Star Wars Toy Collection from Hasbro - Review

Star Wars has long been an obsession in our house, with my son loving the movies and getting most excited about the latest release. With the arrival of Episode VIII in Deecmber just gone, these toys couldn't have come at a better time.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Rey of Jakku and BB8 Set - £24.99

My daughter immediately bagged this doll and she absolutely loves it, especially as it comes with BB8 who is a great little character. The doll has a twist action similar to some of her Barbies which means she swipes her lightsaber just like in the movie.

She is very realistic and my daughter has been so in love with her that she came to watch The Last Jedi with us.  I love this character and it is great to have another strong female lead in a film. Princess Leia lead the way in the original trilogy and now we have Rey to carry on the torch of the Light Side. 

This figure is part of the Forces of Destiny range which accompanies a series of animated shorts showcasing heroic women from a galaxy far, far away. It's great to see these female characters from the Star Wars universe being given equal standing with their male counterparts.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny Rey of Jakku Extendable Staff – £29.95

My daughter instantly fell in love with the staff and has been wielding it just like Rey in the film, it is great she can battle against her brother with his lightsaber. The staff is sturdy to say the least, some might even say quite solid and heavy.  You would definitely know about it if you got thwacked during a energetic recreation and I've heard a few yelps to prove it.  The staff also connects with other items from the Bladebuilder range, which I also feature here.

Star Wars Bladebuilders Path Of The Force Lightsaber – £49.99

This Lightsaber switches between blue for the Light Side of the Force to red for the Dark Side, meaning you can fight for good or evil depending on what mood you’re in. I like that it converts and allows the role play to encompass all of the different elements of Star Wars.

Easily interchangeable even for the smallest of hands, it is super easy and comes with batteries already supplied so you can just start playing straight out of the box.

The lightsaber is part of the Bladebuilder system so it can be attached to the staff too to make one really huge lightsaber....um thing. 

Star Wars The Last Jedi Kylo Ren Interactech Figure - £24.99

I have to admit I am slightly disturbed by the voice on this toy, however after seeing the film it is true to the character. The removable helmet revealing Kylo Ren's scarred face is very realistic too, he is a really sturdy doll .

I love the fact then when you shake him the lightsaber glows red and makes those familiar swooshing/buzzing/humming sounds. My daughter and son have been having face offs with the two dolls, it has been great to see them playing together with all of these toys.

Star Wars The Last Jedi Force Link Starter Set – £24.99

The Force Link is described as an interactive play system, which in simple terms means it interacts with various figures vehicles and playsets within the Star Wars toy range that feature the special Forcelink technology.

The wearable wrist-mounted unit plays a variety of sounds and phrases that are triggered by the wearer's motion whilst playing with the linked figures. I can't pretend to understand how this works, but it really quite a unique feature they adds an extra dimension to creative play.

A huge thank you to the guys over at Hasbro for this selection of toys, they have really got the children excited about the new Star Wars films and have ignited their imaginations.

We were sent these toys for the purpose of this review, all words and opinions are my own.

My Little Pony My Magical Princess Twilight Sparkle - Review

My daughter is a huge fan of My Little Pony, much like I was at her age and with the release of the new My Little Pony film later this month, I have a feeling that everything MLP is going to be on the Christmas lists of lots of mini folk this year.

The Magical Princess Twilight Sparkle is without a doubt one of the most extravagant toys we've ever had, it reacts to touch and sound and is as bright and colourful as you'd expect a pony named Twilight Sparkle to be.

My daughter practically squealed with delight when she got home and saw the box waiting for her, the fact I had forgotten to buy some batteries did dampen the excitement somewhat but also meant she got to just stare at it for a day which built up the excitement even more.

I feel that this toy is going to split opinion; on one hand for a child it is the epitome of cool. A pony that talks and moves, lights up and is generally everything they want, some adults on the other hand may see it as a little bit robotic as it blinks and talks at you and it detracts from the magic somewhat.

Twilight has over 90 phrases, tells stories and sings songs. If you touch her horn, which lights up and flashes, she talks about her magical spells. You can also change the mode via a button on her hoof, this changes between Friendship, Story, Singing and Spells.

With posable legs you can make her sit down or stand up, although it was a bit tough for my daughter to do and I felt like I was going to break her, though it does state on the instructions to expect some clicking sounds.

Twilight Sparkle has a long colourful tail and mane which you can style and brush and she even has her own tiara to complete the look. I think what sets this apart though is the fact that it responds to your voice and when you stroke her cheek she also giggles.

My daughter has enjoyed playing with Twilight and she is a welcome addition to our vintage and non vintage pony collection, her only one little gripe would be that Twilight seems to repeat herself and I have heard her saying to the pony, "you've just said that".

Magical Princess Twilight Sparkle has an RRP of £134.99 which is quite a lot of money, however with Christmas fast approaching I see this as the big one. For a My Little Pony fan it is the perfect gift and if you can find her whilst she is on offer then she'd make the perfect companion.

We were sent Magical Princess Twilight Sparkle to review, all words and opinions are my own.

DreamWorks Trolls Hug Time Poppy Doll Review

If you were a child of the 90s then you might remember these fuzzy headed little creatures, in fact I still have some the original ones from when I was younger. What am I talking about? Trolls!

Back with a new film they are a bit different from the first-time round, less scary to be honest, but with the same fuzzy hair and button noses. Although I haven’t seen the film yet, I have heard good things from my daughter about it and she absolutely adores Poppy.

This perfectly pink friend comes with a matching wrist band, which when activated lights up to the beat of the music, perfect for any troll fan and great for getting them to interact with the toy.

The songs and phrases are cute and my daughter loves chatting back to her, a little repetitive but then again what isn't to us adults.

A bit like my daughter Poppy loves to hug, so she is the perfect companion for my little girl and standing at 35cm tall she is a good size, she speaks 25 phrases when you press her tummy or the button on the light up bracelet.

The bracelet on the doll, her hair and the matching bracelet all light up when she talks and sings and it is a colourful and bright doll to have as a friend.

With an RRP of £49.99 I think this is a little on the pricey side, but it is a chunky toy and if your child loves Trolls then it would be perfect.

We were sent this item for the purpose of this review all words and opinions are my own.

Meeting the New Furby Connect - Review

Toys have come a long way since I was a young girl and none more so than the Furby, first arriving in the late 90s it was a must have toy and I remember my then boyfriends mum scouring the shops for one for his sister's Christmas present.

With it's own Furby language and cheeky nature, this fluffy little fella has been given a modern day makeover, Bluetooth enabled it has an internal year round clock, so he even knows when it's Christmas, Easter or Valentine's Day.

With so many moods it is like having an additional albeit brightly coloured member of the family, everything from happy to sad, scared to excited and best of all each Furby is unique.

You can interact with the Furby by tickling, cuddling or shaking it and with the addition of 4xAA batteries (not included) he is ready to go out of the box.

I absolutely love the LCD eyes, they are so expressive and being big and round definitely makes them cute and loveable. The ears move around and it also has a light up antenna, making up over 150 different expressions, so it does take a while to get bored of it.

My children both fell in love with our Furby straight away, even though it is purple (more pinky purple) my son adores it and has probably played with it more than my daughter. The interactive app allows them to become involved in the Furby's life, feeding it, taking it to the toilet, watching videos and raising Furblings all from within the app.

I absolutely love how the Furby interacts with the app and for me this has been the icing on the cake, when the Furby sings popular songs along with the app it is really very clever and means even I have been singing along to Flo Rida and Ellie Goulding in a Furby style voice.

These videos and the content within the app are updated regularly so the Furby and Furby Connect World are constantly evolving.

The Furby does come with some very life like sounds and actions, these are hilarious for my two children however may not be for everyone, with burps, trumps, going to the toilet and being sick it is a bit like having a newborn.

One thing a few people did mention to me, was the old Furby's of days gone by and how you could never get them to shut up, well this one comes with its own sleep mask so you can simply pop this on and you don't need to worry about being woken up to him singing or talking Furbish.

The new Furby Connect comes in four different colours, pink, turquoise, purple and blue and although I was worried about what colour we'd get and how each child would react the purple has gone down a storm.

The Furby Connect comes with a £100 price tag, so for Christmas this would definitely be the 'big present'. Do I think it is worth it? If your children love interactive toys and technology then yes, with the app constantly being updated I can see this bringing something new every week and will keep it fresh and exciting.

NB: We were sent the Furby Connect in order to form this review, all words and opinions are my own.