The build up to Christmas was such a fun one and we had many, many giggles with our elves who came to bring mischief and mayhem to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Baby house! As well as causing rip roaring giggles by planting pants in the Christmas tree and turning our milk blue they also brought little gifts to whet our appetite for Christmas day!

At the beginning of December it seemed like a long time to go until the big day when the elves would return to the North Pole to help Father Christmas with his delivery but sure enough the time went by in a flash and it was Christmas Eve… The elves brought us one last laugh by positioning themselves on the loo with new jammies for the children and then once the mice pies and sherry were left out and the stockings hung up it was one more short sleep until the main event!

Florence and Jimmy absolutely loved our elves and it really got their imaginations running wild for the magic of the festive season. In the run up Florence asked almost daily if we thought Father Christmas would bring her a pink Teksta dog as it was what she really, REALLY wanted. A robot dog which had, I found, had some mixed reviews. At £60 I wasn’t entirely sure Teksta was worth the pennies and although I didn’t want to disappoint I also didn’t want to waste money on a toy which Florence wouldn’t think wasn’t very good once she actually had it in her grasp. I was torn and undecided? Then… A week or so before Christmas I was asked if I’d like to review one of these prize doggies and knowing how Florence was so interested how could I refuse.

I thought that Teksta probably wouldn’t work all that well as I had indeed sen it on TV with a presenter struggling to make it do what it was supposed to. You can train this robot to sit, flip and wag its ears! He also needs to be fed for energy and played with so that he doesn’t feel lonely. The presenter seemed to struggle making it follow the commands and I suspected it might all be a bit too much for Florence who only turned 4 on New year’s Eve. But… I knew when she unwrapped him she’d LOVE it! Time would tell if that excitement would be prolonged.

She did LOVE it! She had a moment when due to the box showing the blue Teksta rather than the pink one inside it, a big flash of disappointment crossed her face thinking we hadn’t heard her pleas for a pink one but as soon as that was sorted and Teksta came out of the box she was a massive hit. And I have to admit, hand on heart, she has continued to be so. Florence thinks she’s utterly fabulous! Take a look…

Teksta DOES work! Teksta is really rather fab actually! I thought she’d be a one day wonder. I’d suspected she probably wouldn’t work. I imagined Florence would lose interest quite quickly and they were all the reasons I’d been in two minds. The reviews I read and saw on television, I feel, were rather misleading compared to our experiences as we think she’s great and has provided much entertainment with her little ball and feeding bone for not just Florence but ALL of us! Had I paid £60 I would genuinely be very happy with her as is Florence I can assure you! Florence wants a real dog but we’re definitely not getting one of those and Teksta is a pretty good alternative!

I was also asked to review a new Nerf gun! We played with these in the summer at the show put on by Argos to display the toys they wanted to promote for Christmas and Florence loved it. She’s too young for the big ones but she played with a little pink one (also according to the manufacturers guidelines too old for her) and had a blast – literally! The one I was sent to review is a big one and although I initially thought Daddy could have a play, when I thought of my cousin’s little boy I couldn’t resist giving it to him to review for me instead! He’s 6 years old and I knew the Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS18 Blaster would be perfect for him!

This is what Freddy and his Mummy thought:

Freddy thought the new Nerf gun fro Argos was fab and had lots of fun playing with it!

Completely aside to my review of the toys I feel I have to mention that my experience of shopping at Argos was, as I have always found when shopping there, very easy. I have an Argos at the bottom of my road and although the Teksta wasn’t in stock they found out where it was and saved it for me to collect. I knew I couldn’t make it within the time frame given so the assistant rang the shop where it was and asked them to save it for an extra day for me which they did with no fuss. The process was quick and easy, I had no queues to contend with despite picking up on Christmas Eve and I got what I went in for. I also bought lots of other things from Argos and used the click and collect service on line which is brilliant and means no traipsing around from shop to shop – brilliant!

This post is in association with Argos. Reviews and thoughts are entirely my own.

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