Sustainable Summer Toys with JoJo Maman Bebe

Over recent months we have been taking some intial steps to be more sustainable as a family, trying to reduce our single use plastic, recycle more, choose some plastic free alternatives, and focus on things that we can use for longer, reducing our waste and taking small steps to look after our environment. As part of this, I have become a lot more selective about the toys I buy for the girls, trying to reduce the amount of small plastic collectibles that we buy, and focusing more on sustainable wooden alternatives, or items that I know will be kept and retained for a longer period of time.

The girls absolutely love role play and toys that encourage creative play, absolutely loving playing together in their wooden kitchen. This Summer, JoJo Maman Bebe have some great summer wooden toy additions, that are not only beautiful to look at, but can encourage sustainable play both indoors and out.

We were sent two items from the JoJo Maman Bebe wooden toys range, both of which are perfect for these Summer months and the girls have really enjoyed putting them through their paces!

JoJo Maman Bebe Picnic Basket with Wooden Food

We love going out for family picnics in the Summer months, heading to our local National Trust venue or local park, and spreading out the picnic blanket before unpacking lots of yummy little treats. This creative playset is the ideal way for little ones to act out their very own picnic.

The Picnic Basket with Play Food consists of a little wicker basket complete with its own gingham blanket and cover, and comes packed full of all the wooden picnic essentials including cakes fruit and bread, as well as a flask with cups and plates ready to dish out the treats! With a little knife that can be used to actually chop up the bread (which is pieced together with velcro), this fun interactive set is the ideal for taking out to the park and keep little hands and imaginations busy whilst grown ups tuck into their real cakes and sarnies.

The basket is the perfect size to be carried around by little hands and Neve has really enjoyed popping items back into the basket as we tidy up, and slowly unpacking it all when we reach our destination. The possibilities are endless for little imaginations to run wild.

As a parent, my favourite part of this set is the realistic slicing – with the velcro making a little crunch as the knife chops through. Neve is left handed, so her chopping technique could do with a bit of practice, but she has lots of fun trying!

Overall the set is great quality and ideal for siblings to share. There are 20 pieces in the set and it retails at £35.

JoJo Maman Bebe Play BBQ

During barbque season, is there anything cuter than your little ones being King or Queen of the barbie in their very own little playset? The adorable wooden play BBQ set from JoJo Maman Bebe is a great way to keep the children entertained whilst you keep an eye on the burgers for tea! With a wide selection of food as well as plates cuttlery, tongs, and squewers and a dial on the front to “fire it up” and raise the temperature – this set is perfect for role play and creative adventures!

Neve particuarly liked creating the kebabs by threading on the different food items before placing them on the grill. This is great for fine motor skills too, so a great technique to practise as they play.

Whenever  we get it out the girls (and her cousins) have all got stuck straight in and started acting out little scenes, with Neve even shouting COME AND GET YOUR BURGERS! (Too cute!)

Our only criticism of the product is that the sausages are the perfect width to drop down between the grooves of the grill, and Neve found this a bit frustrating as she had to ask me to help her retrieve them when they dropped down underneath.

A positive however, is that the food items can be easily stashed away under the lift up grill base for storage which is handy so that pieces dont get lost.

The set has great attention to detail, and has even considered condiments too – Neve loves pretending to add salt and pepper before asking whether you want ketchup or mustard.

These wooden toys are built to last, and something that I know the girls will play with for many years to come. With the focus on reducing plastic being so crucial at the moment, I am really happy to have bought some more sustainable, long term quality items into our home.

You can see the full range of wooden toys at JoJo Maman Bebe here – https://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/