The Christmas holidays are fast approaching and families are getting set to spend more time indoors. Pair this with the frantic hunt for fantastic Christmas gifts, and you might agree that these award announcements are pretty well timed!
All parents know that keeping the kids entertained can be a battle! We live in a world where there are so many options, but some of these options simply don’t manage to hold a child’s attention for more than a few moments. Before you know it, they’re wanting something new to do! But the winning products that we’re about to announce have been tried and tested by fellow mums. And, frankly, you’ll want to get your hands on these before the schools break up!
Best Children’s Video Games
Video games are not only a huge amount of fun, with the added value that they keep kids entertained and out of trouble for any length of time that you should wish, they also offer a host of key developmental benefits. But which are the best video games for kids? The results are in and we are delighted to announce that the winners of the Best Children’s Video Game category are as follows:
Gold – The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem (RRP £34.99) by Outright Games
About the product: “Family game night is about to get terrifyingly exciting! Save the Addams Family Mansion from destruction in this hilarious 3D platform adventure for up to four players. Use each iconic character’s abilities to explore the house, solve puzzles, and find lost relics. Play competitive minigames that will have you bumping and jumping over each other to win.”
What our tester said: “It was great that it was a multi-player game; the graphics are fun and there is a great collection of characters to play with. There is a reall fun fighting mechanic in the game that the kids really enjoyed, where you have to fight eyeballs! The Addams Family game was perfect for our Halloween loving boys, as it was spooky but not too scary for the little ones.”
Joint Silver – Ben 10: Power Trip (RRP £34.99) by Outright Games
Joint Silver – DreamWorks Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure (RRP £34.99) by Outright Games
Bronze – PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay (RRP £34.99) by Outright Games
Best Children’s Books
Nothing beats a good bedtime story. Parents can either read to their children and older children can practise their own reading skills, too! An important life skill, as we as helpful part of the bedtime routine, we’re always on the lookout for great new reading material at UKMums.tv HQ! But this time, our fellow mums have done the hard work for us and selected the very best that the category has to offer! We are pleased to announce the winners in this category as:
Gold – Simple Activities for Toddlers (RRP £13.63) by Simple Toddler Activities
About the product: “The book is the best use of your time, resources, and space. Grab those recyclables and minimise overconsumption today. These play-based activities help your child thrive and ensures that they get a head start in life. The activities spark curiosity, enjoyment, motivation, deep learning, and creativity. The hard work of planning and ensuring that your toddler is equipped with the foundational skills they need for life has been done for you.”
What our tester said: “A great book; clear pictures and text. Lots of activities for toddlers and older children alike. I would also use many of the activities in my class, too.”
Joint Silver – My Daddy is a Monster/My Kids are Monsters (RRP £8.99) by Natalie Reeves Billing (Fairplayed Media Ltd)
Joint Silver – My Brother is a Monster/My Sister is a Monster (RRP £8.99) by Natalie Reeves Billing (Fairplayed Media Ltd)
Bronze – Bernie & Boatie (RRP £7.99) by Natalie Reeves Billing (Fairplayed Media Ltd)
Shortlisted – National Trust: The Wide, Wide Sea (RRP from £6.99) by Nosy Crow
Shortlisted – When a Dragon Meets a Baby (RRP from £6.99) by Nosy Crow
Best Children’s Magazines for both Boys and Girls
Children love to read magazines and can while away a good few hours as they flick through the pages and immerse themselves in the activities included within. So, for the Mums Choice Awards, we searched high and low for the very best children’s magazines on the market. Then we recruited an army of mums, dads, carers, teachers and their children/pupils and we asked them to help us put these magazines to the test. They have now given their verdict, and we can now announce the winners in this category as:
Joint Gold – Fun To Learn Compilation Magazine Range (RRP from £3.99 to £4.99 an issue) by Redan Publishing
About the product: “This fabulous selection of multi-character magazines comprises Fun To Learn Friends, Fun To Learn Favourites and Fun To Learn Bag o’ Fun. The exciting character assortments, colourful activities, stickers and covermount gift entice pre-schoolers and keep them engaged. In short, these magazines entertain and offer opportunities for children to achieve, be rewarded and share special time with their grown-ups. Equally important is that grown-ups trust and value the engaging, creative and educational content.”
What our tester said: “Our three-year-old granddaughter loved these magazines! All of her favourite characters were there and she had great fun with the stickers, colouring-in the pages, and telling me the stories! Brilliant for slightly older children, too – helping to develop their use of pens and pencils, number and letter formation, as well as simple problem-solving, simple maths, and initial literacy goals. All in all – brilliant!”
Joint Gold – Fun To Learn Standalone Magazine Range (RRP from £3.99 to £4.99 an issue) by Redan Publishing
About the product: “The current Fun To Learn standalone magazine portfolio comprises the very best pre-school talent including Peppa Pig, Bing, Paddington and most recently Hey Duggee. These magazines are fun, bright and gender-neutral and aimed at children aged 3-6 years old. The engaging content entices preschoolers and perfectly complements the charm, humour and character of the TV shows and extends the world of each character into entertaining and educational activities that delights both pre-schoolers and their grown-ups.”
What our tester said: “Just brilliant! Lots of fun activities for children to get involved with alongside their favourite TV characters (although a tad expensive if the child loves them all! 😊) From stickers and colouring to simple maths and writing activities, crafting and creating simple food items, these magazines are full of entertainment and provide hours of fun for little ones!”
Best Children’s Magazine for Girls
Whilst many magazines are ideal for both boys and girls, there are some that are perhaps best-enjoyed by young girls. As such, our troop of testers also had the pleasure of reading and judging the best magazines for girls. They have now given their verdict, and we can now announce the winner in this category as:
Gold – Sparkle World Magazine (RRP £4.99) by Redan Publishing
About the product: “Sparkle World is full of the most dazzling selection of the most popular licensed characters and is bursting with colour, fun and positivity. Aimed at girls aged 4 – 9, every sparkly issue has magical stories to read, engaging activities, delicious recipes to make, creative crafts, games to play, puzzles to solve and loads more! Each magazine is designed to make learning fun, helping children to develop important key skills in reading, writing and maths.”
What our tester said: “A fun bit of light reading for my little girl. It kept her entertained for a few hours!”
Best Giftable Item for Children
With so many fabulous products to pick from, which are designed to stimulate children and keep them entertained, deciding on what to buy can be a tough task! So, with Christmas now just weeks away, we tasked our families with the job of finding the best giftable item for children. They have now selected their favourite product and we can now announce the winner of this category as:
Gold – Toniebox (RRP £69.99) by tonies
About the product: “Meet the Toniebox! The screen-free, portable audio player for children from 3-7 years old that is soft, squidgy, yet robust, filled with music, stories and educational content. Simply pop one of our hand painted figurines on top of the Toniebox to active the sound, take it off and the audio pauses. With over 84 characters to choose from, the Toniebox is simple to for even the smallest of hands, the Toniebox is revolutionising children’s bedrooms as they can use it all on their own and is filled with audio adventures.”
What our tester said: “My seven-year-old absolutely loves her new Toniebox. Not only does it look great on the shelf but the concept itself is so original! It’s ideal for helping to establish a bedtime routine, and makes for a great alternative to reading a bedtime story. The selection of tonies that you can now buy is brilliant – there is no chance of Evie getting bored of her Toniebox anytime soon. Personally, we love the creative tonies. My husband works away a lot, so he has been recording himself telling her a story and we can then play it through the Toniebox – very clever!”
Best Entertainment Accessory
Keeping kids entertained is not always an easy task and getting the balance right between screen-time and time off screens adds to that difficulty for today’s parent. So, any accessories that can effectively support families in striking that ideal balance are a win in our book! For that reason, we recruited a number of families to help us find the best Entertainment Accessory for families. And they did not disappoint! We can now announce the winner of this category as:
Gold – Tech-Break (RRP £99.99) by Tech-Break
About the product: “Tech-Break is designed to help families collectively implement regular screen breaks to reverse the effects of excessive tech use, which affects children’s mental health and critical skills development. Taking the onus off parents, it minimises tantrums and teaches children the importance of screen-free time. Families lock their devices in Tech-Break for an agreed amount of time, set the timer and enjoy engaging in social, fun activities together. Get your family life back with Tech-Break.”
What our tester said: “We like the fact that the device tells the children when ‘time is up’! Also, it allows us to keep devices in a safe place and charged-up, which is good to train children how to keep their devices safe.”
