With the holidays coming up it’s that time of year when I start looking at gift guides to find fun gift ideas for my preschooler. My daughter has a wishlist a mile long but I’m very picky about what toys I actually buy. I don’t know about you in addition to being very selective about what types of toys I buy I’m also a review junkie.
So in honor of my review obsession I’ve joined up with 20+ other bloggers to bring you a great list of gift ideas for kids that have been tested and approved by us blogging moms! Each blogger selected and reviewed a kids holiday wishlist toy to share with our readers and help moms and dads out there feel confident with the gifts they choose this holiday season!
Here you’ll find my review for our KidKraft Vintage Kitchen but don’t forget to check below for all the other awesome toys being reviewed!
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A kitchen play set was always on the top of my list of toys to have when my daughter was old enough and for my daycare. The first play kitchen I bought was a large plastic one that my kids loved to death but it was such a struggle for them to use, the fridge/cabinet doors were always getting stuck and it wasn’t very sturdy. After struggling with it for a few months I finally had enough and got rid of it.
After a few days of reading reviews and blogs I ended up buying this KidKraft Vintage Kitchen.
Kids Holiday Wishlist Toys Reviewed: Play Kitchen
When it comes to these big ticket (aka large and more expensive) toys I have three areas of criteria that a toy has to meet before I even consider it: Works for multiple ages, allows for open ended or imaginative play, and is durable. With the daycare I need toys that will appeal to multiple ages of kids (1-4yrs) otherwise they’d rarely get used or only get used for a short time. Also because of running a daycare and having multiple ages, durability of a toys is really the deal breaker. If a toy won’t last or withstand my daughter and several daycare kids using it for at least a year then I keep on walking and don’t waste my time or money. Here’s why this kitchen met all my requirements and then some:
Spans different Age Groups: I bought this KidKraft Kitchen when my daughter was a toddler and at the time I had her (a one year old) plus another one year old, two 2yr olds, and two 3yr olds in my care full time. All of the kids could access most of it (the younger toddlers couldn’t reach the top shelves but that didn’t bother them) and all of them thought it was the greatest toy ever. Now 2 years later, my daughter still plays with it and my group of daycare kids have grown and changed (I now have two 1 year olds, a 2yr old, and two 3yr olds) but the kitchen is still relevant and allows for developmentally appropriate play for each age. (Side note: with younger kids I remove the smaller plastic play foods, such as small pretend strawberries, as they can be a choking hazard)
Promotes Open-Ended and Imaginative Play: This kitchen set gets use daily and never gets old. The girls can play for hours, cooking meal after meal (they know my love of coffee and always have a cup for me 🙂 ) and the imaginative play stories are ever changing. Some days the girls are having “lunch at school” or “packing lunches for work” and other days they are busy “doing chores” by washing dishes and cooking dinner. Even though the kitchen set itself stays the same the ideas and worlds of imaginative play are always different. It’s endless hours of entertainment.
Durability: We’ve had this kitchen for 2 years now and in that time it’s withstood daily use from several daycare kids (1.5 to 4 years) and my daughter. It’s been climbed on, colored on, and used roughly but it still looks like we just bought it. The doors have been slammed, the sink and cabinets pulled/yanked on, and the burners used as drums with metal pans but everything is still attached and in once piece. Surprisingly it’s not scratched and none of the paint has flaked or peeled off, I expect another few years out of it at this rate.
Overall this is one of our most loved toys and one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. If this one breaks at some point I’d definitely be buying another KidKraft Kitchen that same day! In addition to the kitchen we also have these fun food play sets that are pictured above: Healthy Lunch, Healthy Dinner, & this misc food set. For dishes we use this new sprouts dishes set and this metal pan set.
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What toys do you recommend this holiday season?
That kitchen is adorable! I like the vintage vibe.
I really love the fact that this product seems so durable! And the realistic/vintage look is adorable!
Definitely the durability…much needed with 3 little ones here!
I like the durability feature the most.
Oh I love the sink and burners and how sturdy it looks! Reminds me of the one I had when I was little!
I like the feature of a deep oven. A small tray could fit. (we had a corner unit style and it could not hold a tray or 6 muffin tin for pretend cooking) This is a great color and offers loads of baking, cooking and dish washing ideas)