#silentsunday

Last Minute Christmas toys

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DAY TILL CHRISTMAS

So, it’s just one more day till Christmas, are you excited?

Today is literally your last chance to shop!

For those of you, who still have one or two more gifts to buy, here’s a little inspiration.

Something for the toddlers

Octonauts Gup B-Vehicle with Kwazii & shark playset

This fabulous bath toy sent to my Little Harley to test by Argos, is the perfect toddler playset.

This toy is so super that you can even find it in the Argos ‘Fab 15’ (Top toys for Christmas).

If like me you have no clue what Octonauts even is, it’s a new CBeebies undersea animation that little CBeebies fans seem to love.

Strangely, on presenting the toy to Harley he shouted out “Kwazii… Wow” to which I didn’t have the slightest idea what he was talking about!

You see, I’ve never come across the series which is a tad weird considering CBeebies is daily viewing in our house, I guess I had never took notice of it! When It came on a few days later, it was only then I connected the two. Harley however seems to love Octonauts and is fully aware what it is, making this a pretty awesome choice of toy to review.

My, now 2-year-old has always been something of a water baby, so the fact this is also a bath toy makes it that bit more special!

The Octonauts set can be played with in and out the bath, just put Kwazii in the driver’s seat by opening the clear dome and your ready to go! On dry land the Gup B Vehicle can zoom about the floor with the use of it’s wheels or take it in the bath and treat it like a submarine. By pushing the Gup B’s fin its Jaws open and close and Harley just loves pretending that it’s eating all of his other toys, just yesterday I discovered Bob the builders legs hanging out of its mouth. This feature also works really well in the water and when pushing the fin Gup B chomps and squirts water everywhere (very delightful). If this wasn’t enough to amuse my little fellow, the set also comes with a small grey shark with rod that once in water, changes colour.

Harley really has had lots of fun playing with the Octonauts playset! Argos stock a whole host of Octonaut toys and considering how much of a fan Harley is of his current set, I’ve brought him a few others for Christmas.

Parental perspective

A well made, great value play set with lots of playability. Harley never seems to get board of playing with it and it’s joined him for each and every bath his had since he received it some weeks back. The set comes with an age recommendation of 3 years, Harley is 2 but plays with it without any problems whatsoever (note the rod & shark are a little small so may not be ideal for the child who enjoys chomping on their toys).

The set consists of a reasonably sized Gup B vehicle with Kwazii figure and colour changing shark.

It’s my opinion that the picture in the catalogue and that of the one on the internet doesn’t do this toy much justice! It’s much bigger than I expected, which is a good thing! It came well packaged but was a breeze to free from it’s packaging which is always a bonus (if you’re like me and hate all them twisted wires and overload of tape you’ll love how easy this one is to set free).

Priced at £13.99 I’d go as far as branding this toy a true bargain and would highly recommend it.
A deserved 5***** stars are awarded.

To view or get one for your tiny tot just click HERE

Something for the girls

Barbie Puppy water park playset

Alice was overjoyed at discovering Argos had sent her a Barbie puppy water park to review (another toy listed as one of Argos fab fifteen). This nice sized set comes complete with Barbie, her 2 puppies and a fabulous water park for them all to enjoy.

I have to admit my first thought was, “Great, my floors are going to get soaked” it’s not that this is a massive toy that holds a great deal of water, it’s just that my daughter always seems to soak her entire surroundings if she doesn’t play with this kind of thing in the bathroom! Well, I need not have worried as when she wasn’t stuck in the bath playing with this for hours on end while wrinkling up like a prawn, Alice laid down her big beach towel on the floor and just about managed not to soak a thing!

Alice’s thoughts

Alice told me she really likes her new Barbie and puppies when asked what things made it great she stated that the waterslide was lots of fun and she wishes she could ride one the same in real life (looks like we’ll be heading to the swimming baths following Christmas)! Other things she commented on was Barbie’s lovely swim wear and all the accessories that come with it.
Alice gave it a 4 star rating out of the possible 5

Parental perspective

The set includes a fair bit so isn’t badly priced, the doll is nicely made and doesn’t feel cheap and plastic. Alice-Sara is forever taking her Barbies in the bath and sometimes we end up with a good 20 Barbies draining in the sink following her bath time so this was a good edition. I’m pleased Alice likes this set as I often worry that she’s going to lose interest in dolls, she’s 8 years of age and will be 9 next month, yet at the moment fashion dolls such as Barbie, Moxie and her all time favourite “Monsters high” all seem to remain at the top of her wish list.

From a parents perspective I award this one with 4 stars.

Barbie Puppy water park playset is priced at £24.99 but can currently be purchased from Argos at a reduced price of £22.49.

To view or buy click HERE

Lastly, a huge thank you to Argos for being a fantastic brand to work with this year.

Merry Christmas to everyone

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