WFMW – Toys your kids and you will love!
This week on Shannon’s blog there is a great Works for Me Wednesday, which is all about great toy recommendations. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE all types of wooden toys, but actually they are not in my “most popular with the kids in our house” category.
Here are a few that have been (and still are) a huge hit in our house.
Tomy Megasketcher
We have several versions in our house, and both still going strong, one after 10 years.
Great for older kids, but not if you also have little ones around – those magnetic balls are just too tempting to swallow
Happy Tracks / Happy People / Happy Land – all from Early Learning Centre
We have a number of their playsets over the years, some bought new, some purchased on ebay. Basically indestructible, great for toddler hands, and still popular with older kids! Currently our hospital and road/train track are most popular, but as soon as I pack some bits away I can be sure that will be requested the next day.
A great UK mailorder catelogue is LetterBox – not cheap, but toys that will stand the test of time.
Here are a few items which caught my eye in their recent catelogue
Somehow wooden toys never fall into the junk category, and I never want to give them away!
Other News
Congratulations to Antique Mommy who won the giveaway of a personalised digital scrapbook page on my J M Digital Designs blog.
Here are some of my latest pages
Using Just Earthy by Weeds and Wildflower Designs
This final page is a freebie quick page which was available to download as part of DSD (Digital Scrapping Day) last Saturday, from Weeds and Wildflowers. Quick Pages are a fast way to scrap, as someone else has done a lot of the work (!) and you can add your own picture, text and additional elements to it.
And usuing various new winter themed collection from Mellow Yellow I made these hybrid cards. (Hybrid just means printing out your digital creation and adding some physical stuff to it – in this case ribbons, but you could add brads, glitter, anything you want really!)
Halloween is now well and truly over, but we still have a mountian of sweets and goodies which we are rationing/distributing in an orderly fashion.
Here are a few pics from the Atlantic Ocean and beach at Portstewart Strand last Sunday morning, where we met up with friends for a walk.
Finally, prayers (for calm and focus) appreciated here for this Friday, as here in Northern Ireland we still have academic selection for 10/11 year olds, and our eldest daughter will be sitting her first of two exams for the Transfer Test (11 plus).
Thanks, and take care.
You can’t beat the Early Learning Centre for toys. I don’t think I’ve bought a single thing in there over the years that hasn’t been a complete hit. Apart from the miniture instruments. Toots loves them, the hubbs and I aren’t so sure. Her favorite has been the fairy boot playset.
I always loved the wooden toys when my kids were younger. They just seemed to have so much more quality and required more imagination that the cheap, plastic stuff found everywhere.
Love your layouts, especially that A Helping Hand one … love how you placed the flowers to follow the flow of the hill!
My brothers had building toys called ‘construx’ similar to the ones you show, without the balls. And mecchano – have you ever seen these? They bolt together? Miles and I still have a tub of lego awaiting little people’s visits. I just don’t like stepping on the pieces!
What about Thomas Train? Or is he just too popular now? We have a set of these too, with the little crane and everything.
Those writing tablets are wonderful – I had one to leave love notes to Miles on for a stretch of time!
I am getting so inspired to do some hybrid projects, just need to either get a new printer (want wireless!) or buy ink for the old one. Thats the dilemma, new ink costs as much as a NEW printer these days!
Your photos make me long for the ocean! I love moody days by the sea. Ah well, I can live it through your pics.
Its been raining here for 4 days. the first days were cozy and productive. Day 4 here has me trying to find a ‘rosy’ thing to say about it LOL. Can’t even walk in the orchard for my runners act like walking sponges, and I need to GET OUT!
My friend Rose is coming for a visit today – that should be a nice thing!
Hope your day is a good one. Do you get snow yet? When does that start for you?
I’ll be back (ya, even after halloween I will ‘haunt’ your blog) I’m a pest. A nice pest. Like a ladybug, that kinda thing.
🙂
I love all those toys and the pics of the ocean were beautiful.
Beautiful Pictures of the Ocean!! Great advice on the toys, I start christmas shopping this week, so that was a great read! My kiddos love the early learning stuff too!
Your posts are always packed with such good stuff…great info and lots of pretty things to look at! Love it!
Thanks for your sweet comment today!
I can’t believe how much I stop and look at wooden toys in Germany. They’re everywhere. They’re beautiful. I love the little fire station you posted.
Sheesh. I’m talking like I need to start buying wooden toys! Love those scrapbook pages!
Katie
Still thinking of your DD and the tests….
ummm, JanMary – the totally STRANGEST thing happened to me, just now. I came to visit your blog and it took me back to your MARCH 7 blog entry LOL – the one where you were having a BLOG party ….
I read it. really really ENJOYED it.
I commented on it.
I visited some of the commenters links on it.
then something ‘twigged’
and I RE-READ your blog entry.
And I thought – is she going on a looooooonnnng holiday, for she says she’ll see us on St Patricks day. And then I was CERTAIN I’d seen the chicken egg/cup thing before.
then came the AHA! moment.
*giggle*
so, what can I say. Are you doing another blog party soon? – that one is still going on, for me, anyways.
*blush blush*
~ Barb
WOW! I love your pictures and your layouts! You are so talented! I wish I was were that beach picture is right now!