Advantages: fun, creative, aid childs development, good quality, fair prices
Disadvantages: not something you want to knock over, can be a bit fiddly if you get small beads

...brother (I knew he wouldn't have the patience but it meant that I could play with them!!) So my dad brought a set of the Hama beads. My brother seemed impressed at the idea but was nowhere near as enthusiastic as me! By Boxing Day I had already made several designs! I love these and wanted to write a review about them because if you haven't heard about them then get some and have a play! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So what exactly are they? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now these aren't the easiest of things to describe so bare with me! The kit consists of lots of little brightly coloured beads. They are made from plastic and are cylindrical in shape. The beads come in three different sizes, mini, midi and maxi. The mini beads are 2.5mm in diameter and are recommended for children aged 10 and upwards as they are a lot more fiddly and need lots... Read review

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Advantages: Imaginative, fiddly, keeps kids entertained
Disadvantages: Take ages to pick up when they are dropped on the floor

...It is really difficult to write an opinion on lots of tiny pieces of plastic but as it keeps my little girl amused for hours on end (well maybe the odd half hour here and there - not an easy thing when you are nearly 6) so here goes: Hama beads are beads that come in three sizes – mini – 2.5mm in diameter (suitable from age 10), midi – 5mm in diameter (suitable from age 5) and maxi – 10mm (suitable from age 3). For the purposes of this opinion I am going to write about the mini beads which although the packet states Katie is too young to play with, she is more than capable of playing with them! The idea of Hama beads is that you place them onto different shaped peg boards to make pictures and then iron the beads (using the silicon paper provided between the iron and the beads) so that they stick together... Read review

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Advantages: Teaches co-ordination, motoring skills, colours and allows artistic integrity
Disadvantages: Can cause World War 3 when a full board gets knocked over

..., hearts, princesses, frogs to the more tradional squares and circles. ***The founder of the Hama Bead*** Malte Haaning Plastic A/S was founded by Malte Haaning in 1961. The company started off by making plastic drinking straws, Midi Hama Beads first saw the light of day in 1971, and even now they are by far the biggest sellers. The Mini and Maxi sizes came into being later. Thirteen years later, the HAMA name was registered as a trademark. It derives from the name of the founder of the company: HA being the first two letters of his surname, MA the first letters of his Christian name. ***How do you get the endless hours of play?*** My girls are aged eleven and eight, my son is three, and a nightmare (but that's beside the point). With all the different designs that can be made there are often a dozen or more... Read review

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Advantages: Allows children of all ages to make colorful pictures.
Disadvantages: adult help is required to iron finished picture.

...Both my children aged 9 years and 13 years have had great fun making Hama bead pictures for at least 4 years now. These beads would be suitable for school aged children however adults can have great fun too being creative !! This tub contains 10,000 coloured beads of primary colours. You would need to purchase a hama peg board to place the beads on to create the picture. These are available from any Hama bead stockist usually at a cost of aprox £1.50 upwards depending on shape and size of board. These boards are reusable over and over again ! Basically the art of making Hama bead pictures comprises of arranging the beads over the little pegs on the board to make a design or picture. In the past my children have made windmills, stars. lighthouses, flowers, people, animals etc..Putting the beads on the pegs can be a little fiddly but its... Read review

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Advantages: Keeps kids amused for hours, cheap, loads of designs to choose from
Disadvantages: spillages mean loads of little beads to pick up

..., but expect to pay about £2.50 upwards. So that everyone can enjoy Hama Beads, there are 3 sizes of bead to choose from; maxi (10mm diameter) which are recommended for children over the age of 3; midi (5mm diameter) recommended for children 5 and over; and Mini (2.5mm diameter) for children aged 10 plus and even adults can join in the fun. Depending on what size beads you buy, you will have to make sure you buy the right size pegboard. Hama beads are available from various toy sellers such as Toys R Us, and I’d imagine they can be purchased from craft shops. There are a couple of websites that sell Hama beads and one I have found very reasonable is www.beadmerrily.com. Ebay is also another great site where you can pick up a bargain. The above company actually features on this site and there are quite a few sale offers to be found. One... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Keeps your kids entertained so you can come on Ciao
Disadvantages: Hours spent picking the beads up off the floor.

...No this isn't a review on Mc Hammer lol, it's Hama bead time in our house. Ever wonder how I can spend so much time on Ciao when it's half term & I have four daugthers?? Well now you will discover my secret.... Four years ago my eldest daughter came back from a dinner date with a school friend of hers clutching a pretty heart shape made from little beads that were stuck together. She was really taken with this new craze & talked to me for what seemed like hours about these little plastic beads & what you can do with them. After much begging & pleading I took the girls into town to see what this craze was all about. On entering our local toy shop we were met by rows & rows of plastic bags containing pretty little plastic beads, such a choice of colours. Each bag containing 1000 beads rangeing in price from £1.50 - £2.00 a bag depending... Read review

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Advantages: Great for keep entertained indoors
Disadvantages: Can be addictive and expensive

...was not chasing beads all over the floor amongst all the wrapping paper. Every day she would ask could she play with her Hama beads set but with living in a small flat it took me about a week to get the flat back to normal after Christmas. So after a week I gave in and let Hayley sit to the table and play her new Hama set. What are Hama beads? They are cylindrical beads that you put on a board that has spikes on them to keep the beads in place and then ironed together once completed so that the plastic melts in to each other. You are then left with a decoration which can be stuck on the wall or door, hung from the ceiling or stood upright using stands. What do you get in the box? 3 clear plastic peg boards shaped as animals, elephant, duck and dog 900 beads split into two packets, maxi size they are called and are roughly 10 by 15mm 3 sets... Read review

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Advantages: Not only are these fun, but they also encourage creativity.
Disadvantages: Until ironed, pictures are easily disturbed and destroyed.

...Looking for something that is both a toy and a craft? Something that's both fun and educational? Something that'll appeal to almost every age group? Hama may just be the answer you're looking for! Hama beads are small plastic beads that can be placed on pegs on a board to create a picture that can then be bound together by being ironed. They are relatively cheap, and come in a variety of different colours. Best of all, the boards are largely reusable, so only replacement beads need be bought. Also, boards are available in different shapes eg. rectangular, love heart shaped and in different sizes. Boards that can be joined to others to make larger boards can also be bought. A quick Google search should bring up some suppliers and prices of Hama beads and boards. One of the best things about Hama is the fact that it can be used... Read review

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Advantages: Endless concentraion and fun
Disadvantages: a pain if the beads all fall out to clear up

...For ages 5 and over For my daughter's birthday (who is 8) her nan bought her this set of Hama Beads, something I had never seen or heard of before. The set is purchased individually and comprises of white bases which come in every shape imaginable. My daughter to begin with was given a star, heart, butterfly, giraffe, circle, camel and a square. The bases are made up of hundreds of little plastic prongs. With these bases you purchase the beads, they either come in tubs of 3000 mixed colour beads or you can but individual bags of 1000 which come in the same colour, allowing you to build up your collection of colours. The idea is to place the beads onto the plastic base prongs building up pictures. It is very fiddly and keeps the children sitting glued to it for hours, even myself was totally addicted sitting placing beads onto... Read review

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Advantages: Fun for all ages
Disadvantages: Can be fiddly

...Im sure that many of you may not know what Hama Beads are. That was certanly my case until I started working at my current place of work and the children there use them. In the initial start up pack you get various sizes and colours of beads, mats to place the beads onto, paper for when you iron them into place and an idea leaflet with various design on them. These sets can be purchased from many leading toy stores including Toys r Us and Ikea (which do wonderful Large boxes of top up beads very reasonably priced.) Once you have the main boards you only need to buy more beads. Well, the children at work love them and they are aged 5 to 11 years. They will often play with them for up to 2 hours at a time but quite alot of adult supervision is required for the ironing part and it can be quite messy if they get dropped all over the floor... Read review

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