A Preston mum is on a mission to make bedtimes more magical.

Beth De Nobrega has launched her business Magical Story Jars while on maternity leave.

The mum-of-two from Farington Moss said she found bedtime stories needed livening up a bit to keep the kids attention.

She said: “I’ve always wanted to work with kids and really felt there was a gap in the market for my jars. My daughter, Freya, loved making up silly stories at bedtime but I found that when her dad was putting her to bed, they both struggled sometimes with developing them even further.

“That’s when I came up with the idea of the Magical Story Jars. They’re simple to use and so much fun. Kids sprinkle magic dust in the jar to make the stories come alive and then take their pick from 45 different cards to form the basis of their tales. It’s so fun listening to the stories that kids and their parents come up with, no two are ever the same.

“I’ve also made sure that the story cards have an emphasis on important values, so I’ve included different characters such as Rodney the very shy robot who really wanted to win the golden trophy, to emphasise to kids that it’s ok to be shy or not to win at everything all the time.”

The 36-year-old, who used to work for the NHS, is now turning the storytelling into a full-time job. She left her job and completed a course in writing children’s storybooks having run a trial of the story jars in schools and nurseries.

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Magical Story Jars are available at the Harris, Peppermint Cottage in Leyland and Stickyweeds in New Longton. They are also available to order online.

What’s your bedtime routine? Do the good old fashioned books work? Or is something else needed? Let us know in the comments below