Playmobil Advent Calendar

Playmobil Advent Calendar

I have always imagined advent calendars to be flimsy things that have a chocolate behind every door .... not now as this advent calendar is really really special!

Behind each of the 24 doors in this clever calendar is a different Playmobil figure or accessory.
Gone is the 'Oh what shaped chocolate will I get today?' it is replaced with 'What will you find behind today's door?' There are choices of one of the three Playmobil figures, or one of the four horses? Maybe you'll find an accessory to add to the Pony Farm stable scene that comes with the calendar.

I think that the Playmobil - Pony Farm Advent Calendar is a fun and original alternative to a chocolate advent calendar.  The set encourages imagination and so leads to the toy being educational too ... all from an advent calendar!


When you've opened all the doors and completed your scene, you can check out the Playmobil Pony Ranch range to add more to it.  Possibly unlocking an interest that can be added to year after year with all the different sets available.

If you have more than one child then buy different sets to make a whole play village - a daily treat to add to their new toy.

The Pony Farm Advent Calendar features:
■ 24 doors of Pony Ranch Playmobil to open.
■ The set builds up to create a Pony Farm scene.
■ Toys include 3 Playmobil figures, 4 horses, and loads of accessories!

Age 4+ due to small parts, the advent calendar is based around ages 4-10.  Emma is nearly 10 and she is very excited about opening the boxes.

Other sets available:
4160 Dragon’s Land £14.99
4159 Pony Ranch £14.99
4155 Christmas in the Forest £14.99
4157 Police £14.99
4158 Unicorn in Fairy World £14.99

RRP: £14.99 depending on retailer.

You can purchase the advent calendars direct from Playmobil’s online shop, www.playmobil.co.uk  but they can also be found at Toys R Us, The Entertainer, and all other good toy shops.

In the night garden tea and friends playset

In the Night Garden ... Tea & Friends Playset
Pre-school children love to make Mum a nice cup of tea ... which you oooh over and pretend to slurp loudly.  The problem with playing tea party is that after 18 cups of tea you kind of get a bit bored of slurrrping and want to get on with some jobs.  This is where Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy come in :)

The In the Night Garden ... Tea & Friends Playset contains a full size soft bodied Igglepiggle and an Upsy Daisy.  The soft toys can take over from you and your little one can serve them tea for hours without hearing one complaint from them.

With the set you can help Upsy Daisy get dressed up for her special tea party with Igglepiggle. Then you can help her set up teatime on the cozy blanket. Set includes everything needed - Igglepiggles blanket, two cups, two saucers, two spoons and a teapot and serving tray.

Make sure you have your camera ready for taking sneaky snaps of your pre-schooler playing nicely for the family album... by the time they are 10 they will swear blind they never played tea parties and you will have hard evidence to prove them wrong (and embarrass them in front of their friends... oh is that just me? what a nasty parent I am!).

The pack also contains a DVD of In the Night Garden, so when its time for bed you can pop it on and have a nice cup of 'real' tea while they settle down for bedtime.

I like the way there is two full size soft toys in the pack .. however if your son/daughter is a big fan of In the Night Garden they will probably already have the Igglepiggle figure.  I would have preferred to just have Upsy Daisy in the box and maybe more tea set items eg.. 4 cups instead of 2, a sugar bowl or milk jug, etc...
Hasbro and Playskool could have packaged these separately so you could choose between the characters or even brought both sets?? although I would expect the price to be a little lower if this was the case.

All in all they are expertly made and excellent condition, no batteries are required and they make no noise and play no tunes ... so a nice quiet toy for imaginative play.

Age 2+
Priced around £29.99
Available from all good toy shops and high street retailers. 

Goodnight Friend Igglepiggle

In the Night Garden .... Goodnight Friend Igglepiggle

In the Night Garden is a tv show on Cbeebies, it is a very colourful magical picture-book place that exists between waking and sleeping in a child's imagination ... apparently.  To me its a nice pre-school show with lovable characters, uses keywords and rhymes to educate your child plus happy nursery rhyme style music which continues throughout the show.

Igglepiggle is the key character in the show, he travels by boat to the magical land where he meets and plays with his friends.  All children have their favourite character but Igglepiggle is most pre-schoolers favourite, well he is definitely popular in my mother-in-laws house when all my nieces are round.

Hasbro and Playschool have brought out a range of toys based on the In the Night Garden series. 
Goodnight Friend Igglepiggle is a soft toy with cuddly slippers and removable pyjamas, to be able to take off and on the clothing of a soft toy promotes manual dexterity skills in young children so this is a very good factor.  Igglepiggle also has his blanket with him which attaches to his hand with Velcro.

The lovable soft toy comes with a real working lantern which glows by pressing the button on the front.  The lantern is made from sturdy plastic and powered by 2 AAA batteries (included), these are hidden behind a screwed down flap so you will be able to change them if they ever run out.

Included in the box is a small 'Goodnight Friends' storybook for your little one to 'read' while cuddling Igglepiggle at bedtime.

I am impressed with the amount of fasteners that hold the toy into the box.  Igglepiggle is held in with 2 fasteners, the lantern is held in by plastic and the slippers with cardboard and some ties.  In comparison to other brands this is excellent! sometimes we have to have a production line to open up toys from the vast amount of packaging and wire ties ... Goodnight Friend Igglepiggle isn't like this at all, I estimate an adult can get in the box and have the toy ready in under 4 minutes, great for an impatient 2 year old on Christmas morning.

Age 2+
Priced at around £19.99
Available from all good toy shops and high street retailers.

GloDoodle

GloDoodle

This toy is actually a very simple idea, yet really clever and imaginative. Sounds a bit contradicting but let me explain.

The GloDoodle is a see-through box, but the top layer is the drawing screen. You can put anything underneath it and using the special pen (or your finger) trace the outline of the picture or object underneath.

You can copy your favourite colouring book pages, practice your writing, trap and trace your pet hamster (not recommended) ... even trace your best friends face. The possibilities are endless.

So unlike the etch-a-sketch toys you don't have to think of something to draw, you just find something and draw it.

There are 3 colour settings to draw in, an erase function, a stylus pen and an instruction manual. The unit requires 3 x AA batteries to work (not included).

Great for the car, plane, train, afternoon at Grans ... no mess, no fuss, easy to pack and carry.
The GloDoodle is brilliant suitable for ages 3+, with supervision younger children could use this product to practice hand/eye control.

For more information please visit:
http://www.spinmastertoys.co.uk/
www.glodoodle.com

RRP: £19.99

Bendaroos

Bendaroos

Wax ... magical wax that you can bend, twist, mould and form to make different shapes - no paint, no mess, no worries .... totally brilliant !!

I am impressed, when I first looked at the set I thought "Oh no modeling clay!" but it isn't. Bendaroos are thin strands of coloured wax that stick to each other, won't stain your hands or clothes and won't get stuck in the carpet. Very clever stuff.

Each kit comes with everything you need to make at least 4-8 items depending on the size of the kit. Templates are included to help you copy the shapes required and also a set-by-step instruction book for making more complicated items. The templates are picture based so no reading required ... this is great as with the kits being 5+ younger children can play without Mum's help (although supervision is required).

But whats the most impressive feature apart from the wax being family friendly? It is re-usable! You can create and re-create ... so if it all goes wrong the first time, try again.
Bendaroos are a good classic craft kit with no-tears formula. Great stocking fillers for all ages from 5 years upwards.

RRP: £14.99 a set
http://www.spinmastertoys.co.uk/

My rating: 9/10

Bella Sara Trading Cards

Bella Sara Trading Cards

I didn't get to set eyes on the cards, I opened the pack and 'Whoosssshh!' they had gone! Lots of 'Ooohing' and 'Ahhhing' hummed around my house and a happy little girl breezed into my office, sat at my computer ... and stayed there for the next hour!

Bella Sara Trading Cards are apparently 'wonderful', you can use the secret codes printed on each card top unlock a magical world online, with Bella Sara and her horse you can join in adventures full of stories and activities to expand imaginations.

The website is private so you know that your child is safe online, they cannot chat to others is is solely a private experience. The website keeps all login/registration information private and will not sell or share your information with others. Parents can decide the level of interaction at Bella Sara World for complete piece of mind, this is easily adjusted via parental controls.

Visit http://www.bellasara.com/index_bs.aspx for more information and to use your secret codes on the Bella Sara Trading Cards.

Available from Toys R Us and other toy retailers. Bella Sara products are great stocking fillers for little girls at Christmas.

Emma's rating: 9/10