Review: Lite Brite Oval

31/10/202205/11/2022 Lisa

Review: Lite Brite Oval

It feels like a lot of the toys that I had or wanted as a kid are making a huge come-back recently and one of these is this Lite Brite Oval which has obviously had a huge makeover since the basic one I coveted as a kid.

As well as the new shape, the Lite Brite over is now in high definition with 50% more holes and three times the pegs than the classic version.

The Lite Brite Oval is recommended for children aged 6+ and retails at £24.99 from Smyth’s Toys and other retailers.

Lite Brite Oval unboxed with the contents displayed

What comes in the set?

The set comes with the oval base which has a stand so you can keep your designs and would look great on a bedroom shelf.
It does take three AA batteries which are not included.
Hundreds of little coloured pegs for creating your designs
8 template sheets.

Light Modes!

Once you’ve created your designs there are 5 different light modes

3 Colour changing patterns (fade, flash, white light) or 2 animations (slow, fast flash)

Sensory Play

The Lite Brite Oval can be used in a sensory play setting by creating patterns and selecting the different light options to help support developing visual senses which can be used to create a soothing environment which is great for self-regulation.

Setting up

There is very little set-up with the Lite Brite Oval. All you need to do is pop in some batteries and you’re good to go. The template sheets that come with the set just peg onto the board and you just follow the colour code on it which has the first letter for each colour as a guide. You then push the coloured pegs through the template into the board, and once finished choose your light setting to show off your designs.

Our Thoughts

Isabelle is twelve and was really pleased to give the Lite Brite Oval a go. She loved the templates that came with the set but, was also very keen to create her own designs as well.

She really liked that it had a stand so that she can put it next to her bed to use as cool lighting for her room.

I also really liked this set as it’s something that Belle can go off and do on her own which is what she likes to do these days. I know that Freddie is also going to want to give this set a go so I know it’s definitely going to get used between the two of them. It’s also a lot cooler than the Lite Brite of my day.

You can buy the Lite Brite Oval from Smyth’s Toys currently priced at £22.99

If you liked this post and the toys that we’ve reviewed then why not take a look at some of the other Review Posts.

*We were gifted the Lite-Brite Oval set for the purpose of this review. All opinions and photographs are our own.

Review: Uni-Verse Surprise Unicorns

23/02/202012/01/2024 Lisa

Revealing the Uni-Verse Surprise Unicorns

Huge Mama points for anything Unicorn or Blind Bag so the points for ticking both of these boxes are huge!

Uni-Verse Surprise Unicorn Toy Unboxing. Clouds that dissolve into gooey slime to reveal four blind bags containing unicorn and accessories

What are Uni-Verse Surprise Unicorns?

The Uni-Verse Unicorn Surprises start off as a cloud which dissolves in water to reveal four blind bags containing:

A Unicorn
A matching Unicorn Toot or Tear Friend
A collectors card
Two Unicorn Accessories

The Uni-verse Surprise Unicorns single packs retail at £9.99 from all great toy retailers and are suitable from age 5 upwards.

What do they do?

Each Unicorn Surprise starts off as a puffy cloud with an emoji style expression that you have to dunk in warm water where the cloud turns into a gloopy slime to reveal four blind bags. The colour of the water changes dependent on the land they came from.

There are forty Unicorns to collect and they come with a variety of accessories which are interchangeable amongst your collection.

What did we get?

Glammin Cameryn from Glam-A-Ganza land and she came with a little tear shaped friend, a set of wings and a nail polish.

Dilly Dolly Dotty from Funtasyland who has the shiniest bright pink hair. She came with a little Cloud friend, a hairbow and a handbag which she holds in her mouth.

Moo Moo Molly from Pet Party Peak who has crazy hair and comes with a cloud friend, a bell and a milk carton.

Sunburst Sydney from Mist-terious Land and she came with a yellow cloud friend, a bottle of sun lotion and a sunshine accessory.

Our Thoughts

Isabelle was very excited to be unboxing the Uni-verse Unicorn Surprises and was really pleased that she managed to get ones from different lands. She was very impressed with the added slime factor as part of the unboxing. As with all blind bags Isabelle likes to have a look at the checklist and has a good feel to see if she can guess which one it is.

We were both surprised at how quickly the clouds dissolved to slime. We had a towel on hand to dry off but the slime was quite greasy so a proper hand wash was needed. Isabelle was really pleased with the unicorns that she got and would like to add to her collection.

*We were sent a selection of Uni-Verse Surprise Unicorns for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 – Mermals

02/04/201929/01/2024 Lisa

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 – Mermals

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 – Mermals from Spinmaster. When Isabelle first saw the advert for these she did her usual pause and rewind the TV so that she could show me them in the hope that we would stop what we were doing immediately, go to the shops and buy them ALL!

The Season 5 range is slightly different as they are colour changing which just adds to the excitement tenfold.

There are lots of different sets to collect from pocket money affordable single packs at to playsets, and with over 80 to collect it’s a pretty long check list.

Within the series there are lots of different types of Hatchimals including:

Mermals – Half Hatchimal half Mermaid – Blue Sparkly Egg
Underwater friends – Blue Sparkly Egg
Mermal Twins – Blue Sparkly Egg
Sunshine Surf – Special Edition – Blue Oval Egg
Mischief Marsh _ Yellow Swirly Egg
Racing River – Purple Horn Shaped Egg
Blissful Bay – Limited Edition – Pink Sparkly Egg
6-Pack Shell – Peach Eggs
One Dozen – Blue Sparkly Egg

Each type of Hatchimal comes in a different type of egg as above but you won’t know what’s inside until you open them.

Of course, the first thing that Isabelle always does with collectibles is scan the checklist and pick out the ones that she would like to get the most before she opens the eggs.

How do you open the eggs?

Each of the eggs has a heart on them which you press and the egg cracks revealing your hatchimal. Isabelle tried her best to split the eggs in half, but some of them are impossible to open this way, and then her impatience gets the better of her and she just pulls them apart.

We were sent a Single Pack, a 6-pack Shell, and a 4 pack with bonus totally 13 hatchimals which was very exciting.

What we got:

A Single Hatchimals Season 5 Pack
A Four Pack Hatchimals CollEGGtibles + Bonus Pack
A 6-Pack Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Shell Pack

In the single pack we unboxed a Sunshine Owling which is a common Hatchimal. She was very impressed with this one as it had its very own surf board.

In the 4 pack + bonus we got four mermal eggs in which we got Mer-pandoo, Mer-Seaspoon (rare), Mer-Unikeet, and (*drumroll) – Koalabee which are Mermal twins, and a Blissful Bay Egg which contained a limited edition Blissful Kangaroose.

In the 6-shell pack she got Sapphire Anteagle, Sapphire Owlicorn, Sapphire Burtle, Sapphire Girreo, Sapphire Foxfin and Sapphire Penguala.

How do they colour change?

Parts of each of the hatchimals change colour in the water whether it be their tail or a gem that they are holding onto which then changes back once they are dry.

The Hatchimals CollEGGtibles are recommended from age 5 upwards and are available from most toy shops and Amazon.

There is also an App that you can download to keep track of the Hatchimals that you’ve collected.

Our thoughts

Isabelle loves a collectible and has quite an extensive range of different collectibles that she likes to add to on birthdays, christmas or through saving her spending money. She loves the element of surprise, and whilst there does always seem like a lot of packaging compared the end result she does play with them time and again which makes them worthwhile.

Hatchimals Mermals collection in a shell

She was very excited that out of the twelve Hatchimals she managed to get a rare, a limited edition and a set of twins which she was so thrilled with. The colour changing aspect of these Hatchimals makes them extra special, and also gives her a good excuse for taking them in the bath.

These sets would definitely make a lovely gift whether it be for a birthday, Christmas or even as an Easter Gift.

Which Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 is your Favourite?

Lisa x

*We were sent some Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 sets for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own. This post contains affiliate links.