Category Archives: Toys

Argos Testers Product Review of LEGO DREAMZzz Pegasus Flying Horse Set

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Hello! I’m Sabrina! I am an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I thoroughly test the products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and honest thoughts over to Argos. Sometimes I even do a video, and these are shown on my social media channels. This latest campaign was to test out a brand new LEGO sets.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity

I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and it is my honest review about the product listed below. I have already submitted my review to the Argos Website, and it has been accepted on to live public view when this blog post has been published. Please see my review on this screengrab below from the Argos website. All words and photography within this article are my own.

Product Details

Name: LEGO DREAMZzz
Set Number: 71457
RRP: £47.00
Product Details: 482 Pieces including specialised Mini Figures. Ages 8 and up. Fantasy Creatures and Characters are based on the LEGO DREAMZzz television show. Pegasus stands at 20cm tall once assembled. 2 building options for one character included (a bird or a butterfly).
Argos Website: LINK to Product

LEGO Set Ideal for Fantasy Fans and Artistic Builders

Examining this incredible LEGO set I was amazed at all the details and interesting ways that certain LEGO pieces were used to create something that looked entirely different. I’m no stranger to LEGO and its nice part usage, but this is my first ever DDREAMZzz set and it definitely had the wow factor from the moment I started to build it.
It is a pretty complex set and designed for ages 8 up to adults, and I would say that it took around 3.5 hours to complete. The stickers really help add to the depth of the LEGO pieces.
Overall I think it’s a much organised set and the builder also has the option on whether they want to build different aspects for the characters included. For example you could choose to build a bird or a butterfly; I chose the bird because I thought it looked amazing in the picture art included in the instructions. Talking of Art, it really added to the story for me, it’s not often that you get the LEGO imagined into picture scenarios so this was really cool.
You have to concentrate a fair bit when building this set due to all of the posable sections of the Pegasus, the limbs all need to be correctly aligned in order for the LEGO to stand up properly and it was much heavier than I realised. The characters are also unique and have great facial expressions and hair and costume details too. The final look of the Pegasus is amazing, and I hope my accompanying pictures portray that.
I wouldn’t change anything about this set, it’s unique, fun and I love anything to do with fantasy which is why I chose this one. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a fantasy genre or horses. If you’re building this to play it has tons of appeal with so much movement in every part of the set, but it also makes a great addition to any LEGO collector’s artistic display.

My Honest Opinion

Overall I would like to rate the 5 stars.

Quality 5✩
Features 5✩
Design 4✩
Playability 5✩

As with all LEGO the quality is always brilliant, but this set is like nothing I have ever built before. It was complex but it was very artistic which was fabulous. It has great parts usage and I loved how the build came together to make such an iconic piece; the Pegasus.
I wasn’t aware that these DREAMZzz sets were based upon a television show, and I am sure when my son is older I can introduce him to the shows because they sound great.
The playability and the imagination of this set is astounding, even if you love the concept and want to keep it as an artistic LEGO build. There was only one piece that caused me some concern which was the seat part of the nightmare character, it was not secure on the Pegasus due to only two contact studs. I used a spare piece of my own LEGO, a 4×4 studs in a square to increase the surface area so that the piece would sit and be better secured. This did not distract from the set as it’s hidden beneath.
Overall it’s a set that has a wonderful theme, fun and unique characters, bright and vibrant colours of bricks and a set which looks incredible once it’s all built and displayed.

Thank you for reading this product review today, if you have any questions about the product please let me know, I’m happy to answer them if I can. For anything else please refer to the Argos website which you can find on the link I posted above in the Product Details.

Thank you for visiting my blog today, have a great day.

✩ Sabrina ✩


How to make Birthday Bags on a Budget

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How to make Birthday Bags on a Budget – it can be done!

My son recently had his birthday and a part of me was disheartened by the fact that I couldn’t afford to throw him a birthday party, one where his friends could come. We had family things going on all week but nothing with his school friends.

After talking to him about it one afternoon a week before his birthday, I asked him if he would like to do anything for his birthday on the day besides attend school, He said that he would like to share his favourite things with his school friends. I thought it was a lovely idea so we chatted about what sort of items he would include. After a lengthy conversation I decided we could do some birthday bags, and I hunted around for the best bargains. I was on a strict budget to I checked where things were on offer and started making a list.

So how do you make up a birthday bag?

You need either a birthday bag or a party bag, there are many varieties available online. You can get them usually with a handle so they are perfect for little hands to hold.
I also chose to buy the plastic cones because I didn’t want Oreos to break up and/or go stale in the bags. This worked perfectly to break things up into sections, the Edibles and the Toys.

How do you stick to your Budget and get the best value?

✩ Sabrina’s Top Tips ✩

There are several ways to stick to budget and also find the best deals, here are my tips.
1. Decide your budget and make a list of what you need to buy.
2. How many are you buying for? Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy 50 bags than 20, bare this in mind.
3. Watch out for “lowest price in 30 days” and other useful slogans on offers.
4. Compare supermarkets online before you go out to do the shopping.
5. Use supermarket offers if you have a discount card with them.
6. Visit budget stores and compare the items you have seen online.
7. Always read the online reviews and filter by most recent as well.
8. Bulk Buy – Depending on whether you can reuse an item in the future for something else or even sell the remainder of the items on, bulk buying can be beneficial. (For us the Oreo’s were cheaper to bulk buy and so were the party bags). My son will happily eat any leftover biscuits let me tell you.
9. Work out the maximum you would like to spend, divide that by how many you are buying for, let’s say it’s 20 children. So divide your budget by 20, and you will understand how much it will cost to do a bag per child. Once you’ve made some essential purchases work out what is remaining of your budget and only spend what you have left. It might be that you have to buy a massive bag of sweets and divide them by hand into little sweet bags like I did with the Oreo biscuits.

Think smarter with your money and not buying things simply for convenience.

Why did we choose the items?

Picking for a mixture of genders is always tricky, but I don’t know a child who doesn’t love stickers and sweets / chocolate biscuits. Oreo is the choice because my son has food allergies but luckily he can eat original Oreo. The cars were because they were pull-back and super cool but also a car is gender neutral in my eyes, same goes for the bouncy balls. I asked all the parents (or my son told me) what peoples favourite colours were, and then labelled the bags and added the toys in accordingly. If I had someone who loved Red they got a red tie on their biscuit cone and they got a red car and a red ball. I would’ve loved to have included bubbles too but they would have sent me over budget. You could swap the bouncy balls for bubbles if your child would prefer those.

What did we include in the final bags?

20 Pull Back Cars cost £7
35 Bouncy Balls cost £7
Stickers cost £2.00 (50 sheets)
Oreo Biscuits cost £4
22 Haribo Sweets (Individual Packets) cost £3
100 Sweet Plastic Cones cost £3
40 Happy Birthday Bags cost £4

I divided the stickers between the children’s bags and kept the rest for my own reward charts at home, meaning each sheet only cost me 4 pence. Bargain!

Total Spent: £30.00
Total of Children: 16
Cost per Child: £1.79

I don’t think this was too bad, 16 happy children for less than £30 (as we had leftovers) and it was much cheaper than throwing a birthday party. My son got to share his favourite items with his friends too!

We have also got left over bouncy balls, birthday bags, cone bags, 6 sweet bags and 4 cars. The leftover pieces we can use whenever we like or give away at other occasions.

At the end of the day you can’t put a price on a child’s happiness and my son was over the moon to help me give out these little bags of joy to all of his friends at school, so that they could all celebrate his happy birthday together.

Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope you have found it interesting and perhaps got a few useful tips in case you ever decide to do bags for your child’s birthday or a birthday party.

I hope I see you here again soon!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Testers Product Review of LEGO City Set 60365 Apartment Building

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Hello! I’m Sabrina! I am an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I thoroughly test the products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and honest thoughts over to Argos. This latest campaign was to test out brand new LEGO Sets, and because we need to choose something we haven’t reviewed before, I chose the modular construction LEGO. Not sure what that is? Keep reading my review.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity


I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and it is my honest review about the product listed below. I have already submitted my review to the Argos Website, and it has been accepted on to live public view when this blog post has been published. Please see my review on this screengrab below from the Argos website. All words and photography within this article are my own.

Product Details

Name: LEGO City Apartment Building Modular Construction Set
Set No: 60365.
Ages: 6+
RRP: £75.00
Pieces: 688 pieces, including 6 mini figures, a bicycle and a mobility scooter.
Description: Modular Rooms for easy reconfiguration and imaginative play, including roof terrace and swimming pool. Mixed age mini figures add to the play ability and the reality of the set. Excellent additional features such as stickers that add fun to some pieces like the signage and television set.
Argos Website: LINK

My Honest Opinion

Overall I would like to rate the LEGO Apartment Modular Construction set 5 stars.

Quality 5✩
Features 5✩
Design 5✩
Originality 5✩
Playability 5✩

My Argos Tester Review

What a fantastically versatile set of LEGO. My son loved helping me to put it together and all the instructions were clear, nothing was difficult to fit together. The idea of the modular rooms is fantastic, we have never had LEGO like this before and it makes both play and reconfiguring so easy, even for little hands. I personally loved the diversity in age regarding the mini figures and their facial expressions and hair styles are great, they have changed a lot since I grew up with LEGO. Little features such as the drinks machine, dumbbells and bicycle are incredibly detailed. Every room has that basic layout that you would find in an apartment and I really liked the nice part usage with pieces I had seen previously being used as other things such as a post box as a cooker or fridge.
Something else that’s great about LEGO city is that it can be attached to other sets and the layout can be altered to fit accordingly. The bicycle path goes underneath when you build it first of all, however you could rearrange the rooms so that it’s not an L shape but a rectangle and the bicycle lane can go in front of the building instead. It’s great that imagination can also now lead to our choices in how the final build looks like, the modular rooms are such an excellent feature and I hope we continue to see this type used in upcoming LEGO sets.
Overall it took less than 4 hours to build, and I believe it will create countless hours of fun because there is so much left to the imagination whilst ensuring you have everything you need to start off with. A great first LEGO City set for any budding building I think, and a wonderful addition to a growing city of play. My son’s favourite aspects are the bicycle and the shop. As a parent I loved the design for its rearrange ability which will keep my son entertained for longer because after a week we can swap things around and it’s like having a different set then. Great for the imagination for those of any age.

Summary

Overall this LEGO City Set has hours of replay ability because of the fact it’s a modular construction, it’s so cool! By moving the rooms around you can create an entirely different layout, even move them every other day if you wanted to change it up. I feel like if my son was getting tired of the set I would simply reconfigure the layout and create a new look of the apartment for him.
More LEGO should be made like this to give users more choices on how they want the end result of the build to look like. As LEGO say “rebuild the world” and you can certainly do that with this box of bricks, and really easily too! Whoever designed it is ace!
I also loved the diversity in the LEGO figures, with different ages and jobs and many various faces, they are great new additions to the LEGO world. And the hair styles too, brilliant to see new ones!
I have nothing bad to say about this set, I give it 5✩ across the board. I would actually love to see more modular LEGO so that sets could be rearranged with ease and built on a similar scale.

Thank you for reading this product review today, I hope you have enjoyed seeing what we thought of this set. I have no doubt that we will have many hours of fun creating LEGO scenarios with the figures and the apartment block.

If you have any questions about this set then please leave me a comment below or on my social media posts and I will do my best to answer them with the knowledge that I have gained from reviewing this product. For anything else please refer to the Argos website the link I posted above.

Thank you, have a great day.

✩ Sabrina ✩

#LEGO #SevernSabrina #SevernWishesBlog #ProductReview #ArgosTesters #ProductReviewer #Photographer #Writer #Review #Reviewer #Toys #Play #Fun #LEGOcity #LEGOcityset #Argos

Argos Testers Review of the LEGO Classic Creative Fantasy Universe 11033

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Hello! I’m Sabrina! I am an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I thoroughly test the products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and honest thoughts over to Argos. This latest campaign was to test a brand new Classic LEGO Set, and because LEGO is for all ages who doesn’t love to play? I know I do.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity


I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and it is my honest review about the product listed below. I have already submitted my review to the Argos Website, and it has been accepted on to live public view when this blog post has been published. Please see my review on this screengrab below from the Argos website. All words and photography within this article are my own.

My Argos Tester written piece above as seen on the website on the product. We are only able to share six images when we submit a review to the website, and I took plenty more while building this LEGO and testing the contents, so you will see way more of my photography of this product as your scroll down through my blog post. How cute is the LEGO Horse?

Product Name: LEGO Classic Creative Fantasy Universe Building Toys 11033
Product Price: £80.00
Product Link: Argos Website
Product Information: This LEGO Classic Box contains 1800 pieces with brand new bricks and colours ideal for a Fantasy realm including Silver, Gold and Pearl. The books contain several step-by-step ideas and then there are bags more of all sorts of colours of bricks for people to use their imagination and create whatever they want to. Designed for ages 5 and up (due to smaller LEGO pieces) and Adults will also find this set very enjoyable with the view of creating mythological creatures and fantasy worlds. If you like Mermaids, Pirates, Wizards, Knights, Horses, Dragons, Unicorns and even Castles, this is the set for you. And even after you’ve made all of that there will be hundreds of bricks left over to build whatever you can dream up in your mind.

My Honest Opinion

Overall I would like to rate the LEGO Classic Creative Fantasy Universe 5 stars.

Overall Quality 5✩
Features 5✩
Design 5✩
Originality 5✩

The variety of pieces in this box is excellent and the quality of the LEGO bricks is at it’s usual high standard of manufacturing. I love how LEGO start you off with a few ideas in two small step by step books, but then your imagination just takes over and you can think up all sorts of things to make. With so many additional bricks too there is plenty for a whole family to get involved with it and do some creative making. We played for four hours and barely scratched the surface with how many hundreds of bricks still remained.

What I loved most, other than the fact you get hundreds of different kinds and colours of bricks in this set, is that you’re able to use your imagination in a brand new way. By creating LEGO Bricks and pieces that depict things you would find in a Fantasy world, people can create their own creatures and scenarios which I don’t think has been seen that much before in terms of it being a Classic Set. Specific LEGO like Disney, Pirates, Harry Potter, TV Show set ups etc, have that genre specific vibe with pieces you would always expect to see inside. But this LEGO set is totally new, and with bits you may find within those other types of sets, however it’s allowing you to use them how you wish to. Wands, Wings, Utensils, Swords, and hundreds of building bricks alongside these smaller unique pieces, they allow you to let your imagination come up with your own LEGO world.

I would recommend this set to any family that love LEGO or to an adult that loves fantasy and would like to start building basic creatures that they can then elaborate upon. I built my son a second Dragon just by following the instructions and seeing what other bricks were similar enough to do a second model. The same goes for the Horse, we were able to make multiple ones in different colours to mix it up a bit. I want to build a larger castle for my son, so that he can use some mini figures that he got from another set I bought him for Christmas, and combine the two.

Overall I recommend this LEGO set for its diversity and its attention to details. I will now share some more photography that we took during making and creating.

Thank you for reading this product review today, I hope you have enjoyed seeing what my family and I have made so far from reviewing this set. With hundreds of bricks still to use there is no doubt that we will have many hours of fun creating LEGO with the remaining bricks.

If you have any questions about this set then please leave me a comment below or on my social media posts and I will do my best to answer with the knowledge I have gained from reviewing this product.

Thank you.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Testers Review of the LEGO Harry Potter Hospital Wing Set 76398

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Today I am lucky enough to be showcasing a brand new
LEGO Harry Potter set which came out last week!

I have reviewed this product during the start of March and I have already provided my finished article to Argos when I submitted this blog post. The product was supplied to me through the Argos Testers Community for the purpose of an Argos Website review. This Year (2022) marks my sixth year as part of the program and I am very grateful to still be a product tester for them.

Hello! I’m Sabrina! And I am an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I test products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and honest thoughts to Argos. This latest campaign was LEGO! I was very excited at the thought of testing something that I already love, I enjoy making LEGO at home on a regular basis.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity


I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and my honest review about the product listed below. I have already submitted my review to the Argos Website, and it has been accepted on to live public view when this blog post has been published.


Let’s talk about this product! LEGO Harry Potter!

My Argos Testers Review

An incredible addition to the LEGO Harry Potter set this one contains the Hospital Wing from The Prisoner of Azkaban. In this story Ron has already had his leg injured and is lying in the Hospital feeling sorry for himself, while Harry and Hermione are up in the clock tower ready to turn back time with the Time Turner.
There are some beautiful pieces in this set, and well thought out LEGO pieces. Including the Time Turner, the Clock which is rotatable thanks to the cog mechanism that is set up during the build, the Hospital bottles like Skele-Gro and even the accuracy of the small Box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans! Even Madam Pomfrey with her Trolley of elixirs and various potions for every sort of ailment is a genius use of LEGO pieces.
I loved putting this set together, it took just less than two hours and was fairly straight forward to complete. This set is designed for ages eight and above due to the smaller parts and the more complicated aspects such as the mechanisms for the clocks. I thought the additional items such as one owl and the fact that the set is hinged are really fun. You can choose to have the Hospital straight and the building closed, or use the three hinges and remove the central bar across the inside and you can open the room right up for playing.
Overall it is a very aesthetically pleasing LEGO set with many quirky and fun aspects to it. I love the look of the outside with its many windows and the multiple clocks. The characters clothing is accurate to the film in this series and this set would look great alongside the others from the same film. This set is a must for any Harry Potter LEGO enthusiast.

Product Name: LEGO Harry Potter Hospital Wing Castle Toy (Set Number 76398)
Product Price: £45.00
Product Link: Argos Website
Product Information from Argos: 510 LEGO Pieces, Ages 8 and Up, Authentic Pieces and Accessories from the Films, Characters which depict the film “The Prisoner of Azkaban”, Moveable and Posable Sections, Interlocks with other Harry Potter LEGO Sets to create a full scene for play. Contains 4 Mini Figures, 1 Owl, Two Storey Building with Technic Parts.

My Honest Opinion

As someone who loves the Harry Potter Wizarding World AND someone who loves LEGO I was ecstatic to get the chance to review a LEGO Harry Potter set. This particular one had so many incredible details and aspects that I wasn’t expecting to be as good as they were. I would recommend this set for anyone who shares that same passion and who appreciates LEGO for all its wonder.

I give the set a 5/5 for its Design, Entertainment Value and its Quality. You always get Quality toys with LEGO but to have real playable and posable scenarios right out of a film is why I rate this product so highly. Overall a wonderful addition to the Wizarding World of LEGO Harry Potter and a must for anyone collecting to build the entire castle and all its intriguing rooms.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you have enjoyed it. You can purchase this product or read more about it by looking online from Argos, I have left the link in the product description above.

If you have any questions about this LEGO set then please leave me a comment below and I will do my best to answer them with the knowledge I have gained from reviewing this product. Thank you.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Testers Review of LEGO City Set 60317 Police Chase at the Bank

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Today I am lucky enough to be showcasing a brand new LEGO City set which is out this week!
I have reviewed this product during the start of January and already provided my finished article to Argos, it was supplied to me through Argos Testers. 2022 now marks my sixth year as part of the program and I am very grateful.

I am an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I test products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and thoughts to Argos. The final campaign of 2021 was LEGO! I was very excited at the thought of testing something that I love, I enjoy making LEGO at home already on a regular basis.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity

I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and my honest review about the product which is listed below. I have already submitted my product review to the Argos Website, and it has been accepted when this post has been published.

My Argos Tester Review

A set filled with fun & imagination, helicopter, police vehicle & the “clean getaways” Robbers / Heist assault vehicle. Not to mention a Bank full of awesome details & nifty moveable pieces. Endless possibilities for imaginative Police vs Robbers scenarios. Combine with other Lego City products, road pieces are included. Loved building this, took around 8 hours, so many amazing details & quirky unique LEGO aspects. Well designed vehicles & building with many opportunities for playing individually or with others. My favourite piece is the Helicopter that even allows you to fire a net out of the side! Wow! The details on the outfits of the characters are excellent with the Police Officers having vests with zip pockets & badges visible. Great accessories for all LEGO Mini Figures. All vehicles have wheels or rotatable blades. Everything is sturdy & the instructions are easy to follow (as always with LEGO). A wonderful set for anyone collecting the LEGO City or anyone who enjoys this type of scenario with Police catching the bad guys. Great for children aged 7 and over due to its small parts, also great set for adults who enjoy LEGO scenarios too!

Product Name: LEGO City Police Chase at the Bank Set with Trucks (Set Number 60317)
Product Price: £90.00
Product Link: Argos Website LEGO City Police Chase at the Bank
Product Information from Argos: 915 Pieces. 7 Years and Over. Road Pieces Included. 5 Mini Figures Included. Set builds are a Police Truck, Police Helicopter, Two Floor Bank Building, Heist Vehicle and Drone.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you have enjoyed it. You can purchase this product or read more about it by looking online from Argos, I have left the link in the product description above.

If you have any questions about this LEGO City set then please leave me a comment below and I will do my best to answer them best I can with the knowledge I have gained from reviewing this product. Thank you.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Tester Review of the Playmobil 6765 1.2.3 Floating Take Along Noah’s Ark Set

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I am very fortunate to be an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I test products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and thoughts to Argos. For April I was offered one of a selection of Children’s Toy Sets. I love testing something that my young son would be allowed to partake in, his reactions and opinions would matter to me during the reviewing process.

The item I am reviewing today is the Playmobil 6765 1.2.3 Floating Take Along Noah’s Ark Set.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity

I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and my honest review about the product which is listed below. I have already submitted my product review to the Argos Website when this post has been published on my blog.

Product Details

Product Name: Playmobil 6765 1.2.3 Floating Take Along Noah’s Ark Set

Product Details: A Red and Orange Boat / Ark with Animals and People for Imaginative Play. For Ages 18 months plus.

Product Dimensions: H20cm W30cm D12.5cm

Product Description: A fantastic set for young children to learn about animals. The set includes four sets of paired animals and two birds, two people, a food bag and water trough and a ramp. The Ark itself features a top piece and a bottom half, all of the pieces fit inside it for convenient storage. The top half features a carry handle easy enough for young children to use. The Ark can be used in the bath or in a paddling pool, it does float on water but it is advised not to use it in water that has had things added to it like soap, and not to use the Ark in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time, as this will affect the condition and colour of the toys. Two clips, one at either end of the boat, hold the two pieces in place, they are quite tight so it is advised to supervise your child when they want to play with this toy.

Argos Website Link: Playmobil 6765 1.2.3 Floating Take Along Noah’s Ark Set

Argos Website Price: £30.00 (Price Correct as of 24th April 2021).

My Son and his Reactions

I got my son to help me with this review, his reaction to the toy allowed me to give a more detailed review. He instantly loved the animals, they were a nice size for him to hold and he was happy that they came in pairs too. He is a little too young to understand the “Two by Two” Scenario but he liked how he could place the pairs together on his play mats and then move them on to the boat. With my help we managed to get all of them on to the top deck with clever positioning! He loved to pick it up by the carry handle and it got easily transported around our home. My son couldn’t open the locks at either end of the boat, they were stiff, but I wonder if over time and with use they will get a little easier to open. Until then I ask him if he wants the boat open or closed dependent on how he is planning to play. Overall it has been a big hit and is a beautiful and colourful set for young children to learn about animals and have imaginative play time.

My Argos Tester Review Submission

Very impressed by the overall quality of the Playmobil set. Animals are accurate in both colour & pattern & great for small hands. The Ark has nice features such as the handle for carrying, the ramp to re-enact the “two by two” scenario & the fact that all the pieces fit neatly inside for storing away when not in use. My son loves animals & really loved how he could stand these up and they wouldn’t easily fall over. A fab set that has captured imagination & also teaches children about animals.

My Overall Honest Opinion

There is a strong carry handle on the top of the Ark for children or adults to carry the set. This is a great idea in order to transport the set around the home or to a grandparents house for example. The clips on either end are strong so as the pieces don’t fall out of the Ark during transportation. But they are a bit stiff, too much for children to open up, maybe they get easier with frequent use. The accurate colourful pieces and bright vibrant boat make for fun imaginative play for children.

Having studied the pieces in detail they are beautifully made, smooth with no sharp edges or danger of any small parts. A great set for young children and great up to around the age of 5 or 6. The animals could still be used after that age however, just in other imaginative play. A fantastic set overall with lots of nice attention to details such as the lines on the Ark deck and simple decorations on the animals.

There is only one issue I have with the animals, and that is they all have a hole in one leg which would allow water inside if you were to use the set in water. I am always concerned about mould growing inside toys that are used to get wet. Therefore we will not be using this set in the bath, and instead using blue play mats to pretend that it the water.

If you are interested in finding out more about this product then please click the link above in my Product Details section to go to the Argos website.

Thank you for reading this review, have a lovely day.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Tester Review of the Chad Valley Bright Stars Pop Up Play Tunnel

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I am fortunate to be an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of an online review. I test products and take photographs of them before submitting my findings and thoughts to Argos. For February I was offered Children’s Toys. I was excited at the thought of testing something that my young son would be a huge part of, and his opinions would matter during the reviewing process.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity

I have written this article about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and my honest review about the product which is listed below. I have already submitted my product review to the Argos Website when this post has been published.

My Honest Opinion on the Product

I have been rather happy with the overall look and quality of this product. The Pop Up Tunnel is something that doesn’t only entertain my toddler, but we can add learning into play and he also gets exercise indoors on poor weather days. It is bright and inviting and my son wanted to play with it immediately after I had set it up for him. I look forward to setting it up outside in the summer too on some outdoor play mats. I think it’s an excellent product for the price it is available at, and most children would have the imagination to be able to use it effectively. Because it folds away neatly it even fits into our large toy chest so it takes up no additional room. This product is ideal for any parents who may have a toddler or young child with lots of energy like mine. The best features are the ideal length (it is not too long to overtake your floor but long enough for a toddler to crawl through and have lots of fun), its bright colours and fun stars pattern, the genius tabs at either end so it can be securely fastened and put away for another day, and finally the imagination factor of it!

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Sabrina’s Top Tips for Using this Tunnel for Learning during Play

Once your child is used to the tunnel and is having fun with it, then there are several ways you can use it to increase learning while your child is playing. Words such as “Through” for them crawling through the tunnel is a good one, as well as “In”, “Out” and “Under”. You can also name the various Colours such as “Red”, “Yellow” and “Blue” and the “Stars” on the pattern too. See if your toddler can indicate which is which and say them back.

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Usage of the Product

The tunnel is made from material that is not waterproof, and is only wipe clean, so it is best used indoors and on a soft surface such as carpet, a rug or play mats. Keep food and drink away from it in my opinion. It will move around and slip easily on a wooden floor so perhaps look at where is safest in your home to set it up. Always supervise your child or children when using toys. The tunnel can be used outdoors in dry weather but I would suggest it was still set up on play mats still to avoid the material getting torn by anything sharp or pointed.

Product Name: Chad Valley Bright Stars Pop Up Play Tunnel

Product Details: A Red, Yellow and Blue Tunnel with White Stars. Ideal for children aged 2 years and over. Pop Up means it has minimal assembly required and also folds away neatly using the tabs at either end to secure and store reasonably flat. It is advisable to supervise children at all times while using this toy tunnel and to keep any sharp toys or furniture away from the material to prolong use. It can be used indoors or outdoors, but should only really be used on a flat and soft surface indoors, ideally set up on play mats or carpet. Due to the nature of the material it should be stored appropriately. Play Mats that can be set up outdoors is also a good idea when planning to use this outside because this tunnel is not waterproof.

Product Dimensions: H42cm W80cm D42cm

Product Description: Ideal for bringing children into a world of imagination. This tunnel can be anything they want it to be, and you can also use it with other items such as when children want to build a den for example. A tunnel to a secret dinosaur world, a secret passageway out into the world of spies… this can be whatever your child can dream up.

Argos Website Link: Chad Valley Bright Stars Pop Up Play Tunnel

Argos Website Price: £8.00 (Correct as of 14th February 2021)

My Argos Tester Review Submission

My son was over the moon with this bright & fun tunnel he loves anything with stars on. It took no time to set up & easily packed away again, tabs either end secure it together almost flat so storage is no issue when not in use. A lovely item filled with possibilities with a bit of imagination, good for learning, teaching & great exercise on days we can’t get out of the house.

If you are interested in finding out more about this product then please click the link above in my Product Details section to go to the Argos website.

Thank you for reading this review, have a lovely day.

✩ Sabrina ✩

At Home Storage Hacks for Parents, How To Keep All The Kids Toys Stored Tidy and Neatly

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Featuring…
Aldi Stars Boxes
Argos Silver Grey Boxes
B & M Dark Grey Fabric Boxes

I think every parent will agree with me when I say “mess is a fact of having children” but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a tidy home when the children are asleep, or for when relatives come around! And can I just say, Square Furniture really excites me, its versatility knows no bounds!

But first, Tidy Hacks! When my son was only twelve months old I began a routine with him which involved us tidying up once we have finished with certain things. It started with me showing him then handing him the item and encouraging him to copy me. So… Books went back in his Book Tub and toys went back in the Toy Box. He soon realised that it was important to tidy up. My son took to it really well, he even puts balls back in his ball pit now, and has done since he was eighteen months of age. Instilling this notion early enough has paved a way for a toddler who understands how important it is to put something back when you have finished with it. My first TIP is to allocate boxes for different items, such as, the Grey box is for books, the Red box is for Cars, the Blue box is for trains and the Green box is for animals.

There is no right or wrong way to have your home, however one thing is for sure, cleaning it is far easier when everything has its own place. Boxes are filled and put back on to shelves. I love furniture and I love how it brings a room together too. I have a large wooden chest in my lounge along with several small lidded boxes to store my sons toys in. I always like to have that option to tidy things away completely, in case I have family over for example, or I may need the space to do messy play.

In my son’s bedroom I have several pieces of furniture that are square and contain various storage tubs and boxes. They look neat and tidy and are easy enough to maintain. The boxes are made of fabric and are often purchasable in many styles and colours to maintain the theme for your chosen bedroom. Great for anywhere in the house, such as hallway or living room too. Do you have any Square Furniture? I think they’re just great!

I have always been a fan of the clean lines that square furniture gives you. And with so many places now creating the relevant boxes to go into these holes, you have a wide range of choice to make your home how you want it.

B & M Boxes


Excellent Value for Money Square Storage Boxes

Argos – Great Quality and in a Variety of Colours and Patterns. Boxes are in packs of 4 with 2 Sizes Available. And prices start from £14.00 for 4 boxes. Argos also do lidded Square Storage Cubes in fabric and a leather look, which can double as seating for children in a bedroom too.

B & M – Fabric Boxes and Velvet Boxes, Good Quality but Less Choice Available (I only found Bright Pink, Blush Pink, Dark Grey and Silver). The Velvet ones were £7 for a pack of two and are very soft and of good quality. The fabric boxes are not as nice but definitely do the job well enough though and are ideal for toys, they were £5 for a pack of two.

Aldi – Special Buys Baby Event – Stars Boxes – Multiple Colours Available and were £3.99 each box. They were only available for a limited time.

Ikea – Several styles of boxes and tubs available from Ikea and many colours and patterns as well. They range from £3.00 upwards for a single box and the range is called Drona.

The furniture I purchased for my sons room is from Argos. But Ikea do a similar range as well named Kallax. Due to the Pandemic it has been far easier for me to get a delivery or click and collect option from my local Argos stores, mainly because its almost a two hour drive for me to get to an Ikea store, so I would rely on an online order and delivery.


My final TIP for keeping a house tidy is this, get one box out at a time, and teach your child/ren that once they are finished with that box, it gets packed up and placed back on to the unit or into the bedroom it came from. Then they can get another box of toys out to play with. In-still this idea at a young age and they should keep respecting their play space long enough to keep wanting to tidy up after themselves. These types of storage are so easy too, there isn’t anything complicated about it. You just need a system of what goes into what box, but you could always get labels for them too!

Great Value Square Furniture

Argos Home Squares range from £24 to £120.
Colours Available are Putty (Light Grey), Oak Effect, Black and White.

Ikea Kallax Square furniture range is from £19 to £129.
Colours Available are Black/Brown, White, High-Gloss White, Oak Effect, White Stained Oak Effect and Grey-Wood Effect.


Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope I have given you some inspiration on how to make your own homes more tidy by using square storage to its full potential.

Check out my Instagram for more inspirational images on storage and tidiness.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Silly Sounds Light-up Piano

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As part of being an Argos Tester I often get sent items for reviewing purposes. This recent campaign has been surrounding Fisher-Price toys and items relevant to development and learning. It has been a great opportunity for me to introduce my son to various new things and to build that level of curiosity within play time and learning.

An Eye Catching Colourful Design on this Fun Toy

Today I’m bringing a new Argos Tester Review to my blog with the help of another fabulous Fisher-Price toy. This is the Laugh and Learn Silly Sounds Light-up Piano, and it is classed as a teaching toy.

This mini piano is great for any child who has shown an interest in liking music and sounds. It’s especially brilliant because of how easy it is to use, any infant will love to press the buttons and make the sounds and songs appear.

Learning and Fun with the Light-Up Piano

Who doesn’t like a mixture of learning and fun?

The Piano has 4 Settings with fun and learning incorporating sounds and words. Numbers, Colours, Shapes and Sound including songs that encourage children to listen and learn. Each key when pressed will be spoken by the Fisher-Price voice in either the Number, Colour or Shape. For example, “8!” “Teal” & “Diamond!” And it also sounds a little jingle afterwards representing the shape.

The 8 main keys are smooth to the touch and are brightly coloured. Each of them have a colour, a shape and a number. They are the perfect octave! Although I almost wish the black keys were also press-able so it was like a real piano.

There are also 2 fun modes of Duck and Cow which have various sounds from both of the animals which is so funny that even 30 somethings laughed when it was pressed in our house! The novelty aspect of these modes makes it quite unique.

The flashing light on the top part of the toy is a great way to get little ones attention to the beats of the songs and along with the sounds it encourages movement. The light colour also corresponds to whichever key has just been pressed too.
The green handle on the top right of the you piano is excellent for ease of carrying and moving the item around the home.

This Fisher-Price toy is excellent for allowing children to explore all sorts of sounds, while encouraging their learning of shapes and numbers too. As well as recognising a range of colours and animal sounds. The great thing about toys like this is that a child will be counting and not even realise because they’re just playing, but it’s a wonderful way to introduce both musical aspects of playtime and also early academics with each mode available.

✩ Product Information ✩

Ages 6 months to 36 months.
Dimensions 19cm Width 25cm Length 5cm Depth

Retailing for around £20.00 this toy has been made to an excellent standard and comes ready to use. When the batteries do run out all that you’ll require is a small screwdriver and 3 new AA batteries to replace them with.

Argos Website Link

✩ Overall Scores ✩

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Perfect for little fingers…

✩ Argos Tester Review ✩

This toy is excellent for allowing children to explore sounds while encouraging their learning of shapes, colours & numbers too. As well as recognising a range of animal noises. The great thing about this is that a child will be learning & not even realise because they’re just playing with the instrument. It’s a wonderful way to introduce musical aspects to playtime & also incorporate the essential early academics with each of the learning modes available. Just wish the black keys worked too!

“8 keys to count with me” sings the piano…

Thank you for reading this review today, for more of my opinions on some of the latest children’s toys then please click the appropriate categories on my main page.

See you on Severn Wishes again soon I hope!

✩ Sabrina ✩