Smoby Chef Corner Restaurant - Review

(AD/Gifted - We received this item for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

My children have always loved roleplay toys and as they get older, it's definitely harder to find playsets that suit. Enter the Smoby Chef Corner Restaurant.

It's targeted towards children aged 3-8 as the height can be adjusted, meaning that my 5 and 7 year olds could play easily.

When it first arrived, I was a bit taken aback by the size of it and also anxious about putting it together. The instructions state that it should take two people 1.5 hours to build, I attempted it on my own and it took 3 hours. It wasn't difficult but definitely get an extra body if you can!

The play possibilities for this restaurant are fantastic. It is just like a real restaurant with a small till area, complete with card machine, receipts and working calculator. My children love visiting restaurants so they were very excited to get to act out their own restaurant scenarios.

In the kitchen area, you are supplied with over 70 accessories from plates, cups, different types of foods, lots of pots and utensils and E especially loved that the pasta changed colour in warm water. The sink has a real water function but we had a bit of a leakage situation with that one! I love that you even have little order cards to stick up in front of the cooking area just like a busy restaurant would have.

There is an espresso machine and the hob makes real bubbling sounds when you place a pot on it! It is fully immersive and it feels like nothing has been left out. I love the addition of the carrot that can be chopped!

The little restaurant table that attaches onto the side of the kitchen is like nothing I've seen before when it comes to toy kitchens and it is nice to incorporate the two. 

C and E both spend so much time playing with the Smoby Chef Corner Restaurant, taking it in turns with who will be the customer and who will be the worker and they love building the burger or putting toppings on the pizza. It is made of plastic but is very sturdy and it means that the kids can have fun playing with it in the garden when the sun is out.

I can definitely see this being a popular toy this Christmas and I can honestly say that I wholeheartedly recommend it.

You can purchase the Smoby Chef Corner Restaurant from Argos for £150.

Casdon Flymo Toy Lawnmower - Review #CasdonFlymo

[AD/gifted - We received this item for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. [This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to buy anything through a link on this page, I will earn a few pennies at no extra cost to you.]

One of E's favourite ways to play is doing role-play. This started at a young age with her little tea set and progressing onto a toy kitchen, a sweep/mop set, shopping trolley - anything mummy and daddy do, she wanted to act it out and pretend that she was doing it too. Casdon are a really great brand for role-playing toys and we've actually reviewed some in the past which have been well-received.

With it being the middle of summer and it being quite good weather, E was delighted to receive the Casdon Flymo Lawnmower - exactly the same one that her grandad has - so she could "help" him mow his garden.

It is super simple to put together, coming in just three parts, the main base which is the iconic Flymo orange colour (complete with Flymo logo) and two handle pieces that slot together. You're then all ready to go!

The lawnmower doesn't require batteries which is a massive plus in my book and the wheels on the bottom make a clicking sound to imitate the mower noise.

Aimed at children aged 3+, I did have a little worry that my tall, almost-five-year-old daughter may be too big for it but she is able to push it comfortably around the garden.

The plastic is really sturdy and I did think, before opening, that if E maybe put a bit too much pressure on the handle as she pushes, they would come apart but that hasn't been the case and we are very impressed with it. 

E is enjoying mimicking her grandad and cutting his grass for him but it's even great to bring indoors on a rainy day too as it wheels along the floor nicely too.

The Casdon Flymo Lawnmower is priced at £12.99 and is available at all good toy retailers. You can find out more at the Casdon website.

Chad Valley Tiny Treasures Doll - Review

My four year old daughter E is a right 'wee granny mush' as we say here in Northern Ireland. She loves to put on a dress and pretend she's the mummy (because that's what mummies wear, apparently) and I'm the kid. Over the years, we have had a number of baby dolls that she has also played mummy to but none of them as fantastic as the Tiny Treasures doll from Chad Valley.  

We received the boy version of the doll and as soon as we saw him, I was awestuck by his realistic facial features. He has a good mop of brown hair underneath his little blue hat, hair is something that none of our previous dolls have had and I like that it has been included. 

Upon opening, the weight of the doll adds to its realism. Weighing in at 2lbs 10oz, it is definitely like holding a real newborn baby and even has a scent of talcum powder. He is dressed very sweetly too in a beautiful blue pair of dungarees with a bear pocket and even has a little bodysuit underneath it. 

E has named her new baby boy Jesus. I'm going to take a guess and say this is partly because of the time of year and also because she's been practicing for her nativity at school but hey, she can call him whatever she wants. The doll comes with a little hospital band attached to his wrist and a birth certificate so you can joy down its name, weight and other stats. As well as just looking realistic, it's these little extras that really set the Tiny Treasures doll apart from the others. 

The cardboard box that the doll arrives in has a buckle attached so it can be used as a car seat. E has decided that it's a crib and put baby Jesus to sleep there. His eyes shut when he is laid down and open again when he is picked up. 

E has fallen in love with her new doll. She puts him to bed at the bottom of her bed every night, gets him first thing in the morning and brings him downstairs with her. She has even taken to bringing him in the car to nursery in the morning for me to bring back home to "babysit" then bring him back at pick up. She is definitely treating him like a real baby! 

The Tiny Treasures doll retails at £39.99 and can be purchased from Argos. Argos also do a whole host of accessories to go with the doll such as a Moses basket, baby carrier and wardrobe. E is so enthralled that I have decided to put a call in to Santa to bring some of these extras for Christmas!

You can also keep up to date with Tiny Treasures on Facebook and Instagram.

(We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

 

Disney Ariel Styling Head - Review #StylingHeadMonth

If you follow me on social media or are a regular reader of my blog, you'll probably be aware of my three year old daughter E's love of Disney Princesses. She owns almost all of the dolls, an abundance of costumes and even her bedsheets are emblazoned with the princesses. Another one of her loves is roleplaying. 

When we were offered the chance to review the Ariel Styling Head from Flair, I just knew that there couldn't be a more perfect toy for her. She is forever brushing my hair as well as her own and her brothers!

The Ariel Styling Head is absolutely beautiful and with her gorgeous signature red hair she looks exactly like the movie version. The first thing that E commented on was it's length. There is so much to brush and she couldn't wait to get styling.

As well as the styling head, you also receive 14 hair accessories (including a hair brush, hair clips, hair ties and twirls) so you can really make her over with a fabulous new 'do. E has even been putting the clips in her own hair!

As E is only three years old and hasn't quite mastered the techniques when it comes to hairdressing, she tended to focus more on brushing and putting the clips in, something which didn't take her very long to learn at all. She was chuffed that she could do it by herself. She did however ask me to do ponytails and plaits as she finds those difficult - all will come with time!

I have to comment on the quality of the doll. I was really impressed by the volume of her hair. Sometimes you can buy styling heads where the hair is quite thin but there is a lot to work with when it comes to the Ariel one. I also love the attention to detail with regards to her crown, colourful shell bra and the shell and star necklace. They are just little bonuses to reinforce the fact that she is Princess Ariel and not just any other regular styling head.

The Ariel Styling Head retails at £18.99 and is perfect for children aged around 3-6 years.  

On 13th April, UK Mums TV will be hosting a #StylingHeadMonth Twitter frenzy from 1-2pm. Be sure to join in to hear more about the styling heads that are on the market and for the chance to win some prizes!

(We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Lucy Locket Wooden Biscuit Set Counting Game - Review

I've always said that the best thing that I ever did for my four year son C was give him a sister. E is two years old so is mobile, can talk and communicate well with her big brother. The closeness in age means that they can play games together happily. One of their favourite things to take part in is pretend play. We have a wooden kitchen set, cleaning set and tea set and they will play with them constantly, if they aren't making up little scenarios with their toy figures!

When Lucy Locket offered us the chance to review one of their Wooden Biscuit Counting Sets, I jumped at the chance because I thought it would go down well with the children and it didn't disappoint.

The set comes in a small box (15cm x 11cm x 6cm) and contains 10 wooden biscuits (five different types) and one tea cloth. Each piece is made of thick, durable wood, which is smoothed down making it perfect for little hands. I love how bright and colourful they are and they replicate real biscuits. I always fancy a pink wafer when the children are playing with it!

C and E both enjoyed pretending to be having afternoon tea and sharing out their biscuits evenly between them. E can be quite difficult when it comes to sharing but she surprised me when playing with this set. She would even pretend to be baking her biscuits in her toy kitchen then feed them to myself and her daddy. 

Not only do you have the pretend play and sharing aspect, but they soon discovered that each biscuit has a number on the reverse. C is starting primary school and September and has recently been teaching himself how to add numbers together. These have been a great tool for me to assist his learning. E, on the other hand, is a little bit younger so is only just learning about numbers and how to put them in order. She previously would skip a few out but this set has been great for number recognition and I'd often line some up in order then ask her to pass me the number which comes next, making it into a fun game. She does prefer to stack them then knock them all over though! 

I love the attention to detail that has been put into the Wooden Biscuit Counting Set, especially with the different shapes and paintwork of the biscuits. I cannot recommend this set enough as it's been both fun and educational and my children have been playing with in constantly since it arrived.

The Wooden Biscuit Counting Set retails at £16.00. You can find out more about their fantastic toy range at the Lucy Locket website or you can keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

(We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

 

Bigjigs Medieval Train Set - Review #PlayPatrol

We were so excited to recently become a part of the Bigjigs Play Patrol, meaning that we will have the opportunity to review some toys from the Bigjigs Rail range. This could not be more perfect for C as he's very much a typical boy who has adored trains since he was a baby. Since his little sister E has grown up, she loves playing trains with her big brother too.

The first set that we received was the Medieval Train Set and honestly, it's as though Bigjigs knew how much C loves this type of thing. He actually requested to dress up as a knight for Halloween last year. As you can imagine, he was delighted and instantly asked to play with the knight figures.

The Medieval Train Set contains 46 pieces in total which looked a little scary in the box and instruction sheet but I was able to put it together in less than five minutes. The castle is the main feature with a train track that runs through it and lots of figures of people, trees, a target and well.

The attention to detail in the set is fantastic. The Queen's colours are blue and the King's are red and there are even blue and red banners for the front of the castle and matching stands. Each person is painted front and back which I thought was a lovely touch as you can see all the detail in their clothing.

C is a massive fan of role-playing so his favourite thing to do is to have the jester make the King and Queen laugh or have the knight rescue the gold from the train which is being protected by a scary dragon. The set helps children with dexterity, imagination, creativity, co-ordination, problem solving and cause and effect. The thing C struggles with most is getting the train around the entire track whilst the three carriages are connected by the magnets. He tends to go a bit fast when he's excited which means the wheels don't always stay in the right place - he's getting there though! 

I've been observing both C and E playing with the Medieval Train Set together and it is just so lovely to watch. They really enjoy creating scenarios for the characters together and coming up with new ways to play. The chunky wooden pieces are very well made and smooth so they are perfect for little hands to play with. My two can also be quite rough with playtime so I always look for toys that will last. I'm pleased to say that the set has withstood the force that C and E have exerted on it - even the thinner, castle pieces - definitely a plus when you have young children! 

The Bigjigs Medieval Train Set is suitable for children aged 3+ (although I have been letting E aged 2.5 play with it when supervised) and it retails at £42.99.

You can find out more at the Bigjigs website or you can keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

(We received this item as part of our role as Bigjigs Play Patrol bloggers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

BRIO School Playset & Village Modules - Review

We are massive fans of BRIO toys and we have been lucky enough to review a few items from the range in the past. If you aren't familar with the brand, BRIO have been creating high quality toys since the end of the 1800's. Originally founded in Sweden, today the family run business has developed into a global company. The idea is that the simple designs spark creativity and encourage development.

I was really excited to receive the new BRIO School Playset for the children to review. The set contains 22 pieces which are a mixture of plastic and wood. Four year old C does request that I build it for him as he has a bit of trouble with needing assistance for a lot of things. The two base pieces slot together easily, and it's just a case of putting together the walls and other bits that are super simple - it can be done without even reading the instructions.

Since C started preschool, he has enjoyed roleplaying where he is the teacher with a class full of students so he has really loved using the two figures that come with the set as a teacher and student. He will make the teacher let the student have outside time where he can play on the attached slide then have the teacher stand in front of the blackboard, ready for the days lessons. The set does not require batteries so children are encouraged to use their imagination. I love watching C act out little scenarios.

In addition to the School Playset, we also received a BRIO Village Module. The expansion module is simply 14 additional pieces that you can use to either expand your school playset or create extra buildings to create a proper village style scene. They are really bright and colourful which is something that I love to see with preschool toys. These slot together in the same way as the School Playset and you can use the pieces to create differently shaped buildings. When built, the sets are very sturdy and can even withstand a boisterous two year old playing with them.

C has had lots of fun playing with these sets, especially using them with his BRIO Rescue Set that we reviewed a few months ago.  I love that the BRIO range work together quite well and I can almost see the cogs whirl round in C's head when he plays with them, wondering what situation he can put his characters in next.

The BRIO School Playset retails at £29.99 and the Village Module is £19.99. They are available to buy from all good toy shops and online retailers. Both sets are recommended for age 3+.

You can keep up to date with at the BRIO website, Facebook and Twitter.

(We received these items for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)