"Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other."

When I was younger around Christmas time there would always be at least one Nintendo game I was hoping for. I remember one year really wanting Super star Wars and Mario paint and another year desperate to get my hands on Zool the Ninja Ant. Playing our Nintendo console back then was fun time spent with my family and things haven't changed when it comes to me and the boys. With so many great Nintendo games released this year here's my top 5 that should be in any Nintendo fans Christmas stocking.

Although it isn't my favourite game of 2015 (It's my second), Super Mario Maker in my eyes is most definitely the biggest. This game is huge and rightly so. Being able to design your own courses is amazing and although the game is only single player, being able to create levels for your friends and family really makes this a great family game. With thousands of levels to play, created by other gamers all around the world, there is no end to the amount of fun you can have playing this game.

Yoshi's Woolly world was the game I was looking forward to playing the most. I love cute games and this one takes cuteness to the extreme. Woolly world is a colourful none threatening game but one that can take quite a lot of skill at times. For me personally, the best game of the year and one me and the boys will be playing a lot over the Christmas break.

I am all about the 3ds, as much as I love the Wii U, Handheld gaming fits in better with my days and The Legend of Zelda Tri Force Heroes has been entertaining me while I have been parked up waiting for Mrs M or passing the time waiting for Seth to come out of school. The 3 person multiplayer that can be played from one cartridge is the main attraction for me, with both of the boys having 2ds' but it is also great to take two random gamers from anywhere in the world on missions with me too.

I'll be honest, when I first played Splatoon it didn't really appeal to me, but the more I played it with the boys, the more they got in to it and that excitement is contagious. Splatoon is an amazing multiplayer rumble and I could happily sit with the boys for hours playing this as it is a really fun and competitive game. As far as family games go this is definitely one to be on your Christmas list or a great way to spend that festive cash you get from a distant relative.

I cheated a little on number 5 as it wasn't released this year but the game is still huge so Super Smash Brothers has made its way to my top 5. With an enormous selection of Nintendo characters spanning over many years of Nintendo's history this game really packs a punch. Ive not played the Wii U version of the game but I hear it is amazing. The 3DS game though has been great for me as I can fit a bit of brawling in here of there. I was always a huge fan of the fighting games when i was younger and being able to battle using many of the characters I grew up with is amazing.

There have been loads of new titles released this year, these are just my personal top 5. To find out about other titles and future releases head over to Nintendo.co.uk. I hope you all have an amazing game filled Christmas, I'll be using the quiet time to work on completing these 5.

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

It may be grim weather outside but Opeie is not going to let a little rain calm down his festive excitement, especially when he sees giant baubles. This month is all about Christmas cheer!!!

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

A few weeks back the boys built the LEGO Technic Fire Plane and although it did take them a lot longer to build, it didn't deter them from attempting something bigger. There has been some pretty amazing Tecnic kits released this year and Seth really wanted to get stuck in to one with electric functions. The Crawler Crane is a huge build and when you see pictures of it online or see the box in a toy store the images really don't do it justice. I honestly didn't think that the boys would attempt something like this and I thought they would lose interest early on.

The instruction manual is HUGE, in fact I think it is the thickest one we have owned. I thought alone would put the boys off straight away, but no! they were adamant that they would complete it no matter how long it took. It did take the boys a long time to complete but a bit was built at every spare moment and it was really interesting to watch. Apart from the LEGO trains (which I love), we've not owned any kits with power functions so building this was definitely something different.

Although I definitely favour the more classic LEGO, one thing I do love about Technic is that because the parts are generally larger the builds can start to look quite beefy early on and the LEGO Technic Crawler Crane is a great kit for this. After the first two bags it was starting to look pretty big but I wasn't prepared to the final piece.

 The kit comes with a pretty big bag of crawler tread pieces which was the first clue to just how big the finished Crane was going to be. 

A few bags in and the Crane was starting to look enormous. Ive got to admit that I was getting more and more impressed as the build went on. The thought that has gone in to the the design of this kit is amazing and the huge series of different cogs used to make everything move is fascinating. Looking at it I started to think how I could include the power functions in to the custom things that we build.

The boys were awesome putting it together but I couldn't help but think that they had made a mistake some where down the line as there was no movement in the two reels that pulled in the two seperate strings used in the build. I was really hoping that I was wrong but I couldn't see how it was going to work. When they did complete the kit we couldn't get it working at all. There was no power coming from the battery pack until I realised it was my fault and I had only put in three batteries not 6 (I shouldn't have got involved).

Eventually that magical green light came on...

All but one function worked perfectly but we worked out that one of the pieces had come loose that was stopping the crawler from crawling. I am starting to see why LEGO Technic is so popular. When that light went on and we starting moving those levers around we were hooked. As you are building it, it is like any other LEGO kit in a way but when you see that what you have built can move around, the claw can be raised, lowered, opened and closed and the cab can spin it really adds to the fun. This for the boys really made the build and it was clear how impressed they were by what they had achieved.

The LEGO Technic Crawler Crane has changed the way I look at LEGO Technic now and I think the power functions are something that Seth will be wanting to look in to more. The Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 is now starting to look quite appealing, could keep us quiet over the Christmas holiday.

"I've got a job for you. Keep on the dodge and saddle up the law dolly past them horned hens."

So.... We've seen the film and as parents we all know, that if they like a film they want to see the great products that accompany it. The Disney store understandably have a great selection and Opeie has been taking full advantage of all the fun things available. Firstly after watching the movie there was a lot of questions about the characters and what was going on so DK Books The Good Dinosaur: The Essential Guide has been perfect for answering all those dino related questions. You can find out about all of the characters and the impact they have on the movie.

Opeie loves role playing with his toys and this six piece figurine playset has been awesome for stomping around the house, fighting with the Raptor and the Pterodactyl while finding places to camouflage Forrest woodbush.

Opeie loves a a good soft toy and has been loving carrying the two main characters around with him.  Arlo and Spot are a great addition to Opeie's play time and have attended many tea parties and lots of car trips.

My favourite product was The Good Dinosaur Tin Art Case Set as it gave Opeie the chance to make the most of his artistic side and get creative. With literally everything an artistic child could need included in this cute carry case it has been perfect for taking about with us on all of our home schooling adventures. As soon as the case arrived we sat down together for some drawing and painting fun and Opeie drew an awesome dinosaur from his imagination.

The finished piece turned out to be amazing...

There are lots of other great products at the Disney store that tie in with the movie, my favourite being the Butch hoodie and the Pyjamas.

Its nice to see that the Disney store has thought about us adult fans too, so now its time for me to have a big cup of coffee in my Dinosaur Mug.

"You have to get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side."

There has been a huge build up to the release of The Good Dinosaur in our house. Our mini dinosaur enthusiast has been so excited about seeing the film ever since he saw the trailer a while back and this week we finally got a chance to go and see the film. The four of us headed out for a family night out but then seperated at the cinema. Mrs M and Seth went off to see Spectre and thinking at the time I may have drawn the short straw, me and my boy made our way to screen 9 to embrace our inner dinosaur.

Opeie had decided that he was going to watch the movie as Arlo himself and wore his Good Dinosaur mask all the way to the cinema. He did inform me that it would be cool if I was to dress as Spot too but I had no intention of heading out in the cold wearing nothing but leaves to cover up my modesty. I really wanted to get a lovely picture of Opeie in front a big cardboard cut out for the movie but sadly there wasn't one in the cinema.

The movie was amazing and I may have had a little tear in my eye at the end, Disney really know how to pull on your heart strings. When we exited the screening we had an hour to kill before the rest of the humans joined us. Luckily it was late night shopping so we gave Opeie's Arlo mask a tour of the shopping centre. My own little Good Dinosaur was getting thumbs ups and smiles from everyone.

After a good hour of stomping about, me and my dinosaur made our way back to the cinema to pick up the other humans and make our way home. We would definitely recommend the film, if you are heading out to see it, why not take a mini dinosaur too, they'll love it.

"You spin me right round, baby Right round like a record, baby Right round round round"

While driving home one afternoon we were listening to absolute 80s on the radio, it's the station that is always tuned in for when the iPod isn't in the car. An absolutely shockingly awful song came one and I cant for the life of me remember what it was now but what did stick out was the DJ announcing that the song was released in 1984. Me and Opeie were chatting while the radio was on and I explained that the song was released when I was his age, This had Opeie asking what songs I liked when I was his age. I couldn't answer because honestly I have no recollection of being in to music at all back then.

Our conversation that day started a little game one night with us and Mrs M, to go through all of the big hits of 1984 and pick our 5 favourite tracks each. I was quite shocked to find that some amazing songs had come out that year and it ended up being quite difficult to narrow it down to just 5. Here is what we came up with though.

Opeie:

Last Christmas - Wham!

Radio Gaga - Queen

You spin me right round - Dead or alive

Against all Odds - Phil Collins

and...

Mrs M:

Karma Chameleon - Culture Club

Purple Rain - Prince and the New Power Generation

I Just Called To Say I Love You -  Stevie Wonder

Last Christmas - Wham! (clearly a popular song choice)

and...

For Me:

 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

Against All Odds - Phil Collins

Hot For teacher - Van Halen

Purple Rain - Prince and the New Power Generation

and...

It was interesting to see that we each picked one song from the other two lists. Music is such a huge thing in our house, we sing and dance a lot and Opeie is building quite an extensive and eclectic collection on his iPod. We briefly started working on the year Mrs M was 4 too. It'll be fun to see what 1990 has to offer, Stay tuned (see what I did there!).

"The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value."

I had every intention to write a '10 top toys for Christmas' post. Its a popular thing with bloggers and a great way to promote some of the great products you have reviewed throughout the year. I could have easily picked 10 great products from 2015 but every time I thought about it, I was brought back to the product that has made me the happiest this year and last. So instead I decided to fully embrace that and write a top 10 reasons for buying a Micro Scooter this Christmas.

1. (and probably the most important for me) Owning a Micro scooter myself as well as the children has added an extra level to the relationship and bond I have with the boys. We can whizz around at the park together or Fill a back pack up with awesome gear and go adventuring. Getting about on scooters is far more personal and interactive than driving somewhere with them in the back. Scooting gives me fun quality play time with the people I love the most.

2. We spend a lot of time travelling around in the car. So its always nice to have days where we do things by scooter. Its amazing how far you can actually get on two small wheels and it is a great lesson for the boys in lessening our carbon footprint. The scooters have also given us the chance to see places from a different perspective, which was amazing earlier in the year when me and Opeie spent 4 days travelling around London by scooter together.

3. When Seth talks to me about school he is always telling me how much games consoles monopolise their play time and how many of the children spend their weekends sitting in front of a screen. Although Seth and Opeie love gaming they play in moderation and they know how important it is to be outdoors doing things. Scooting is awesome exercise, so even if the boys have a day in the house because we haven't go much on, we always try and get in some scooting to get the heart pumping faster.

4. Scooting has given both of boys a huge boost in independence. With Seth it was a way of getting around quicker because of his muscle condition and for Opeie when he first started it made him feel like he was part of the gang, speeding around with the big boys.

5. Although bikes are great, they are huge and take up so much space in the car. Micro scooters collapse and the handle bars can also be folded down taking up minimal space in the boot. We have four scooters in our boot at all times and there is still more than enough room for helmets and shopping. It is great knowing that wherever we end up during the weekends the scooters are there with us if there is somewhere safe to scoot.

6. If the scooters themselves aren't exciting enough for you (we know they are!) there is also a huge amount of accessories to chose from to add even more glamour in to your scooting experience, Helmets, Poncho's and lighting all help to make an even safer, more stylish and fun addition to your scooting adventures.

 7. The quality and design of these is one of the big attractions for me. They feel safe and sturdy and it is clear that a lot of thought has gone in to creating these amazing scooters. The way they fold down is great and the smoothness of the ride on the suspension scooter, the flex and the flex deluxe really makes for a more comfortable scoot. Also that v shape on the mini Micro is perfect for transporting if you are scooting with the children and little legs get tired.

8. From a parent scooter enthusiast's point of view, owning a Micro Scooter makes me feel like a kid again. I love being right in the middle of the action with the boys and when we have visitors over we nearly always get them out on the scooters with us. Our friend Jess visited us this weekend and we all went out scooting (despite the cold weather and crazy wind). We now have scooter buddies over at Another last story and even the boys grandparents have been out with us too.

9. One of the things that I have always loved about Micro Scooters is they are a company that makes products that grow with your children. From the Mini2Go for nursery children all the way up to the great selection of adults scooters. They are covered making sure they can have 2 or three wheels under their feet all the way through their development and when they have reached the peak of their growing years and move in to adult hood there is a great selection for us big kids to continue playing with our own little ones.

10. The scooters have given me a great diversion for Opeie when it comes to his home schooling. Occasionally hes just not in the mood for writing and numbers and on these days he can get a little frustrated if he makes mistakes. My answer is always 'shall we go out on the scooters for a bit'. Scooting seems to really clear his head and relax a little which has been really great for us having a productive day.

Amazing right! It'll probably blow your mind that they also make an electric scooter and a pedal version which both look very interesting.

 I could go on about the impact Micro-Scooters has had on us as a family, its a product I am really passionate about and something I want other parents to experience. Whats better than buying a gift that you can get out on and use together!

Merry Christmas Scooterers (I'm making it my mission to make that a word).

"I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids."

One of the most anticipated LEGO themes for us this year was Scooby Doo. Opeie loves the show and for me it takes me right back to Saturday morning cartoons, glued to the TV, searching through my cereal box for toys. When we first saw pictures for the up and coming kits I was desperate to get hold of the Mystery Machine (which we wrote about a while back) but as I looked more at the other kits it was clear we needed the complete range for our collection. 

I love the colours of the kits, especially the haunted house with all the purple bricks. We don't collect all minifigures but I do have a great collection of monster figures from the monster fighters theme and various other kits so I was eager to get hold of the great bad guys throughout the scooby doo range. What makes these figures so interesting though is that under their masks they have their costumes faces one side and their unhappy caught human faces the other, perfect for role play. They would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids!

The Mystery plane adventures kit (75901) is an awesome little kit which is great for the money and that bad guy along with the others is going to come in very handy with some of our builds later in the year.

 For me the best value kit is the Haunted Lighthouse (75903) with hidden trap doors, a mystery machine boat and 2 awesome bad guys to add to my ever growing baddie collection it is great for a mid priced kit. We are still missing kit 75900 Mummy Museum Mystery but we'll be snapping that one up very soon.

Well we finally have the team so there is going to be no end to our Scooby Doo LEGO adventures. For the minifigures alone these kits are worth the purchase, with loads of new hairstyles and outfits we'll be doing all sorts with these.