Classic Wooden Games from Jaques Of London - Review

AD - This is a PR collaboration.

As a parent, in this fast, ever-growing digital world I'm always striving to take things back to basics - back to the way that I remember it. My childhood revolved around me using my imagination, making my own fun, and playing classic games with my parents and siblings - these are the childhood memories that I truly treasure. They are also experiences that I want my own children to appreciate and enjoy so we often have screen-free days where we dig out our favourite board games, books, and toys and just enjoy one another's company.

With this in mind, when Jaques of London got in touch to collaborate with us I think I emailed back within 2.5 seconds. Their website offers a plethora of incredible wooden toys and games suitable for all ages - at affordable prices. We chose the Tumble Tower and Four in a Row game to review as I knew they were games that my children were familiar with and would enjoy playing with together.

Four in a Row was the first game on the agenda. It came packaged in an eco-friendly way - in a reusable cardboard storage box, and paper. It was very easy to set up, simply open up the box by sliding out the wooden frame, separate the wooden discs and voila - ready to play! It's made to the utmost quality and I appreciate how each wooden disc is thick and sturdy - they won't go missing easily and will stand the test of time.

The instructions for this game are pretty self-explanatory and I think most people have played it. Taking turns, the first person to connect four discs in a row wins. Don't forget that you can go vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. I forgot the latter and then lost my first game, whoops! Four in a Row - Home Edition costs just £16.99 and would make the most wonderful Christmas gift.

Next, we have the Tumble Tower - which retails at just £13.99. Just like Four in a Row, it was packaged in an eco-friendly reusable storage box. It was so refreshing to open two games and have zero plastic to contend with - thank you for that. You can get large versions of this game, however, we opted for the smaller, indoor version to keep us busy when indoors during the winter. It contains plenty of sturdy wooden blocks, some printed with the Jaques of London logo, and others not. I had the task of setting up the tower ready for play and let me tell you, the kids were buzzing with excitement for this one. What is it with children and knocking down towers?

This was by far Ava's favourite out of the two - she's spent so much time over the past few weeks, stacking with extreme precision and exhibits such pride and confidence once she's completed the tower. She has also, somehow, become with family champion - much to Noah's frustration. I keep telling him that practice makes perfect and let me tell you, he's been practising hard ever since! It's been a joy to watch their faces when they are studying which block to remove next and it makes us all laugh every time the tower takes a tumble. This game is so much fun.

I cannot recommend Jaques of London enough - so much choice when it comes to games, and toys and the website is so easy to use. I'm already looking at what to buy next and will be reusing all the games at our wedding next year. These traditional family games are both such bargains and are available to buy on their website now. Please use this link for 15% off for you and your purchase https://jaques.games/15off.

Which game would you play first?

Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench - Giveaway

As huge fans of wooden toys I'm delighted to offer a fantastic giveaway today, in collaboration with Smyths. The Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench is a fantastic way to introduce your little one to a world of music.

Brightly coloured and loving crafted from wood, this playful instrument features 2 ways for tots to play. Keep the xylophone in the bench and tap the colourful balls with the wooden hammer to send them rolling over the xylophone, notes chiming as they go. For a more traditional jam session, you can take the xylophone from the bench and tap the notes to your heart’s content.

The Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench is designed to introduce music to toddlers in fun and creative ways. Learning how to work the tap bench gets their gears turning and their fine motor skills going, while making music is great for their inner artist.

Every toy in the range is designed with care and crafted with love. The belief that playing with natural materials helps to keep children in touch with the world around them is central to the design of these beautiful wooden toys. The right toy can spark a world of imagination because no one is more creative than a child at play. The Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench encourages little ones to be curious and helps to build fine motor skills while inspiring creative play. 

The Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench is suitable for children of 3 years+ and retails at just £14.99! I think that it would make an excellent Christmas present, just like many toys from the Squirrel Play range! I'm also happy to be able to giveaway one here on the blog. To enter simply use the Gleam form below and don't forget to enter my other blog competitions!

Squirrel Play Wooden Xylophone Tap Bench

Terms & Conditions.         
1. There will be 1 winner who will choose one of the prizes mentioned above.
2. Winners details sent to the PR to arrange the prize. 
3. Competition ends 26/10/18.
4. Incomplete entries with be disqualified.
5. UK entries only

Wood and Wonder - Wooden Till - Review & Competition

Noah and I adore wooden toys. They look fabulous, are usually great value for money and are very hard wearing too. What I love about them is that they are the type of toy which don't need all the buttons, the lights or the batteries. They really encourage your child to use their imagination and in this day and age where everything is electronic this is invaluable for both children and parents alike.  

Last week I came across a website called Wood and Wonder which is a home run business that specialise in wooden toys. I was asked if I would like to review a toy from their wonderful site and of course I obliged. 

We were sent the Wooden Till to review and couldn't wait for it to arrive. At just £14.95 it's an absolute bargain. It's made from a very sturdy wood and put together beautifully. It's painted with bright primary colours which ticks another box with me as I like to avoid pinks and blues with toys. 

The till features a credit card, a till roll, money drawer, scanner and chunky coins. It's suitable for 3 years+ but Noah has been fine with it under supervision. He doesn't often put things in his mouth but obviously I watch him when he's playing. 

Noah has had so much fun with the till already. He spent a good chunk of the evening sat at his little table, pressing the buttons and counting his coins. I can see us both having years of fun with this and it's only going to become more entertaining as he gets older. We do love a little bit of role play.

How would you like to win one of your very own? Wood and Wonder have been kind enough to offer one as a prize to a lucky reader. To enter all you need to do is enter below. Good luck and don't forget to check out all my other competitions! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

t&c-

1. 1 prize to 1 winner.

2. Prize supplied directly from the brand.

3. Competition ends 30/10/15

4. Incomplete entries with be disqualified.

5. UK entries only.

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.