Having fun with Hama Beads

We have recently fallen in love with Hama Beads.  We have had them in the house before, but A had the princess mobile kit for Christmas and amazed me by wanting to spend a whole day making it.  It is her pride and joy and is hanging above her bed.

I love the idea of the mobiles as it gives you somewhere safe to put your creations when you have finished which for younger children is ideal.  L was quite fascinated by the mobile and how it had been made so when I was offered the chance to review some Hama Beads, I chose a mobile set that I thought he would like.  There were two reasons why I wanted to try Hama Beads with L; firstly because I knew that he would enjoy it as he is quite creative but the main reason is that Hama Beads are a good way to improve fine motor skills and concentration in children; both of which we need to work on with L.

The Space Mobile set is fantastic.  It contains 2500 beads and two peg boards with the instructions to create rockets, spaceships, planets stars and even a rather sweet looking alien along with the instructions and the kit to make the mobile when you have finished.  L is 8 and I was really pleased to see him get stuck into the mobile straight away.  He is also a bit of a perfectionist however and so many planets have been created and then tipped back into the box.

As the last couple of weeks of term have been really busy, L hasn’t got very far with the mobile as yet but is keen to carry on with it during the holidays and he wants to finish it before he moves into a bedroom of his own in a few weeks so that he can hang it up above his bed.  We do have an alien and planet Earth so far.  I think that the Space Mobile kit will look brilliant when it is finished and it defeinitely makes Hama Beads more appealing to boys.

A wasn’t left out and she had the Hama Beads Window Decorations.  As soon as she saw the box, she couldn’t wait to get started.  This set has 4000 Beads and comes with three different peg boards, instructions and white tack to enable you to stick your finished creations to the window.  What I also liked about this particular set is that it comes with a large plastic tray that is great for putting the beads in while you work.

Sticking your creations on the window once you have finished is such a lovely idea and a really great way to display your hard work.  A has completed half of the models and they are proudly displayed on the living room window.

Both of the sets have been really well received and both L and A will enjoy continuing with them over the next couple of weeks.  I secretly quite like ‘helping’ too as Hama Beads are really therapeutic for adults too.

Hama Beads are available from Craft Merrily, hamabeads.com and Crafty Crocodiles.

We were sent both sets for the purpose of this review.  All images and opinions are my own.