Up until recently, the whole Hatchimals craze hadn't hit our household, so when we were sent a surprise dozen egg box from Spin Master one day last week, the kids were pretty ecstatic, as any 3 and 6 year old would be right now!
We were sent a dozen eggs in their own plastic egg box, all from series three and possibly including twin toys (two in one egg) or even some rare ones. To save argument, I split the eggs in half, giving both kids six each and they got straight to work cracking their little shells to see what was inside.
Although I've seen and heard of Hatchimals, I didn't know much about them and hadn't ever opened one before. Now I have, I can totally appreciate their popularity as they're the ultimate surprise egg, collectibles and really really cute.
The box we were sent retails at £24.99 which although I felt was a little high, the excitement they bring and the fact the kids have enjoyed the characters and making up stories means that we will be buying again, despite the price tag.
The eggs feel like real egg shells and crack like the real thing. They also have a purple heart on the shell, which when rubbed reveals a pink colour that indicates that the Hatchimal is ready to be hatched and the kids can literally, get cracking. Each character has either a twin or best friend to make collecting more fun, as well as a guide to show all the characters out there to collect.
If your child is expressing an interest in Hatchimals, these mini sized eggs are a great place to start,with smaller pack options available for around a fiver, they don't have to break the bank and make eggselent stocking fillers or extra birthday gifts. There are over 100 to collect and a great choice for pocket money spends!
In our pack, the kids were very lucky and hatched two sets of twins (saves serious sibling arguments!) as well as a rare edition character in one of Soph's shells. Getting twins was super exciting and I think makes the packs even better value. I have absolutely no doubt that pretty much every child would have fun opening these and be excited to unwrap them on their birthday or Christmas.
I found that Alf (6) had no issues opening his eggs but Soph who turns 4 this month did need a little help with the initial crack but was then able to reveal the inside by herself. As well as the toys themselves, there's an app which gives you the opportunity to discover their little world called Hatchtopia and play some games supporting the characters.
You can pick up your own Hatchimals at all good toy retailers nationwide and find out all about them on the Hatchimals website.
