is it opens today!

Set in New Orleans in the 20s, The Princess and the Frog gives a new spin on an old classic. It's the story of Tiana, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who dreams of owning her own restaurant. Unfortunately she gets mixed up with the handsome but rather cocky Prince Naveen and some voodoo magic which ends up turning both her and the prince into frogs! It's a wonderful, enchanting film, featuring a brilliant jazz-inspired soundtrack, instantly memorable songs and a return to 2D hand drawn animation. I guarantee the whole family will love it. 

 

And make sure you pop along to your nearest Disney Store on Saturday mornings as they'll be hosting a whole range of special themed FREE events at their Princess and the Frog: Royal Academy, including animation, storytelling and etiquette lessons, plus extra events at half-term!

COMPETITION:
To celebrate the movie's release, we're giving you the chance to win an amazing Princess and the Frog prize pack. The prize includes a Kissing Naveen plush toy, a Louis plush toy, a Nintendo DS game, a Wii game, a Princess Tiana fancy dress costume, a fortune card game, a notebook, CD soundtrack, backpack, watch and sticker set.

   

How to enter: All you have to do is send the answer to the following question from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk including your name, daytime telephone number, address by 17 February. If you are not a KidStart member click here to join.

Question: Which US city is Princess and the Frog set in?

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WIN! A Little Helper FunPod®!

If you've watched the videos of little Archie from mydaddycooks you'll have seen that the way his dad keeps him safe is in a Little Helper FunPod®. The multi-award winning FunPod® provides a safe environment to get your toddlers up to the kitchen worktop on their own safely constructed platform to help, interact, learn and play.

Heralded as socially responsible, the FunPod® encourages children to learn all about the whole food experience and can encourage parent and child bonding with quality time spent while preparing lunch or dinner. With five awards to its name in just over 12 months, the FunPod® is available in five different colours. The FunPod® is available from retailers including Childalert's Baby Catalogue. Read our review of the FunPod® here.

   

   

But if you'd like the chance to WIN one, plus a FunPack worth £7.99 including an apron, child’s wooden whisk, spoon, rolling pin and mixing fork, just enter our fab competition!


How to enter: click here, watch the video on the home page and then send us your answer to the following question from your KidStart registered email address to competitions@kidstart.co.uk by the closing date Tuesday 9 February.

Please note: entries from non KidStart members will be disqualified. If you'd like to register with KidStart, click here - registration is free. Usual KidStart competition rules apply.

Question: What colour top is the little girl with pigtails in the video wearing?

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About LivingwithKids

Living with Kids is a family blog from KidStart where Liz Jarvis will share stories, thoughts and expert tips, and she'll also tell you about the best family holidays, days out, offers and products for you and your kids. More...

Introducing Liz

I'm a mum and freelance journalist who writes for some of the UK's top parenting magazines and websites. My family is my whole world - but they can drive me crazy, too! More...

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