Regular readers may well have had enough of me going on about how much I love Bigjigs (but just in case you haven't read this post from earlier in the week) so I'm going to keep this post just to the facts about the review items in question. Just before Little Miss C's birthday Bigjigs sent us our second Play Patrol review package - a wonderful selection of their Road and Rail accessories. This fitted in perfectly with the selection that we had already bought her as gifts and now she's lucky enough to have a fantastic selection with which to build a huge road and rail ... read more
Mrs C and Bigjigs are going to BritMums Live!
It's amazingly only 18 months since I first discovered Bigjigs after buying Little Miss C her first train set for Christmas. Today we've celebrated her third birthday and it was quite telling that the majority of gifts that we bought her came from Bigjigs - not through any obligation that I felt from working with them, but simply because I really love their toys, as does my daughter. That first purchase was somewhat by chance, but then talking to the owner of our local independent toy shop I learnt a huge amount more about the company behind the brand and I really liked what I ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Garden Tools
Within two hours of our first Bigjigs Play Patrol parcel arriving it started raining. Not much of a surprise with this year's weather, but seeing as they sent Little Miss C some garden tools to review it has made reviewing them properly a bit challenging! I need to start by saying a few words about the Play Patrol scheme though. Not only did Master C enjoy his first testing assignment, but Little Miss C was amazed about the idea of toys being sent to the house by the "train jigsaw people" as she likes to call Bigjigs. And very excited to have a new bag to take to nursery and a "jigsaw ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Activity Centre
Today's visit from the delivery man brought the kids' first Bigjigs Play Patrol assignment and as the youngest Play Patrol Agent Master C is taking his testing duties very seriously. He was sent an Activity Centre to review and with an age range of 6 months to 2 years it was the perfect choice for him to cut his reviewing teeth on. Straight out of the box the activity center is lovely to look at. With the expected Bigjigs build quality it is all made of wood with the exception of the metal "wire" with wooden beads on it. There are five activities in total: wooden ducks to ... read more
Magpie Monday – Lego Airport
I've been meaning to join in with Magpie Monday for ages and just never got round to it, or just though that my finds would not be of interest to others. Last week's charity shop booty was a bit special though. Lego. We all love it. Or if you don't then you much be a bit mad in my opinion. The only thing is that charity shops generally know that we all love it and hence the prices are often quite astronomical, especially if you find a boxed set that can be considered vintage or a complete set. In out local hospice shop last week I spotted a typical pile of plastic bags full ... read more
Science Filled Sunday
Little Miss C is still very much in love with her science kit and we get regular requests to do "speriments" with her, or she'll look through the experiment cards and decide which one she wants to do next. Easter Sunday was very much the same and she pulled on one particular card where the experiment was to look at the fact that oil and water do not mix and that water is also more dense than oil, meaning that the oil will float on the surface of the water. A bit of blue food colouring in the water made the difference between the two liquids a bit more obvious and she ... read more
Tuff Spot Play Ideas – Rice and Diggers
Inspired by Jennie from Edspire I started off the other day by taking the children to Wickes. Now as it went this might not seem that exciting an outing for a toddler and a baby, but I was there on a mission. I've been reading about the messy place adventures that Jennie has with her twins in their tuff spot and realised that this would be perfect for Little Miss C. If you're not familiar with them a tuff spot is simply a large octagonal plastic tray that you can put on the floor to provide a playing surface for small children. They were originally sold as mixing trays for ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Farm House Sorter
We are absolutely thrilled to be in the final 12 bloggers being considered for the role of Bigjigs Play Patrol Agents. For the final stage of the process we were sent a Bigjigs Farm House Sorter to review and we've spent the last week putting it through its paces. Like the majority of Bigjigs toys, the Farm House Sorter is made of wood and is a house shape with two removable roof tiles and a convenient carrying handle. Along all four sides of the house are cut-outs for the eight animals (horse, cow, chicken, sheep, duck, pig, cat and goose) and tree shapes that it comes with. The first thing ... read more
Review: Ravensburger Crime Scene Investigation Set
When I was a child I had two favourite books. One was a children's guide to being a spy and the second which was a guide to being a detective. Full of tips and techniques, these two books pretty much summed up what my career aspirations were when I was about 8 and to be honest I'd be pretty happy with either of those jobs now too. If someone had handed me this Ravensburger CSI set (part of their Science X range) then I think I would have probably exploded with excitement. As it is even as an adult it is pretty fantastic. Developed by Mark Benecke, a German crime biologist and specialist in ... read more
Why Little Miss C wants to work for Bigjigs
If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that Little Miss C is a huge Bigjigs fan. This week it's all gone to a whole new level as she's developed an obsession with reading their trade catalogue and repeatedly telling me what she needs from it for her birthday. I'm a huge fan too. They're a great company, produce an amazing range of quality toys and also provide daily entertainment on twitter and Facebook for parents. When I saw that they're looking for Play Patrol Agents I just knew that it would be the right job for Little Miss C. Like Bigjigs ... read more