I'm always excited when a new Play Patrol package arrives from Bigjigs and the latest one looked like it was perfect. For Little Miss C they'd included their Weaving Loom and the French Knitting kit. With a crafty mum it looked like these couldn't have been chosen better as LMC is always wanting to do knitting, sewing or just "making with wool" with me. We started off with the Weaving Loom as I thought that the larger size would make it a bit easier for her to use - after all she is only three and a half and the loom has a recommended age of 5+ on it. To see how to use ... read more
Bigjigs Wooden Safari Animal Building Blocks
Little Miss C has already learnt to recognise Play Patrol parcels from Bigjigs and this latest one was no exception. As well as some wonderful things for LMC herself (which will be included in a video review, just as soon as I shift this cold and can talk properly again!) there was also a package in there for Master C which he was very keen to get to grips with. The Safari Building Blocks are aimed at children aged one plus and they seem to be the perfect to move on to after the standard cube building blocks (you know the ones that you get either in the push along trolly, or that ... read more
The Lego Baddies Road Trip
When I saw that Carcraft were looking for bloggers and their children to act out an action scene using Lego as part of a competition to win £100 worth of Lego I just knew that we had to enter. Three year old Little Miss C loves Lego. Completely and utterly. Almost as much as I do and she's forever acting out stories with it and using her imagination to come up with weird and wonderful plots. I should warn you though that she's one that doesn't believe that one brand of toy should be played with in isolation from another, so you can often end up with stories where a Lego man ... read more
Win a Kidkraft Pirate Play Set from Cuthberts Toys
Part of my "day job" at the moment involves working with the lovely people at my gorgeous local independent toy shop Cuthberts Toys and writing their blog for them. To tie in with my latest review for them I'm delighted to say that they have provided me with a Kidkraft Pirate Play Set to give away in time for Christmas*. We were fortunate enough to review this pirate play set and Little Miss C fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. A full review can be found over on the Cuthberts Blog, but here are some highlights. Firstly, the sheer scale of the Pirate Ship is impressive. The small box ... read more
Learning and Playing with the Bigjigs Lacing Animals
I don't think I've ever been sent anything to review by Bigjigs Toys that I haven't liked, but when I unwrapped our latest Play Patrol parcel I have to admit that I gave out a little squeal of excitement when I saw the Lacing Animals that they had sent. As anyone who reads this blog regularly will know I love to craft - especially sewing and knitting. Without wanting to wish away time I'm already looking forward to being able to teach Little Miss C how to sew and knit, although I'm also being careful not to try too early so I don't put her off by it being too ... read more
Review: Matchbox 60th Anniversary
The world of toy cars is still a little bit of a mystery to me. I know that there is supposedly no difference between boys' and girls' toys, but I don't really recall having toy cars when I was a child and Little Miss C's never had many either. Whenever we used to visit DorkyMum and DorkySon for playdates (before they moved to the other side of the world!) I saw a true car obsessive in action. DorkySon loved nothing more than playing "traffic jams" when he would line all his toy cars up all over his road rug and I can see Master C going the same way. As soon as he ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Bruno Cuddly Toy
In addition to being sent the Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform there was also this cute little guy in the parcel - Bruno! I mean how can you not fall completely in love with him? Bruno's got lovely textured fur, making him irresistible for little hands to play with. The mix of colours is also attractive to the eye and stimulating for younger children. He also rattles when you shake him. When we opened the box it was instantly declared that Bruno should be for Master C, but it seems like Little Miss C is also rather fond of him. She was particularly keen to show him our ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Road and Rail Overhead Platform
They always say that one of the biggest tests when reviewing something is asking the question "would I have bought this myself?" and that's a very easy question for me to answer here as we actually bought Little Miss C the Road and Rail Overhead Platform for her birthday earlier this year! That means we've actually had a good few months to review this properly and it's quite telling that when LMC saw it in the latest Play Patrol package from Bigjigs her response was "oh wow, another platform". Our train set building has had to slow down a bit lately as it's ... read more
The story of the Tree Fu Tom underpants
Boys will be boys and girls will be girls How many times have you heard the above? Such common sayings yet have you ever thought about what meaning is behind them? I have a child of each gender and whilst I appreciate that my two children have differences they also have a huge number of similarities. I know that the physical and mental development of boys and girls can be different, but my own parenting experiences have also taught me that at no point does my daughter take into account her own gender when deciding what she likes and dislikes. For years toy retailers and manufacturers ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Marble Run
Well, it's fair to say I've had a fair bit of fun testing out the Bigjigs Marble Run that we were sent to review as part of our role on the Play Patrol. Part of this particular challenge was to create a video, so here you are! It's very hard to convey all our thoughts in a video though, so just to give you a few pros and cons... As soon as Little Miss C saw the box she was very excited - even in an age of electronic toys there's something about marbles that is still magical. She instantly wanted mummy and daddy to set it up as per the box. The problem being that a three year ... read more