Yes that’s right. Craig. As in my long-suffering other half. As in Heidi’s & Dexter’s daddy.

… As in the worst present-buyer in the world.

Oh believe me I’ve had some right tat off this man. I used to hate feigning excitement over some of his gifts when birthdays and Christmases rolled around. In fact, I barely managed it.

There was the time he bought me a glow in the dark bodysuit (I believe this was some sort of dig at me for taking up too much room in bed)… or the time he bought me a book on spiders so I could better identify the breeds that have dared enter our home (this is in reference to the fact that I’ll swear any spider with a big backside is deadly, and therefore out to kill me).

So when I heard Wicked Uncle were challenging particularly inept people to road test their toy site to find A grade pressies for girls and boys everywhere, I couldn’t resist. Craig still mistakenly thinks Heidi still likes Frozen (that was sooo last year daddy!) so, despite having children, he is still the perfect specimen for this little experiment.

He was challenged to buy for:

His mission:

To spend £40 on Wicked Uncle and buy Heidi and Dex something exciting. Luckily for him, Wicked Uncle is a website filled with fabulous, fun-filled things for the fussiest of children – with handy filters enabling him to sort toys by age, personality, gender, or a mixture of the three. We weren’t allowed an input, he was left to his own devices to peruse hundreds of toys and find something awesome.

Craig’s feedback:

I’m no blogger like Gem, but I thought I’d share a few words about the site. The homepage has like a zillion ways to filter products, and a handful of bestsellers to entice you. You can see straight away this is a site for the uninitiated; those who are clueless about kids.

It was good to see a mix of educational toys and those you don’t see lining the shelves of some of the bigger toy shops on the high-street. Those places are an instant headache, and if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you can waste some serious time gift-buying for kids. Gem often tasks me with buying toys for Dexter’s school mates and I’m in there for what seems like hours scratching my head. This was like a breath of fresh air.

It wasn’t hard to edit your basket, the payment screen wasn’t clunky, and you have a option to pay via PayPal or card - my kind of site.

So what did he buy???

What did they think?

Well any opportunity to “be like Daddy” is greeted by enthusiasm bordering on delirium. Complete with driving & sat nav sound-effects, this clever interactive sat nav device is perfect for 3-6 year olds. Whereas the younger contingent will be happy simply bashing buttons and ragging the steering wheel, there’s plenty more to this nifty toy.

There are flashing lights and indicators with left & right recognition, 72 spoken instructions from ‘drive straight on’ to ‘turn left at the crossroads’ and you can plug a few different destinations into the sat nav including home, the supermarket, petrol station or the doctor’s surgery. It also has a variety of sounds including gear-changing, braking, horn and revving engine - with a volume control so as not to drive mum and dad mad.

The bubble factory is also lots of fun and perfect for sunny days in the garden. It saves me having to blow them myself in this heat and it created some whopping big ones that the kids took great pleasure in popping. It comes with the liquid, but you will need to invest in 4 x 1.5V size C batteries to operate the motor.

I can’t help but think Craig cheated slightly with this though as a few of my friends have bought these for their child’s disco parties so he already knew it would be a hit!

Heidi also loved her little torch and projector. Funnily enough this was my favourite toy as it took me right back to my childhood. The beam is nice and bright and perfect for lighting the way to the bathroom in the night, and you get 24 slides with some really intricate little pictures. These show up best if you hold the torch around 1m away from the wall, so perfect for messing around with in bed!

Wicked Uncle really has impressed us. From its easy-to-navigate website, to the great range of toys for every personality. Our gifts arrived perfectly packaged, and the kids are chuffed to bits with their haul. The parcel even came with a little postcard that the kids could fill out and send back to Daddy to say thanks.

To check them out, or apply for the challenge yourself (bloggers only) head to wickedunclue.co.uk, or follow them on social media

Facebook: @Wicked-Uncle / Instagram: @WickedUncleToys / Twitter: @WickedUncle / Pinterest: @WickedUncle