Feb 21 2016

REVIEW: Twirlywoos Run Along Toys from Golden Bear Toys

Posted on February 21, 2016 by admin

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Heidi is the world’s more foremost authority on Twirlywoos. She’s has an insatiable appetite for her birdy buddies and will watch episode after episode with rapt attention. If I sing over the theme tune I get looks that could kill, and she won’t sleep unless Toodloo, Great BigHoo, Chickedy and Chick are lined up alongside her in bed. It’s a love that I’m happy to encourage as *popping on my parent hat* I endorse the educational aspect of the show and Heidi’s response to it is just so incredibly sweet and endearing - better to pop this on than have her explore my make-up bag right?

Earlier in the year we were lucky enough to get a first look at Golden Bear’s range of Talking Twirlywoos Plushes and we’re now equally overjoyed to bring you a review of their brand new Twirlywoos Run Along Toys.

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Fans of the show will be very used to seeing the Twirlywoos dash around onscreen. Invisible to the human eye, they’re always scurrying out of sight when someone notices strange goings-on thanks to the cheeky foursome. In response to this, Golden Bear Toys have now released Run-Along versions of their awesome plushes, with all the usual trademark squeals and familiar sounds from the show.

We welcomed Run-Along Chickedy last week and she’s been a real hit with both children. Standing tall at some 23cm she’s bigger than the standard plushes and is every inch the cheeky birdy Heidi is so fond of. Just press on the her right hand and she’ll come to life, running and chit-chatting. The button is super easy to press and Heidi (at 20 months) had it mastered in seconds.

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Each Twirlywoos character is made from a super soft colourful plush. Their “tufts” are made from soft felt, with polished plastic plastic eyes. The battery pack is squared away inside their tummies and accessible via a velcro opening at the back of the toy. Owing to the fact the Twirlywoos have big squidgy bums and bellies they’re still super cuddly for nighttime snuggles.

I was also pleased to see they came with batteries already installed so you can rip them out of the box and play straight away. To access the battery pack you’ll also need a screwdriver so they’re uber safe for little ones to play with independently. Promoting active play, Heidi & Dexter have had lots of fun mimicking the trademark run with flailing arms - I’ll pop a video of this online when poor Heidi is snotless and feeling better.

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The box advises Chickedy works better on flat surfaces such as laminate rather than carpet and I have to agree. That said, the children are just as inclined to set him off on carpet to see him fall over - what can I say? - they’re sadistic little things.

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If you’re yet to watch the Twirlywoos it’s on every weekday at 09.35 (& repeated at 13:35) on CBeebies. Combining stop-frame animation and live action sequences set in the real world, the lovable foursome have adventures both on and off their boat. In each episode they’ll explore a different age-appropriate concept such as ‘over’, ‘underneath’ and ‘through’, helping your little one gain a better understanding of the world around them. It’s very clever and boasts a seriously catchy theme tune to boot.

For more reviews, pictures and video - check out the #RunAlong hashtag on social media, or follow Golden Bear on…

Facebook: @GoldenBearToys / Twitter: @GoldenBearToys / Instagram: @GoldenBearToys

You can buy yours from GoldenBearToys.com, as well as all your usual highstreet toy shops, for a very reasonable £19.99

Oct 27 2015

REVIEW: My First Forever Friends Bedtime Lightshow

Posted on October 27, 2015 by admin

Not wanting to give too much away, I was born at some point in the 80s. This means I grew up in the 90s when Forever Friends were the face of Hallmark Cards. Every birthday you’d get something from your friends & family featuring the iconic bear - soft toys, pencil cases, mugs… they were everywhere! In fact, a little bit of trivia for you - the bear was created by Deborah Jones and Andrew Brownsword and the pair worked in a flat above a Chinese takeaway in my hometown in Reading - just a few streets down from where I sit now.

Well, having had a something of a makeover, Forever Friends is back! Even better, the lovable bear is also now accessible to a younger audience thanks to the new nursery range by Golden Bear Toys (the character toy specialists behind the In the Night Garden and Twirlywoos toys that will feature on thousands of preschooler’s Christmas lists this year).

Pictured: Forever Friends Snuggle Blankie £9.99 / Forever Friends Musical Softie £19.99 / Forever Friends Attachable Jingler £6.99 / Forever Friends Squeaker £5.99 / Forever Friends Chime Bear £12.99

Heidi was sent a very charming Forever Friends Bedtime Lightshow to check out. I was really excited to see her reaction as Heidi is a very troubled sleeper. She suffers from persistent day & night terrors, and is currently battling a chest infection that is making things far worse. She only averages around 3 hours of sleep in half hour intervals per night, so it’s safe to say Craig and I aren’t getting much rest! Anything that allows her to self-soothe in the night is a real bonus as she’ll ordinarily rely on us to rock her back to sleep after each terror episode.

The My First Forever Friends Bedtime Lightshow is a starry nightlight with built in lullabies to calm baby at bedtime. Sitting at 25cm high, it’s reassuringly big so little hands can seek it out at night, and the buttons are also large and easy to press. Despite the hard shell interface, it’s suitable from birth and it’s perfectly safe to live in your baby’s cot.

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The lightshow projects stars and moons in calming red, orange or gold hues onto the walls and ceiling. This is suitably powerful so as to be effective, however if you leave an overhead light on at night, we’ve found the red colour shows up best. As with all projector lights, you’ll also want to position the light centrally in a room for best effect which can be tricky if you have your cot positioned against a wall. That said, this light has calmed an emotional Heidi when she simply wants a little reassurance.

I also love the lullabies. These are short enough to not cause a headache when activated at 1am, 2am, 3am (told you Heidi was bad!) but long enough to calm Heidi mid-terror. Familiar music is great way to diffuse a tantrum and helps Heidi snap back to the present when in a dream state. Lullabies include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Brahms Lullaby. and (thankfully) there’s volume control settings which is a welcome feature so often overlooked on other nightlights. Funnily enough, for such a small bear, he can be extraordinarily noisy so you’ll want to keep this on a mid-level if you don’t want a disco in your baby’s cot.

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There’s also a very sweet baby-safe photo holder on the bear’s foot which can be personalised with pictures of mum and dad, or whomever else baby is fond of. We haven’t actually added our faces yet but will do. I particularly like this idea for foster babies or adoptees who are in the early stages of settling with new families.

A perfect new baby gift, this nightlight is available to buy from Argos at £29.99 with free delivery. This is top end for a nightlight but you’ll be getting not only a nightlight but sleeptime companion that will grow with your baby well into toddlerhood. We love ours and it’s been a major success with our little sleep thief.

To check out the rest of the range head to goldenbeartoys.com

Facebook : Facebook.com/GoldenBearToys

Twitter: @GoldenBearToys and @FFofficialbear

Instagram: @GoldenBearToys

Aug 3 2015

Brand New Twirlywoos Talking Toys from Golden Bear

Posted on August 3, 2015 by admin

If the Twirlywoos aren’t household names in your home yet, they soon will be.

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Yep, the very latest show from the Masters of Preschool TV CBeebies, is seriously catchy stuff. Created by Anne Wood, they follow in some pretty big footsteps (In the Night Garden, Teletubbies) and feature some equally some engaging characters.

Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy and Chick are “sort of” birds who love to learn. Alongside the very loveable Peekaboo (a sea urchin), each episode they leave their home “the big red boat” to explore a theme such as ‘out’, ‘up’ or ‘down’.

Four years in the making and launched in February this year, this is slick children’s television. “The characters know less than the children do so that gives them a feeling of confidence in their own learning” says Anne Wood, and the action is a curious mix of stop-frame animation and live action sequences set in the real world, to encourage an understanding of the world around them. At 15 months & 3 years, it’s perfectly paced for Heidi and Dex and is now a firm Mills family favorite in its daily slots of 09:35 & 13:35 on CBeebies.

To top it all off, there’s a seriously catchy theme tune that you won’t be getting out of your head anytime soon…

Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy and Chick, and Peekaboo have been faithfully recreated by Golden Bear Toys. These are the same guys that brought us the INTG toys thousands of our children snuggle up to at night, so you’re assured of high quality baby-friendly toys that can withstand some serious preschooler-loving. Suitable for children over 10 months, there’s no hard seams, beautifully soft material and each character will sing their signature phrases when their tummies are pressed.

Perfectly proportioned to complement the show, Great BigHoo sits some 30cm high, with Toodloo 25cm, and Chickedy and Chick around 19cm. They’re clutchable around the neck for smaller hands, and sit upright with ease when accompanying your child to bed, on travels or for snuggling up and watching the show.

I’ve popped a mini unboxing vid for you can see these guys in action. If you can (somehow) look past my chin & obvious excitement (thanks Craig - good job…) I’ll walk you through the key features & you can see the kids reaction to them…

Reasonably priced to boot with the largest toy (Great BigHoo) at just £16.99, they’ll make the perfect pressie for your little adventurer this Christmas (don’t all throw things at me at once, we are now 4 paydays away!).