Christmas Toy Ideas
With so many different toys out there to choose from, those letters to Santa can be quite useful in giving you an idea what the kids might be hoping for. If however, you’re stuck for Christmas ideas because you haven’t been told to tell Santa what’s at the top of your child’s wish list this year, then here is some festive inspiration based on the 2009 dream toys list (from the Toy retailer association).
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser, Bandai (RRP £29.99 Toys R Us)
Ben 10 has been popular for a while, but this particular toy is ‘the’ thing to have if you’re going to have something Ben 10. The Action cruiser is just like Kevin’s cool muscle car in the show, and it’s loaded with features such as alien orbs that shoot out from the front, and an exclusive Kevin figure.
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins Deals
Bendaroos Mega Pack, Spin Master (RRP £19.99 Toys R Us)
Suitable from 5yrs upwards, this wonderfully creative toy is great. 400 coloured bendaroos sticks, two double sided templates, a cut and join tool, and an instruction booklet and you’re set for a great time. Bendaroos are flexible building sticks that can be twisted and bent to make all sorts of creatures and shapes. Simply unbend them again for reuse meaning that your child can use their imagination and play with these over and over again.
Bendaroos Mega Pack Deals
GO GO Pets Hamsters, Character Options (RRP £9.99 play.com)
Go go pets are excellent. They are small, fury, realistic looking hamsters that have been given artificial intelligence so that they squeak and move around their habitat. Each hamster has it’s own unique personality and sounds. When you team one of the hamsters up with a Go Go Hamster accessory they will instinctively know if it’s a hamster ball, or skateboard etc. What’s even better is that these pets don’t need cleaning out or feeding (except with the occasional new battery), so if your kids have been going on about wanting a pet this could be the ideal solution!
Cluedo is 60 years old
Where would Britain be without arguably its favourite story format – the murder mystery? Gone would be the enigma Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Watson. Agatha Christie’s famous characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, would never have graced the pages of tens of millions of books, and the various TV series and movies portraying clever detectives and their mind-boggling skills that always unearth the killer.
But it’s not just in books, novellas and screens. The murder mystery found itself in game format sixty years ago when a musician from Birmingham named Anthony E. Pratt was inspired and worked to create “Cluedo”, the atypical whodunnit board game. Iconic characters like Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett and Professor Plum now rank among the greatest villains in history, having taken part in millions of murders re-enacted in family homes over previous decades.
To celebrate the board game’s 60th anniversary, Barry Forshaw from the Crime Writer’s Association recounts the evolution of the murder mystery and gives some great tips on how to write your own.
Hasbro have recently released a new version called Cluedo, Discover the Secrets. There are few new rules and some of the characters’ names have changed.
For instance, Colonel Mustard has become Jack Mustard, “once the most sought after celebrity football player . . . now a sports pundit”.
Professor Plum is Victor Plum “a self-made video-game design billionaire that (sic) moved out of the dingy basement into a life of luxury”.
The lead pipe has become a baseball bat, the revolver is a pistol and a dumb-bell, trophy axe and poison have been added to the murder weapons. The basically bland appearance of the board of the original game is now lavishly illustrated but purists may be put out that the action no longer takes place in an Inspector Poirot-era mansion but a home straight out of Footballers’ Wives. Gone are the ballroom, the library, the billiard room and the conservatory. In come a theatre, spa, guesthouse and observatory.
For more information visit www.hasbro.co.uk
Merry Mache - Christmas toy kits using recycled newspapers
Merry Mache
An alternative to standard, plastic Christmas fillers and Christmas toys, petit artisan is launching 2 new Merry-Mache kits this year including a unique Nativity set specially designed by petit artisan. The Merry-Mache range is a selection of lovely Christmas toys and decorations made with recycled newspapers that can be kept for years.
Sold in kits packed in boxes that can be decorate, with quality brush and paint (made in France) or individually, these angels, reindeers, Father Christmas and other Christmas are produced in accordance with community trade principles in the Philippines. A quality paint brush and water based paint pots provide the creative tools – children need only add imagination. The toys are all natural, durable papier mache animals and decorative items that children from the age of 3 can personalise.
Each toy is handcrafted in local villages in the Philippines, employing over 800 people who earn a yearly living from making these products. The kits are then assembled in France, utilising craft accessories and packaging materials made in France.
Located in West London (Chiswick), co founders Anne France Kennedy & Karine Etienne have helped 3,000 consumers find a happy ending to their search for natural Christmas decorations. After an hour of educational, creative play children have their own distinct toy decorations to decorate the family or school Christmas tree.
More info at www.petitartisan.co.uk