There’s a huge range of flying discs, boomerangs and throwing toys with a twist that can bring all new fun to games of catch – like the epic NERF Howler. You can even practise your serve with Swingball or tennis sets! The basic idea is that you flatten the ball into a disc by firmly pressing the top and bottom, then throw and watch it “pop” and transform into a flexible ball to be caught again. Flattening the ball is very simple and doesn’t require much effort as it is really malleable. My 3 year old could manage easily. There are ridges to assist with grip, and when catching it as a sphere there are 6 separated segments which makes it a little easier to grab and throw. Whilst we all found this really fun to play, it didn’t really live up to its tag line; it rarely transforms shape mid-air, and more often it maintained the disc shape for a couple of throws before becoming a ball on impact with the ground or the person catching it. Now this may be due to my children being young and their throwing and catching range being short, it’s difficult to say. However on a positive note the kids didn’t care when it transformed, if anything it became a game of “don’t make it pop open” and we all squealed when it did. They loved it so that’s all that matters really. We have a wide range of garden games to help kids make the most of summer days, from classic sports sets and giant-sized board games to role play gardening toys for tots.

For younger kids, garden games can be the perfect opportunity for some role play fun. Cook up a storm with an outdoor play kitchen, or potter around the garden with wheelbarrow sets and role play lawnmowers. A toy watering can will water the flowers just as well as a real one, so why not encourage your kids to get involved as you garden? It’s the perfect chance to teach them all about the nature around them. The age recommendation is 6 plus and I would guess that this is partly due to you not knowing which shape you may be about to catch, and it is perhaps quite large for very small hands to handle and throw with ease. That said, my 3 year old loved playing catch over a short distance with it. He did trap his fingers within the spacings a few times but it didn’t cause him any discomfort and he wriggled them out again without panic, so the material is very soft. However as the disc often “pops” on impact, my toddler did catch it as it transformed into a ball and he got a little bump to the nose which startled and upset him. A perfect example of why this toy is aimed at older children! All things considered I would say that this is most suitable from age 5 or 6 upwards, and I must stress the “upwards” part as I can imagine teens playing this in the garden, park or beach.

Multibuys