Anyone who hasn't heard of in the night garden before and is planning on having children they soon will do but a quick insight into the background of where this toy came from. In the night garden is a children's programme on BBC 2 aimed at children from 6 months to four years but in my experience 4 years is a bit optimistic. It is a magical place somewhere between being awake and asleep (dozing) which all children seem to love, Makka Pakka is the smallest of all the characters and sleeps on a little stone bed covered with colourful bedding in a small little cave. Makka pakka loves nothing more than collecting and washing stones and will often be seen washing the faces of the other characters with his soap and sponge.

Like many children my little boy went through a faze of being mad about anything associated with in the night garden, with Makka Pakka being his favourite character by far we knew this was going to be a certain hit on Christmas day, and we were so right his face on Christmas day once he had opened this toy was a picture of pure delight.

so what is all the fuss about well to answer that I really would need to be under 3 years of age but Makka Pakka is certainly a very cute character. If I had to take a guess as to why I thought in the night garden merchandise was so popular I would say that I think it would be because all of the merchandise resembles the television programme so well, the toys are easily recognisable, they sound just as they do on the television, the toys and books are brightly coloured and appeal to children, and for adults I would say that it was because the children get so much enjoyment from all of the merchandise, ok it isn't cheap but I have found that it lasts well and withstands the torture of inquisitive children, All products that I have purchased including books are all easy wipe clean products and entertaining for young children.

The toy itself

Makka pakka is made a lovely soft light brown material and looks identical to the character on the television programme and resembles him in every way. My son has all three of these talking plush characters and true to form Makka Pakka is considerably smaller than the other characters but still a nice size for a small child to carry. Measuring 12" high and being a tubby little chap Makka Pakka is a great toy for children to cuddle up with. He has a very cheery looking face and is thought to be very adorable by children and adults alike.

Makka pakka has a mechanism where his belly button should be that when pressed will real off one of four pre programmed sayings that your child will instantly recognise from the programme, the sayings consist of Makka pakkas name, His theme song, and a couple of quite cute little sayings that your child will hear several times during each episode. Now with Makka Pakka being quite a plump little chap it was quite difficult for my little boy to get his small little hands around the toys waist in order to press the button, but this did not stop him instead he would give makka pakka a big hug and this managed remarkably to activate the sayings in this way, as he got older the pressing of the button was achievable but giving him a hug to activate the sounds just added to the fun of the toy.

Now as with many of children's toys this one is battery operated, great your thinking another large expense with the 101 other battery operated toys your little one has got they seem to get through batteries as quick as anything, but and there is a but I found that this toy has a great battery life. Having had this toy nearly a year now it still has the same batteries as the ones it came with. The toy was used all the time at the beginning and throughout the first four months or so, moderate play for the following 3 months and now occasional play for the last 3 months I can't complain at all as the novelty has stared to wear off although he still brings much joy when he is out being played with.

The toy itself is recommended for 18 months + I believe this is purely down to the fact that you have to push the mechanism in the tummy to activate the phrases. I found at 23 months my little one had problems activating it with his little hands as I mentioned earlier, and my friends little girl also had the same problem as im sure many other people have found but this doesn't spoil the excitement at all if you can get them to activate the phrases by hugging the toy as my little one did they will not know any different. If your child is much older than this the probability of them getting board with it within a couple of months is probably inevitable as a lot of reviews on other in the night garden products have commented on how after 2 years of age in the night garden is no longer a favourite of their Childs although this is not the case with all merchandise the books seem to have a longer life span. For children under the age of 18 months I do not think that this toy poses any danger to little ones as I said before I believe that it is just down to the workings of the toy and not the fact that it has any small parts as far as I can see, In fact if I am lucky enough to have another little one in the future I would not hesitate to give this to them at a much younger age as a teddy with me pushing the tummy on occasion, activating this themselves will be another feature they can learn and explore as they get older, but this is just my opinion and it is up to the individual parents to make their own decision.

The toy encourages roll play very well in my opinion and I have found helps develop my little boys memory, Hayden would often recreate scenarios that he has seen on television with his three figures and would remember all the dances that each little character has. I found this amazing and a real I've been framed moment as every time Makka Pakkas song came on he would remember all moves and tapping his bum and his legs like makka pakka it was truly hilarious and used to entertain everyone for hours.

so my opinion, This toy was bought as a gift for my little boy last Christmas while on sale at Argos for £18.00 reduced from £20.00, (they can now be bought in many stores prices may vary as I have seen them on Amazon for £18.00, Argos for £16.99, and £9.99 in toys r us just to name a few so may pay to shop around if you are considering buying one). It is defiantly worth the £18.00 his Nan paid and I would have even paid the £20.00 retail price if the offer hadn't been on purely because it was what my little boy wanted for Christmas. So after he has played with it for the last 9/10 months has my opinion changed? No my opinion hasn't changed. It is a very cute little toy it still looks as good today as it did the when the toy was first opened, it provides many hours of fun, encourages roll play and imagination and wears very well. The toy itself isn't machine washable but don't think that it would hurt to sponge it down with a damp cloth if needed (touch wood I have not needed to yet).