An acquaintance, who has moaned in the past about lack of space, has a room in their house stuffed full of toys. They won't donate them to charity or give the toys away because they paid so much for them in the first place.

I really had to bite my tongue.

I'm a huge fan of second hand toys; when you are done you just hand them straight back to a charity store and I'm also a believer that the growth of the self-storage facility speaks volumes about us a society and where we are headed.

That's why I think organisations such as Kidz Swap Shop are great and remain happy to promote their events.

Kidz Toy Swap is holding a special Christmas event at Runamokka, Whitley Bay this coming Saturday 5th December, 2009. Parents are asked to bring along up to 5 good quality working toys (with one being donated to St Oswalds Hospice) and go away with up to 4 toys from fellow swappers.

Also at this great event is Talking Tots offering free sessions to entertain the kids and some stalls to help you with those Christmas presents!

Other attractions include Santa and scrummy cakes will be for sale too.

Entry £5 for whole family. 0-2 year olds 10-11am, 2-5 year olds 11-12noon

I haven't purchased a new winter coat for about four years.

This is a big thing for me. I have lots of coats and jackets, all gathered over the years.
My husband has two, a smart one and a warm one; he cannot understand why I need so many.

Read on to see what this has to do with the Monty Python Cheese Shop Sketch

There have been over 300 complaints about the Act on CO2 advert, which shows a child being told a bedtime story about extreme global warming and features a cartoon dog drowning.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change launched the £6m campaign, in which the government states for the first time that scientific evidence has confirmed that climate change is man-made, earlier this month.

I showed it to my two children (ages 10 and 8). They couldn't see what the fuss was about, although I can understand that it may worry younger children.

Watch the advert below and you can decide.

Dear Anna,
Please can you suggest how I could make Halloween Night environmentally friendly?
Yours
Beth Symon, Jesmond

Hi Beth,
I sure can. Turn off the lights, go to bed early and pretend you're out.
Happy Halloween
Anna