For my sons first birthday I threw him a party and saw a portable bubble machine in Tesco that I thought would be perfect for the little ones.

Last time I checked it was £8 (and it has possibly been discontinued now) but I'm sure when I brought it it was a few pounds more. The machine itself is about the size of a loaf of bread and needs six AA batteries which are secured with a screw -Annoying for parents with impatient children but it keeps everything safe so it's worth it. Plus it saves on having to plug it in, you can move it easily.

The one I have is green, blue and yellow with a handle on the top so you can carry it easily. If I remember correctly it was available in other colour variations too. It also comes with two bottles of bubble solution which I was quite impressed with. Basically you pour the bubble solution into the front of the machine and you're ready to go. The machine blows a constant stream of air while a motorized wheel, which holds a number of bubble wands, rotates and dips into the solution. As the wheel gets higher, the air hits the wand and bubbles are blown out and up. Because there are quite a few wands it means that you get hundreds of bubbles which just keep coming! It's great!

The machine is for children aged 3 years and over so in this case the adults were in charge as there were children a lot younger at the party. Saying that I don't think I would feel that comfortable letting a 3 year old control the bubble machine as the front section - where the bubbles are blown out of- is very open and the solution can easily spill out if tilted too much.

My bubble machine did a fantastic job on the day. We put it on top of a small bookcase so it was out of reach of the children, pressed on and left them to it. All the kids loved it, jumping around in them or - in the case of the much smaller children- just staring and pointing and clapping. A hit with everyone.

The solution lasts quite a long time. It was a good while before I attempted to turn it off and try a different activity but the bubbles kept coming and the kids wanted it kept on.

There aren't many things I don't like about this machine. The first is that the fan that obviously blows the bubbles is quite loud. You couldn't have it in a corner and leave it unnoticed because it makes such a noise. However, for the purpose of entertaining children this wasn't a problem. The second is that because the solution lasts for so long there is often some left in the bottom which dries up. Because the front compartment is open it can get very dusty quickly, so whether you rinse it out after use or not it's still gunky next time. Again, not a massive problem, it just means a quick rinse before you use it again but maybe if it had a cover for when it's not in use then you could save on bubble solution AND keep it clean.

Overall I think it is great value for money. It works well, produces thousands of good sized bubbles and keeps the kids entertained.