The Gruffalo Musical Christmas Advent Calendar Review

DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.

Reviewed by H Whetton

I am so happy today, I have been given The Gruffalo Musical Christmas Advent Calendar to review for Danilo Promotions LTD. 

For those who may not know, The Gruffalo’s Child is a book written by the amazing Julia Donaldson, with artwork by Axel Scheffler.

I raised my daughter on Julia Donaldson books; they are so much fun. The Gruffalo Musical Christmas Advent Calendar is big and beautiful inside and out. The calendar has a cardboard sleeve holding it shut, which has a small picture dictating what to expect inside; and a picture on the back showing the treats inside, also how to change the batteries and a safety warning regarding battery safety. I like that they went with a cardboard sleeve rather than a plastic film wrap.

The front of the box is a picture of The Gruffalo’s Child taken straight from the book as is the silver embossed lettering, it feels like you are holding a really big story book. The back of the box has a picture of the fox and the owl, and a small snippet from the book. Also on the back of the box is a small battery housing and a tab. You need to take the tab out before you open up all of the days.

As I opened up the calendar, I was greeted with a snowy forest scene, 24 numbered windows and a yellow button that said press here? The calendar sits upright by a blue piece of ribbon, creating a lovely woodland scene. I must admit I did feel like I was cheating, opening up all of the boxes at once, and before December, but it was for a good reason.

All of the numbers at the bottom of the calendar created a pop-up 3d forest scene, surrounding a frozen pond. The top numbers contained a lot of stickers, an owl, a 3d snake, a 3d Gruffalo, a 3d Gruffalo’s child, and a 3d mouse sat on a log. Do not pull the windows completely off; push them back in as they create the backdrop. The 3d figures, apart from the mouse, have a magnetic bottom, so when you press the yellow button, music from The Gruffalo’s Child plays, and the middle of the base becomes magnetic. So when you place the figures on top, they start to move around as if they were ice skating, it did take a couple of goes to get the Gruffalo to stay up and move around with the others, but we did get them all skating at the same time, it took us back a few years, I wish it had been around when my daughter was little.

It is a really clever and effective way to bring sound and motion to the Advent calendar.

Each piece, no matter how small, has been thought out wonderfully, everything is of exceptional quality. All of the pop-up pieces, the background, and the characters bring the story of The Gruffalo’s Child to life in front of you. It is tactile, interactive, and helps to spark children’s imaginations. I can see children playing with this well into the new year. It would make a really nice gift to a family member or friend as an early Christmas gift, or a special treat for your little ones.

The Gruffalo Musical Christmas Advent Calendar is not cheap; it is retailing at the moment for £24.99 from Danilo.com, up to £26.99 at Tesco.com, and £29.95 on Not on the High Street. It is a premium product; everything about it says quality. I would be willing to pay £24.49, having seen and played with it; it is lovely. It has been on offer recently at £19.99, so it is worth having a look around. I think that any Julia Donaldson fan would love this Advent calendar.

Danilo Promotions Ltd offer free shipping with Royal Mail for orders over £16.99. If you order before 2.30 pm, they will ship the same day. ( Mon – Fri)

Rating: 5/5 
RRP: £24.49
Danilo Products Ltd
danilo.com
https://danilo.com/products/the-gruffalo-s-child-official-musical-advent-calendar?_pos=1&_sid=5962ec36e&_ss=r