We were asked to review the My Blue Nose Friends range of cuddly toys (£5 each) by Carte Blanche. We were sent Dash the Cheetah, Diva the Canary, Frizzie the Lamb and Eduardo the Axoltl. No, I don't know what an Axoltl is, either. They are available from Clintons, direct from Carte Blanche and from independent retailers. Amazon* also has a wide range of them for sale too, including some of the larger versions at reduced prices.
It seems to me that you only have to announce to friends and family that you’re expecting your first baby and your house soon resembles a cuddly toy factory. If people aren’t buying you soft toys as gifts for your new baby then before you know it, said baby is a soft toy magnet of a toddler, and you soon can’t leave home without an assortment of stuffed, cuddly animals accompanying you everywhere you go.
And in my case, your parents then retire and move house and finally insist that you do something about the vast collection of your own cuddly toys which has been cluttering up their spare room ever since you left home.
Suffice it to say; we have a lot of stuffed toys in our house and, try as I might, I just can’t ever seem to persuade my kids to part with any of them. I’ve tried everything, even surreptitiously removing them under cover of darkness, but somehow they always notice, and they always find a way to wangle them back into the house.
So, I admit to groaning inwardly when my assignment to review the new range of My Blue Nose Friends from Carte Blanche Greetings landed on my desk. Did they cheer me up once they actually arrived? Click below and read on to find out...
The only saving grace in all this was that my kids are still big fans of cuddly toys, so I knew they’d throw themselves wholeheartedly into this review.
And I wasn’t wrong. Firstly I made the grave error of stashing our My Blue Nose Friends samples in my desk drawer and forgetting all about them. So one morning when my son was looking for a pencil I sent him in the direction of my desk drawers, whereupon he unearthed said furry friends, and begged and pleaded to be allowed to play with them. I had already decided to give them to the kids as an Easter treat, so for about the next three weeks my kids pestered me about the My Blue Nose Friends every single day, which they knew were lurking in my desk drawer, waiting to be loved.
Next up, I failed to significantly consider the fact that we have four My Blue Nose Friends but I have three kids. There followed weeks of intense negotiations around who would get which one, what would be fairest, and whether the baby even needed one.
I’ll be honest; by the time I finally got to play the Easter Bunny and dragged the four My Blue Nose Friends from their desk drawer haven, I was pretty sick of the mention of the things.
But, as predicted, my kids behaved as if I’d given them the best gift they could imagine. Which - let’s be frank - doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense given that these are just pretty small cuddly toys with cute names and little blue noses, but that’s really about it.
As an adult, I can’t really see the appeal personally speaking, but there’s no denying that kids adore these things.
They’re pretty reasonably priced at a fiver too, so if a kid sets their heart on one it’s not inconceivable that they could use their own savings or pocket money to pay for one, or do some chores around the house to earn the cash for a My Blue Nose Friend. I am a big fan of toys and trinkets like that, which don’t place yet another financial burden on parents’ already-overstretched pockets but are within reach of the average kid’s budget.
And that’s really all there is to say about My Blue Nose Friends. My lads adore them, they’re always a talking point when other friends come over to play, and they somewhat baffle me. Which is probably the sign of a brilliant top toy for kids.
Pros: My Blue Nose Friends are the perfect sized cuddly toy for stashing in an overnight bag, so make a nice furry friend if your child becomes attached to one. Decent price too - ideal for kids to buy with their own money. They have a ‘collectable’ theme too, for kids who love to amass a whole stash of cuddlies.
Cons: None really. Besides my own personal pet hate which is my house resembling a cuddly toy factory…
Overall verdict: 8/10
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