Our FOX Fashion Moments {Giveaway}

Our clothes from FOX Kids & Baby have seen us through lots of moments over the past couple of months. Here are some of our favourites:

Thanks FOX Kids & Baby, for fitting us out so fabulously these past couple of months!

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, one lucky family is going to have the chance to create their own FOX moments as I have a $100 FOX VOUCHER to giveaway! 

To enter the draw to win this $100 voucher, you have to complete the following steps:

1. Like the Fox Fashion Singapore Facebook Page

2. Like the Life is in the Small Things Facebook Page

3. Like and Share this Facebook Photo, and tag a friend. Do make sure your post is public so I can see it!

4. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me about one of your favourite moments spent with your child, and leave your e-mail address.

You have to complete all 4 steps to qualify so don't miss any out! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to indicate that you've done the above. You can also get additional chances by completing the rest of the steps! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends on Fri 1 August 2014, 11.59pm and is open to Singapore residents only. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn. All incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Good luck!

 

 

Wink To Learn Chinese {Giveaway + Discount Code}

Teaching the kids Chinese - and getting them comfortable with the language - is an on-going endeavour in this household.

Among the things we have tried are:

1. Letting the kids to attend Chinese playgroups as toddlers -- Noey went to Mandarin Playclub at Julia Gabriel (now re-branded as Chengzhu Mandarin Centre) while Mei attended a similar programme with Bibinogs.

2. Attending Chinese cultural performances.

3. Attending Chinese plays and other kids' performances. 

4. Visiting Chinatown.

5. Sending Noey to Berries.

6. Reading them Chinese books (with help, of course).

7. Attending Chinese camps/holiday programmes.

7. Listening to Chinese music.

We have yet to conquer the last frontier of speaking Mandarin on a regular basis to the children. I'm trying but honestly, my vocabulary is currently so poor, I'm not capable of carrying on an extended conversation in Mandarin with them of any real substance. 

Recently I had the opportunity to try something new -- the Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese Programme. 

Wink to Learn is a Singapore home-grown early learning resource developer with a wide product range of early language learning resources like flash cards, DVDs and CDs, with the aim of helping children learn multiple languages from a young age. Amongst these, Wink to Learn's Speak & Read Programmes are one of the most highly-rated educational resources for helping children to learn to read using flashcard methodology.

Like any other parent, I have my concerns about exposing my kids to too much television, but the programme promised that the flashcard lessons were short and that it was only necessary for my kids to watch 1 to 2 lessons a day over a period of 6 months to recognise more than 500 words and phrases. Having heard a number of success stories from friends, I was keen to give it a shot. 

The Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese Programme comes with a set of 6 DVDs, and a Parents' Guide which gives some instructions for usage of the DVD lessons based on the age of your child. You can choose to have the lessons in simplified Chinese or in traditional Chinese in 2 versions.

The flashcard DVD lessons are divided into 6 levels (1 level per DVD). Levels 1 to 4 are aimed at enlarging the child's vocabulary, while in Levels 5 and 6 the child learns to phrases and short sentences using the vocabulary acquired in the earlier levels. Each level has 8 lessons and a set of revision lessons.

The said the lessons were short -- and they were right! Each lesson was only about 3 to 5 minutes long. I think it took longer for us to find the DVD, watch the intro and get the lesson started than it actually took for us to watch the lesson! In each lesson, a picture is flashed followed by the corresponding characters, and the whole set of ten words is cycled through twice. After that, there is a short song relevant to the topic which the children can sing along to. The lyrics are also flashed on screen. Sometimes a series of pictures relating to a place (like Paris, for example) are screened. Here is a short clip of one of the lessons on Animals (Level 1, Lesson 2) as an example:

 

As a result of the lessons being so short, I ended up letting my kids watch at least 2 to 3 lessons at one go since they started protesting when I wanted to stop the DVD after each lesson! In fact, I was glad that they were keen on it. 

We've been using this set on and off for about a month, and while I'm not a proponent of television learning, I have been quite pleased with it. What I like about this series:

• There is a wide range of vocabulary introduced
• The introduction of terms progressing on to phrases and simple sentences is very systematic. I like that the later phrases and sentences build on vocabulary that has already been introduced in the earlier lessons.
• Clear enunciation of the Chinese terms and phrases. My kids, particularly Mei, love repeating after the voice. As it is clearly pronounced, she usually gets it right. I do watch it with them though so I am at hand to correct her when she doesn't get it right.
• Good use of pictures. It is usually clear from the pictures what the words being taught are so you can probably follow along even if you know no Chinese.
• The use of colours on the Chinese radicals to help the children break down the words and learn to read them.

The proof of course is in the learning. Did it my kids learn from this set? I'm happy to report that even though I wasn't very diligent in getting them to follow the programme, they have certainly acquired the use of new terms. When we were having fruits just a few nights ago, Noey voluntarily told me that the kiwi fruits were 奇异果. Even more surprisingly, when I tested Mei and tried to get her to read some of Chinese words on a board, she could read most of them, some with some prompting. Not bad for a girl who still mostly makes Chinese -sounding sounds when asked to speak Chinese but doesn't actually say anything meaningful most of the time! I think we will be continuing use of this to see where it takes us.

GIVEAWAY!

Good news for you if you'd like to try the Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese programme for yourself -- I have ONE SET TO GIVEAWAY!

To win ONE SET of Wink to Learn Speak and Read Chinese (RRP: $99.90), kindly sponsored by The Groovy Giraffe, just follow the steps of the Rafflecopter widget below. Please note the following terms and conditions:

1. You MUST like The Groovy Giraffe's Facebook Page through the Rafflecopter widget in order to qualify for this giveaway.

2. The winner will have to self-collect their prize from The Groovy Giraffe (Everton Park) or pay $5 for shipping.

3. The giveaway prize will not come with the cover box.

4. No exchange of of the prize for other products or conversion to store credits will be allowed.

5. All entries will be verified and false or incomplete entries will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you'd like to purchase Wink to Learn's range of educational products, the good news is that they are now available at The Groovy Giraffe, our favourite remainder bookshop. Check out the full range here. In addition to Chinese, they have the Speak and Read series for English and other Asian and European languages too, amongst other products. As with all products at The Groovy Giraffe, you can be sure that you are getting the lowest price for these products. Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese for example is available for just $58.90, down from the usual price of $99.90!

An even sweeter deal for all blog readers: Use the code "MUMMYBEAN" and get a special 20% OFF ALL WINK TO LEARN PRODUCTS! This special code is valid for 1 month till 11 August 2014. Also, the code GET5OFF is still valid to give you a 5% discount off all other products in the store so don't forget to use it! 

Happy shopping!

Dressed for World Cup Fever!

After 4 years, it's finally upon us again.

I'm talking about the World Cup, only the greatest spectacle there is.

If you didn't know, I love me my football. I leave the EPL to the husband, but when it comes to the World Cup and Euro, you'll find me up with the boys, following the action, dissecting tactics, cheering the goals, and (ahem) yelling at the referee.

The best World Cup in my opinion was South Korea-Japan 2002 because I got to watch every single match. Those were the days when my colleagues and I would hop out to a bar (we conveniently worked near Boat Quay) and spend the afternoon and do all the following, dissecting, cheering and yelling over beers. THAT was how a tournament was to be enjoyed.

This year, I have no colleagues. The matches are in the dead of the night. I have no beer. Yet.

BUT. 

I HAVE SHIRTS.

FOX Kids & Baby have issued a series of Men's and Kids' world cup tees and they are so cute I had to grab a set for the whole family. Everyone got to pick their own, and not surprisingly everyone picked a different team:

The husband plumped for Brazil, always one of his favourites and with home ground advantage, the five-time cup holders look a good bet.

The daughter picked Spain because (in her own words) "I like red." Well, it was a good choice to make! The defending champions are still tipped by many to retain the cup and their passing game is second to none. Xavi and Iniesta's midfield magic are a joy to behold. I've always had a soft spot for Spain because of Raul and Fernando Torres, though I've been banned from mentioning the latter by the husband. Go Spain! (Edit: After last night's thrashing by The Netherlands, I don't know how long Meips will be wearing her shirt for!)

The son picked Argentina to Daddy's approval. Yes, my husband likes South American teams, and I think all of us are dying to see Messi set the World Cup alight. Maradona provided a good deal of entertainment during the last world cup but I think we would like to see the entertainment not the pitch please! Will they finally step up as title contenders? We'll have to see.

And I picked...

Italy. Which if you know me, should come as no surprise since I've been supporting Italy like, forever. I was honestly undecided this time round since I haven't been following the Italian team since Carnvarro retired, and because Joachim Loew's German squad has won me over with their swashbuckling play in the previous few tournaments.

"Who's in the Italian team this year?" I asked the husband not too long ago.

"Balotelli," he said wryly, "though he isn't really why you usually support the Italian team…"

That may be true, but it's hard to fight tradition. Besides, there are 22 other members of the squad, aren't there?

World Cup, here we go!

* The FOX World cup tees are retailing at all FOX Kids & Baby outlets. Kids tees retail at $19.90 each or $35 for two. Men's tees retail at $29.90. There are no women's tees but I got a kids' size 14 for myself! Hee. Besides the four designs we got, they've also got Germany, England and France.

Looking Spiffy with FOX Kids and Baby

I don't consider myself much of a shopper.

(Ok husband, you can quit rolling your eyes now.)

Seriously, I don't buy many things except for groceries, books, and erm, maybe many random frivolous items for my ever-growing craft stash. But kids' clothes are a different matter. I admit I have a weakness for buying kiddy clothing for my kids. For one thing, it's so cute! Have you seen the options that they have available these days, especially for little girls? I don't know how many times I've picked up an item and wished that it came in my size.

I shop a lot for the kids online, but when I buy clothes for the kids in-store, one of the stores I've come to rely on over the years is FOX Kids & Baby. Here's why:

1. Attractive clothing for both boys and girls. 

Anyone who tries to shop for their sons will know that girls get 10 times the number of choices that boys do. There are more shops catering just to girls and the selections for girls are much wider. At FOX, I am able to pick up clothes for both my son and my daughter in the same store. The boys also get a more than decent selection of tees, shirts, berms and jeans. The girls have more clothes to choose from, naturally, but there was enough for my son to be pleased with (think tees with images of trucks and bikes and cute-but-not-too-cute prints) and which still met Mummy's taste test.

 

As for little girls, there are dresses, shirt dresses, tops, shorts, skirts, and leggings galore! My little girl was gleefully picking out her own outfits. She came running up to me with the top she is wearing in the picture below, excited because "it's Rapunzel!" she said. Of course it had to go into the bag, it looked super cute with the heart-print jeans shorts, don't you think? 

2. Good selection of basics. 

Never underestimate the value of good basics. Plain shorts, and leggings and tees in simple basic designs that are comfortable and go with everything are very useful. I buy them in different colours! FOX has a good selection and I like the quality.

 

3. Reasonable prices.

Reasonable prices are always a plus, especially when you're shopping for fast-growing kids. FOX scores in this regard, with a good prices made even better by regular promotions. Better yet, when you spend a minimum of $80 at FOX in a single receipt, you can sign up for FOX-C membership, which will entitle you to accumulate points for your purchases. These points can be redeemed for vouchers to offset your next bill. Every $1 gives you 1 point, and 150 points can be redeemed for $10 while 250 points can be redeemed for $30. What's more, you can enjoy a whopping 25% discount in your birthday month. May is my birthday month and I was super pleased with the bargains I was getting with the birthday month discount.

 

4. Availability of licenced characters in cute designs.

Ah, special mention has to be made of the cute characters which won my daughter's heart. The moment she walked into the store and saw Hello Kitty, her eyes lit up. Of course one or two (or more) Hello Kitty items made their way into our basket. I admit that I don't really like such licensed characters but the kids definitely do, and the designs at FOX are way nicer than the ones their grandmothers happily ply them with, which are bought from markets and void deck shops. (Those I confine to the home and try to bury when the kids are not looking!) They had little Mr Men series tees which I thought were really cute and am eyeing for my soon-to-be-born new nephew!

5. Clothes and accessories for every age and every season.

Swimsuits, hats, shoes and slippers, hair accessories, costume jewellery, sunglasses… You name it, they have it. Better yet they have clothes from 3 months right up to 14 years so you can carry on shopping at the same store for some time to come! That makes it a very convenient one-stop shop. Too convenient in fact. As I was purchasing items to top up the kids' wardrobes recently, my little girl kept running up with items she was merrily picking off the accessories rack as I was paying. She did manage to score a hairband that way!

6. Fun events for members.

More than just clothing, FOX also has fun events for members, like the upcoming Ice Cream Making Workshop, which will be happening on 8 June 2014! A slot is just 150 Fox-C points + $15 for a parent and child. I hear there are limited slots left so sign up quickly if you're interested! I know my kids would have loved to attend this, but Sunday is out for us. You can be sure I'll be keeping an eye out for this the next time it rolls around!

After that long list, I have to say that the the main reason that I go back to FOX is that that the kids like the clothes. I've had many hits and very few misses. Also, although I am an avid online shopper, there's nothing like being able to touch the material and ascertain if it is too thin or uncomfortable. And let my daughter experience the joy of the changing room! (She loves it, save when I want to change her out of the new clothes that she HAS TO WEAR IMMEDIATELY.)

We are all shopped out for the Summer season! Thanks FOX for the great shopping experience and for keeping us looking spiffy!

* As I mentioned previously, we are privileged to have FOX Kids and Baby is our clothing sponsor for this period, and the clothes pictured are part of the all-new Summer season at FOX Kids! All opinions remain my own. All the smiles? Courtesy of my two tikes and FOX!

Shopping and Saving on Books at NoQ Store

It is no secret that I love buying books. When I see a good title, I simply cannot resist. With the proliferation of online bookstores with selections wider than you'd find in a physical bookstore, with lower prices to boot, I've been happily buying and (as I tell my husband) SAVING MONEY. Ah, love it when I can use that line!

So the latest bookstore that I've been saving money at is NoQ Store. For the uninitiated, NoQ Store is the online bookstore of the Times Publishing Group, one of the most reputable names in publishing, printing, distribution and retail in this part of the world. It shouldn't be surprising then to know that NoQ Store offers a touted 14 million titles and boasts the cheapest book prices in Asia. All your favourite books, stationery, and reading accessories are available at your fingertips without the hassle of heading out the the store and queuing. (Hence their name: "No Queue" - geddit?)

I made several purchases from NoQ Store and here is what I thought. 

What I like about NoQ Store:

• Wide Range
  One of NoQ Store's major selling points has to be the range of books and reading paraphernalia available. There are fiction and non-fiction titles for the whole family, sorted into 37 categories which you can readily browse. There are also two special categories that I found useful: 
  
  -- Special Feature where you can find the bestsellers and staff picks, and books of particular interest. Like Geronimo Stilton and Lego, for example, which my son love.
  -- Bargain Books need no further explanation. Here you'll find the cheapest books and the ones with the deepest discounts. 
  
  If you're looking for something specific, pop that in the search bar to call it out. Aside from books, NoQ Store also stocks textbooks and assessment books, magazines, stationery like notebooks, journals and notepads, diaries, calendars and e-book readers.
  
• Great Promotions and Offers
  The prices you find at NoQ Store are very competitive and lower than what you can find in bookstores around town. These are also frequently augmented by special discounts and offers, which come around fairly regularly. I scooped up a bunch of Little Golden Books during a recent Easter promotion and got a further 20% off the books, which were already very affordably priced at $4.19 each (before GST). I was chuffed to find that these offers make the already good prices even better!

• Free Shipping (with a minimum $25 purchase)
  Even with the low prices, shipping within Singapore is free with a minimum purchase of $25, which I believe isn't difficult to meet. If your order comes up to less that $25, shipping within Singapore is just a flat rate of $5. The books took about 14 days to arrive, which is comparable to other similar online bookstores.
• Doorstep Delivery
  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the even though shipping was free, my books were delivered via courier right to my doorstep instead of being unceremoniously shoved into my letterbox. The books in the box were beautifully wrapped in brown paper and arrived in pristine condition. I was also alerted to when they would be delivered via SMS.  

What I was not so keen on:

• Reflected Prices do not include GST
  Do bear in mind that the prices of the books reflected on the website do not include GST, which is tagged on at the end when you checkout. So if you're making a comparison across different bookstores, you might want to account for this in your calculations.
  
• Post-purchase Out-Of-Stock Notification
  I placed two orders and both times I was informed after my order had been placed that a book was out-of-stock. My order total was adjusted accordingly and I was not charged for the out-of-stock books and did not need to seek a refund. I guess I suffered no loss save the disappointment of having my hopes of getting a much-sought-after book crushed. I personally would much rather be told at the outset if a book is out of stock, but I understand that the reason for this later notification is that NoQ Store operates via a drop-shipping process, where books are only imported from overseas suppliers upon receipt of orders. Hence, NoQ Store is only able to inform customers of the fact that some books are out-of-stock after orders have been placed and suppliers have confirmed their availability. This process is a bit longer and more tedious but it is how NoQ manages to keep prices low. 
  
• Search Function
  The search function for the site is a bit difficult to use in that using a portion of the title is often insufficient to find a book. Your best bet is to use the full title, or the full author's name.

Overall, I think that while there are some blips in the shopping experience at NoQ Store, these are not insurmountable, and for me at least, the attractive offers do outweigh some of these setbacks.

And here's a special offer to sweeten the deal, just for readers of this blog! Simply use the coupon code "SMALLTHINGS" under the voucher and promotion code tab at checkout and get 15% OFF ALL PURCHASES! If you have yet to check out NoQ Store, this might be a good time to do some shopping. 

[P.S. While we are on the topic of books, do check back on Tuesday for a book review and giveaway!]

* I was invited to shop at NoQ Store for the purpose of this post. I do not earn any commission from the use of the coupon code -- it is purely an offer from NoQ Store to the readers of this blog. (Thanks NoQ Store!) All opinions reflected are my own.

Mr Men And Little Miss At The Groovy Giraffe + A Great Promotion!

This weekend, my little girl turns three. Yes, three already! Time is really flying by.

To celebrate, we're had a very small party with family and a handful of friends and neighbours. I asked the little girl who she's like to invite to her party and she named "Papa!" and "Kong Kong and Popo!" and "Nainai!" and all of our nearest and dearest. Our Nomi loves nothing better than having the whole family together so all her favourite big people are coming to celebrate, and some little friends too.

Of course, me, being me, I can't have a party, however small, without a theme, so I decided to based this party on Noey and Nomi's current favourite books and make it a Mr Men and Little Miss party. It was a fun one and I can't wait to share it what we did with you.

But first, I'm here to talk about the favours. My favourite party favours are books since a) I think reading is a great habit, and b) I think books go a longer way than sweets and snacks. So I've always managed to incorporate a book for our little guests to take home. For Nomi's first birthday, it was How To Catch A Star, for her second birthday, it was a series of Charlie And Lola books. This year, I bought Mr Men and Little Miss books, naturally.

But because everyone loves them and has a few copies of these books themselves, I was extra thrilled to find variations of these books with different stories at my favourite remainder bookstore, The Groovy Giraffe!

I've previously told you about the great deals you can get at The Groovy Giraffe, so you can imagine that I was thrilled to find these: 

Mr Men and Little Miss stories, in a nice big size AND at a nice discount! Win-win-win, I say. 

I bought the lot including some for my own kids, and I hope the other children enjoy them too. 

Speaking of The Groovy Giraffe, they have recently achieved more than 1000 likes on their Facebook Page, and to celebrate, they are running a promotion to give readers a 15% discount on all books in the Children's Category! (Which yes, includes the Mr Men and Little Miss books!) Just key in the coupon code "GET15OFF" to enjoy this discount! Valid from now till 19 March 2014, so move fast!

Here are some of my book recommendations, if you're wondering what to get:

1. Dr Seuss Classic Collection (20 book box set collection) -- $99.90 (RRP: $251.58)

Dr Seuss has been a favourite for generations, and this 20-book box set like The Cat In That Hat, Green Eggs And Ham, and Oh The Places You'll Go. This not-always-in-stock set is a great deal so grab it before it goes out of stock!

2. Charlie and Lola: My Completely Best Story Collection (5 books plus CD) -- $38.90 (RRP: $79.95)

Charlie and Lola are some of my kids' favourite characters and I love them too because they are so cute and the best siblings ever. In this box set, you get 5 hardcover books PLUS an audio CD, to read the books for you! Included in the set are two books that my kids enjoy: Snow Is My Favourite and My Best, and I Won, No I Won, No I Won. I think this would make a great gift and have bought one myself for an upcoming party.

3. Stuck by Oliver Jeffers -- $9.90 (RRP: $14.17)

Oliver Jeffers is one of my favourite children's authors for the lovely simple yet creative and somewhat kookie stories he writes. Stuck is one that I love because the story is so ridiculous! A little boy gets his kite stuck in a tree and goes to great extents to get it down. Read this for a good laugh.

4. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen -- $6.90 (RRP: $8.88)

This book is described as "an affectionate storybook tribute to that truly wonderful place: the library." I have not read this book but it comes highly recommended by trusted sources and from reading the description, I love it already! Needless to say, the library is one of my favourite places.

5. Someday by Alison McGhee - $9.90 (RRP: $19.99)

Another book that came to me highly recommended, I picked this up in a recent school book order, and it is a sweetly touching ode to life told from the perspective of a mother, watching and anticipating her child's process of growing up. Definitely a book that all Mums will be able to identify with -- more than the kids, I feel! But definitely worth a read.

6. One Snowy Night by Nick Butterworth -- $12.90 (RRP: $16.45)

The kids received this book as a gift from my friend and it is a lovely story of friendship between Percy the Park Keeper and the animals in the part where he lives. The book is beautifully illustrated and the kids love pouring over the pictures.

7. The Enid Blyton Faraway Tree & Wishing-Chair Collection -- $26.90 (RRP: $30.76)

Enid Blyton needs no introduction. Needless to say, I was a huge fan when I was a child and these two series were among my favourites. A quick and convenient box set so you can make sure you have all the titles at hand.

Have fun reading!

Soaking In The Festivities at Chinatown

Just last year, I started what I hope to be a tradition of bringing the kids to go soak up the atmosphere at Chinatown in the run-up to Chinese New Year.

It's not actually somewhere which I'm familiar with, Chinatown. My parents were not the sort of frequent the place. Or at least, if they did go, they rarely did bring me along. But I think as I've grown older, I've certainly become more nostalgic about my roots. I find myself more interested in customs and traditions and more keen to participate in them. And when it comes to the Chinese New Year, certainly Chinatown is where it's at.

Be warned: it's crowded and the stalls holders do not take too kindly to kids messing around for too long. That said, the kids still managed to have fun. It certainly helps to go with friends and that's what we did. It was a little crazy with three adults to five children. Tiring, but good fun.

Little adventurers, ready for action!

Having snacks while we checked out the stalls. I packed a little snack bag of chocolate wafer rolls for each of the kids and they chowed them down real quick! I was really tempted to buy a smaller version of one of those lion heads in the background and start my own little lion dance troupe at home...

The 5-year olds!

All 5 kids together, and almost all looking at the camera!

The two littles compare snacks.

Inspecting the 瓜子 and sneaking a few when no one is looking! This girl loves 瓜子!

All busy checking out the wares. This was a nice stall holder who entertained them for quite a while before he got worried that they were going to topple the bags of gunny sacks and all the food in them onto the ground.

Their favourite shop by far -- toys! Esp these Lego-lookalike superhero figurines, which were selling at the great price of $5 for 2. DD's actually seen these before selling for more, so he asked me to buy the whole set, 8 figurines in all. All the boys ended up getting one each too.

The "Decool" Superheroes. In addition to these five, there is Hawkeye, Superman and General Zod. An… interesting mix.

I ended up buying a mishmash of items home: Sparklers for the kids, Taiwanese jellies, the Decool Superheroes, and my favourite Chinese New Year decoration -- a red paper cutting.

Chinatown is also where I got this cute family portrait cutting last year. You pick the figures and they cut the names out on the spot. Amazing. What they cut is actually nicer than what I would write by hand. Hah. I've toted this out again for this year and I love how it immediately adds to the Chinese New Year Mood.

We rounded off the outing with a quick porridge and dim sum dinner at Tak Po. The dim sum wasn't bad but what I really enjoyed was the porridge. I shared a chicken porridge with Meips (foregoing my usual over of century egg porridge) and was surprised at how large the bowl was. There was plenty of chicken too. DD ordered the frogs legs and said it was delish. The prices were reasonable too. For 4 adults and 5 kids, the bill came up to only $60, with drinks all round, including a bottle of beer! We didn't manage to go eat Snow Ice at Mei Heong Yuen Dessert, which incidentally is the only thing that Noey seems to remember from last year's visit. Next time hopefully!

Elly's The Horse Parade CNY Collection {Giveaway}

Christmas and New Year's Day are behind us, but there's still no time to rest because we are speeding on to Chinese New Year!

As the shops did their quick change over to take all the Christmas music off their playlist and replace it with the dreaded dong-dong-chiang music, we are immediately faced with the two most important questions for the season: What are we going to EAT? And what are we going to WEAR? (Also, how am I going to manage our usually manic CNY schedule, though that's a totally different post altogether!)

While I merrily contemplate how I'm going to squeeze in as much yu sheng as possible during this period, the other problem of what to wear, or at least what the kids are going to wear has been easily resolved, thanks to Elly.

Hot on the heels of their highly successful 2013 Absolutely Elly collection comes Elly's latest Chinese New Year offering: The Horse Parade! As a nod to the fact that it'd be the year of the Horse this year, this entire collection has been created from 6 different exclusively designed fabrics featuring horses and horse-themed icons. And to ensure that there'll be something for everyone, the collection comes in 32 mind-boggling styles. I love that the collection has been designed to provide variety and be wearable the year round, so there aren't just cheongsams and more cheongsams, but also dresses and a blouse-skirt combi for girls with enough redness to be appropriate for Chinese New Year. And in true Elly-fashion, there are options for boys too. Not just shirts this year but also berms! And the best part for this mummy? There are plenty of boy-girl matching sets. Yay. 

The only problem: Everything is so nice I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to get!

Here are some of the matching brother-sister options:

#1 -- Noey: Mandarin-collared shirt in Red Horses ($45/49) | Meips: Cheongsam in Red Horses ($65/69)

#2 -- Meips: Cheongsam in White Horses ($65/69) | Noey: Mandarin-collared Shirt in White Horses ($45/49)

 #3 -- Meips: Cheongsam in Pastel Horses ($65/69) | Noey: Mandarin Collared Shirt in Red ($45/49) and Berms in Bright Horses ($39/$42). For that same-same-but-different look.

I must admit it wasnt 't my favourite to start with but the pastel horses print looks really sweet on Meips!

#4 -- Meips: Flutter Blouse in Red ($39) and Twirly Skirt in Pastel Horses ($45) | Noey: Mandarin Collared Shirt in Red ($45/49) and Berms in Bright Horses ($39/$42)

Want something for Chinese New Year but don't want a cheongsam? This is one of my favourite options for girls: the Red Flutter Blouse and Twirly Skirt combi, which I think looks absolutely adorable! She paired it herself with her red boots which I think gives the whole outfit a certain attitude. Love.

#5 -- Noey: Mandarin Collared Shirt in Red ($45/49) and Berms in Bright Horses ($39/$42) | Meips: Tinkerbell in Pastel Horses ($52)

#6 -- Noey: Mandarin Collared Shirt in Red ($45/49) and Berms in Red Horses ($39/$42) | Meips: Tinkerbell in Red Horses ($52)

If you ask Meips which is her favourite dress, she'd tell you it's the Tinkerbell. And her favourite feature? The pockets! Good for keeping those angpows, I say. With the ruffles and the pretty ribbon trimming, it's one of my favourite designs too.

I'm sure you can see why it took me really long to finalise what I wanted to get! And yes, it included a Tinkerbell for Meips too, which she chose herself.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

Good news for all blog readers: I have ONE TINKERBELL DRESS (worth $52) from Elly's The Horse Parade Collection to give away! The winner gets a Tinkerbell dress of his/her choice from one of the following designs:

1. Pastel Horses

2. Rainbow Horseshoe

3. Red Horses

The sizes run from 9M to 7Y.

This is a great opportunity to grab a dress for your little one that would take her through CNY and beyond! To join this giveaway, just follow the steps in the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can now purchase Elly's The Horse Parade Collection from Elly's online store: www.ellyloves.com. Just for this month (Jan 2014), there's a special FREE LOCAL SHIPPING promotion! Just key in the code "FREESHIPPING" at checkout.

Have a little boy instead that you'd love to put in cute boy's togs instead?

Hop on over to Brunch With My Baby and join their giveaway of Elly's CNY Bermuda Shorts!

Thanks Elly for sorting us out for the festive season!

Elly
501 Bukit Timah Road, #02-29
Cluny Court
Singapore 259760
Tel: 64668718
Web: www.ellyloves.com