I tested the Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit with a couple of kids - here's our verdict

I roped in my Goddaughters Ella, age nine and Mara, age six, to help me test out the Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit - here's how we got on.

Touted as one of the best kids toys of 2024 by industry experts, the Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit is part of a range of Pati-School sets that involve using modellable paste to decorate a a selection of items (like keyrings and trinket pots) to look like sweet treats.

What is the Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit?

The Party Creations Starter Kit is a crafting set that encourages kids to decorate a selection of bases (including a trinket box, picture holders and keyrings) to look like delicious frosted cupcakes and macarons using modellable paste 'frosting' and a selection of beads, gems and other accessories.

Suitable for kids from the age of six, this craft set is a great way to foster your kid's creativity and help them enjoy some screen-free play time. In case you miss it on the packaging, and just to be super-clear - this is an arts and crafts kit and no part of it is edible.

Ella and Mara had a great time testing it out and were thrilled with the end result, and so this set got a spot on our pick of the top Christmas toys for this year too.

The set comes with:

• two 'frostings' (one pink, one blue)
• two piping attachments
• a plastic trinket pot, with lid
• two picture holder bases
• three sweet-treat-shaped keyrings
• a selection of decorations.

A quick word on the packaging - it's eye catching and you get a really good sense as to what you can create with the kit. However I found it a bit confusing that the different sets in the range are distinguished by a number rather than a set name. For example, the Party Creations Starter Kit doesn't actually say Party Creations Starter Kit on the packaging - which could make it very difficult to find a specific set, in store (we've actually seen this set referred to by a couple of different names online too). If you want to make sure you get the correct one from the range, you'll need to look out for set number 32331.

What age is Pati-School suitable for?

Pati-School products are aimed at kids from the age of six. There are quite a few small parts in the set, and kids need to have decent fine motor skills to be table to squeeze the frosting paste out of the tube, and avoid the temptation to give it a taste.

What's it like to play with?

The Pati-School set we tested managed to keep my Goddaughters entertained for a good hour. They were really curious to see all the bits they could use and enjoyed planning who was going to decorate what and with which colour frosting and decorations.

To get the kids up and running, they definitely needed some adult input to make sure the piping nozzles were attached. You get a set of picture instructions in the kit that are pretty self explanatory, but if you need more guidance, there is a QR code you can scan with a smartphone to watch a video tutorial. Once we'd explained how it worked, then it was over to the girls! They loved sharing the piping bags between them (they both preferred the bevelled nozzle), and while they needed an occasional hand to just squeeze the frosting down the bag, they managed to do it all themselves.

When it came to the decorations, the girls got really into decorating their first creation and used almost all of the beads and gems, before realising this would leave them short for decorating the trinket box. It would have been even better if there were more decorations like this in the pack so the girls could really go to town.

Once everything is decorated, you have to wait for them to dry. It takes a good two days for them to dry fully, so you will need to find somewhere out of the way where the paste can dry out. But once dry, the paste is rock solid. It might not survive a drop from a height, but you're definitely not going to find paste-like smears anywhere.

As with any crafting project with kids, make sure you pop mats or a wipeable tablecloth down before they start. We did have one instance of some paste missing the mat and landing on my dining table, but thankfully you have a long time before the paste sets, so I managed to wipe it up quickly. For that reason, I'd recommend keeping an eye on the kids as they play, just in case you need to do a quick clean up.

Can you play with Pati-School more than once?

Pati-School is designed to be played with once, and you'll likely use all of the frosting and accessories during the decorating process. But the creations themselves will last and the trinket box can be used to store all manner of little treasures, the picture holders will look great on display in a child's bedroom, and the key rings could definitely jazz-up a school bag or two.

Where can you buy Pati-School?

Pati-School is available at a number of retailers, including:

• Amazon
• eBay
• The Entertainer
• Smyths

Is Pati-School good value for money?

For an hour of crafting time, sister bonding and some pretty impressive decorating skills, I definitely think the Pati-School Party Creations Starter Set is worth the money. The girls were really proud of how pretty their designs turned out, and it was great to see them step away from creating a carbon copy of what was on the box, and letting their creative instincts take over.

The only thing that would improve this set is if there were a few more beads and rhinestones in the set for the girls to really bedazzle the bases.

For more toy reviews, check out our Toniebox review, Yoto player review, and Beast Lab review to see if they are the toys for the kids in your life.