So as my title suggests I got this play set for part of my son's Christmas. He is 2, going on 3, and is quite obsessed with Postman Pat - he'll even say, 'hiya Postman Pat!' whenever we collect parcels from the postman at our door. So when B&M had a 10% off sale very close to Christmas and I spotted this play set I knew I had to get it :).

It was priced at £10 in B&M which is very reasonable given that Amazon are asking £26.48 for it. With the 10% off it cost me £9 so even more of a bargain. I'm glad I bought it when I did as I can't imagine paying almost 30 quid for this! I was further disappointed to learn the set didn't include Postman Pat's trademark red van :(. The packaging was very misleading as to this and it wasn't 100% clear that it didn't include the van - which costs £15+ alone! It does come with a parking space for the van, which is odd, but it's obviously a ploy to get you to buy all the add-ons ;). I think there is a helicopter add-on, too, but I will not be buying this if I'm going to fork out £15 for the blooming van!

The no-van issue aside this is a great play set that my son loves. There are also quite a decent amount of accessories that come along with the set; Postman Pat, Mrs Goggins (the Scottish postmistress of Greendale) and Ben Taylor (General Manager of the Pencaster Sorting Office), three plastic parcels, a parcel trolley, computer desk, two red chairs and a sorting desk. The play set is split into three separate scenes and this is where the '3-in-1' description comes from. There is the Greendale Post Office where Mrs Goggins works, the SDS Sorting Office where the parcels are sorted - and can be moved along on a conveyor belt, which is operated by twisting a - for want of a better word - knob on the back of the set. I've read varied opinions on using this but so far so good with us, it runs smoothly and is easy to twist and operate. My son can also use it quite easily :). The '3' part of the set is the Pencaster Square where Postman Pat's van is parked and ready to deliver parcels. My son mixes and matches different characters and scenes so I'm not sure the 3-in-1 thing works for him quite yet ;).

The highlights of the set are the sorting desk where Mrs Goggins is posed beside on the box as the scales 'work' (though they don't measure or weigh the parcels) for the sake of pretend play and the conveyor belt that works - with the parcels sliding down the sorting slides and into the sorting trolley.

Overall I'd give the set a 4/5 because of the missing van - and the cost of a van. It's a great set but not worth nearly £30, it would be worth trying to pick one up second hand on eBay or looking out for sales where you might be able to buy it as the varying accessories you can buy for this set are expensive (the van is about £15 and the helicopter probably isn't too far behind on price) and I just don't feel it's worth paying almost £30 for when there are superior Postman Pat toys on the market that would be worth forking out for. Practically I like being able to fold up the set as it looks less messy in my living room and it means it can be carried from room to room if my son wanted it in his room to play with. I'm happy with the money I've spent on the set and my son plays with it a lot so its thumbs up all round, just bear the other things I've said.