Schleich Fantasy Toys: World of Arelan Review + Giveaway

Leading up to the holidays, we’ve shared a variety of Schleich toys and figurines: the Wild Animals Collection and 75th Anniversary Airplane, Giganotosaurus, and now the world of fantasy Arelan Tribe. I’ll be upfront with you and tell you the Areland figurines were the least popular in our home, most likely due to the age of my son. If you have an older child into fantasy and magical characters, these figures are a great option. And, if you don’t, I have some more great gift ideas so read on.

About Schleich’s Arelan Tribe

A new tribe joins the growing world of the Schleich Bayala line for 2010 – The Arelan Tribe.  Each figurine  comes with its own animal companion. These magical figures are partly mutated with their animal. For example, Apricum has the antlers of his deer, while Noctis has the fur of his black panther. There is also Gregis and his wolf and Arelan with  his falcon. The  heroic stance of the Arelan tribe, as with all of Schleich’s figures, have the most intricate and amazing attention to detail. These figurines will have particular appeal for  boys.

Fantasy Figurines

We received Aprecum and Gregis for review. Both are sold in a set of two figures – a person and an animal. Like I mentioned, these are a bit over my son’s head – not because of a fault in the product, and rather because he is just too young. He actually called these his “fweaky guys” and put them in charge of things like guarding his train table. So, he didn’t so much play with them as he did set them up to scare unwanted visitors. If your child is older, these Schleich figurines are perfect for cultivating a fantasy world of play. There is a whole story behind the characters and the world in which they live; the background for play has been established, the figurines just need someone to make their world come to life.

Holiday Gift Ideas from Schleich

Smurfs! Is it bad that *I* want these? They just so remind me of my youth. And with the new Smurf movie in the works, the popularity of the goofy little blue creatures is only going to grow.

Schleich even has cottages. I would like to live in the Smurfette Cottage, please.

Farm Life Animals. A more mature and lifelike addition to a preschool playroom. The animals are so realistic that you can create what looks like a real farm. Without all the work.

And the Chicks are pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Dinosaurs! Oh, how my son – and any little dino fan – would flip for a collection of these on Christmas morning.

Since his favorite is the T-Rex, I’m sure my son would love the Tyrannosaurus.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… The Arelan fantasy figurines have an amazing amount of detail and story packed into little figurines. I like that the figurines come with a built in story and fantasy world for your child to explore.

Or Not to Buy…. These aren’t for preschoolers and are much better for older kids like tweens. If you’re shopping Schleich for younger kids (and you should), there are better options.

Shop! The Arelan Figurines retail for $16.49 each. You can find Schleich in specialty stores around the country, Target and online at Schleich on Amazon.

Win! Two Arelan Figurines from Schleich!

How to Enter: Visit Schleich and then comment here with a toy or figurine you’d love to gift this holiday season.

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Giveaway ends December 8. Open to US & Canadian residents.

Disclosure: Thanks to Schleich for providing sample products for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Others may have a different experience. Opinions are my own.