The 2013 Rainbow Toy Awards

The Rainbow 2013 Toy Awards are open for entry!  You can download you entry form here – entry form 2013

The team will be visiting Toy Fair next week so please email us if you require an appointment.

After Toy Fair the entry form for 2013 will be live on the site, the categories this year are:

Preschool

Games & Puzzles

Construction Toys

Educational

Imaginative Play

Outdoor Toys

Wheeled Toys

Soft Toys

Arts & Crafts

Electronic

As you can see, only ten categories, with one winner and one highly commended in each category – to win a Rainbow Toy Award is an achievement indeed!

Once again, we will be announcing them live online, and we’ll let you know about the valuable consumer coverage later this month.

The 2013 Rainbow Awards will soon be open for entry!

If you wish to be considered as a tester them please email info (at) rainbowpr.co.uk and tell us your name, address, telephone number and the ages and genders of your young testers!

Any companies wishing to enter the awards can gain more information at this address too.

Rainbow Toy Awards 2012 – Round Up

Just in case you missed the excitment of the Rainbow Toy Awards online ceremony today – here are all the results….

Rainbow Toy Award Winners 2012

Art & Craft Category
Winner– Waggle Tagz by John Adams Leisure
Highly Commended– Dr Dreadful Zombie Head by Spinmaster Toys

Educational Category
Winner– Tag Reader by Leapfrog

Highly Commended– Triqo Box Mix (100 Pieces) by ARK DIY Products

Wheeled Toy Category
Winner – Whirl & Twirl Ride-On Race Car by Mega Bloks

Highly Commended – Trail Twister Scooter by Ozbozz

Soft Toy Category
Winner – Oobicoo Olwyn by Totseat Ltd

Highly Commended – BB Bear by Babogbaby

Electronic Toy Category
Winner – LeapPad2 by Leapfrog

Highly Commended – Singalongz by Wow! Stuff

Games Category
Winner – LOGO What am I ? by Drumond Park

Highly Commended – Telestrations by John Adams Leisure

Puzzles Category
Winner – Zip-IT by Bananagrams Inc

Highly Commended – Bananagrams by Bananagrams Inc

Outdoor Toys Category
Winner – Trail Twister Scooter by Ozbozz

Highly Commended – Red Toolbox Go-Cart by ARK DIY Products

PreSchool Category
Winner – Creative Cakes by LEGO Duplo

Highly Commended – Letter Factory Phonics by Leapfrog

Imaginative Play category
Winner – Megasaurs by HGL

Highly Commended – Festiville Lottie Doll by Arklu Ltd

Overall Champion 2012!

There were more entries than ever before this year, so well done to the 20 category winners and highly commended, it really means you’ve fought off some stiff competition!  We only ever give away awards on ten categories so it’s always a battle to win!  Don’t forget the Rainbow Toy Awards are judged by children, the most brutal of critics… so to win an award is quite an achievement!

…. The Champion

The ten awards categories have now been announced and the Rainbow Toy Awards have been handed out for 2012. It remains to say well done on all the entries whether you’re a winner, a highly commended or you were pipped to the post this year… It was a hard fought contest indeed with loads of entries!

Before we sign off this year’s awards though, we would like to present one extra award… they are already a winner in their own category and the testers scored them very highly indeed!

The testers said:

‘It lasted around 45 minutes which is such a perfect time for this age group’

and

‘The only packaging is clear film – perfect!’

and

‘It’s excellent for families and a games night indoors’

and

‘Good value for money’

So our overall Champion for the 2012 Rainbow Toy Awards is …

LOGO What am I?   By Drumond Park

Award Category: Outdoor Toys

Winner:  Trail Twister Scooter

By: Ozbozz

Age Suitability:  3 years+

Price:  £19.99

Stockist:  www.amazon.co.uk

More Information:  www.ozbozz.co.uk

Description:  The fun Trail Twist 3 wheel Scooter is perfect for the younger
kids.  This fixed height scooter incorporates an easy-steer mechanism,
making it easy to manoeuvre left and right. The Trail Twist has a rear
brake, removable soft handle grips and decals. Choose from a pink Trail
Twister for girls or red version for boys.

What the testers said: ‘Fun and cool, kept them interested for ages’ and ‘Lovely pink girls scooter, I couldn’t get her off it!’

__________________________

Highly Commended:  Red Toolbox Go Cart

By: ARK DIY Products Ltd

Age Suitability: 8 years+

Price: £74.99

Stockist: www.amazon.co.uk, www.coxandcox.co.uk

More Information:  www.arkdiyproducts.com/red-toolbox

Description:  The classic kids cart!  Build this with mum or dad in style.  This wooden go-cart lets you steer and control, as you cruise along the way.  Kit comes with full instructins on how to build

What the testers said: ‘My boy is now hooked on carpentry!’

Awards Category: Imaginative Play

Winner:  Megasaurs

By: HGL

Age Suitability:  3 years+

Price: £9.99-£14.99

Stockist:  The Works, The Entertainer, Toymaster, The Natural History Museum

More Information:  www.ozbozz.co.uk

Description:  Megasaurs are a range of lifelike Dinosaurs in two sizes.  Each dinosaur comes with information about the individual dinosaur and the models are as accurate as possible.  Input from the University of Glasgow was used in the design.

What the testers said: ‘Brilliant for boys or girls, all my children played imaginatively together’ and ‘All kids love dinosaurs! I was impressed by the minimal packaging too’

_______________________

Highly Commended:  Lottieville Festival Lottie Doll

By:  Arklu Ltd

Age Suitability:  3-8 years

Price:  £16.99

Stockist: www.amazon.co.uk

More Information:  www.lottie.com

Description:  Lottie is a new British fashion doll for girls aged 3-8.  Lottie is a positive take on childhood – no scanty clothes, make-up, jewellery, tattoos or high heels; this a girl doll intended for girls.  Unlike other fashion dolls her body is properly childlike and based upon dimensions by leading British academics.  The minimal blister pack is recycleable and she’s not excessively pink!

What the testers said:  ‘My daughter loved Lottie and I enjoyed the sentiment behind the doll’

Award Category: PreSchool Toys

Winner: LEGO Duplo Creative Cakes

By:  LEGO Duplo

Age Suitability: 2-5 Years

Price:  £19.99

Stockist: John Lewis, www.amazon.co.uk, Argos

More Information:  www.duplo-LEGO.com

Description:  The unique LEGO Duplo Creative Cakes includes candles, cupcakes, muffins, meringues and pastel coloured bricks, which pre-schoolers can build up in any way they want using their imaginations whilst developing their social skills through role-play.

What the testers said: ‘Everyday is our ‘birthday’ at the moment as she makes cakes for us all the time’ and ‘At £20 we thought it was excellent value for money and a real cool toy’

______________________

Highly Commended:  Letter Factory Phonics

By: LeapFrog

Age Suitability: 2-4 years

Price:  £14.99

Stockist:  Toys R Us, John Lewis, www.amazon.co.uk

More Information: www.leapfrogstore.com

Description:  Letter Factory Phonics helps children learn about letters and their sounds in an engaging, fun way.  Little learners place letter tiles in the ‘factory’ to hear songs which teach the corresponding letter names and sounds.  The portable system holds all 26 letters, allowing children to take phonics with them wherever they go!

What the testers said: ‘We love Leapfrog toys anyway, this one is a great addition to the collection!’ and ‘It’s bright and colourful so he doesn’t feel like its an educational toy’

Award Category: Puzzles

Winner:  Zip-It

By: Bananagrams Inc

Age Suitability: 7 years+

Price:  £14.99

Stockist:  www.play.com, www.amazon.co.uk, John Lewis, Waterstones

More Information: www.bananagrams.com

Description: Zip-It is a two player crossword race – Play one hand in as little as 20 seconds!  Zip-It features 24 high quality letter cubes packaged in a unique cloth pouch with scoring zips.

What the testers said: ‘The children compared it to ‘Scrabble’ and said it was ace!’ and ‘Good value for money and makes an excellent travel game’

________________________________

Highly Commended:  Bananagrams

By: Bananagrams Inc

Age Suitability:  7 years+

Price:  £14.99

Stockist:  www.amazon.co.uk, www.play.com, John Lewis, WH Smith, Waterstones

More Information: www.bananagrams.com

Description: A fast and fun anagram game that drives players bananas!  Requiring no pen or paper or board, it comes in a small portable banana shaped pouch.  Perfect for kids from 7 to 107.   Also available in a variety of languages plus a new London 2012 edition, as well as a jumbo version ideal for outdoor play.

What the testers said: ‘A fun educational game for older children that adds fun and the element of competiton’

Award Category: Electronic Toys

Winner: LeapPad2

By: Leapfrog

Age Suitability: 3-9 years

Price: £89.99

Stockist: Toys R Us, Argos, John Lewis

More Information: www.leapfrogstore.co.uk

Description:  Leapfrog’s most advanced children’s educational toy.  LeapPad2 is a multifunctional and kid-tough tablet which is designed for little creators.  Featuring high resolution (2 megapixel) front and back cameras, video recorders and a microphone, children are encouraged to express their creative side.  The LeapPad2 comes with a library of over 225 learning cartridge games, apps, videos, music and eBooks.

What the testers said: ‘He was engrossed from the moment the pack was opened’ and ‘The LeapPad2 encourages reading and learning, that can’t be a bad thing!’

_________________________________

Highly Commended:  Singalongz

By: Wow! Stuff

Age Suitability: 4 years+

Price: £29.99

Stockist: Argos, Toys R Us, Hamleys

More Information:  www.singalongz.com

Description:  Sing, talk and connect these loveable plush toys.  Use the special microphone and the Singalongz sing in their own unique voice.  They instantly sing everything you sing!  Talk and they copy you in their own voice.  Collect and connect them to form a band!  Four fantastic characters to collect… Me-Me Cat, Cobey Bear, Dally Duck and Ruftey Dog

What the testers said:  ‘Our kids absolutely loved the duck, they had fun singing together’

Award Category: Soft Toys

Winner: Oobicoo Olwyn

By: Totseat Ltd

Age Suitability: 3 years+

Price: £34.99

Stockist:  www.amazon.co.uk, www.solemio.si

More Information: www.oobicoo.com

Description:  Adorable, cuddly Olwyn fits out-grown baby clothes, encouraging role-play, recycling and independent dressing.  The same size as a six month old, made from recycled and recyclable fabrics.  Olwyn gives an enormous, earth-friendly hug.  Complete with vest, fabric pod and downloadable song.  Raising money for charity with every purchase.

What the testers said: ‘My daughter loved Olwyn from the moment she saw it, when she found it could be anything she wanted, she treated it like a baby’ and ‘We all loved the way it looked and the size too’

_________________________

Higly Commended:  BB Bear

By:  Babogbaby

Age Suitability: 6 months+

Price: £25.00

Stockist: Smyths Toys,  www.smythstoys.com

More Information: www.babogbaby.com

Description:  BB Bear teaches toddlers, babies and children 33 words of english.  He has numbers, colours and shapes and is a fun and cuddly friend.  BB Bear is also available in Welsh and Gaelic too!

What the testers said: ‘BB Bear became her little friend that she picked up everyday’