Octonauts: Explore, Rescue, Protect Duvet Set

BBC Shop sent us the Octonauts Explore, Rescue, Protect Duvet Set. My godson (R) is a big Octonauts fan so we gave it to him to review for us, with a little help from his Mum (H), big brothers and sister.

The Octonauts duvet set fits a single duvet and comes with a pillowcase. As well as three of the main characters from the show – Captain Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso, the Octonauts motto, Explore, Rescue, Protect! is emblazoned across the bottom of the duvet. The back is patterned so you can reverse it if you like.

My godson and his family are huge Octonauts fans so the duvet set was an instant hit. H likes that it has poppers instead of buttons which you get with some duvet covers. The fabric is of a really good quality so she finds it resilient to her children’s rough and tumble! She washed the duvet cover once to get rid of it’s initial starchiness and has washed it several times since. It washes really well and the colours haven’t run.

The only problem was that H couldn’t find a washing tag anywhere inside the duvet cover and with the packaging long gone, she had to guess how to wash it.

R and family love their new Octonauts Duvet Set. It’s well made and perfect if you love Octonauts. At £19.99, they think it’s great value for money too.

Visit BBC Shop at www.bbcshop.com and find them on Facebook.

Doctor Who Cyberman Costume

BBC Shop sent us this Doctor Who Cyberman costume to review with Little S. I loved the costume as soon as I saw it, being a huge Dr Who fan myself. I even rang my Dad to tell him and he was just as excited as me!

It was all a bit lost on Little S though. He hasn’t watched Dr Who yet, partly because I feel he’s a bit young at 6, and partly because he’s never shown much of an interest when we’ve asked him if he wants to watch it. Having said that though, he put the costume on straight away and even fell asleep in it at bedtime. The costume is well made and looks good, but I do think it would look even better with long sleeves to get the full Cyberman effect.

Even though I love the costume and Little S likes it too (it’s very useful for scaring his little sister!), I am a bit surprised that there is a Cyberman costume for 3-5 year olds. Baby B is 3 and I wouldn’t let her watch Dr Who at this age. I’m only just considering letting S watch it now. I think I started watching Dr Who when Sylvester McCoy played the Doctor so I was around 8 or 9. I remember the Daleks scaring me then so it’s always in the back of my mind that the children are a bit too young to watch it.

I think the Cyberman costume should be aimed at older children, as I don’t think that very young children would understand who they’re dressed up as. I bet there’s plenty of adult Dr Who fans who would love a Cyberman costume (me and my Dad for starters!). At £24.99 it’s not a very cheap dressing up option either. It’s definitely something that’s probably more appreciated by the Dr Who loving parents than the child wearing it.

Visit BBC Shop at www.bbcshop.com and find them on Facebook.

Charlie and Lola DVD Gift Set: I Can’t Stop Hiccupping!

I am very pleased to say that The Babbling Mummy Reviews is now part of the BBC Shop review panel. Last week we had our very first exciting package of products to review, including this Charlie and Lola DVD Gift Set containing the I Can’t Stop Hiccupping DVD and collectible Lola soft toy.

Baby B grabbed this out of the box and demanded it be opened first! She took Lola out and insisted on carrying her round for the rest of the day. Her favourite thing about Lola was her top and hair (complete with Lola bows), which she says looks very pretty. I agree with B; the Lola toy is very cute and very much like Lola in the cartoon.

Little S was very interested in the I Can’t Stop Hiccupping DVD, especially because he hates having the hiccups! He is now convinced that he needs to pass his hiccups onto someone else in order to get rid of them, like Lola does to Charlie. There are 8 other stories from series 3 on the DVD which lasts about 103 minutes. My two have watched it several times now and are engrossed every time.

Both of the children love watching Charlie and Lola. The brother and sister live in a world of their own, and experience all the things that young children go through – hiccups, scary storms, school, friendships and pink milk! I love the unique animation style of Charlie and Lola with the ‘cut out’ characters and real life images mixed together.

You can buy the Charlie and Lola DVD Gift Set from BBC Shop for only £10 at the moment, which is just over £5 off the RRP. It’s a bargain and a perfect Christmas present for any Charlie and Lola fan. You can also get a Charlie version for the same price.

Visit BBC Shop at www.bbcshop.com and find them on Facebook.