What’s the best wooden play equipment for kids?

 **Collaborative Feature**

The longer days of summer are fast approaching – and with brighter and warmer weather, there’s no better time for kids to spend their days outside in the fresh air. Unfortunately, modern life means many kids spend too much time in front of screens, from computers and TVs to mobile phones and tablets. So, if you want your kids to get outdoors and benefit from physical exercise this summer, you’ll need something that motivates them to play in the garden.

There are lots of things children can do to entertain themselves and burn off energy outside, but what better way to get kids active and inspire their imaginations than installing wooden outdoor play equipment?

Read on to learn about wooden play equipment for children and which types you can choose from to bring more fun to your back garden.

Molkky Wooden Skittles from Tactic **REVIEW**

Now that the sun in shining we have been trying to get the kids outdoors more and enjoy the beautiful sunshine in the garden. Now the kids are a little older I have been on the look out for new garden toys, games and equipment to keep them entertained all summer, so when we were offered the chance to try out a Molkky wooden skittles set we couldn't wait to give it a try.

Molkky is one of the latest craze's in Finland and this Eco friendly game made from solid wood with minimal packaging making it friendly on the environment as well as lots of fun! The game is quick and easy to set up and simple to play.

Og On The Bog Game **REVIEW** and Giveaway!

Og on the Bog is a new tongue-in-cheek game from Drumond Park. A completely outrageous children’s game perfect for the whole family to play, where adventurous players are creeping up on Og while he sits on his bog in the forest. 

The aim of the game is simple, you have to try and steal Ogs toilet rolls without him noticing. You use the tree trunk spinner provided and each player has a spin to take their turn. As you spin you will hear Og in his Bog making all sorts of crude noises including burping and farting. Each player takes a turn and what you do during your turn depends on what the spinner lands on! 

If it lands on the "red cross" it means you have been to noisy and have disturbed Og, you miss a turn this time. When the spinner lands on the hand holding the loo roll you get the chance to pinch a loo roll of another player!

If during your turn the spinner lands on the green tick you get the chance to steal a loo roll from Og! But you must remember to push down the toilet step first and be sure to be quiet because if he hears you or feels you stealing his loo roll his Bog will explode! 

The winner is the first player to successfully get 3 or 4 loo rolls (depending on the number of players). 

Og on the Bog has been a big hit in our house and it has definitely provided plenty of giggles and laughs for all the family. The game is aimed at children aged 5+ and I think this is definitely the right age range and something my son who is 6 and his friends will have lots of fun playing, however this game is very simple and so I would say with supervision would be fine for slightly younger children too. The Og on the Bog game is simple yet fun and will definitely be a game that will be pulled out time and time again. The "jump" factor adds that extra bit of excitement as everyone eagerly awaits the "exploding" bog and this makes for exciting game for all. 

The game is easy to assemble and just requires you to clip on the loo roll holder and slide on the loo roll. You will also need to add 3 AA batteries which are not included. Then thats it you are ready to play! 

You can find Og on the Bog and many more fun games on the Drumond Park website HERE. 

Fancy a chance to win your very own Og on the Bog game (RRP £22.99)? Then simply enter our Rafflecopter giveaway below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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**I was not paid for this post, I was sent this item in return for an honest review. 
All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own and written by me. **

Gross Magic Set **REVIEW** and GIVEAWAY!

**AD - Review**

Most kids and adults alike love the wonder and mystery that comes with magic. That jaw dropping moment when a trick goes right and it leaves you guessing and wondering exactly how they even did it? I know as a kid I was always intrigued by magic and would wish I could learn some cool tricks to show my friends! But now kids really can get stuck in with learning some pretty cool (and gross!) magic tricks with the Gross Magic set from Drumond Park. 

The Gross Magic set is full to bursting with truly outrageous gags, tricks and spell binding magic that will have even the grown ups wondering how you did it (well that or totally grossed out, but either works for kids right?). The set combines amazing magic with fantastically gross tricks and with so many tricks to learn it is sure to keep the kids busy. 

Thomas & Friends - My First Rail Rollers Spiral Station **REVIEW**

Now that Evelyn has turned 1 and is now on the move we have had a big overhaul of her toys and its been out with the "baby" toys and in with the noisy, musical, light up, stand up toddler toys which has been met with shrieks of excitement from Evelyn!

One new toy Evelyn has been trying out is the Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station.

This rail rollers spiral station allows children to drop their favourite engines into the top of Tidmouth sheds and watch them zoom down the spiral tracks. As they speed past the track signs which spins as the rail rollers hit it they then reach the bottom and are greeted by the fat controller who guides them into the clear lift tube to start the journey over again!

The track comes in several pieces which are really easy to put together and are just clicked in to place. I also liked the fact this toy doesn't require any batteries or fiddly bits to assemble so you don't have to worry about the batteries running out or replacing them etc.

Evelyn loves watching the rail rollers speed down the track and even her brother who is 5 has been having lots of fun racing them down the track with his little sister. The rail rollers are a good size perfect for little hands and can be easily gripped, Evelyn is able to pick them up unaided. She did struggle to master the lift handle at first but once we had shown her a few times she had it masters and was soon whizzing the rail rollers up and down the engine lift.

There are several ways the rail rollers can get around they can either spin around the track, drop down the centre (there a windows on the side so you can see it traveling down) or they can go up and down in the lift.

The Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station makes a fantastic toddler toy as the bright colours are eye catching and the chunky parts and ease of use make it easy for toddlers to handle and master by themselves.

We would definitely give the Rail rollers spiral station a big thumbs up as it definitely kept Evelyn (and her big brother) entertained and both were giggling and encouraging their rollers as they watching the rail rollers whizz down the track. It feels sturdy, strong and built to last which is a must with toddler toys especially.

The Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station is aimed at children 12 months + and is priced at £32.99. The set comes with two rail rollers (Thomas and a diesel engine) although more rail rollers can be brought separately. It is available to purchase from many stores and online include Argos.

Check out the range over at the Fisher Price website here - www.fisher-price.com.

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**I was not paid for this post, I was sent this item in return for an honest review. 
All thoughts and opinions in this post are my own and written by me. **

Wickey Sandpit **REVIEW**

As the weather has begun to warm up my attention has turned to sorting out the garden and making it child friendly for summer.

We don't have a massive garden and space is quite limited but I still want it to be a place where both children can play safely when they please and so I started looking for garden toys! We already have a wave slide and some miniature football goals for James but I wanted something both James and Evelyn could play with together.

That's when I found Wickey, they have some very impressive wooden climbing frames that look like so much fun however they are much to large for our garden and Evelyn especially is still a little to young for a climbing frame. However Wickey also sell these beautifully made solid wood sandpits perfect for what we needed!

Wickey very kindly sent us one of their 'Flip' sandpits to try out and I have to say we are all really impressed. The 'Flip' sandpit comes in two sizes either 110cmx125cm or 120cmx125cm, we received the smaller version which fit in with our garden well, as well as this we received the safe sand foil to ensure no bugs or roots got in to our sandpit from underneath. We would later realise this is essential as the sandpit itself has no bottom!

One of the great features of the 'Flip' sandpit is that not only is it made from strong, sturdy and treated wood the lid of the sandpit also folds up to create 2 small benches, one either side of the sandpit perfect for little bums to perch whilst playing.

The 'Flip' sandpit comes flat packed and needs to be assembled from almost from scratch. This does require at least two people to built, the instructions are pretty clear and easy to follow although I would always suggest a quick read through before starting anything as some of the instructions and measurements are quite precise. The sandpit took around 2 hours to build with 2 people building it. You will require a drill to construct the sandpit as you need to drill pilot holes yourself which we were a little surprised at and it did mean it took a little longer to build the sandpit.

The 'Flip' sandpit has been a huge hit with both James and Evelyn! They have thoroughly enjoyed building sandcastle's and shapes in the sand. The benches provided a comfy place for both of them to sit and dip their toys in the sand or for a bit of a rest with an ice lolly after all that building. The sandpit took approx 10 15kg bags of sand to fill to a reasonable level which provided more than enough sand to build with.

The sandpit feels like it is build to last and is composed of green KDI impregnated treated wood meaning it requires no extra coats of paint or varnish and is build to with stand even the toughest of weather conditions. I did find that the slats in the top cover of the sandpit still had small gaps in and therefore the sandpit did require a waterproof sheet on top to keep the sand completely dry. 

Over all we were thoroughly impressed with the flip sandpit. Despite some niggly issues such as the pilot holes needing to be drilled yourself and the top being a little gappy we all think the sandpit is a great addition to our garden. It definitely has already provided hours of entertainment for the children (especially as Evelyn's birthday party!) and it certainly feels built to last!

Fancy sprucing up your garden for summer? Why not check out some of the high quality garden items such as swing sets, slides and play houses as well as the items mentioned above from Wickey via their website here - www.wickey.com.

What is your child's favourite garden toy/ item?

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* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.