Sunday, April 3, 2016

Monster High Fright-Mares Dolls

The Fright-Mares

A Monster High School Doll Collection

Released in 2015 was the Monster High Fright-Mares collection, this doll collection comprised of ten different characters who are all half Centaur.

The ten dolls are Pyxis Prepstockings, Frets Quartzmane, Bay Tidechaser, Aery Evenfall, Fawntine Fallowheart, Skyra Bouncegait, Penepole Steamtail, Flara Blaze, Olympia Wingfield, Caprice Whimcanter, Leandra Dapplebrush, and Merry Trotabout.

They say that deep within the catacombs of Monster High are the dream pastures of the Fright-Mares. Fright-Mares are a hybrid of a nightmare and a monster and are created when an ordinary nightmare is caught in the place where dreams collide.

Fright-Mares deliver dreams to the monsters in the real world and can only communicate these dreams to the types of monsters they are crossed with. They also have the ability to change the path of a dream and luckily for the monsters at Monster High these Fright-Mares enjoy using their dream bending abilities for good.

Aery Evenfall

& 


Aery is half centaur and half skeleton and considers herself the caretaker of the Fright-Mares. She is good friends with her fellow Fright-Mares, although she does have an unerring ability to know what they want to say before they say it!

Bay Tidechaser

& 


Bay is a fusion of centaur and a sea monster. She loves surfing and her personality is one which reflects that aka laid back, casual beach lover.

Caprice Whimcanter

& 


Caprice is half centaur and half dragonfly and has the most beautiful dragonfly wings on her body.

Fawntine Fallowheart

& 


Fawntine is a fusion of a centaur and a deer which has resulted in some pretty cool antler eyebrows which a little girl I know really wants to emulate!

Flara Blaze

& 


Flara was born when a phoenix had a dream that collided with a nightmare from the Dream Pastures which is why she is a combination of half centaur and half phoenix. Like the fire element that she's connected to Flara can be unpredictable and hard to handle.

Frets Quartzmane

& 


Frets is a cross between a centaur and a gargoyle. She's a quiet, dependable and loyal friend who loves music especially hardcore rock music.

Olympia Wingfield

& 


Olympia is half centaur and half vampire bat.

Penepole Steamtail

& 


Penepole is a fusion between a centaur and a butterfly, we don't know much about her, but I do love how she seems to have a unicorn horn and I also think her glasses are simply gorgeous.

Pyxis Prepstockings

& 


Pyxis is half centaur and half pegasus which makes her a natural at playing polo a sport she loves and is very competitive with. Pyxis has a special skill when she's channeling dreams in that she seems to be able to bring a sense of order to the most chaotic seeming dreams.

Skyra Bouncegait

& 


Skyra is a fusion of a nightmare and a ghost which means she's half centaur and half (you guessed it!) ghost.

I hope you've enjoyed meeting the Fright-Mare dolls, now if you want to check out any of the other Monster High dolls you'll want to pop over to The Monster High School Dolls.

Monster High Fright-Mares Collection

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Top Gift Ideas for Christmas

The 2015 Holiday Gift Guide


As a gift blogger I read a lot of lists put out by top retailers, market watchers and trend spotters to see what are being heralded as the top wanted gift ideas for Christmas. This year I decided to share a few of them in a blog post, some of them are already featured on my top gift ideas page on this blog which is a great page to bookmark as I keep it updated regularly so that you know any of the ideas on there are sure to be popular.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Playset


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 24" Leonardo Mutation Play Set
It's hard to believe that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still as popular now as they were when they first burst onto the scene during the 80s, but Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello have found a whole new audience who love their antics.

This playset is a really awesome one as it features a 24" articulated Leonardo action figure, but it's also a complete Sewer Lair Playset - does it get much better than that?

The answer, of course is YES!

The set includes 30 different features such as false floors and a skate park. It also features 9 different rooms -

Turtles' Living Room
Slinter's Meditation Room
Skate Park Half-Pipe
Mikey's Rooom (that's Michelangelo for people who don't know the TMNTs that well!)
Turtles' Dojo
Lookout Tower
Donnie's Workshop (aka Donatello)
Computer Room
Engertainment Room

I just love the fact that Leonardo opens up to reveal all of this, talk about a fun idea. What could have made it better was if it came with action figures that could play inside the lair, but they are available to buy separately so at least that's something.



Here's some pictures of the toy in action (remember that the action figures featured inside do not come with this playset, but you can purchase them separately - right here!



Barbie Dreamhouse


Barbie Dreamhouse
Barbie is another long term favorite of the holiday gift list and parents buying for their kids (heck even some grandparents I suspect) would probably remember wanting a Barbie dollshouse of their own at one time or another.

This Barbie dream house is a vision in pink (of course) and consists of three floors with a total of seven rooms AND a working elevator, an elevator in a Barbie dolls house makes me want to be a little girl again so that I can get one for Christmas myself!

The built-in garage has a door that realistically opens and closes by sliding a tab. The garage fits Barbie's coupe in perfectly as well.

Attached to the garage is a beautiful atrium window -- flip the window down, and it converts into a swimming pool, perfect for a fun pool party for Barbie and all of her friends!

The kitchen has been fitted out with sleek appliances and realistic cookware, even groceries so that Barbie can pop on her chef's hat and whip up some great meals for anyone who drops by.

The dining room features a table set for two so Barbie has a place to eat all those great meals she can make in her kitchen.

In the bathroom there's a sink/vanity and a luxe tub so that Barbie can relax before getting ready for a night out.

On the top floor she has a beautiful bedroom with a dramatic pink canopied bed that is just so what you'd imagine Barbie's bed to look like, it also features a walk-in closet with lots of space and a mirror to make sure she looks fabulous before going out for the day or night.

There's just so much to explore in Barbie's Dream House that you just know they'll be hours upon hours of fun to be had.

Check out some of the pictures below -





Lego Minecraft


Minecraft was a computer game that revolved around breaking and placing blocks, as my daughter showed me (a few years ago when she was caught in the 'Minecraft craze') you could build all kinds of structures. To me it sounded like a virtual Lego so I wasn't at all surprised when Lego Minecraft was introduced.

Now there is more to Minecraft than what I have said above, but what you need to know above all else is that it's captured our children's imagination in much the same way that Lego captured our imagination when we were younger and weren't nose deep in technology. Combining Lego and Minecraft was an ingenious idea and it's helped generations to come together in play and has proven to be very popular.

Here's a few of the Minecraft Lego available (I should mention that I haven't actually played with any of the range as my daughter was 'over' Minecraft when the Lego range was first released.



Top Gift Ideas for Kids This Christmas

Minions, Frozen, Unicorns, Dinosaurs & More Gift Ideas


There are lots of great gift ideas out there this holiday season and here's a few more for you to consider if buying for children -



Another popular gift idea is to get something personalized, all age ranges seem to enjoy getting some specifically for them whether it's personalized with a photo or just there name. One place that has a range of products from photo cubes to Christmas ornaments, clothing to household goods is Zazzle. If you're after a personalized gift idea then I would click this link and go straight to Zazzle for inspiration.