Big Brother kindly offered to review some of Flairs Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles products. He was sent a Power Sound FX Turtles Figure and a Turtles Ninja Combat Gear Set. According to Wikipedia: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (often shortened to TMNT or Ninja Turtles) are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, named after four Renaissance artists, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu. From their home in the storm sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated animals, and alien invaders while attempting to remain isolated from…
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Little Sis kindly offered to review the new Gruffalo My First Puzzles Jigsaw set from Ravensburger, aimed at children aged 18 months plus. The puzzle is based on the story by Julia Donaldson and the wonderful illustrations by Axel Scheffler. As you can see she was very happy as she adores the Gruffalo. The box contains four bright and colourful puzzles specially designed for youngsters aged 18 months+. The puzzles feature images of the Gruffalo (2 piece), Snake (3 piece), Mouse (4 piece) and Owl and Snake (5 piece). Each puzzle has a different coloured border which is designed to…
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Babies and children are big business. From toys and games to toddler activities, this particular market offers limitless money making opportunities for those in the know. With parents powerless to resist the hard sell, our homes often become a haven to consumerism and the material trappings of the toddler to teen years. These days, playgroup is increasingly passé and toddlers are often treated to a schedule of organised activities. Swimming and soft play sessions have upped their game, with increasingly expensive activities promising everything from educational benefits to borderline enlightenment. With more and more families feeling the pinch, why not…
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Just before Christmas we heard the exciting news that we had been chosen to be official Toys R Us Toyologists and put a toy through its paces. We were sent the Thomas and Friends Take -N–Play Thomas’ Adventure Castle which looks like this: I wanted to surprise my 3 year old so made it whilst he was at nursery. I had some help from his little sister and it came together quite quickly. Fortunately I didn’t need a screwdriver, the pieces just slotted into place. The Thomas and Friends Take-N–Play Thomas’ Adventure Castle ties in with the King of the…
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Last week Little Sis and I were invited to hear more about Little Tikes ‘Play Personalities’. Little Tikes and play expert, Maggie Redshaw, have devised four play personalities that they feel children may take on during their development: Little Learners, Little Movers, Little Builders and Explorers and finally Little Grown-ups. We all know how important it is for our little ones to play but it’s particularly essential for little ones as they grow and develop. Well-designed, safe and appropriate toys help to assist as children change and grow throughout their most formative years. Little Tikes organised a brilliant Christmas Play…
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As part of our role as Playmobil Playologists we were sent a Playmobil Pirates Treasure Cove advent calendar. Playmobil produce 5 advent calendars with different themes: Forest Winter Wonderland, Police, Pony Farm, Princess Wedding and Pirates Treasure Cove. We were sent the pirate themed advent calendar and behind each door is a piece of Playmobil which will build up during December to make a pirate scene. It’s a little difficult to review something without opening it so I thought I’d share some pictures from the Playmobil website. My son loves Advent and I think it’s a great way to mark…
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A couple of weeks ago we made a special trip to Ikea to pick up the new Huset range, which is Swedish for ‘the house’, I previously wrote about. Like most households in the UK we have a fair amount of Ikea furniture, mainly Expedit bookshelves. Sitting and writing this I can see 3 of them! My only worry – would the Ikea dolls house furniture fit with our other toys? Anyone else ever had a problem with their continental Ikea size bed not fitting UK bedding? Anyway, the Huset living room sets feature their famous Expedit shelves, Klippan sofa,…
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My children love water play and there’s no doubt this is the perfect weather for it. Amongst their outdoor toys they have a much-loved water table and the paddling pool has been out for a while too. The bath is also full of toys for splashy bath time fun when the weather keeps us indoors. The toddler has a Playmobil speedboat which he particularly loves. A couple of months ago we were chosen to be Playmobil Playologists and we recently received a small toy set (Playmobil 6781) called the 123 Wading set. It is for ages 18 months and up…
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It seems an age ago since we were lucky enough to come across a really cute little wooden doll bed on a recent charity shopping spree. It was quite big but we managed to get it home on the bus, just! We paid £2 and when we got home I realised it was from Ikea and actually retails at £14 so I felt quite proud of our bargain, especially as Little Sis has been playing with it even since. I knew I wanted to personalise it for her so the first step was to give it a wash, a quick…