Excellent toys that can outlive your child. Melissa and Doug toys are durable and allow for lots of creative play. I buy these for my grandchildren and they are always a hit.
By Kathleen Franklin L.
A summer of fun.
Melissa & Doug provided the toys for a summer of fun.
Lots of beautiful packages addressed to my toddler son.
We tore them open eagerly to take a peek inside,
Building one by one very carefully with the enclosed helpful guides.
The six weeks of summer holidays with weekly fun and creative themes.
Beautiful toys to feature, like the ones from our most extraordinary dreams.
Week one of our summer adventure was themed around imaginative wooden toys.
My toddler held the aeroplane whilst making a sweet engine noise.
I took a beautiful photograph as his little mind happily played.
Childhood memories I will treasure that I hope will never fade.
We then skipped around together giggling as I ran and played along,
Turning the fishing game we were enjoying into a well known counting song.
“One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again”.
We dipped our toes in the water and had a little splash and swish,
Collecting from the water the swim-away wooden fish.
Week two of our summer holidays was about the fantastic great indoors.
A staycation in our home meant toys spread across the floors.
Hand puppets were the highlight of our busy week at home.
A lot of imagination whilst his little mind took a roam.
Chitting and chatting with the fluffy animals on his hands,
His dad and I watching intently as his biggest and happiest fans.
Week three we were treated with a road trip to the stunning Kentish coast.
A beautiful dry day we had, but I know I shouldn’t boast.
We unpacked all of our car and sat along the shore.
The toys we’d packed from Melissa & Doug proved a huge big score.
We took along a couple of pets and a bagful of toy food,
Plus a very cute little grooming kit which had my toddler glued.
He fed his little kitten and gave his puppy a little trim,
Playing very quietly with a beaming happy grin.
Week 4 of the holidays were a wash out, with rain every single day,
But we didn’t let it dampen spirits as we continued with our play.
We got creative using our easel, stamps and coloured ink,
Messy play with all our painting tools which ended in the sink.
Week 5 we celebrated a birthday on an old and noisy train.
Ten minutes the children lasted before they started to complain.
Luckily I was prepared and had packed some handy toys,
Small and very compact colouring which reduced the whinging noise.
A very cute little colouring book with just a water filled pen to paint,
Making my toddler extremely quiet and sit just like a saint.
Completely mess free and tidy with only water that he could spill,
Visually very pleasing without needing any help or painting skills.
The last week of our summer holidays was most definitely the best,
Putting the biggest boxes and the largest toy to test.
I built the little stall with no other help in sight,
Following the instructions very carefully ensuring each piece was right.
After 25 minutes our stand was finished and complete,
Proving this was going to be a very hard toy to beat.
A lemonade stand on one side and the other a grocery store.
A magnificent time in our garden playing in our heavenly shop galore.
A sweet little wooden stall with a colourful reversible hood.
Nine utterly cute little market baskets slot into the cut out wood.
We filled our empty grocery store with veg from our shopping in the week,
Then took our positions either side in our new grocery boutique.
My son playing the shopkeeper whilst I happily pretended to shop,
Roleplaying until the evening time when we did eventually stop.
Creating new fantasies around these gorgeous luxury toys,
All the toys we sampled very appropriate for both little girls and boys.
We played for hours and hours, cherishing the summer that we shared.
A staycation is something I’d never considered or would usually have bared.
However, I’d be lying today if I said that I hadn’t had lots of fun,
In the most rewarding and active holiday with my cheeky toddler son.
