Your little angels have watched the old Toy Story DVDs too many times to count, so it’s a good job the latest instalment is on its way. That’s right, Toy Story 3 – in 3D – comes to UK cinema screens on July 23rd, just in time for the school summer holidays.

With new adventures, brand new characters and a whole new (grown up) Andy, Toy Story 3 is action-packed from beginning to end. An adult Andy – the toys’ owner – leaves for college in the new film. But will he forget about his beloved toys once they’re out of sight?

Join Woody the cowboy (Andy’s favourite toy and chief of all the toys), space ranger Buzz Lightyear, Mr Potato Head and Barbie and Ken as they do their best to stick together. As ever, no toy can get left behind and it’s Woody and Buzz’s mission to ensure no one comes to any harm.

But is it that easy? Cue lots of thrills, spills and hilarious scrapes as the toys do their best to make it home after being dumped in a day-care centre. Will they make it back in one piece?

Find out on July 23rd and meet brand new characters Big Baby, Buttercup, Twitch and Chatter Telephone. What’s more, you can watch as Barbie’s eyes light up when Ken first sets eyes on her!

Directed by Lee Unkrich (the co-director of Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo), the film welcomes an all-star cast including Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg and Joan Cusack. Opening the bursting toy box once more, the creators of the film bring Disney Pixar fans back to the wonderful world of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and friends.

But while the movie follows on from Toy Story and Toy Story 2, kids who’ve not seen previous instalments won’t need to worry. A brand new plot sees the toys set out on an altogether new adventure – and they’re ready to take you with them.

Join colourful Ken (who comes decked out in a leopard print top and pale blue shorts combo) on safari in Toy Story 3. He’s always ready for some fun and he can give even Barbie a run for her money on the accessories front! Wearing sensible loafers, a trendy scarf and gold belt, Ken is also a great mover on the dance floor!

Lots-o’Huggin’ Bear is another new addition to the Toy Story series, joining old favourites Woody, Buzz, Mr Potato Head and more. A jumbo purple extra soft bear, this new character stands head and shoulders above the other toys.

With a big old belly just asking to be hugged, Lots-O’Huggin’ Bear smells like sweet strawberries and has a velvety soft purple nose. He’s just one of the new characters to be found in Sunnyside day care-centre in Toy Story 3.

Cutesy Dolly is a soft and sweet dress-up rag doll with vibrant purple hair and huge eyes. She joins new toys including Peas-in-a-Pod, Buttercup and Trixie for a brand new set of adventures.

The latter character, a massive blue dinosaur, helps kids magically transport themselves to a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Made of rigid, durable plastic, Trixie comprises an expressive mouth and moveable legs. Will she be a hit with the other toys? You’ll soon find out!

Remember Disney Toy Story 2, which saw Andy head off to Cowboy Camp while Woody, Buzz Lightyear and co held the fort in the play room? The action was turned up a notch or two when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWiggin, the owner of Al’s Toy Barn, kidnaps Woody.

Woody soon discovers that he’s a hugely valued collectible toy from a 1950s TV show called Woody’s Roundup. Here, he meets other prized toys from the show, including Jessie the cowgirl, who also returns for Toy Story 3.

And who could forget the original and very first Toy Story? Led by Woody, Andy’s toys live happily until owner Andy’s birthday and the arrival of new toy, Buzz Lightyear. But the toys don’t live so harmoniously now that space ranger Buzz has arrived.

Woody’s afraid of losing his place in Andy’s heart. After all, he is Andy’s favourite toy. Soon, Woody’s plotting against Buzz and turning the other toys against him.

But when Woody and Buzz are separated from their owner, the hilariously mismatched pair have to try their hardest to get on – for Andy’s sake. They find themselves on an action-packed adventure to make it back to Andy’s room, but do they make a safe return?

Of course they do! And they’re all ready and raring to set out on their latest adventure in Toy Story 3. If you want to jog your memory before you book your tickets, get out your old Toy Story DVD and get yourself up to speed again.

Produced by Darla K Anderson, who joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1993, Toy Story welcomes the return of Director Lee Unkrich, who co-directed Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo and Wall-E.

Darla K Anderson has lent her producing talents to many a hit Disney Pixar animation, including Monsters Inc, A Bug’s Life and, of course, Toy Story. She also produced the Golden Globe-winning feature Cars and is now one of the animation studio’s most accomplished producers

Like the previous Toy Story films, Toy Story 3 looks set to feature a great musical score. And it wouldn’t be Toy Story without an all-star cast behind the voices of some of the most recognisable characters in cartoon history.

Join Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Whoppi Goldberg, Don Rickles and more as they take on the world! Running for 103 minutes, there’ll be no fidgety kids either. Undoubtedly one of the must-see films of the summer, why not take the whole family for an afternoon at the cinema?

Browse the Internet and you can even see a short trailer for the film, should you really want to whet your appetite before you head off to the pictures. What adventures are in store for the gang this time? There’s just weeks left before you find out!

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Plop Trumps

Plop Trumps, a new card game for kids, is rapidly becoming the must have card game for kids between the ages of 8 to 14.

The cards are all in glorious full colour and all contain essential facts about, er, animal poo. All you have to do is out-gross your opponent and create the biggest pile of assorted animal poo.

Plop Trumps supply all the information you could possibly want about the poo in question. There are 40 animals per pack and each card comes complete with a picture of the plop and details of its length, width, smell and other faecenating facts.

There are even details on how frequently the relevant animal drops the plop.

However, it isn’t all about animal business. Each card has just about the right amount of natural history and educational information about each animal to make parents feel it’s OK to buy them. And at under £5.00 a pack, they will make great stocking fillers for the poo obsessed youngster in your life.

Chris Barnardo, who invented the game, said, “Plop Trumps is good pootastic fun for kids. They can learn about nature and animals whilst grossing out their mates at the same time. Did you know, for example, that a goose goes to the loo around 120 times a day? Whilst for a royal python it’s just once every five days.”

Chris is convinced that Plop Trumps won’t be a bum idea. Or maybe it already is. In any event, he’s certain that Plop Trumps will be the must have card game for Christmas.

Plop Trumps are only available from www.dadcando.com and cost just £4.99 a pack.

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Here are some simple step-by-step guides to making baubles, a wreath, Christmas cards and an Xmas Star, courtesy of Dremel.

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS BAUBLES

Home made Christmas Baubles

Step One

Cut a length of ribbon long enough to fit around the bauble adding a little extra to overlap the ends. Glue it around the bauble. Cut two lengths of braid and glue them along both edges of the ribbon on the bauble.

Step Two

Work in small sections at a time so that the glue does not dry before the ribbon has been pressed onto it. Alternatively, glue one strip of braid along the middle of the ribbon.

Step Three

Apply dots of glue along the ribbon to decorate it, adding sequins and gems for extra embellishment. Make small dots of glue above and below the ribbon decoration for a more glittery bauble.

Materials required:

Plain baubles
Selection of ribbons and braids
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Sequins
Small glittery gems

HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS WREATH

Home made Christmas Wreath

Step One

Apply glue to the bottom of a pine cone and stick it onto the wreath base. Glue cones around this one, angling them slightly for an uneven look. It is a good idea to tie a length of ribbon onto the wreath base at this stage if needed to hang the wreath to the door when it is finished.

Step Two

Continue to glue pinecones onto the wreath, covering the entire surface so that it cannot be seen. Select smaller cones and glue them on top of this first layer to create a little depth.

Step Three

Using glitter glue sticks, apply small dabs of the glitter glue onto the pinecones to give them a gentle shimmer. Tie two large bows and glue them together to form a double bow. Glue this to the top of the wreath using the glue gun.

Materials required:

Wreath base – use a plastic wreath base available from florists’ suppliers or try twiggy wreath bases available from flower shops and garden centres
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pine cones
Ribbon to hang the wreath
Wired ribbon for the bow

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS CARDS

Step One

Measure and draw four strips of paper measuring 17cm by 1cm using a ruler and pencil. Cut them out with scissors

Step Two

Lay the strips over each other in a star shape, gluing each one down at the middle. Apply a dab of glue to the centre of the star shape (on the back) and stick the end of one of the strips onto it. Continue with the remaining seven strips to form a 3-D shape.

Step Three

Cut a square of paper and stick the star onto it. Decorate the star with a button and sequin attached with a large blob of glitter glue. Stick the square of paper onto paper of a different colour or pattern and then glue them onto a piece of silver card that has been folded in half to form the greetings card. Apply spots of glue around the edge of one of the squares and add extra glitter on the stars and patterned papers using the glitter glue.

Materials required:

Selection of patterned papers
Silver card
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Scissors, pen and ruler
Buttons and sequins

HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS TREE STAR

Step One

Take two lengths of wire and glue them together to form a cross shape using the glue gun and glitter glue sticks. Lay two more wires across the first two to make a star shape and glue them together in the middle.

Step Two

Start to thread beads onto the wire, using the same arrangement of bead shapes and sizes on each arm of the wire star. Continue until the star is complete and you are happy with the arrangement.

Step Three

Apply small dots of glue between the beads to hold them in place and form extra decoration. Trim the ends of the wires with wire cutters if necessary. Using green glitter glue, add dots to the centre of the star, fixing a bead in the middle. Twist a length of wire around the middle of the star to use as a fixing to hold the star in place on the top of the tree.

Materials required:

Florists wire (four lengths)
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pearl beads in different shapes and sizes
Wire cutters

The Dremel Glue Gun Hobby Set including 12 glitter sticks in 6 different colours plus 10 glue sticks costs just £24.99 this Christmas from DIY shops or online from http://www.dremel-direct.com or http://www.tool-shop.co.uk/

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Gogoblin is a unique site, enabling you and your children to create lists of the specific toys and games they want for any special occasion, giving parents and friends some much needed guidance. They can either buy a present from the list, quickly and simply online, or they can use the list as a pointer as to what that child is into. Gogoblin also provides some great online shopping for the under 16s, and is extremely easy to use – even for grown-ups!

The site is also designed to help organise people who have a lot of kids to buy for: parents, grandparents, family and friends can view and manage all the wish lists of children they are buying for – nieces, nephews, friends’ children – and the important dates, in one place – Gogoblin’s ‘to-do list’. So the site hopes to take the stress out of gift-giving for everyone – both the wishers and the givers.

Visit www.gogoblin.co.uk.

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Horrible Science Kits – packed full of horrible experiments such as Dangerous Dinosaurs, Microscopic Monsters and Slippery Snakes. All of the kits contain props and instructions, along with a fascinating fact filled notebook, priced from £4.99 to £14.99 and suitable for ages 8+.

Barbie Arts & Crafts Range – 10 gorgeous kits to make everything from hair beads and jewellery to bags and cards. Priced from £5.99 to £14.99 and suitable for ages 5+.

Hannah Montana Pop Star Glitter Studio – jam packed with over 100 glittery artists tools to make cards and posters of your favourite pop star! Priced £9.99 and suitable for ages 6+.

First Years – Galt Soft Animal Books come in Dog, Lion and Cow designs with matching sound effects, suitable from birth and priced £6.99 each. The Soft Photo Album features eight themed pages with photo slots and a mirror on the back page. Suitable from birth and priced at £9.99.

Nursery Furniture – made from sustainable wood sources this jungle themed table and chairs set features colourful lion, hippo, zebra and monkey designs. Chairs priced from £15.99 and table from £34.99. A toy chest will be joining the range in the New Year.

See www.jamesgalt.com

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The aim of this blog will be highlight the top Christmas toys for the latest year, provide advice on availability and special offers.

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