Being Three – A Big Girl’s Birthday List

Next month Baby Essex, aka O, turns Three. THREE! How is that even possible?? Time is flying by crazy fast.

Choosing birthday gifts for a second child, especially if they are the same gender as your first, is a very tricky project.  A lot of what they love you already own and have passed down, and the additional toys they would like are noramlly a lot ‘older’ than they toys you would have bought your first born.

O’s wish-list consists of dollies, Barbies and Lego!

Being Three – A Big Girl’s Birthday List

Having an older sibling around can actually be a godsend at times like this, S has been my second-in-command on this project.  Testing out the toys in question to make sure they’ll be suitable for O, and that they’re toys that’ll get played with again and again. She was quite the harsh toy critic!

Chelsea Puppy Pool Party

O has been asking for Barbies for as long as we’ve been talking about her birthday.  I had the usual worries about small pieces and inquisitive mouths, but she hasn’t done anything like that for over a year now so as soon I was introduced to the Barbie Chelsea range, and got to try out the Chelsea Puppy Pool Party, I knew that Barbies would feature in her birthday pile this year.

Coming with Chelsea, three puppies and the the swimming pool ticked the ‘wow’ box right away. Aimed at ages 3+ the pieces in this set are larger than regular Barbie sets, and when one of the puppies did a flip at the bottom of the slide S nearly feel off her chair.  Always the little things that amuse children isn’t it??

I really liked the Barbie Chelsea range, it’s durable so get mummy points for that and the bright colours and quirky features such as summersaulting puppies and water squirting dolphins (the girls worked out that feature before I did!) mean that it’s a toy that will get lots of play action too.  For a RRP of just £22.99 I think its great value, especially as it can work with your existing Barbie collection or even be the start of a new Barbie Chelsea collection of its own.  S already has her eyes on the Barbie Chelsea’s Clubhouse for her and O’s Christmas List.

Tiny Tears Interactive

Every little girl deserves a Tiny Tears.  I loved mine, and her little brother Timmy, as if they were my own children.  When it came to S getting a special doll she was gifted a Baby Annabel at Lollibop in 2012 and that became her baby of choice, so I had to delay in revisiting my childhood for a little longer.

Now I’ve waited long enough. O wants a doll to call her own, and I knew straight away just the one I wanted to get her. The Tiny Tears Interactive is a combination of the traditional doll with all the latest toy technology.

S and I have given her a little test run in the lead up to the big day, and I have to say it was like being 5 all over again.  The life-life features have come on so much since Tiny first entered my life in 1989, but they are still just as funny to children big and small.  Just as I giggled like child when I first saw my doll wee in the potty all those years ago, S was cracking up at the burp Tiny let out after her bottle was finished.

This doll really is one that works for both younger and older children.  It’s sturdy and easy to manoeuvre, making it great for the smaller ones, but it’s life features and interactive sounds allow older children a greater level of role play. I think she is going to be part of the family for a long time to come.

Baby Emmi Sleep-over Travel Bag

If you are getting a new baby, you clearly near a new changing bag.  Well, that was always the rule for me!

This Emmi Sleep-over Travel Bag is perfect for the pretend mum-on-the-go.  I love the the handle pulls up for the case to be wheeled along, meaning the bag can be re-purposed during role play to carry all number of things! The bag comes complete with everything your baby needs for her sleepover including pyjamas, a hat, 2 nappies, a pair of slippers, a blanket, a soft bear toy and a milk bottle.

With a price tag of only £10 this is a fab gift for school friends and makes a great stocking-filler as well.

What was on your little one’s 3rd birthday list??