The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

It’s Playtime! … and a wonderful wooden toy gift for one of you!

by

To celebrate reaching 5000 wonderful followers on Facebook and the end of the successful 30 Days to Hands on Play Challenge, I have a WONDERFUL wooden cake set from John Crane toys to give away to one reader in time for Christmas! Wow!

The High Tea Shape Sorter from the fabulous Wooden Toy Shop. co.uk is such a beautiful toy, made from solid wood and hand painted with gorgeous realistic details! It would make the perfect toy for any child this Christmas and would be a great addition to a toy kitchen or as part of a role-play bakery, cake shop, cafe or home corner, or indeed just as it is!

What I love about this is that not only is it fabulous to look at (and good enough to eat!) but it’s also educational! Each cake is carved into a slightly different shape and fits into its own unique hole in the stand, so that your child has to fit them back in like a puzzle. They also have numerals on the base of each with a matching space for each. So these toys promote number and shape recognition, cognitive skills, sorting and matching and problem solving– all at once! Not to mention imaginative and creative play skills, language development and social and interactive skills when played as part of a collaborative game with an adult or another child.

This is exactly the sort of toy I used to look for to have in my classroom when teaching Reception. High quality, long-lasting, educational, traditional and creative. A perfect combination!

My girls are going to be absolutely delighted to open this on Christmas morning! I am going to set it up as part of a tea shop, complete with pretty tablecloths, cups and saucers, a pot of “tea” and napkins (all from their play kitchen) ready to play with! My oldest daughter Cakie is very appropriately nick-named as cakes are her absolute favourite thing to talk, read, sing and play about at the moment! I envisage many, many hours of happy pretend play with these and am SO pleased that there are so many in the set so that they can have plenty to play with each!
If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you check out the rest of the Wooden Toy Shop‘s fabulous range of toys online. All natural, wooden, creative and beautiful, there’s sure to be something there for the little ones in your life. You still have until Tuesday morning to order in time for Christmas!

To enter:
1. Simply leave a comment below to enter your name into the draw!
That’s it! 

If you would like to have (up to) 2 more entries, here’s how:
2. Share this competition on Twitter or Facebook for an extra entry!
3. Follow The Imagination Tree via RSS feed or email for a third entry! (top right in the sidebar above)
Please make sure to leave a SEPARATE comment for each method of entry so that you can be counted (up to) 3 times. Please don’t leave an anonymous comment or else I can’t contact you if you win.
Just once will do, of course, nothing else is obligatory!
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Competition closes on Monday 19th December at 11am UK time. The winner will be announced later that day. The cake set will be posted out in time for Christmas. UK entrants only, sorry.
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Competition now ended
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And the winner is: JOANNE ROVERS! Congratulations! And thank you to ALL of you who took part- I wish I had more to give away!
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It’s (also) Playtime!

It’s also time to link up you best playful, creative, arty ideas for children below! Can’t wait to see what busy people you have all been this week! The ideas recently have been stunning as usual. I hope to post my favourites to my Facebook wall and to Pin a few too. Thank you!

Comments

  1. Sue Pheasey says

    What a delightful wooden cup cake set. Far too nice for the kids; I want to play with it myself! I would, of course, share it with my granddaughter 🙂

    Comment by Sue Pheasey

  4. Debbie Higgs says

    I have been following you since I joined with face book and enjoy and put into practice some of your ideas. My Family Day Care Children would love to play with this and so would my 3 granddaughters. We just got a brand new kitchen for them so this would be great with that. Thank you and merry Christmas

  14. rachelle | tinkerlab says

    Congratulations, Anna! Your blog is wonderful, and you deserve all the accolades and attention you’re getting. The cupcake set would be a dream to open on Christmas, and my kids would be thrilled to play with it. xo

  15. Leia says

    Way to go on reaching 5000 fans!! Wow! The cupcake shape sorter set is such a cute idea! Love it, and so would my 1 year old daughter. Though, I’m not entirely sure I can enter. I am physically in the US currently, but will be going to Belfast for Christmas (We actually leave on the 19th of Dec.)… So, hopefully you will count this, but I understand if you can’t. 🙂

  26. Gillian Lennon says

    My kids would love this for their cardboard play kitchen I made last Christmas. Thanks Anna.

  33. Pauline says

    Love this set Anna! – as would my 3-year old girl! My eighteen month little man is coming along as a budding chef too….been loving all your ideas on the blog. We’re glad we found you! Play days are happy days Paulinex pauline.gribben@gmail.com

  42. sparklepetal says

    Lovely! While I know my daughter would love it, I think if I won I’d donate it to her pre-school who recently lost all their equipment in a fire. Great prize!

  47. Anonymous says

    I watch my grandkids while their parents are at work. Wouldn’t we have some awesome tea parties with this prize!!!!!
    Francine

  49. Sarah Thorogood says

    Just love to read the emails I get from you, with two girls age 31/2 and 15 months I am always looking for creative ideas. You are inspirational! Our play kitchen would love Hesse cakes!

  57. Gemma O'Donoghue says

    This is absolutely gorgeous my little girl is turning one a week today and would love this! Can’t wait to get my internet set back up in our house so I can load the pictures on your sight properly! Have a lovely Christmas! Xx

    lovegem89@hotmail.com

  61. Emily says

    This is so beautiful! Would really love to win this for my 2 yr old girl she would love it so much 🙂
    Love following activities with The Imagination Tree 🙂
    I follow on facebook, will find you on twitter too @bertiechic

  73. wally12345 says

    Wow – that is fab!!!! Forget the kids!!!!! I’d love that in my kitchen/dining room/study or on my desk at the office 🙂 – I *might* let the kids play with it lol 😉 xxx

  74. Charlotte says

    Oh this is so lovely – they have one just like it at the Children’s Centre and I’m always secretly lusting after it!

    Blue Skies,
    Charlotte xo

  79. Jeanie Herrod (jenie59@hotmail.com) says

    I’d love to have this set to donate to the local preschool where I used to teach. What a great idea. I found your link on Facebook.

  93. Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum says

    Gorgeous tea set I love wooden toys and although T is a little young it’s something that she would grow into and as we have “Cake time” when we go shopping I think J would love it as well.

    Thank you for all the hard work you put in and the great 30 day challenge as well.

  95. Emmysmummy says

    What an amazing prize. Emmy has lots of play food and loves to pretend to cook this would add perfectly to her collection of wooden food I have brought her for Christmas.

    Thank you for such inspirational ideas. Off to link up a craft now

    @emmys_mummy

  101. deborah hemingway says

    love this! Lois has developed an early love for cakes so we could have hours of fun playing with it.

  104. Elizabeth says

    We are building a play kitchen for our daughter (for her birthday and Christmas) this year and this set would go perfectly in her new kitchen! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

  109. AmyD says

    Wow, what a beautiful set! I’m looking for a present idea for my friend’s daughter and this is it – if I don’t win she’ll get one anyway.