december 2010 • Issue 12
a Vivian B by A useful guide to children’s growth
the point, tigne
Best wishes for this Festive Season from all at Vivian Baby
The importance of vegetables for your child
Fashion for kids Young stars for 2011
SMA recipe
Christmas Shopping guide for
Educational Toys
Vivian Corporation Sanitas Building, Tower Street, Msida MSD1824 Tel: 2134 4610 / 21344616 | Email: info@viviancorp.com www.viviancorp.com
Happiness is the best
Happiness is a journey that starts when you are a baby. Chicco really thinks that the best job in the world is, to make a child smile. They are lucky because they spend their time thinking on how to make babies happy. So everything they have in mind is created with one specific purpose. Enter a home, meet a baby and make him happy. Nothing is more important than this because they know that they will be rewarded with the most extraordinary gift ever – The smile of a baby.
0 Seeing, Hearing and Touching m+
Playmat
Musical Cot Toys
Deluxe Gym Baby Trainer
6 Exploring, Moving and Grasping m+
Tambourine
Rainbow Spinner
Teddy Count with me
Walker
Whales Musical Roller
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If you need more information about our products feel free to call us on
80073102
gift to give. 12 Listening, First Steps and Communicating m+
Quattro Ride On Animal Cottage
Rodeo
Modo Table
DJ Mixer Guitar
Talking Driver
2 Creating, Inventing and Role Playing y+
Turbo Ducati
Carolina
Turbo Wild
Johnny Coupè 3
We would like to introduce you to something new this Christmas. A range of wonderful toys by Miniland Educational, a leading company in the European educational toy market with a proven track record of delivering quality and safety assured products in more than 50 countries, including Malta.
exercise games Children up to the age of 3 years do simple exercises and a combination of actions without any apparent goal, and they like to repeat an action again and again. This is a very important stage for the child to develop his senses and coordination in different movements. These games also favour reasoning, improvement of skills and the development of balance. Dino A push and pull game
Elephant Shape sorter Giant Stacker and shape sorter Farm Animals Soft and squeaky farm animals Giraffe A push and go toy
assembly games Animatch It develops imagination and manual skills.
Gummi Blocks Ideal to develop hand skills and the child’s imagination. 4
Call us on
80073102 for your nearest stockist
Assembly Games are a variety of constructions which enable the child’s development of creativity, strengthening eye-hand coordination and develop the differentiation of shapes and colours. Mosaic Case It allows coordination, creativity and the discrimination of colours.
Magnetic It enables the child to learn the colours and experiment with the magnets.
vocabulary and number games Children need to be stimulated for their interest and curiosity for letters and numbers. These help in the development of language and reading.
A selection of magnetic letters and numbers which may be used on this double sided board. Board may be used with felt pen on one side or chalks on the blue side.
discovering the world with Connect These two games help to develop observation and concentration skills and to expand an extensive vocabulary and basic knowledge of animals. Made of large plastic pieces.
Where do animals live?
What do they eat? 5
Benefits of board games arn
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Playing games with your kids is a perfect way to Social and Mental development: spend time together — and build learning skills at 1. Your child learns to interact, communicate and learn how to share with the same time. These games are simple, quick to others. play and incorporate counting, colour recognition, 2. While playing board games your child develops the ability to focus on number and language awareness in a fun way. the game. This helps to increase your child’s ability to concentrate. 3. Determination to fight and win as well as learning to be patient. 4. Playing regular board games also develops problem solving skills, confidence and logical reasoning.
3y
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4y
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5y
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Call us on freephone if you wish to make an enquiry on our products
80073102
Benefits of Children Playing Puzzle Games At a young age, we introduce infants to puzzle games, knowing that the colors and shapes of these very simple puzzles stimulate the baby’s learning. One of the best ways that has been proven to stimulate learning is giving the opportunity to your children to play puzzle games. Whilst doing a puzzle game, kids start learning the process of elimination, the ability to find patterns in numbers and shapes, and how to use other reasoning skills to accomplish certain tasks. In many cases, children do not even consider these games to be a form of learning since a true puzzle should be both fun and entertaining. It is amazing how some simple puzzles can help children through different learning processes. Here are some ideas that you may choose from this Christmas.
18m +
3y
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6y
www.chicco.com
www.minilandeducational.com
www.pabobo.com
www.big.de
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www.orchardtoys.com
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X X O BLhoose fro m
c o t e r o M i s C h ri st m a s th
BIG offers a vast range of Building blocks. Blocks are one of the most basic toys you can find for children. It may seem they do not really do anything and in their simplest form they are just little cubes. But to a child, they represent a world of possibilities and imagination. Building blocks are great educational toys for children of all ages. Infants love blocks to look at, toddlers like to put blocks in boxes and pour them out or pile them on the floor. Preschoolers can build towers, houses, animals and much more with blocks. Blocks are a great way to keep your child occupied. Blocks foster imagination and teach hand/eye coordination.
The Portable Nightlight for your Child This intuitive mobile nightlight turns on as soon as it’s lifted up, and recharges when it’s put back on its base.
11 hours of autonomy
Smart charger!
No electrical contact: Lumilove simply charges by putting it on its base
8 www.chicco.com
www.minilandeducational.com
Eco-friendly light-source Does not heat
www.pabobo.com
www.big.de
www.orchardtoys.com
w e N
Panettone Range for kids
Available from all leading outlets
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0-8 years
Full range of Chicco clothes and shoes available from Thirty Six The Point, Tignè Tel: 2060 1086 10
Arcadia Shopping Complex Victoria, Gozo Tel: 2210 3000
Chicco shoes also available from Liberty Zachary Street, Valletta Tel: 2722 5335
Gallarija Darmanin Iklin Tel: 2141 8891
0-12 years The Point Shopping Mall, Tignè
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0-12 years The Point Shopping Mall, Tignè
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Full range of clothes and shoes available from Thirty Six The Point, Tignè Tel: 2060 1086 13
L-importanza tal-˙axix
fid-dieta tat-tfal u t-trabi Bosta huma ir-ra©unijiet g˙alfejn hu daqshekk importanti li ninkludu il-˙axix fid-dieta. Dejjem nisimg˙u bi studji ©odda li jitkellmu dwar il-benefiççji tal-˙axix kif ukoll frott. Hawnhekk ser inniƒƒlu l-aktar ra©unijiet importanti: Il-˙axix fih element importanti li huwa il-fibre. Dan jg˙in iƒomm l-istonku u l-imsaren f’sa˙˙ithom kif ukoll ibieg˙ed ir-riskji u l-effetti ta’ mard tal-qalb, pressjoni g˙olja, dijabete u xi forom ta’ kançer. Il-˙axix jipprovdi vitamini u minerali essenzjali li il-©isem tag˙na m’huwiex kapaçi jipproduçi. Dan jag˙ti
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l-ener©ija u s-sa˙˙a. Il-˙axix jista’ jie˙u post ikel li fih ˙afna kaloriji biex b’hekk jonqos ukoll ir-riskju ta’ piƒ ƒejjed li jista j©ib mieg˙u mard b˙al dijabete u pressjoni g˙olja. Skont l-esperti, l-a˙jar zmien biex tibda titma’ l-˙axix lit-trabi hu wara ir-raba’ xahar. Hemm min jag˙ti parir li l-˙axix g˙andu jing˙ata qabel il-frott sabiex it-tarbija ma tidrax il-˙lewwa tal-frott u tirrifjuta l-˙axix. G˙all-bidu tista’ tibda billi tag˙ti 4 img˙aref darbtejn kuljum u t˙alli jumejn jew tlieta qabel ma tipprova xi ˙a©a ©dida. Hekk tkun qed tag˙ti çans lit-tarbija tidra sew it-tog˙ma kif ukoll tinnota jekk ikun hemm xi reazzjoni g˙all˙axix. Tista’ tg˙id li l-varjetajiet kollha tal-˙axix huma tajbin g˙at-trabi ˙lief g˙allpitravi. Il-˙axix huwa ikel ippakkjat b’dawk ilvitamini tant me˙tie©a mit-trabi g˙al ƒvilupp b’sa˙˙tu b˙al vitamina C, vitamina
A u l-Kalçju. Per eƒempju il-qarg˙a ˙amra, karrotti, brokkoli u sweet potatoes huma mimljin vitamina A, li hi tant importanti g˙all-viƒta, l-immune system u l-izvilupp taççelloli. Filwaqt li l-vitamina C, li hi tant me˙tie©a biex iƒƒommna b’sa˙˙itna kif ukoll biex tg˙in lill-©isem jassorbi l-˙adid, tinsab fil-bƒar a˙dar jew a˙mar u fil-brokkoli. Imbag˙ad jekk inti trid tag˙ti iktar Kalçju tista’ ƒƒid il-brokkoli u il-faƒola. Kif tafu il-Kalçju huwa element essenzjali g˙all-izvilupp tas-snien u tal-g˙adam. Dejjem a˙sel, qaxxar u qatta’ l-˙axix sew qabel ma tibda ssajru. L-a˙jar metodu huwa li ssajru billi tfawwru ©ewwa steamer, b’hekk ilvitamini u l-minerali tant prezzjuƒi ma jintilfux. G˙affe© kollox sew b’furketta u servi mall-ewwel s˙un. Jekk ma jkollokx ˙axix frisk tista’ tag˙ti prodotti ma˙subin apposta g˙at-trabi, li fihom ta˙lita ta’ ˙axix bnin bil-vitamini kollha me˙tie©a. Kull ma trid tag˙mel hu li ssa˙˙an sew u sservi. Tista’ wkoll titma’ ma’ vaƒetti tal-ikel tat-trabi li fihom il-la˙am.
Mamma. . . che Bontà! Ask for them at your favourite outlet
recipe Mixed Vegetables with Cheese & Cereal
Plasmon offers you vegetable purees in convenient pouches, made exclusively from vegetables harvested naturally under the Oasi Plasmon concept. No preservatives and colourants are added to the recipe and all three varieties are Gluten Free. There are three varieties in this range: • Base Pappa – Mixed Vegetables • Vellutata – Marrows & Peas • Vellutata – Carrots & Pumpkin The Bonta della Mamma provides the mother with the convenience of having readily pureed vegetables to prepare a healthy meal for her baby without any hassle, with the same great taste and nutritional value, even when you are not at home. The main differences between the Soup base and the Vegetable Purees are the following: • Soup Base is suitable from the early age of 4 months. • Vegetable Purees are creamier and are suitable for babies over 6 months.
corn e r
Method • Warm up the Mixed Vegetables’ pouch in a sauce pan on a very Ingredients: low flame. • 1 pouch of Base Pappa –Mixed • Once warm, sprinkle the Plasmon Vegetables – 180gr 4 Cereals and beat with a fork. • 3 – 4 tablespoons Plasmon 4 • Add the jar of strained cheese Cereals • 80gr Plasmon Strained Mozzarella • Remove from the sauce and add a dash of olive oil. Cheese Jar • Serve warm • Plasmon Olive Oil
babies Kyra Cortis
Neil Cutajar
Jack Grech
Nick Grech
Damien Grech
Anthea Marie Mifsud Cassar 15 15
N ewucts od Pr
Plasmon is offering you a great new product, unique in the baby food industry – Plasmon Frullato with Yoghurt. The Plasmon Frullato offers your child a nutritious and tasty yoghurt and fruit drink, made from the finest fruit, grown according to the Oasi Plasmon concept. You can find these drinks in180ml plastic bottles which are convenient for you to carry around everywhere you go. To enhance the taste of the Frullato serve slightly chilled. There are two varieties in this range: • Plasmon Frullato Pear, Peach and Banana with Yoghurt • Plasmon Frullato Apple, Apricot and Banana with Yoghurt Pear, Peach and Banana; with Yoghurt
Apple, Apricot and Banana; with Yoghurt
With its improved recipe, the new range of Happy Frollino is now suitable for children under three years of age. It’s recipe is specifically designed for the younger children providing them with extra Calcium, Iron and Vitamins, together with a great and improved taste! You can find these biscuits in two varieties: • Happy Frollino - Chocolate Chip Biscuits • Happy Frollino – Milk Biscuits
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Herbal Teas We all know that water is very important in our baby’s diet. If the baby finds it difficult to accept plain water, herbal teas can be a healthy alternative drink which can be served both cold and hot, depending on your baby’s taste. Plasmon offers you a variety of herbal teas with different tastes: Powdered Camomile tea (Sachets) – Offers your child a mild taste together with the relaxing properties thanks to the camomile. There is no need to add sugar as it is already sweetened at the appropriate levels for babies. Can be found in convenient packs of 24 sachets.
Powdered Orange and Lemon Tea (Sachets) – Made from the finest sources, it is decaffeinated therefore free from any stimulants. Can be found in convenient packs of 24 sachets. Nanna Granulated Camomile tea with Melissa (180gr Jar) – Suitable for the night due to the relaxation properties provided by the combination between the natural camomile and the herb Melissa. Found in 180gr jar in granules format. Pancino Granualted Fennel Tea with mint (180gr Jar) - A soluble extract which unites the unique properties of the Fennel (helps digestion), Mint (refreshing) and Melissa into a pleasant taste. Found in 180gr jar in granules format.
Facts about the Plasmon Herbal Teas: • Plasmon uses only the best herbs, selected according to the Oasi programme of Plasmon, used immediately after being picked to conserve their natural qualities. • Simple to prepare. Just add 1 tea spoon or 1 sachet in 100ml of water. • No sugar needs to be added as they are already sweetened to the appropriate levels for infants. • Plasmon Camomiles are not only suitable for babies, but can be consumed by all the family.
Plasmon varieties at super convenient prices!
Plasmon Baby Biscuit 540gr
Plasmon Strained Banana 3*120gr
€3.49 €1.89 Ask for these items at your favourite Plasmon Stockists! 17
Christmas is a busy and exciting time of year for many of us, including grownups, but for children it is an extra special time. Fun memories of Christmas times past will last a lifetime and there are many ways for both parents and carers to make the most of this unique time with their toddlers. Here are a few fun things for you and your children to do at this special time.
Write a Letter to Santa Writing a personal letter to Father Christmas is a long standing tradition which is just as popular today as it’s always been. It is a great activity that all young children can enjoy. Toddlers are too young to actually write these letters, but they can draw their ideas with your help of presents they would like, or sit with you and talk about why we celebrate Christmas Day, Baby Jesus and Father Christmas whilst you write the letter for them. This starts their interest in this special holiday, they will ask questions, and enjoy all the wonderful stories you can tell them.
Making Christmas cards You can expand the decorations method shown opposite to make sparkly Christmas cards. Or start from scratch, let your child draw, colour or use sticky coloured paper/stars etc to design their own cards for your family and their friends. Making Christmas cards is a great idea for young children as it helps them feel part of the build-up to the Christmas celebrations. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles will especially like to have something hand made by your toddler as an excellent Christmas keepsake. Making cards will keep them happy for hours, teach your toddlers about Christmas and can be educational as it will reinforce learning about colours and shapes whilst enjoying making the cards.
Making Decorations If your child is at kindergarten they may well be involved in making Christmas decorations, but will also enjoy doing this activity at home. Craft materials are widely available these days, and not very expensive, so why not make your own decorations this year and get the children to help. You could maybe add your own personal touch by including your child’s name on the decoration.
Christmas is a wonderful time of year and hopefully these tips will help to make it even better for you and all of your family. Merry Christmas from all at SMA! 18
Making Christmas Tree Ornaments
Christmas Treats Christmas is a traditional time to start baking and enjoying treats and this is a great opportunity to get your toddlers involved by helping you out when making cakes, cookies and sweets. Although they are too young to bake by themselves, they can help you weigh the ingredients, count spoonfuls of flour and sugar and even mix them in a bowl with a spoon or their hands, they will enjoy the involvement – but be aware there might be a mess! Gingerbread men and Christmas characters are a good idea and they can even help make their own personalised tree decorations by adding edible sugar stars or balls.
Items needed: • Cardboard • Glue suitable for use by young children • Red & Green Glitter • Craft brush • Safety scissors • Cotton Directions: Cut the cardboard into Christmas shapes – Christmas trees, snowflakes, presents, stars, etc. Cover the kitchen table with newspaper and work with your toddler showing them how to use a craft brush to apply a thin coat of glue on one side of each shape and then let them sprinkle on the glitter. Let dry and repeat for the other side. When dry make a hole in the top of each decoration and thread cotton through the hole and tie off in a loop. Your decoration is now ready to hang on the tree.
Wrapping Presents A fun seasonal activity is wrapping all the individual presents and writing out the gift tags. Obviously you’ll need to wrap your children’s presents separately but involving the kids in wrapping gifts for the rest of your family and friends can be a fun shared activity, rather than something you leave to the last minute and end up doing by yourself. Folding paper and sticking selotape will help with their co-ordination and whilst having fun they will also learn that Christmas is about giving as well as receiving. Last but not least, make sure your kids leave mince pies and a small drink for Santa’s refreshment when he visits with their gifts - and don’t forget a few carrots for the reindeers too!
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SMA Recipe Competition Send in your recipes for toddlers using SMA Progress Kids and win! The winning recipe will win 6 tins of SMA Progress Kids worth e33.54
In order to take part in this competition, please send your recipe, together with your name, address and contact telephone number to: SMA Nutrition (Recipe Competition) Sanitas Building Tower Street, Msida MSD 1824 or by e mail to: smanutritionmalta@gmail.com by 10 January 2011
Competition
ER
N The winner of WIN the SMA Progress Kids Recipe Competition was Roberta Marquette, from St Venera, who has won a Chicco dinner set worth e45. 20
SMA Recipe
Winning Recipe
Very Veggie Pancakes (12 months+) Ingredients: • 2 small zucchini • ½ cup plain flour • 2 eggs • 4 tbsp SMA Progress Kids Milk • Olive oil • Small pieces of cheddar cheese Method 1. Grate the zucchini and beat the eggs. 2. With a whisk, combine the eggs and the flour, slowly adding the milk as you do so. You should be left with a smooth batter. 3. Stir in the zucchini and cheddar. 4. Heat the oil in a frying pan. 5. Add the batter, one tablespoon at a time, and cook for 2 mins. 6. Lift carefully with a spatula and check the undersides - they should be golden brown. 7. Turn the pancakes over and cook for a further 2 mins. 8. Serve alone as a finger food and enjoy.
Does my child need Minerals? As parents we are concerned that our children eat well and we know that their food is the source of the vitamins they need. But what about minerals? What are they? Where do we find them and does my child need them? Vitamins are organic substances. They’re made by plants or animals. Minerals, on the other hand, are inorganic elements. We find them in the soil and water. Plants absorb them. Animals eat or drink them. They are a necessary element in all our diets, but they’re especially important for our hard to keep up with toddlers - growing, learning, burning energy, always on the go. Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc are what they need as well as smaller amounts of Chloride, Copper, Iodine and Sodium. It sounds daunting. How do we make sure they get them? Fortunately it’s not difficult. The best way to make sure
that our children get the proper amount of vitamins and minerals is through a varied and well balanced diet. The problem starts if your toddler is a fussy eater and you can’t be sure that he or she is getting all the required vitamins and minerals. This is where SMA Progress Kids can help reassure you. It’s a growing up milk for toddlers aged one to four that contains 11 different minerals. These include Calcium and Phosphorous both of which are vital for growing strong bones and teeth, Iron which helps red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body, Magnesium which helps muscles and nerves function, and keeps bones strong, and also helps the body create energy, Zinc which is important for growth, immunity, and wound healing and Potassium which helps with muscle and nervous system function, all of which are very important for toddlers during this rapid growth stage.
SMA Progress Kids, has been carefully designed with your concerns in mind and according to the specific nutritional recommendations for toddlers.
If you would like any more information regarding SMA Progress Kids please call
Freephone:
8007 3102 Just give them two to three cups a day as part of their normal healthy diet. It’s delicious with a child pleasing vanilla taste and it couldn’t be easier for you. All you have to do is mix it with water to make a tasty drink that toddlers will enjoy.
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Mummies’ and Babies Seminar... Another Success
During the month of October Vivian Corporation organised its 8th Educational Seminar for parents at the Westin Dragonara Resort. Professor Simon Attard Montalto, Ms. Charmiane Agius Ferrante, Dr. Joe Mizzi, Ms. Marie Louise Bugeja, Ms. Daniela Mercieca, Mr. Alan Zammit and Ms. Rosette Thake were the main speakers. The Research and Development
Manager from Plasmon Italy, Dott. Marco Trezzi delivered a talk about Safety in Baby Food Production. Thirty-Six; Fashion for kids also presented its Autumn/Winter 10/11 Collection through a Fashion Show. The next seminar will be held in May 2011…Further details to be issued next year.
o f r g n i k o o l e r a We
young stars!
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During 2011, Vivian baby will be introducing a new concept to its newsletter. We would like your children to feature on the front cover of our four newsletters for 2011 (One baby per issue).
together with Name, Surname and Date of Birth, of your child. The Vivian baby editorial board will then choose the best picture to feature on the front cover; while other photos might be used in the rest of the pages.
If you want your child to be one of the above, then send us a photo in high resolution to plasmon@viviancorp.com,
This opportunity is only open for children under 3 years and the decision taken by the Vivian baby editorial board will be final.
Kids Corner Competition Which brand of Panettone does Vivian Corporation distribute?
Colour in a photocopy of this drawing (only one entry per member is allowed) and send to: Plasmon Kids Corner Vivian Baby, December 2010 Vivian Corporation Sanitas Building, Tower Street Msida MSD 1824 by not later than 31 January 2010 The creator of the most creative painting will win an educational game from Orchard Toys
Mummy’s
Competition
Which are the two common ingredients that are found in both varieties of the New Plasmon Frullato drinks?
Send an SMS with your answer (A, B or C) to 5061 9615 by not later than 31 January 2010 along with your name & surname. Each SMS costs €0.28 The first drawn correct answer will be given a Rimmel Make-up pack from the latest collection worth €30.
Send an SMS with your answer to 5061 9615 with your name and surname. Each SMS costs €0.28 The first three correct answers will wil a Plasmon, Chicco & SMA Nutrition hamper. Closing date: 31 January 2010
June WINNER S
Chicco Competition: Ms. Bernardette Vassallo from Attard Plasmon Mummy’s Competition: Lorraine Camilleri Vivian Baby Competition: Joanne Hendley Donna Pace Maria Fenech Janet Buttigieg Ritianne Buttigieg Marisa Mifsud Francesca Tonna Maureen Grech Natasha Fenech Dingli Jadie Sciberras Plasmon Kids Corner: Janika Micallef SMA Carbohydrate Competition: Ms Victoria Bonello from Zurrieq who gave the correct answer (B: RICE) 23
COMPETITION ing Made F
Find the following words:
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f i g i f t
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children eating presents xmas playing fun
family gifts parties singing toys
e n n i i t s i i i c h i l
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p s s y r a r g o s f p i h a p
P y r g
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The first correct answers by not later than 31 January 2010 will receive one of these gifts. Send a copy with your correct answer to: Xmas Mummy’s Competition Vivian Corporation Limited, Sanitas Building, Tower Street, Msida MSD 1824
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competition Let your toddler colour in this Christmas scene and send it to us for them to have a chance to win a special Christmas Prize of a Chicco Counting Teddy Bear worth e46.90.
In order to participate in this competition please send your answer, together with your name and your child’s name, address and contact telephone number to: SMA Nutrition (Christmas Competition) Sanitas Building, Tower Street, Msida MSD1824 by not later than 10 January 2011. The winners’ name and location will be published in the next issue of the Vivian Baby newsletter. 24