Last year was the first year I think I really paid attention to toy crazes (since being a child myself). There was a couple of toys that stood out to me and these were toys that I was seeing ALL OVER social media. One of these toys was Fingerlings. People were going crazy for them and I saw so many people panicking because they didn’t think they would find one in time for Christmas. That was a year ago though and this year there is something different on the market; Fingerlings Hugs.
Fingerlings Hugs comes in two options; Boris who is blue and Bella who is pink. I don’t particularly mind that they come in stereotypical boy/ girl colours because I think it will just help the child to identify whether their monkey is a boy or a girl, especially if they can’t say Bella or Boris yet!
Fingerlings Hugs are interactive plush toys that look like monkeys. The age recommendation for Fingerlings Hugs can be a bit confusing as some websites say 6+ while some say 3+. The box actually recommends ages 2+ and with Erin turning 3 in January I had no problem letting her have Bella as there aren’t really any small parts and she wasn’t going to unsupervised while playing either. I think this toy is fine for 2 year olds provided they aren’t left along with it or try to eat it etc.
I can’t even begin to tell you just how excited Erin was when I first gave Bella to her. Erin hadn’t seen these before either in person or advertised so she had no idea what it really was or what it could do.
Erin really just thought that Bella was a cute monkey to be friends with but when I showed her that Bella was actually a bit more than that, she was amazed and didn’t put her down for at least an hour and that was only because it was time for her bath. Even then, Erin wanted to take Bella in the bath as well (she has batteries so please don’t take them in the bath)!
Fingerlings Hugs can do so much more than I originally thought they could. As we’ve been playing with Bella for a little while now, here is a little list of what she can do and how to get her to do it:
- Sleeping – If you lay Bella on her back she will fall asleep and start to snore
- Kisses – Kissing your Fingerlings Hug will get you a big kiss back! The longer you kiss them for, the longer they kiss you back.
- Hugs – Bella’s hands have velcro on them so you can stick them together and have great hugs with her!
- Farting – There’s a bit of a knack to this and I don’t think we’ve really ‘got’ it yet. To make Bella fart you need to give her a shake but I think there must be a particular way of doing this as it’s been hit and miss for us so far.
- Speech – If you press Belle’s ear while you talk she will repeat it in a funny way after you’ve stopped talking
- Laughing – Tickle Bella’s belly to make her giggle
- Burping – Pat Bella’s back slowly to make her burp
As soon as I showed Erin how to kiss Bella she wanted to keep on doing it and I think it’s probably her favourite thing to do. Every time we managed to get Bella do to something new she got even more excited, especially when we played catch with her to make her laugh and go a bit crazy.
Erin plays with Bella like she would do a doll and tries to get her to do realistic things, just like she would do. As you can see from the picture below, Bella needed to use the potty so Erin cleaned her up nicely afterwards!
I have absolutely loved watching Erin play with Bella and to figure out what she can do on her own, as well as playing together with me or John.
At £29.99, I think this is such a reasonably priced toy that children can get a lot out of. If I were you, I’d buy one now because I don’t think it will be easy to find one in December! At the time of publishing this post, there is already a 2-4 week wait on Amazon.
Buy Fingerlings Hugs on Amazon.
Bella: https://amzn.to/2CVuOyT
Boris: https://amzn.to/2x3lUtv
Want a different look at Bella? Watch this video:
PIN IT FOR LATER
Disclaimer: We received products for the purpose of this review. All opinions are our own.