Freddy received the Little Live Pets Lil' Hedgehog and House to try out from Character Options. The play set consists of a battery operated, pet hedgehog that rolls into a ball or scurries around on its wheeled base, and a plastic house complete with hand operated elevator, a little flap door and curved slide. The hedgehog has a soft, velvety covered outer casing and a plastic face that peeps out. The pink nose can be pressed prompting the hedgehog to roll into a ball. After a moment, it pops out its head and continues to scurry and play.
We received the exclusive Shy Sky in the play set, a cute little mauve coloured hedgehog toy. Other colours of hedgehog are available separately and can be played with alongside Sky in the house.
Batteries are included, so you can play with Shy Sky straight from the box. You can play with it on a flat surface where it will scurry around until it hits something and rolls into a ball or goes off in a different direction. Or you can use it inside the play house, where it will run into the elevator, roll into a ball ready to be taken to the top of the slide for it to roll back down. The set comes ready built apart from the very edge of the slide that needs to be attached by clipping it on.
Freddy at first thought the creature was a 'big, fat hamster' as it doesn't have the characteristic spikes of a hedgehog, but that didn't deter him at all. The mechanism of the play set works quite well, although sometimes the hedgehog needed a bit of a push to get him to roll down the slide from the top of the raised elevator. After a few attempts we found that raising the elevator really quickly with a bit of a flick at the end did the trick, and Freddy became a dab hand at doing it. The movement of the hedgehog is fast and quirky and it is cute when it rolls into and out of a ball. Sometimes he ended up upside down and needed to be flipped back over, which added to the fun. The hedgehog can run around inside the house and pop through the door, but if you want him contained, the door is lockable using a little catch. The play set has a carry handle so you can take your toy wherever you go.
Freddy had a lot of fun watching the way the hedgehog moved both in and out of the house and liked making him roll down the slide using his well honed technique. I like that the play set is an all in one construction, so there are no little bits to lose and it stores away nicely with Shy Sky inside. The play set is a good size for little ones to carry around, perfect for taking along with them to the grandparents' house, on holiday or in the car.
The Little Live Pets Lil' Hedgehog and House is recommended for children aged 5 and over and has an RRP of £22.99 with additional hedgehogs costing £12.99. You can find out more at www.character-online.com/little-live-pets-hedgehog-and-house.
Keep an eye out and join on the fun on February 20th as UKMums.tv are having a Little Live Pets Takeover!