[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was hesitant to jump on the Hatchimal bandwagon, but being a mother of an almost 8 year old daughter, I knew this day would eventually come. I gave my daughter the new hatchimal surprise. I really didn’t even know what it was, just that it seems to be the latest toy people fight over in the mall parking lot on black Friday. Needless to say, I was as skeptical as can be,.
I surprised my daughter with it after school a week before her birthday. She was totally surprised, and even though she hadn’t asked for a hatchimal, she was very excited to see what they are all about. She ripped the box open and we immediately set out to get the egg to hatch. Setup was easy. Batteries were already in the toy & all we had to do was remove 2 keys from the bottom of the egg. She immediately heard sounds & saw lights coming from the egg. She and her 4 tear old brother wandered the house cuddling the egg. After about a half hour she saw the first crack I in the top of the egg. Shortly thereafter, a little blue creature poked out. She pulled it out & squealed when she realized there was a pink creature in the egg as well. She and her brother spent the rest of the evening interacting with the hatchimals & trying to get them to go from babies to toddlers. My daughter said they got to the toddler phase later that night & by the next day she said they reached the kid phase. (I can’t confirm whether that’s true, I can’t figure out what the hatchimal are saying half the time.) Two days later my kids are still pretty obsessed with the hatchimals (thankfully there were 2 because there would have been a lot of tears if they had to share just one).
So here are the positives as I see it: The hatching part is super fun. Even as an adult, I was excited to see what was in the egg. There are 2 hatchimal in the egg. If you have more than one child that’s a big bonus. The hatchimal are cute & soft & the kids love seeing what they can get them to do. They play music, they can repeat sounds your child records, they move around a bit, so there’s room for kids to interact with them. They seem pretty sturdy. My 4 year old dropped them more times than I could count & so far they keep on ticking.
This wouldn’t be a very honest review if I didn’t point out the negatives, so I will. Once they hatch, they don’t seem all that different from the other zillion talking stuffed animal creatures in the toy store. Maybe they are better than the rest, but through my boring adult eyes, they all look pretty similar. They seem to move through the baby & toddler phases pretty quickly. I understand why, kids aren’t known for being patient & sticking with things that take a long time to pay off, but I wonder how long the kids will stay interested when they’ve gotten to the kid phase & there’s nowhere else to go. But the biggest negative in my mind is that they are pretty loud & the constant sounds can be kind of annoying (to adults, kids love annoying sounds).
Overall I give it a thumbs up because it’s entertained my kids for 2 days, and not too many toys do that. I question how long it can hold their interest, but for now it’s fun for them. I guess when you’re looking for the perfect gift for your child, that’s really all that matters.
Yes, I recommend this product.
Originally posted on shop.spinmaster.com