Aquabeads or Hama beads for 5 year old?

[snowgirl1]

I was going to get Aquabeads for my nearly 5 year old DD for Christmas. She recently came home from after-school club with something made from Hama beads. Which is better??

Aquabeads they can stick together themselves with water, hamabeads you have to iron them, so more hassle

Hama everytime.
Aqua beads rarely stay stuck together for long and get everywhere.

5 year old cope better with the 2D of Hama as well. They like mak8ng " a picture"

We had aqua beads and it was a week or two fad. Hama beads are still being played with by the child who received them 5 years later also by her now 5 year old sister.
Also seem to last longer to do so keeps them busy for longer. The iron thing is ok as it's a two hour make for them then put to one side until I get a free 2 mins to quickly iron.

We've not tried aquabeads yet but in our house hamabeads end up next to the kettle awaiting ironing for weeks until I inevitably knock it slightly and half of the beads collapse.

I don't have my iron out often though, otherwise I'd probably do them quicker.

As the previous poster said, aqua beads don't stick that well. I like hama beads as we can use them for different crafts too, they often get threaded up into necklaces.

The girls I look after have sets of both, the aqua beads were played with for about a week and are now gathering dust. The hama beads come out regularly, especially in the holidays, when they will spend a couple of hours making things.
I've bought hama beads for my 5 yr old niece for Christmas.

Hama, easier to use and stick better.

Hama beads much better - if you are an Ikea get them from there they iron easier.

Hama beads definitely

My 10, 9 and 6 year old all love them. Dd1 and 2 make really lovely Minecraft and Adventure Time designs that they give to friends as key rings etc. Ds likes pushing them into clay to make mosaics. Even I like doing Hama beads!

Aqua beads are irritating because they don't stick well, fall apart easily and feel all weird and slimy.

Hama beads are the best. I have some that are about 30 years old and are still stuck together and intact :)

We did aqua beads last year and they were a bit evil - they were opened on Boxing day, went everywhere, we lost the water bottle spray and they've not been looked at since! And I agree they do go sort of slimey and feel weird. Lots of positives on the Hama beads on this - I wish I'd read this a year ago!

Hama beads definitely. I had them when I was little and my dad still has some of the things I made. Dd got aquabeads a few years ago and they're a royal pita, they get everywhere and don't stick together for long.

I bought a cheap little travel iron for the hama beads so I don't have to drag my big iron out when the dcs have made something.

Hama beads, sturdy and versatile enough for many a school project!

Wow, thank you for all the responses! Hama beads it is!

We have both. My daughter prefers Aqua Beads as she thinks the finished creation looks better. We've learnt (the hard way) that you need to thoroughly spray them, count to 10, tilt to drain off the excess water and then leave overnight to dry. If we do all of that they work perfectly and we avoid the sticky slimy stage.

I have 13 year old and 5 year old daughters. 13 year old loved aqua beads when she was little and her intact creations from 9 years ago can still be found around the house, so from our experience they do stick well. 5 year old also loves aqua beads. We have Hama beads, but they're difficult to use, so she rarely gets her masterpieces finished!

Incidentally, you can get different sized Hama Beads- there are the normal sized ones, Maxi ones for 3 year olds and mini ones for older children/teens/adults with really good dexterity and tiny fingers.

I'm anti-aquabeads. Sticky, roll around, come apart... Right up there with fecking moonsand as far as I'm concerned.

www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hama-beads-maxi-dinosaur/566407-1001

www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Mini-Bead-Owls-Blister/dp/B00CP2FEFM/ref=sr_1_6?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1480320736&sr=1-6&keywords=Mini+Hama