15,000 reasons to play indoors (Hama Beads)

Member Name: moo2moo

Product:	Hama Beads
Date:	08/09/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, fairly cheap, encourages creativity

Disadvantages: Shaped peg boards are expensive

The simplest toys are usually the best and as value for money goes you really don't get much more value for your money than this. Ok so they're just tiny blobs of coloured plastic with a hole in the centre but the genius lies in their simplicity. Put them on a Hama peg board one at a time in any colour combination you like, place the special (and very expensive) Hama ironing paper over the top and iron until melted. Voila one finished masterpiece.

To make things extra interesting Hama have produced hundreds of different shapes pegboards covering just about every animal you can think of, people, vehicles, hearts, circles and if thats not enough they also market large squares which can be inter-connected to make even bigger shapes. The only limit is your imagination and to give that a kick start theres a huge range of Inspiration booklets available covering everything from Christmas tree decorations to wedding gifts and hundreds of other things you wouldn't have thought of.

The bigger your pegboard the harder it is to iron. As you move the iron a mini ripple occurs and the beads tend to bounce, particularly over the joint between two boards, so its best to do this on a hard surface rather than a padded ironing board to minimise tears and accusations of having ruined whatever technicolour masterpiece the little darling in your life has spent hours creating.

On a rainy day Hama Beads keep children amused for hours. The downside is they get absolutely everywhere.

Theres a chunky Maxi version available for small children and a mini version for the uber talented with incredibly good eyesight, although you'll need tweezers and a very steady hand to use those.

Summary: Endless fun for children of all ages