When I was a little girl, I had a Mr Frosty. My sister and I really, truly loved it. Not all of our friends had one but they certainly all wanted one!
Now, the snowman and his trusty penguin sidekick are back and better than ever. This month I was able to talk to the boys about some of my favourite childhood toys and then to show them the ‘modern day’ Mr. Frosty – and they loved it as much as I loved mine!
There are some new additions to the Mr Frosty kit this time around. Kids can still make their own ice lollies and slush drinks but today’s Mr Frosty comes with freezer moulds to make frozen fruit shaped flavoured ice.
Simply pop your favourite fruity drinks into the moulds and place them in the freezer for a while, then take them out and they’re ready to eat. For even more fun, put the frozen shapes under Mr Frosty’s hat and turn the handle on his back to create tasty crushed ice treats for everyone.
The one thing I do remember about my Mr Frosty was that it was very hard work. Despite my mum telling me I’d cut my fingers if I put them near the blades, it did seem to take a lot of effort to produce the smallest of rewards. The newer design is easier, though I would still recommend either using crushed ice or leaving cubed ice out for a little while before using it. Remember – the point of Mr Frosty is not to create restaurant grade refreshments with ease, but to serve as a toy and educational tool too. While they’re making a little treat for themselves, they’re also learning about the changes that occur when the state of matter changes. You can make Mr Frosty very educational if you like!
Mr Frosty works in the same way he always did; you place ice under his hat, churn it in his tummy and – here’s the difference – collect the finished product from the drawer. Far less messy than the old design!
The other notable difference is in the flavour. As kids, our Mr Frosty came with sickly sweet syrups (which we loved, but weren’t exactly good for children) whereas now, drinks can be flavoured with regular fruit juice meaning that you choose what to add. In our house we don’t tend to buy squash containing aspartame so we have a summer fruits high juice in the cupboard. That made for a really great flavouring for our drinks, though the photo doesn’t really show it very well since it’s not too dark in colour.
We had a lot of fun making flavoured ice treats and when daddy came home he had a go too (he didn’t have a Mr Frosty as a child and always wanted one!). I’m confident that our Mr Frosty will be a firm favourite over the summer and we’re very much looking forward to making the most of him.
Mr Frosty Crunchy Ice Maker is available now at Smyths Toy Superstores, The Entertainer and online, priced at £19.99 RRP.
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We received this product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.