Penguin Racer!

Because of the age gap between Katie and Pip they generally have different needs when it comes to toys.  I am always trying to find ways for them to play together though because I am keen to encourage their bond in shared play.  Katie is all about loom bands and drawing and writing letters at the moment which Pip finds hard to join in with (other than to eat the pens and the loom bands which pushes all my Mummy Health and Safety buttons!).  I was excited to be contacted by HandpickedCollection.com to ask if we wanted to review one of the toys on their Baby&Kids section.

Katie and I looked carefully to see if there was a toy or game that both she and Pip could play with and we settled on the Hawkins Bazaar Penguin Race game although we both found it difficult to ignore the lovely range of Jelly Cat toys they have on the site because we both love Jelly Cat!  They were a big distraction for us both.  I might have to sneak back onto the site and order myself one at some point when the children aren't looking!

Handpicked Collection has been set up with a fairly large panel of buyers who look out for great ideas for the home and outdoors as well as the children.  They even have food!  It's worth a look. I will definitely be checking the site out more thoroughly for some forthcoming birthday presents.  The panel include some well known names and have a lot of experience between them all.

Our Penguin Race game arrived within two days of ordering which is pretty speedy in my opinion and we eagerly opened the box to set it up.

It was really easy to set up the three tracks and they are cleverly numbered so, if you are a bit haphazard like us and have a tendency to lose instructions, you can easily put the track back together again minus said instructions.  You do need to provide a battery though.  Luckily we did have a "D" sized battery lurking in my trusty battery box (yes I was a Girl Guide!).

Battery in and we were up and running, much to the delight of both children. The penguins slide down the three slide/tracks and, at the bottom, bounce back up the steps to the top.  

That's pretty much it but it is a toy that both a 6 year old and 21 month old could both enjoy together. Katie and Pip actually did play quite nicely with it together. Pip, it has to be said, is transfixed by it.

I couldn't resist including this video footage of Pip playing with the game.  His delight at the game is contagious.  I will just add that we've not seen hide nor hair of the penguins since I filmed this so I will be going on a penguin hunt later on.  Pip does have a tendency to hide things in interesting places (a sort of toy version of Wherever I Lay My Hat) so I'm sure they will turn up somewhere unexpected.

As usual all the comments are mine and the children's.  We've not been coerced or offered Jellycat toys to persuade us to say nice things about Handpicked Collection.  I will just say a big Thank You to Handpicked Collection though for the game which has been a lovely treat for both children.