Friday, October 15, 2010

Plan Toys Play Food Reviews

We love Plan Toys around here!  We have several of their items and they have held up really well.  CSN Stores recently gave us a review opportunity, so we picked out some kitchen related Plan Toys items.  In general we love Plan Toys because they use a non-toxic water based paint, wood that is naturally processed, and a specially developed non-formaldehyde glue (more info here).  Here are my thoughts on the individual items:

Plan Toys Large Scale Vegetable Set 


The term "large scale" may be a bit confusing.  This is kid-sized play kitchen food.  As you can see, most of the pieces fit in this little bowl we have.  We think these are just the right size!  (If you've ever seen Haba play food, its not quite that tiny.)  Although these are small, I don't think Esther could really choke on them.  Here Lucy is holding one of the pieces:


The set includes 2 each: corn, carrots, radishes, bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic.  The pieces have cute fabric stems and leaves.  The corn husk is completely glued on, although it doesn't appear to be in the stock photo.  Lucy and Julia have already made several salads and dinners for me with the veggies.  This is a great set that will last for a long time and would make a nice addition to any play kitchen.


Plan Toys Large Scale Food and Beverage Set

(set shown in use along with some of our other toys)

My girls were excited to have this set in their kitchen.  Orange juice, water, ketchup, milk, jam, and honey are great additions to their pretend play.  The jam and honey both have removable lids while the other lids are glued on.  I have a choke test tube and the lids do not fit down that, although they do kind of look like Esther could get them stuck in her mouth.  Lucy and Julia kept saying "We've never had ketchup in our store before!", "Now we can make peanut butter and honey sandwiches!", etc.  This set was a big hit.  This is the play kitchen we have and the pieces all fit on the shelves inside.  Definitely a fun addition!


Plan Toys Large Scale Toaster


Plan Toys Toaster from Christy Vande Waa on Vimeo.

I was so excited about this little toaster.  Sadly, it didn't quite live up to my expectations.  The girls have to push pretty hard to get the toast to stay down.  Also, when the toast is down, it still sticks out quite a bit.  Lucy and Julia do enjoy playing with it, but it makes them frustrated at times.  Maybe it will get easier after using it more and breaking it in?  The orange knob makes a fun clicking noise, and the girls always smile when the toast pops up.

I can definitely tell a difference in the paint on the Plan Toys items compared to other wooden toys we have.  Its water based, meaning it shows the wood grain through a bit more and doesn't chip off.  We've had other brands of play food chip paint off and mark up our pretty play kitchen.  Is anyone else thinking about Christmas yet?  These would make great gifts.

Thank you to CSN Stores for sending us these items for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

4 comments:

  1. That is one of nicest pretend food sets I've seen, and yes, Christmas is looming in the back of my mind already, but the panic hasn't set in yet :)

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  2. ooooh, i like these!

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  3. those are pretty nice! my boys aren't into playfood all that much yet...

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  4. In response to the breastfeeding note:
    My favorite nursing memory is also a funny. My daughter, Lydia, is 15 months old now. She was about 13 months when this happened. She was musing down for a nap and she had finished on one side. I asked her "ready to switch sides?" she kind of rolls over halfway, hmmm's a bit, smacks her lips and says "yah", then turns back to me, eyes closed, mouth wide. Adorable.

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