Dear Mummy, finding exciting things do after school (without plonking myself in front of the telly) can be challenging. When I’m not outside playing with my friends in my street, I love nothing more than helping my mummy with unboxing videos on our YouTube channel. It’s always exciting when a parcel arrives with something for us to review and share with you guys.

We’ve seen the Oonies Starter Pack (£19.99) on TV recently so were delighted with having the opportunity to test it out. Oonies are the inflatable mini balloons that join together to create a whole world of miniature characters. The Oonies Starter Pack comes with everything you need to create a variety of fun balloon designs. The inflation chamber easily inflates mini balloons that stick together to create a whole host of fun. Simply add the deco bits to make animals including birds and cats! I opted to make dragons and creatures from my imagination.

They aren’t conventional balloons though, you don’t need to tie them at the base and they come out of the box like weird shaped pellets. I was most perplexed that there were no holes inside them?! So how do they work?

The balloons that are inflated start off as small coloured pellets with flat bases. You insert one at a time in the round Oonies chamber, which is then attached to the Oonies inflator. The chamber is locked down in place and a fine needle pushes through the base of the pellet and inflates it in to a balloon while you pump the handle on the right. Clever right?

The lock was a bit tricky to begin with and it has to be tight, so safety is paramount here. After a couple of practices we finally mastered it and I could use the machine on my own. The gauge at the top of the chamber shows 3 balloon sizes – small, medium and large. Of course, I was so eager on the first couple of attempts that I over inflated them and popped a couple. You just need to be gentle and slow with the pump. Check out our video below to see what I mean.

Once your balloon reaches the desired size, the chamber can be unlocked and the balloon removed from the inflator and chamber. The Oonie feels very strange a bit like a sticky balloon but not so sticky that it attracts hair and dust.

The Starter Pack is quite comprehensive (mummy helped me with that word) and the perfect start to introduce us kids to Oonies. Inside the box you get an instruction sheet, along with: 1 x Oonies Inflator, 36 x Oonies Pellets, 6 x Oonie Connectors, 18 x Oonie Deco Bits, 6 x Display Connectors, 12 x Oonie Eyes. The pack comes with various bits to allow you to create different characters and they can be stuck together using the supplied connectors.

We like the fact that there are display connectors to show off our creations and keep them steady on tables and shelves. We used up our box supply quickly so it’s reassuring to know that you can buy refill packs with different themes, allowing you to make lots of different characters. The instructions were very clear to follow and we liked the colourful diagrams showing you how to make the character on the box but I was quite happy to make up my own designs.

Oonies are designed for ages 5+ and they are great for encouraging creative play and developing fine motor skills. We could spend all day creating these characters and inflating balloons as it was mesmerising watching them inflate and very therapeutic, even for my mummy (and daddy who I caught later on having a go!) They are a lot of fun for whole family.

Love Bella x

Disclaimer: We were sent the Oonies Starter Pack in order to conduct our review, all photos and views are our own.