BigJigs Toys Christmas Roundup Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
We love BigJigs toys in our house; one of my girls’ favourite toys is their Daisy Doll’s pram. It is used daily, for wheeling dolls, teddies and various other toys around the house. It gets an awful lot of heavy usage and it is as good as it was the day we built it. We were therefore over the moon to be asked to try out a selection of toys from BigJigs in time for Christmas. We were sent the following:
Small Harry Rag Doll (BJD009) RRP: £11.49
Small Sophie Rag Doll (BJD012) RRP: £11.49
Pink Flower Kitchenware Set (BJ608) RRP: £13.99
Solid Poster Paint Set – 6 Pack (DN10511) RRP: £7.99
PlayColour Make Up – Princess Set (DN01044) RRP: £5.99
We thought it was lovely to have a brother and sister set of dollies, the vast majority of dolls are only female, so my daughters really loved having a boy and a girl to play with. The dolls are suitable from birth and are a really super size for small hands. They have lovely, friendly faces which my girls both loved, and the quality of the dolls was evident from the moment we got them out of the packaging. Even though they are quite small, they feel very, very substantial. I wouldn’t have any concerns at all at giving them to a small child as they’re so well put together. There are no loose threads and even though the eyes are beads, they are fixed so well, I don’t find that a concern.
Sophie’s and Harry’s clothes are both removable, and given that BigJigs sell a good selection of dolls in this range, I can imagine kids would have great fun swapping clothes over. As it is, my 4 year old loved undressing them, pretending to bath them, dry them and re-dress them. They absolutely super dolls, a great size for smaller kids to manipulate and very portable. They have already been on a few supermarket trips with us and they fit in my handbag when I’m worried the kids will drop them.
Harry and Sophie have also benefitted from being hosted at several tea parties in the few days that we have had them. They sit at a little table in the lounge, whilst my four year old rustles up Michelin Star drub with her new Pink Flower Kitchenware Set. The set comes really nicely presented in a clear windowed box, so would make a superb present. All of the goodies are clear to see, so any child would be really excited to dive in and get playing.
The set contains two casserole pans with lids, a frying pan, a Balti pan / wok and a roasting tin, as well as two wooden spoons, an oven glove, a tablecloth and a tea towel.
I think my favourite thing about this set is there is not a bit of plastic in sight. The pans are made from lovely pink flowery tin, the spoons are wood and the cloth items are soft and well stitched.
My kids love this set. It somehow seems far more special than a plastic set. They loved the clattering of the pans as they cook. I have donated a couple of teaspoons to their set, and they love portioning out their creations to their dollies. As much as I love gadgets (and I do), there is something really wonderful about watching your kids play cooperatively together, playing role play games and immersing themselves in the little scene they’ve created.
My eldest daughter is 7, and her Christmas list has consisted mostly of stationery this year. So she was over the moon to find the poster paint sticks and make up pens in our package along with the dolly products.
I have actually never seen anything like either of these products before. I like to consider myself a pretty hands on parent, but one thing that I really struggle with is painting. I inwardly (and outwardly) sigh when the kids ask to get the paint out. I hate the mess, the water, cleaning the brushes, leaving the stuff out to dry afterwards. So the poster paint sticks seemed to be ideal. They promise the thick, vivid coverage that poster paint provides, with no need for brushes, water or drying.
They’re actually really great – we got a set of six, red, blue, green, yellow, black and brown which actually lets kids paint most things: animals, landscapes, robots and people. The thing we really liked about these is that it is possible to layer the colours, to build a picture and still keep the colours vivid. For example, my daughter did the blue sky but could use the yellow to draw a sun over the top.
The pens are retractable and I think they’ll last for a good amount of time. The barrels are chunky, so are ideal for small hands. The product range is quite expansive, and includes slimmer versions as well as metallics, which my daughter has already put on her Christmas list.
The final items we were sent are also really impressive – make up pens. These are a hybrid of a felt tip pen, face paints and make up. We were sent the princess pack, which contained three pens: lilac, pink and turquoise, and being princess pens all of them are sparkly.
They’re a super product. We have a set of face paints at home that we get out quite often, but they’re messy for the kids to use and they don’t have the hand control to use brushes and sponges so it’s great for them to be able to decorate each other without these concerns.
The pens are retractable like the paint pens, and feel good in the hand. The colours glide on really nicely – they are slightly less opaque than normal face paints, so the kids really enjoy using them as princess make up rather than actual face paints. Although we’ve painted some brilliant crowns and butterflies with them too. They’re free of all major allergens, and my 4 year old, who has sensitive skin, has had no issues at all.
We have been absolutely delighted with everything that we have been sent, and they would all make wonderful gift ideas for Christmas.
I do not hesitate in awarding all of the items a 5/5 rating.
For more information or to purchase any of these items visit www.bigjigstoys.co.uk.
