Bzzzz… lets play beehives

I’m a-buzz with playful, cheery happiness.  Who wouldn’t be looking at this bright and beautiful wooden bee toy.  It’s a collection of boldly coloured bee-hives with matching bees from Plan Toys’ new 2010 range.  Grab the included tweezers and match the bees to their hives.  Kiddees will learn colour and co-ordination  in a super-duper, happy-tastic way.  Just by gazing at this toy, I can feel a joyous ray of rainbow-light hovering around.  The Beehives from Plan Toys costs £16.95 plus £4.95 for delivery.

Just 2 more days left of the secret sale over at ebabee.  Get your bargain soon!

Rokka Play: Awsomeness has arrived!

 

While flitting about the Earls Court Baby Show,  I spotted the ingenious Rokka Play.  I got so unbelievably excited that I seriously nearly popped it!  Luckily I lived to tell the tale.  The Rokka Play is a boat, a rocker, a kitchen, a desk, a theatre, a table all in one.  I kid you not.

The Rokka is a wooden toy like no other.  It starts off as a see-saw sty-lee rocking boat for 2, flip it over and you’ve got a table and chairs for 2.  Turn it on it’s side, add the kitchen accessories and you’ve got a play kitchen complete with hob, washing machine, cooker, sink and more.  Then of course there’s the theatre pack. Add the bits and stage your own Westend spectacular.  All this without any tools, so even DIY no-hopers like me have no excuse!

The Rokka is a toy with humongous possibilities (I mean we’re talking blue whale proportions here).  Unleash a toddler or two, bring out the Rokka and watch them imagine things you never dreamed possible.  The starter pack gives your bambinos the boat, table and chairs and includes a mast, oars, a sail and cushions.  The main bit measures 104 x 38 x 43 cms, costs £234 and is suitable from 1 year on.  You can get the kitchen pack for an additional £70 and the theatre pack for £36.  OK, I agree, the Rokka Play isn’t the cheapest toy around but it gives you heaps of imaginative play options in one and think storage space too.  One toy = rocker, kitchen, boat, desk and more.  Add up the cost of buying all these (not to mention the bigger house you’ll need) and you’re guaranteed to be quids in!

I’m told they’ll be bringing out more packs in the future so you can keep adding and chopping and changing the toy.  The one I’m eagerly awaiting is the aeroplane pack.  But if you can see the possibilities that this toy offers, you can just as easily  don your own creative hat and ermm… create!

The Rokka Play is seriously clever.  The only limit is your imagination (an old cliche maybe but oh so true here).  Awsomeness has has hit the toy world!

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Shhh… don’t forget to checkout the secret sale over at ebabee.

A dolls house to go!

I’ve been on the hunt for a small dollhouse for ebabee no. 1.  Turns out she’s too young.  While hunting I did find some lovelies for slightly older kidlets.  My pick for todays post is the most unusual of the lot.  A portable wooden dolls house in scrumptiously eye-catching colours.  It’s by Grimm, Spiel & Holz, a German lot who get colour like babies get milk.  It’s seriously portable, made of nasty-free painted wood, has 14 pieces and a felt cover with string to carry.  It’s small but perfectly formed.

It’s available from Shak-Shuka, an online store with soul… a happy, sunny soul brimming with playful fanciables for baby, toddler and mama!  The portable wooden dollhouse comes in an orange /pink combo or blue/green, costs €48.95 plus €6.95 shipping and is suitable for 3 year olds and over.  Imaginative play on the go!

While you’re here, have a look-see at ebabee, the baby auction site.

A very modern playhouse

MoMA, the museum of Modern Art has designed a kids play house so hip, you’re gonna want one.  The house is open plan and comes with 6 moveable walls, 8 bits of furniture and 12 vinyl clings to jazz-up the walls and floors.  Gather the bits and create the house of your dreams (or your toddlers even).   This uber-mod dwelling is just the ticket to encourage imaginative play for 3 year olds and over.  The MoMA Modern Play House costs £8.45 with free delivery.  Oh, and if you find the house is feeling a bit empty, get the Moma Modern Play Family and stick them in there.  There’s 5 of them plus a cat and a canine and their wardrobe contains a whopping 150 different options.  The ‘Moderns’ cost £5.24 and will be delivered free too.  Don’t miss dadee Moderns’ hairdo!

Checkout our little auction site where there are baby bargains to be had.  (Shhh… you never know when one of these might appear there.  Find out more next week).

Crafty cardboard

Calling all creative types.  If crafts your toddlers thing then look, look, look at these cardboard toys.  They’re build your own with a simple slot and fold so no need for glue, scissors or any other implements.  Once you’ve done the build, colour and decorate away.  They even come with washable felt pens.  Calafant, the makers, promise sturdy recyclable cardboard that can withstand the odd toddler tantrum! They’re suitable for 3 year olds and over, come in many different shapes and sizes  from cars to castles and are perfect for rainy days in. These cardboard toys from Calafant cost from £2.99 and delivery’s from £2.55.

A Chunky Sheep

My minimalist side is jumping for joy at the sight of this simple, wooden, chunky sheep.  So desirable in all it’s chunky splendour, it also comes apart to be laced back together.  Each disk is colour coded, a cool way to learn colour and sequence.  The chubby sheep’s by Plan Toys, makers of some fine and dandy eco-friendly wooden toys.   The lacing sheep costs £13.99 and delivery is free.

The happy, sunny Daisy Cooker

Ooh la la is what I say to this super-sunny play kitchen from Djeco.  The French Djeco make the most delicious wooden toys like this daisy cooker.  It’s bright, it’s happy, it’s fab for imaginative play.  The sink, hob, oven combo are just the ticket for budding chefs and the included frying pan, cook pot, spatulas, salt & pepper and dish cloth can only add to the cooking fun.  The happy yellow and green daisy cooker costs £69.95 with delivery at £4.75 from tickety boo and measures 41 x 50 x 29 cms.

Mr Kaliski rocks!

Billy rocker is a cardboard rocking horse that’s a bit unusual.  It’s brought to you by Mr Kaliski who’s left you with a blank canvas to put your mark on.  Paint it, wallpaper it, sticker it, the choice is yours.  But don’t stop there, give it a head, a tail, some horns even.  And it’s reversible so one side each to keep the peace, if you’re got 2 toddlers.   It can be flat packed, is suitable from 3 years on and takes weight up to 50kgs.  This cardboard rocking horse costs £21.60 (currently reduced from £24) from Yellow Lolly with delivery at £2.75.

Here’s two that have been touched by the creative stick (loving the retro-wallpapery one):

Visit our little auction site, ebabee.

Food, glorious food!

Play food that is.  The talented folks at Ikea have got some super-duper cloth play food in their new collection.  And as always with Ikea, you get style and design without the price tag.  Have a look at the Ikea Duktig range which has a 14 piece vegetable set, a 9 piece fruit basket set and a 15 piece breakfast set all for £5.99 each.  They’re bright and beautiful, include details like cutting boards and fruit baskets and can even be machine washed.  They’re only available in-store at the moment so you’ll need to hot-foot it down there.

Checkout ebabee, the little auction site with big bargains and small fees.

My cardboard house

I’m loving the stuff from KIDSONROOF, the Dutch lot that create imagination inspiring, eco-friendly toys.  When I spotted these mobile homes/dolls houses, cool, cool, cool are the words that jumped to mind.  They’ve got 8 rooms, stair openings, attic storage and spy holes too.  A fab place to ‘entertain’ pirates, dolls, action men and anything else that takes your toddlers fancy.  And a blank canvas to draw on, sticker on, paint on,  you get the idea.  They’re made from 100% recyclable cardboard and are 100% biodegradable.  They cost £14.95 + £4.95 delivery from just-gorgeous, are easy to carry around and come in a blue/red or white/red combo.  KIDSONROOF say their toys are designed to bring out creativity in kids and I can see just what they mean.

Don’t forget to visit ebabee, our little auction site.