A Children’s Spring Birthday Celebration Review-Led Article

Reviewed by Sian Manning

My son had his 9th birthday recently and finding gifts for a growing boy is hard work, I don’t have much experience buying for boys so getting this review and being sent a number of different items was perfect for us, we have been sent things I wouldn’t necessarily have bought. Things that have been loved and things that have been a huge surprise.

Cute Animals Money Box

A money box isn’t something I would look at as a birthday gift, however it is something that has been treasured, my son is at the age that he is getting tooth fairy money and needs somewhere to keep those coins, he also generally gets a few notes in his cards, so keeping them in a money box means he gets the joy of looking after his own money and knowing it is safe.

This money box is super cute and being personalised he knows that it is just his and that his brother and sisters money is not going to get mixed with his. There are lots of different designs available from Boutique Gifts too so if this animal design is not the one for your little or bigger one, do take a look as there is something for all I’m sure. They are also great value for money, great quality and a decent size for tooth fairy and birthday money. The personalisation goes up to 13 characters so there is plenty of room for most names and unlike some money pots this one does have a stopper so you can empty it easily enough when your little one wants to spend some of their money or just count it up.
The ordering process is also super easy and fast and the money box comes well packaged and protected in the post.
Now I just need to buy two more for my other little monsters so they have a place to keep their pennies too!

Rating: 5/5
Buy here

Blue Football Shirt White Water Bottle

My son is one of those boys that seems to lose or break his water bottles as a past time so being able to gift him one for his birthday was definitely a bonus for both of us!

He was so happy with this one, not only because it had his name on and also we could personalise the shirt with a number (we went for 13 as that is the day of the month he was born), but mostly he loved it because it has a foam disk that you can stick to the bottom of the bottle, he loved this more than anything, because in his words “it doesn’t make a noise when he puts it on the desk at school too hard!”. He also really likes the sports lid rather than the screw top lid, well he did when I showed him how he actually has to pull it up to drink.

Again Boutique Gifts have a huge range of water bottles that you can choose from so if your little one isn’t into football they can choose from just a name, a monogram, a photo, a heart or a different coloured shirt if blue isn’t their favourite.

The bottle was personalised and delivered really quickly so if you need a great gift on a tight timescale this would be a good option for you, they are also reasonably priced at only £12.99, which for a metal, personalised water bottle with two lids, a very important foam disk to stick on the bottom and a carabiner clip to help stop the bottle from going missing I think is pretty good value. It has also stood up really well to being chucked into a back pack and quite a few weeks at school, the picture and name is still all in place and not a knock or dent to it, I’m impressed!

Rating: 5/5

Buy here

Yoto Mini, Adventure Jacket Mini and The Phizz-Whizzing Collection

The Yoto player is something that we have been looking into for a while, my son loves to read and has the whole Roald Dahl collection of paper back books, however he has not read them as he was put off by how long and wordy they are.
The Yoto mini is honestly great, it is small and mighty, great for bedtime, travel and staying away. The amount of content is great for all ages from young toddlers to older children, making story telling fun and easy, something they can do themselves and choose the content based on their mood.

The jacket keeps the player nice and safe and clean, it stops it getting damaged from bumps and or drops and keeps sticky fingers at bay, you can take it off and clean it if necessary.

My boy was 9 this birthday so the Phizz-Whizzing collection was a great choice, it has meant that he is able to listen to the books that he wasn’t as interested in reading and he now has a new found love for Roald Dahl, he has really enjoyed listening to the books at bedtime and is easily able to pause, forward, go back a chapter and change the volume. Changing stories is also as easy as just removing the card that is in there and replacing with another.
The Yoto Player has been such a huge hit in our house we have gone on to buy more cards, from learning Spanish to sleep meditation, my three little monsters 5,7 and 9 have all loved it.

It is a great present and so good for birthdays and Christmas’s going forward as we can ask for more cards to go with it and grow our story library.

Rating: 5/5

Buy here

Aquabeads Beginners Carry Case and Mega Bead Trunk

I’m going to be honest.   Aquabeads are not something I would have ever bought for my sons birthday, but I do have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised by his interest in these.

They have been loved in our house, he has spent hours making a wide range of creations, from a flower to Bowser (Super Mario baddie, if you didn’t know), a car to a 3-D seascape.

The Beginners carry case has everything in it that you need to start your Aquabeads journey, it is a really great case, it has compartments to keep all of your beads organised and separate, a tool to help you place the beads in the right places and a water sprayer to finish off your designs. There are also 2 cards with designs on so you can start making right away or you can use your imagination and see where it takes you.

The bead trunk has 3000 beads in and as such gives you scope to make bigger and better designs, using more colours and different types of beads, it is great for expanding your beads and topping up the more used colours.

Some designs can use a lot of beads and so getting the two sets together has been really beneficial as without the trunk we would have run out of some colours really quickly. My three little ones have really enjoyed making so many things with these sets and they have been kept busy and away from screens for hours at a time, it has been such a nice creative exercise that is relatively mess free – until the 5 year old trips over the carry case and sends over 3000 beads flying all over the floor (sorting that many beads out will take up an hour of your life so be warned!).

These do make an excellent present and have been truly loved, we will be buying more beads to top these sets up as and when they are needed as they have proved such a huge hit in my house.

Rating: 4/5

Buy here

Tomy Sing 2 collection – Microbeats, Singing Rosita and Riff Rock Ash

We love the Sing films in our house, Sing was played constantly when it first came out so as soon as we saw that Sing 2 was coming out we were so excited to see it.

This little collection of toys have been a hit, the Microbeats microphone (RRP £12.99) has had them all singing, dancing and putting on shows in the living room. It does lead to a lot of noise so do be prepared for that one!

The microphone amplifies your voice and adds to the feeling of singing on stage, nice and loud. There are also some extra functions, if you press the the main button for two seconds you enter voice changing mode, this cycles through a few different effects that change how your voice sounds, from high, medium, low and robotic, this function is guaranteed to add to the fun and makes for a lot of laughter.

You can also plug in your MP3 or smart device into the Microbeats (for this you need to use an auxiliary cable – not supplied) this goes into the designated port in the back and you then press the microphone button to play the music, this means you can sing along to any song you like and not just the one song (There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back) that is pre-recorded and on the microphone.

The microphone takes two AAA batteries and does come supplied with them so your little ones can get the party started right away, a perfect birthday present if you little one loves to perform. You might not think that a 9 year old boy would be interested in something like this, however he has proved that wrong, he has been using it just as much as his little sister, it has been great for them all.

Rating: 5/5
Buy here

Rosita The Singer (RRP £19.99) is a soft toy with a difference, she is dressed in her performing outfit from the film, she has a voice box in her tummy and a huge oversized head. When you press her tummy she has three different sounds that she scrolls through, an overexcited scream (from the jump in the film from the high platform), cheering and whooping from the crowd, music from her song and her singing a small section of “Break Free”.

Rosita does open at the back to change the batteries (she takes two AAA’s) from here you can also switch her from demo, on or off, so if she is getting a bit much or you just want her as a soft toy without the singing for a bit you can switch her to the off position, even if only for the night.

Now this one wasn’t really of much interest to my 9 year old, he does love a soft toy but one that sings when he tries to give it a hug probably isn’t his favourite, he much prefers a dinosaur too. It does however appeal to my 5 year old daughter, Sing has been her favourite film since she was tiny so having Rosita to play with has been a dream come true for her.

Rosita comes packaged on a cardboard stand, she is set to demo mode so you can try her before you gift her, I love that the packaging is nearly all recyclable too, it’s definitely something I look for when purchasing a gift.
She makes such a lovely birthday present and is good value for money for a soft toy that is more than just a soft toy, she definitely adds some fun and music to play times.

Rating: 4/5

Buy here

Riffrock Ash (RRP £29.99) is a really fun and interactive toy, she is one of the lead characters from Sing 2 and is a loveable addition to anyones toy collection. She is wearing her outfit from the film and performs her original song.
As a gift for a 9 year old she has a game you can play, which is far more engaging that just playing the music, he has been able to play along and has really enjoyed playing the game and entering a guitar battle! This game is a little like other follow the instruction games, this one in random order asks you to Strum, Whammy, Neck or Tilt, it does take a bit of getting used to and reading the instructions is really helpful for working out what they mean, but once you have the hang of it, it’s really quite addictive.

Ash has a number of other functions, she has song mode, in this one you strum to make Ash sing more of the song. Riff mode will allow you to get Ash to ‘play’ the guitar, again strumming will play more of the song. Jam mode allows you to use Ash’s guitar to add sound effects over two different songs, you can choose from the two songs and then use a combination of buttons to add different effects. In ultimate mode you can tilt the guitar up to get Ash to perform a ‘sweet guitar solo’.

She takes 3 AAA batteries and again comes packed in cardboard and is almost all recyclable, she can be turned off, on and onto demo mode.

Ash’s hair also lights up rainbow colours as you play with her and changes in response to the moves you make, she really is fun and stuffed full of features, a word of warning though she is also very loud, even using the volume button to turn her down. She is a plush toy but is a hard bodied and headed doll with a plastic guitar so if you are looking for a cuddle doll she isn’t the one.

This is another gift that seems to be good for all ages, she is suitable from ages 3+, from the younger ages the music and lights are really fun and then as they get older the game and more interactive functions have been a huge hit.
It is definitely something I would look at buying for a birthday for a family member up to age 10, if they love the films, it’s sure to be a hit.

Rating: 5/5

Buy here

All in all we have had a fantastic time reviewing and enjoying these items for my sons birthday it really did make it extra special, it has been a great mix of practical and fun items, they have been fun, loud, creative and completely different to anything we would usually do and this has been perfect for us and has completely changed the things that I will look at buying going forwards.