Review: Lou Lou and Jim Jams Toys - Wooden Stacking Ring

Today I would like to introduce Lou Lou and Jim Jams Toys as it's a store that share's many of the same values as myself. Lou Lou and Jim Jams Toys is an independent toy store located in Wales. A Father and Daughter business that was established 11 years ago whilst attending numerous craft fairs. Growing up both Father and Daughter were tired of all the plastic fantastic throwaway toys that were on the market and decided to specialise in wooden toys with a modern twist. Those factors tick all the right boxes for me; family run business and wooden toys, win win! 

Being a first time Mum I was initially attracted and blinded by all the bright, flashing and electronical toys but the novelty soon wore off. Now that Noah is really interested in his toys and books my preference has totally changed and now I am besotted with wooden toys. Not only are they durable but they are usually eco friendly, great value for money, good quality and they allow your childs imagination to really bloom. 

Noah was lucky enough to receive a selection of toys from Lou Lou and Jim Jams Toys and we were both very excited for them to arrive. 

The first toy we began testing was the Wooden Stacking Rings which is an educational toy suitable from 12 months. On opening I was impressed with the quality of the toy as it's really strudy and made out of good quality wood. I can see it easily standing the test of time with a sometimes boisterous boy. It's also bright, attractive and eye catching with it's painted stacking rings and poles. 

Anyway less of what I think lets move onto Noah's verdict.

At first he was a little nonchalant and didn't pay much attention to it but that all changed when I demonstrated how each wooden ring could be removed. As soon as he saw that, that was it, he was obsessed. 

There have been countless ways that Noah has enjoyed himself with the Wooden Stacking Rings. He throws them around, collects them up, takes them off the poles, tries to put them back on, puts them into containers, empties the containers, build and knock them down. He seems to find a new way to play with it everyday. In fact I don't think there has been another toy that has captured his interest as much as this one. 

I thought I would list all the uses of play because I wanted to show how much of a versatile toy it truly is. It is primarily an educational toy that helps your child learn how to count and learn their colours but that's just scraping the surface as there are so many ways to play with it.

It's a toy that grows with your child and I can already see how much of a help it's going to be when we begin learning our colours and numbers. At just £14.99 it is excellent value for money, a real bargain. 

If you would like to stock up on some lovely Christmas gifts from Lou Lou and Jim Jams enter the code Jen_and_Noah at the check out to recieve a 15% discount. It doesn't end there though, keep an eye on the blog for a fab competition to win your very own toy from the store. 

I was sent this item for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are my own.

Introducing the new wooden toy range from ASDA

Wooden toys are all the rage at the moment and for good reason too. There are so many pro's when it comes to choosing them over their plastic competitors. 

They look fabulous, are usually great value for money and are very hard wearing too. The main advantage for me is that they are a type of toy that don't need all the buttons, lights or batteries and they really encourages your child to use their creativity and imagination more. In this day and age where everything is electronic and digitial this is invaluable for both children and parents.  

When we were contacted asking if we would like to review a couple of the toys from ASDA's new wooden toy range I was more than happy to accept. I then had the hard feat of deciding on which toys to go for. I would of probably gone for one of the fabulous wooden kitchens if Noah was a little older but I chose the Wooden Toy Car Transporter and the Wooden Food Crates as I thought they were more age appropriate for him at the moment.

Wooden Toy Transporter- 

This is such a lovely toy. Not only do you receive the wooden car transporter but three little removable cars too. It's like two toys for the price of one! Each part of the transporters trailer comes apart too which is also a nice feature. It's clearly well made and excellent quality and for it to be just £12 is an absolute bargain. 

Noah really likes to play with the cars but is a little young to fully understand how they work just yet. It's a toy that's going to grow with him and I can see him having many years of fun with it. Photo's really don't do this toy justice, it's almost too beautiful to play with. 

   

Wooden Food Crates-

Food based toys are my favourite and as soon as I spotted these on the website I just had to go for them. For just £10 you receive 2 separate food crates filled with wooden toys foods; bread, cheese, onion, apple, aubergine, mushroom, baguette and a tomato. All of which look good enough to eat and I know that because Noah has tried on many occasions! 

I am so glad I chose this set because Noah absolutely loves them! He will take all the foods out of the crates and then put them back in. He chews on them, passes them to me, throws them around. He's had so much fun with these already in the short amount of time that we have had them. 

All in all we are very impressed with ASDA's new range of wooden toys. Both toys are superb quality, beautifully crafted and are excellent value for money. I can see us buying many more toys from the range in the future! 

- We were sent these products for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are my own.