“Chrissy was happy to run off cuddling her In the Night Garden talking toys  the second they came out the box, and has not put them down since (seriously, she took them to bed)”.

Buy online at Argos
£16.99 each

*****

Initial thoughts: My daughter, 2 and half year old Chrissy, is obsessed with In the Night Garden. Here we have two of the range of talking character toys from the popular programme. They are colourful and a good likeness of the two characters. The boxes are as you’d expect awash with the programmes logo, just in case you’d forgotten what it was!

We liked: Chrissy was happy to run off cuddling the pair the second they came out the box, and has not put them down since (seriously, she took them to Chrissy & Upsy Daisybed). Both the toys say phrases from the show, and both have Derek Jacobi singing their individual theme tunes. They aren’t too loud either (thank heavens for small mercys). Chrissy loved that they are just the right size for cuddling, and they are lovely and soft. Another good point is they are machine washable, although at present we haven’t tried removing the battery pack.

We weren’t keen on: Hard to pinpoint due to the happiness of our child. I can see them getting a bit tiresome, and I think it would have been better if they were able to interact with each other to lower the boredom threshold. The biggest issue was that Chrissy had a bit of a problem making the toys make the noise, as to do this you have to be really accurate at pushing the tummy in the correct place.

Iggle Piggle also comes with a Velcro blanket, which is liable to getting lost. They aren’t cheap either, at nearly 17 pounds each, although I have been told they are a lot cheaper on EBay if you don’t mind second hand toys and are on a budget.

Overall: A good Christmas or birthday present for your own child, but if your budget is tight they might be a good suggestion to the grandparents!

[By Claire C]