Chad Valley, the much-loved toy brand exclusively available at Argos, has harnessed the creativity and imagination of children across the country to design their dream home – or Dream Play Pad – a place packed full of fun features to entertain kids both big and small.
What better place to be when designing the Dream Play Pad and home of the future than inside a kid’s headspace? Their imaginative thinking is unparalleled and they can conjure up the most amazing creations and visions in moments.
When 1,004 children aged 5-11 were asked what their dream home would look like, a traditional castle came out on top (26 per cent). The Pad’s top features include a swimming pool (40 per cent), cinema (32 per cent), ice cream maker (31 per cent), trampoline (28 per cent), a bouncy castle (25 per cent) and even a slide to whizz inhabitants downstairs (24 per cent).
The home would also feature its own tree house (22 per cent) and a secret passageway (21 per cent). Proving entertainment is a must for playful kids, a fifth of kids added a football pitch, while 17 per cent wanted a disco and 15 per cent a bowling alley. Snack time also ranked highly, with 16 per cent asking for their Dream Play Pad to feature a popcorn maker, while eight per cent chose a vending machine. A bedroom ball-pit also made the wish-list for seven per cent of kids.
And while the house was designed by kids’ imaginations, there’s no doubt many of their parents would secretly love their actual home to include some of these features too.
Andrea Derrick, Chad Valley head of play said: “The results from the children really does echo the essence of the Chad Valley brand; imagination, creativity and a lot of fun. And the result is a fantastically creative Dream Play Pad that I have no doubt would be enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. The toys across our range offer all kinds of role play opportunities for kids to get to grips with and have a lot of fun – but in their current play pads!”
Andrew Russell from Strutt & Parker’s National Country House Department, said: “Depending on the size, grounds and location of this castle its value could be in the region of £30m if it had ten bedrooms and was in the Home Counties. Interestingly, many of the top features that children would like to see in their dream home are features that adults want in real life. Whilst not everyone can have a castle, more and more houses being built include swimming pools, cinema rooms, built in trampolines and tree houses. I have seen a number of houses with vast entertainment areas including discos, bowling alleys and even car museums, where parked cars revolve on rotating floor plates. Recently I even saw a house that has a real life slide, which is used to whizz inhabitants downstairs. I am yet to see a built in ball pool but how fun would that be?!”
With over 400 products across the Chad Valley range there’s plenty of play inspiration to be found. Just take a trip over to argos.co.uk/chadvalley to see what’s on offer.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.