Mummy has always been a thrill-seeker and it's actually something I'm pretty proud of.
I love love love going on exciting theme park rides {roller coasters are my favourite!} and am usually game for any challenges.. whether it be swimming in the deep end of waterfalls and climbing up the rocks, or getting out of my comfort zone and trekking through deep forests.
I'm usually the one who will nudge people along to try new things and not give in to {senseless} fear. And that's how I try to parent you too, my dear.
During the June holidays, Daddy and I took leave some days to bring you out as a family and one of our outings was to Science Centre Singapore. You've been there before with your preschool but gosh! It's been aaaaaaaaages since I last visited the Science Centre!!! Was it during my primary school days??
Anyway they have a new-ish attraction called KidsStop now, which is an edutainment centre that aims to engage kids from preschool to lower primary levels by exposing them to science in their formative years.
It's housed within the Omni Theatre building and is pretty fun, especially for the young ones like you. There are trained guides to facilitate play and learning in various thematic zones and each exhibit / zones are designed to promote simple science learning through hands-on activities and programmes.
One of the thrilling experiences in KidsStop is the Giant J slide, where participants get to safely experience the sensation of free fall before they slide to safety from as high as 7m! That's about 2-storey high...
When I saw it I immediately asked you to give it a go... as well as ask if adults could try it too haha. Thankfully, they did allow adults to play too! hehe
Kids can decide how high they would like to be lifted up the slide as they challenge themselves and build confidence while having fun. When the staff asked you how high you wanted to go, I told you, " Just go right up to the top dear!! It'll be fun!" You thought for a second then gamely said, "ok!"
So up 7m you went, eyes wide open and nary a cry. And when the staff shouted to let go, you immediately did so without a thought! Oh my brave little girl!!
After that since there wasn't anyone else in the queue except for me, so you went for a few more tries at the various heights.
And then it was MY turn and I went up with my eyes wide open too and saw actually how crazy high it was when I reached the top... it's really much higher than I thought when standing on the ground so I hesitated and fear started creeping #yikes
In the end, Mummy chickened out and only managed to drop from 5m (ﾉ∀＼)
Wow. I really ate humble pie that day when I realised that you, my dear 8-year old daughter, was even more ballsy than me!!
But then, it was also a #proudmamamoment when I realised that my 8-year old kid IS even more ballsy than me... I was proud that you wasn't afraid of trying things for the first time, and also for your mental strength in overcoming adversity. I know you must have been afraid, but you didn't let your fear of heights stop you.
Not wanting to give in to my fears too, I decided to give 7m another shot again and this time once the staff said "let go!", I didn't think twice and just let go of the handle to free-fall down.
My heart nearly flew out of my mouth but it was a really, really good experience and Mummy went a few more times too haha.
Oh baby girl, Mummy and Daddy really think you are so brave and I hope that you will use this quality to your advantage. Bravery is not the lack of fear, but the ability to move forward in spite of fear.
Don't be afraid to take risks and challenge yourself to grow and chase after your dreams. Once you become fearless, life becomes limitless. I pray that we will be by your side to guide you and support you in them too ❤
Love you always,
Mummy
P.S. Mummy thought you were really brave as well when you dared to hang upside down just clinging onto silk ropes in your Kids Aerial Yoga workshop too (*´∀`*)
Recently, honestbee has just launched a brand new store called Family Market that focuses on all your family's everyday needs.
Their products range from food, health and beauty essentials, to babycare products and household goods.
I love going grocery shopping. If grocery shopping is considered a hobby, I'd probably list it as one of mine haha.
Even when traveling overseas, I love going to the markets and grocery stores to check out what's new and available {Chicken in a Bisket is back in Singapore by the way!! woot woot}, suss out the daily deals, compare quality and prices for the things I need between different brands, and just basically amble down the aisles...
This is, of course, based on the notion that I have time to spare. For most working parents like me, time is of the essence and just spending more than 30 minutes out grocery shopping is probably considered a luxury.
It's all usually just a grab-and-go, and you probably don't want to be caught wasting time queuing to pay, hustling with the after-work/ weekend crowd or running after your kids after a hard's day of work making sure they don't wander off and knock down a display of toilet paper or something （/｡＼)
I guess that why most parents I know like the convenience of online grocery shopping.
You can just sit in the comfort of your home to choose the items you need from a website, click to pay and get them delivered to your doorstep in a jiffy. Easy peasy.
And now at Family Market, it makes things even easier and more streamlined for online family shopping as they have identified all the basic essentials used by families in Singapore and grouped them together into 7 simple categories under one roof - Babies, Drinks, Food Cupboard, Health & Beauty, Home, Household & Cleaning and Snacks & Sweets.
Within these categories, they stock the bestselling products with the best prices negotiated daily from their partner stores, without a mark-up. A quick comparison check I did showed that a lot of the items we use at home are about 10-30% cheaper than other online grocery stores. I know because I like to compare prices and get the best value-for-money deals haha... and it's so much easier {and faster!} when it's done online (｡^‿^｡)
For example, a staple at my home, Quaker Instant Oatmeal Smooth & Creamy 1kg refill, costs S$4.40 in Family Market, but S$5.10 at FairPrice online and S$4.80 at RedMart. Or even a bottle of Dove Beauty Nourishing Body Wash 1L costs S$9.30 in Family Mart, and S$9.75 at both FairPrice and RedMart. Prices correct as of yesterday, Thu 29 Jun 2017.
There are currently around 500 products in this new Family Mart, and they are adding new products to it daily based on market research and customer demand.
Browse through their offerings on the Family Mart website and use my promo link for extra savings! Spend a minimum of S$50 for free delivery and a concierge fee of S$3.99 applies.
Family Market is a part of honestbee, an online grocery store where you can get your shopping from different stores in one order, on the same day AND within an hour #woah
While other online stores available in Singapore can only deliver from one store or inventory, honestbee does not stockpile goods in a warehouse. Instead, their trained shoppers go to stores near you and hand pick every item when you place an order to ensure the widest possible choice of fresh, great quality items. You can even leave very specific instructions for them to follow "e.g. please ask the butcher to chop my meat & separate into 200g packs"!
I like that they have a customer service centre that's open from 9am - 10pm daily. If you want to change your 1-hour delivery time slot or have a question about your order, you can easily speak to someone about it. If your item is out-of-stock or changes need to be made to the order, they will always contact you first for your approval too.
Their partner stores include FairPrice, Emporium Shokuhin {Japanese gourmet grocer}, Le Petit Depot {French supermarket - has Carrefour value-for-money stuff!}, Jones the Grocer, Amazin' Graze, Gastronomia, The Providore and even farm-to-table wholesalers like Fresh Direct {fruits & vegetable from farms around the world} and Foodsterr {health & organic food from US & Australia}.
You'd definitely be spoilt for choice when shopping here *grins*
Promo: Use this link to sign up & get S$10 OFF S$50 at honestbee online concierge and delivery services. Valid for one month from date of your successful account activation.
*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for honestbee. All opinions are my own.
This June holidays, unless most school holidays, we decided to stay put in Singapore and not go traveling. Well, unless you count that one time we took a day trip into Johor Bahru, Malaysia to bring Lil Pumpkin to Angry Birds Activity Park hehe..
With no more school rush, our days lightened up a bit {although we were both still working} and we made use of our time to relax as a family, clean up our home and also explore some of our local kids' attractions and activities. For the first time, Lil Pumpkin went to Amazonia indoor playground, KidsStop at Science Centre, learnt how to do simple coding and also experienced an exciting 3-days Kids Aerial Yoga Workshop at Trium Fitness in Aperia Mall, near Lavender MRT station.
As the boy's shoulder is currently injured, he has stopped CrossFit for a while too and now concentrates more on his own strength training and yoga. Yup, he's been taking yoga classes regularly to help with his mobility and rehabilitation.
For the past 2 months or so, he's been using the GuavaPass to try out different types of yoga classes at different yoga studios. Although it's not available on GuavaPass, one class he's been going to is the Adults Aerial Yoga class at Trium Fitness.
According to Trium Fitness, Aerial Yoga is described as "suspended off the ground in Cirque Du Soleil style, students in this class will enjoy the benefits of spinal decompression, pain relief and ease in inversions among other physical benefits. Combining yoga and aerial acrobatics with the use of a silk hammock, many poses include added benefits of lengthening and anti-aging."
The boy likes the teacher & class so when he found out that the studio was hosting a workshop for the kids {7-12 years old} too, he immediately signed Lil Pumpkin up!
It was the first time Lil Pumpkin tried any type of yoga o((*^▽^*))o
During the 1.5hrs workshop, the kids were taught how to explore aerial yoga in a fun and relaxed environment. Taught by Ming, who teaches the boy during his adult Aerial Yoga class, and another lady, the workshop was also designed to increase the children's flexibility, strength, stamina, self-confidence, and coordination to promote self-discipline, concentration, and teamwork.
Parents aren't allowed inside the workshop so I can't really review how the classes went, but judging from the photos taken by Trium Fitness and from what Lil Pumpkin says, it seems very hands-on. Lil Pumpkin had a really good time & was literally feeling "uplifted" by the experience! (/^▽^)/ Each day after the workshop, she couldn't wait to tell us what she learnt haha..
And I must say that once again, I am sooooo impressed by Lil Pumpkin's boldness. She isn't scared at all of being suspended off the ground or even flipping upside down, despite not trying anything like this at all before.
I find that as we grow up, we let our past experiences and knowledge of the world limit our ability to try new things. And sometimes, the fear of the unknown or of failure cripples us so that we are afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone.
Most children are like Lil Pumpkin, however. They are naturally curious and fearless.. and aren't afraid to push boundaries to see what they can do and achieve. Of course, fear serves a purpose; it’s a natural human emotion to warn us of possible harm - a call for us to protect ourselves. If this fearlessness is not coupled with common sense, it might prove detrimental to their well-being, but overall I think it's a good thing to be fearless {to a certain extent...}.
As her parents, I hope that we will be able to cultivate and nurture Lil Pumpkin's fearlessness to help her be bold and confident in her pursuits... to be able to to face the world head-on and make the most of every opportunity.
I hope that if she dares to dream it, she will dare to achieve it ₊·*◟(˶╹̆ꇴ╹̆˵)◜‧*･
Anyway, the boy's going to check if Trium Fitness holds regular Kids Aerial Yoga classes or if she can join his adult class. If so, Lil Pumpkin might continue on in this and it will be a fun daddy-daughter activity for the both of them to do together ♥
I'm not a terribly big fan of indoor playgrounds, but if I had to bring Lil Pumpkin to one, Amazonia Family Entertainment Centre at Great World City would definitely be my top few choices.
Let me explain why I'm not usually inclined towards indoor playgrounds first. For one, I think it's quite silly to pay relatively exorbitant prices to play at a playground, when there are so many free and spacious playgrounds easily available in Singapore. Some of the indoor playground admission prices I've seen are even comparable to USS or Adventure Cove theme parks!
Secondly, space is a premium in Singapore and most of the indoor playgrounds are rather small and cramped. I advocate "free play", which yeah means being able to play for free, but also to play and run freely in open, spacious areas... one of the reasons why I prefer outdoor playgrounds to indoor ones.
Thirdly, for some reasons indoor playgrounds seem to be always crowded!! What fun is there in waiting long for slide rides or bumping into people at almost every turn?? Plus the noise... oh goodness, imagine one kid screaming excitedly... now multiply that by at least 20-30 in a confined area!!
So why do I think Amazonia is one of the better indoor playgrounds then?
Well, mainly because it is not just an indoor playground, but Singapore's first fully themed and integrated Family Entertainment Centre where children and families can play and dine together in a 9500 sq ft air-conditioned facility. It's like a mini indoor theme park!!
They have the highest indoor Wave Slides {8m}, a 6-storey {!!!} high Adventure Climbing Maze, a Toddlers Play Area, a Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf course, a Glow-in-the-Dark Spaceball Shootout room, an outdoor Crazy Bounce giant trampoline, and their very own AMAZON Bistro which serves quality family meals.
About 2 weeks ago, I went down with Lil Pumpkin, my sis and Lil J for a play-date at Amazonia. It's unlimited playtime on weekdays during the June school holidays and even though there was 40+ preschool kids on an excursion there in the morning, not to mention other customers, it didn't seem that congested at all.
There was plenty of space for the kids {and adults!!} to play and rest #winning
Lil Pumpkin spent most of her time inside the Adventure Climbing Maze. I have no idea where she gets her energy from but thank goodness I train regularly so I could keep up with her. Kinda.. haha.
The Adventure Climbing Maze is fun central with the huuuuge wave slide, mini spiral slides, ball pit, mini trampoline, suspension bridges and tunnels. Recommended for kids aged 3-12 years old, but of course younger kids and those young-at-heart *cough cough* can enter too.
Yup, I really appreciated that adults could freely join the kids in their games and play too. I was half expecting the staff to tell me to get out of the ball pit or don't sit on the slides.. but no such thing hehe.
Even inside the Adventure Climbing Maze, the tunnels, holes, covered slides and walkways etc. were big enough for me to pass through rather comfortably.
Lil J is about 1.5 years old now and she's played inside the Adventure Climbing Maze at times, but mainly stayed around the dedicated Toddlers Play Area with interactive play panels, musical keyboard, ball pit and mini slide.
The Todders Play Area is only for kids 0-3 years old and their parents, and I saw staff ask older kids to leave the area at times for the safety of the young children. However, if the older kid is a family member and there are not many toddlers around, the staff don't mind them playing there too.
Nearer the entrance, there's a small area where kids can play with Lego, wall activity boards and toys for pretend play too.
It may not be as exciting as the games rooms and jungle gym, but is especially appealing to toddlers or for those kids that want to get away from the bustling main play area I reckon.
The Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf course, Glow-in-the-Dark Spaceball Shootout room, and Crazy Bounce cost extra for use. The prices stated below are correct as of June 2017.
The Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf course costs S$8.60/player for 1 round of 9-holes. Long and short golf clubs are provided and you pay at the Bistro's counter to get 1 golf ball. There's no time limit and I think we spent about 15 mins playing one round inside the glow-in-the-dark room. We've never played mini golf in the dark before so it was quite an interesting experience.
The different golf holes is divided into areas with different motion props & themes like Underwater, Pirates, Dinosaur etc. Lil Pumpkin was a little afraid of the area with the Dinosaurs as there was a moving dino statue too haha.
The ball is "eaten" up at the last hole so I guess if you want to, you can just skip the last hole to go for another round haha.
I think Lil Pumpkin loved Glow-in-the-Dark Spaceball Shootout the most! At S$5.35/player for a game of only 5mins, it is most fun, but also the most expensive activity there.
Players try to out-shoot one another by hitting on electronic scoreboards shot from air cannons. The balls are kinda soft, but you definitely have to be careful not to get hit and I don't recommend babies or toddlers in the room.
It was just Lil Pumpkin and me playing this time round but I think it would be even more fun if we came in a bigger group to really compete with one another haha
For me, other than the long wave slide which I must have gone on at least 10 times.. I enjoyed the outdoor Crazy Bounce trampoline the most. Who doesn't like bouncing and jumping to your hearts' content??! It is just outside the Bistro and costs S$12.86 for 20 mins. There's a capacity limit of 6 pax for players to jump safely.
One thing I found a bit off though was that you're still supposed to wear your indoor socks out to the trampoline (o.O)" I asked the staff if I needed to take off our socks or wear shoes instead, but she said no, just wear our socks.
Hmmm.. This means that you actually walk outside on the ground, to the outside giant trampoline and happily bounce, then walk back inside to the indoor activity areas and continue your play there, if you want. Soooo.. your socks would actually be dirty with all the outside grime and germs, and you would be spreading it all over the indoor activity areas. Won't that defeat the purpose of wearing indoor socks for safety and hygiene when playing??
We didn't eat at the Bistro during lunch but headed out to eat at one of the other restaurants in Great World City. Good thing about being located in such an established mall is that they have lots of food choices available e.g. Kenny Rogers, Poulet, Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant, Bangkok Jam, Kuriya, Mcdonald's etc.
And if you have unlimited play at Amazonia, you can go in and out multiple times. Just remember to get your re-entry chop.
The Bistro serves pastas, salads, sandwiches, cakes, smoothies etc. at reasonable prices though. Might try their food the next time we are there.
Tips:
Bring your own socks. I suggest at least ankle-high and non-slip! If you forget your socks, you can purchase them on-site.
Amazonia will list school excursion dates and number of school children visiting on their website. Check it in advance to plan your visit.
Look out for special deals before you visit. There are currently promotions for UOB Ladies, Standard Chartered, Passion, Citibank and Maybank card holders.
2 party rooms with various themed party packages are available for booking.
No outside food is allowed inside Amazonia, except for milk formula and baby food.
No toilets or nursing room inside Amazonia, so you have to exit and use the mall's facilities. The nearest toilet is on the same floor {Level 3} and baby care rooms are at Level 1 & B1
Amazonia Singapore
Great World City Mall
#03-08, 1 Kim Seng Promenade
Tel: 6235 4522
Mon - Thu: 10am - 9pm
Fri - Sun & PHs: 10am - 9.30pm
Admission: Adults - S$1 {for first 2 adults}, Kids - S$33 {complimentary Spaceball / Mini Golf, Mon-Fri only}, Toddlers - S$22 {complimentary Spaceball / Mini Golf, Mon-Fri only}
Playtime: Unlimited for Mon - Fri and 2hrs for Sat, Sun & PHs
Website: http://www.amazoniafun.com/
On Wednesday Lil Pumpkin followed me to the office for the day. An unofficial "Bring Your Kids to Work Day" of sorts since my organisation doesn't have the culture of hosting such an event. However, thankfully I've an amazing boss who is a family man and values work-life balance, and understands when we have to bring the kids to work sometimes.
This is the first time I've had Lil Pumpkin at work for almost the whole day actually, although she has been to my office a number of times before, and her preschool was actually located at another end of my workplace.
It's the school holidays now in Singapore so Lil Pumpkin doesn't have any classes in her primary school, although she still has her enrichment classes for Maths {see Comparison of Popular Maths Enrichment Classes}, Chinese, gymnastics and CrossFit. When she was younger, my mum used to help take care of her during the hols but now that she's older and easier to care for, Lil Pumpkin follows the boy to the clinic {she's a "Vet for a Day", everyday!! haha} and wherever he goes while I'm at work. It's more convenient since the boy doesn't have to make trips to so many different places and her enrichment classes are near his clinic.
She still goes to my mum's place once in a while though, especially if her cousins are there :)
Wanted to give the boy a break to go for a back massage after his morning shift as he sprained it during aerial yoga {the teacher was too hardcore..} so he dropped Lil Pumpkin and me at the office in the morning.
Lil Pumpkin made good use of my "makeshift bed" {aka thick exercise mat} hehe and actually slept most of the morning away until lunch-time. When she woke up, we went for a sumptuous Western grill lunch and I was pretty surprised that she finished most of her steak!!
Ever since she was a baby... I always loved seeing her eat well and full hehe.
Brought her around a bit and it's nice showing her snippets of what I do, who I work with and why Mummy is away most of the day. It's always hard shaking off the working mum's guilt and nothing much has changed ever since I wrote "What's A FTWM's Worth?" 2 years ago.
Every other day I feel guilty about not spending enough time with Lil
Pumpkin, every other day I worry that I'm missing out on her childhood
milestones.. But yet every other day I feel at peace with my choice
and am grateful to be able to share hubby's burden, help with the
household finances, give Lil Pumpkin some luxuries in life, show her
that women can succeed professionally, and also have a little "me-time"
with stimulating adult conversations.
I always think that I have a rather uninteresting office job but nonetheless, I'm really happy to have shared my day with Lil Pumpkin. She was a really good girl in not disturbing me when I had to concentrate at work by doing her holiday homework, reading and working on her latest craze - crossword puzzles & word searches haha.
Thank you for keeping Mummy company at work that day, my darling! I hope to have more of such days with you again soon ♥
Soooo there are times whereby I take so long to blog about some events or holidays that I go "ahhhh forget it... so long ago already" and just give up on writing about it hahaha. I'm sure many of my fellow bloggers can relate to this.
This was probably going to be one of those unrecorded events since it took place last year #oops but recently, I saw it on my FB feed and just like how we shot our first fashion campaign with Glitter Glam, I figured it was pretty significant since it was the first time Lil Pumpkin and I filmed a commercial and I just had to blog about it before the details go really fuzzy due to my bad memory hehe.
Anyway yes, in July last year, theAsianparent {a local digital parenting magazine} contacted me to work on a campaign with Nestlé Singapore to produce an educational video to educate other parents/mums about wholegrain and understand the nutrition that their kids should be taking for breakfast.
Ever since I became more committed to getting fitter and living a healthy lifestyle {check out my Fitness Diary}, I've been more keen on working on projects to promote healthy living and eating as well so this was something close to my heart and I was interested to be part of it.
However, the daunting thing was it involved Lil Pumpkin and me to memorise lines and act in front of a camera. Eeeks! (*≧▽≦)
I mean, I'm kinda ok in front of the camera since I do post videos on my YouTube channel and vlog e.g. about my shopping hauls heehee.. and sometimes give video interviews {like to RazorTV and omy.sg} but could my mummy brain remember lines? And could Lil Pumpkin remember her lines and survive a day of filming without getting bored & cranky??
I was pretty apprehensive but the boy encouraged me to just go for it and enjoy the experience with Lil Pumpkin. After all, it's not everyday that somebody comes along and asks if you want to be in a paid commercial and Lil Pumpkin does like to act and film stuff on her own... so I accepted the project.
TheAsianparent took some time to finalise the project concept with Nestlé Singapore so we only filmed in October.
Not sure if this is the norm, but we were only given the script and call sheet 2 days before filming.. I thought it was a very packed schedule and lots of lines to memorise given the limited time and was rather worried for Lil Pumpkin.
Since she's so young and not a professional, I don't expect her to have the attention nor energy span to shoot for most of the time {according to what was indicated in the call sheet}, and told my contact at TheAsianparent as much to set their expectation level.
They were most understanding and having worked with a lot of children, assured that they will be doing their best to keep spirits high and make sure everyone is comfortable during filming... which they did that day by providing snacks / drinks, and checking every now and then that we were all right.
On the actual day of filming, we arrived pretty early at the studio and thankfully, Lil Pumpkin was really excited and ready to rock and roll! I'd run through her lines with her and although she didn't memorise them perfectly, she knew what the concept was and roughly what was expected of her.
Most of the time, we were allowed to improvise as long as we got the key words and concepts out. There were no tele-prompters and for Lil Pumpkin's part, if I wasn't in the scene with her, I was usually sitting in front of her behind the camera guiding her line-by-line on what to say.
There were some scenes where we had to retake a few times but despite the long hours of filming and waiting for set scenes to change, Lil Pumpkin did not get frustrated or throw any tantrums. When she got bored during the waiting, I entertained her with colouring or cartoon videos.
At the end of the day, I was really glad we did it! At least I can cross out "being in a commercial" on my bucket list?? haha.. And, I am really proud of my little trooper! (⌒▽⌒)☆
So ta-dah! Here's our little 3 minutes 30 seconds of fame (ﾉ∀＼*) Please don't laugh heh.. and if you're interested, here's the informative article on whether you are serving your family healthy breakfasts or not where our video appeared (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ
In our initial discussion, I was told that 3 videos would be produced but the first video above took 4 months to come out in February this year haha... I'm not sure when the next 2 would come out but I'll update this post again when they do (⁎⚈᷀᷁▿⚈᷀᷁⁎)
We've read countless books but how amazing is it to be part of a story where you are the main character and hero??! It must be such a magical feeling and Bookboo personalised books helps to bring that magic alive for families and children.
Based in Singapore, they are the first ever book that can be personalised for any family with 1 or 2 children, even twins and single parents. The story takes the kid{s} on a jungle adventure where the kid{s} rescue their own parents from the cruel Evilor. The story is designed to help children enhance their vocabulary and inculcate life values of kindness, love and courage
Last month, hubby and I ordered the Fun Family Bookyboo book
for Lil Pumpkin and her cousin, Lil J. When the book arrived earlier in the week, Lil Pumpkin was really excited to read it to Lil J so we went over to my sister's home yesterday to chill and for the kids to play together..
It's really such a sweet sight to see Lil Pumpkin reading to her little cousin (*^▽^*)
Since young, she always loved being the "big jie jie" and taking care of younger kids whether in the family, in school or at the playground.. I've no doubt that if blessed with the opportunity, she would definitely be a wonderful, caring older sister.
And that opportunity came along with Lil J (/^▽^)/
Although both of them are just cousins, we hope that they will both grow up to be close like real sisters and
go on many adventures through life together. This book will be a
precious reminder of the bond they share with one another and a way for the children to discover the power of a strong family and sibling love!
To order the book, just go to Bookyboo's website and key in some simple details like the kid{s} name{s}, gender{s} and you can even customise the book for twins or those with single parents.
The illustrations, characters and story will differ slightly based on your customisations. For example, if you put in 2 kids' names, there will be 2 kids as heroes in the story. If you put in 1 kid's name, there will be 1 kid and his pet dino who will go on the adventure in the story.
Unfortunately, you are not able to customise the "look" of each character e.g. hairstyle, hair colour, race, outfit etc. and I hope that Bookyboo will have this option available in the future.
There is only 1 storyline too where the heroes go into a jungle to fight the villian. I reckon it would be more fun if there were seasonal stories you can choose from too e.g. going to a winter wonderland during Christmas to fight a snow monster haha and hopefully Bookyboo will look into this too.
However, can I just say how impressed I am with the website? It is so clean, easy-to-use and loads fast. You can even preview the whole book for free before purchase! Here are some examples with the different customisation options,
Fun Family Bookyboo for twins, 1 boy and 1 girl, with both parents
Fun Family Bookybook for brothers of different ages
Fun Family Bookybook for single child and single parent
And if having your name all over the book and being the hero of the story isn't good enough, you also get a printed personalised message on the first page too! ♥ Hubby and I wrote a special, individualised message for each of the girl's book.
The Fun Family Bookyboo is printed on rich, thick, textured paper. Each page opens up to panoramic full-spread illustrations. Designed for the little ones' easy reading and sharing, each bookyboo is A4 landscape size {297mm x 210mm}.
Fun Family Bookyboo is recommended for kids aged 3-9 years old, and is definitely easy enough for a child like Lil Pumpkin {who is turning 8 next month by the way!} to read by herself. The text is in simple English using fun rhymes.
Delivery time is estimated to be 12 to 15 working days from the order date. You can check the exact shipping days at the time of checkout. For more information or to make your own personalised book, go to Bookyboo website or Facebook page.
P.S. Bookyboo also has another book called My Adventure where it is personalised for the letters of the child's name. I ordered that for a friend's newborn baby but it will arrive later. I'll review that when it comes in a few more weeks' time (≧∇≦*)
Promo: 10% OFF on the second book, and 15% OFF on the third book onwards. These books must all be in one order and have a common shipping address {discount will be automatically calculated in your cart}. Overseas shipping available, and free delivery to addresses in India, Malaysia and Singapore.
