Mr Frosty Choc Ice Maker Review - Is It One For Santa’s List?

Mr Frosty is certainly a throwback. In fact he was on my own Santa list in the 80’s, and my poor parents’ arms would despair having to crank the handle on the back of him, in his older incarnation, to dispense some slivers of ice into a cup for me, those were the days! 

I’m pleased to report the Mr Frosty of 2018 is much more hassle-free, and the Mr Frosty Choc Ice Maker is one product that parents won’t be dreading seeing on the Santa list this Christmas. It costs £12.99 and you can buy it from Asda or Smyths.

We were sent one to try out this week, so we gave it a whirl. The kit contains lolly moulds to freeze yoghurt lollies, and a lovely little igloo which you then use to melt chocolate to coat your frozen lollies. It’s very cute and a fun idea to make with your kids over the Christmas break too.

This blog is a bit of a “how to”  also in case you are thinking of buying the Choc Ice Maker, hopefully I can give you some tips and tricks.

I found a great hack was to buy Frubes, the yoghurt that comes in straw like tubes for packed lunches. Not only are they freezable, but they are perfect to snip off the corner and pipe into the snowman mould, rather than try to spoon regular yoghurt in there. A whole box of Frubes is never more than £2.

The lolly mould is like an ice cube tray, but it’s a flexible silicon one, which has good points and bad points. The good point is that once your lollies are set they are very easy to pop out, whether they be yoghurt, like we made, or solid chocolate, or anything you freeze. The downside is that the mould once filled with yoghurt is still quite floppy, so when I tried to carry it over to to freezer some of the liquid spilled. I would suggest putting the mould on a flat tray and putting the whole thing into the freezer like that. Also don’t underestimate the size the mould takes up with the lolly sticks protruding out, you need quite a bit of space in the freezer for it. Measure it out before you start so you don’t get caught out with a armful of yoghurt lollies and nowhere to put them like me!

The yoghurt freezes quite quickly, and is very easy to pop out of the moulds, and the roof of the igloo doubles up as a stand for your lollipops, which is so handy. You then melt your chocolate coating in the main igloo part in the microwave, and coat your lollipops. 

We found this part tricky, there must be a knack to it, but the shape of the snowman disappeared completely for us! It still tasted delicious anyway. We added some sprinkles and decorations, and you could add fresh fruit or any other decorations to make the pops a healthy snack. 

The clean up is very simple, I just put everything in the sink with hot water.  

We definitely want to try out some other recipes. Smix wants to try some solid chocolate lollipops. I want to try some other flavours of yoghurt in there, maybe add chopped up mini mallows or Nutella.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you enjoy kitchen crafts it’s a fun one that you will do more than once, it’s easy, not much clean up required, doesn’t take up much storage either. Would make a nice gift too. Add it to the Santa list. 

All the Details for Saturday's Grand Opening of NI's First 'The Entertainer' Store- The Toy Shop With a Heart

Location of The Entertainer- Castlecourt, just at the top of the escalators inside the front door, opposite Debenhams, beside Starbucks

This Saturday (13th August),  The Entertainer Toy shop add to their 130 strong, UK-wide stores by opening their first NI branch, in Castlecourt in Belfast. The Grand Opening on Saturday morning at 9am, is sure to be an exciting day, with costumed characters in attendance for photographs between 10am and 3pm. Lego's ninja pair Lloyd & Kai will be welcoming kids through the doors, as well as Star Wars favourites Chewbacca & Darth Vader, I'm sure there will be more than one parent wanting a snap with them too!

There will be balloons, demos and a free Lego gift with Lego purchases (while stocks last). If you fancy getting there early, then you might be one of the lucky 35 first in line. They will all receive a surprise voucher each, ranging from £5 right up to one lucky person winning £100. 

Ok, so who is 'The Entertainer'? Why do I call them the toy shop with a heart? And what makes them different to any other toy shop? 

The chain is family owned, with the first store opening just outside London in Amersham 35 years ago. One thing very different about the stores is they don't open on Sundays- they want their staff to have that day for family, and they have stuck to their guns on this even when it meant certain shopping centres were less reluctant to let them open there. But it's admirable that they've not budged on what they believe, and with expansion ongoing it proves you don't have to always bend on what you think is right just to please others. 

They also have a very clear social conscience. 10% of ALL their profit goes to charities, specifically children's charities. That totalled just under a million pounds last year, donated by the chain. They are the very first high street store to enable you to 'round up' your payment to a pound, with the difference being given to charity, when you pay by card. You may have come across this when paying on eBay or Dominos before, so if your total is £13.45, the card machine will give you the option to round up to £14 and the 55p goes to charity.  Here in NI that charity will be the NI Hospice, so it's local money for local kids- a big plus.

Also on Saturday morning at 830am there will be a trolley dash for Autism NI (I have always wanted to watch a trolley dash but the thought of doing one myself terrifies me!) 

What about the store itself? What makes going to The Entertainer better than going to Smyths, or Toys R Us? Well from our sneak peek tour round the shop, it has to be one thing most obviously- price.  

As Rebecca from Head Office showed us round the bright, colourful store I kept stopping at the unbelievable prices of some of the stock. Of course your Lego, Playmobil etc is similarly priced to other stores, but for example there were little boxes of craft games for a couple of pounds or even £1, bigger than Poundland toys and perfect for party bags or stocking fillers. 

Glitter activity bucket only £4, other games £1

Braiding games £1

In fact Rebecca told me The Entertainer specialise in pocket money toys, and trying to keep things under £25. They locate branches in towns and cities, rather than the trend of out of town shopping, and like to see the store as a treat to take your kids to when you've dragged them round shopping where you wanted to! Smix will certainly be more keen next time I want to visit Debenhams anyway.

Kids will love The Entertainer more than other toy shops as they like to have lots of the toys out of their packaging so you can test them out, or have a play. Anyone of a certain age will remember the pleading at our parents to please take us to the Early Learning Centre, to get in the one Cosy Coupe, little red & yellow car they would have out on display. That would be the highlight of the shopping trip, wheeling yourself around ELC with your little feet flying. Well The Entertainer is going to be like that- but for our kids!

Wubble Bubble demo- it's now on Smix' birthday list (p.s. It's £2 cheaper in The Entertainer than on Amazon) 

They cater from newborns up

They also pride themselves on trying to be very quick to pick up the latest trends. They tend to be first to the market with crazes like Loom Bands, Moshi Monsters & more currently Shopkins, Pom Pom Wow and Bunchems. 

There has been a big trend of making Pie Face videos for YouTube, the game where a spring loaded hand with whipped cream on it is passed around in a messy version of Russian roulette. Rebecca told me the game has actually been out for 11 years, but thanks to YouTube it's outselling brand new to market games. The Entertainer have the real thing, but also some similar alternatives, like 'Splat!' for half the price at just £10. You can even buy the cream in store- I found that really amusing for some reason! I think I'll be getting one of these for Christmas 2016 in the Spence household.

You can see from my photographs there's a very clear pink & blue divide to the in store decoration. I subscribe to the notion that toys are toys and for all, so I had planned on asking them why they have a 'girls' section' and a 'boy's section'- then I noticed that absolutely NOWHERE does it say 'girls' toys' or 'boys' toys'- so it was actually my own brain jumping to conclusions, when in reality there is no gender labelling in store, and boys can shop in pink if they want and vice versa, without being labelled the opposite. 

£10 Ever After dolls

The store itself is designed to be easily navigated by pram, with slightly lower than usual stands so you can keep an eye on your child if they are excitedly running around. Another plus for busy mums and dads, is their 30 min click and collect service. Go on The Entertainer Toy Shop website, find the item you want to buy. Check it's in stock and reserve the item to pick up in store. 

This is a godsend at Christmas time and saves traipsing round half a dozen stores trying to locate that one most-wanted item on Santa's list. Reserve it, pick it up- easy. 

Now this touch I absolutely adore. The till points in The Entertainer have little wooden steps so your child can climb up and pay for their own item should they wish to do so. How cool is that? 

Finally I couldn't finish this blog without a word from Smix. What did he make of the new toy store chain? 

He liked how bright the store was, and that he could play with the Wubble Bubble. He said the labelling of the departments was good because he could easily read which section was which, and where to go to find certain toys. He noticed if you were in one section and didn't like anything, there was always something in another section you did like. He loved the choice from the pocket money stands, but he would like to see more Playmobil in store.

Sadly we can't make the grand opening by the mayor of Belfast on Saturday morning, but do tweet me if you go and let me see what's going on (@rudedoodle) With the Belfast store creating even more local jobs hiring for Christmas this Autumn, and plans to expand throughout NI, let's give The Entertainer a warm welcome this weekend.

Mr Frosty is Back! We Vlog Our Trip Down Memory Lane.

It took several years of nagging Santa, but I eventually did own one of these coveted ice crushing snowmen in the 80s. My memories are of the handle being impossible to turn, and of just driving the syrup from the squeezy penguin.

Well Mr Frosty is back! He's £19.99 from Smyths Toys, and there are some changes to be aware of. The super sugary syrups are no longer included, which means you can be healthier and add your usual dilute or flavouring of your choice to the crushed ice. As well as the classic Mr Frosty machine, you'll also receive lolly moulds to make yoghurt, juice, or lollies of anything in your imagination. There are also two trays of fun ice cube shapes.

You can use dilute juice and freeze that in icecubes so your ice you crush is automatically flavoured, if you choose to. 

So, is the Mr Frosty machine any easier to use? My parents used to hate cranking that handle! Well the tip is to leave the ice out to allow it to soften for ten minutes to make the handle turning easier. I'm a little sceptical here as surely the physics of ice means it is either ice or water, there is no mystical 'soft ice' state. A tip I would offer up is that if you use ice cube plastic bags to make your cubes, if you whack it with a rolling pin to smash the cubes up a little smaller, you'll have more luck than just feeding Mr Frosty regular sized cubes. 

We still found the handle hard to turn, sadly. We did get crushed ice and yes, it is easier than the 80s' version, but Smix is aged 8 and needed help each time he wanted to use it. Another tip we have is don't press down too hard on Mr Frosty's hat. Just apply even pressure. 

If you love creative toys then Flair's club will be right up your street, visit www.coolcreateclub.co.uk

Here's our Vlog! 

Zoingo Boingo: The Flexible Fun Pogo Toy That Tempted Smix Away From His IPad & Out to the Garden!

This week we received the new Zoingo Boingo pogo toy from Flair toys, a spin on the traditional pogo stick with a bouncing ball base and bungee cord handle which allows for more movement and the ability to do more tricks than before. With the weather finally picking up it was the perfect time to tempt Smix outside and off his iPad to learn the skill to 'boinging'.

The Zoingo Boingo is suitable for age 8 and up, so Smix is exactly the target range. The toy comes boxed, and you have a guide to inflate the ball base to prepare it for use. This is where we had a little trouble. Initially we inflated it as much as it could be inflated, which made the ball base quite hard and with no give. This was our mistake! Do not over inflate the ball, it doesn't need to be like a football, allow some give in it and it's a LOT easier to get the hang of pogoing on the Zoingo Boingo. Allow for it to be a little 'squidgy'.

One side of the footplate has a lip, put your foot on this side to start

Around the ball base is the foot plate, and you'll see one side has a little lip. This is the side you put your first foot on, then tip, balance and bounce. Smix got the hang of it very quickly (now we had fixed the over inflated base problem) and within the first session he could do 17 bounces in a row.

The Zoingo works best on grass or pavement, and as you'd imagine isn't suitable for indoors on carpet. I'm just happy to get Smix outside at last and off his iPad! The Zoingo Boingo will be on sale  via Smyths Toys for £24.99 or you can purchase now on Amazon.

Little Live Pets, Tweeting In a Toy Shop Near You

The second wave of Little Live Pets have hit toy shops for spring 2015. http://www.character-online.com/products/Little-Live-Pets/Birds/ 

We were sent the mother and baby owl in neutral white & purple. The birds are also available in pink or blue, but refreshingly this slightly more 'girl orientated' toy is being marketed for both boys AND girls age 5+ 

Michael loves this sort of toy, and thought it was very cute as the mother and baby tweeted to each other. The mummy owl also has a repeat back feature where you can record your voice. Of course kids being kids the owl was soon chirping about bums and poos, but that was always going to happen!  

The birds sing together and have dozens of different tunes. You may notice our baby owl looks a little bit worse for wear. It seems that my parents' wire fox terrier dog took a fancy to baby owl too, and he got a little chewed! 

The mother and baby owl Little Live Pets set retails around £17.99, so it's a little bit too pricey for a birthday gift for someone else's child. However if you have an animal lover at home, most boys & girls would love to receive this as a present. 

WWE Construct & Destroy Building Sets

These WWE Stackdown construction sets (let's just say it, Lego, isn't it?) are perfectly priced to stockpile for birthday presents for class friends' this year. Smyths' Toys have the sets in their mix and match, two for £15 range, which is even better than their £9.99 RRP.

Michael is almost seven and a Lego novice, but found the set easy to build by himself with the instructions at hand. He's never caught the wrestling on tv, but it still caught his imagination. So much so that when I flicked through the Christmas toy catalogue this morning, I found he has each of the other sets circled heavily in black Biro! 

We were disappointed however that the snake doesn't 'leap' out of the cage at the wrestler, like it seems to suggest on the packaging. Still, a thumbs up for this toy.

Here are the other options. 

Aquabeads Not Just For Girls!

Michael, like most kids his age, has been Loom Band crazy the past few months and loves anything creative. We received the Aquabeads Jewel Starter Set a couple of days ago and he's already made dozens of little creations. The packaging is very girl-orientated, but boys and girls alike should love the ease of making little models.

I was pretty pleased with the mess-free element of the beads too. You don't need an iron, or heat, the beads stick together with a small spray of water. After drying for an hour you can lift the beads off and they'll stay stuck together. 

Michael loves them and already has requested I buy him more beads! 

You can connect with Aquabeads on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share your child's creations.

The Chill Factor Jelly Maker- Does It Work?

Remember when we were young, if you wanted jelly you'd have to plan to ask your mum like a week in advance. By the time you bought the jelly, found time to make it, waited for it to set, it was hardly worthwhile. Now there's quick set jelly powders, and even better, ready made jelly pots.

If however you want to make your own jelly, you might want to invest in the £12.99 Chill Factor Jelly Maker this summer. 

We've reviewed the Chill Factor Ice Cream Maker previously, which I was intensely skeptical about, but which works a treat. Yet I was still suspicious of the jelly maker's claims of "jelly in minutes, not hours" as I recalled my own childhood asking, "is it set yet?" every five minutes of my frazzled mum.

We set about making our jelly, following the instructions carefully. You freeze the lower part of the device overnight. It says the freezer is where it 'lives' which makes sense, so it's always ready for making instant jelly. Otherwise the time you wait for it to freeze would be the same as waiting for normal jelly to set!

You make the jelly as the packet instructs and pour into the Chill Factor and start squeezing. The jelly mixture starts to thicken up over 3 - 5 mins. The process definitely needs an adult present, as you'll need the normal boiling water at the beginning. After the squeezing you put the stopper on the top and flip the Chill Factor over. 

You leave the mixture another minute to harden, and unscrew the top, leaving the jelly ready to eat in the lid which doubles as a bowl. 

The process didn't quite work for us, but I think we could have been more enthusiastic with our squeezing, and could have done with continuing for longer than the 3 and a half minutes. We were too eager to see the results.

Instead we put the bowl into the fridge for five minutes and when we came back to look, it had completely set. So if you can't get your jelly firm as you'd like, just pop the bowl into your fridge briefly. It's still a lot quicker than leaving it for five hours to set regularly. 

The Chill Factor Jelly Maker comes in several colours and is £12.99