The Christmas Rush

Later than most other years, but toys are starting to sell quickly with some items already in short supply (Large Wheely Bugs - all styles for one example).

But with Woolworths facing administration the UK is facing losing one of its biggest toy retailers.

I'll be posting less frequently on the run up to Christmas as my time is taken up selling toys!! But I'll be back with more regular reviews as things calm down.

The Toy Guru

Dolls Family - Pintoy

There are lots of different dolls house families avaliable but the pintoy range are my favourite.

Why? Well they are well dressed but most importantly they have noses!!

Pictured are the asain family.

Guru rating 5/5 well made and have noses !! About £18.00.

Credit Crunch and Christmas

Shop Early this year!!

Why? Some suppliers are having problems shipping their toys this year because of the credit crunch as some banks are not issuing letters of credit which enables the movement of goods around the world.

So try and not leave everything to the last minute or risk being disappointed - you have been warned!

Sophies House - Le Toy Van

There are a fair few dolls houses in the shops this year and as usual the Le Toy Van range stands out as well made and overall good value.

Sophies house is one of the most popular houses having a pink and glittery scroll cut roof. The front opens on 2 "doors" which are held to the main part of the house by nice metal brackets. Infact there are no nasty metal hinges (pinching hazard) to be seen.

Le Toy Vans style has been imitated by a number of other companies (have you checked out the ELC house) but as often is the case the originals are often the best. Le Toy Van has a great reputation for supplying spares for the products, so should anything go wrong in the future you stand a good chance of getting a replacement part, so if an artistic flourish leaves the panels covered in biro or worse all is not lost!

It comes flat packed but is easy to assemble. Made from toy grade MDF (painted) and some use of wooden (doors, windows and flower boxes). The finish on them whilst more than acceptable is sometimes subject to the slight blemish here and there but overall factory product control seems good. Priced around £90.00 it will provide many hours of imaginative play fun. Its aged 3+ on box as there are some small pieces and my own daughter really got into hours from age 4 onwards. Roomsets are sold seperately and most families choose to build up there furniture and dolls over time.

Scale is 1/12th the standard European scale so furniture from pintoy, plan, voila, elc, selecta and Le Toy Van will all fit in

Toy Guru rating 4.5/5 - I really like the Le Toy Van dolls house range good products, well designed with great customer support.

Digger - by Pintoy

This is my favourite of the smaller vehicles in the Pintoy construction series. The scoop loader is easy to use and "digs" really well.

Very strong and the caterpillar tracks are put on in such a way that they dont fall off as its pushed along.

Toy Guru verdict: 4/5 Price about £25.00

International Airshow - by Le Toy Van

There havn't been that many toy airports on sale in the UK in the last few years and this product released mid 2008 certainly fills that niche very well.

Like all of the Le Toy Van products it is well made and brightly coloured (manufactured by Le Toy Vans own factory in Indonesia which has good quality control).

All the pieces pictured come in the box and they have also introduced an additional flight if you want to add to the range. As it is painted wood/toy grade mdf it is subject to some chipping (but then most things are) but overall it is a quality toy which will provide hours of fun for most 3 to 6 year olds.

The Toy Guru rating 4/5 nicely made bright colours - Price around £50.00

Todays Tip Selecting a Toy

Nothing beats being able to play with a toy before you buy it so still the best place to buy your toys is in a shop that has knowledgable staff and examples of the product on display.

But I here you cry shops are more expensive than the web. well this may be true to some extent but dont forget delivery costs, hanging around for the actual courier, problems if there is a faulty, spares and of course you can walk away with your item then and there.

Don't forget children love going to toy shops if you don't support your local one then it will close and you will deprive your children of an important part of growing up. Can you imagine no childhood memories of going to a toy shop I know I can't.

Wooden Fruits - by Wonderworld

Today I'll take a look at some more wooden play food this time by Wonderworld. Again made in Thailand these nicely made wooden fruits come in a small wooden crate. Some are cuttable (small wooden
knife included) pieces being held together by velcro.

The pieces are slightly smaller than the Santoy food and are aged appropriately at 3 plus.

Whilst being nicely made I can't help preferring the Santoy range especially as the price is broadly similar.

Toy Guru Verdict 3/5. You wont be disappointed but there are better choices avaliable. Price about £12.00

Pintoy Crane

Pintoy introduced their construction range in 2007 and the range has been developing ever since.

The most impressive piece is the crane. All of the range is made from durable rubber wood and the crane has a fully working pully system to lower and raise the cranes lifting platform.

Its worth mentioning that the range is the same saclae as the fire series by pintoy and most dolls house found in Europe. The range is very durable and a number of playschools and nurserys are choosing the range.

The Toy Guru Verdict 4.5/5 strong and great fun. Price around £36.00

Back from a few days away

Just got back from a few days away, back to more regular posting from tomorrow!!

Piro - by Haba

Haba really do make the most fantastic range of rattles and clutching toys of which Piro is a fine example. Strong colours on European hardwoods (Maple in this case), all laquers are obviously non toxic and are waterbased.

This has a nice forward and back movement and is fairly easy to hold. Age range is around 6 months through to around about 2.

Did you know that if you look inside the lid of a Haba box you sometimes see stamped on the inside of the box the name of the person at Haba who actually made this toy!

The Toy Guru verdict: 4/5 a really nice clutching toy .Price range around the ten pounds mark.

Todays Tip - Toy Cleaning

If a plain wooden toy gets marked or scuffed it can often be lightly sanded to remove the mark. Just use a good quality fine sandpaper.

Rubber Wood

Not all wooden toys are of the same quality. As with most things there are various qualities in the raw materials used.
Traditionally toys found in Europe where made from European hardwoods (some still are Haba and Selecta Toys spring to mind) but more and more toys are being soured from the far east where sometimes quality is questionable. It is therefore important to check from what wood the toy is made.

You may have noticed that alot of the quality toy manufactureres use rubber wood sourced primarily in Thailand. Why is this? Well rubber wood is already comercially grown to produce latex but after 25 years the latex production tails off and traditionally the trees were felled and used for charcoal creation and a new tree planted. Rubber wood however is ideal for toy production as it has a beautiful feel to it, hard to splinter (although can dent) and fairly easy to work. So through the 80's and early ninties more and more companies turned to rubber wood as their source material anf there is now a thriving toy manufacturing industry in Thailand. Companies using rubber wood include Pintoy, Plan Toys, Wonderworld, Voila, Santoys amongst others which enable sustainable managed forests.

Wooden Vegtables

Re-visiting one of the most popular imaginative play themes pretend cooking.

Today I'll take a look at another Santoy product the solid wooden vegtables which come in a net bag.

These are really nicely made and have a strong durable finish which doesnt chip easily. The Santoy food range always seems to hit the mark and along with the Haba toy food range is probably the best around.

These wooden vegtables obviously work just as well in pretend shop play, and can often be found in UK day nurseries and play groups.

The Toy Guru Verdict 4/5 - a really nice set of 17 vegtables, durable tough and colourfull.

Pullalong Alligator - Plan Toys

This pullalong has been around for a number of years now and is often mentioned as the best ever pullalong toy.

It makes a great clacking noise when pulled and moves really well. The mouth can also snap as the head is lifted and lowered in a quick movement.

Made from rubberwood in thailand it has won Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award among others .

Plan toys are less common in the shops today than they were a few years ago but they are well worth the effort in tracking down

Toy Guru Rating 5/5 - simply a great pullalong - age 19 months on the box - but anytime from steady confident walking would be fine.

The Other Wheely Bug Designs

I personally like the original designs the best but here are the pictures of the Mouse and Tiger to complete the range

Todays Tip - Push or Pullalong toys?

The Toy Guru's view.

Well both are great walking based toys but remember pushing a toy along is slightly easier than pulling one behind you if you've just learnt to walk.

So pullalongs tend to be better suited to confident walkers who can easily look over their shoulder whilst walking while pushalongs are easier to use for the slightly less confident walker as they are always in view infront of the child.

Reviews of both sorts coming soon.

The Squish - Manhattan Toys

An enduring favourite from Manhattan Toys. Even young children find it easy to hold onto and with bright colours of the beads some of which move along the rods it fasinates lots of children.

Often chosen as a newborn gift or first clutching toy its hard to fault a real winner.

The Toy Guru Rating 4/5. Price arount £12 - £13 and widely available in the UK

Todays Tip - Dolls Houses

When buying a dolls house make sure that its 1/12th scale you will then find that most of the furniture sets sold by the leading companies are compatible as they all use this scale as a standard.

Baby Walker - By Pintoy

This Pintoy walker comes with a set of alphabet bricks and is my favourite walker in the Pintoy range.

There are a number of walkers around but I like this one as its really hard to tip backwards, even for an adult. The wheels are a good solid design and the axels made from steel, which means you dont have to worry even if larger children decide to step into the solid tray.

Age - well some children as young as 8 months may be ready for such a walker, but its not unheard of for a 19 month only just be ready for it, we all learn to walk at different times. Just remember to start off its best to use it near to a wall so the child can take a step or 2 forwards and then come to a safe halt. As they build up confidence just move them a little further from the wall

The Toy Guru Rating 4/5. A nice solid walker. Price £35 - £40

Todays Tip

Select the right toys for the right age, you don't need loads of different toys to engage a child's interest.

Don't be afraid to rest toys ie remove them for a few days/weeks and then reintroduce them.

Cuttable Wooden Cake

One of the most popular imaginative play themes is cooking play for both boys and girls.

I'll take a look at the birthday cake first. The toy is made from wood, the slices held together by Velcro which allows it to be cut using the supplied wooden knife. It also comes on a wooden plate the candles are included and slot in/out.

Its a great toy, simple in design but with lots of play value.

Aged 3+ on the box but as you know children often like this type of play from around 2 onwards (adult supervision advised). Interestingly the chocolate cake in the range says 2+ maybe the candles make it 3+

Made by Santoy in Thailand and currently distributed in the UK by both Bigjigs and Earlybird.

The Toy Guru Rating - Firm favourite: 4/5 well made hard to chip the paint off and easy to play with. Price around £10.

Todays Tip - Dolls Houses

Got a dolls house thats not being played with as much as you hoped?

If the dolls house on the floor - try putting it on a small table.

If it has lots of furniture in it try reducing it to a bare minimum then slowly re introducing to the dolls house.

Invite another doll to stay in the dolls house- try an unusual character like a fairy, witch or wizard. This will change the style of play.

Under the age of 4? Maybe they are not ready for it yet. Pack it up and try again in six months.

Tone Drum by Plan Toys

This great sounding wooden toy tone drum, comes with a rubber topped beater which gives a great tone when struck.

Its made from rubber wood in Thailand, and like most of plan toys range is well made and very strong. As the beating area is solid wood which has has slots cut into it, there is no chance that over enthusiastic drumming will break the toy drums surface.

Aged on the box at 19 months (approx age of rhythmic beating) its a popular 1st and second birthday present.

The Toy Guru Rating 4/5 Good starter toy instrument, strong with a nice sound. Price around £14

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Due to the huge success of the wheely bug there have been a number of "me to" products.
The best known in the UK is the Skipper Crazy creature range. Retailing at arount the £60 mark they come in a number of different designs but only one size.

They have a distinctive t-bar handle supported from 2 metal supports at the front of the bugs body.

The meta supports can cause problems if children play bump-a-cars with the ride-on as being metal they can make quite an impact.

Few retailers choose to stock this product the original wheely bug just being to good.

Rating: 2/5 Fun but I'd still choose the original

Wheely Bugs

The Background Story

The Wheely Bug was first developed in Northern Queensland Australia by a husband and wife team called Wildchild, based in the artist town of Kuranda.

The idea was soon a big hit in Australia winning "Best Australian Made Toy" ITSA Quality Toy Awards 2000, 2001 and 2003.

It became a firm favourite with Australian daycare centres and was used both indoors and outside under sunscreen canopies which didn't have to be huge as the wheely bug turns on itself unlike the more traditional trike.

In the UK they were first distributed by a Company called Oneworld who originally imported and distributed them. After they proved successful Oneworld tried manufacturing the wheelybug in the UK but quality issues soon proved to be a problem. Eventually Hippychick took over the distribution and normal service resumed with the wheely bug now being manufactured in China.

The Review

Over the years I have sold thousands of wheely bugs, and it is one of the few products that I have sold where people will take the time to email/write to tell you how good the product is. It is many families favourite toy bought under the age of five.

There are 2 sizes the small which is an ideal 1st birthday present (age range 1 (or when walking) to 2.5 years approx) and the large (age range 2.5 years - 5 years approx).

Both look small to an adult as we tend to size them in comparison to a more traditional trike but the large has considerably more girth and both feet need to be flat on the floor in order to sit and ride on it properly. Lots of children at the younger end are more interested in pushing the wheely bug around and playing with the antennae but they soon learn that the real fun comes in the riding.

Falling off.

Unlike a traditional trike or bike children tend to slide off the bugs back rather than the more abrupt fall from a trike. However you need to make sure a really small child doesnt topple forward over the handle in an attempt to reach the bottom of the feelers and the bugs should be used under adult supervision.

The casters on the wheely allow it to move easily in any direction and turn fluidly on itself 360 degrees. They are rated to take 30kg each and with the solid moulded body means that even much larger kids can have a ride.

They work best on smooth surfaces, but with more effort can be used on short pile carpet. Children are really attracted by the simple but effective design and its a toy that proves something doesnt have to be over elaborate for it to be a great success with a young child. Wheely bugs dont have buttons, switches electronic noises or unnecessary distractions. They are strong and good fun and my daughter who had a small ladybird for her first birthday still has the occasional ride on it now aged almost six!

Prices

Smalls are around the £50 point and larges around £60. Expensive? I don't think so considering how long they are used for and their build quality.

Rating: 5/5 in my view the best sit and ride toy for younger children.

Final thoughts
The only other thing I would say about wheely bugs is let your child come to it in their own time. you know its a sit and ride but they may prefer to push/pull it play with the feelers. Let them they will ride it in their own time. To get all the moves may take a year or more, so if they don't whizz around straight away have the patience to let them learn.

Toys, toys toys........

Playing with toys shapes our lives from an early age.

Introducing the right toys at the right age is a very important part of helping to shape early years development, I hope this blog will help inspire you when choosing toys and give a little more background to the toys and the companies that make them