In the Night Garden Bubble Train REVIEW

This post is in collaboration with WildBrain, In the Night Garden Bubble Train gifted for review

Christmas is fast approaching and yes, my tree has already made an appearance. Preschool is the perfect age to bring the magic of Christmas to life and like many parents, after the rollercoaster of a year that we’ve had, we are super keen to make Christmas as special as we can in 2020. I absolutely love the run up to Christmas and the sense of excitement that builds in children as the big day approaches. We always make sure we do lots of festive themed activities during December, including creative play, festive activities and of course, some advent themed fun from the 1st of December onwards.

For preschoolers, this year has seen the launch of the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Bubble Train; which is not only a great educational and interactive toy for preschool children, but for those who love the tradition of a Christmas train and daily advent surprises, is also a fun way to sprinkle some magic into December, whilst reinforcing the messages of a familiar bedtime routine. We have had a number of In the Night Garden Toys in the past and was keen to discover what this one had to offer too! Here’s our In the Night Garden Bubble Train Review.

A brand new In the Night Garden product for 2020, the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Bubble Train is suitable for children aged 12 months plus and is packed full of fun, interactive play and educational elements, all with the familiar In the Night Garden characters they know and love.

Measuring 80cm in length, the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk bubble train comes with 5 distinct carriages, four of which come complete with different shapes, textures, songs and activities to explore and all fit easily together with hooks and clips.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor play, you will also find an incorporated bubble machine, which when the train is set to Bubble mode, will result in a steady flow of bubbles shooting out of the chimney as the train is pulled along.

Key Features of the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Bubble Train

If you’re looking to treat your little ones; here is our In the Night Garden Bubble Train review.

The first carriage of the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Bubble Train is a stacking chimney; consisting of yellow, blue and purple layers that children can stack on top of each other. The set comes with three characters included – Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka; that can easily be placed on the top by simply slotting them into place.

The second carriage features a tall shape shorter with four pieces to sort and slot including a heart, flower, triangle and square. Children will really enjoy figuring out which piece goes where and then opening the vent at the bottom to watch them slide back out again or popping them in more quickly by lifting the red roof.

The whole tower can also be lifted away from the base and creates a rain maker type rattle, with bead noises as its moved from side to side. There is also a variety of different textures to explore on the walls; from rubber stars to a zig zag panel.

The centre carriage is probably the one children will be most familiar with from In the Night Garden and is the carriage of the Ninky Nonk where the characters sit. It also is big enough to store surprises, making it the ideal home for our Advent treats (see below to learn more!)

It has four places where the characters can sit, as well as pre cut spaces for the four shapes of the shape sorted to be slotted in and tidied away, before clicking the lid into place. The whole carriage can also be lifted away from the Ninky Nonk and played with separately should they wish.

The real surprise of the Ninky Nonk Bubble Train was of course the bubble machine, which was a real hit with Neve. The set comes with a large bottle of bubble solution included, and a small pot which is inserted into the base of the red Ninky Nonk carriage. Once used up, standard bubble solution can be used as a refill.

There are three settings on the main carriage of the Ninky Nonk – off (no music or bubbles), Both music and bubbles, or music only.

In bubble mode, a steady flow of bubbles make an appearance as the train is pulled along by the string and Neve absolutely loved trying to catch them as they floated back down to the floor.

If you in the night garden train’s bubbles aren’t working – make sure you have got the bubbles tub screwed in properly (it has to be twisted in to place). The bubbles also only work when the train is moving. If the bubbles still do not work please visit the troubleshooting pages for the product which can be found in the instructions.

The Ninky Nonk Bubble Train Advent Surprise

As a child growing up we always had a train under the tree. My Mum loved it, my Dad hated it, but I have so many positive memories of seeing it move around the base of the tree. As soon as I saw the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Bubble Train I felt this could be a great modern way to create a traditional yet fun advent treat for the girls whilst also reinforcing some of the positive messages from In the Night Garden.

Each night of advent, Neve will pop her In the Night Garden characters into bed, placing them into the centre carriage of the train, slotting the shapes back into place and popping the lid back on top. We’re big fans of the In the Night Garden Bedtime Book which talks all about establishing good bedtime routines and how following the same process nightly can help reinforce the message that it’s almost time to go to bed (giving us parents more hope of a peaceful evening too!)

She will then pull the train along to its place under the tree, where it will be waiting for her in the morning with a surprise to reveal.

In the morning she will see that the characters may have moved around, standing on different carriages or sliding down the shape sorter shoot. What new surprise will they find inside when they open the lid?

Our Ninky Nonk Bubble Train Advent Surprises

I tested out the concept of the Ninky Nonk Bubble Train Advent with Neve to see how she would react; and as you can see from the video below – it was a real hit!

In terms of the advent surprises you decide to feature, the opportunities are pretty endless; and with the characters removed, there is a fairly substantial amount of space for you to hide their treats!

You could choose edible items such as cookies, chocolate coins or mini Santas or healthier snacks such as preschool treats, wafers or smoothies. You could also pop in some mini craft activities; felt tip pens or crayons, a bouncy ball, some stickers or even a mini In the Night Garden plush toy.

If you have larger items you want to gift during advent, you could even include a treasure hunt clue using pictures or words, leading children to hunt for the item hidden somewhere around the house.

Alternatively you could do a random acts of kindness theme; where each day there is a task to spread love and happiness at Christmas to those who might be feeling lonely or sad.

Neve really loved running into the room and discovering what treats awaited her inside the Ninky Nonk, pulling around the train by its’ string until it reached the front of the tree, and then pulling away the lid to reveal her surprise!

I really think there is so much fun to be had with the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Musical Activity Bubble Train – it’s a great option for a Christmas gift this year, which can go on to be used every advent after as a fun interactive advent surprise. Whilst with some toys the novelty can wear off really quickly, I feel that this is a toy that can be enjoyed for many years to come. Im also pretty sure that little ones would love chasing each other round the garden with this in the Summer; catching the bubbles as they blow away in the Summer breeze!

From an educational point of view, the In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Bubble train is also a great way to stimulate your child’s senses, build their fine motor skills and encourage hand to eye coordination, construction and building skills.

The In the Night Garden Bubble train is available to buy now for £49.99 at Amazon, Argos and Smyths Toys.

What advent treats will you put inside yours?

*This post is in collaboration with WildBrain – we were gifted a In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Bubble Train for this In the Night Garden Bubble Train review and compensated for our time, however as always all thoughts and opinions are my own*