An Awesome August Recapped

August is the month when school holidays are in full throttle and you've already exhausted all your fun ideas in the last week of July. So with that in mind I was determined to try and win some fun things to do, or if possible win some of the back to school things we need in order to lessen the to do list. It also meant comping time was limited so I did more social media comps and purchase comps this month that were quick and easy to enter although we also spent a bit of time on an effort comp or two but they were ones where my son was involved with helping me or taking part too. 

Anyway on to the wins.... 

The first August win was for J from a kids mag and was a Lost Kitty blind box. J is obsessed with anything 'surprise' he loves watching the opening videos on You Tube so was excited by this. (I however didn't realise they had playdoh in them and had a mad panic when he opened it on my rug ha ha) a small win but a nice one to keep the boy busy for a few minutes. 

I also was lucky enough to win some Kidtropolis tickets which was an accidental win as I tagged a friend to let her know to enter and they took my tag as an entry. My friend is happy to be getting to take her son though so it's all good! 

I've mentioned last month and also on talking to people on Facebook groups etc how I've wound down the amount of Instagram competitions I've been entering. Even though it has previously been where I got a lot of my wins from I found it quite draining so I've only been entering the odd few I come across on competition listing sites rather than searching my own out. However if you need someone to tag feel free to tag me - danigraves87 just please don't be offended if I don't respond. I'm still adding pictures so my account is still active and I may get back into entering a lot again when the boy is back in school. We shall see. After all that I actually had an Instagram win of some fantastic Stem Quest books. They are brilliant and I've actually really enjoyed looking at them myself, they are a bit advanced for J yet but will put them aside for him for when he is ready. 

I then had a second Instagram win of a runner up prize from thegroovyfoodcompany which had a jar of coconut oil in as well as a make up bag and some lovely wee treats like Urban Decay make up. A nice treat for me. 

On the 3rd August I got a WTC to say J had won tickets to CBBC Summer Social Festival in Liverpool, it was happening that weekend so we decided to head over on the Sunday. We had an amazing time, J got to go on rides with his daddy, see favourites such as Mr Tumble and Hey Duggee perform and his absolute favourite CBBC star Andy Day performed with his band the OddSocks. J loves watching Andy and the Dinosaurs and so was amazed to see him up close and personal, this was only made better by the fact we managed a meet and greet with him and J got to give him a high five and tell him how he always watches him on TV when he goes to Grandma's house. He then rang his grandma to tell her he'd met Andy and he was real and it was such a precious moment for him that he is still talking about weeks later. 

On the way back from Liverpool we popped into a services station. Hubby got a can of Carabao and J got a fruit shoot. We won £5 on the Carabao and then there was a text comp attached to the Fruit Shoot and we won a family bowling game. 

One of the effort competitions I mentioned was to do with Disney and their 24 Hour Challenge to encourage children to be more active. You had to sign up to the challenge and try it out and then give your feedback on a post on Mumsnet. Now J is a very active little boy anyway but my mobility issues mean me not so much however we signed up and gave it a go and I left feedback and thought nothing of it. So I was super surprised on the 6th to get an email telling me we had won tickets to Disney on Ice, train tickets and a hotel stay! We've chosen to go to the Manchester show on the 14th October which is the day before J's birthday! The PR who organised it all has been amazing and we have our hotel stay the night before so that we can make the most of a weekend in Manchester. 

I received a tweet from Here Come The Girls to tell me I had won a Baby Jack-Jack plush. I mentioned last month how I had been eager to win goodies for J and had searched lots of comps out, this one was found with a quick twitter search and had only 3 entries!! 

Apparently there is a day for everything now, and August included Yorkshire Day. I was notified on the 9th of August I'd won the Seabrooks Yorkshire Day competition. 48 packets of crisps and a large bouquet of white roses. The crisps were sweet chilli and a bit too much of a kick for me so hubby took them to work and popped them in the staff canteen and was very popular, and I had to borrow a vase from my Grandma as I've never been bought flowers before so didn't have one. 

I received a winning text message from a Freddo competition to let me know I had won a Giant Jenga game. It's a Jacques London one and is fab quality. I never usually have much luck with text comps but I keep trying. The set is fab and although we've not played Jenga with it yet J has been using them as building blocks to make forts for his figures and things! 

J received a parcel of some Peter Rabbit puzzles from a kids mag win. They'd had to switch one of the puzzles out for a more classic Beatrix Potter version rather than the film version so that's been put to one side but J has had great fun doing the larger puzzle and he's getting quicker and quicker. 

I had entered a competition with Nigel Clarke TV for an Incredibles bundle and had an email to say I was a possible winner but there were a few stipulations - I couldn't post on social media, had to reply in a set time, had to agree to post photo's etc. I replied within minutes and agreed to all stipulations but didn't get confirmation we had won until the 9th! It was such a long wait and I was checking every day on Facebook and emails. The toys have arrived and J loves them! 

My next 5 wins were £5's on Carabao. I have seen some people buy excessive amounts to chase a win on this comp and it kind of puts my 2 at a time to shame but I still seem to be doing reasonably well with it so whereas I'm not actively chasing to look for the comps if the supermarket has stock when I am doing a shop or hubby pops to the petrol stations we will grab 1 or 2 cans. 

J had another kids mag win delivered of a little Tonka Tinies playset. 

I won an Access All Awkward book on twitter from TeenBookHoots. 

J then had another kids mag win! This time a LEGO Friends bundle! We love LEGO in our house. 

OUPChildrens publishers on twitter did a comp for a bundle of their new releases which we won and received 4 fab books. We are really enjoying reading Bee Boy Attack of the Zombees. 

Another National Day was National Tell a Joke Day. I recorded Jake telling a joke and posted it on a couple of comps. He has a few favourite jokes but the one we used most was:

''Knock knock.

Who's there?

Narnia

Narnia who 

Narnia Business''

It won us a runners up prize from Brother Max of a Bath and Room Thermometer. 

I had a notification to say I won a picnic hamper from Aunt Bessies on Facebook. Perfect for days out with the boys and J is obsessed with picnics thanks to an episode or Mr Tumble. 

I subscribe to Compers News magazine and was really pleased to spot my name on the in-house winners list this issue. I've won a £30 H&M voucher from completing one of their puzzles. Although I've won competitions on their forum this is the first time I've ever won from the magazine puzzles. It's definitely given me the incentive to keep trying and I really enjoy doing the puzzles. 

Another Facebook win from Swizzels Love Hearts. You had to fill in the blanks of a song lyric they posted using only emojis. I wasn't sure what I would receive but got lots of sweets, a tea towel, lip balm, trolley token, coaster, and a tin of sweets. It's a really nice prize. 

I take part in the Disney Junior tea party every week if I can. They have a lot of different prizes based around themes or new shows. They were doing a back to school one. I won a Tangled Lunch bag set which I am going to give to my friend for her daughter. 

Speaking of lunch bags I really wanted one for J. We aren't sure how he will manage school dinners as he always used to finish school before lunch time and come home and he's such a fusspot with foods only eating certain things that I wanted to have a lunch box/bag ready just in case so when Di Coke posted about the Anchor Dairy purchase competition and that you could keep entering I made sure to buy a tub and enter and after a few days I received an email letting me know I had won one. 

Another thing I wanted for back to school was a car seat or a booster seat. We have one in our car and my grandparents have one in theirs but J will be going to a school nearly 9 miles away and although he will get transport (hopefully) there may be times when I have to taxi it to get him there or get him home so having something I can use in those instances was really important to me. So I was really pleased to receive a message from Muddy Puddles on Facebook to let me know I had won a Mi-Fold portable booster seat. This was won from a competition where you had to give a back to school tip and I posted a picture of a chest of drawers we use that are labelled Mon - Fri and have a full days uniform in each one. 

I received an email from another kids mag to say J had won another set of Peter Rabbit puzzles. The picture in the mag shows the same as what we should have won from the earlier set but which were substituted so we will have to wait and see if the same happens again. If we get the same puzzles they will go in the Christmas/Birthday cupboard. 

Cully and Sully Soup are running a competition for Souper Ambassador's and they said the more creative and fun the entry the better so I really pushed my boundaries to enter. I don't like pictures of myself much less video's as I get worried about what people will say about me or think of me and it causes me massive anxiety. However I decided to be brave and try something I had in my head. I rewrote a version of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air's theme and made it all about Cully and Sully soup. I set a tripod up in my living room and I did my recording. I had to do a few takes - crap memory (mine not the device I was recording on), J being loud during it, him blasting bubbles into my face and me nearly choking on a bubble, the usual. However I got an edit I was happy with and posted it on to the competition post and was really pleased to be notified a few days later that I had won a Fitbit Charge 2. 

I won a pint of Lager on the Carling football comp. I'm not a drinker but hubby enjoyed a cheeky beer while we were out for my birthday. 

I had 5 more carabao wins spread over a week and a half totalling £30 

A text comp win for cinema tickets came in at just the right time on the 28th as it was my birthday on the 31st and we always go to the cinema for my birthday so these combined with free drinks thanks to the leftovers on a cineworld voucher i won months ago meant we got to go see The Meg for free and my birthday night out cost nothing but petrol to get there and back. 

I had a fab email from Encore to say I've won 2 Merlins Magic Passes meaning me and Ant can go to London for a few days in November and have tickets to the London Eye, London dungeons, Sealife Centre, Shrek Adventure and Madame Tussaud's. We are going to try fit in a Harry Potter trip if possible.

I had an email from the Acorn books blog to say I've won a collection of Dinosaur Adventure books for J. You had to comment saying what your favourite dinosaur was. 

Jackson Reece do a regularly freebie Friday competition on Facebook. I won for the 3rd time this month and won their toiletry range which looks fab. We love their nose nuzzlers.

We closed the month on a couple of small wins. 

A delivery from a kids mag for J of some activity books. They both look really good having flicked through and will give us something to do on an evening. 

A crate of 12 bottles of Mango drink from Pago on twitter. 

Finally a Bikybiky vest on Facebook which I'm super pleased about as we are trying to teach J to ride his bike. 

Overall a pretty awesome and amazing month! I'm looking forward to September but at the same time I'm apprehensive as J will be moving schools and it's a big deal for him so it won't be just a case of back to school, feet up and comping, plus I'm hoping to sign up a learning course of my own to learn BSL. 

Monthly recap: 

Total prizes won: 45

Prize RRP: £1790

I hope everyone has had a fantastic summer.

Danielle x

 

What an Awesome August

How scarily fast did August speed past? It's now September and I am faced with the fact that I can no longer say I am in my twenties anymore, and also my baby is starting school this month. How on Earth did this happen? haha.

August has been another very successful month of comping again for me. I've had some fantastic wins. I've also had a little bit of negativity aimed at me for winning which is sad, and does put me off sharing a little bit but I'm still going to share as I hope it will inspire some of you to keep on comping. I'd also like to just quickly respond to comments that anybody who wins lots and regularly must be being dishonest or cheating or greedy. I'm none of those things. There is only me, I only enter as me, I don't sit and enter everything, I don't sit and spend all day comping, I'm selective about what I enter, I fit it in around my family, I will help anybody who needs it - just ask. I'm also going to share this month a little about RRP of prizes and what I've done with some of them, although my list may be a bit higgledy piggledy as my laptop had a brain fart and deleted all my comping spreadsheet and I've had to resort back to pen and paper for the month haha.

Anyway, enough of the moaning and lets get down to business.

Wins.

My first win was a book called All The Wicked Girls which I won from an online book club I am part of. Books always help I find. If it's not me reading them then my mum or nan usually grab them.

A tote bag - this was my first instagram win of the month, a cute little cotton tote bag which always comes in handy.

Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts. This was also won on instagram. I'm a Harry Potter fan and keep meaning to watch this film but haven't got around to it, the book is a nice memento none the less though.

Beauty and the Beast DVD - this was won from Fabulous and I was really pleased to win it as I love Disney and although it's not the original I wanted to see it.

£20 Tesco Voucher - this was a facebook win from SpoonGuru where you had to comment about the new dietary search facility on the Tesco app. It also led on to a bigger prize later on in the month.

Pearl Drops Tooth paste - from their facebook page, it was a runners up prize, I was aiming for the biggie haha

£20 Amazon voucher - Another facebook win this time from D&T Chartered accountants, you had to watch a video about what you could claim on your tax returns - which was actually really interesting, and leave a comment.

AndyPandy eco nappies - won from instagram and donated to Carriersofhope.org.uk as they were too small for my nephew.

Mens Washbag of toiletries - this hasn't actually arrived yet so I can't tell you what's in it but no doubt it will get put away for one of the men of the family for Christmas - yes I went there.

A Tao and Friends Bodysuit. This was another instagram win and I love the gorilla print it's just so different and cute!

Lip balm - won through a facebook app

Bickie Pegs - won on instagram and going to my niece and nephew.

Max Crumbly books - these were a kids magazine win for Jacob. A little bit old for him right now but another couple of months and he should enjoy them.

Despicable Me Bundle - this was an amazing win with Baby Swap Or Shop. It contained a scooter (which I've given to my nan to give as a Christmas present to my cousins little boy), a 6 in 1 puzzle, a backpack, a minion toy, a unicorn - It's so flufffyyyyyy!!! an r/c Dave and a flying minion. I've put the r/c, flying minion and puzzles in the attic ready for Christmas :)

Diggerland Tickets - I've been entering their comps on twitter for what seems like forever! I finally won a pair this month and due to the stipulations (they end in October but after the 6 week holidays Diggerland is only open weekends and half term) we are going on the 1st September as one last day trip before the boy starts school.

Waitrose Festival tickets - these were won on instagram, unfortunately by the time they announced winners I was no longer able to go on the specified date so they were passed on.

Rapunzel Dress Up Costume - this was won from Rubies Masquerade on instagram. They were running weekly comps and giving 10 costumes a week away across all social media platforms. I gave this to my nan to give to my cousins little girl as a Christmas present.

12 Krispy Kreme donuts - technically the hubsters win although I told him how to enter and as he isn't a regular comper and just dabbles when there are good promo's on I'm listing it here. It was thanks to Nikki at Glam and Geeky Mum that I found out about this competition. You had to send a smiley group picture to Krispy Kreme with the designated hashtag. I'd tried myself but had no luck, hubby won first go.

Knucklebones DVD - won from twitter. My mum loves any type of horror film - including the really terrible ones (I don't know if Knucklebones is terrible I've not watched it, I'm just pointing out my mother has no taste haha), so this is going in her Christmas box.

A bath bomb - won from on instagram thanks to my friend Jenna who tagged me as one of her besties and won us both a bath bomb.

Genuine Fraud book - another from the online book club

£5 Love 2 Shop Voucher - this is from a survey site me and Jacob are part of to discuss childrens TV. Every so often they choose winners from people who have filled in their surveys. This is the third time we have won.

Maz toy - this was from Mazuma Mobile on facebook, and is just a little mini toy version of their logo which sticks on the window. I saw the comp as I was scrolling through and you had to comment what buttons you would press on a Nokia 3310 to type a certain word.

Facial sponges and Clean Beauty Co/BYBI products for me and a friend. I won these on instagram from Clean Beauty Co. I didn't realise at the time how much everything was but I received 2 facial sponges at £9.99 each, a Babe balm each which retails at £28 a pot and a Detox Dust each which sells for £22 a pot. So a fantastic treat for me and my friend Sam. 

BKR Glass bottle for me and a friend - another instagram win, these retail at £20 each! It's actually really cute, I was a bit worried about the practicality of them with them being glass but they have a cute rubber/silicone case on in purple which protects the glass. My friend Sam got the other one :)

Mints - these were from Anatomicals on instagram, you had to like and comment on their picture then send them a picture of a kiss so I sent them a picture of Jacob haha. A small win but the two handbag tins of mints come in handy for in the car.

Frozen Hama beads deluxe set and Scented pens - this was a win for Jacob from Animals and You magazine. The pens smell amazing! We've used them to fill in and decorate envelopes for competitions.

Uni-ball handwriting set - won from Uni-ball on instagram. 2 Lovely pens and a notebook which I'm now using to keep track of wins in!

£100 Amazon voucher - this is the bigger win from SpoonGuru I mentioned above. They asked me to do a video about what I thought of the search features on Tesco app. I'm not normally one to do video's etc as I'm very self conscious but I did it and I received £100 voucher about a week later so I was really pleased. I bought myself the Game of Thrones season 1 - 6 boxset, and along with the earlier £20 Amazon voucher 2 batman LEGO sets and a GOTG LEGO set - I have another baby Groot!!

Savse Baby Food - this was on facebook and was for the first 100 people to comment about weaning. It was supposed to be 12 pouches but I received 10. They were given to my brother as my niece has just started weaning.

Ragdoll - a wee instagram win, it's cute. It's going in with my nieces Christmas presents.

Milkshake DVD - won by Jacob from Milkshake magazine

Richard Ward Chelsea London Hair Hamper - this was won on instagram and is fab. I've kept the root touch up to hide the impending greys but some of the other items will be going in a pamper hamper for my mother for Christmas.

3 personalised Birthday cards - these were won on instagram from Skyscriber I chose for them to have Grandma, Grandad and Jacob put on them. They are lovely.

Sterling Silver Pebble Necklace - won on instagram from ceegeejewellery RRP £36 it's very pretty!

Operation Acid - from the Book Club

Citroen toy car - a small toy car won on instagram from john_grose_citroen

Shimmer Powder Eyeshadow - won in one of amwayukireland's daily competitions on instagram

Opihr Gin - won on instagram for being one of the first 80 people to comment on a post

Bopster Play Tent - this is fab! A triple play tent with tunnels to join them up! Won from bopster.eu on instagram. It's RRP £25 and looks great fun.

Chocolate buttons - won on twitter from Cadbury's Daisy the Cow! A low value prize but came in a lovely sparkly purple envelope and Jacob never turns down chocolate!

Open Arms book

Happy Days of The Grump book

Figs and Rouge Flawless Effects Skincare Package RRP £110 won from Pink Parcel on instagram, I will be keeping most of this for myself but some of it will go in my mam's Christmas pamper hamper.

Barbecue! RRP £219.99 won from Regina Blitz, I was so unsure when I won this and didn't believe it as I'd seen a few other people post about winning on this comp so assumed it had broken but it has been delivered and is real and is huge haha.

£50 Cineworld voucher - won on facebook from Rosedene Nurseries. The competition was so you could take your kids to the cinema and buy snacks too however Jacob dislikes the cinema it causes melt downs and sensory overload so I'm going to use it to go see It instead with the hubby as date night.

Henry London watch RRP £145 including engraving. I won this on instagram I had the choice of any watch I wanted with no budget. I chose this Knightsbridge watch for my Dad and will be giving it to him at Christmas.

Make Up Bag - this was an instagram win for the first 20 people to regram. I don't usually do regram comps on instagram. I don't like them. They make your account look spammy. I do them if it's a guaranteed win though so having checked the hashtag etc I knew I was in time.

My First Thomas Railway Pals Playset RRP £49.99 This was won from Netmums and just arrived in the post without any warning or note where it's from. It's going to be perfect for my nephew Aiden for Christmas.

Elsa dress up costume - this was again from Rubies only on facebook this time. This one is winging it's way to a comper friend whose little girl loves Frozen.

Swimwear 365 Goody bag - this was an instagram win. I'm not sure of the full contents although the picture shows make up etc it also includes a £45 bikini which I would never wear for fear of being harpooned and thrown back in the sea so I ordered it in my friends size and will be giving it to her.

3D Pen - this was won on instagram from RedCartridges. It looks really cool and I''ve had a little play with it and managed to make a heart so far, definitely need more practice though!

Jo Jo Siwa Singing Doll RRP £25. This was from Jake sending in a picture of one of our bearded dragons to a kids mag. You don't know what prize you will get till they publish it so whilst not something Jake will play with I'm giving it to my friend for her daughter so it won't go to waste.

No Shame book

2 Emoji Cheese string lunchboxes from the daily competition

£10 Game voucher won on twitter. Perfect for us as hubby is obsessed with his XBox.

Toddler Crochet Poncho won on instagram and going to my mum to gift to her god daughter. It's super cute and will be perfect for these cooler days as we move in to Autumn.

3 Phil Smith Cocolicious hair products won on instagram as a runners up prize. 

A little boys outfit from ukbabybox on Facebook perfect for my nephew. 


Duff prize of the month goes to Kodak who ran a promotion where every entrant won 10 4x4 prints from them. I love my pictures so I entered and obviously won. It turned out to be a £2 discount and postage was still applicable at £3.50 so i gave it a miss as I can get more photo's printed for less at other retailers.

I hope everyone has a fantastic September, lots of luck, 

Dani x