Toy Story 3 – The history of Toy Story

Did you know that Toy Story was the first fully computer animated film ever to be produced? The film was released in 1995 featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. It's an amusing film suitable for all ages that tells the story of a group of toys that come alive when there are no humans around.

Toy story was the highest earning film of 2005 beating Batman Forever and Apollo 13. The film has gone on to become one of the best selling films of all time. The sequel to the original film was even more successful than the first. Toy Story 2 was released in 1999 with some new characters to add to the film.

Due to the success of the first 2 films , we now have Toy Story 3 scheduled for release on 23 July 2010. Toy Story 3 will be a 3D film and has been showing teaser trailers since May 2009. Toy Story 3 is set to be another fantastic hit with even more new characters being introduced into the story line.

Great for kids

Toy Story is great for kids and just as funny for the grownups to watch too! Toy Story really lets your children's imagination run wild with the possibilities that their toys could be plotting mischievous activities whilst they're out of the room and not looking!

It's also a really easy watching film that suits all ages. The films are cleverly created to include suitable jokes for all kids (and enough for the adults too!). The story lines are also really easy to follow so even the younger kids in your family won't get distracted and wonder away from the films plot!

Toy Story is one of the very few films whereby the story line is enjoyable by any kids no-matter what their interests are. Some kid's films are focused on just boys or just girls, or on certain types of children. Toy Story is a very universal film with a wide captive audience.

Toys and merchandise

Why not bring the film to life! With merchandise your kids can reenact the film and create their favourite moments from the film. All your favourite characters from the film are available to purchase as suitable kids toys for all ages.

But the fun doesn't stop there. There are different types of toys all with varying prices. For example, you can get a simple 12" action figure of Buzz Lightyear for around £20. Or how about the ultimate Buzz Lightyear programmable robot at £200 for some real-life fun!

The fun doesn't stop with merchandise toys, you can also get dress-up costumes and sets for your kids of all ages. If your kid is a budding actor then why not let them dress up and act out their favourite toy story characters. Dress-up costumes provide great entertainment for the whole family.

So why not celebrate the release of the new Toy Story 3 film with a range of Toy Story merchandise to impress your children. You can even make lunch time a fun time with Toy Story themed lunchboxes and flasks!

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Toy Story 3 – The history of Toy Story

Did you know that Toy Story was the first fully computer animated film ever to be produced? The film was released in 1995 featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. It's an amusing film suitable for all ages that tells the story of a group of toys that come alive when there are no humans around.

Toy story was the highest earning film of 2005 beating Batman Forever and Apollo 13. The film has gone on to become one of the best selling films of all time. The sequel to the original film was even more successful than the first. Toy Story 2 was released in 1999 with some new characters to add to the film.

Due to the success of the first 2 films , we now have Toy Story 3 scheduled for release on 23 July 2010. Toy Story 3 will be a 3D film and has been showing teaser trailers since May 2009. Toy Story 3 is set to be another fantastic hit with even more new characters being introduced into the story line.

Great for kids

Toy Story is great for kids and just as funny for the grownups to watch too! Toy Story really lets your children's imagination run wild with the possibilities that their toys could be plotting mischievous activities whilst they're out of the room and not looking!

It's also a really easy watching film that suits all ages. The films are cleverly created to include suitable jokes for all kids (and enough for the adults too!). The story lines are also really easy to follow so even the younger kids in your family won't get distracted and wonder away from the films plot!

Toy Story is one of the very few films whereby the story line is enjoyable by any kids no-matter what their interests are. Some kid's films are focused on just boys or just girls, or on certain types of children. Toy Story is a very universal film with a wide captive audience.

Toys and merchandise

Why not bring the film to life! With merchandise your kids can reenact the film and create their favourite moments from the film. All your favourite characters from the film are available to purchase as suitable kids toys for all ages.

But the fun doesn't stop there. There are different types of toys all with varying prices. For example, you can get a simple 12" action figure of Buzz Lightyear for around £20. Or how about the ultimate Buzz Lightyear programmable robot at £200 for some real-life fun!

The fun doesn't stop with merchandise toys, you can also get dress-up costumes and sets for your kids of all ages. If your kid is a budding actor then why not let them dress up and act out their favourite toy story characters. Dress-up costumes provide great entertainment for the whole family.

So why not celebrate the release of the new Toy Story 3 film with a range of Toy Story merchandise to impress your children. You can even make lunch time a fun time with Toy Story themed lunchboxes and flasks!

Read more...

We're football crazy, football mad!

It's that time of year, and football is all around - you can't fail to have noticed a certain World Cup happening, and here at Little Sunflowers we want to help you to get into the action!

The fabulous Molo have come out with a football themed range of clothing, from rompers to tops, and we want to give YOU a chance to win not only £60 of Molo gear, but also a fab limited edition kids Football!

All you have to do is answer a REALLY easy question, to go in the draw - and you have until midnight on Saturday 10 July 2010!

Enter the competition here

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41 Years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

In 1969 Eric Carle produced a book which would become a huge hit worldwide. Even today "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" sells one copy every 30 seconds worldwide.

Now, our friendly caterpillar is 41 and it's still just as popular, if not more so. It's a great children's book with fantastic illustrations and imagination taught throughout.

Eric Carle was born in the United States and then moved to Germany at the age of six. Eric's father would take him on walks through woods and across meadows. His father would lift a stone and underneath it Eric would see an amazing world of creatures and things that lived underneath.

As a child Eric found these adventures with his Father to be quite magical and inspiring. He then went on to re-live these happy and fond memories in his illustrated books. Eric started off his career as a graphic designer. He then later become art director of an advertising agency before then moving into publishing.

Great for children

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a great book for children because it has full page, brightly coloured illustrations to accompany the text. The text within the book is also easy to follow making it ideal for children that are learning to read. The book contains 225 words which are in large text accompanied by colourful illustrations.

It can sometimes be difficult to get children to read books because they might have no interest in reading. Many children's books don't come with that many pictures or the pictures are a bit dull. Children need images and colours that are inspiring and magical.

If you give a child a book that's bursting with full-page, bright and vibrant colours they'll want to look through it again and again. Pictures really help children to explore their imagination. The Very Hungry Caterpillar uses images that are perfect for children's imagination. The images are very artistic and slightly child-like. Not just your normal every-day caterpillar!

The book

The book itself follows the story of a caterpillar that munches his way through a variety of things such as ice cream, salami, watermelon, one slice of Swiss cheese, and a lollipop. The caterpillar then finally emerges as a beautiful butterfly towards the end of the story.

The story teaches children to count to 5, the names of the days of the week and also about some types of food the caterpillar eats. Although the caterpillar's choice of foods in the book is fictional, it does teach children the basic concept of the metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to butterfly.

The book is widely regarded worldwide as one of the best children's books ever written. It's easy to see why when your child becomes fascinated by its colours, words and humour. If your child is learning to read and you want to find a suitable book that's not going to intimidate them; this is the perfect choice.

We do love what is possibly the world's oldest caterpillar and butterfly, and are delighted to stock a whole host of Hungry Caterpillar goodies – click on the pictures throughout this blog to find out more!

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How do you keep your children's socks on?

It has to be one of the most irritating things children do.

You know they'd complain their feet are cold straight away, but some children feel the uncontrollable urge to be free from their socks!

Whether you're shopping and the sock mysteriously vanishes, or perhaps eating a meal at a restaurant and a sock makes its way into someone's dinner!

You almost want to scream when your child drops their sock into a puddle whilst taking a stroll with the pushchair. There's a great temptation to put the sock back on their foot whilst it's still dripping wet!

So what's the solution to this mad frustrating obsession your child has?

Well, let's get cracking with some practical solutions to this headache...

1. Sellotape

For a cheap method that's also easy to reapply try good old Sellotape. You can buy Sellotape in jumbo rolls these days so you don't even have to worry about how much you use. In some cases the entire foot may require a thorough coating of the sticky plastic stuff. Ha! Take those socks off NOW you little tyke! ;)

2. Forget the socks

Ok, we've reached that major point in frustration. If your child is clearly so determined to avoid wearing socks completely; ban them. Search the entire house for all your children's socks and burn them. Problem solved. This is also a great way to save money. With less socks to buy you can even save up for that dream holiday. Hint: remember to remove the socks from your child before throwing them onto the fire; it can be easy to forget. ;)

3. Sock-ons

For a slightly nicer way of keeping your children's socks on, and with tongue now firmly out of cheek, try sock-ons. They're an award winning solution that keeps the socks on even on the most determined of children. One size fits all; these clever little devices were invented by a Mum whose baby wouldn't keep his socks on. They're machine washable and come in a variety of different colours to truly accessorise your baby!

And of course you can buy them at Little Sunflowers (Little Sunflower Sock Ons)

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Refer your friends and receive £20!

We recently ran a survey from our newsletter and discovered that lots of our customers are telling other people about us. Obviously we're delighted at this and we can’t thank you enough for recommending us. We thought it's only fair to reward those of you who are spreading the good word.

So we've revamped our refer-a-friend scheme. It's all very simple; for every 5 friends’ email addresses you give us, we'll give you 1 flower credit. What's even better is that for every friend that places an order, we'll give you another credit. So if all 5 friends place an order, you'll get 6 credits.

Once you reach 6 flower credits you'll be rewarded with a £20 gift voucher to spend on whatever you like at Little Sunflowers! It's our way of saying thank you for referring your friends to us and also rewarding you for your efforts. So how many friends can you refer to us?

Who do you know?

If you've got friends or family that have recently given birth, or perhaps have young children, would they be interested in Little Sunflowers? Once you start thinking about it most people can usually come up with at least 5 friends, if not more!

If you refer 10 friends to us we'll give you 2 flower credits just for their email addresses. As long as your friends have an interest in what we're selling, they're likely to place an order with us. Even if you have friends that don't have children, or their children have grown up, they might still be looking to send someone else a gift.

Is there a limit to how many friends I can refer?

No, you can refer as many friends as you like.

So how easy is it?

It really is very simple to refer your friends. Just drop us an email at info@littlesunflowers.com and include your 5 friends' email addresses. The 5 email addresses must be genuine and they can't already be customers with us. If any of the email addresses aren't genuine or are already customers we'll let you know so you can refer someone else if you want.

We'll then send your friends an email to let them know you've referred them. We won't add them to any newsletter or mailing list. We'll only contact them once to let them know you've suggested they visit our website. We won't pass their email address onto anyone else, and we won't contact them again unless they ask us to.

When your friends place their first order with us they'll need to let us know you've referred them. We just need them to pop your name and town/county in the comments box at checkout. We'll then email you to let you know you've got another credit on your account.

It really couldn't be easier and you're free to spend your £20 on anything you like in our shop. You can either receive £20 off your order or you can place an order for £20. We really don't mind. We just appreciate you helping us out by telling your friends about us.

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Sophie la Girafe turns 49

In France there is a toy which is given to nearly every baby. Since 25th May 1961 Sophie la Girafe has been the traditional toy to give to a new born baby. She's a small teething toy that's ideal for children to hold on to. Her legs are just the right size for babies to grasp with their fingers.

But what's interesting is that until 4 years ago you couldn't buy Sophie in the UK at all. In fact it was only 5 years ago that the French manufacturer Vulli decided babies worldwide should start chomping on Sophie.

This year it's predicted that over 50,000 babies will use Sophie la Giraffe as their toy to chomp, drool, chew and squeak on. With more and more parents giving Sophie the thumb of approval, it might not be too long before she's a tradition in this country too!

What's so special about Sophie?

One of Sophie's most fascinating features is that she simply hasn't changed at all in 49 years. With a very retro look to her, Sophie's seen as safe. She's made from natural rubber and food grade paint. There's no PVC, BPA, Phthalates or other nasty chemicals hiding around to harm your child.

Indeed it's probably her safe features that make her so popular amongst so many parents and babies too. There's no need to worry that the toy may wear down or become unsafe for your child. In some cases other teething toys can cause allergic reactions or skin conditions to children, but not Sophie.

What's even more special about Sophie is her price. You might not see the value in spending a fortune on the latest designer baby wear. You might even be annoyed at how most chew toys need replacing after a few days. But with Sophie you'll be able to join the luxury club.

Celebrity mums such as Isla Fisher, Naomi Watts, Nicole Richie and Sofia Coppola are amongst just some of the parents that use Sophie. All this luxury sounds like it's going to cost more than the designer baby wear right? Well, you're looking at just £12 to get your hands on this exclusive club.

Is she a gimmick?

The strangest thing about Sophie is that she's genuinely not a gimmick. What's even more surprising is that her massive success over the past 49 years hasn't been backed by a huge marketing campaign. Nearly every new-born in France is given one yet Sophie isn’t main-stream marketed.

She's simply a very effective toy that does the job perfectly. Mums and Dads have been passing their recommendations on for the past 49 years. That's how Sophie got where she is today; a sign of a genuine product that actually works. No advertising required.

So if your child's going through the teething phase, consider Sophie la Giraffe. After all, it is her Birthday!

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Win £50 with our new reviews section!

It's always a good idea to research any product before deciding whether or not to purchase it. After all, the product you want to buy might be the perfect solution. But you just want to know what previous buyers think of the product and if they would recommend it.

So that's why here at Little Sunflowers we thought it would be a good idea to let our customers review the products they've purchased. In our new reviews section you can rate and review any product. It's a great way to help out other parents who are unsure about some of the products on the website.

It's almost a bit like shopping with a friend who has already brought an item you're thinking of buying. It's a great way of getting impartial advice that isn't coming straight from the manufacturer or, indeed, from us! Sometimes descriptions of products might not answer your question, where a review might just clear certain things up.

How to add a review

Adding a review to an item in our shop couldn't be easier. First, find the product you want to review. You can either search for the item or browse through the categories. Once you're on the items page, just scroll down the page. Just underneath the "Add to basket" button you'll see the reviews box.

At the bottom of the reviews box there's a button labelled "Write Review". You'll need to register as a customer to do this, or login with your existing details if you've purchased before. When leaving a review you can write a description of your review along with giving the item a rating. Each review can have up to a 5 star rating.

How to read other reviews

Not all of the products in our store will have a review. But those that do will be visible just under the product description. If you're looking at a product on the site, just scroll down just below the "Add to basket button". If there are any reviews for a product they will appear here.

Each review is accompanied with a rating. These are the golden stars you'll see just to the right of each review; the greater the number of stars, the better the rating. Next to each review you can also see the name of the customer that wrote it.

Be in with a chance of winning a prize

To encourage our customers to help out other parents we're offering you the chance to win a prize. All reviews submitted by the end of May will be entered into a draw to win £50 to spend on our site. It's really simple to be in with a chance of winning - all you have to do is leave a product review. We'll know who you are because you have to be logged in to leave reviews.

So why not be part of the Little Sunflowers community whilst also being in with a chance of winning a prize. Who knows, you might be the next customer that's struggling to decide whether or not to purchase an item for your child. Having an independent review of the product could help you to make the right choice.

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