My favourite baby doll yet – Baby Born Interactive Star Doll

When I first saw this Baby Born doll I wasn't too sure. I have to admit I was slightly put off by her outfit, a trendy mix of black and silver (and just a little bit bling) which I just wasn't sure my daughter would get. She also comes with bracelets and her own ID card which didn't live up to my ideas of a cute doll. I guess this is designed to appeal to older children and after getting her out of the box and playing with her, she has completely won mummy over!

Honestly, we just love this doll! She comes with a feeding bowl, sachet of porridge (which you can actually feed to her), spare nappy, potty, bottle, card, change of bracelet and dummy.

This is a great range of accessories which come to life when used with the doll.

If you give Baby Born a drink of water from her bottle and lie her down she will wet her nappy (you get one spare), they are really realistic little nappies and great for playing mum. 

You can also sit her on her potty, push her belly button and she will do her wee wee very nicely into the potty. 

Poor little mite, if you squeeze her arms a few times she really cries – just look at her little face, my little one is going to love taking care of her. All the features are really easy to operate and her clothes are easy to get on and off so little ones won't get frustrated playing with her.

As if all this wasn't enough it is wrapped up nicely by the fact she NEEDS NO BATTERIES! This is fantastic considering how much interactivity there is. Plus when she drops off to sleep she is nice and quiet and wont suddenly scare the life out of you when she starts snoring when you were least expecting it!

Baby Born Interactive Star is available in Toys R Us for Christmas and is our top pick of the baby dolls we have played with.

It's a sad review as it is our last review as Toyologists, but I'm pleased we finished on a great product. I can't believe it is over, I hope you've enjoyed reading them as much as we have enjoyed taking part. Happy Christmas and thanks Geoffrey! 

Chou Chou Baby Monitor Doll Toyologist Review

This was the second of our baby doll reviews for the Toys R Us Toyologist programme – this time it was the Chou Chou baby and monitor up for playtime! The doll is nice enough looking but I was just slightly put off by her complexion - so pail the poor thing! Her face is nice though and she comes with a great twist to set her apart from other dolls – the baby monitor!

My pregnancy brain seems to be getting the best of me at the moment so it took me a few attempts to follow the instructions and get the doll working. It's actually very simple, if you set her to auto she works in conjunction with the monitor, otherwise it is freestyle play!

The monitor is a nice idea as it enhances the idea that your child is really caring for the doll. It tells your little one what their baby Chou Chou needs, so if they are crying and the milk bottle symbol appears, the crying is stopped by giving the doll her bottle and so on. The monitor also plays a lullaby for when she's tired, and there is also a dummy to comfort her. My daughter isn't especially into baby dolls so not the best case study but she did enjoy being in charge of the monitor. Her friend who is baby mad absolutely loved it however and I think could spend hours making sure she was caring for baby Chou Chou correctly.

I'd say a fantastic twist on the traditional baby doll with some great interactive play. If you are looking for a doll for Christmas who is a bit different from those in their collection baby Chou Chou is a great option.

Roaring Raa Raa Toyologist Review

The next toy out of our toyologist box is the roaring Raa Raa. Great for little fans of Raa Raa the noisy lion, you simply push his head down and then watch him roar, not only that he'll give a little shake too! If you hold his head down for longer, he builds up to it and gives an even bigger roar. Watch our video and you'll get the idea!

Raa Raa seems pretty hard wearing, I struggled to get him working at first but I am putting that down to me being slightly ditzy in pregnancy as my husband sorted it instantly! His body is quite solid due to the mechanism inside and so perhaps not the choice if you are looking for a toy to cuddle.

I'm not sure it's the kind of toy that will stand the test of time in our house as I think the novelty will wear off fairly quickly! My daughter has really enjoyed playing with him though and if you have a Raa Raa fan in your house they will probably find him even more amusing!

Snazaroo Face Painting Sticks Toyologist Review

Well I didn't expect a little packet like this to bring us such a lot of fun. I have to admit I can be a bit of a grumpy mummy when it comes to face painting, when out I try and take a different route so my daughter won't spot it and when she does get it done I always ask for something small on one cheek. It would never have crossed my mind as a stocking filler but I'm converted! These would make a fab one!!

My little girl took one look at the packet and decided she wanted the butterfly in the picture so I did my best! As they are like crayons they are actually quite easy to use, and she was very chuffed with the results! She then had great fun turning me into a tiger, she concentrated really hard and loved being able to use them herself!

Next she decided I had to be a mummy butterfly instead so off we went again after a few baby wipes (I got off lightly she decided Daddy was to be a river!).

Once I was a butterfly too I think we spent a good hour fluttering round the lounge and hiding behind the curtains, which were here butterfly house.

I really loved how much something so little encouraged her imagination to go wild and got her lost in her make believe world. A great gift idea!

Silver Cross Ranger Pram Review

Toys r Us kindly sent us this lovely Silver Cross Ranger Pram to review as part of the Toyologist programme. They must have known I would love it, it's the exact same pram I chose for my daughter as her present from Santa last Christmas! It means I can give you more of a long-term review of this product and can vouch for it's quality - ours still looks new itself a year later!

I spent a long time choosing this pram at the time, as there were certain features I really wanted and it hasn't let us down. Here's what we were after:

1. A lie flat pram my daughter could put her toys to sleep in as that is always a favourite game.

2. One that she could push now (she had just turned 2) but that would also be big enough to last a few years.

3. It had to fold flat! We have no storage space in our house.

4. To look lovely and have a nice design. I just really wanted my daughter's first pram to feel a bit special!

The silver cross delivers all of these and I felt was great value. The style of it is nice and classic and comes in a great range of patterns. Toys R Us sent us the 'my little star' pattern which you can see is really pretty and very girly! This pram is perfect for getting toys off to sleep - it has a pram cover and hood for when they need a little nap!!

It folds down flat very easily and we can fit it neatly under squiggle's bed when she isn't using it. The handle bars swizzle up and down so that it can adjust to different heights and grow with your child. My little one has just turned three but is more the height of some four year olds and it's still a great size for her.

The only slight downside we found was that when she was small she could only push it in a straight line, the wheels don't swizzle so after hitting a dead end she would wait for me to turn it for her.

The pram has some great roll play features, it comes with a base shelf and it's own matching nappy bag. My daughter has loved packing the little bag with things she might need, and playing at going shopping and filling the shelf with toy food. I think we still have a lot more fun to come from it too, even my 6/7 year old nieces still love playing babies!

If you are looking for a toy pram this Christmas, this one definitely gets a big thumbs up from us!

Broom broom beep beep! Melissa and Doug transporter toyologist review

Time to get a move on with our final box of toyologist reviews, Christmas is fast approaching and we want them to be helpful for people looking for present inspiration!

The first thing I decided to give Squiggle to play with from the box was this lovely Melissa & Doug wooden transporter. She has so many girlie toys that I was relieved to see something different!

We have been really impressed with this toy. I can't help it, I just love the look, feel and nostalgia of wooden toys. This one is really nicely made, great quality, simple and fun.

The set comes with a wooden transporter and four different coloured wooden cars. Little ones can really easily fold the truck down flat, drive the cars on to their slots, and then move it up again. My daughter has really enjoyed playing with this, we have had a fair bit of car trouble lately so she been happily playing poorly cars who need rescuing!

My husband pointed out how funny the instant girl / boy differences are. Where the boys would be having fun zooming and crashing the cars about, Squiggle straight away had them all involved in a role play game. Her toy animals were trying to get somewhere when the transporter bringing their cars tipped over. The animals turned it over and worked together to try to fix it. Amazing!!! I love simple toys that work really well and encourage little imaginations.

It's a nice chunky toy too so would suit children younger than my daughter really well. The cars are a nice size for little hands to push about.

It's been great having something different in the house, and something Daddy has enjoyed playing with her. I have also had lots of fun listening to some very creative sound effects coming from the living room!

Recommended for ages 2+ this is a great gift idea for both boys and girls and is available at Toys R Us.

If you are looking for more inspiration head over to the toyologist review blog.

Winnie the Pooh Spin and Play Acorn Train

This is a really lovely toy for little ones. Easy to play with, simple and lots of fun. It doesn't require and batteries which is always a big plus! When you pull the train along the three characters - Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and poor old Eeyore, spin around on their carriages.

You child can also remove all the characters, swap them round, and play with them without the train. They are great quality and nice and sturdy and chunky for young ones to play with. My daughter loved playing with them and they spent lots of time discussing which was their favourite coloured seat and where they would go on their trip. They usually go to the seaside!

She has decided it is not a train however but an aeroplane (this is why they are flying in the photo!)

If you would like to see the train-plane in action watch our video! Thanks to Geoffery for sending us this to review, they are in sale for perfect Christmas pressies at Toys R Us. X

 

Tickle Time Elmo Toyologist Review

Do you have one of these?

We do!
"tickle me mummy"... "no stop"... "no tickle me again!!!"

We have tickle time, tickle tricks, tickle races, tickle songs and tickle rhymes.
We have tickled toesies, noses, ears, arms, backs, legs and tummies... and best of all we now have the ultimate in tickle accessories "Sesame Street Tickle Time Elmo".

This may sound strange but I have actually always wanted one of these, I held my breathe until I was the colour of... well... Elmo when I realised he was in our toyologist review box.

Finally our own Elmo!

I challenge anyone not to love him, he's the perfect size for my little poppet to cuddle and is sooo lovely and soft. He also really makes her giggle and just brings an extra bit of happiness with him into the house. I don't think it matters if your child is familiar with the character, he has enough 'cute' to outshine his celebrity status. For my daughter Elmo is the star of her favourite duck song video on youtube, for mummy he is a lifelong friend. I just love him so hands off!

You are going to love me!!

Just look at that face! When you press his tummy and feet and makes different giggle sounds and when he is really excited – does a little jiggle. It doesn't take much to get him going and his happiness is very infectious.

Fancy a giggle with Elmo? Watch our video:


Tickle Time Elmo is available at Toys R Us, hurrah and a he he ho ho ha ha!! xx

Roll on the fun – Hello Kitty Tri-Skates

What you need for roller fun...

A sense of adventure, no fear and a need for speed...
Check!! My daughter always wants to go on every ride at the fair, and is the child in the supermarket shouting "faster mummy, faster" while I puff round with the trolley. These are perfect for her.

Just a little bit of balance...
We are slightly lacking in this department – one of my little ones favourite games being 'let's fall over'. So naturally I had to wonder if the skates are the best idea?! I say you only need a little balance as they are really very sturdy and balanced themselves. These Tri-Skates are recommended for ages 3+ so I guess you'll know when your little one is ready for them, we are holding hands at the moment but still having lots of fun.

3 wheels!
Tri-Skates as you might have guessed have 3 wheels but they look like your modern day inline skates. I had never seen nor heard of them before but they are very, very cool!!! I had no idea you could get such great looking skates for this age group. They absolutely look the real deal. They work a bit like stabilisers, as your child gets used the skating you can transform them into inline skates which is a great idea.

My daughter has lots of older cousins she looks up to so these are perfect for making her feel like she has the real deal and is rolling with the big girls! They are comfy, easily adjustable and sturdy and look really good. 

Disco wheels!

I still remember my first pair of roller skates (blue velvet with a rainbow in the side), hopefully these will be one to remember too. They are for foot sizes 5-8 which is quite a good range but a bit of a shame for us as at just approaching 3 my daughter is already a size 8 (taking after her mummy) so they may not last her as long as I would have hoped. I don't think there are any other size option but they fit really well now and she will enjoy them while it lasts!

You can transform the wheels to create 2 wheeled inline skates!

They make such a great, special Christmas gift – I love Christmas pressies that you all get to play together with over the holiday season and these zoom into that category. I think this winter we are going to be out on the street, finding our wheels and having lots of fun!

Scout My Own LapPup Review

Meet Scout – the LapPup (yes a genius name indeed)! This is a great little toy with plenty of fun engaging features. We already love Scout as we have a funny, cuddly, singing version of him and so were pleased to try out his very own laptop (or LapPup).

My daughter just loves having the perfect opportunity to copy me and daddy and say "I'm just going on my computer", she has been in her element testing out the LapPup. Scout is really lovely for younger children who enjoy the lights, all the sounds, and the easy to push buttons. He is nice and lightweight and easy for little hands to grab onto. When you give him a shake he also makes a good rattling noise. As children get older they can learn from the shapes and the colours as they interact with the toy in different ways.

My daughter loved the songs he played and have fun dancing around to them. Our favourite feature however had to be that when you close the lid Scout plays peekaboo with you, every little ones favourite game! A lovely little toy in my opinion and great choice if you are stuck for present ideas for curious little ones.

We are passing him on to our 9 month old friend who found the lap-pup lots of fun and very engaging.

You'll be surprised my almost 3 year old gave it up when you watch the video and see how much fun she was having testing it out!

Talking Cloudbabies Baba Blue Review

Our favourite giraffe Geoffrey had sent us a talking Cloudbabies Talking Baba Blue to love and review. I thought this toy might be aimed at younger age groups but my daughter is hanging on to him and there's no chance of her passing him on to one of her little friends!!

Baba is going to look after elephant at night!

I haven't really seen a lot of Cloudbabies on the television but Squiggle knew who he was instantly. He has a lovely little face and then a cuddly body, perfect for snuggling up to in bed. He's easy to squeeze and when you do squish his little tummy he says a variety of 12 phrases. He is very easy to use and so is perfect for little ones, my little girl was quite smitten which you'll see from our video!

Somebody loves him!

If you know any little Cloudbabies fans then I imagine this would be a great gift and a much loved toy. I remember when Squiggle was younger she had a squeezable talking toy from a certain other popular CBeebies programme and she loved him to tatters!!

You can collect the other colours and it looks as though they also do glowing versions of the characters which I imagine would make lovely night-time companions!

A big hit in our house, I might have to sit down and watch an episode with my new friend Baba blue now!

Dyson ball vacuum cleaner toy review

This week my little girl has been helping me with the vacuuming with her very own Dyson. Lucky her, I am yet to get one of my own! Believe it or not she now has two, her cousins passed down a cylinder toy Dyson (which is fantastic) and then Geoffery kindly sent us this upright version to review.

It is very realistic looking and well made, I don't think it would break any time soon. It also makes a great Dyson sound so they feel like they really have their own mini version and are really helping with the housework! You can set it to suction mode or have the little balls swirl around inside which is great fun for little ones!

Having its own real life suction is such a great idea for play that we couldn't help be a little bit disappointed when we put it to the test. I can't help but compare it to the other Dyson toy she has which has similar features and is really fantastic. It could be just our model but this one doesn't really seem to have any suction. I know as it is for little ones it can't really be very strong but this is much weaker than I expected. My daughter tried for ages to suck up a bit of paper in the end became frustrated and gave up. On the Dyson she already had she absolutely loves sucking up the bits and then removing them from the compartment herself... and then, of course, starting all over again.

The compartment on the back of this vacuum is really tricky to remove and she can't do it by herself which is such a shame as this is her favourite part of the game! Maybe as she gets older she'll get the hang of it but I even found it fiddly.

She has also found just turning it on a little confusing to start off with. There is a big red button on the front which is perfect but then you still have to use the more adult style switch on the back to select suction or pretend mode. This doesn't make sense to me, toys should be designed so that little ones can play with them all by themselves if they want to. The overall result is that she hasn't played with it as much as I expected.

I think it could be simplified and aimed at younger children as from my experience it is aged around 1 to 2 years that my little girl wanted to roll play such games and do everything mummy did!

Having said that she says she loves it and when I have been vacuuming she's been having a go too - and there's no denying it looks fantastic and just like a real life Dyson!