We chose the Vintage Musical Elephant Pull Toy as it only had a minimal amount of plastic, and we chose well. It’s the first toy our daughter engaged with and actually tried to grab. The ’soothing melody’ seems to soothe her, but doesn’t quite do the job for us parents.

Set in the wonderful seaside world of Sunnysands, where the sun always shines and characters abound, this gently amusing programme reaches parts no other children’s TV programme can quite reach. It’s unique charm is the way it manages to bring nostalgia up-to-date and dispense liberal quantities of feel-good factor.

These Travelling Souk wooden earth worms for babies look lovely. I’m a sucker for nice wooden toys and would probably have a houseful of them, if I could afford it. And it’s nice to get a toy for a baby that does something other than rattle, squeak or make some kind of annoying noise!

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced stocking filler or present for a young baby, this is a great option – bright, colourful and gorgeously tactile, and able to be used on prams, cots and baby gyms. A fab toy and I like toys that seem ‘educational’ not just cute.

We do absolutely love these new Chan Pie Gnon teethers from Vulli as toys and people have commented on how cool they are. They are definitely worth having, but as teethers we prefer Sophie the Giraffe, mainly as its legs and head are a lot easier for her to get in her mouth

The My First Lacing Tools set is a lovely present for a young child, and one that gives you a lot of toy for your money. It’s going to get lots of play, and is robust enough to still be around for the next child.

Bambini beads make a lovely gift for children aged 3 and above, and I’d buy them for boys or girls, which is a refreshing change. It’s an educational toy, but so much fun to play with, too! Great value for money and it’s so popular in our house.

For a jigsaw this is excellent. It has large pieces that little hands can manage and is a nice way to teach your child about woodland animals while encouraging dexterity. If I could get over my loathing of jigsaws I am sure this would get a much higher mark.

great toy to use for a short time. If like me, you have a child that doesn’t like tummy time very much this will isn’t quite a miracle but in our house it was enough to keep a lively baby entertained for more minutes than usual, encouraging him to play on their tummy, and (hopefully) help him to strengthen those muscles!

The Baby Whoozit seems to be a perfect toy for a small baby, and one that will probably keep being of interest for a good few months, perhaps even past the crawling stage. There’s lots to explore, it’s beautifully made and a fantastic price. We love it!

Three excellent additions to the children’s TV stable, theses DVDs mean that you need never again be at the mercy of the CBeebies schedule. Each title is well over an hour long and – with extras – represents great value for money.

I’d definitely recommend The Adsa Pumpkin Fancy Dress Outfit if you’re looking for an outfit for a 2 year old or under. You’ll get lots of growing room and it’s certainly cute enough to make your little one the star of the night! I also felt it was great value for money for the price.

The Tesco Skeleton Kids Halloween Costume is really great value for money outfit and more substantial than some supermarket offerings. Definitely my favourite from the Tesco range this year.

The VTech Push and Sing Tricycle is not an expensive toy, but I expected more from a name like VTech, and I think it’s really not something that will be played with for hours on end. Could do better!

This is a really good buy. From a parent point of view, it’s great quality, well made, and a reasonable price. From a baby point of view, there’s lots of colour, textures and activities, plus plenty of room for rolling around.