Why Wooden Toys?
I have a confession to make: in my very first grown-up job (where I had to pay tax and all of that stuff) I had to do ridiculous amounts of copywriting. Dumb quantities of text. I’m talking six articles per day. Our agency had a few clients and among them was one that sold wooden toys. For whatever reason, I was never told who the actual client was (I never asked questions) but all I knew was that if I got my head down and got writing about all these random things, I’d be rewarded for it.
My secondary confession related to that is that I never once got the chance to actually try any of those toys. None of them. I had to write about the toys based on nothing but the photos and a short description that the client supplied. I had to talk about the history of wooden toys, how to play with them and about how suitable they were for kids of particular ages.
I was completely in the dark, but I was a great improviser. I researched, used my initiative and got the job done… until it got too much.
I wrote until I burned out. There were only so many ways I could rephrase these things. When the time came, my manager eventually decided it was much better if we outsourced the majority of that work, so I could concentrate on other things like editing, uploading and planning content instead. All of that experience is why I ended up where I did, so I would never diss it, but boy they were straining times.
Regardless of that side of things, it didn’t break my appreciation for them. Say it with me now: wooden toys are timeless. You can’t beat them, because they are time-tested, last forever and just do the job. For kids of any age (and adults too), there’s something about these things that make you want to touch them and just figure out how they work.
My boys are 4 and 5 (and a half) and still very much enjoy them. I really don’t see it changing any time soon. The chance to try out some goodies from Jaques London allowed me to put that to the test.
Jaques Tumble Tower
The Tumble Tower is a classic family game that reminds you of you-know-what. It’s something my boys are familiar with and have loved since they were small. This one is the perfect size for them and gets them excited the moment I pull out the set. It’s one of those garden games you can bring inside too.
For those that haven’t played it before, just know that they won’t be able to resist getting involved once you start stacking the blocks up high. It’s a simple game, but my youngest tends to only last for one round before he decides we need to use the set for one of the following:
- Knocking the tower down
- Building bridges
- Make houses for his figures
Toy Garage – Car Parking Toy
All the rooms in my house have a toy car in it. Every single one of them. The place is littered with the things because the boys can’t get enough of driving, racing and throwing them about the place. That’s why we really like it when we can consolidate their toys in one place. Me and Hollie prefer to have order and the only way to maintain it is if everything has its own home.
This compact set features a rainbow assortment of cars with a three-ramp car park to drive on. As there are so many cars and levels, there was plenty of space for each of them to enjoy it together (without having to rumble over who gets to use which section first). The small, four-wheelers zoom down at speed and keep always keep them entertained.
What’s best for me is that this wooden toy garage gives the place for their new set of colourful cars to live and stay when they’re done with them (because I’m more than aware now that their idea of tidying up is a world away from mine.
Summary
I’ve only tried out the bits suitable for my two, but Jaques has a broad range of giftable goods including car toys and outdoor games for you to explore. I’d say they’re especially good for boys toys. These ones are great value for money and thus far have proved to be extremely durable.
Writing this I’ve just remembered I’ve got to buy a couple of toys for 2 year old boys to get later on in the month, so I’ve got plenty of inspiration already for the kind of things they’d be into.
I think it’s due to having my little ones, but I’m so much more conscious of Christmas now than ever, so I’ve already made my plans about what to get the kids in a few months’ time. If you’re that sort of person too, I’d advise you do a bit of digging around the Jaques website to see what gems you can get your hands on before it’s too late.