Of course my daughter will never have an end to her toy collection, especially since my in-laws were in town. My father-in-law thought it would be fun to get my daughter a bubble toy. He picked out a Little Tikes Bubble Bellies character named Bubble Pup. Pushing my apprehension and thoughts of bubble soap all over my carpet aside, I allowed him to give her the toy. We actually had quite a bit of fun.
Each Bubble Bellies toy requires two “AA” batteries (not included) and comes with an eight fluid ounce bottle of bubble solution. Each character has a clear belly so that you can see how much bubble solution is left. Inside each character’s mouth is an “easy fill” spout with a soft plug to help prevent spills. Easy fill? Hah! I think I spilled half of the solution on my hands. I discovered through trial and error that the trick is to tilt the character back when you are pouring the bubble solution into the spout. Problem solved!
Once the batteries are in place and the character’s belly is full of bubble solution, now the fun can begin. You or your child can hold the handle on the character’s back and pull the trigger. This causes the mouth to open which triggers the bubble blower…or so we thought. My husband had to hold the trigger down for a few seconds to allow the blower to warm up a bit. After a few seconds, he let the trigger go, pulled it again, and voila — We had bubbles! My daughter was a little confused until a bubble popped on her nose. Then she decided to chase the bubbles around the living room. Oy, my living room! Once the weather gets warmer, we will be sure to take this toy outside. Take note that every time you pull the trigger after a long time without use, the blower will need some more warm-up time. Then again, sometimes it needs it even while you are playing. Please do not let this deter you from purchasing this Little Tikes item for your child. It is still a cute, fun toy.
Little Tikes Bubble Bellies are recommended for ages two and up. Even though our daughter is a little younger than that, she still enjoyed playing with the bubbles. She just had to let us pull the trigger.
The Bubble Bellies characters are Bubblesaurus, Polly Pig, Bubble Pup, and Clarabelly Cow. The retail price for this item is approximately $10-15. Little Tikes Bubble Bellies are available at Kohl’s stores, Little Tikes, and other toy retailers.