Close your eyes and reminisce about a time when you could travel to a warm destination and relax on a beach chair with a fruity drink in hand, your ears filled with the sounds of the ocean waves and soft, tropical melodies.

Perfection, right? But nowadays the reality is more like you’re sitting on your living room couch holding a cup of coffee, and the sweet sounds are coming from your toddler playing the ukulele instead. It’s almost as good as the real thing.

New and just in time for the holiday season, Jazwares‘ First Act line expands with three rockin’ musical instruments. From preschoolers to teens, there’s something for every kid on your list.

For the youngest budding musicians, the First Act Mickey Mouse Ukulele is a great way to introduce kids ages 3 and up to music. The red, durable, and playful instrument is adorned with an image of Mickey Mouse and geometric Mickey-inspired designs. I love that the attention to detail runs throughout the whole instrument to make it that much more magical, with smaller Mickey ears on the neck of the uke and tuning gears.

Although the tuning gears do turn, the uke already comes pre-tuned and is ready to play out of the box, so young players can focus right on creating some music and learning basic notes and rhythmic patterns. The sturdy nylon strings give the uke a full-bodied sound but are also soft enough to not hurt little hands, making strumming super easy.

Your living room will without a doubt turn into the most magical place on earth!

As a beginner myself, playing with the 30-inch Sunburst Acoustic Guitar was fun and not intimidating. Designed for kids ages 6 and up, the size and body of the whole guitar makes it feel authentic, but it has some extra features that are perfect for kids who are picking up a guitar for the first time.

The guitar has that classic sunburst look and comes with a strap and attached string post covers to protect hands. It also features brass acoustic guitar strings and a steel-reinforced neck to make it extremely durable.

The Sunburst Acoustic Guitar comes pre-tuned, so it’s ready to play out of the box, which is a life-saver because I wouldn’t even know where to begin. However, the tuning gears do turn if you want to adjust the strings. The box also includes chord cards, which help young players learn the strings and basic hand positioning.

Aspiring musicians — and their parents — will appreciate the rich sound that comes from this beginner guitar.

The First Act DJ Mixer will totally get the party started and is my personal favorite out of the new lineup. It was hard for me to put down because it’s so entertaining to turn any sound or melody into whatever mix you want just by pressing different buttons, sliding the beats-per-minute control up and down, and scratchin’ the turntable. The DJ Mixer also comes with light-up LED panels with nine different keys to bring up the hype even more.

Kids ages 6 and up can jam out with pre-recorded beats and music, or create an authentic new sound with all of the sound effects, melodies, and beats. Even though I think this toy can stand alone as is, I love how kids can connect their own music to take all of their jams to the next level. The DJ Mixer includes input and output options to connect whatever device their favorite music is on or to hook it up to a speaker.

Whether they’re creating their own sound or mixin’ some new beats, kids will definitely go on an epic musical journey with the DJ Mixer.

All of these First Act toys are perfect toys to introduce your kids to music at a reasonable price point. Rock on!

About the author

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik was the Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book from 2020-2022. She was also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube