BlogToys and Games Ireland

13 Feb.2019

I always think that 4 is a big birthday. In my generation, most children started school when they were four (I know now that many children are 5 starting Primary School) and it started their journey to independence. Now that your child is turning four, they will probably be invited to a lot more birthday parties and so you will need more ideas of what to buy. In this blog, I’ve featured toys that I would be happy to give any four-year-olds in my life. All the presents featured here cost €10 or more but I also stock a large range of gifts that cost less than this here.

Night Sky Projector

This Night Sky Projector is a torch with inter-changing lenses that project stars into your child’s dark room. It costs €9.99

We are Going on a Bearhunt Games

This box contains four classic games that a four-year-old should manage to play and which will be fun for mum and dad too. The illustrations on the games come from the popular children’s book ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’. It costs €11.50

Numbers and Letters

As your child is preparing to enter Primary School, you can be encouraging them to recognise numbers and letters. These wooden magnetic letters and numbers are great for casual learning and are currently reduced to €13.99. They are the kind of toys that will be played with as your child gets older and learns to form words or do sums with them. I also stock this really lovely ‘See and Spell’ educational toy which will actually get your child spelling some words. It costs €30.99

Eduludo Sticks

This is a really fun activity for children that love order and figuring things out. They can play it on their own or with friends. The aim of the activity is to place the correct length stick on the board to make a picture. It costs €18.49

Lottie Dolls

Lottie Dolls are pretty dolls that come from Donegal company, Arklu. They are shaped like a little girl and have accessories and clothes that will be similar to what your children have. For this month, all Lottie dolls and accessories are reduced, so stock up for birthday presents!!

Pattern Blocks and Boards

Again, this is a great activity for helping your child learn to sit still and practice their fine motor skills in a fun way. Your child needs to put the right shape and colour pieces on the board to match the picture or they can design their own patterns with the pieces. It costs €22.99.

Train Set or Accessories

Often I think we give train sets to children who are too young to manage them and by the time they are old enough, they have lost interest in it or been discouraged because they cannot play with it on their own (ie, they need help assembling or keeping the train on the track). By the time your child is four, you could re-ignite their interest by buying them a new engine for their track or even a new train set. I stock trains from €9.99 and trainsets from €23.99.

Collages for 3-5 Year Olds

This lovely set from Djeco costs €19.99 and is perfect for a creative child. It introduces textures and shapes to make fun pictures with.

Doctor Sets

Pretend play is still huge with this age group and pretending to be a doctor can be great fun. I stock two really lovely (and very popular) doctor’s sets. The Djeco one costs €34.50 and the Le Toy Van one costs €49.95.

Fold and Go Play Sets

If you are a parent, grandparent or Godparent, maybe you want to give a bigger, more expensive present. Personally, I love the Fold and Go Play Sets from Melissa and Doug. I stock the Dolls House and the Barn.

I hope this blog has helped inspire you. If you’re still struggling, take a look at all the toys I sell for this age group here. I’m sure you will find something within your budget that will suit your four-year-old.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

xx Suzie

PS. If you liked this blog and would like to read some similar blogs, here’s the links:

Great Gifts for 3-year-olds

Great Gifts for 2-year-olds

Great Gifts for 1-year-olds.

5 Feb.2019

What to give someone turning 3!

My previous two blog posts ( 10 Gift Ideas for someone turning 1 and 10 Birthday Present Ideas for a 2-Year-Old) have been very well received, so I thought I’d follow the course and give you some ideas of what to give a child who is turning 3.

Children who are turning three are probably starting pre-school soon or have already started. Here, they will learn to play with other children and they will also be introduced to lots of new toys. You will start to notice the types of toys they gravitate towards and so you should be able to make more informed choices when it comes to choosing toys and games for this age group.

One great thing about choosing toys for this age group is that the variety and number of toys increase hugely. This is because there are very strict quality standards for toys for children under the age of 3, so most toys (even though you’d probably think are designed for a one or two-year-old) come with a warning that they are not suitable for children under 3. Now that your child is turning 3, you will have more choice. However, with this in mind, choose carefully. If you choose a toy that is too advanced for your child, they will give up on it early and possibly never return to it, even when they are able for it.

Anyway, let’s get on with the show! Here are my favourite gifts for three-year-olds.

Simple Games

It’s fun to play games with your kids, especially games that challenge you too. This Matching Pairs Game from Djeco is great for all ages and costs only €9.99. Children this age can also manage games like Dominoes and Bingo/Lotto

Wooden Play Food

Imaginary play is part of everyday life for children this age and giving a gift of play food will go down well. Whether it’s a tea set, a pizza or cutting food, when you invest in wooden play food, you can be sure it will last.

Stamps

Stamps are a great way of expressing your creativity and with a little bit of guidance, your child can create lovely scenes using wooden stamps and colourful ink. The ones that I stock that are most suitable for three-year-olds are the Melissa and Doug Wooden Stamps. Choose between Zoo Animals, Baby Farm Animals, or Butterflies and Hearts. Each set comes with 4 wooden stamps and an ink block with four coloured ink. They cost €8.99 each.

Kiddies Food Peelers and Kutters

Have you noticed how independent your child is becoming? They want to copy everything you are doing including food preparation! This could be dangerous, only for Kiddies Food Kutters and Peelers which are designed for use by children as young as 3 and have no shape blades but are effective in cutting fruit and vegetables and peeling them. They cost €10 each. I stock them in blue and red.

Paper Masks to Colour

Your child will be learning pen control and these fun sets of 6 paper masks come with 6 pens. They are ideal for doing with their little friends or for keeping your child busy while you have a peaceful cup of tea. I stock them in Princesses and Dinosaurs. They cost €2.99 for the pack.

Mosaics

Children love picking stickers off and sticking them on things and these foam mosaic crafts from Djeco are perfect for three-year-olds. Choose between Elephant and Snail images to cover with stickers or Dinosaur ones. The stickers colours are numbers and each sheet has numbers on it, guiding your child to what sticker to place where. They cost €10.50

Bruder Building Site and Farm Toys

It’s great to be able to encourage independent play and imaginative play and having a few larger toys that can be used outdoors or indoors and can be played with alone or with friends make great investments. I personally love the quality of Bruder Toys and stock the John Deere Tractor, the Schaeff Mini Excavator and the Ausa Mini-Dumper. Prices start from €15.99

Melissa and Doug Water Wow Books

These books have black and white pages, but use the magic water pen on them and colours and patterns appear on the pages. The best thing about these books is that they dry within minutes and when they dry they return to the original black and white form, ready to be used over and over. On each page, there are also items to spot and count, adding an educational element to this activity. They cost €7.75 each and I stock them in Animals, Pet Mazes, Under the Sea, Fairytale, and Makeup and Manicures.

Lottie Dolls and Accessories

You will find that your child has more control over their fine motor skills and they will be able to manage more intricate jobs like dressing dolls. The Lottie Doll range is an Irish company and their dolls and accessories are gorgeous and top quality yet affordable. Unlike similar dolls on the market, Lottie is shaped like a girl and not a woman and the accessories are clothes or activities that children wear and do, so your child can relate to the doll and activities. Accessories start at €9.95 and dolls at €19.95.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Every child is different when it comes to ability and puzzles. But if your child likes jigsaw puzzles, aim for puzzles that have between 24 and 50 pieces. This World wooden jigsaw puzzle has 24 pieces and it costs €10. While this Ballerina, Pirate and Fairy puzzles from Djeco have 36 pieces each and cost €14.99

Magnetic Fun

At this age, you can introduce magnets to your child. I love this Magnetic Pattern Box and also this tin that you can make different faces and expressions with. Finally, your child could have great fun with this wooden magnetic dress up people – Abby and Emma, and Billy.

I hope this blog post has given you some inspiration on what to buy for that special three-year-old in your life. If you need more ideas, check out my full range of toys for 3-5-year-olds here. I hope your child has a wonderful third birthday.

xx Suzie

29 Jan.2019

10 Birthday Present Ideas for 2-Year-Olds

Recently I wrote a blog with Gift Ideas for Babies Turning 1. Lots of parents wrote me messages thanking me for the blog, so I thought I’d follow the course and write one with present ideas for two-year-olds. A lot of development happens in the year between one and two. Your child will probably have taken their first steps and they will be practicing sounds and words. They will also be able to express what they want to do (and don’t want to do) which often leads to frustration and tantrums. If you have a child in your life who is turning two and you’d like to buy them a gift, here’s 10 that I’m happy to recommend.

Chunky Chalks. When your child is in one of those moods, sometimes the only solution is to get out of the house! These chunky chalks are perfect for a little street artist in the making. They are perfect for working on fine motor skills, learning colours and just having fun outdoors. They cost €4.99.
Small children have amazing brains. They learn things so quickly, so it’s no harm to have some educational puzzles to encourage things like sounds, numbers, and letters. These Melissa and Doug Alphabet and Numbers puzzles are wooden and durable. They have pegs for little hands to lift them in and out and underneath each puzzle piece is something beginning with the letter or the number. They cost €7.99 each
Duo Puzzles. These are 2 piece puzzles that are easy for little hands and minds to manage. I stock four different types of them – Vehicles, Mum and Baby, Habitat and Numbers. They cost €9.99 each.
Imaginary Play goes up a whole level when your child turns two and although they are still not great with playing with other children (they will happily play beside them), you can model role play scenarios with them. If you invest in some play food now, you’ll find that years later it will still be played with. That’s why I recommend durable play food. I stock a large selection here but if I was starting out as a parent again, I’d invest in some eggs (€9.99) a pizza (€24), a Tea Set (€32.99) and either felt food (€22) or cutting food (€24.99)
I also stock some lovely wooden vehicles that make lovely presents. Two of my best selling ones are the Melissa and Doug Wooden Car Transporter (€22) and the Magnetic Car Loader (€22). Both come with trucks and smaller wooden cars that can be driven separately and then put back onto the truck. There’s hours of fun to be had with these.
Now that your baby is getting older, getting them to sit in one place gets harder. It’s worth investing in a few small toys that you can bring in your handbag for when you meet a friend for a coffee or if you are traveling. I’ll probably do another blog on this at some point. A lot of smaller toys are certified for children aged 3+ as companies are worried about smaller children choking on parts. Buying these toys is at the discretion of parents, who know their child best. Personally, I like these Flexi Robots (€4.99) and The Zoo in a Tin (€13.95)
If your child has gone past the ‘sucking books stage’, it is worth investing in some nice books with lots of colourful pictures. Don’t expect to be able to read every word on every page before they flick it to the end but encourage it none the less. This Little Library of Gruffalo Books costs €8.50 and is small enough to fit into your changing bag. It contains 4 board books with familiar characters from the Gruffalo.
Your child’s fine motor skills will be developing so investing in some Duplo or Building Blocks will encourage creativity and imagination. I stock a drum of colourful wooden blocks for €33.99 and a bag of natural wooden blocks for €30.99.
If your child is fascinated with doors, locks, and keys, I have two great toys that make lovely presents. The Melissa and Doug Doorbell House costs €34.95. It has four doors, four doorbells, 4 keys, 4 locks, and 4 peg people. The Melissa and Doug Latches Board costs €29.99 and has six different locks for your child to master!
Finally, I’m a big fan of the Melissa and Doug Nesting and Sorting Barns and Animals set which costs €27.50 and helps children explore size, numbers, and animals. It comes with 6 barns and 6 wooden animals.

Now that your child is turning two, there’s so much they could play with but be careful to not over stimulate them. By giving them too much choice, they may not know where to even start. If you have a large family, who all give birthday gifts, then I’d recommend that you put away some of them and bring them out throughout the year. By introducing one toy at a time and teaching your child how to play with it, you’ll encourage proper play. Often it’s not the number of toys but the quality of toys that are well selected for your child. Don’t despair if your child just plays with the wrapping paper – put the toys away and introduce them a few months later. If you haven’t found what you are looking for, here is my full range of toys for this age group.

I hope your little one has a wonderful 2nd Birthday and that the year ahead is full of fun and games for you all!

xx Suzie

9 Jan.2019

10 Gift Ideas for Baby’s First Birthday

The first year of a baby’s life goes so fast and they change so much in that time. Often it can be hard to know what gift to give a baby who has just turned one. Here are ten gift ideas which I can recommend.

Le Toy Van Sensory Tray Puzzle

Simple Puzzles are great for children this age and they will get great satisfaction putting the pieces back where they belong. Keep the puzzles easy with big pieces which small hands can manage. I particularly love this 4 piece sensory puzzle from ethical company, Le Toy Van. Each piece is a different shape and colour and has something for baby to discover (a squeak, a kaleidoscope, a soft side or a shape that encourages hand-eye coordination). It retails at €19.99.

Acorn Wood Books

These books have cardboard pages as well as a hardback cover. There are four books in the collection, which are sold separately for €10 each (Rabbit’s Nap, Postman Bear, Hide and Seek Pig and Fox’s Socks). The stories are like a long poem, which over time if read to them regularly, your baby will learn. Also, to encourage interaction during the story, each page has a lift the flap, in which your child will discover something fun.

Ted in a Box

Ted in a Box is a baby’s version of Jack in the Box. Instead of turning a handle, baby can press a button and up comes Ted with a squeak. This toy is great for babies that enjoy playing Peep-a-boo and it retails at €17.99.

Wooden Stacking Frog

If you are looking for something small to give. I’m happy to recommend this lovely Stacking Frog Toy. It allows your child to discover shape and order and costs €9.50

Activity Cube

Activity cubes are great as there are several activities your baby can try all in one toy. This one is a small one and it costs €29.99. It includes a xylophone, 2 plug games, a learning clock , and other games to improve your child’s fine motor skills.

Balls

Softballs are great for teaching your child hand-eye coordination and over time, foot-eye coordination. Small children love trying to catch and fetch. These colourful softballs that I stock have a rattle in them to make them extra fun. They cost only €5.99

Pull Along Toys

If your child hasn’t started walking, it’s probably going to happen in the next few months! And, when they do, they will love to bring their toys for a walk with them. Pull along toys are easy for children to move from room to room. I stock lots of them ranging in price from €11 to €20 and varying in design from retro-looking dogs to mummy and baby owls.

Buggy Book

Now that your child is a little bit older, they don’t sleep in the buggy or car seat for as long. It’s hard to find toys that they will keep beside them (and not engage in a ‘game’ of throwing it on the ground). That’s why I love these buggy books so much! They are easy to attach to the buggy or car seat frame and are always at hand when your child gets bored. I currently have these Gruffalo ones reduced from €10 to €6!

Baby Walker

Your child is quite likely very close to walking. If you want to encourage this experience, then maybe consider purchasing a baby walker for your baby’s first birthday. This one which I stock comes with some colourful wooden blocks and costs €49.99.

Baby Mirror

Have your child discover what they look like with this fun baby mirror from Albi Toys. It costs €11.99

I hope these ten toys have helped inspire you. If you haven’t found something that would suit the one year old in your life, why not take a look at my full range of toys for 0 and 1-year-olds.

xx Suzie

17 Dec.2018

Christmas Opening Hours and Delivery Information

With Christmas getting closer and closer, it’s time for me to post up my opening hours! Orders placed before noon on Thursday 20th December should reach their destination on time for Christmas. Orders placed after that won’t be dispatched until Wednesday 2nd January 2019. If you have enquiries regarding my toys or deliveries, please be patient. I will be prioritizing time with my family during this period and will possibly only check and reply to e-mails every other day. Thanks for your understanding.

If your order hasn’t arrived, please follow these steps:

Go to www.GLS.ie and type in the tracking code that I sent you when I dispatched your order. This will tell you where your order currently is. It could be in the GLS warehouse, in a courier van (in which case, it will probably get delivered that day) or has been delivered (even though you haven’t got it). Here’s what you need to do in each of these cases.
- If it looks like it’s continually in their warehouse, ring them on 01 8606200 or fill out their online contact form stating clearly your tracking code. Sometimes in their depo, they accidentally cover the delivery address with a delivery sticker, so give them your full address again and your phone number and hopefully you’ll get your order asap.
- If it’s in the courier’s van, then you can either be patient and see if it arrives that day or you can contact GLS as above and give them directions to your house for the courier, as possibly he just can’t find it. Or, give an alternative address that might be easier for them to find.
- If it has been delivered (but you haven’t got it), you can put in your postcode into the tracking page and see who has signed for it. It’snot unusual to find your spouses’ name here! It’s a busy time of year and with all the busyness, it can slip their mind that the order has arrived and they have put it away without telling you. If you don’t recognise the name – don’t panic. More often than none, the person who signs for it is a neighbour who will drop it into you over the next few days. If this hasn’t happened, contact GLS and ask them to send their courier to pick it up from where they left it and bring it to you.
Send me an e-mail and let me know that your order hasn’t arrived and I’ll do my best to work on things from this end.

I’m sorry if you are one of the people this happens to. I have found GLS very efficient to work with and it’s very unusual (maybe once a year) that an order doesn’t eventually arrive with my customer.

I wish to take this opportunity now to thank you all for for support over the past year. I am truly blessed to have so many nice and loyal customers. I hope you all have a very happy Christmas and that 2019 is a great one for you.

xx Suzie

5 Dec.2018

INVITATION CARDS FOR A KID’S PARTY

Since Christmas is just around the corner and I’m extra busy in work, I have a guest blogger writing today’s post. Umer Ishfaq is a Search Engine and Content Marketing expert at Techvando. A writer by day and reader by night, his passion for helping people in all aspects of online marketing flows through in the expert industry coverage he provides. Thanks, Umer for this post on choosing or putting together invitation cards for your kid’s birthday party.

When you are setting together a birthday celebration for somebody, there are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind. Is there a theme to the event? What will you be serving as food? Is there something the invitees ought to know or bring?

Despite the fact that all of this together can be demanding, you will understand that as soon as you ask these inquiries, and set aside the generic replies in response to the birthday wishes, you will be able to figure out what you need in terms of birthday invites in no time at all!

The principal thing to contemplate about is where you wish to get the birthday invites from. The first and most widespread choice for birthday invitation cards is to get them from a shop. But if you have a little more time and an innovative streak, you might be interested in creating the invitations by your own self. If this is the instance, you can learn a lot in the way of concepts and supplies at your nearby craft store.

What To Add On Your Child’s Party Invitation Cards:

When it comes to event particulars, take account of the fundamentals and elementary information such as the time, venue, and how to RSVP. Use the guide under as a checklist to make certain you have all of your celebration data covered:

Name: If the event is for your kid, add your name and the kid’s name. Or else, only one name should be sufficient if it is your own celebration that you are having.
Date: Make certain that the date is not going to change later on. There is nothing more irritating than changing the date or mentioning the wrong date of the event. Invitees will probably RSVP and may put other plans on hold to be present at your party. Be respectful and rain or shine, have a good time at the party on the date pointed out on the party invitation card.
Time: Likewise to the date, make certain the time written on the card is the actual time the party is going to take place on. Once more, people may have other plans arranged for the duration of the day. The time you mention should be the precise time the party starts.
Location: Be sure to mention the venue of the event and name of the location or residence. This is a piece of data guests makes use of to conclude if they will be able to attend it or not. You can also print a map on the backside of the card, or include it in the same envelope you give out the invitation in.
Contact: You should always try to include contact information. Whether it is a phone number or an e-mail address, add your contact information so that you can, with no trouble, be gotten a hold of if any of the requested guests have any queries. If there is a host for the event, be certain to list their info for RSVP particulars.
Theme: If there is a subject or theme for your event, make sure your invitation card design echoes the theme or you create a side note of any themed specifics your guests need to know about.
Dress Code: Similarly, if there is a dress code for the event, mention the specifics on your event invitations so every invitee can wear the fitting dress.

Birthday Invitation Language

You have included all the relevant information, and now you have the opportunity to make a personalized invitation card with a segment of the distinct script. You can keep it uncomplicated or, if you have a flair for writing, invent a rhyme or poem. Do not have any ideas what to write? Down below are a few examples to help get some innovative and creative ideas to give you a head start:

I am going to be 7 years old! You are requested to join me in celebrating my big day.
My first birthday will be a lot of fun. Come and join me as I turn one!
Our little guy is going to be 4 and we want to hear your loudest ROAR! Please come dressed as a dinosaur.

Design, Printing, & Presentation

The invitation particulars are crucial to making certain your attendees come at the accurate location, at the appropriate time, and with the correct setup. On the other hand, to make a kid birthday party invitation that will be very much appreciated by the other kids and parents alike, here is what you want to think through:

Design– Making use of arresting visuals and artworks will take your invitation card to the next level. If you desire a truly exclusive design, adding a photograph of the birthday girl or birthday boy is an adorable way to customize your invitation cards.
Paper and printing quality– Once you have decided on the invitation script and design, picking out high-quality print appearances is vital to making a permanent impression on your guests.
Presentation– To give your invitation card a distinct finishing touch, go for envelopes that match the flair of your selected invitation. Boost up the enthusiasm for your little companies by insinuating at what’s more to come. Perhaps stamp the envelopes by means of themed stickers, or you could remove an envelope altogether and hand out the invitation in person as a parchment knotted with ribbon in its place. How exciting for a pirate-themed event.

27 Nov.2018

A €10 Gift For Every Age

Today is #TennerTuesday and I thought I’d show you a gift for every age (up until 12) that costs €10 or less!

0 Year Olds

Available in a Bee Design or a Duck Design, these Squeekaboo Toys are perfect for baby to grasp. They have different textures for baby to bite on and listen to and if you squeeze them, they squeak. They cost €9.99

1 Year Olds

Acorn Wood Lift the Flap Books are gorgeous board books with a rhyming story. There are 4 books in the collection and each one costs €10.

2 Year Olds

Djeco’s Duo Puzzles are sturdy cardboard two-piece puzzles for little hands and minds to put together. There are 4 different boxes to choose from and they cost €9.99 each.

3 Year Olds

Three-year-olds generally love mucking in and doing what mummy and daddy are doing. These Kiddies Food Kutters are child-friendly knives that use sawing action instead of sharp blades to cut fruit and vegetables. They come in blue or red and I also stock Kiddies Food Peelers, which cost €10 too.

4 Year Olds

At four years of age, children can usually master pretend play and also playing with other children (instead of beside them but not with them). Play food is great for pretend play games and this set of wooden eggs costs only €9.99

5 Year Olds

Encourage your child’s creativity and fine motor skills with a lovely wooden stamp set. This one features farm animals, but I also stock ones with zoo animals and butterflies and hearts. They cost €8.99 each.

6 Year Olds

Mix your own plaster of paris, pour into the moulds and then when they are dry, paint them. This lovely Dinosaur Mould and Paint set costs only €9.99.

7 Year Olds

Make six different Beady Keyrings with this simple kit. It costs only €8.50.

8 Year Olds

These rub on transfers will help your child personalise their pictures and make it come to life. It costs €9.99

9 Year Olds

Build your own wooden airplane, attach the solar panel and then watch how the energy the sun makes, moves your plane along the ground. Only €9.99

10 Year Olds

This fun tub of putty bounces, moulds and takes on characters when you use the eyes it comes with. It also never dries out. But the best part of this putty, is that it’s magnetic and it comes with a strong magnet. Only €9.99

11 Year Olds

This Mini Gift in a Tin has all the metal components and tools to build your own Mini Digger. It costs €8.99

12 Year Olds

If your child likes intricate, paperwork or origami, then they are sure to love this Paper Toy Jaguar. It costs €8.40

This is just a small selection of the toys I stock that cost €10 or less. You can view my full range on www.toysandgames.ie. This price range sells very quickly at this time of year but I’ll be restocking regularly so if I’m out of stock, keep an eye on my website.

If you’re sorted for toys in this price range, but you still need some stocking fillers, then take a look at my Top 10 Stocking Fillers

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps making your Christmas shopping less stressful.

xx Suzie

20 Nov.2018

Putty Peeps Mixing Lab Review

About a year ago, I brought the Putty Peeps Mixing Lab into stock. I’d previously stocked metallic putty peeps and it proved to be a very good seller for me, so I decided that a kit that allows you to make your own Putty Peeps would go down well. As soon as my youngest saw the Mixing Lab, she decided she wanted one and agreed to spend her pocket money on it. We were both very impressed with the simplicity of the kit and the end results (which a year later, still get played with)

The Mixing Lab comes with instructions which double as a mixing mat. This means that your table doesn’t get messy. All the substances are bagged and clearly marked so it’s easy to follow. As you can see, in the picture below, you start by adding colour to the neutral putty.

You can make them in primary colours or choose to mix two or more of the primary colours to make a different colour.

She chose to make 6 secondary colours. In the photo below, you can see what she used to make green putty.

The third step is to add an effect to your putty. The kit comes with 3 effects – metallic, glitter (see picture below) and glow in the dark. Again, you can mix these to have a combination or keep them pure.

Once you have made your first putty, you put it in the tub and you can get going on your next one. There’s enough of everything to make 6 tubs of putty. They are smaller than the regular Putty Peeps that you buy, but there’s still plenty in each tub to get play value from it.

And, like all Putty Peeps, it comes with a selection of eyes, so you can make lots of little putty monsters.

Here’s what we loved about the Putty Peeps Mixing Lab:

It’s easy to follow
It’s not messy
You end up with 6 unique tubs of putty
It’s priced really well (currently €14.99) which works out at €2.50 per tub
If it’s looked after, the putty will last
It gives a good visual chart to help children learn about primary and secondary colours.

I honestly, can’t think of anything bad about this set, although if you have animals in your house, you might need to be careful not to leave it somewhere, where they might eat it. And, children need to be taught to keep the putty in the tubs after it’s been played with to avoid it getting into carpets or onto clothes.

We enjoyed it so much that several months later, my eldest also bought a set! If you’d like to purchase one of your own, click on this link.

xx Suzie

13 Nov.2018

Add A Little Magic To Your Home!

Abracababra! There’s nothing like a bit of magic to brighten up your day and these days, you can get magic tricks that even children can perform professionally.

If you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful to test the waters and see if your little darling really is gifted in slide of hand, then check out these cool little magic tricks that cost just €3.50 each.

Or, if you want to get a set that has several tricks to learn in it, I stock the Discovery Magic Set and the Deluxe Magic Set from Melissa and Doug.

This Deluxe Magic Set costs €40 and has 10 magic tricks for your child to master.

This Discovery Magic Set costs only €23.99 and it has 4 professional tricks in it.

For older children who like wow-ing their audience, they could try mastering these Metal Puzzles. There are 6 puzzles in the box and it costs €6.

Or try your hand at one of these larger puzzles from Eureka! This one is called The Tube and it is recommended for children and adults aged 14+. It costs €14.99

Treasure Island also costs €14.99 and is for teenagers and adults.

Finally, can you stun your audience by getting the Message out of the Bottle?

Whatever trick or tricks you choose, it’s sure to bring a bit of magic into your home.

Enjoy,

xx Suzie

8 Nov.2018

10 Great Science Kits for Science Week

I love how kids learn and how often they think they are just having fun, while actually, they are subconsciously learning. I think that’s why I love educational toys and games so much. This week is National Science Week and to mark it, I thought I’d show off 10 of my favourite Science Kits that I stock.

A Crystal Growing Kit

Use the contents and the apparatus in this set to make your own crystal. This kit only costs €4.75 and it comes in three different colours.

Make your own Slime

Let’s face it, most parents hate slime but kids LOVE it. This little kit is cheap and cheerful, costing only €4.99 and at least you know that you will get an end product of slime and not just some homemade concoction of expensive household ingredients!!