Ring o Rosie - Review

Ring o Rosie

Cbeebies fans will be familiar with super-colourful Rosie and her little group of friends.

Our non-resident reviewer Amy did, and she was very pleased to have received a Ring o Rosie doll to try out.

Ring o Rosie(rrp.£22.99) brings a whole new angle to the traditional song.  Hold both of Rosie's hands and the Everything's Rosie theme tune plays.  Let go and the music stops.

The doll is beautifully made and of good quality.  She's bright, cheerful and children are instantly attracted to her, as Amy's reaction of, "Ooh, is that for me?!" proved.

One great bonus that Amy's mum, Karen, pointed out was that the music would stop the moment either of her hands were let go of, unlike many musical toys which continue for a while after they are meant to stop.

Amy loved the doll, but when huge Everything's Rosie fan Dexter came to play he made a beeline for the doll and didn't let go - so smitten by it was he.  Amy very kindly gave him the doll to take home as he loved her so much.  What a sweetie!

At three years old, Dexter needed to get the hang of needing to hold both of Rosie's hands at the same time in order to make the music work.  With a short attention span and plenty of other things to be doing, Dexter still returns to play with Ring o Rosie over and over again which is never a bad thing!

As well as Ring o Rosie, Vivid Imaginations  have also created some other fun products in the Everything's Rosie range.  If you know a big Rosie fan like Dexter, click on over to take a look and you'll be sure to find something they'll love there.


 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

This isn't what I meant about having reservations.

I was talking about not being sure of the Christmas decorations.

They set up a wigwam.

Our living room isn't very big so it's difficult to miss a wigwam set up in the middle of it.  Especially one that stands over six feet tall and more than four feet wide as this one from Playhouses.co.uk does.

Setting up the wigwam looked simple to do.  There are twelve wooden poles which you join together with a plastic connector to create six poles over 6 feet in length.  You then need to feed the poles up and through the inside of the canvas, stringing them together at the top placing a wooden spacer between each, Easy enough, right? Not really, but that was more down to the kids than the design. It proved a little more time consuming to set up with several young helpers pulling the poles away from where I needed them to be but we got there in the end.

The boys dived in as soon as it was set up.

One, two...

...three, four could fit in... albeit snugly.

The opening can be closed with the velcro tabs attached.  Unfortunately, the tabs aren't strong enough to keep them in.  This means they run around hollering before diving back in. Over and over and over....

Still, the boys look happy with it and that's the main thing, right?  Now, does anyone have a painkiller for my headache please?

(Disclaimer: We were sent a Wigwam from Playhouses.co.uk for the purpose of this review).


 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

Tractor Ted - Review

A love of farms and farming isn't limited to the children in our family.  In fact, our ideal dream is to have our own little farm one day.  Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen but in the meantime we can learn all about farming together with Tractor Ted.

Tractor Ted from Tractorland is the brainchild of mum, Alexandra Heard who, seeing how much her children loved farms and tractors, decided to work with local farmer, David Horler to bring farming to children everywhere in a fun but educational way.

One single video named "Tractorland" was all it took to build the Tractor Ted enterprise.  The aim was to explain, encourage and teach children all about animals and farming, using real life people and filming.

Since those first small steps in 2005, Tractor Ted and Tractorland have become a real part of life even for children who can't experience country life themselves.  Through a range of products there is no child who cannot learn and enjoy the experiences of farm life.  From learning how food is grown and harvested, to caring for farm animals, Tractor Ted provides an invaluable education in a fun and interesting way.

I was very impressed with the range of products we were sent to try out.  The DVD's capture the children's attention time and time (and time and time) again and the books are colourful and fun.  Tractor Ted has certainly got a following in our house!

Tractor Ted's range has grown in time for Christmas for all young farming fans and now you can treat your little farmer to a selection of practical goodies as well as toys, books and DVD's. 

Tractor Ted Breakfast Set (rrp. £19.99)

The Tractor Ted Breakfast Set consists of a melamine mug, bowl and plate set, brightly decorated with the eye-catching Tractor Ted logo and a fun tractor design around the rim.  The set is beautifully packaged, making it a perfect gift for a special occasion.

Tractor Ted Lunchtin (rrp. £9.99)

We all know how much children love their very own lunchboxes, and this Tractor Ted Lunchtin is no exception. Made to the same high quality as the rest of their products, this is sure to keep your little farmer's school lunch or picnic goodies safe!

Tractor Ted Wellies (rrp. £18.99)

Every farmer needs some sturdy footwear and who can fail to love these fab Tractor Ted Wellies!  Made of 100% rubber, they're easy for your little ones to pull on thanks to the convenient handles.  They're just what you need when muddy puddles need to be jumped in!

The brilliant Tractor Ted range doesn't stop there.  If you have a farming-mad child and want to treat them to something farmtastic for Christmas, head on over to Tractorland right now and see for yourself!  

 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

"Oginov Tumbler" Review and Giveaway

“Oginov Tumbler” by Drumond Park Games

Drumond Park Games have really come up with a challenge with the Oginov Tumbler (RRP. £9.99). 

Designed for ages eight and up it’s a pyramid puzzle game which relies on gravity to move the assortment of pyramids into position within a transparent ball.  The only thing is the pyramids can’t just fall any old way - you’ve a puzzle to solve. 

Level One begins with The Dots, an easy intro to the game which allows you to practise and polish up your moves and generally get the hang of what you are doing.  When you are confident and think your skills are up to scratch you can then progress onto Level Two, until you have solved and mastered all six levels. 

Think it sounds easy?  I couldn’t do it but my determination hasn’t fizzled yet.  I need to solve this thing before Mike does.  A little matrimonial competition is good sometimes, don’t you think?  Perhaps the kids might get a go soon.  

After I’ve finished my next go.  

Maybe.

The Oginov Tumbler is available for purchase at all good stockists but Drumond Park has offered three to give away as prizes.  Just leave a comment below to say you want to enter.

The giveaway will close on Monday, 12^th December at midnight and the three winners will be announced soon after.  I’m sorry but this giveaway is open to entrants in the UK only.

Good luck!

(Drumond Park Games sent us The Oginov Tumbler for the purpose of this review).

 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

Musical, magical, girly fun

Lite Sprites

When I was a little girl I had a Tiny Tears doll whose eyelashes had been cut by someone.  Oh, ok, it was me.  I loved my doll, despite her lack of lashes... or clothes.  She didn't talk or cry or do anything else.  She had a tough old body and one eye stayed open when the other shut.  

I did love her. 

I'd have loved Lite Sprites more though.

Lite Sprites (rrp: £14.99) from WowWee are the five magical, colourful, fairy-type Sprites who live in Lite Topia.  Prisma, Astra, Meadow and Brooke look after the water, air and sky by sharing and transferring each of their seven colours with the help of the Lite Wand.  Look out for Bleak though, who tries to steal their colours!

The Lite Sprites come with their own pods to sleep in and you can buy four different Deluxe Playsets (rrp. £19.99) each with their own special sounds and colourful displays.  At the centre of Lite Topia is the Tree of Life (rrp. £39.99) where the Lite Sprites sit in their pods which hang from the tree and then spin around in a musical, magical display of colours.

Meet my children's cousin, Amy.  Well, actually she's something like a first cousin something or other removed or something.  I don't know.  It confuses me.  We'll stick to cousin.  It's easier that way.  

Anyway, meet Amy.  She was the lucky recipient of the Lite Sprites because Cait was too old (and boy, was she upset about that!) and the twins were too young to play with them.  Actually, on second thoughts, Cait would have loved it.  Anyway, back to Amy....

See the concentration on her face?  And she looks like she's concentrating so hard she's not talking.  (That would be reason enough to buy your child Lite Sprites if they chat anywhere near as much as the children in our family tend to).

Amy loved it.  

In fact her mum, Karen sent back such thorough feedback that rather than put it in my own words I thought I would just share it with you as she gave it.  Here it is:

Karen's Lite Sprite Review:

"Pros
Amy was instantly attracted to pretty girly packaging
Easy to put together
Good quality chunky bright and colourful plastic pieces
The whole set is attractive, the Sprites are pretty, the lights look good (particularly in the dark) and the wand makes 'magical' noises

Kept Amy's attention for an hour and half (had to stop playing with it to have dinner!) and she wanted to play with it immediately after dinner and again before school this morning.

She loved the way you can transfer light colours between wand, 'The Tree of Lite' and Sprites.
It has a sleep mode and shut off mode if toy is not played with for saving battery power.
Contemplated putting it in her bedroom to use as a night light - particularly as it switches itself off.

Cons
It took about 30 mins to get through all the packaging, 8 AAA batteries and a tiny philips screwdriver to get going.
8 AAA batteries required - 4 for wand, 4 for house (just as well there is a battery saving sleep/shut off mode!!)
Wand is a little confusing even after reading instructions - it has a colour library and spells - I think an adult would def need to explain it to a child (or am I just stupid?) 

Other than the above cant find anything negative to say about it.

A lovely, girly toy - thank you xx"

So there you go.  A lovely, girly toy which is musical, colourful and fun.  What more could a girl want?

(Thank you to WowWee for sending us the Lite Sprites to enjoy).


 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

Red Rover Game Review

As you probably noticed by now, we have several children in our family who range all the way from the high teens down to newborn babies.  This means that we have lots of games which suit different ages but no matter what some games are just not clear or basic enough for the younger members of the family.

Oliver and Paddy are quite often the ones who want to keep up with their older brothers.  Desperately so, in fact.  The problem is that they don't quite understand how to play certain games and so the older brothers get upset that they are "spoiling the game".  Of course, they don't mean to spoil their game, they just want to be able to join in the fun.

The Red Rover Game by Fisher Price is a 2-4 person game designed for younger children recommended from the age of 3 and up.  Red Rover is an electronic talking dog who encourages learning through play.  He has twelve bones each with a different colour, letter, number or shape which are stored in his backpack for safekeeping.  When it's time to play the game the bones must be spread around the playing area.  Press Red Rover's nose and he'll shout out which bone he wants you to find.  If you get it right you keep the bone and the the player to collect the most bones wins.  There are two levels of play.  The first level focusses on learning colours while Level 2 expands the learning to shapes, numbers and letters.  It's simple, fun and educational.

Now even though the game is supposed to be for younger players...

... you'll notice the older brothers just had to "show them how to play it"...

Kind of them, don't you think?

And Paddy and Ollie didn't even complain that they'd spoilt their game.  

Not once.

(Disclaimer: We were sent a Red Rover Game (rrp. £19.99) for the purpose of this review).

 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!

"Dino Bite" Review and Giveaway

“” by Drumond Park Games

Readers who are familiar with us will be aware that we have a lot of sons.  They are all very different, with a range of personalities yet they all have a fascination with dinosaurs.

Show them a box containing a game called “Dino Bite” and the cries of ,“Can we play it now?!! Can we?!  PLEEEEAASE!!!!” become quite deafening. 

The game is recommended for children aged 4 and up, and between 2 and 4 players can play at a time.   Another bonus is that it only takes 2 x AA batteries, so isn’t going to break the bank there either which is always a plus in my opinion.

The aim of the game is to rescue the twenty Dino Babies hidden beneath a leaf in their Dino nest before the big, bad Dino realises what you are up to and JUMPS!  It isn’t as easy as it sounds as you need to rescue them using the Dino-head shaped tweezers.  Can you feel the pressure?

The boys loved the roaring dinosaur which definitely added to the mood of the moment and nerves and trepidation were rife.  The rescue of the dino babies was obviously a very serious task which I had failed to appreciate.  There were furrowed brows and deep levels of concentration followed by howls of laughter when the Dino “caught” them!  This game was a definite winner in our house and got the thumbs-up all round.

Drumond Park Games have given us two “Dino Bite” games to give away.  Just leave a comment below to say you’d like to enter.  You can earn an extra entry by becoming a Larger Family Life Facebook friend  (leave another comment to say you are now a Facebook Friend) and another extra entry for becoming a Larger Family Life Twitter follower, and one more extra entry for tweeting/blogging/Facebooking about the giveaway and linking back to this post. Leave one separate comment below for each entry method you do.


Two winners will be picked after the closing date of Monday 14^th November.  UK entries only please (US readers, please check back as I'll soon be hosting a giveaway just for you).

Good luck!

The giveaway is now closed.  Please check back tomorrow for winners.


The winners are:


Commenter number 11 - Rachel 


and


Commenter number 3 - My Life and Kids


Congratulations!


Please email me at family@largerfamilylife.com with your name, address and email details so that I can arrange for your prizes to be sent out to you both.

(Drumond Park very kindly sent us “Dino Bite” for reviewing)

 Tweet

Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!