Marvellous Haba threading beads from Toyjeanius.
Review – Pally Pirate Noah
I recently wrote about one of The Boy's favourite toys; the I'm Toy Fire Engine Workbench. When Jean from @ToyJeanius read my review, she offered to send me a similar toy that she thought The Boy might like to play with and review. I was only too happy to accept her offer as I am a big fan of the I'm Toy range, many of which Toyjeanius stock.
From the very first moment that you hold an I'm Toy box in your hands, it is obvious that this is special; a quality toy, possibly even an heirloom. The packaging is extremely attractive; corrugated natural cardboard with a full-colour sleeve illustrating the product and the different ways it can be played with.
The Boy was as eager as I was to 'ope(n)' up the Pally Pirate Noah, and he had great fun pulling out all the different parts and figuring out how they fitted together. Here's what's brilliant about the Pally Pirate Noah; there are so many different parts to the toy which can be used in different ways. Mount the ship onto the pull-along base, insert the masts and sails and you have a pirate ship. Remove the sails, wheel, cannon and treasure chest, add the house, roof and animal pegs, swap over the red pirate for the green Noah and you have an ark instead!
Or you could do what we did; take the ship off the base and assemble the pirate ship. Then flip the base over to insert the animal pegs and Noah. Then, we had a battle at sea between Noah and the pirate. Noah won, what with having God on his side, but the pirate put up a good show.
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The Pally Pirate Noah is advertised as suitable for 24 months and up, however The Boy is 20 months old and actually got a great deal from it. Admittedly he may not have been able to play with it as imaginatively as an older child, but that's part of the appeal; I know he will enjoy it in different ways with each new stage of play development. He is outgrowing so many toys that are supposed to be suitable for up to 3 years old purely because they don't do enough, therefore they don't stimulate him. I'm very happy that this toy will last him for a good few years. The pirate ship/ark is great fun and he loves the treasure chest into which he always pops the pirate. Oh, and well, um he may used the masts as drumsticks, but then he's developing his creativity.
Another winning toy from I'm Toy and supplied by the lovely and traditional Toyjeanius!
Toyjeanius are offering a 10% discount using the code TSUK10! Have fun shopping!
Whilst provided with this toy for the purpose of the review, I was not given any other reward and my reviews are, as always, honest.
Wee-waa, wee-waa!
One of The Boy's current favourite toys is a wooden fire engine he received from hubby's parents for Christmas. When he was little, I used to demand that his toys were not bright plastic with flashing noises and lights. I wanted him to have quality wooden or material toys. Easier said than done: a) it's difficult to find quality, attractive and interesting wooden toys; and b) actually they're quite pricey!
So I completely understand how easy it is to fall into the plastic trap; batteries are good, lights and sounds make The Boy happy! Happy Boy = Happy Mummy! I do try and limit the environmental (and financial) impact of all these toys by buying them from my local baby and toddler group Nearly New Sales. Luckily, we normally comes up trumps and I can spend £15 and come home with over £100's worth of toys. Money for mummies, new toys for the Boy, good for the environment.
I've digressed haven't I? How unusual for me…
We are fortunate that hubby's parents always manage to produce the goods when it comes to finding really good quality wooden toys for their grandson. They have an independent toy store locally whose stock they are working their way through. I'd love to plug them, but I've forgotten their name. Bless them, they bought him a fabric Noah's Ark which was really adaptable, but he's never been that interested in squishy toys. However, the latest addition to his toyshop collection is this:
It's called an I'm Toy Fire Engine Work Bench and is fabulous. If we're going to someone's house for a visit (e.g. my parents' or sister's) it's the toy we take with us. There are so many 'bits' to it that it can keep him amused for ages. And it's going to last him for a good while yet because while he thinks the nuts and bolts are fab, he can't co-ordinate them at the moment. He gets the idea of how to use the screwdriver and spanner but he just points them at the nuts and bolts and thinks that makes them work. The hammer is extremely popular! Any hammer is extremely popular, which is why we're not showing him where we keep the key to the shed! He's completely got the idea of sorting the shapes through the holes and inserting the pegs into the holes.
Look at the concentration!
It is an excellent 'Boy's Toy' and if you've got a baby boy, I thoroughly recommend getting it. I've got to say that the range of toys available from I'm Toy are fantastic, quality toys that last. You can find a comprehensive range of I'm Toy erm, toys available through @Toyjeanius. What's pretty fab about her toy-shop is that she's a mum to 3 children who had so much fun playing with her children's toys that she decided to open up her own shop! How cool is that? Her rather gorgeous shop can be found here.
I have a special discount code for ToyJeanius which gives you 10% off your purchases! Simply type in TheBoyandMe at the checkout.
