Outdoor Fun with Bunch O Balloons - A Review

(AD - This review features gifted items)

Whilst the sun has recently been shining, we have been trying our best to enjoy the garden along with some outdoor family fun and games. Last week saw temperatures soar, so what better way to cool down than with an epic water fight that saw the battle lines drawn between siblings. Admittedly, it looked far too much fun to let them enjoy it all by themselves, so I was also on standby for some balloon throwing and water gun blasting excitement!

Bunch O Balloons kindly sent our family a fantastic selection of water toys that guaranteed us a splashtastic time. This lovely gifted bundle consisted of over 500 water balloons, a Zuru Filler/Soaker, a Zuru XShot and a Zuru Xshot Micro Fast Fill. We certainly had plenty of equipment to keep us busy and we couldn't wait to put them all to the test.

Admittedly, it has been a couple of years since we last played with water balloons, there was something about having to stand by a tap for lengthy periods of time, along with the struggle of then trying to tie them, that kind of took some of the fun away. I seem to remember it taking around an hour to fill approximately 15 balloons which then only lasted a few seconds at the most.

However, Bunch O Balloons have solved this problem with their awesome fast fill design that allows you to fill AND tie 100 balloons in only 60 seconds. I was really keen to find out if this was really possible and my children found a bucket each to put their balloons into. They also selected their water weapon of choice, with Ben opting for the Soaker, Riley choosing the Zuru X-Shot Fast-Fill and finally Emma with the Zuru X-Shot Micro Fast-Fill.

The products all come in really eye catching and bright packaging, with the items very clearly on view. This means you can see exactly what you are getting for your money which is always my preference when it comes to how toys are boxed. Each product had accompanying images, which all really appealed to my children.

The Zuru Bunch O Balloons Filler/Soaker is dual purpose as this can fill your balloons, as well as blast water at your opponents. It is really easy to use and you simply connect the valve to a water source and pump the water into the balloons. It has an RRP of only £12.99 which I think is very good value for money, considering the fact that it also comes complete with 100 water balloons. This fabulous soaker is also great for the pool or beach and can reach targets from almost 30ft away!

Riley's water gun of choice, the Zuru X-Shot Fast-Fill has an RRP of £12.99 and can be reloaded with water in as little as one second. You simple dunk it in a water source (we used our paddling pool), pull the hammer to fill and then release it again to seal and continue with your water battle. Riley found this really easy to use and it had a great accurate target range of 30ft.

The X-Shot Fast-Fill Micro version works the same, but is more of a compact size. This model has an RRP of £10 and despite its smaller size, it still has a shooting range of up to 26ft. This collection together was the perfect trio for my children and we were all really impressed with their quality and design.

The Bunch O Balloons Water Balloons are completely stress free and are super simple to use. They are self tying, so there is no need to spend ages fiddling with awkward knots and instead the balloons release with ease. We had several buckets and containers ready to store the balloons in, so that each participating family member had their own supply. The balloons each have individual straws connected which then leads to the valve at the top. You then simply switch your water source on, watch them fill and once you are happy with them, you turn the water off. We then just pushed the filler in a quick downward motion (like a jolt) and the majority of the balloons simply fell into the buckets. For the odd couple that remained attached, we just used our hand to push them off the straws at the bottom. It really couldn't be simpler!

We placed a dividing line across the garden whilst the children decided who was on which team. Each of them had a bucket or bowl of balloons and they began to aim them at one another. They were very easy to throw and they broke well on impact. Once the balloon stocks had all been used they began to use their water guns which ensured that the fun could continue even longer.

Another thing we really love about the Bunch O Balloons, is that they are recyclable. Prior to using them, I had thought about the effect of having the remains of 500 water balloons spread throughout our garden. However, I turned the collecting of the rubbish into a game and offered 50p to the child who could collect the most pieces (genius I know)!

They are 100% recyclable which immediately put my mind at ease and with their partnership with Terracycle, this provides the ability to not only recycle the balloons, but all the packaging including the stems, which I think is fantastic. You can read more about their recycling program over on their sustainability page here: https://www.bunchoballoons.com/sustainability/

If you are also looking for other ideas of how to use your Bunch O Balloons, then you can find a great post over on their website which suggests 10 backyard activities for kids and features games such as Water Balloon Pinata, Bunch O Balloons Juggling and Parents vs Kids to name just a few. This handy list can be found here: https://www.bunchoballoons.com/10backyardactivitiesforkids/

Overall, we were extremely impressed with Bunch O Balloons and I will absolutely be buying more in the future. With our holidays for the remainder of the year now cancelled, we are looking forward to making the most of our garden and planning lots of fun that we can have together throughout the summer. I therefore have no doubt in my mind that this will involve a weekly water fight, which I will enjoy just as much as my children.

The products are really good quality and very reasonably priced and I would definitely recommend these items to other families looking to enjoy some outdoor fun together this summer. They can be purchased from toy retailers including Smyths, The Entertainer, Argos and Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Bunch O Balloons, then you can visit their website and social media pages on the following channels:

Website: https://www.bunchoballoons.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BunchOBalloons/
Instagram: @bunchoballoons
YouTube: ZuruToys

*Disclaimer - We were provided with a selection of Zuru and Bunch O Balloons products for the purpose of writing an honest review of the items and our experience. Thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Superzings Series 5 Collectibles and Superzings Mission Playsets - A Review

(AD - This review features gifted items)

My son Riley was first introduced to Superzings towards the end of last year and it is safe to say that since then, he has become a huge fan and has regularly been adding to his collection. He was therefore really excited to learn more about the new Superzings Series 5 Collectibles along with the new Superzings Mission Playsets and wasted no time at all, in opening the latest additions.

Created by Magic Box Toys, Superzings are based on everyday objects that can transform into superheroes or supervillains. They are a fantastic collectible series that encourage children to use their imagination and create scenarios that bring their characters to life. Not only are these a great fun range of toys, but they are also excellent value for money, with the blind bags having an RRP of only 80p per pack. They are recommended for children aged 4 to 8, which I would agree is the suitable age range.

The first items Riley began to open were the blind bags. He opened one and then took some time to look over the leaflet inside so he could see all of the different characters that were available. This leaflet also showed which ones were rare in this series and Riley was hopeful that he might find an Ultra-Rare in one of the packs.

This series also features some new special vehicles called Skyracers, which each have their own unique attack method. Priced at only £4 the vehicles also come with a Superzing character, making them ideal pocket money priced toys. There are 4 different models to collect which are the Hungry Hunter, Mighty Cannon, Rusty Blades and Turbo Kicker.

Riley carefully cut each pack open and began to line up his new characters on the table. He did get a couple of duplicates, but this didn't bother him at all and instead he just pretends that these characters are twins. He absolutely loves blind bags and the anticipation of what is inside, makes it so exciting for children as they open them up and get to reveal the character within. I love watching his reaction and then seeing him check the leaflet to find out what their name is.

This series has also seen the introduction of some new Superzings Mission Playsets which have an RRP of £15. The characters can be seen through the packaging on these items, so it does remove the element of surprise, but Riley was extremely happy with these regardless. The first mission playset he opened was Mission Fire Strike and this consisted of a fire engine, helicopter, 2 exclusive figures and some accessories.

Each vehicle has its own special feature and in this playset the helicopter can shoot fireballs, whilst the fire engine can shoot water jets. As you push the helicopter along, the rotating blades also spin, giving a great effect whilst carrying out your imaginative missions.

Riley's favourite however, was the Bank Assault Mission Playset, which contained two exclusive Superzings characters, 2 exclusive vehicles and a bank vault that can be filled with gold bars. Riley really enjoyed this playset, especially as it connected well with some of his existing Superzings toys, such as the police station. This meant that he could come up with countless scenarios and really enjoyed pretending to recover the gold from the Supervillains.

The gold bars all fit into the vault nicely and it is a really fun accessory to have within the set. Riley also asked me to hide the gold around and within his other playsets and he would then try and find it with the help of the superhero figures.

The exclusive figures that come with the vehicles in the Mission Playsets also sit nicely in them. However, the great thing about Superzings is that they are interchangeable, so you can use any of your figures in the vehicles and then swap and change them as you wish.

Riley finds all the toys so easy to use and the chunky, colourful and well made designs, means that he doesn't have to be too gentle with them, or be scared of them breaking quickly. For example on the police vehicle below, the top can open so that you can sit your chosen figure inside. This can be done with ease and doesn't feel flimsy or easily breakable when doing so.

After Riley had finished checking out all of his new Superzings, he began to lay out all of his Superzings Toys to create one huge combined playset. It was great fun creating some new play scenarios and Riley set up teams of superheroes and supervillains. The villains were on a mission to try and steal the gold from the vault, whilst the superheroes were working hard to prevent the robbery and then retrieve the gold.

All of the toys really encouraged his imagination and after capturing all the villains and placing them in the police station, he then created a new hide the gold game. This involved me hiding the gold bars around the various playsets whilst Riley then looked for them using his superhero characters.

Overall we have been really impressed with the Superzings range of toys. The products are such good quality and offer great value for money. Like most children Riley absolutely loves opening the blind bags and enjoys the surprise of seeing what is inside. He was so excited opening each pack in the hope of finding a rare. I personally think that the design of the characters is great and I love looking at the details on each one. They are ideal for birthday gifts or pocket money treats and both Riley and I look forward to seeing what other products join the Superzings range in the future. These items can be purchased from supermarkets, toy retailers and online retailers such as Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Superzings, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:

YouTube - SuperZings
Instagram - superzings_uk
Twitter - @superzings
Facebook - SuperZings.UK

*Disclaimer - We were gifted the items featured in this blog post for the purpose of writing an honest review of the products. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. Some products featured in the images from earlier series have previously been gifted or purchased by myself. This blog post features amazon affiliate links.