The Best New Spring Toys!

*Disclosure: I received these toys in exchange for this blog post and give my followers a chance to win some cool things! All opinions are our own*

When I was contacted about doing a review of some super-cool new spring toys, I jumped at the chance!
Not that these toys are geared primarily towards girls, but I thought my nieces would enjoy them more than my sons, so I employed their help!

Plus, it makes me look like the best auntie ever!

So, to test these new toys I enlisted the help of my nieces Isla (5), Lahrin (3) and their mom, Tracy (age undisclosed).

Here’s what these professional testers had to say:

There was a job to do and I knew two capable young ladies to get the job done!

I explained to my oldest daughter (5 years old) that we had some toys to play with but it wasn’t for fun, it was for the greater good of toys everywhere.

Her response was, “I’m so excited I could burst!”

So we popped open the box of toys and set to work. Little sister (3 years old) was thrilled to help Big Sis.

It was hard to choose where to start with such pretty options but we decided to take one for the team and start with glitter.

Glitzi Globes

THE DISNEY PRINCESS LINE OF GLITZI GLOBES™
Kids can make them up, then shake them up with the cutest DIY snow globes around, Glitzi Globes™! Bring the Disney Princess enchantment home with our new products, available now at ToysRUs and Wal Mart!

GLITZI GLOBES™ – DISNEY PRINCESS PAGEANT
(Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Ages 5 years and up/Available: Now)
Girls can create a Glitzi Globes™ world full of enchantment with the Gliitzi Globes Princess Pageant. The princess playset includes a globe maker, four mini domes, four display bases, seven characters, one mega dome, three mega characters and fun glitter items to add some sparkle. Girls will love showing off their Glitzi Globe collection with this magical playset! Available at ToysRUs and Wal Mart!

GLITZI GLOBES™ – DISNEY PRINCESS JEWELRY PACK
(Approx. Retail Price: $17.99/Ages 5 years and up/Available: Now)
Make them up and shake them up with the Glitzi Globes™ Disney Princess Jewelry Pack! This pack contains four Disney Princess characters and everything kids need to create Glitzi accessories! With a necklace, bracelet and ring included in this pack, kids can pop and swap their Disney Princess characters to create magical jewelry. Available at ToysRUs and Wal Mart!

Isla and Lahrin tested the GLITZI GLOBES™ – DISNEY PRINCESS PAGEANT
Glitzi Globes are a Disney themed DIY snow globe kit. This was a FABULOUS toy to do together; it would make a great rainy day craft.

The box said for ages 5+ but some of the tiny pieces were a bit tricky for Big Sis.

Little Sis loved the convenient water bottle that came with it to make filling the globes up much easier. She said the water bottle was “magical”.

Mommy loved it because the glitter came in pellets that dissolved in the water after the globe was sealed, so I wasn’t sweeping up glitter for days.

Kid Response: “Can we buy this again?!” (uttered while jumping up and down) Four thumbs up!
Parent Response: There was very little mess. Two thumbs up!

More info

BEADOS™

Moose Toys™ & Red Planet Group introduces Beados Glitter to its popular arts and crafts line in spring 2015. Girls can make all new characters and designs, now with a glitter finish. Make dazzling creations with these magical joining beads. Girls can choose a template, add some beads and spray them with water. No heat, no glue, no mess!

Once dry, the beads are fused together to become cute designs. Kids can place their designs on the enclosed display stands and use the connectable play pads and scene cards to create a Beados world of their own.

Beados was a Walmart Chosen by Kids Award winner in fall 2014 and is available at ToysRUs Canada and is appropriate for age four and up. Beados has launched a brand new season with even more design options and a little added sparkle! The line ranges $12.99 – $34.99.

BEADOS™ THEME PACK
(Approx. Retail Price: $12.99/Ages 4 years & up/Available: Now at ToysRUs)
The Beados™ Refill Pack is the perfect way to add new designs to a growing Beados world, which includes all of the tools they need to bring their creations to life. Available in three different themes, including Camping Out, Pony Stables, and Royal Nursery.

BEADOS™ GLITTER STARTER PACK
(Approx. Retail Price: $17.99/Ages 4 years & up/Available: Now at ToysRUs)
NEW Glitter! Beginning a Beados™ world is easy with the Beados Starter Pack! Offering out-of-the-box play, the Starter Pack includes 400 beads, one Pod Pen, two design trays, and a spray bottle, so kids can bring imaginative designs to life with just a few sprays. This pack also comes with six design templates, an instruction booklet and four pods for the interchangeable Pod Pen to help kids organize their beads by color. Two connectors and a display stand allow kids to show off their designs.

BEADOS™ GLITTER QUICK DRY DESIGN STATION
(Approx. Retail Price: $34.99/Ages 4 years & up/Available: Now at ToysRUs)
The Beados™ NEW Glitter Quick Dry Station is the all-in-one kit for creating plenty of Beados fun! The included 500 beads, two display trays, six design templates, spray bottle and quick dry fan give kids everything they need to create cute designs and dry them in half the time. Bead Pod storage makes organizing beads by color easy and cleanup a breeze while the included suction cups, display stand, and connector give kids a way to play with and proudly display their creations.

For this review, the girls tried the BEADOS™ Glitter STARTER PACK
When we first opened the box I was reminded of Perler beads, you know the ones that you iron and they melt together…if you grew up in the 80s/90s you know what I’m talkin’ about.

Beados is a similar idea but you don’t need heat, you just need a spray bottle of water (included, of course).

This craft was no good for Little Sis, she quickly became frustrated with the patterns and the tiny beads. The box says for ages 4+ but Little Sis who is a few months away from 4 couldn’t master it and even Big Sis had to focus to get it done.

The plus to this toy is that it comes with a battery operated fan to help dry your creations faster. Little Sis was put in charge of the on/off switch and sorting the beads into the tray.

Big Sis used the patterns and with a bit of help created some pretty cool stuff.

Kid Response: “It’s so cool that water can do that.”- Big Sis
“Me like that fan” – Little Sis
Four thumbs up

Parent Response: “It was a good idea but maybe for children ages 6-8. One thumb up

More Info

Little Live Pets

Little Live Pets are your new, cool pet friends that move, feel, sound and act so REAL!

Your pet bird will respond to your touch, chirp, whistle, sing and even talk back to you! The more you interact with your bird best friend, the more playful it becomes!

Your pet butterfly comes to life in your hands as it flutters like a real butterfly! Your butterfly loves playing and feeding from its flower!
Little Live Pets Owl & Baby ($26.99)

I’m not going to lie, I tried to avoid opening this toy. I despise noise toys; especially ones that repeat things back to you and have prerecorded music in them.

I’m the parent that takes the batteries out of toys and tells her kids that the sound doesn’t work anymore.

I knew without question that I would hate this toy, so I kept delaying our test run of the cute little Mommy and Baby owl set.

Then Big Sis put her foot down, “We have to try it out so we can let other kids know if it’s good or not”. So with a heavy heart I popped open the box and flipped the switch from “test” to “on”.

Well, let me tell you, that laughs have not stopped at our house. Mommy Owl not only coos a few lovely songs to her baby but also, with the touch of a button, records what you say and repeats it back in a higher pitch.

It reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks and it’s hilarious.

It only records a few seconds and doesn’t have any memory to store what you say.
We have had endless fun and many belly laughs.

Just watch!

Baby Owl is not as much fun as Mommy Owl, she doesn’t have a record button but if you hold her up to the Mommy she makes eating sounds and then lets out a big burp.
Little Sis finds the burp quite amusing every time and when we had our boy cousins over (7 and 8 years old) there were lots of owl burps heard throughout the house.

Little Live Pets would make a great gift and I know for sure we will be buying at least one more set.

Kid Response: Lots of laughing. Four thumbs up
Parent Response: Of the toys we tried out, this was my favorite and is the toy that has been played with the most.

I will be buying more of these to keep on hand for birthday party gifts. Two thumbs way up!!