THE ULTIMATE TOY GIFT GUIDE FEATURING POLLY POCKET, VTECH, NEOBEAR, PJ MASKS, PEPPA PIG, LEAPFROG

Have you got little kids and struggling with ideas of what to give them... then I've got you covered with a large selection of cool toys, many of which are educational at the same time... 

Guess who has made a comeback - Polly Pocket!! I grew up playing with Polly Pocket, and now, 30 years after the original launch, she’s back with a range of super adorable toys suitable for girls. The Polly Pocket Snowball Surprise contains a cute little compact play set with a little house that opens up with a house on one side and a snow scene with skiing slope on the other side. The snow also contains slow cute little details such as a ice skating rink, and a ski lift, while the house has a little e bedroom and a lounge room. The st also comes with two little polly Pockets for the ultimate fun. But the range is huge, with lots of differs collectables available.

Suitable for kids aged 3+ years.
Polly Pocket Snowball Surprise - RRP: $29.95
Available from Myer, Kmart and Big W

For the boys there's the newly launched Vtech Switch & Go Dinos LCD Crew, which combines all boys’ love for both cars and dinosaurs, as the cool car quickly and easily switches into a roaring dinosaur for the ultimate 2-in-1 play. 

The car and dinosaur has an animated LCD screen, which can be changed into the favourite drive and favourite Dino fave, depending on whether it is in car or dinosaur mode. And it has over 50 cool and realistic sounds and voice phrases, and also teaches kids more about dinosaurs, and other great facts by pressing the button. 

The sturdy toy is built to withstand rugged play, one is sure to have them excited time and time again. There’s several different ones to collect, including Dash the T-Rex, Lex the T-Rex, SkySlicer the Allosaurus, Brok the Brachiosaurus, and as featured, Grando the Giganotosaurus.

Suitable for kids 3-8 years.
Vtech Switch & Go Dinos LCD Crew - RRP $34.95
Available from Kmart 

Then there's the Vtech PJ Masks Super Learning Headquarters, as aren’t all kids fans of the the PJ Masks that always come out to fight the villains and save the day. And with this great play set they can pretend to be super heroes themselves.

The set comes with three PJ Mask Vehicles, and has 12 fun activities as well as 3 play modes, all while helping teach the kids science, matching, problem solving, letter order and memory, as well as;

• Language development, teaching beginning letters, alphabetical order
• Visualisation and memory by helping to develop logical thinking, visualisation and memory skills through interactive games 
• Imaginative play through the PJ Masks character voices and dynamic sound effect that encourage imaginative play 

The play set has three different play modes, including;

• Vehicle Mode to chase the villains and chose the correct answers to save the day
• Science Mode to learn about animals, food and places around the world
• Problem Solving Mode to help the PJ Masks solve a variety of puzzles

The three little vehicles are also removable and interchangeable and kids can swap them around each they play to control the on-screen action with Cat-Car, Gekko-Mobile and Owl-Glider, and in the control panel, the vehicles can be moved to control the on-screen action, by pressing the windshield to confirm.

Suitable for kids 3-6 years

Vtech PJ Masks Super Learning Headquarters - RPR: $49.95

Available from Big W, Target, good toy stores and online retailers

Then there’s the Vtech Kidizoom Action Cam 180°, which is a super light and multi-functional action camera for kids. The camera is a combination of a camera, a video camera and a game console, allowing for a multitude of fun. The kids can take great photos with the rotatable and shoot exciting videos on the move, choosing from lots of cool visual effects, including adding frames and effects to the photos and videos.

They can also play three fantastic games, or create fun stop motion, slow motion or fast motion videos with a great selection of background music to choose from. 

The camera also has ability to take time-lapse photo recordings to capture great and creative actions shots, and it comes with a waterproof case so the kids can take underwater photos up to 6 feet under water, or they can of course use it n the rain too. And well, its not called Action Cam for nothing, it also comes with a mount so it can be attached to the bike, to take cool and creative action snaps on the go, or selfie snaps.

The camera has a built-in rechargeable battery, that’ll last approximately 2.5 hours of continuous usage.

This little camera has 128MB internal memory, and it is expandable with microSD (not included). It easily connects to a computer to recharge the battery and upload the photos and videos. 

This is such a cool camera and perfect for little active adventurers. It is small and compact and light too, so it’s easy for them to carry around, yet it is still sturdy so survives a drop to the ground. Take photos and videos, be creative and active, and play games on the go, really doesn’t get any better.

Suitable for kids aged 5+ years.

The Kidizoom Action Cam 180° - RRP: $89.95
Available from Kogan and good toy stores

For the Peppa fans, you cannot go past this adorable Peppa Pig Family Home. The 55cm tall, has four floors and seven rooms, including Peppa and George’s rooms, parents bedroom, bathroom, kitchen family, study and loft, and it comes complete with lots of figures and accessories, including;

• Peppa, George and Zoe Zebra figures 
• Accessories; a telescope, computer table, office chair, double bed, bedroom mirror, bathtub, toilet, bunk beds, couch, two dining chairs, dining table and refrigerator

The pack includes everything you need to fully furnish Peppa’s family home, and it allows kids to experience all the sights, sounds and phrases of that they know from the TV series.

When you enter the house at the doormat, the living room light switches on to greet you, or press the doormat for even more sounds and phrases, and Peppa and George can jump in the muddy puddle in the front yard.

In the house, kids can set Peppa, George and Zoe Zebra outdoors to play in the muddy puddle, or into Peppa and George’s room to play or to go to sleep.

They can also explore all the seven different rooms, which are all made up just like on TV. On the ground level they can go sit in the couch in the family room, or go next door to the kitchen, grab some food out of the fridge and sit down at the table to eat it. On the second floor, there is the bathroom where they can wash themselves and brush teeth before going to bed, and next door, Peppa and George’s room complete with the bunk bed.

Moving to the third level, there’s Mummy and Daddy Pig’s bedroom and next door the study where they can play on the computer.

On the forth floor there is the attic, which can be accessed via the study from the pull-down ladder. In the attic there a telescope where Peppa, George and their friends can use to look at the stars. 

This house is really so adorable and allows for hours and hours of pretend play for both boys and girls. I love that there are all the different rooms, so kids can play out lots of different scenarios and routines they know from their own day, from eating, having a bath, playing on the computer, watching, TV

they can use the telescope to find the fluffiest cloud during the day, or they can star gaze during the night.

This four-story home also features light and sound effects to further enhance kids’ playtime experience.

And what is Peppa’s house unless there’s a muddy puddle spot, - and this one will even make funny sound effects when Peppa or one of her friends jumps in it. Other sounds effects, such as little sentences are activated by opening the front door and stepping on the door mat, which will also activate the light in the family room.

Suitable for kids 3+ years

Peppa Pig Lights & Sounds Family Homes - RRP: $149
Available from Big W, Myer and independent retailers

Then there’s the AR Globe from NeoBear, which is a super cool and educational smart smart 3D Augmented Reality globe that comes to life to help improve the way children learn about the world, and beyond.

The Globe is easily to the free 'NeoAR' App on your mobile device, and after that, you can spin the globe and watch in amazement as the world turns on your device, with real to life detail letting you see the world as if you were seeing it from a satellite.

The Globe has a diameter of 20cm, and has several interactive themes including;

• National Encyclopedia: Country Information, Famous Tourist Sites, Traditional Garments and Special Cuisine
• Natural Geography: Natural Phenomena, Topography, Wildlife, Climate Ocean Currents and Oceania
• Human Civilisation: Space Science and Technology, Famous Landmarks, Notable Citizens and Technological Inventions
• Ancient Earth: Dinosaur Empire, Tectonic Plates, Human Origins and Earth's Formation
• Mystical Universe: Earth/Moon System, The Eight Planets, The Earth's Core and Constellation
• Interesting Earth: Defend the Earth and The Magnificent Earth

As the children switch between the modes, they can explore the world from different perspectives, including countries, landmarks, animals and natural phenomenons. It's a fun and way of learning and experiencing the world.

The 3D interactive learning has been crated to help enhance the acquisition memory, practise hand-eye coordination, develop the left and right brains and inspire imagination, all while introducing a new fun learning experience.

And the clever Globe, once the app has been downloaded, it will be kept up to date with wireless updates, which continuously adds new knowledge and ways to interact, and thus also improving educational value, eliminating boredom, while addressing the needs of children at different age groups. 

And once you’ve downloaded the contents, you can also turn off the Wifi on the device and play offline. It even supports several different languages including English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Korean.

The Globe is compatible with iOS Device: iPhone 6, iPad Air, iPad Mini2 or later, iOS 8.0 or later, and it has 1G RAM, 500MB Storage space.

This Globe is seriously incredible, so much to do and learn!
Suitable for kids 3+ years

AR Globe from NeoBear - RRP: $49
Available from Kmart 

Finally there’s the The LeapFrog LeapStart 3D Interactive Learning System. This clever learning system helps bring books to 3D Life, by interacting with all LeapStart books to deliver a magical experience that enhances the learning fun with amazing 3D-like animations through a pop-up holographic screen.

It comes with a stylus that reads invisible dots on the pages to trigger holographic animations along with questions, challenges, games, music, songs, jokes, animations and more.

The system comes with an extensive Grow With Me Library (each sold separately), with lots of skills to learn at each level ranging from preschool to primary school, including;

• Level 1 - Preschool - Early fundamentals including ABCs, shapes, colours
• Level 2 - Preschool - Early key skills including phonics, writing, counting and critical thinking
• Level 3 - Primary School - Complements school skills including reading, and maths, with other life skills like logic and reasoning
• Learn to Read - to build confidence and encourage the love of reading through 12 books with levelled learning 

The books feature the kids favourite characters from Peppa Pig, Cinderella, Paw Patrols, Trolls, and Mickey Mouse, and allows then to engage with the step-by-step system to learn school and life skills through more than 600 activities that match the curriculum for their preschool and early school years.

Each book in the library has more than 30 activities, including games, jokes and songs come to life, enticing kids to trace numbers, hunt for letters, compose their own music, undertake creative challenges, problem-solving puzzles, math, mazes, and so much more.

For a comprehensive introduction to key concepts, each learning level also teaches over 50 key skills and seamlessly blends fun with skills, from problem solving to learning to read, that are important to a child’s development.

And to ensure that the child continues to grow and develop, most of the activities are designed with two levels so they can play and learn at the right level and move up a level when they’re ready.

My big boys has been loving the Mickey and the Roadster Racers - Pit Crews to the Rescue’ Book, which follows Mickey and the Roadster Racers on their adventure in this LeapStart 3D book. In this book there are over 30 activities and 300 interactive touch points, and it will help kids learn to identify the cause and effect of events in a story; understand and use adjectives to describe nouns; and explore elements that contribute to good teamwork - and all while having fun while they’re doing it. This book is suitable for preschoolers 2-5 years. 

The grow-with-me stylus helps fine-tune gross motor skills providing the correct grasp for learning to write, and it can be used by both left and righted handed.

The system also comes with a Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten sampler book to give you a good idea of what to expect from the additional books available.

The actual activity learning system, is a bit like a laptop with a carry handle, and it is lightweight and easy for little hands to carry, and it is the perfect fun yet super educational interactive toy to help kids get ready for school. 

Suitable for kids 2-7 years.

LeapFrog LeapStart 3D Interactive Learning System - RRP: 89.95
LeapFrog LeapStart 3D Mickey and the Roadster Racers - Pit Crews to the Rescue’ Book - RRP: $19.95
Available from Big W, Target, good toy stores and online retailers



*Some products may have been kindly provided for editorial consideration, and have been reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy, and reviews are 100% honest and based on personal opinion and experience. Note that The Beauty & Lifestyle Hunter is not a professional or expert, so please do not substitute these opinions as professional advice.

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