I was first disappointed to find out that GummyLump in no way involved gummi candy. If you know me at all, gummi bears, gummi worms, and generally gummi anything sugar are true weaknesses of mine.
But then I actually checked GummyLump out.
And all disappointment was forgotten.
Because GummyLump? GummyLump is a parent's dream!
GummyLump is a fantastic website that carries only the highest quality and most unique kids toys. Many of the toys are the solid wooden toys, such as Melissa and Doug, that are becoming so popular. These toys are great enhancers for imaginative and educational play, which I really appreciate. In today's world, there are a lot of crappy toys. They are cheap, they break, and many don't offer much in the way of helping a child learn and grow. These toys, quite literally, come a dime a dozen.
But brands like Melissa and Doug, Educo, Haba Toys and more, challenge kids to pretend and be creative. After listening to Kathy Hirsch-Pasek speak, I understand the need for toys that engage kids in creative play. I get now that quality toys are not just "babysitting" kids, but they are empowering kids to grow and learn.
For her 2nd birthday (almost 2 years ago - can you believe it?!), we bought Little Chica a second-hand play kitchen off of Craigslist. And to this day, she adores it. And there are never enough pieces of play food to pretend with. She can spend hours creating meals for us, pretending to be a chef, running a restaurant. So when the opportunity came my way to review the Melissa and Doug Chef Role Play Costume, along with a Melissa and Doug play food set (we chose the Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Play Food Set since, let's face it, we have a slight ice cream addiction around here), I couldn't say yes fast enough!
Little Chica LOVES her new Chef uniform, which in her mind legitimizes all of the "cooking" she does. I'm afraid she is going to start charging us and expecting a tip! The ice cream set is yet another high-quality Melissa and Doug toy: realistic, solid and can endure the beating of kid play!
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| How cute is she? |
Here are Little Chica's thoughts on the toys:
Better yet, Gummy Lump has a great play food toys special offer: Buy 3 get 4th set free! Not bad idea to stock up for the holidays and birthdays.
I better run, since Little Chica is urging me to try her new "ice cream soup," and I think she will take it hard when I tell her it's probably not best to wear the Chef costume to nap time.
But before I go, let me give you the details of the GIVEAWAY GummyLump is so graciously providing!
One of you, my fantabulous readers, will be winning one (1) Melissa and Doug Chef Role Play Costume, as well as one (1) play set chosen from one of these fabulous choices.
How to enter and win? Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
Good luck and happy winning!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
OMG, that made me smile. I do videos like that too with what I get from GummyLump!
ReplyDeleteI love Melissa & Doug products! Thanks for sharing about GummyLump!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter (almost 2) just had a great imagination. It doesn't take much to encourage her, I just happily play along!
ReplyDeleteI love GummyLump! They always have great prices on Melissa & Doug toys (my favorite brand). They also have great customer service & fast shipping.
ReplyDeleteWe encourage imaginative play with Melissa and Doug stuff actually! We have a few of their food sets that my 5 year-old and 2 1/2 year-old love to play pretend with. We also have a few costumes for my 5 year-old; she loves dressing up! She in particular has a wonderful imagination, so we don't really need to prod her much - she comes up with great drawings, stories, and ideas all by herself. :)
ReplyDeleteI like traditional toys like blocks and Legos. They let my son create what he wants and we talk a out it. He can be very creative!
ReplyDeleteOur boys have gotten so good at imaginative play. I just encourage them to play together and one usually takes the lead. Thanks for the chance to win! momsboysx3 at hotmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI like toys that dont have buttons and lights etc. I like giving my son regular toys in which he has to come up with the noises, story etc. This way it is all his imagination in how he wants to play and act!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had toys like this when I was young. I feel like they make playing more realistic
ReplyDeleteMy 4 year old daughter doesn't really need encouragement she is constantly using her imagination during play. :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE M&D we have so many of their toys. My son got their cupcakes for easter and my daughter got the magnetic dress up girls. My kids LOVE imaginative play!! THey dress up, feed their babies, feed me, fight "bad guys" and more!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE M&D toys!!
ReplyDeleteWe love their sets. We don't have the ice cream set, but my daughter loves to play with it at the NJ Discovery Museum.
ReplyDeleteI just play along when he's doing something imaginative :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a play kitchen that gets plenty of imaginative play. I also just bought a rug with a city and street scene on it that my 3 y/o is thrilled with .. he drives his trucks and cars all over it making cute vroom noises.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are imaginative and creative, so I always let them take the lead when it comes to role playing or making up new songs or games. It is fun to see what they come up with and we always end up giggling!
ReplyDeleteCooking is a big part of it! We have our toddlers mini kitchen right in our kitchen and he helps prepare real food and pretends to make his own in his kitchen.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of trucks and trains and cars...and we create garages from Batman's playhouse, bleachers from track, and an audience from Lego people.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Love M&D toys!
ReplyDeleteWe love Melissa and Doug toys! Great quality!
ReplyDeleteChristine V
Tean118(at)msn(dot)com
I am not a good direction follower...we encourage imaginative play by playing make-believe with boxes. We pretend they are all different things/places/etc...since we recently moved we have an abundance of them :-)
ReplyDeleteChristine V (again)
My daughter loves playing with her baby dolls and play food!
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ReplyDeleteWe encourage imaginative play at home through our toys and story reading. Right now we have the Melissa and Doug USA map puzzle and my daughter likes to make up stories about each state based upon the pictures on the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWe try to use sound and dress up. For sounds, we pretend we are animals and roar. Dress up, obviously, we role play as pirates or as C's new favorite, Thor!
ReplyDeleteM&d toys help my kids learn how to do stuff
ReplyDeleteI encourage it through a lot of dress-up and pretend play. We try to brainstorm different ways to use the same object. With 3 young boys we rarely have trouble coming up with new ideas (even if they repeatedly like to turn things into swords!!)
ReplyDeleteTot would have a blast with those!
ReplyDeletethey have a dress up bin and we pretend to do and be who ever we want to..
ReplyDeleteMy ds has had an active imagination since age 2 he is now 5 and it's still with him :) I love when he comes from his room with a costume or superhero gear and plays out a scene/skit for me and better yet when I can be included too!
ReplyDeleteBiggest thing is to turn off electronics - tv and computer and any battery-operated toys. I love to give her something simple like a box or sticks and see what she can do with them.
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