It's hard to believe it but Sylvanian Families are marking an incredible 25 years of existence this year. To celebrate this special silver anniversary, they have launched an exciting competition to find a real life town or village to twin with Sylvania that I blogged about last week (and that many of you seem to be entering so fingers crossed !) and they have also launched a brand new range of toys to send the Sylvanians off on a well-deserved holiday ! You can add a Log Cabin, Tree House and Ice Cream Van to your collection, as well as this fabulous Camper Van that we were sent to review by http://www.ukmums.tv.
The official blurb says : "Setting off on holiday adventures, every Sylvanian needs the new Camper Van (SRP £39.99)! A beautifully detailed motor home, ready to take children on a journey full of exploration and imagination! Stunningly detailed, full to the brim of essential home comforts in miniature perfection. This mobile home is already showing signs of being the must have piece and we expect it to be in the best sellers lists as Christmas approaches." Well, having had a good look, I wouldn't be at all surprised. Santa had better start stockpiling them !
Sylvanian Families are always beautiful toys but I generally think they are more designed for looking pretty on a shelf rather than actually leading to hands-on, imaginative, make-believe play. While continuing to look beautiful - the attention to detail in particular is very impressive - this Camper Van bucks the trend. It is perfectly sized for the Sylvanian Families figures but, size apart, it actually reminds me more of a Playmobil set.
Packed away inside are a whole host of miniature items that had Juliette squealing in delight. She carefully laid out the tiny cutlery, cooking utensils, food, bedding and even board games, marvelling at the tiny details before pulling out her Playmobil Camper Van to see what else she could use with the Ginger Cat Family. Her absolute favourites are the teeny bar of soap, the heart-shaped sponge and the strawberry air freshener ! The wide variety of objects makes it really easy to make up stories - I'd never seen Juliette play so often with her Sylvanian Families characters before we received this play set. And this is real playing, not just getting them out and looking at them then putting them carefully away again.
After excitedly examining the contents of the Camper Van, Juliette turned her attention to the vehicle itself. We were very impressed to see that it has pull-down beds in the roof, a fold-out, removable table and seating area and a kitchen area with a sink, cupboards and a hob so the story-making options are limitless. There is also a roof rack and a bike rack allowing you to transport bikes, canoes or surf boards (which all need to be bought separately).
When I saw this described as a Camper Van, I was expecting an empty vehicle so getting the extra items inside was a wonderful surprise. It really should be labelled a complete Play Set so that people don't miss out on the wonderful imaginative play opportunities it offers. Designed for children aged 4+, both 3-year-old Pierre and 7-year-old Juliette have been having a whale of a time playig with it ... and I have to admit, so have I. Just so that I can supervise Pierre with all the fun little accessories, obviously - ahem !!
star rating : 5/5
RRP : £39.99
for more information : http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/product_info.php?products_id=1213
Disclosure : I received a Camper Van and Ginger Cat Family in order to write an honest review.
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I always loved Sylvanian families, but it's such an expensive range to get children into. Although the set it beautiful and your review highlights how great it is, it just isn't worth it in our house; considering my little sister breaks a lot of toys. I'm hoping she'll grow to take more care of them, because it would be worth paying the price for it, if I knew she would.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean - that's why ours usually stay on the shelf !
DeleteI love Sylvanian families, they are so cute, utterly adorable. I see the point made my Naomi and agree they are quite pricey, but I tend to buy the when they are on sale for my nieces.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - Amazon often have some great prices, boot sales are another fab place to pick them up cheap :)
DeleteI got some in the late 80's for christmas my 6 year old plays with the same ones now :) we have just added to the collection in recent years
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