Those big wooden play tables for trains etc - Have you got one ?

[Heswall]

And does he/she play on it ?
I'm thinking of a 2nd birthday present and there's 20% off the great trading company today.

We didn't get one as they were not big enough for train mad ds 's complicated layouts

they make great lego tables :)

Have a look at this

Yes, but FIL made it (for DS's 2nd birthday - copying the GLTC one) - he played on it lots, and DD plays on it now - more playmobil than trains, TBH, but the storage space and the ability for playmobil/lego to be somewhere other than on the floor have been brilliant.

DH made one, when the DC were tiny, for the train track. Now it's used for lego etc.
They are great because it's easier to push the trains around on and not trip over the track.
Love the Ikea hacks but Trofast is pretty pricey now, so you might find a purpose-built one cheaper.

We bought one for DS1 for his 2nd birthday - nearly 11 years ago! It's still going strong, currently DS3 has his brio trains and track out on it. I think it was the best investment we ever made in terms of toy stuff, and it has been used almost daily for all those years. Sometimes brio, lego, happyland, playmobil, anything!!

The GLTC underbed one would be my choice.

That is amazing, not sure I am handy enough to make it though and DH certainly is not.

We have the plan city play table by the way!

this one is easier

My dad made DS one, it's about twice as big as the ones you can buy and cost dad a fiver. DS plays with the toys on it every day and it gets stuff off the floor to clean, plus DS can leave his creations out.

Don't make it so big that little hands can't reach the centre of the table though.

My parents bough this one for my DS (he is now 4), they keep it at there house as my parents look after the kids, 2 days a week when i work.
He has had it since he was 2 and plays with it every time he goes round, great for storage too, his little sister (2) like to set up her sylvanians on the table. We will be getting one for our playroom when we move to our house.

www.gltc.co.uk/fcp/product/-/desks_tables_chairs_playtables/Multipurpose-Play-Table---White/10000002939

We were given one. It was awful. Basically it was a drawer on casters. It had no storage at all unless it was laid flat, so everything that came with it had to be stored somewhere else. Then was storing the thing itself, it was huge, far too big for our two-bed bungalow. It had to be stored upright on it's end to prevent LO climbing into it and breaking it anyway, so LO was constantly pulling at it until we got rid of it, worried it would fall on her (18MO). Couldn't store it flat as we dont have the space, when laid flat it completely filled the floor space in LOs bedroom so no other toys could be accessed and the temptation to climb into/onto it was constant - yet there was no way it would hold any childs weight. I think even 2-3 year olds and older would still want to sit in it as it was like a boat/car, large, close to the ground on casters, not table legs, so with no way to use with a chair underneath, and no way to store anything underneath it. We got rid of the "table" and just kept the train set, board games, blackboard, and farm playmat/board that came with it.

We were given one and DS wasn't interested in playing on it at all. It was a big one, but not big enough. We ended up giving it away on Freecycle.

We got one on a whim as it was so cheap in Argos. ds1 uses it loads (train mad) but ds2 doesn't much. It's been well worth it as a general play surface but takes up a lot of space in his bedroom.

I wouldn't get one for trains - limits the size of the track dramatically. I can see how it would be good for lego.

we have a large board which will slide under the sofa, so no legs but allows easy clearing up. As we have wooden floors we have stuck cheap carpet tiles underneath the board so it slides easily and doesn't scratch.

We were given one for ds when he was two and he has played with it loads. Has two big drawers underneath for all the trains and spare bits which is good. Only bad thing is that it's gigantic and takes up half the living room as wont fit in ds bedroom. All the kids who visit play with it though so worth it really.

why don't you just get a huge piece of mdf?
and place it on the dining table when you're playing?

I have seen them in (kinda) thrift stores. We have a store that sell used things for kids--all sorts of equipment, clothes and toys.

One set of GC never really took to it, and in the other family, one child played with it but not obsessively, and his younger sibs ignored it. They all liked coffee tables though!

We have a dedicated playroom so I'm not worried about storing it, the GLTC one might be our best bet then as it could be used for lego and trains and littlest pet shops too.
Thank you

I think trains and cars are better on the floor.

Playtables are better for playmobile, lego and sylvanian families - helps to keep all the weeny little bits from disappearing up the hoover/injuring your feet.