Birthday Crafts,  Creative Play Ideas,  Imaginative Play,  Outdoor Play,  Sensory Play

The Best Bubble Machines for Babies and Toddlers

Babies, toddlers, and grown-ups too, love bubbles!

There’s just something magical about bubbles that captivates the imagination and fills us with joy!

But blowing bubbles all day on demand can get a little tiresome, and as parents, we want to make things as easy as possible, right?

This is why Bubble Machines are the greatest invention in my humble opinion!

They take something that we already love, and make it not just less effort, but also increases the fun at the same time!

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Why buy a bubble machine?

Instant bubbles without the effort

Bubble Machines are a great way to engage babies and toddlers who cannot blow bubbles themselves yet (even older kids can find this challenging) and let’s face it, you already have your hands full, so why not invest in a bubble machine that will make your life that bit easier and your child will get hours of enjoyment from it!

Bubble machines are such a great hands-free parenting hack that I couldn’t imagine life without one as a mum!

Bubbles are inexpensive

This is a creative play activity that is inexpensive once you’ve purchased the machine – all you need is some bubble mixture (which you can either make yourself or purchase with your machine), and maybe some extra batteries so there are no tears because the machine stops working!

Which are the Best Bubble Machines?

As a mum and a toddler group leader, I’ve tried quite a few bubble machines in my time…and let me tell you, there are some really bad ones out there!

But don’t worry I’m here make the process a whole lot easier by pointing you to the ones that will work for you so you don’t have to buy loads until you get one that you like!

One of our most popular toddler group sessions was a mini-disco where we would have disco lights, music and bubbles – but finding the right bubble machine was a challenge!

We needed one that would create enough bubbles to create an ‘atmosphere’ but not too many that kids would be slipping all over the place. We needed them to be continuous but not run out too quickly, we also needed them to spread quite far – to be fair I was expecting a lot! In the end, we found a fantastic little bubble machine that ticked all the boxes and then some!

What I learnt through this process is that the best bubble machine would be dependent on that I wanted it for and how I would be using it, so here are my recommendations based on what you want from a bubble machine…

Best Bubble Machine for the Bath

The kind of bubble machine you want for bath time is very different from a bubble machine you might use in your garden.

Although the bathroom is a great place for bubbles as it’s designed to get wet, you don’t necessarily want bubbles that fill the entire bathroom – this is why the Automatic Frog Bubble Maker which is specifically made with bath time in mind is such a great machine!

Reasons why I love this Bubble Machine:

  • Bubbles pour into the bath – It produces a long stream of bubbles that pour into the bathtub meaning the bubbles are contained and are not making the bathroom floor slippery
  • Works with bubble bath soap – It comes with its own bubble solution, but after this ran out we used whatever bubble bath we were using at the time and it worked just as well which means you’re not looking around for the bubble solution every time you use it
  • Suction Cups makes it easy to move – The strong suction cups mean you can take it off the wall when you’re finished if you want it put away, or you can try it in different spots around the bathtub. You can also pack it up for sleepovers with family and friends (or even better get them to get one too!)
  • Music Player – Not only is this an awesome bubble machine but it also plays music too. It has a selection of nursery rhymes that automatically play when you press the button – but don’t worry if it’s been a long day and you want a quiet peaceful bathtime then you can just have the bubbles without the music by pressing the button a 2nd time!
  • Easy for children to use – Once this is attached to the wall with the suckers, it is very easy for little ones to use with the push of a button. Great for independent little ones who are like to be very hands-on!

This really is a great Bath Bubble Machine that I would highly recommend for bath time bubble fun!

Bath time Bubble Activities & Games

Best Bubble Machine for the Garden

As soon as the warmer weather comes it’s great to get out into the garden a bit more and play.

(In the Summer months, we tend to spend as much time in the garden as possible – as a mum, I especially love it when my kids eat outside because that’s a whole lot of crumbs I haven’t got to worry about!)

Bubble Machines are a great way to encourage kids to go and play outside and the great thing is you don’t have to worry about the mess!

With an outdoor bubble machine, or a bubble machine for a bigger area, the amount of bubbles is more important – the more bubbles you can get and the further they spread the better!

This recommendation comes from Lottie at Little Movers who uses a bubble machine every week at her groups – so she’s tried a lot! This is an amazing class for anyone in the West Midlands area – we had so much fun running around dancing like crazy, dressing up and chasing the bubbles at her weekly classes and this bubble machine is perfect for those bigger rooms or in the garden:

Reasons why this is a great Bubble Machine:

  • Tons of bubbles – The reason this bubble machine is so great is because of the volume of bubbles it produces – it is described as Gazillion’s ‘biggest bubble machine yet’ so no wonder it produces so many bubbles!
  • Can be used indoors or outdoors – This can be used indoors, using a towel or something underneath prevents leaks on the floors (Gazzilion do also make a Tornado Bubble machine which comes with a drip tray which may be worth considering as an alternative). I would recommend only using in large spaces though as this machine really does shoot out a lot of bubbles! it can also be used outside
  • Battery operated – This makes it portable and much easier for outside use – the only thing I would say is, maybe get some rechargeable batteries as this machine takes 10 x AA batteries and you’ll be having so much fun with this that you’ll end up getting through a lot of batteries!

Outdoor Bubble Activities & Games (1)

Best Bubble Machine for Indoors

If you are looking for a smaller bubble machine that might be suited for indoor play then this Early Learning Centre is a great option – it has been said in the reviews to be worth the price over the very cheap options – and in my experience with bubble machines, I would tend to agree. We used one very similar to this for our toddler group’s indoor disco!

Reasons why this is a great Bubble Machine:

  • Smaller Bubbles – This bubble machine produces bubbles that are ‘strawberry sized’ which are perfect for babies and little ones – and a little less mess indoors!
  • Good reach – Bubbles can disperse about 6ft (which is good for a small machine) but especially good if you want to put the machine up high away from babies and very young children but still have them reach the bubbles!
  • Engaging Design – I love the design of this bubble machine, it is bright and fun, the perfect combination for a great child’s bubble machine!

Indoor Bubble Activities & Games (2)

Your Favourites!

When my kiddos were very small we never had a bubble lawn mower but I think they are such a fun idea for some creative play – role play, bubbles, and imagination, what could be better?!

If you have or have had a lawn mower bubble toy machine then I would love to know what you thought of it and which you would recommend for others – drop me an email or let me know in the comments below and I’ll update this post so others can benefit from your bubble experiences 🙂

Happy Bubble Blowing!!