*AD – the items in this review were gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
Much like Moon Shoes, I remember having a Lite Brite in my household. My sister and I would share it, often destroying each other’s perfectly crafted light art to make something new, plugging in the little pegs ourselves and watching it light up. In my head, they were bulkier, and much more of a challenge when it came to putting in the little pegs, but seems to be related to me being much smaller and having tiny fingers! I was pretty excited to introduce Amelia and Robin to Lite Brite as we felt they’d like it best. And, in the words of Robin, the Lite Brite has a baby!
Lite Brite Classic
Before diving into the newer, Lite Brite Mini, we showed the children the Lite Brite Classic. I don’t know if I played with Lite Brites the same as everyone else, but I use to place the paper onto the screen, then put the pegs in on the colored markers that are on them, making the picture that way. Actually looking into how to use these toys, it seems that some just look at the picture and then re-create it on their Lite Brite as a guide. However, you can place the picture onto the Lite Brite Classic, and it will hold in place, allowing you to punch pegs straight through it. Either way, it’s still a fun time. Lite Brite is like color by numbers, giving you guides where you can grab the matching plegs and place them into the base, creating a bright, almost neon sign. Both Robin and Amelia loved the designs that came with the Lite Brite, finding flowers and unicorns to create on their lite.
The Classic has bigger pegs than the mini, which are easy to move about and plug in. The small holes that you are putting them plugs into re-close on the Lite Brite Classic and Mini, so pulling them back out won’t leave a bright, white hole when the light is turned on. These lights also come with a few different settings when it comes to the light, glowing, blinking or glowing in parts around the picture, which can be really fun for kids to play around with. Amelia has actually claimed the Lite Brite Classic as a bedroom nightlight, changing up the picture when she wants a new night light to enjoy. The back of the Lite Brite Classic has a little pop-out stand, allowing it to easily stand up like a picture on a table.
Lite Brite Mini
As the Lite Brite Mini is new, I myself was pretty pumped to see it. Firstly, this little Lite Brite comes with batteries, which surprised me, as I had screwed off the back first thing. It’s a much smaller Lite Brite, with smaller pegs and little guides that you can use to create your images. This base sits on it’s own, without a pop-up stand, and has smaller, thinner pegs. As these pegs are small, we quickly found it was best to put them into some sort of tub to hold onto them best! This mini was perfect for travel, and quickly found it’s way into the car for school runs or to play with between places we end up going too. The kids really love that it’s tiny and baby-sized, calling it a TV for some of their dolls. It can’t make as detailed images as the classic, but the fun is in the small size and the ability to take it with you wherever you go. The Lite Brite mini has one light setting, allowing your picture to light up. It’s also worth mentioning that you are able to put the image paper over the screen, if you do play with Lite Brites that way, however unlike in the Classic, these papers don’t stick as well and need a little peg in them to keep them in place.
You can find both the Lite Brite Classic and Mini at John Lewis and other toy providers.
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