Country Child

Country Child’s top 10 boys toys

Sophie — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:23:41 +0000

Having three sons, I seem to spend a lot of time buying presents for boys, as do many of the others in the Country Child team. Usually the toys that go down the best with boys are either fast, loud or disgusting. Here are our latest top 10 boys toys:

Plop Trumps

You can’t go wrong with Plop Trumps – 50 info-packed cards with a twist because the card deals with all kinds of weird and wonderful animal poo. Compelling images and interesting facts, every boy I know loves this. £5

Plop Trumps

Inflatable Tongues

I’ve given these to a couple of children recently and they’ve gone down well. At £3.99 it’s cheap and delightfully disgusting. Simply put it in your mouth and blow.

Inflatable Tongue

Ketchup Spread Head

Again a winner and quite gross. Screw the ketchup spread head on to a standard ketchup bottle, squeeze and watch the blood flow from Dracula’s nose. This definitely livens up supper time. £3.99

Ketchup Spread Head

Colour changing Alarm Clock

My six year old was given this by a friend and he loves it. We’ve since given it to many other children for bithdays. The digital alarm clock changes colour each hour, softly lightening up the room at night. Being digital makes it very easy for children to read too. £10

Aurora Colour Changing Clock

Nerf Jolt guns

Most boys I know love Nerf guns, whether they’re 3 or 9 years old. Nerf guns are expensive but this is a cheaper option for a present. It comes with two whistler darts and fits in a pocket. (strictly speaking they are for aged 6 and upwards!). £4.99

Nerf Jolt Gun

Hex Bugs

These little robotic creatures are the latest craze. Small enough to fit in your hand, each one is different enabling children to collect the whole range. From £7.99

Hex Bugs

Sound Machine

Sound machines are a fail-safe present for most small boys. My boys particularly love this Big Match one, with 12 football fan sounds. They also come with cartoon, horror and Sci Fi sound effects. From £6.99

Yo Yos

The good old, reliable Yo Yo is as popular today as it was in our day, particularly if it comes with sound or light effects. From £6

Fart Machine

My children find this hilarious every time. Very realistic and amusing for the whole family – if you find that sort of thing funny, of course. A bit more expensive at around £10.99

Fart Machine

Chocolate Calculator

The fake chocolate calculator is always popular and fun in the classroom. Sometimes I worry they might be disappointed it isn’t the real thing, so I slip a small bar of chocolate in as well. From £1.50 to £6 depending on size.

Fake Chocolate Calculator

I always try and buy as much of my boys presents locally. My favourite places are Clementine’s Shop (www.clementinesshop.com) at Compton Marbling, Agnes & Vera in Sturminster Newton, The Toy Barn in Sherborne (www.toy-barn.co.uk), The Toy Box in Shaftesbury (www.thetoybox.uk.com) and The Present Finder in Sherborne (www.thepresentfinder.co.uk)

I do have to admit to occasionally also resorting to buying on-line at www.wickeduncle.co.uk and www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk

I’m always looking for more ideas, so let me know if you have any great gift ideas.

Good Friday fish

Sophie — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:39:57 +0000

If you’re thinking of following tradition and having fish on Good Friday, then I’m told this recipe (from BBC Good Food Magazine) is great and I think even the children would enjoy it.

Roast salmon with peas, potatoes & bacon

Roast salmon with peas, potatoes & bacon (BBC Good Food)

Serves 4

500g baby new potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
150g pack smoked bacon lardons (I’m going to use pancetta which is a bit less fatty)
Whole piece of skinless salmon fillet about 700g
200g peas
4 spring onions (the children can always pick these out)
splash white wine vinegar
small handful chopped mint

Heat the oven to 220C. Tip the potatoes into a large shallow roasting tin and toss with 1 tsp olive oil and some seasoning. Roast for 20 mins until just starting to colour, then scatter over the lardons and return to the oven for 10 mins to crisp up.

Remove the tin from the oven, push the potatoes and bacon to the side and lay the salmon in the middle. Brush with remaining oil, season, then return to the oven and cook for 20 mins more until the salmon is just cooked through. Meanwhile, cook the frozen peas for 2 mins.

When the fish is cooked, lift it to a serving dish. Stir the peas and spring onions through the potatoes, drizzle with a splash of vinegar, stir through the mint and season to taste. Spoon around the salmon and serve.

Our early summer photoshoot

Sophie — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:13:42 +0000

With the sun shining down on us this holidays, we decided to bring forward our summer photoshoot and make the most of the wonderful weather, while it lasts. Despite having a sick child at home, our Country Child photographer, Millie Pilkington, was able to reorganise her diary at short notice and join us in Candice’s garden.

First and foremost, lunch!

Feeding the models

Not only had Candice spent the morning making sandwiches, she had also been meticulously setting up props for various pictures. She always has the layout of a page in her mind so Millie has a pretty clear brief on what pictures we need. This usually goes to plan .. although there is lots of discussion and debate along the way.

Making sure the shot is perfect

As always, the day was manic but great fun with children everywhere. I think at one point I counted 14! Amazingly, they all behaved brilliantly and were incredibly patient. This is how they entertained themselves.

Playing on the swing

And this is what we used to bribe some of our younger models.

The bribe

We even managed to capture a few front cover shots for future issues.

Front cover 2013!

Even Candice’s dog, Gus, seemed to enjoy watching the shoot from his step.

Gus watches the shoot

We were thrilled that our newest recruit, Alix, was able to join us and we swiftly used her children for various shots. Here she is with her son, Trystan.

Alix and Trystan

Millie worked her magic, making the children laugh and be themselves, to capture some really fabulous photographs. We can’t wait to see them and we hope you’ll like them too.