You might not be sitting on a beach right now, but you’ll definitely get a taste of island life with this latest Aquabeads activity kit.
Aquabeads Animal Crossing: New Horizons from Epoch Everlasting Play comes with nearly 900 beads for kids to create seven different designs inspired by characters from Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons video game. When kids spray their finished design with water, the beads will magically fuse together, becoming one complete piece that stays together.
Each set comes with a layout tray, two double-sided template sheets, four keychains, and a sprayer for kids ages 4 and up to complete their craft. The beads come in matte solid, sparkly jewel, and a new star style, adding dimension to each finished piece.
To start crafting, kids will select one of the templates and place the sheet underneath the tray, and align to beads to the spacing on the tray. Then, follow the template until it’s covered with beads! The template includes four fan-favorite islanders from the game, including Tom Nook, Isabelle, Peanut, and Bunnie, and three objects, including the iconic leaf, a fossil, and an apple.
There are no additional tools that come with this set, so kids will build their dexterity, concentration, and fine motor skills in order to place the beads in the right spot. When testing out this product, I, of course, started off with my main girl Isabelle. My long nails helped me with picking up and placing the beads, so this shouldn’t be hard for younger kids with much smaller fingers than me! But, if kids are truly having trouble, I’d recommend for them to use a tweezer.
Once the design is all set, the most important steps are next! Kids must fill the spray bottle with water and spray all of the water on the design. If it feels like you’re spraying too much, you’re not! This step is critical in making sure that the beads fuse together. Then, kids must let the designs dry for at least an hour. I’d recommend leaving it overnight, just in case, to make sure the whole craft is intact.
Once the Aquabeads project is all ready, kids can attach the included keychains to take them on the go, or start their next character.
The instruction manual also comes with smaller, bonus templates for kids to create other iconic Animal Crossing characters, including Timmy, Tommy, K.K. Slider, and Wilbur and Orville Dodos, and items, including a bag of bells and fruit — an orange, a pear, cherries, a peach, and a coconut. An additional refill pack must be purchased to complete these designs.
For just under 15 bells — I mean dollars — this set is a home-run, affordable activity to keep kids busy, and one that kids can buy with their allowance. Aquabeads Animal Crossing: New Horizons brings the popular vibe of the video game to a super engaging activity kit!
