DD wants a claw machine toy for her birthday... They're going to be utter shite, aren't they?

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

DD(5) has two things on her birthday list. One of which is a claw machine. Something like this.

Ark miido Claw Machine for Kids, Candy Machine Grabber Arcade Game Toys, Mini Vending Machine Dispenser Machine With Music & 10 Dolls and 10 Eggs, Indoor Educational Toy for Girls Gift https://amzn.eu/d/cvUQHSx

Is there any way that these things aren't going to be just complete shit that won't work / will break in three days?

Does anyone's kids have one / something similar?

Also came to comment on the elusive Mr.Frostie that was never to be mine :(
My mum said, thats a load of rubbish, get some ice out of the freezer if you want to play with ice!! Also told me to just play with my cousins Mr.Frostie.. when I wanted my own!
It did eventually come to me aged 21 on my birthday. And got left in the pub!
It wasn't meant to be.
Get her the crappy grabber!
Reuse it at christmas.. put the stocking toys in there! Pass a bit of time!

That looks the same as the one we have OP. Still going strong despite plenty of use and abuse. This has no volume control and is pretty loud - be prepared. But the kids seem to love that bit! Stupidly the coin slot to empty is underneath so when my 6 year old empty's it he tips the whole machine upside down which shakes everything about so that's not ideal but never been a huge issue. I can empty it without tipping it if needs be.

That’s the one we had. Worked really well, but so noisy none of us could stand it.

We've got one of those. Apart from the music being absolutely horrendously loud it a orettty good toy.

It works really well and you can buy little bits for the toys very cheaply.

For noisy toys, puts some duct tape over the speaker holes.

Do get it for her. My DD desperately wanted a Swimming Sindy which was I got for her. Great excitement first bath time. Went straight to the bottom . Said there goes Sinking Sindy. Thirty years later we still are laughing about it.

I got one from house of Fraser years ago.......when the kids were small I used to fill it with random treats for them to 'win'. It still gets used at Christmas time because I fill it with quality st 🤣🤣🤣

I've also seen people using them to put activity ideas inside kinder egg plastic things and get the kids to choose one which is nice.

Get one second hand ....least then not to much £

We got a claw machine thing years ago from Robert dyas, sturdy and fun

Right I've ordered that one from eBay. Thanks all.

Mr Frosty esque trauma averted!

I am 47. My parents were extremely sensible, I was not allowed pixie boots, a rara skirt, chewing gum, to watch Grange hill etc 😂 BUT they got me a Mr Frosty. It was indeed shite but I was SO happy and still remember it now as a shining light of childhood giftage…. And many people came round specifically to play with it

I have just bought this exact one on tiktoc shop for 17 pounds. My dd has asked for second year running and I didn't want it to be the missed gift of her childhood!

I've just bought myself a Mr Frosty!!!!! 😂

I mean it was a good few years back but I had one as a kid. It didn’t last long and soon became boring! But it was fun for a day or so lol x

This is such a great idea. I'm going to get one for my 8 year old goddaughter. She will love it - nearly as much as her 40+ year old uncle will!

Sale price

https://cottonon.com/UK/retro-claw-machine/9360105063012.html?gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAACuZcuV1L8HYPrgzfABqil-0sGn1u&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjY64BhCaARIsAIfc7YZmaq7iZMoKqLw6htgEMKI7FwPpHpDGNvtm69wRjegGUak9GHDFYPcaAuRYEALww_wcB

Make your own

m.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0LRnW8ges

Good luck with the assault on your ears. We had that exact one, and to be fair the kids did enjoy it, just the music/cheering drove every adult to distraction. It got to the point where they could only use it if DH was out of the house! In fact I've only just given the damn thing away (and kids are older teens now) because it stubbornly refused to die!
Also, we ended up filling it with lego rather than sweets, because I just couldn't cope with the wholesale sugar consumption it implied! Random plastic party bag tat works as well.

A friend of my son has one of those (not the same model), and every year on his birthday he fills it with sweets, Lego etc for a game and gives stuff away to his friends, who love it. He's twelve so it's still going strong.

my dc had this one a few years ago and loved it, it was bigger that I expected when it arrived and it actually worked quite well. ours was global gizmos brand but I think they are quite generic. ours didn't have a volume switch though and was quite loud. I only paid around £20-25 for it and felt it was worth the money as was a hit with my dc. we used to fill it with sweets or small toys.

We have that and yes, as possible have said, it is noisy. It is also really well loved though and has been used lots. It is always played with on playdates. We put sweets in sometimes, but often pom poms, or light cuddlies.

Yay! I hope she loves it. We had one as kids, probably from Woolies or similar, we got so much use out of it and for the next year it became the staple gift for younger cousins and family friends. Lots of fun memories, though another vote for blocking the speakers because it will be obnoxiously loud (part of the fun!) and you can fill it with anything, doesn't have to be food. Like most games that don't have a real prize, the satisfaction of getting good at it is more valuable. For older kids anyway, maybe at 5 she will require chocolate-based incentive!

We used to have one. It was great. Broke after about a year but the kids were bored of it by then so it didn’t matter. It did play an irritating tune though! But as annoying toys go, I’d say it’s one of the better ones.
Throughout my childhood I wanted a Girls World. Never got one and I still feel slightly peeved in my late 50s!

Sorry for hijack my sons just put one on his Christmas list! I like the look of this one. How did you find the grabber? Most reviews off all the machines seem to say the grabbers aren’t strong enough to pick anything up. Is there anything you found it picked up easier?

It looks quite cute.

She's 5. She's chosen a gift she wants. Assuming it's affordable for you or a relative who wants to buy her a gift, then just get it.

There will be plenty of years where she chooses some plastic rubbish that's a lot worse than this claw machine.

I think I'd have been quite happy to buy my kids this rather than the year I spent a fortune on an ugly plastic unicorn that pooped glittery slime.....