Wooden toys.... worth the money?

[SleepBecomesHim321]

Hi all, are very expensive wooden toys (e.g. Grimms, Grapat etc) worth the money? Have a Reception-age child and a baby and keen to minimise the volume of short-shelf-life toys this Christmas/birthdays. But is a 4yo too old for wooden peg people/ rainbows/ semi circles, despite what various Instagram accounts promise?!

Thanks x

I don't think my dds would have appreciated those sorts of toys at 4 tbh. I think they can be great for younger dc though.

If you want a toy with longevity or that age I would have a think about lego or a set of Schleich figures. Yes, they are both made from plastic, but they will last for generations. Lego from my own childhood is regularly used by my dc.

Brio (or compatible Ikea, tesco, John Lewis) trains and track had years of play in this family.

Those ideas are great for younger dc, they last so well that you often find n them second hand in good condition too.

DD4 still loves her wooden dolls crib, wooden dolls house and wooden kitchen so there are things out there for the older one too.

My 4 year old still plays with things like her wooden ice cream parlour (GLTC), wooden drs set and wooden picnic set (le toy van, I think). They were definitely worth the money. I’m not sure how much use she’d get out of a Grimms rainbow at this age but I’m sure if I bought one for the baby both her and her 5 year old sister would want a go.

My nearly 4 year old still plays a lot with her rainbow. She incorporates it into playing with other toys - laying them on their side and using them to make ‘rooms’ for duplo people, using them as bridges with her trains etc. I’m planning on adding to it with Christmas presents as I think it will give her more to build with.

My ds will also play with them when he’s bigger and they seem to retain their value and sell easily. Imo, they’re expensive but totally worth it.

I also think the open-ended nature of the play that they allow for is really valuable

We have our brio table and trains put away in the hope of future grandchildren. Ours used it for years. We’ve a lovely Scandinavian wooden dolls house and furniture and a rocking horse that are regularly used by any visiting children. The brio just took up too much room. We’ve a dolls crib and trolley walker full of coloured bricks up in the loft too. You definitely get what you pay for with toys.

Thanks, everyone. Might gently suggest a few lovely Grimms wooden bits to relatives and see how much interest there is from kids. Reassuring that they tend to hold their value!

Big fans of Schleich but there don't seem to be many ready-made sets (that aren't horse-related). Did see there's a crocodile one and a watering hole one. Am I missing something? Most are recommended for at least 3y+ but do you think animals (without loose parts) would be OK for a baby/1yo too?

Aldi or Lidl (been in both - they merge) had some lovely wooden toys in at the moment.

That type of toy yes absolutely, definitely does not need to be Grimm's etc,uch cheaper alternatives in this house that are just as loved and played with exactly the same way

Only if you enjoy the resulting concussion from a small child clonking you round the head with one.

Re Schleich, we have never got the sets, just the animal and dinosaur figures. I certainly let my dc play with the larger figures under 3, they are fairly big and chunky.

Oooh, timely thread OP. I've got a 14 month old and was wondering if I should get the Grimms sets. As an adult they look boring as hell to me (child of the 80s here and former Barbie fiend) but people was lyrical about them. I've already got a few pieces but was wondering how useful the large rainbow would be.

I think it twnds to be adults that lust after the Grimms stuff. It looks lovely on display etc. We did have a lovley (not grimms) wooden blocks, brio and wooden shape sorter ark with animals, but they did love other toys. Plastic/metal tea sets, fake food, duplo and mega blocks, flashy fisher price thing. Happy land was one of the best things we had and they atill remember the sets. Plasric sorting/stacking cups...

We have lots of toys like that rainbow, caves, fire wooden animals and figures ect my little boy is 6 and he loves them. He makes all sorts of things and has a great imagination, loves role play games so I would say definitely worth it but I knew my son would play with them. Has your little one got a good imagination? Do they role play ? They also hold value really well so if they didnt enjoy you could easily resell

Aldi have wooden toys at the moment. You can buy them online.

IKEA also sells some wooden toys

Also if you have old 20th century Lego please don't give it to your children. The plastic contains heavy metals at concentrations that are considered harmful in the EU.

Automoblox cars are beautiful and my dc were playing with theirs until about 9 (12yo still has his on his shelf). Building blocks are not just for small children - there are some detailed sets for older children too. Haba is a German brand which makes excellent marble runs and other wooden toys.

Aldi’s wooden toys are lovely. 18mo DS is having their Brio compatible train set (16.99) for Christmas.

Lidl have wooden toys in stock at the moment
I’ve just bought ds some more compatible track and stuff to add to his inherited brio. He’s only two but brio lasted us until we were 10 ( it did get competitive)
We also have wooden Noah’s ark, wooden farm which are popular.
The big car mat is really popular and he has a mix of plastic and wooden cars etc.

My 4&8yo love their rainbows and their nins. They've had them a couple of years now and they get played with with other stuff a lot. We also have a creatimber which is very much loved.

We have a load of schleich mostly bought preloved and although they will play with it they seem to need me to suggest or set something up to get them going. The rainbows get used with it a lot as bridges/dens/beds etc. Tegu is popular for this too