Posts Tagged ‘Clics’

Educational toys

Friday, January 21st, 2011

I just had a request via Twitter (follow me @Mimistores) about small toys for pre-school fun and learning about abcs and numbers. I though that it would be a good opportunity to share some ideas with everyone and ask for other suggestions. Besides, I don’t like to restrict myself to 140 characters!

My favourite fun and educational pre-school toys are:

  • Doowell Alphabet Animals - Magnetic animal shapes with corresponding letters
  • Shapes and Numbers - A very simple wooden puzzle that will get little ones working things out
  • Sorting and Teaching Clock from John Crane - A big, bright wooden clock
  • Triangular Activity Centre from Big Jigs - With spinning blocks and an abacus, this toy is suitable right up to school age
  • Fishies - A very simple linking game for the younger child to encourage colour recognition and counting
  • Magnetic Blocks - Easy construction set for little ones
  • Alphabet and Number Blocks - No home should be without them!
  • Fantacolor Daisy - A chunky peg board and one of my favourite toys
  • Djeco Wooden Puzzle - Shapes or Colours
  • Magnetic Numbers and Letters
  • 100 Wooden Blocks - So many ways to play and learn with these

These are just a few of my favourites. We have carefully thought about and picked all the toys stocked on www.Mimitoys.ie so it’s hard not to list every toy we have! If I have left off one of your favourites, or one you would recommend to other customers, please leave a comment.

Top Boys’ Toys for Christmas

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Here is a list of favourite boys’ toys to help you make your Santa list this year. The new Pedal Train and Coal Truck are my favourites and are obviously great for girls as well as boys. For photos, see our website, or join us on Facebook. All toys are available from www.Mimitoys.ie

Carpenter’s Belt - Now even 2 year old carpenters can wear their tool belt with pride. A full set of wooden tools that can be carried around in a belt. Great to introduce early role play- little ones will be so proud to have such grown up tools. €12.95
Cottage Farm - This big portable wooden toy is half farm and half cottage with all the role play fun offered by both scenarios. Easily carried, the busy farm includes animals, tractor and trailer, wheelbarrow and loads of house accessories to keep their imaginations fired up. €79.95
Debut Scooter - Now you can zoom around in style with this ultra cool wooden Debut Scooter. It has 3 non slip wheels to keep you on track both inside the house or outside in the garden. Simple, safe and stunning for kids over 3 years. €49.95
Fire Engine and Fire Fighters - 999 emergency! Who is going to save us from the fire raging behind the sofa? Here come our heroes screeching around the side of the chair in their big wooden fire engine with all the equipment they need to douse the flames. Wonderful role play fun with this bright wooden fire engine, cute firefighters and their realistic accessories. Fire Engine and Fire Fighters sold separately, Fire engine €46.95, fire fighters €24.95
Police Van Set - Hello, ‘ello, ‘ello! What’s going on here then? I think it’s obvious that someone’s going to get nicked. The police man has his wooden truncheon at the ready, whilst the robber could have made more of an effort to hide his burglary tools! Painted wooden police van with hinged doors includes posable policeman and robber Budkins. €39.95
Transport Train Set (124 pieces) - How do you want to travel today? Catch a Hi- Speed Train at the station. If that’s too fast, what about a slower ride on the local line? If you want to go by car to the airport to watch the planes and helicopters don’t forget to fill up at the petrol station before you go. This 124 piece wooden train set also includes brightly coloured houses, buildings, people, tunnel, trees, and vehicles. €84.95
Coal Truck - All aboard and join in the fun with this Little Play Train Coal Truck! This superbly designed pedal powered coal truck has a storage compartment, electronic sounds and brakes. It has automatic freewheeling so the pedals stay still even when the train keeps moving. Great for children to enjoy outdoor interactive and imaginative role-play. Can be used on its own or with the little play train pedal steam engine. €179.95
Pedal Train - All aboard and join in the fun with the Little Play Train Steam Engine! This superbly designed pedal powered steam engine has a working headlight, electronic sounds and brakes .It has automatic freewheeling so the pedals stay still even when the train keeps moving. Great for getting kids active outdoors and engaging in interactive imaginative role-play. A Coal Truck that can be attached to the train is available separately. €189.95

Exciting New Toys

Monday, April 12th, 2010

We have been busy in the last few months looking at our already wide range of toys and furniture and wondering how we can build on it. Myles and I have visited toy fairs and talked to our existing suppliers to find exciting new toys to add to Mimitoys. If some of the toy fairs meant that we had to spend long weekends in hotels in interesting places then we were willing to make that sacrifice for our customers ;)

After much discussion, the odd argument and a lot of playing with new toys (our family and friends make for an interesting and very honest focus group), we have finally added loads of new toys to www.Mimitoys.ie 

My blog is not about just promoting toys that we sell on our website, but when my kids really like a toy I think it’s good to pass on a recommendation. Clics has always been a favourite in our house. They are flexible construction pieces that click (no surprise there!) together to make up lots of different structures. My kids love them because the pieces aren’t too fiddly and are easy to put together, but don’t fall apart when you then play with your creation.

I love it because it has no commercial tie-ins with blockbuster Hollywood movies (ahem!) and the kits are completely open ended when it comes to designing your own toy. Many of them come with instructions, but they also encourage kids to make up their own design.  It’s not just a question of following step by step instructions to build one model that is left to gather dust, get broken up and clog up the hoover…or maybe that just happens in our house?

Have a look at the Clics we offer and let me know what you think http://tinyurl.com/mimitoys-clics  Or if your kids already have them, let me know if they share my enthusiasm!