*This post contains press samples, all views are my own
It’s great watching my little ones play now because their imaginations are running wild and they’re able to sit and play for a little longer than they used too. We’ve created a craft corner in the dining room so they can go and help themselves to anything creative whenever they feel like.
They love creative play and it’s one of the few activities that actually keeps their concentration (and keeps them quiet!) but it can be so hard as a parent to keep thinking of fun and interesting things for them to create! There’s only so many toilet rolls and cereal boxes you can repurpose! Especially while we’re in lockdown! Bur don’t worry! Flair is here to save the day with some brilliant creative play toys that might just bring back some memories for you too.
Mini Delices 4-in-1 Chocolate Workshop – Available from Amazon
I remember always wanting something like this when I was a kid and it just goes to show that the Mini Delices workshops are brilliant because they’re still going strong. With this set, you’ve given a heart Bain Marie to melt your chocolate (not included), a chocolate turntable workshop station and the heart-shaped display where the magic happens, chocolate and lolly moulds, lolly sticks, sprinkle containers, a bowl plus an array of mini gift boxes, foils and bags to package your goodies in.
This was a really good one for the boys, it did get a bit messy, but what do you expect? The moulds were really easy to use and you just pop your melted chocolate in there. No microwave or boiling water needed as the Bain Marie works with hot tap water. Once the chocolate is in the moulds your supposed to let them set in the fridge, then add your toppings. The boys couldn’t wait that long so added their springles and googly eyes while before it set. They couldn’t believe it when they had their chocolate lollies for pudding, the satisfaction that they were eating something they had made really made them excited!
There’s also the option of making small chocolates and wrapping them up in the boxes and foils to give as little presents, which is a really cute idea. Everything (other than the chocolate) can be resued too, so you can keep making hundreds of choccy lollies to your heart’s content!
Mini Delices Mini Eclairs Workshop – Available from Amazon
This workshop is similar to the one above, where it comes with a Bain Marie, but this time you can make the cutest mini eclairs! There is a worktop and lot’s od space to show off your creations. All you need to add is chocolate, bread and edible decorations. They even include mini éclair cases which are super cute. You just use the cutter to make the éclair shapes out of thick bread and then pop them into the shaper to get the perfect éclair look. It’s really easy to use for little fingers too. Just to highlight, it’s not likely your eclairs will look as good as the ones on the box. After a little explaining Cameo understood that they were pro eclairs and that ours were just as good, just a little more… unique!
Just like the previous workshop, there’s no batteries required and no need for a microwave or boiling water. Just hot water from the tap to melt the chocolate (not provided, so make sure you’ve got some!) and that’s it! Eclairs away!
Plasticine Softeez Noodle Doodle Assortment – Available from Independent Toy Retailers
If you’re after something a little less messy that encourages more independent play, you can’t go wrong with Plasticine! Plasticine Softeez is super soft, so perfect for little hands to mould and play with. These Noodle Doodles are so much fun that even I enjoyed doing them. There’s a variety of cards with different scene designs on, we started off with the jungle animal pack. You just peel away each ‘noodle’ of plasticine from the rest and then then you twirl it, twist it and bend it to fill in the design on the card. It’s like colouring in but with plasticine. Then when you’ve finished, you can do it all again with different colours! You get 3 cards in each pack and 8 different colour sections of plasticine.
This was great to keep Cameo entertained and he tried his best to make his picture look like the one on the packet until his imagination took over. It’s really easy to use and is one of those old favourites that can sometimes be forgotten about. When we opened this, I couldn’t believe that we haven’t played with Plasticine before! Definitely going to be kept in our craft cupboard from now on. Great value for money for lots of easy, creative, mess-free play. Also, it never dries out! Winning!
Plasticine Toolz – Available from Amazon
This is a handy little box full of everything you need for some modelling fun. There are seven colours of chunky plasticine, five shaped cutters, one modelling tool and one roller. The box is really sturdy and handy if you’re taking it to a relatives house or moving it from room to room. We found the plasticine in this box to be pretty hard and I needed to soften it up a bit before Cameo could play with it, but again, it doesn’t dry out which is always a bonus.
Is it me, or do kids love a rolling pin! The cutters are simple but effective and come in the shapes of things like an apple and a duck. The good thing about boxes like this is that your little one can just carry on and use their own imagination!
The Original Spirograph Scratch & Shimmer Set – Available from Argos
I remember playing with my Spirograph set when I was little as if it was yesterday. When this arrived I had to show my parents, because even they remember how I used to love playing with my Spirograph set! They were just magical like I was creating fireworks on paper. This one a little more special compared to the one I had 20 years ago! This Original Spirograph Scratch & Shimmer Set comes with Rainbow and Sparkly waxed scratch sheets which can be etched using the glitter precision wheel and plastic drawing tool. Just pop the plastic ‘pen’ into one of the numerous holes on any of the 7 Spirograph Precision Wheels and get spinning! You’ll see the magic appear from under the black wax layer and my boys, just like me, think they’re drawing fireworks.
This is another one that the boys can do by themselves for creative play and once they understand what they have to do and have got the hang of it, there’s no stopping them! You get 16 scratch sheets which I think is pretty generous considering you can do numerous designs on each one. These make great Christmas card too if you’re looking to be even more creative!
There you have it, these amazingly magical toys have stood the test of time and are still going strong. If you’re after toys that encourage creative play and all have something a little bit different, then all the above are for you.
