Hot Wheels Wall Track Power Tower Review

My boys have been fans of the Hot Wheels Wall Track range for quite sometime now, so when we were offered the opportunity of reviewing the latest addition we were more than happy to agree. The new track is called the Power Tower and promises new thrills to add to an existing wall track or if you’re just starting your collection.

Previously we had found the wall track easy to assemble and this time was no different. The only issue we had was trying to keep the boys away as my husband stuck the pieces to the wall! The Power Tower does require batteries which we didn’t have in the house (worth noting if you’re thinking of this as a Christmas gift) so a quick trip to the shops and we were good to go.

To say the boys (and my daughter too) love this track would be an understatement, it can keep them occupied (and blissfully quiet) for a long time. Cars whirl around in the lift(elevator) style toy before zooming down the track, hoping not to get caught in the chomping head further down.

Would I recommend this product?

Definitely, it’s as much as the previous versions of wall track and can of course be connected up to other packs, making it a versatile and fun filled toy.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I always prefer toys that come with batteries included in case I don’t have any in stock. I’m also not a huge fan of the background posters if you are planning on connecting up several tracks.

Details

The Power Tower RRP is £39.99

Available at all good toy retails online and instore.

Further details available at Hot Wheels website

Christmas Traditions & Festive Biscuit Icing Recipe!

Christmas is a time for traditions both large and small. Some of these are followed en masse such as Christmas cards, but far more are personal to individual families.

In my house we have stockings before breakfast, but we do not, not under any circumstances touch any of our ‘main’ presents until after lunch. We also have a small present in the evening, my Mum used to call these Tree Presents and it really helped to spread gift giving throughout the day. In contrast to this, one of my friends has a long standing tradition of giving a gift late on Christmas Eve. To both of us these little customs seem essential to our day and Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Charles Dickens is often credited with creating Christmas as we know it today. But in his time people rarely shopped for gifts or decorated their homes far in advance. Charles’ own daughter Mary ‘Mamie’ recounted how her father would take his children every Christmas Eve to a toy shop in London, where they were allowed to select their Christmas gifts. She also mentions that the family did not give presents outside of their own home, resources not allowing for the generosity they might have wished to share otherwise.

It was during the Victorian era as a whole that many of the rules of Christmas were defined. Houses had always been decorated with greenery but the Christmas Tree did not become common in British homes until the mid 1800s, after an 1848 edition of the Illustrated London News showed the Queen and her family around their tree. The Victorians also observed many customs that are rarely celebrated in the modern age, how many of us take down the Christmas tree almost immediately? This would have puzzled our ancestors exceedingly as Christmas Day is only the first day of Christmas and technically there are twelve days leading up to ‘Twelth Night’. This used to be a great period of celebration but now these days often go by unmentioned.

For many of our parents stockings meant an Orange hidden in the toe rather than the elaborate gifts which ‘Father Christmas’ seems to have been favouring of late. I myself grew up in a small country village and I mourn the loss of Christingle Walks with our neighbours, Church Bells on Christmas Eve and other signs that Christmas was nearly here.

If nothing else though the loss of past traditions does at least hold an opportunity to create some new customs. So this year that is precisely what my family and I intend to do.

We plan on making ridiculously large quantities of Gingerbread with the kids. These will be decorated by hand with a fabulous biscuit icing which sets hard. Then placed into gift bags and given out to friends and neighbours.

Gingerbread works particularly well for this project, but any other roll out style of biscuit works too. If you’d like to give them a go the icing recipe is below.

What are some of your favourite Christmas traditions?

Biscuit Icing

10 oz/ 280g Icing Sugar

2Tbsp = 3Tsp Dried Egg White Powder

4 Tbsp Cool water

Mix the icing sugar, egg white powder and water together until smooth.

Colour small quantities  to ice your biscuits. The icing will set hard over several hours (we leave ours overnight).

 

 

Make Your Own Sweet Candy Christmas Tree Decoration!

Modern interiors often demand simplicity and a lack of clutter, but at Christmas these mantras get forgotten and many of us decorate every surface in sight. One of my favourite decorations has to be my Sweet Candy Christmas Tree. Incredibly easy to make, it’s the perfect craft for children and makes a wonderful table centre or side table piece. Plus it has the added benefit of being edible once the festivities are over!

What You’ll Need

Cardboard to make the tree and star

Tape

Double sided tape or pads

Sweets

Gold Paint

Step 1

First you need to make the base of the Christmas Tree. This is done by drawing around something circular, I used a medium dinner plate. I wanted two layers to my tree so drew out two circles, but one larger circle would work if you only require one layer. Cut out the circle(s).

Step 2

Cut a slit in one side of the circle, this should reach from the edge into the centre. Grip both sides of the slit and form the circle into a cone shape. Secure the shape with tape.

Step 3

Cut out some double sided tape and attach to one edge of a sweet. Peel off the other side of the tape and stick to the bottom of your cone. Continue sticking sweets in a line at the base of the cone. When you reach the first sweet begin another line just above the first. Make sure you cover up any tape and leave as few gaps as possible.

Step 4

If you are creating two or more layers remember that the bottom layer will not need as many sweets as the top. Unwrap one sweet and use the wrapper to cover the point at the top of the tree.

Step 5

Next draw and cut out two simple stars from cardboard. Cut a slit from the top of one of the stars into the centre. Then cut a slit from the bottom of the other star into the centre. Slide the two stars together to make a 3D shape and paint gold. Once dry stick to the top of your tree. If you have more than one layer to your tree place them on top of each other now.

Ta Da! You have made a beautiful and edible Christmas Tree!

TIP. If you can’t find green sweets don’t worry, these trees look great in multi colours. Or you can decorate primarily in green with the occasional coloured sweet as a bauble!