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Bandz Shaped Wristbands
by purplekimmy
My daughter will wear any kind of wrist bands, whether they are made of material, plastic, friendship bracelets etc, I am surprised she has any arms left. I was surprised by these Bandz though, there are many different themes of Bandz I have now found out and I recently bought a few sets for my daughter. Within each theme there are ... different shaped rubber bands, I recently bought
Princess Themed ones that include - a wand, pretty shoe, crown, a castle and a princess
Jungle Themed ones that include - monkey, lizard, toucan, cat of some kind and a frog
Fantast Themed ones that include - phoenix, mermaid, dragon, genie and a fairy
The amazing thing about these bands is one you have them on, they don't really look any different to all the other bands my daughter wears. Once you take them off, they pop back to their original shape, it doesn't matter how long you have them on for either. Being made of rubber they are waterproof and pretty much indestructible really. They are only 99p per bag and they contain around 12 in each packet. They come in pretty colours as well which all kids like, I can see these doing very well and being popular with kids from younger girls to teenagers.
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Tobar Moody Face
by FridaysArePurple
These Moody Faces are can be moulded into all sorts of different shapes but unlike a foam stress ball, they will retain this shape and stay in the position you leave them in. They are basically small balloons filled with flour with a smiley face printed on the front and colourful woollen hair. They can be squashed and stretched and ... pulled and poked and are quite durable (more so than an ordinary balloon would be). For example, mine has survived being thrown against the wall and floor and dropped from a height to satisfy various curiosities too see what shape it would get squished into upon landing. The face can be pinched in the middle to create a nose and on the sides to make ears or you can squash the whole thing completely flat. You get the idea!
My Moody Face is blue but I have also seen red, yellow, green and orange ones available in gift shops and also on the internet. They are also available with a variety of different coloured hair so there are plenty of options to choose from. The one I have has multicoloured hair which I think makes it look much more interesting than the varieties that just have one hair colour. They are ever so slightly smaller than a tennis ball and will fit nicely in your hand. All Moody Faces are packaged in small clear plastic boxes and cost around the £2 mark.
As with any balloon, these don't like coming into contact with sharp objects as this can burst it and the flour will leak out everywhere. So if you have a dog or cat, you should keep it well out of their way as they would very easily puncture the face with teeth or claws. However I like the fact that there is flour inside and nothing more sinister as apart from the mess, this will not create any health scare issues or stain your carpet and is child friendly.
I am not sure how effective these would be when used as a stress ball as the Moody Face does not spring back to its original position after squeezing. You would have to change your hand position and squeeze it in a different way to get the full effect which is probably not as effective as using a normal ball, I'm not sure... In my opinion, the ideal use for them is as novelty gifts for adults or party bag toys for children as they are only cheap but offer some good simple entertainment so for that purpose I will rate it 5 stars but if you are looking for a stress ball, this may not be what you are after.
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Gross Science
by carlz2001uk
My daughter had recently saved up quite a decent chunk of her pocket money and decided she wanted to go splash the cash. She only gets a few pounds a week, topped up by the occasional tooth fairy visit or bits of change given by relatives, so she had done quite well to save £30. She insisted she wanted to go to Toys R Us but we didn't ... have time to make the trip and I told her she would be able to get more for her money if we shopped online. This was a novel experience for her and I was happy she was getting the best value out of her money. I wasn't particularly overjoyed by the choices she made of what she wanted to buy, but hey ho that's part and parcel of being a mum I guess!
At first when I asked her what she would look to start looking for I was quite impressed when she said something science related as she is really enjoying the few basic science lessons they are starting with at school (she is in class 2). When we started searching however, I realised she was opting for the silly science sets (nothing wrong with that at all, the more fun she has the better), but the one she settled upon seemed (maybe wrongly I guess) more aimed at boys, with promises of making snot, edible skin and seeing how farts brew! Yep, she chose the Gross Science kit by John Adams!
Perhaps I was more surprised by the choices that my daughter made than anything. She is more of a princess and dressing up little girl than a farts and snot girl (haha how silly does that sound!) but I guess curiosity intrigued her and made her opt for this particular set.
The set has plenty of activities, 12 in all of completely gross science. It is centred on the human body so gets children thinking about biology in a new way, or perhaps even for the first time. The activities are pretty gross and I must admit that I did wimp out and offer daddy's service while mummy baked cupcakes or something completely mumsy and very girly (while I secretly watched from a distance!).
Activities include:
* how farts brew and see a burp in action (a particularly popular one it would seem)
* what a poo is made from and how one is formed
* make loads of snot and watch it flow uphill
* why scabs and boils form and make your own
* how to make a life-size bouncy eyeball and wobbly brain
* how to make edible skin
The set is definitely hands on and very sticky and gooey, which she absolutely loved. She loved crafting and I guess this was just a different way of her using her imagination. My 4 year wanted absolutely nothing to do with the set however, and left it completely to daddy and my eldest (aged 6).
Without wanting to sound stereotypical, boys will absolutely love this set. My daughter recently was telling our nephews about this who are around 10 and they were so excited about it they asked us to buy one for Christmas for them! It is definitely entertaining for children over quite a wide age range, I would say probably around 6 to maybe 11, and the fact that it is interactive means parents can get involved too.
Unlike some kits, there are things included in the box such as safety goggles, the essential (!) fart putty powder, fake maggots, a model of a stomach, vomit glue, poo moulds (can't believe I just typed that!), brain, finger and eye ball moulds, snot powder and a few items that you may already have such as cotton buds and sponges. There are things that you will need to purchase or may already have in the home such as petroleum jelly, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder etc.
I wouldn't be too happy letting my child carry out these activities without adult supervision, but at the same time, the activities are straight forward enough that they can be child led rather than them just watching an adult do it. The instructions are clear and the extra educational information is informative and interesting for children.
RRP £14.99 (Amazon selling for £13.30 with free delivery).
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