Gearhead Mom

Monday, January 28, 2008

It’s Your Birthday (Let’s Glue It)

Posted by Jenny M. @ 1:14 PM

Seriously, this is one of the cutest toys I’ve been sucked into buying in a long time. This set is the perfect blend of Tea Party and, as my little almost-two-year-old calls it, “Happy To You” Party, as well as a great accessory for a play kitchen. And I love the color scheme, and the website from which I bought it...the detail...and I would probably buy it again, based on its Sheer Cuteness and Uniqueness. But there are some issues; hence three stars out of five.  Let me start with the virtues:

• This is an adorable tea set with many play pieces and lots of accessories: little wooden tea bags on a string, sugar cubes, cake with removable candles…
• It appeals to your child who not only loves Tea Parties but has Special Affection for Birthdays. Oh, that’s me too. Exactly. It comes with cake wedges with painted sprinkles on a plate, along with spoons, tea cups, a tea pot, etc.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut:

• It was Christmas Day when the first icing layer came unglued off the first cake slice. Out came the glue and Mommy Repair Job. Since then, we’ve glued almost each slice Back Together. I would still give this as a gift to close friends, with a tube of glue and disclaimers.
• The pieces are smaller than they appear on the website page. Or I just didn’t read how many inches or centimeters they actually measure and am guilty of not paying attention (it’s a bad habit; I once ordered a dozen 32 oz. yogurts online, because the containers looked to me, on my computer screen, like the regular, one-serving kind!). Everything is quite small, so maybe not appropriate for smaller children, who, like my daughter, at least SHOW you they have a tiny wooden sugar cube in their mouth, versus let you discover this at the ER. The candles, too, are small, thin, and very lose-able. 
• The paint chips off. Is this a general problem with wooden toys? I don’t find it charming. Not a huge problem with this toy, but a side effect.

Bottom line: this would be a great/unique gift, and if I (well, my child) received it, I would be impressed and excited. And I wouldn’t blame my friend for the chipping and peeling and ungluing that ensued.  But you know about it now… We still love it. I get a slice of wooden cake everyday, along with “Happy To YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, Mommy!” serenade. 

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