“The Happyland play set is sturdy enough for little hands to play with and still offers plenty to keep older ones amused.”

Buy online at ELC

Price £50 (usually £70)

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Initial thoughts: Both my son and daughter were really excited to get this toy out of the box. It’s a pink playset that contains (are you ready?) a two storey swee shop and cafe, a church, a flower stall, stable, fences, 3 trays of flowers, 2 delivery vans, 1 carriage, 2 horses (1 of which has the rider moulded to the top), 2 cats, 1 dog, and 8 characters, including a bride and groom. It is suitable from 18 months old.

We liked:  This set comes in my favourite colour – pink! It also has lots of things to press and make noise – like the till and phone in the sweet shop and one that took us ages to discover – the sign outside the pet shop. Even though the set is pink, Little S played with it just as much as Baby B. Having the bride and groom in the carriage is a lovely touch, as well as the ‘wedding’ tune that plays from the church. The set is sturdy enough for little hands to play with and offers enough to keep  the older ones amused. Even though this set is pricey, buying it all separately would cost almost double the price, so I think it’s great value for money.

We weren’t keen: As you would expect for the price, this set comes with batteries, but in the package we received, half of them didn’t work. Little S was a bit disappointed that the windows don’t open and that the horse rider doesn’t come off the horse. The umbrella constantly falls off it’s perch too.

Overall: Being a big kid myself, I would have loved a lot more parts to  play with, however for the age range this set is suitable for, the amount is just about right. The different sounds make the set all that more appealing and interesting. Despite the set’s minor flaws, coupled with the fact that it’s normally a bit out of our price range, we loved it and are keen to add more of the HappyLand range.

[Clare, Babbling Mummy]