*Post contains gifted items

I know that letting young children watch TV or YouTube is a divisive topic, but personally Hubby and I both believe that some of the stuff we've let the kids watch had a really positive influence on their development.

When Adam was smaller, one of his favourite YouTube channels was Chu Chu TV and their nursery rhymes - they now have over 100 million subscribers all over the world! There are so many similar ones these days, but when I play their videos for Aminah she enthusiastically shouts "Chu Chu! I like Chu Chu!"

When I saw that toys inspired by Chu Chu TV are released this spring, I knew Aminah (2 years old) would love them. We were sent the new Peek & Play Surprise Eggs collection: Chu Chu TV Train, and the ABC Starter Set. 

A bit of a rushed photo here - when the parcel came, it was like Aminah knew it was for her, as she rushed to help me open it. I just about managed to hold her off long enough to capture these still in their original packaging!

Both the train and the actual eggs were an instant hit with my toddler. The brightly coloured train includes classic stream engine and two cars. They are easy to link together or unhook to play with them separately. The train set includes one egg with the character of Mr Harlo, elephant starring in many of the channel's videos, who takes the role of train conductor.

Children can press the chimney for various sound effects, including the sound of steam engine, a voice exclaiming "Chu Chu", and Chu Chu TV's most popular song "Johny Jonhy Yes Papa". Aminah went absolutely mad for it - for some reason she decided it's a perfect dance track, and keeps dragging her big brother to dance with her to the tune of "Johny Johny"... And when the song is over, she dashes back to press the chimney for it to come back! 

The Chu Chu TV Train is compatible with the Peek & Play Surprise Eggs, which fit into the rounded slots in both the engine and the cars.

The Surprise Eggs come as the ABC Starter Kit - it's a collection of 5 colourful eggs, each containing an animal inside, and helping with getting to know the letters A-E.

The Peek & Play Surprise Eggs come in a colourful outer layer to peel off - I must say that this was too tricky for Aminah to do it herself, so I peeled the perforated strip off for her and then let her take the rest of the plastic off. Once peeled, an egg reveals a smiley face on one side, and a letter on the other, which is an indication of which animal we'll find inside - children can start to learn the first five letters with the Alligator, Bear, Cat, Dog and Elephant. 

The eggs are not only great for the letter and colour recognition, but can also help with manual dexterity and motor skills. Aminah was only slightly disappointed that the animals don't actually come out of the eggs, but still loved them. The only thing missing right now is some more carriages to drive all the animals around at the same time! 

I almost wish I hadn't had to let Aminah open her Chu Chu TV Peek & Play Surprise Egg toys - we always seem stuck with gift ideas for her, and these would've made a great Eid gift this year (eek, just how soon it is!) If you have a toddler to buy a gift for, they'd love this! Both the Chu Chu TV Train (£14.99) and the ABC Starter Set (£12.99) available from the CHARACTER ONLINE SHOP, as well as Amazon and other toy retailers.

*We were sent the items mentioned in the post in exchange for the review. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Well, this is the one I set myself pretty much every year, and you can see how it's been going... But yeah. That's why I joined Ronni's blog hop today, to give me that push for that first post of the year, to kick it off.

2. LEARN A NEW SKILL

You might've seen it mentioned on my Instagram recently (if not, feel free to give me a follow ;)) - encouraged by my husband, I'm looking into learning some IT skills. I'm quite OK with like general computing, did a little refresher MS Office course last year, and now I'm looking into learning some basic coding, maybe also SEO and digital marketing?

3. DO MORE CREATIVE THINGS

When I was younger, I used to do something all the time - drawing, painting, writing, crafts... Then some years ago I got my first "proper" camera and went out a lot taking photos. Lately I've not been doing much just for myself, the only painting/drawing was with kids, and I've mostly been relying on my phone for the photos because it's just so much easier around the kids. That's why I'm now trying to use the actual camera more for my Instagram photos. And although it's not my first year using bullet journal, I'm making much more effort with it, using it more as the creative outlet for myself rather than just plain and rushed planner.

4. READ MORE

I've been so bad with reading recently! We both always make sure that Adam does his reading, and actually he enjoys that a lot so not really an issue. But neither of us has really been setting an example for the kids, by just sitting down and enjoying a book. I used to be such a bookworm, with my mum being a librarian and books always present in our lives, but while I do read with the kids, I now hardly make time for any grown-up reads. Really need to make my way through what's on my bookshelf!

5. GO OUTDOORS MORE

We all definitely spend way too much time cooped up at home! Most of the time weather is less than encouraging, but even when it's nice I sometimes end up doing stuff at home rather than going out for a walk. That's got to change, especially with Mr and I always saying we need to get more active and lose some weight, but then not doing much about it (oops!)

I could probably list a few more, but that might end up with me going on, and on, and on... And I actually think that it's good to keep some of your goals private - don't you find that sometimes when you share with people, your plans don't work out? That it seems to get jinxed, even if it's only your closest family or friends? Definitely happens to me! Let me know if you have any goals for this year ahead, and remember to pop to Ronni's BLOG to check out hers - check below for the links to other bloggers taking part!