I'm a toy genius and so are these six families!!

Last night i dreamt that all 6 of our chosen toy reviewers turned us down flat!! Quite why they would do that when we have such a wonderful assortment of toys is beyond me, but that's what happened!

The big tease in me had planned to announce one name every hour, but in the end I just couldn't do it especially as one lovely lady had already tweeted that she was looking forward to our news. It really made my day to be able to tell Edspire that we wanted her to be a toy genius!! We can't wait to see what her gorgeous twins make of the toys we will send.

Our next choice is Me and my shadow - I have always loved this blog and especially Magpie Monday. It was the pomander story that finally made my mind up - I laughed so much i cried!! I've been told i'm bonkers so I think we'll get along just fine :)

The next name out of the bag was The Crazy Kitchen and they are already one step ahead of me with a fab blog post and facebook update! They were so quick to display our badge that i have to admit to doing a funny little dance around my laptop! I am so looking forward to reading their reviews!

I requested a drum roll before announcing the next name! It was of course the one and only TheBoyandMe. I have made no secret of the fact that I LOVE this blog and anyone who hasn't yet read it is really missing out! TheBoyandMe wrote our first 'proper' review - it was the first review of our toys that made me think I really wanted to buy that toy! Be warned though she occasionally uses big words as she's also a teacher (i have had to consult a dictionary before now!)

Next up was the lovely Brink of Bedlam who is one of the friendliest people i have ever met on twitter. I was so thrilled when she said she would like to review for us as it was totally unexpected! A little bird told me about her fab vlogs and we will have everything crossed that one of our toys makes a vlogging appearance before too long!!

Last out of the bag was Choc Orange City Mum. Her blog is a mixture of just about everything - children, holidays, food and so much more!  She is also expecting a baby in November which means we will have our very own toy genius to review some of our gorgeous baby toys and comforters!

I will sending a different toy to each family in the next few days and can't wait to read their reviews!

Do you have what it takes to be a toy genius?

We are so excited as tomorrow we will announce the names of our first ever toy geniuses!! We asked people to contact us through twitter if they were interested in reviewing for us and the response was unbelievable!! Eventually we decided that we would choose six families to review for us on a regular basis - what we hadn't realised was just how hard this would be. One of the criteria is that our toy geniuses must have their own blog on which to show off their reviews, which meant we had to read them all! There were so many fabulous blogs that choosing six has been extremely difficult. We have finally chosen our six potential toy geniuses and will be telling them tomorrow, Monday 11th July. Follow us on twitter to find out as soon as they do!!

Shape sorting toys for toddlers

As children grow and their minds develop, they begin learning about patterns in their world. A great way to encourage this development and promote learning while they have fun is through shape sorting toys. Children are attracted to these brightly coloured toys and the sense of accomplishment they feel when they are able to sort the toys correctly is amazing to see! More information about the developmental benefits associated with shape sorting toys can be found in the full article at Toyjeanius.

Article: Toyjeanius recommends shape sorting toys as a fun educational toy for toddlers.

Toyjeanius is loved by parents!

We were thrilled to be featured on the Loved by Parents 'websites we love' page in February! Loved by parents is a parenting site that features interviews, birth stories, reviews, competitions, a forum and much more.

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Websites we love this month! @TheFabricLoft @PreciousNappies@sistersguild @littlethingsuk @Toyjeanius http://bit.ly/hnqhM1 great sites!

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Visit the Loved by parents website to catch up on their latest features or tweet them @lovedbyparents

Clutching toys for babies

A clutching toy is any toy that encourages babies to reach out, grasp and hold onto objects. The toys are usually very colourful to attract babies attention and often make a noise when shaken. German toy makers Haba are the leading manufacturers of clutching toys, and their range includes both wooden and fabric baby toys. More information about the safety aspects and developmental benefits can be found in the full article at Toyjeanius.

Article: Toyjeanius recommends clutching toys to improve babies fine motor skills


Haba Magica clutching toy



New arrivals: Haba play food

We didn't know toy food could look this good until we received our delivery of Haba play food! Santa delivered a lot of play kitchens at christmas so for children with birthdays early in the year a selection of play food would make a great present. Haba make a large range of wooden and fabric food and they are all very colourful, realistic and well made. If we had to choose our favourites it would have to be the Haba fried egg and the Haba magnetic toast.  Kids will love to cook up a breakfast of fried egg on toast  - if you're really lucky you might even get breakfast in bed! The most fun item has to be the Haba tin of ravioli which includes realistic ravioli parcels and a colourful splotch of play tomato sauce. Encourage fussy eaters to try new foods by letting them 'cook' alongside you with their own tinned food. The fabric play foods that we were most tempted to eat were the Haba assorted cookies and the Haba petit fours and no pretend tea party would be complete without them!


Haba assorted cookies