The latest box is the Lucky Gecko Midwinter Activity Box, which is jam packed full of things to do, challenging children and helping to keep their minds busy over the festive holidays. Freddy received one of these boxes and was eager to check out the contents. Everything comes well packaged in a sturdy cardboard box and the contents are wrapped in tissue paper, sealed with a Lucky Gecko sticker.
Freddy was really impressed with the huge array of contents, which included a game, some creative crafts and some fun science based activities to keep him busy over Christmas. Everything you need for the projects is included inside the box including paints and Sharpie markers. The enclosed booklet has full instructions, ideas and information as well as quizzes, puzzles, competitions and challenges. This really is a box filled with things to inspire a child's desire to create, discover, have fun and learn.
Using the contents children can make their own Christmas placemats, thumbprint gift tags, cool penguin racers and tealight snowmen. They can create and learn about crystallization with a magic tree and also make some magic snow and build a miniature snowman. There is also a game of Time Shock which will test children's spatial awareness and their ability to stay calm under pressure as they race to match shapes into the right holes against the clock. Time Shock is a great game to challenge the whole family this Christmas.
The book has some excellent information about Christmas including trivia about feasts, traditions and festivals and the history of Santa. There are lots of quiz questions and challenges, which will make for a fun festive family quiz this Christmas. Plus there are some ideas for festive reads and winter writing activities to help bridge the gap between home and school while the kids are on holiday.
What we loved most about the Midwinter Activity Box from Lucky Gecko is the fact that the whole family can get involved. The Penguin Racers and Magic Snow are things that we can have fun with together, and the Time Shock game is great for family games nights. And any child would be proud to supply the placemats for Christmas dinner or tag a gift with a homemade gift tag.
The quizzes and facts have been enjoyed by us all, I even learned a few new things! I really liked how children are encouraged to develop their leadership and organisational skills to host the family quiz themselves. Freddy enjoyed researching some of the answers to the questions online using the laptop, polishing up his investigative skills before asking us the questions. It's lovely to have the kids in charge of some of the festive activities.
Freddy's big sisters love helping him do arts and crafts activities so the placemat designing, gift tag making and creating of snowman tealights become a team effort. Doing activities like these together is a really bonding experience and Freddy loves it when his older siblings get involved with his stuff.
Boxes come addressed to the child and are really inviting, ready for the contents to be explored. A Parent Pack email is sent to the grown ups, highlighting what's inside the box and giving ideas and advice for follow up activities. The answers to the quiz questions in the booklet are attached for the kids' eyes only, giving them ownership as the quizmasters!
Children are encouraged to enter the competitions and share photographs of what they have made with Lucky Gecko, which gives them recognition for their hard work, giving them a great confidence boost. Children's work can be featured, for example there is a bookmark included in this box designed by a Lucky Gecko winner.
The standalone Midwinter Activity Box would be a wonderful and thoughtful gift for a child this Christmas, delivered directly to their door. These boxes are limited and ready to ship now for the price of £30 from www.luckygecko.com.