A fuzzy feeling from playing with this (Flair Feltastic Peppa Pig)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Flair Feltastic Peppa Pig
Date:	27/06/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: uses imagination

Disadvantages: pieces can get lost

My daughter is a Peppa Pig fan and was delighted when she got the fuzzy felt set for her birthday.
I had been looking into getting some fuzzy felts but was unsure of whether my two year old would be able to play with them in a good way, or whether she was still too young.

The feltastic set comes with a hard backed board and plenty of different Peppa Pig shapes and accessories felt shapes in all different sizes. There is plenty to be able to create loads of different scenes over and over again without getting bored.
All of this comes packaged in a clear plastic carry case that does up with poppers and has a handle at the top for children to carry around. I thought this was a lovely touch to the design as my daughter is able to get the case when she wants to play and carry them through to the lounge before opening the packet.
The flaw to the design here is that with young children, I could see the carry case being ripped from the sides if the child was too eager to open the case. It's designed in a way that is looks strong, but the edges would weaken very quickly with misuse.

The board itself is fairly large for a two year old to carry about on it's own, and is surprisingly heavy, which is a good thing from a parent view as it shows it's going to last. There is felt in blue that covers over half the board, and a patch of green material that isn't felt which the shapes don't stick to. This is designed to look like the hill that Peppa lives on with the blue being the sky.
The back is covered with clever advertising of other feltastic products. This is a good sly way of hiding the material covering the board as well as serving a double purpose for the manufacturers.

When it comes to playing with the shapes, anyone who has ever had fuzzy felts before will understand how they grip to the background and peel away easily. It's a great way for a reusable picture scene instead of using something like stickers that have limited life.
There are many different shapes including all the pig family, as well as a car, house, kites, balls, clouds, etc.
I usually sit with my daughter to create a scene and suggest different shapes for her to find and stick on the board. This opens up a whole new story telling opportunity and encourages her to pick out different colours and shapes.
The possibilities really are endless with this toy, and I think as the child gets older, their imaginations will take over and they can create their own stories and scenes.

From playing with this toy over and over again, I can see how easy it could be for the felts to get lost, especially in the hands of a young toddler, so for under threes I would suggest supervision, but they felts appear to be made well, and are lasting well against the frustrations of pulling off the board and throwing around. They really won't break or pull apart easily so as long as it's looked after the whole product should last for a few years.

As a parent, I am really pleased with the fuzzy felts. After research I found that they cost around £4.99 which is a bargain price for such an imaginative toy.

Summary: a great interactive toy