Old-style games will never go out of fashion – doctors and nurses, cowboys and Indians, tea parties, playing house and pretend fishing expeditions. They all captivate children with the thrill of grown-up role play while transporting them to an imaginary world that frees their creativity.
Modern play structures are things to behold where I live. Only 8kms from Sydney’s CBD, there isn’t a whole lot of running room for our kids. Lucky for us, park culture thrives and our local council recognises the importance of play areas for children.
Wooden toys and games have made their mark upon the toy world and the diversity of wooden play items on offer keeps getting better and better. Australian company Merrigold Collections has added immensely to our choices by importing and distributing a massive array of high quality and imaginative wooden toys.
Pretty soon, there’ll be as big a range of toy prams for toddlers to choose from as there are real prams for parents! Renowned quality pram maker Silver Cross has brought its Junior Collection to Australia, which includes wee versions of the Dazzle (look at the full-sized version next to the Junior version!), Ranger, 3D, … [Read more.]
When I was little, I remember hosting tea parties for my toys where I would serve sausage rolls made from mud (as in dirt, not chocolate!). No wonder my mum always declined a taste! Thankfully, there are much cuter (and less messy) options around today, such as the deliciously cute range of play bickies from … [Read more.]
Just when I think I’ve seen every kind of building block possible, along comes something new. But exactly how ‘new’ can a wooden building block be?
Being the dollhouse fanatic that I am, I couldn’t go past this new Bamboo Sunshine dollshouse from Hape. We mentioned it just in August 2009 on Babyology and I was able to take a closer look and play with it for a while (longer than I think I was welcome at the stand!)
95 percent … [Read more.]
We met the owners of Eco-kids at the ABC Kids Expo a few weeks ago and I wanted to share their products with you.
Eco-kids is an all natural range of art supplies made from from plant, fruit and vegetable extracts. I know I always worry that my toddler is eating more play-doh that she … [Read more.]
The Maclaren stand was very impressive and had lots of new strollers and prams launching at the show. I was most impressed by the new Netto Collection pictured below. This range of furniture is stunning and would be a good addition to any nursery.
Apart from all the new prams launched by Maclaren at the … [Read more.]
I’ve lamented before that it’s hard to come by play kitchens featuring clean lines, a contemporary aesthetic and quality materials unless purchasing from overseas or shelling out big bucks. Most are either low quality plastic plastered with licensed characters or have a country cottage style, neither being my personal cup of tea.
Now an option has hit … [Read more.]
My kids have hit the age where they love dressing up. Fairies, princesses, kings, brave knights, scary skeletons, wicked witches, race car drivers, doctors, nurses, chefs and even a Stormtrooper – we’ve built up quite a collection of costumes, silly hats and other accessories already. The only real drama is our overflowing dress-up box. It’s … [Read more.]
My stationery addiction started young. I vividly remember saving my pocket money for a trip to ‘Granny May’s Paper Shoppe’ which sold a huge range of scented erasers, pastel coloured felt-tip pens and, my favourite, stickers. The stickers were sold individually from big rolls and you would have thought we were buying a car it … [Read more.]