This backpack contains 5 games – frisbee, catcherball, flip toss, bat and ball and horse shoe toss.  These are all games that are lots of fun to play in the garden and would be great to play on the beach.

Mr Moo has only had this backpack for a short while, but the whole family has already had lots of fun with these games. You can adapt them to everyone’s level, so for example, when I’m playing catcherball with Lollipop, we stand really close to each other and I cheer loudly each time she catches the ball, while my bouts with Mr McSpendy are a little more competitive and involve my ‘exuberant’ husband attempting elaborate behind-the-back and under-the-leg catches! Although he found it a little tricky at the beginning, Mr Moo quickly became an expert flip toss-erer (ok, I know that’s not a word but you know what I mean). We are still not amazing at horse shoe toss but I remain hopeful…..we’ll definitely be ready for the Rio 2016 Games!

At a recent playdate we used all of this equipment to create an ‘obstacle’ course race whereby the boys had to run to a number of stations and at each station they had to complete a challenge (throw the horseshoes, catch the ball etc) and it went down really well. It would be a great idea for a party game.

I love that all of this equipment fits into a lightweight and easily portable backpack.  It makes it both easy to bring with you and easy to tidy up. We’re off to the beach for a week at the start of July and this will definitely be coming with us. Easily worth £14 in my opinion.

Dobble is a wonderful game comprising 55 circular cards each with eight symbols on it. Each of the 55 cards has one symbol in common with every other card (so for the cards below, the common symbol is the dinosaur). There are lots of different symbols and they appear in different sizes on the various cards.  Dobble comes with instructions for five different games that you can play with the cards but the one that we love to play in our house is the most simple one. Essentially every player gets one card each and the remainder of the cards are in a central pile, each card from the central pile is turned over one at a time and each player has to find the symbol that their card has in common with the card that has been turned over. If you spot the common symbol first, you get to keep the card and the winner is the person who has the most cards at the end.

This simple game has provided literally hours of fun for us. Although Dobble is listed as being for ages 6+, Lollipop (who is almost 3) rocks at this game. Every adult who has sat down to play this game with her starts off trying to let her win, soon realises that she doesn’t need to be patronised and then ends up being humiliated as she whoops their ass! This, combined with the fact that Mr Moo and Lollipop both love playing it,  makes Dobble a really great game to play as a family. Plus, as the babas get older, we can move onto the more complicated games which adds to the game’s longevity. Because Dobble comes in a tim which about the same size as the average coaster, its the perfect game to take on hols with you.

Pictureka is also a great family game.

Like Dobble, Pictureka is an image (rather than word) based game which means that those who can’d read yet can still play. There are nine large picture tiles which are laid next to each other in a large square grid. Each tile contains a vast array of pencil-type drawings of all manner of objects ranging from the banal to the fantastical:

While you can play the game in a couple of different ways, we tend to just play a version which involves trying to be the first to find the image on the cards on one of the tiles. The person who finds it first keeps the card and the winner has the most cards at the end of the game. Finding the images is easier said than done, this game is wonderfully infuriating. Again, like Dobble, Pictureka is aimed at the 6+ age group, but both Mr Moo and Lollipop can more than hold their own so I wouldn’t worry about getting this game for younger chidren.

If you fancy a new board game, give either of these a try.

And then we have been knocking them over!

These construction/destruction sessions have been enormous fun and cries of “again! again!” abound.

Four years ago, Santa brought a tiny Mr Moo (then 8 months old) a set of giant building blocks and they have provided hours of fun ever since. This year, Santa brought a second set of these colourful blocks for Mr Mirth meaning that our household is now the proud owner of 64 blocks.

These blocks are really super toys. They are bright and sturdy and yet really lightweight. This means that Mr Mirth does not get hurt if he has a little wobble  and lands on one (he is fairly good at sitting up now but sometimes he loses his balance and slumps over onto his toys) or if a tumbling block accidentally bumps a little person on its way to the floor. Also, their size means that the babas can actually get into the structures that they make, yesterday Lollipop was the princess inside the castle while her brave brother the knight defended the perimeter of their colourful fortress.

But by far, the build it up/knock it down game has been the most popular.

There is a downside though, these blocks are a bit on the expensive side with a set of 16 costing £63Stg and a set of 32 blocks costing £104Stg. While these prices are undoubtedly on the steep side, what I will say is that as toys go, these are keepers. Our original set has been played with continuously over the last four years and Mr Mirth is currently having as much fun with his new set as his almost-five-year-old brother and I am hopeful that they will be used long into the future.

In other news, I am seriously considering a new career in architecture…..check out this tower. Renzo Piano eat your heart out!!

These Lamaze toys are super, they have lots of tactile surfaces and vibrant fabrics to keep little hands busy and little minds stimulated. Plus they are a real go-anywhere toy as they can be clipped to a car seat, high chair, playmat etc,

‘Discovery Blocks’ are really lovely baby sized blocks, each one has a little surprise inside (a rattle, a mirror, a bell). The blocks are made of hard wood and finished with completely non-toxic, child-friendly paints and finishes.

I reckon it is some sort of Toy-law that every child must own a shape sorter. This Pintoy version is a classic.

If more elaborate shape sorters are more your baba’s style, then this Noah’s Ark from the Early Learning Centre might be a winner.

Bathtime is always more fun with some little friends to play with. With TubFun from Edushape your baba’s imagination can run wild creating lots of strange new animals and  turning your bathroom into a menagerie. These foam pieces  stick to the side of your bath or to your tiles during bathtime then can easily be removed and stowed away (so you don’t have to look at a chicken with an elephant’s head while you are having a soak in that well deserved bubble bath!).

I love pull along toys and I think that this dachshund from Brio is gorgeous. This design has truly stood the test of time  (he has been around since 1953!) When you pull him, his head moves from side to side , he wags his tail and wiggles his ears……how can you resist?

A toy that helps your baba with their spelling and reading ( that well known parental trick of education disguised as fun!)…..what’s not to love? This Melissa and Doug See & Spell is a winner in my books. 

Melissa and Doug are also the makers of this wooden slicing food. Lollipop has a set of these for her kitchen and she loves them. The wooden pieces are attached using velcro which can then be ‘sliced’ using the wooden knife creating a very satisfying crunching sound. Perfect for your budding little chef.

Since his arrival, I’ve been thinking about just the right welcome gift for Master B’s cousins to give him. After much thought, I’ve settled on a comforter. Both Mr Moo and Lollipop have had comforters since they were tiny (Blue Bear and Ruby Rabbit respectively) and both still adore them. They sleep with them every night and Lollipop runs straight for Ruby Rabbit every time she gets upset. Both babas had their own way of deriving comfort from their toys, when he was tiny, Mr Moo sucked Blue Bear’s nose incessantly (so much so that despite my frantic washing Blue Bear’s nose became totally discoloured!) while Lollipop is never happier than when she has Ruby’s bobble tail in her mouth (yes, I know its weird but heh, it works for her!).

So I embarked on a search for the perfect comforter. I wanted something that was suitable for Master B to use immediately so it had to be soft and safe. After some quality time spent on Google, I came across a site that is absolutely packed full of the most wonderful baby toys. The Organic Toy Company is a UK based company that sells organic toys and baby skin care products. They stock ranges that I was familiar with like Kaloo, Under the Nile, Steiff and Taggies but they also have a lot of more unusual brands that I hadn’t seen before: Sigikid, I Love My Planet and Kathe Kruse.

There are a host of soft toys and comforters (or  Doudous as the French call them) to chose from: here are a few that I fell for:

After much deliberation, I opted for the Sigikid Hipp Natural Love Pony comforter for Master B:

I just kind of fell in love with him. There is just something about him, he looks so darn snuggly and I really hope that he becomes a treasured companion for Master B.  This little pony is made with blue and white organic cotton towelling, his body, ears and limbs are unpadded with double thickness fabric  (which make it very easy for tiny fingers to grip on to) and his head is filled with pure wool which is hypoallergenic and dust mite deterrent. In short, he is ethical, baby-safe and is machine washable!! The bad news is that I bought the last Pony in stock so you will have to chose something from the from the rest of the site (which, in reality is no great harship as the examples above demonstrate!).

One of the fantastic things about these type of toys is that if a baby’s mum or dad sleeps with the toy close to them for a night or two, the toys then has their scent. A newborn baby’s sense of smell is hugely important to them and they take enormous comfort from their parent’s smell. Team this soothing aroma with the tactile softness of a comforter and you have every newborn’s ideal companion.

Just a final note about The Organic Toy Company. As is apparent, when it comes to buying baby products, I do 99% of my shopping online so I’ve had quite a lot of experience of internet retail. Shopping online can be a very impersonal thing (which is what some people prefer about it) but it is so nice when online retailers go that extra mile when it comes to service, to transcend the digital barrier and make the transaction personal. There are a huge number of online stores so there is a risk that the really good shops can be lost in the vast ether that is the internet. I reckon that those few shops that are special deserve to be highlighted.

When I ordered Master B’s gift last night, I arranged for it to be delivered to him directly in Belfast. This morning, I got a lovely email from Natalie from The Organic Toy Company asking whether the pony was a gift and if so whether I’d like to send a message along with him. I was very impressed by this thoughtfulness and immediately responded. There followed a genuinely lovely exchange of emails and a super swift service (the pony was dispatched before lunchtime and is on his way to Belfast as I write this).  All in all I am very confident that this little pony won’t be my last purchase from this lovely shop,  but don’t just take my word for it…..

PS: Thanks for all your help Natalie !

I can just see those bulging stockings hanging from the mantelpiece…..

We have some Muji wooden toys already and they are much loved so I knew that I was on to a good thing. My favourite find (and the one that I couldn’t leave the shop without) was the Alphabet Animals Pop Out Book.

Mr Moo has been learning his letters at pre-school so all alphabet-related items are capturing my attention at the minute and this is such a remarkable book! Each letter of the alphabet has its own page. Each large upper case letter  pops out of its page and when it is flipped over you will see that marked on the back are the folds required to turn each letter into an origami animal whose name starts with that letter – so E is for elephant (see above), W is for Whale etc. In addition to the fold outlines, there are also instructions at the back of the book illustrating the order of the folds for each letter. There is even a page of stickers of various different eyes to bring your origami creatures to life. I just think that this is so so clever…what baba is not going to love this. All this wonderful alphabet origami costs just £9.95stg.

Also in the Arts and Craft section, have a look at the cardboard model wildlife, each one costs £3.95Stg. These come flat pack (so to speak) you just pop out the shapes and follow the instructions to create your own 3D animal.

Muji also does fantastic little bags or boxes full of wooden animals and playscenes:

These are so lightweight and portable that they are fantastic for when you are on-the-go. We have entertained Mr Moo at countless restaurant tables, on long journeys and in waiting rooms with our bag of zoo animals. You just have to pull these little bags/boxes out of your purse and let your baba’s imagination do the rest. We’ve even invented little games to play with our little animals, like how many animals can you balance on top of each other ….the options (and potential for diversion) are endless and all for £9.95Stg.

There are many other great things in the children’s section in Muji but I couldn’t end without showing you these two gems:

These gorgeous wooden penguin skittles are just £7.95Stg and look like they would be so much fun to play with. For something quite traditional, try The Four Musicians of Bremen Music Box. To operate it you simply  pull the rooster up so that the stack collapses, and as the music plays the donkey, dog, cat and rooster stand back up….this would be sure to enchant and enthral.

If Santa was stuck for stocking fillers, he could do worse than go to Muji!

For me, wooden dolls houses will always be the winners (plastic just doesn’t do it for me…) so I had a peak at the options that are out there for Santa to chose from. Here are a few of the homes that are currently available on the doll-home marketplace:

Unlike the real life world, in ‘doll-world’, there’s plenty of value to be found in the period residence market:

If your marionette prefers maisonettes over mansions,  then she might be interested in these slightly more modest (but still charming) addresses:

However, if your baba’s dolls fancy a slightly more modern pad, then these options might be the right buy:

Lastly, if your dolls happen to be environmentally aware (and can get a green card!!…this one is currently only available in the US), then this eco house might be the  home for you. This house comes with a solar panel, wind turbine, rain water collection system and recycling facilities!

Happy house hunting !

Here is a sample of their fabulous wares: