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Create-A-World (Review)

February 11, 2012 in Reviews | 4 comments

When I was a little girl, one of the must-have toys at the time was Fuzzy Felts. I was absolutely desperate to have a set, but never managed it because they were quite pricey at the time.I'm 34 now and have always had a little part of me that wants a Fuzzy Felts set, even though in all honesty I know they were never quite as good as I anticipated.

Before Christmas, Whitestep heard my call and sent me a Fuzzy Felts set to play with and all was right with the world.

Ok, so a few things aren't strictly true about that statement.

It's not a Fuzzy Felts set, it's something even better called Create a World.
They sent it to The Boy, dammit!

Create A World is a fantastic tool which helps to develop creative play. Like the classic 1980s toy, the pieces are made out of felt and are in the shape of people, animals, cars, the natural and manmade world, etc. but with the added and improved twist that they are much bigger and also printed on.

The playmat is designed to either go on the floor or fixed to a wall (velcro adhesive pads would be good for this) and is large measuring 90cm by 130cm. There are ninety printed and cut-out pieces to play with on the mat, creating worlds as varied as the beach, a mountain range, the moon, a swamp, an inner cityand fairy-tale castles. There are a wide selection of animals, people, vehicles and objects to help build up the worlds and develop story-telling. All the pieces are stored in a handy zipped pouch, and this pouch and the (folded) mat have a storage bag with handles.

I've given The Boy imaginative toys to role-play before and depending upon what they are, he either ignores them or enjoys them immensely. His PlayMobil house is one of the most successful toys ever, but his Happyland toys may as well not exist to be honest. Therefore when I presented him with the Create a World set, I had no idea how he would react.

He loves it!

The Create a World set helps to develop:

Imaginative play
Social skills and collaborative play when used by several children
Language skills through discussion, story-telling, nursery rhymes and acting out
Knowledge of their environment and the 'Wider World'

As a trained nursery nurse and teacher who studied the importance of play as a part of a child's development, I cannot rate this highly enough. If you're looking for a special birthday present, I'd seriously suggest investing in this toy which will be used in a variety of situations for years to come!

Create A World is available from Whitestep directly and is priced at £49.95.

I was sent this product for the purpose of the review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Tags: Create A World, imagination, Imaginative play, Learning Through Play, role play, toys, Whitestep

Stocking Fillers for Children

December 14, 2011 in General | 5 comments

Need last minute stocking fillers for your children? Check these out.

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If your little one is anything like The Boy then they are fascinated by snowglobes. Photobox give you the opportunity to create your own personalised snowglobe like this:

Creating the snowglobe is quick and easy to do: upload the photo, drag the aperture to the correct place to frame the picture, add it to the basket and you're done! The central section which holds the photo shows the same picture on both sides and it's printed to a high quality as with all Photobox products. We had one made with a photo of The Boy during his first Winter and experience of snow. The snowglobe is quite large and made of thick plastic; The Boy has dropped it a few times and it has just rolled to one side while creating an amazing (contained) snowstorm.

Available from Photobox for £9.99

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We are currently undergoing sleep training with The Boy (it's taking ages though!) and any lights which can persuade him to lie quietly in his cot until Mr. Sandman visits are essential for us. One of these such lights is a GloMate.

GloMates are portable, soft touch, colour changing nightlights (available in battery operated or low voltage mains re-chargeable versions) which are durable, easy-clean and, due to the energy efficient LED lights, don't get hot. There are different modes allowing for a rainbow colour sequence, a single favourite colour or even a 15 minute dimmer so the light extinguishes whilst your toddler drops off to sleep.

Available for £12.99 from GloMate

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Bic have a variety of colouring crayons, pencils and felts out which would be a perfect, traditional addition to any stocking. There is something for all ages with the range including:

'Turn & Colour' twisting wax crayons (£3.99) which are perfect for pre-schoolers (and their anxious parents) as they leave minimal mess and require no sharpening;
'Mini Colour & Create' (£3.99) suitable for reception-aged infants and containing six classic felt pens and six 'magic' covering felts to draw over the top of the classic;
'Colour & Erase' magic felts (£6.31) for older children and include magic ink eraser pens.

Available from Amazon and Staples

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For those of you who like to give something a little more ethical or eco-friendly at Christmas time, then there are a fabulous selection of FairTrade wooden jigsaws over at TraidCraft.

This emergency vehicle set consists of an ambulance, fire engine and police car, all of which are also jigsaws and made from albesia wood. They are made by craftsmen and women at Gospel House in Madampe, Southern Sri Lanka which seeks to provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged young people, often with no educational qualifications.

Available from Traidcraft for £10.50

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The Boy is becoming fascinated with projected images, especially at night time. Which makes this an ideal present.

The torch has a hood to it which allows for one of two small black hemi-spheres to be attached. Through these it projects the images of wildlife, e.g. lions and tigers, and yes even a bear! There is also a sea creatures torch and a Space torch as well. Perfect for adventurous little boys of all ages!

For availability please check here.

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The Boy is of the age now where he is developing his physical capabilities and he adores trikes and scooters. There are quite a few out there but they do have a tendency to look the same. Personalise them with one of these!

Scoobits are little discs which attach to your little one's scooter or bike to personalise it. Easy fastening means it can be adjusted or swapped for something a little less scary if they aren't in a dinosaur mood! Penguins, dinosaurs, sharks, rainbows and rabbits are all on offer along with a host of others.

Available direct from Scoobits for £3.95

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And no stocking is complete without a snack or treat to keep you going during the present opening fiesta! However, rather than ply them full of E numbers and sugar straight away, or if your child is like The Boy who doesn't like satsumas (not sure he's mine sometimes you know), then give them something healthy!

Benjoy munchcups are healthy alternatives, and what's more children love them! The Boy is particularly fond of the vegetable mini crisps and the multigrain bites. They are 100% natural and nutritious, and the range includes crunchy strawberries, crunchy grapes and tomato and roasted pepper multigrain munchers (which I adore!).

Available from a range of supermarkets and online with Amazon

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I was sent these products for the purpose of this feature. My opinions are honest and unbiased.

Tags: Christmas, Stocking Fillers, toys

Blogoversary Competition 3: Buzz Lightyear

December 5, 2011 in General | 44 comments

I've recently been sent a fabulous Buzz Lightyear (Andy's Collection) to review and The Boy, Mr. TheBoyandMe, and me adore it! My nephew was in awe when he saw it, and that was pretty much the attitude of this household too. It is the ultimate Toy Story character, and would make a perfect present for your Little One for Christmas.

Well, thanks to Mattel I am able to offer a Turbo Glo Buzz Lightyear (RRP £44.99) to one of you lucky individuals!

Light up Buzz for lift off with three cool glow zones that can be activated at the touch of a button. With a light up chest plate, a retractable helmet and an anti-gravity belt, Toy Story Turbo Glo Buzz Lightyear really talks with fun phrases and observations as he updates his mission log. (Suitable for ages 4+, although The Boy is 2 and loves his!)

How cool is that?

To be in with a chance of winning this your very own Buzz, then please complete all the requirements of the Rafflecopter form below:

Tags: Blogoversary, competition, toys

Christmas Crackers (For Pre-Schoolers)

December 3, 2011 in General | 5 comments

I've got some recommendations for you. Hope you don't mind? I will try not to overwhelm you with daily posts, but there are some products that I'd like to share, starting here today with my recommendations for presents under £15 for Pre-Schoolers.

Who Loves Me

These personalised flashcards are an absolutely gorgeous way to communicate with your toddler or baby. They are incredibly easy to make on the Who Loves Me site: simply upload a photo, input a name, choose a symbol (from one of forty+) to go on the back and type a sentence about that person. We've had these made for The Boy with me and hubby, and both sets of grandparents included, as well as my sister's children. I'm intending to supplement these with pictures of his other cousins and aunts and uncles.

Not only do they help your little one to remember who people are, but they can be used to help language development and, for the more curious amongst us, creating a little family tree. Made from thick card, with a very deep finish to the colour; these are long-lasting and excellent quality.

Price at £1.99 a card, £11.99 for 8, £17.99 for 16

Orchard Toys

These fantastic tangrams are very sturdy and made from thick cardboard (75% recycled materials). They are an ideal toy to help develop awareness of shapes and colour, promote problem-solving and logical thinking, with the aim being to use them to create a variety of different picture. Think fuzzy felts but on a bigger scale and less likely to get broken.

A pre-cursor to mathematical development and spatial awareness, these are a cracking addition which I know that The Boy is going to adore playing with!

Priced at £2.25

Personalised Peppa Pig Book

Obviously, I've blanked out The Boy's name with baubles!

For us this is going to be the perfect Christmas book. The Boy is starting at playgroup after Christmas (eek!) and he adores Peppa and George. What better way of explaining to him what will happen and encouraging a positive attitude to it than getting his favourite porcine to tell him all about it in a personalised Peppa Pig book! Creating the book is easy; simply select the gender, hairstyle, hair colour, eye colour, skin colour and input your child's name, and the rest is done for you. For those children who have already started playgroup and are going onto Nursery, Pre-School or 'proper' school, those options can also be selected. There is also the option to have a message printed on the first page.

I love the story, it really promotes the first trip to playgroup as a positive experience, with your child featuring on every page, being the centre of attention and shown to be really clever. Now, do they do one for mums to help cope with the trauma?

Available from Prezzybox for £14.99

Eric Carle's ABC Game

The Boy absolutely adores the ABC song, sings it at least eleventy billion times a day and can recognise the letter in his own name. The next step is to try and encourage letter recognition from different parts of the alphabet. His curiosity has been piqued with the alphabet magnets on the fridge. He asks what the letters are.

The Eric Carle ABC Game involves both upper and lower-case letters of the alphabet. The object of the game is to be the player who collects the most animal cards. The 52 spaces on the board feature all the letters of the alphabet in both upper and lower case. Every time a child lands on a letter space, they have to look at the cards and find the animal who’s name begins with that letter (Big “A” is for Big Ant, little “a” is for little ant). The correct letter is printed on the back of each card to check the answer is correct. By using the spinner and counting up to four spaces, they will also reinforce their counting skills.

Priced at £6.99 RRP

Fingerprinting Art Set

This nifty little art set is fun with a difference. Using the ink pads to print the tips of their fingers onto the paper, little ones can then use one of the twelve different stampers to create animals, people, plants, etc. There are coloured pencils included to add more detail to the images. Endless possibilities for pictures and creative play, this is bound to go down a treat with children aged three years and upwards: being allowed to get mucky? Great fun!

Available for £7.95 from Prezzybox

And because you lot know me only too well, this list of recommends would not be complete without a gem from the lovely ToyJeanius!

Animal Habitat Puzzle

This beautiful duo-puzzle is perfect for teaching your little-ones how to match up an animal to its habitat. With the trademark vibrant Djeco illustrations, each of the ten puzzles is made up of two pieces; one piece has a picture of the animal and the other has a picture of their usual home. It's made even easier for younger children because the background colour of the matching pieces is the same. Depending upon your little one's stage of development, you can use just a few of the duos or all of them, with small children being able to match the puzzles by colour, learning the names of the animals and their habitats as they do so.

I love Djeco products for the quality and sturdiness, the timeless appeal and the ingenuity of their products. You can get 10% of this product (or any others that you fancy from ToyJeanius) by entering the code 'TheBoyandMe' at the checkout!

Available from ToyJeanius for £6.95

Tags: Christmas, Djeco, Orchard Toys, Peppa Pig, ToyJeanius, toys

TRU Review: Elefun Poppin' Park

November 22, 2011 in Toyologist | 4 comments

When we opened up the box this month and I saw this toy aimed at tiddlers from 9 months old, I spent a while trying to think of any babies that we knew who would like it. I failed because, just like The Boy, they've grown up and are now all two years plus. In the end, I decided to get it out of the box and let him try it out.

This is where the first negative of this toy comes into effect. But let me reassure you, there are only two; one is over the minute you get it out the box, the other isn't that big an issue.

Getting the Elefun Poppin' Park out of the box is easier said than done. I wouldn't normally comment on something so mundane, but I think you need to know this or you are going to lose valuable time on Christmas (or a birthday) morning, getting irritated and having a baby who will quite possibly cry with desperation to play with it. There is a ridiculous amount of ties and sellotape holding the Elefun into the even more ridiculous amount of carboard. It took a full fifteen minutes to just get it out of the box. Then there was the small amount of assembly; click the steps on the base on (easy enough) and push the ears into place. Ha! Both Mr. TheBoyandMe and I struggled with this, but eventually (just before I was going to throw it out of the window in exasperation) it decided to relent and allow us.

And so to the toy. It's simple enough, but very effective. There are five plastic balls which you put into the Elefun's solid ear. Once you press the red button on his 'hand' (paw, hoof?) and the air flow starts, they get sucked up into his head and shoot out of his trunk.

Once the balls come out of the trunk there are a couple of different options of where they go based on the direction that the trunk is pointing in; they can either shoot out randomly into the room which would be good for encouraging crawling babies to get moving, or down through the ear with a hole in it to the pouch in the Elefun's tummy, or into the other ear and back up through the trunk creating a continuous loop.

In watching the video, hopefully you'll see my only other negative with this toy: the noise. If you've followed my reviews, you'll know that I've got a low noise-threshold (how, with my son, I'll never know!) and therefore something like this is a little irritating. It sounds like a hairdryer on constantly, and almost drowns out the music which is played. However, after a while you learn to live with it.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this toy, because The Boy adores it and is still playing with it on a daily basis months later. I think it appeals to different ages and abilities on many levels: sitting-up babies, crawlers, cruisers and toddlers. Oh and five year old boy-cousin quite likes it too!

A winner, and at £24.99 I think the Elefun Poppin' Park is a well priced toy to provide hours of fun for babies for quite a long time!

For more reviews, visit the Toys R Us Toybox application on Facebook by pressing below

We were provided with this item for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest, and unbiased.

Tags: toys, TRUToyologist

Competition: Win a Brio My First Railway Set

October 31, 2011 in Competitions | 95 comments

I've recently been lucky enough to review a Brio My First Railway Set, kindly provided by the Wooden Toy Shop. Well they would like to offer one of you lucky souls the chance to win one for your very own little one!

In order to be in with a chance of winning this set (worth £23.95), please do the following:

'Like' Wooden Toy Shop and TheBoyandMe on Facebook
Tweet the following message:

Choo-choo! I want to win a Brio Railway Set with @TheBoyandMe http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=6054

Please leave one comment only below to tell me that you've done this.

T&C

Competition closes on Monday 21st November 2011 at 8pm. I will choose one winner at random and notify them that evening. I require a response by Wednesday 23rd November 2011 at 8pm or I will redraw. UK entrants only.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Congratulations to Domestic Goddesq who has been chosen as the winner by random.org

Tags: Brio, competition, toys, train

Review: Brio My First Railway Set

October 28, 2011 in Reviews | 3 comments

Ever since The Boy was born, both Mr. TheBoyandMe and I have been secretly waiting for the moment when he was old enough to play with a Brio train set. Well it seems that the time has come for our wishes to be met, as his imagination has suddenly jumped into gear.

We were recently sent this gorgeous My First Railway Set to review from the Wooden Toy Shop, and it is a beautifully crafted starter set for wooden railways.

The 15-piece set contains both straight and curved (double-sided) track pieces, a soft fabric station that is also a tunnel, two on-off ramps, a bright green engine and three freight wagons decorated with images of fruit: one banana, two apples and three pears (excellent for counting).

The Boy wasted no time in opening the box up, examining the instructions and doing the typical male thing of abandoning them in favour of figuring it out himself. The track pieces are very high-quality wood, each one embossed with the 'Brio' stamp. This Brio branding is also on the engine and each of the carriages; each wheel is stamped. A very nice little finishing touch.

The Boy absolutely adores this train set. His imagination has been ignited and he is beginning to role-play with these small-world toys, re-enacting events that happen in his life and making sense of them. He has combined the set with his cars and even the Peppa Pig playground has been incorporated, although George is not very good at holding onto the engine and keeps falling off. Suddenly The Boy is now living his name and the little baby is being replaced by a child who uses voices for the different carriages which talk to each other as they join up to the engine!

We've added several more sets of tracks, bridges and ramps to The Boy's Christmas list now as he seems to be completely engaged with this train set. It's been set up on the living room floor for several weeks now and is played with every single day, more than any other toy.

The Brio My First Railway Set is available from Wooden Toy Shop priced at £23.95

We were sent this item for the purpose of this review. Our opinions are honest and unbiased.

Tags: Learning Through Play, toys, train

Angry Birds: Knock on Wood (A Review)

October 25, 2011 in Reviews | 2 comments

Over to Mr. TheBoyandMe for this one again!

Accidentally disturb a nest? That's bound to annoy a bird or two, no doubt. But stealing their eggs? Well, that's guaranteed to make them Angry …

To date, over 400 million copies of the Angry Birds games have been downloaded for iPhone, iPad, Android and PC, but until now the only real-life versions have been within adverts:

Rovio, the original creators of Angry Birds, have given in to requests for slightly smaller portable editions of the above by partnering with Mattel to release Angry Birds: Knock on Wood. Consisting of 14 building blocks, four pigs, three birds, two bonus trophies, a spring-loaded launcher (replacing the catapult present in the virtual version) and set of mission cards, this game is suited for 2 to 4 players aged from 5 to adult.

The instructions (cunningly hidden underneath the plastic insert, not somewhere that this reviewer would normally look) are very clear, and describe all the methods of play and different mission cards very clearly. Gameplay attempts to emulate the original, although while I couldn't find any way to make Yellow accelerate mid-air I was relieved that my dining room table was still intact following an onslaught from Black. (I'm disappointed that there was no blue which split into three mid-flight)

Having had quite a few games with Mrs. TheBoyandMe, I can see the appeal of this game, especially with 3 or 4 players. The castles themselves may take a few minutes to assemble each time, but there is a slight thrill in being able to destroy your best mate's structure with just a small rubber bird, a launcher and a flick of a finger.

Angry Birds: Knock on Wood is available to buy for £19.99 and is suitable for 5years+

I was sent a copy of Angry Birds: Knock on Wood to review by Firebox.com. Because Mr. TheBoyandMe adores Angry Birds so much, I gave it to him to play with and review. The Boy was desperate to play with it, but I wouldn't let him because I don't want my two year old being destructive. Our opinions are honest and unbiased.

Tags: Angry Birds, games, toys

Get Building With Thomas

October 22, 2011 in Reviews | 1 comment

The Boy discovered the wonders of Mega Bloks last Christmas when Nana bought him their 3in1 Play and Go table. It was a great success from the word go, with him taking the lid off and sitting in the table to watch Christmas Day television. Soon after he learnt how to use it to its full potential, building walls and towers.

When the lovely Tired Mummy of Two asked me to help her out by reviewing a product for her very clever Christmas Tombola, I of course agreed. She's managed an amazing accomplishment in collecting the promise of 150 prizes for her fabulous competition, and I am in awe of her achievement. One of these has been donated by Mega Bloks, and I have the pleasure of reviewing one of the sets.

The Mega Bloks Diesel Bucket is an incredibly nifty playset which is part of the Mega Bloks Thomas & Friends Collection for pre-schoolers aged 3years +.

Take a look more closely at the ramp that Diesel has just sped down. You'll notice that it's a two-part ramp. That's because the green section is the box that all the Mega Bloks pieces are stored in, while the orange part of the ramp is the hinged lid. How clever is that? Nothing can get lost and it is easily tidied away afterwards. It also makes the set incredibly portable, the perfect toy to take to a relatives house for an afternoon trip or family meal.

When it arrived, The Boy was eager to break into it and he played with nothing else for a further hour and a half. Nothing! He sat pushing Diesel down the ramp, building the side-buildings, experimenting with the gates etc. He was completely and utterly captivated. That was over a week ago now, and of all the toys that he has (and he has a fair few) it is the one that he has repeatedly played with for a sustained period of time. He loves it so much that I have added one of the other sets which works in the same way (also a box that transforms into a playset) to The Boy's Christmas list.

At £9.99 this is a perfect toy for any pre-school aged child and will provide hours of entertainment.

For the opportunity to win one of these sets, please pop over to Tired Mummy of Two's Christmas Tombola.