Kinder Ovo

My Brazilian mother-in-law brought these back one Easter about a decade ago and I've been singing their praises ever since:



These are the coolest candy-toy combo ever. Inside that box is an egg. One half of the egg is white chocolate and the other half is dark chocolate. Inside the chocolate is this:



That little pellet contains the coolest plastic around. Puts even the best HappyMeal toys to shame.



See?

Part of the fun is that you have to BUILD the toy. The instruction sheet is always completely iconic, no language required, and one ends up with something like these fellows:



Of course the wheels really turn; it wouldn't be nearly as cool otherwise.



I'm very fond of this little fellow and wish we'd managed to get more of the series of which he's a part. (Sorry the photo's stinky; it was the best of a sorry lot.)

But my VERY favorite Kinder Ovo toys are THESE fine creatures:



I wish I could add a little video to show you how amazing they are in motion--they move sideways like real crustaceans and the legs skitter in a MOST pleasing way.






I was apparently a trendsetter. MIL says Kinder Ovo have become much more popular in recent years. She's going for a visit soon; I can't wait to see the current toy lines.

I've also heard they're available in Europe.