Read this if you're planning on getting the Little Tikes Cosy Coupe

[Incywinceyspider]

It's DS's birthday on Friday and we've just finished putting together the little tikes car. I'd read several threads saying it was a bugger to put together and they weren't wrong!

So here's a few tips if you're planning on getting your toddler one for Christmas.

1. for the love of God, DO NOT leave it until late on Christmas Eve when you've had a few drinks.

2. you need two people, a screwdriver, a hammer and a fair amount of brute strength. A drill is also handy (I'm not kidding).

3. read the instructions carefully. And then read them again. If you put the wheels on the wrong way round it's impossible to get them back off again.

4. it's really noisy. Ideally do it when children are out of the house, especially if you have an older child who might be woken by loud hammering.

Anyone else got any building tips?

I built my DD a flat pack wooden kitchen on Xmas eve. Took me 5 fucking hours.. My hands were wrecked after.. But, I did it.. Without a man.. I was so proud of myself.
Little tikes.... I paid the flat pack man who put up all my furniture when I moved in 10 quid to put it together for me.

This is brings back memories. DH was working until midnight and I had a 2 month old baby I was breastfeeding and had to put it together myself whilst I kept having to stop to feed, it was a nightmare.

I knew what you were going to say as soon as I saw the title!!

That was my Christmas Eve last year.

DD has a wooden kitchen this year and I've already told DH we are doing it well before Xmas!

This thread has reminded me of the Christmas Eve toy kitchen breakdown of 2004.

I ended up resorting to using superglue for some of it, glued my fingers together, halfway through started drinking and ended up going to the 24 hour garage to buy cigarettes even though I'd given up two years previously.

When the offending item eventually went to the tip after many years of use I did enjoy chucking it in the skip!

I wish I bought second hand- took ages and the instructions are insanely poor, there is a parts change that they haven’t updated for so I couldn’t find one of the most important parts, improvised and then when I got to the end found that the only piece left was what I should have been using at the time!

I hated building that thing. Also think we buggered up the wheels in our house too. It has been very well used though. Also hated putting together a kitchen.

This brings back memories OP

Absolutely not funny at the time but looking back and remembering my DH building up not one but two of those little plastic hell machines on Christmas Eve makes me smile. Christmas isn’t quite the same with none of that!

Another tip: Do not allow a slightly tipsy DH to celebrate eventually getting it put together by trying to sit in it. Getting him back out will probably take even longer and the giggling may wake the DC.

Are you even a parent if you haven’t sobbed in frustration at 11pm on Christmas Eve because Barbie’s dream house just will not go together?

Mine luckily never had one of those cars because we just don’t have the space, but they did love the one at nursery so I’m sure it’s worth it when you get the wheels on!

Having built a couple, my tip is ignore the useless paper instructions and go on YouTube for a video on how to build it, much easier to follow!

YES! We got DD one for her first birthday this summer. I hadn't heard how terrible they are, I thought it would be a half hour, few bits to clunk together job. HAHAHAHA. How is it so terrible?! How?!

Well DS loves it so it was worth it. The door sticks though and I can't for the life of me work out what we've done wrong!

I vaguely remember watching a YouTube video that recommends using a hairdryer on it to soften the plastic so I guess we had trouble one year too . This has reminded me to sell ours, my nearly 5 year old still fits in it but won't use it anymore because apparently there are always spiders in it.