Entertaining Elliot: Rainy Day Activities - Animal Masks from Albetta

Sometimes it's hard to think of things to do on rainy days. You've baked enough cakes to feed a whole village, you've jumped in every muddle puddle in a 5 mile radius and you've watched enough Peppa Pig to last you a lifetime. We like sitting down to watch a film when it's wet outside but there's only so many times you can watch The Lion King!

We were sent some lovely animal masks from kids website Albetta to try out and I thought they'd make a perfect rainy day activity. I'd not heard of Albetta before but after a little look on their website I found some lovely items ranging from baby clothes to bunting!

The animal masks pack contain 8 different masks including Charlie the Dog, Corentine the Hen, Leo the Pig, Daisy the Cow, Werewolf the Wolf, Gaspard the Fox, Max the Raven and Ernest the Bear, The masks are made by a French company called Mitik, hence some of the more unusual name choices!

My first impressions were how colourful the packaging was and how different the masks look compared with other make-your-masks craft sets. The designs were really eye catching and the actual masks make the animal faces look 3D!

Elliot couldn't wait to get stuck in and straight away chose a wolf and a fox to make. Firstly we painted our masks - this is where you can get creative! We normally shy away from messy painting at home but I was well prepared with a plastic sheet for the floor, plenty of wipes, an apron for Elliot and lots of paint! We decided to stick with plainer colours as it was our first attempt so the fox was orange and the wolf a dark blue...but we did add some glitter so he would sparkle :)

We left the masks to dry for a few hours and then came the exciting bit...assembling them! The masks come on a large piece of card which is pre-cut so you just simply pop the shapes out, and so it doesn't even matter if little ones paint over the outline. The instructions were very easy to understand and we'd attached in the ears and nose in a matter of seconds. Lastly we attached a piece of elastic (also supplied in the packet) and this was a bit fiddly so definitely needs an adult to do if smaller children are making the masks.

Then...ta da! A wolf and a fox! You could even add more detail once the first coat of paint is dry but as you can see, Elliot was very happy with how these ones turned out and I'm not sure he'd have the patience for us to add more paint ;)

The masks are recommended for 4 years and up but Elliot is only 2 and still enjoyed making them. Adult assistance is recommended for the fiddy bits but I'm sure kids of all ages would enjoy painting and creating a masterpiece!

Thumbs up from Elliot and he can't wait for the next rainy day so he can make another mask!