Some of the best blog events to be invited to are the ones with the word ‘playdate’ in them, add to that Little Tikes and you’re onto a winner. A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to attend such a playdate at Milton Keynes (which made a nice change from London). I didn’t really know what I was expecting but I certainly wasn’t expecting the sight that was waiting for us when we walked through the doors of a large function room completely decked out with Little Tikes toys to entertain children from barely crawling to barely able to sit still!
Little Tikes have been around for years and they last for years too. We still have a cube slide from when Curly was a toddler and it looks as good today as it did then after nearly 10 years of sitting outside in all weathers. We have a Cosy Coupe, a rocking horse and many other toys besides.
Whilst the children were busy playing to their heart’s content, the Mummies were able to have a coffee, cake and a catch up with each other and also to have a chat with the lovely Maggie Redshaw, Play Expert for Little Tikes who we have had the good fortune to meet a number of times over my years of blogging. Maggie was keen to talk to us about the four main play personalities; Little Learners, Little Movers, Little Builders and Explorers and finally Little Grown-Ups. The play area had been divided up into the four areas with toys aimed at each personality in each of the sections. It was amusing to see how the children naturally gravitated towards their key areas.
Jelly Bean loved all of the Little Learners toys and wasted no time in crawling his way from toy to toy to play and explore, whilst Beanie Boy enjoyed the Little Builders and Explorers and Little Grown-Ups areas, in particular the basketball net which he was quite a whizz at to Mummy’s surprise!
Unfortunately we needed to leave the playdate a little early to collect Little Bean from school so we missed a visit from the big man himself, SANTA, but Curly and Little Bean each received a lovely present to take home with them which they LOVE playing with. The Little Tikes Lil’ Kitchen and Discover Sounds Scatter Shapes.
There’s a reason that Little Tikes have been around for so long, they know children! They take their time to study what makes them tick, what they love and how they play and as a result they create brilliant, interactive, exciting and durable toys.
DISCLAIMER: We received lunch, travel expenses and the two toys mentioned above as a thank you for this post. All words, opinions and images are my own and may not be copied without my permission. I have not been instructed what to write nor have I received any payment.