Top ideas for a fun playroom

This Spring we were invited by Bright Minds to review the Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore. This is a complete kit which contains everything you need to raise your own butterflies - including a voucher to send away for live caterpillars when you are ready to begin. 

Because you raise real live animals, you can only use the kit in Spring and early Summer - which is when the butterflies (Painted Ladies) hatch.

We've always been a family that enjoys science, and once the kids get a bit older, Science Mad! caters for the more mature junior scientist, taking things up a notch and using equipment like real glass, fire and chemicals, and language that they'll hear in secondary school.

We've been sent the Chemistry Lab and Planetarium Star Globe for review, and I have a UK giveaway for one of my personal favourites - the Crystal Growing Lab. 

The Science Mad! Chemistry Lab is not a new addition to our house, we actually bought this exact set ourselves a couple of years ago. It's great to see the manufacturer has swapped out the plastic insert for cardboard - nice one.

The set is suitable for age 10+ and it contains a real spirit burner, which runs on methylated spirit. It's illegal to include it in the set, so you will have to get it separately - but you can buy methylated spirits cheaply all over the place (supermarkets, homeware or decorating shops, including Wilkos). It has a million uses, although we tend to use more pleasant-smelling products to clean things nowadays. All you'll need beyond this are commonplace items like vinegar, salt and turmeric. 

Akedo - Ultimate Arcade Warriors are the brand new battling collectible from Moose Toys, and tie in with the animated series on Nickelodeon. We've been sent 3 of the new product range to review, and it's been a lot of fun all round! These little retro Arcade Warrior action figures have a built-in 'realistic battling action', at a micro collectible scale, and they're really easy to play with too, thanks to the clever, battery-free control system.

The packaging does have a lot of single-use plastic, but it's at least very easy to open (you'll find it easier with scissors for some of the ties) and there are no batteries required - so you can play straightaway. 

We've been sent:
Single Pack (£4.99) - 1x Akedo Warrior, 1x Trigger Controller
Versus Pack (£9.99) - 2x Akedo Warriors (one of which is an"Epic" Warrior), 2x Trigger Controllers
Starter Pack (£14.99) This special pack has everything you need to train warriors and play the official tournament rules of Akedo - 3x Akedo Warriors, 1x Joystick Controller, 1x Training Accessory
There are rules/instructions for play and a collectors guide inside each pack, so you can drool over your favourites, and work out which sets you'll find them in.

Geomag is excellent stuff. It's one of my favourite construction STEM toys, it's been around for ages and now it's even better - in 100% recycled plastic. Construction toys have always been popular in my house, as as science, and Geomag fits into both of those categories. Their magnetic construction system is strictly suitable for children aged 5 and over, and there's still plenty of fun to be had if you are a little older than that...

We've been sent the 52 piece Geomag Super Color Panels Magnetic Construction Set for review. 

I was incredibly impressed as soon as I saw the box. It does clip shut for future use, there's no tape, no single use plastic. Best of, and pure genius - 2 small storage boxes are included to keep your magnets safe. There is also a resealable plastic bag for the other pieces. 

The packaging is 61% recycled, and the plastic is 100% recycled. It's awesome. I'm so impressed. This is the future - the sustainable future for our children. 

Funko are really well known for their 'Funko Pops', but that's only part of the story, They also make a range of games, and we've been sent some to review. 

We've been sent Mickey And Friends and Toy Story Something Wild! games (age 6+, 2-4 players), and 2 of the Marvel Battleworld Battle Balls (age 6+)... 

This Autumn Hexbug have some new products, including Hexbug Flash Nano - and we've been sent the Orbit set to review. New Hexbug are always welcome here, they're very well played with. Suitable for age 3+, the Orbit opens up a new world for familiar Hexbug Nano bots, and the brand new super-sized Flash Nano Bot...

The Hexbug Flash Nano Orbit Set (£12.50rrp) is a great 14 piece set with 6 walls, 6 joints and 2 bots - 1 regular Hexbug Nano and 1 new Flash Nano. The Flash Nano Bot is really big, really fast, and lights up, so it is a bit special. If you haven't seen Hexbugs before, they are small powered robots with plastic legs, and they vibrate in such a way that they run about like little robotic bugs. 

Packaging is very much card, with a small amount of plastic, and it's great to see that Hexbug are making that change. You can pop the window out and use the box for storage afterwards. 

A lot of online vendors have had to close shop for a while, and obviously we don't have instore shopping right now, but The Essential One are still open for business online. They sell all kinds of products for babies and children, and have sent us two of the toys for bigger kids from the Discovery Mindblown STEM range.

I've already covered the Toy Anatomy 4D Shark. Age 6+ and here is the Discovery Mindblown Toy DIY Robotic Arm with Hydraulics. Age 10+.


We've never created anything using hydraulics before, so this was an entirely new concept for my 11 and 10 year old boys. We also have our 22 year old engineering student here, so he helped. This is a 176 piece kit, and it's a challenge to a young engineer.


The parts are mainly on sprue, and you'll do a better job if you use scissors or snips. You'll need your own basic tools, but they are things you'd tend to have at home - scissors, tape, ruler, screwdriver etc.

While a lot of online vendors have had to close shop for a while, The Essential One are still open for business and have a lot to offer, even if your children are a bit older. They have sent us two of the toys for bigger kids from the Discovery Mindblown STEM range. This is The Discovery Toy Anatomy 4D Shark. Age 6+


My son was ecstatic to see this. He loves sharks and anatomy, and so it is perfect for him. There is a big plastic insert in the box, and we aren't going to keep ours - this is a shelf model my son wants to display.


Inside the box are all the parts of your shark, and be careful not to miss any because a couple are very small. There are 20 parts in all, and they are really well decorated and nicely shaped from rubbery plastic. It is really nicely made.

This March sees the launch of a brand new range of Dragon Ball toys and Bandai have sent my boys some to have a play with. Suitable for age 4+ (blind bags 6+), the range includes blind bag miniatures, highly posable figures and super-sized Limit Breaker figures.

We've been sent Piccolo (Cape Version) and Krillin Dragon Stars figures, Super Saiyan Goku Limit Breaker and 2 x blind bag Super Collectibles.

The Good Toy Guide is brought to us by Fundamentally Children, who I'm working with again this year to promote the 2019 Christmas Good Toy Guide. They promote toys that teach your child the skills they'll need as they grow. Toys which make your child think, explore, problem-solve and develop motor skills like hand-strength or dexterity. The sort of toys I really like.

The special edition Christmas Good Toy Guide 2019 is out now and is free for anyone to read online,  plus 65000 paper copies are also being distributed around the UK.


Fundamentally Children and the Good Toy Guide don't sell toys, so included in the guide are over 50 toys which have been tested and specially chosen to be included based entirely on merit. Each toy is clearly rated for Fun, Skills Development and Ease of Use.

The So MAGIC DIY range from Canal Toys is bright and colourful with interesting things to grow and build. We were sent the Wonder Magic Garden for review a while ago and it's been incredibly well-used here - by everyone.

It seems a Zen Garden is a relaxing and tranquil thing whatever your age, so I'm delighted that Canal Toys are giving one of you a Wonder Magic Garden as a Christmas Present.


There are lots of different features, but your garden has 4 different sections and plenty of coloured sand to pick and choose how you fill them. There is also a putty-type slime to fill your pond area of the garden.

Maisto are a very well-known manufacturer of all kinds of small scale wheeled toys and collectibles. Die cast models, remote control vehicles and fantastic car tracks are just some of the Maisto items we've owned over the years and last month Tobar sent us their Angry Birds Island Challenge Slot Car Racing Set to review...


Everything arrives in a sturdy box and there is very little plastic packaging - nice one. You will need a whopping 8 x AA batteries to power your track, plus a small Phillips screwdriver, but it is Christmas morning-friendly otherwise and you can be playing in 5 minutes.


Inside the box you have 2.27m of track as 1 straight, 6 small curves, 4 large curves and battery section, plus 2 controllers, 2 vehicles, 6 adjustable track supports and 2 pieces of guard rail plus fastenings. There are also spare Guide Keel's for the underside of the cars (the bit that drops into the slot and keeps them on the track).

Bizarrely we haven't really had a go with 3D pens before, so we were complete amateurs when we received the 3Doodler Start 3D Printing Pen for review. This is a beginners set suitable for children aged 6+, with everything you need to learn how to write in 3D, and complete some small projects...


Inside the box are the 3Doodler Start Printing Pen, USB charging cable, instruction booklet, 'How-to' Activity Guide and 2 packs of biodegradable eco-plastic refill filaments (48 strands in 8 colours). There's a big plastic insert which I'd like to see replaced by card in the future.


The 3Doodler Pen is wireless, which is so much easier for children especially. It charges pretty quickly and lasts a fair while, at a guess it's 90 minutes / 20 minutes. I've been caught out with how quickly it's charged each time so far. It has a clear green LED to show whether it's active / inactive, and charging / fully charged.

There is an on / off switch and just 1 control button - it couldn't be simpler to use.

Spinmaster's Hatching Dragon arrives as a gorgeous interactive egg and pretty soon hatches into Toothless, from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. We've been sent him to review and he's been a definite hit. Cute, but no too cute...


The packaging does include some single use plastic, but is mainly card and more minimal than I found with toys even this time last year.

One Dear World are a company I approached because I love their ethos. They create dolls that genuinely represent a diverse range of children - boys and girls from different backgrounds, with different skin tones and hair colours, and One Dear World are also crowd-funding to extend the range to include dolls with disabilities.

We've been sent a doll for review and one of the Fair Trade handmade outfits, which I'll be passing on to a little girl who I know will really appreciate it...


Our doll is Hearty Hope, and her backstory is that she was born in Accra, Ghana and moved to London with her parents. The packaging is mostly unbleached card and she comes with her own little passport. She's 32cm tall and not heavy to hold.


She has beautiful curly hair and dark skin, and when she arrived was wearing a really pretty embroidered white sundress - with bloomers underneath to protect her modesty! The clothes are removable and it was really easy to change Hope.