With the appalling weather we've had so far this summer (give or take a sunny day or two) it's hardly surprising that I've not really bought many summery clothes for the kids yet, but it was still quite a surprise to find that Asda had a pretty extensive stock of wellies in in June - it must have been wetter than I had even imagined as at this time of year the shelves are usually given over to sandals and flip flops!

Anyway, wellies it was. Hollie had outgrown her previous pair at what should have been the end of winter, but as the rain pelted down in Birmingham I decided to buy her a pair as just like her hero (Peppa Pig) Hollie loves to jump in muddy puddles. Goddam you Peppa Pig for encouraging this behaviour! Asda had a range of wellies in which were all the same style but with different colours, and as they were priced at just £4 a pair I decided to buy two pairs for her - one in the Jade green colour she favoured and the other in the pink you can see above, which I preferred.

Hollie's are in the children's size nine and are a little too big, this is easily solved by popping her an extra pair of socks on though and to be honest even without doing this they don't slip around too much on her feet as the foot portion of the welly is so well shaped without being overly wide. They slip on and off easily at the correct times but while she's jumping in those pesky puddles they stay close to her feet and I can see that she's comfortable in them. The tops are very wide so if she's being too vigourous with her jumping activities they let a lot of water in, causing her to come in complaining after a while that she has wet feet - of course, the obvious solution (ie. not jumping in the water) is not to her satisfaction...

The wellies themselves are very waterproof so she doesn't get soggy socks simply by walking through the rain while wearing them, the extra width allows me to tuck her trousers in but this can be a double edged sword as they're so wide that they'll often just pop back out after a few steps. I've sorted this out by tucking them into her socks inside the wellies but this isn't ideal as it can make her uncomfortable at times - obviously this isn't a huge issue due to the very cheap price of the wellies but if you're the kind of parent who likes to keep their children's clothing as dry as possible during a walk in the rain then these might not be the Wellington boots for you!

The sole is very good; thick and rubbery with deeper grips than I thought there would be based on the price (cheaper kids' wellies being notorious for lack of grippiness), Hollie hasn't worn hers in icy weather yet obviously but I can tell they'll be reasonably good at keeping her upright when the winter comes. The inner sole is part of the actual boot (ie. no flappy strip of sole to come unattached and curl up under her feet) and while not particularly soft or padded the natural softness of the rubber keeps her comfortable even if she's doing a good bit of walking in them.

These wellies have no character motif or endorsement on them, which partly explains why they are so cheap to buy. The colours are all bright and cheerful however so this will appeal to small children almost as much as if their favourite character were peeking out at them - she obviously would prefer to still be wearing her Peppa Pig wellies but she grew out of those last year, and with a price difference of almost a tenner I'm glad she's so pleased with these Asda ones!