Orchard Toys Christmas Eve Box 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 new_mama
The build up to Christmas with young children is full of excitement and fun, and lots of activities. We all however still need ways to keep children entertained at home on a rainy day or when just having a bit of down time amongst the festive business. I love to embrace the festive period with themed activities and add to our collection each year.
Orchard Toys is a well known and popular brand of children’s’ toys and activities and we already have several of their games which are well loved in our family. All the games and activities by Orchard Toys are designed with the ‘learning made fun’ brand ethos in mind which I love. Their collection is broad and with almost every theme covered. They of course therefore have a specific Christmas range which includes three different games, an activity book and two Christmas eve bumper boxes. I was sent one of the bumper boxes, both of which contain a jigsaw, Christmas game and activity book. From looking at the website they are both aimed at 3-6 year olds, with the different games and puzzles so you can purchase multiple for siblings or a different one for a future year. The box I was sent features the appealing bright colours and branding of Orchard Toys, with the expected festive twist of Christmas characters.
The jigsaw is made up of 25 pieces and the pieces are a good size for little hands without making the overall picture too large to do on the average coffee table. Once completed the jigsaw features a ‘whimsical winter scene’ full of friendly looking characters including Father Christmas, his reindeer, penguins and snowmen. I loved how on the back of the box there is the added feature to use the completed jigsaw to encourage a further activity with your child of spotting all the different activities. This allows families to build on just making the jigsaw and perhaps even discuss the activities they would love or have enjoyed doing together.
My son and I loved the little Reindeer Race game, especially as it can be played with 2-4 players so just with a parent/carer or between siblings or as a whole family. All pieces are importantly included so no searching for an additional piece in order to play (like a dice for some games). A simple instruction leaflet provides instructions (also helpfully available online in case these get lost, a nice touch) and we enjoyed how the game has an aim to help move the reindeer from the North Pole to the village in order to help Santa deliver the presents. Cleverly the coloured reindeer heads and legs pieces can also be used to lay pairs simply by laying them face downwards. So really the box includes two games!
It was the activity booklet that we found to be a little disappointing. Whilst there is a range of colouring and little puzzle type activities (10 in total but some are just a little picture to colour), it is quite small and all on paper so things such as the colour in and cut out decorations (scissors required) are not long lasting. There are however further free and downloadable printable worksheets and activities available from orchardtoys.com/thingstodo.
The box is designed and labelled as a ‘Christmas Eve Box’ however like many families, to ensure that we get the most out of the Christmas treats and activities, we actually do a December the 1st box. Whilst the contents of this box could of course be removed and still be used at any time over the festive period, the ‘ready made’ nature of it is limited to Christmas Eve which is a shame.
Overall I do think its a good activity box, perhaps a little pricey due to the limited activity book, but a good gift for yours or others children. There is the option of adding gift wrap at purchase online (birthday or Christmas themed) for £2 so could be bought and sent directly if required which is always helpful.
RRP: £14
Rating: 3.5/5
Available to purchase from Orchard Toys here.