Review: Hape Cupcakes, worth £19.50
Review by VIP Club Member Charlotte Dawes
Product Information
Time to nibble! Make your own cupcakes with this playset. Includes four cupcakes and a selection of great toppings such as a candle, fruit and a waffle.
Review
What a sweet treat!
When my son opened this on his 3rd birthday, he was immediately enamoured by the vibrant colours and creative potential that these cupcakes provide.
There was no tuition required to show him how to connect the pieces and he instantly set to work creating his favourite sweet treat – chocolate and strawberry cake!
Since then, he has played with them every day and we have had endless fun re-enacting “Happy Birthday” using the candle piece atop a different cake combination each time. These cupcakes have given my son the chance to be creative with flavour combinations, all the while using his growing vocabulary to describe to me what he has made. I would highly recommend this toy to encourage role play, creativity and increasing any toddler’s vocabulary.
Each piece of the toy has been beautifully shaped to fit together, snug enough so that the cakes do not fall apart and yet not too tightly that a toddler’s little hands cannot easily manoeuvre the parts. This toy, therefore, does well to scaffold the development of children’s fine motor skills, without causing any frustration from being too difficult to enjoy. My son absolutely loved the selection of toppings available to decorate each cupcake and has had a lot of fun picking out his favourite fruit or wafer to put on top of each cake.
The plastic free packaging was a bonus as it was very easy to open as well as being eco-friendly.
I would pitch this toy for children aged 2 and upwards, in terms of the motor skills required to play with it. However, my 9 month old daughter has also enjoyed the feel of each cake piece in her mouth, especially the flexible silicone icing topping. While she obviously cannot play with this toy in the same way as my toddler, she enjoys the colours and feel of the cake pieces, and I am not worried about her playing with them as they are large enough that they do not present a choking hazard.
A weakness in this toy would be the candle piece, which is not stable enough to sit on top of the cupcakes and fell off too easily whenever my son tried to carry a cupcake around the room.
Overall, a brilliant toy, sensibly priced, and one that will bring enjoyment for both boys and girls, younger and older children, and even the adults!
Available to purchase here.