Tables and Easels for an 18mth old - thoughts / comments / opinions?

[Tangle]

DD is just coming on 19 months now, and MIL is asking what she'd like for Xmas. Things we've both thought of are either an easel or a table - at the moment I don't really have anywhere inside for her to sit and draw / paint / DO other than on my lap or on the floor (our kitchen is tiny and the dining room table has grooves all over it - pre baby purchase...).

So, any suggestions on products you've found to be good/bad, or any points to consider.

Re. tables, DD has "inherited" my little chair, which is wooden. Lots of me would quite like to stick with wood, but something that folds would be more practical and they mainly seem to be plastic. Any big pros/cons to wood/plastic? Has anyone got one of these Step2 folding tables?

Re. easels, there's too much choice! I'm wary of giving DD whiteboard pens at the moment, so having something that is black board / whiteboard and not much else seems a bit restricting (or am I being overly paranoid?). Anyone seen a good easel that has a magnetic whiteboard and wouldn't be too tall? Are the attachments that take a roll of paper useful or just a gimmick? How do you tell how tall "too tall" is?

I need to come up with some specific ideas so any suggestions/advice gratefully appreciated

Ikea do cheap kids tables and if I recall correctly also folding kids chairs. Try and get a table with a recess to store stuff in - if you have to have a piece of furniture for toddlers make it as useful as possible.

She'll be a bit young for the whiteboard/blackboard. A big pad of paper is just as appreciated at that age because they just scribble. We tape paper to the floor to make massive bits and DD (2) fingerpaints or draws on a large scale - they like that a lot and requires no special bits.

18 months is about old enough to enjoy a ride on toy though - ideally for outside - get one with a parent handle you can remove and she'll get some exercise and you'll get out of the house once in a while (vital when she starts the tantrumming stage!)

Thanks .

I was leaning more towards a table than an easel at the moment - seemed to have more functionality for the space.

A pushalong trike was her birthday present . She loves the pushalong aspect - hasn't quite got the hang of peddaling yet...

I've found our easel a PITA - it's mostly in the way, falls over if the legs are barged against and doesn't get used all that much (DS when drawing likes to press down hard which you can't do on an easel). Rolls of paper are good for massive paintings in the garden though.

Our local bookshop has a wooden Ikea table with formica top and matching chairs, and it has taken a lot of punishment, so can recommend. I have got the John Lewis round wooden table with 3 matching little chairs and they've been lovely too. The table is drawn on though. Get a plastic table cloth to protect it. And if you want to cook or do playdough/crafts with her at the table it will be most comfortable for you if you have a little chair too. (Not essential though)

My dd got an easel when she was 2, loved it straight away, particularly the blackboard (or was that more to do with my relucatnce to give her paints?!) It came from Early learning, but expensive - £50 I think, it was from rich childless friend, needlesstosay. Roll of paper does seem quite unnecessary, but we love the rack for paint pots, keeps them upright.
Other big hits at that sort of age, 18 months up, were megablocks and duplo - hours of fun. Woolies do great deals on boxes of duplo, in the red book thingy. And the best ever, still-played with present (she's now 3) is the Fisher Price piano, plays Twinkle Twinkle etc, keys change colour, child can play their own tunes...she'll ignore it for a few months, then have a massive few weeks of trying out new stuff.

We have little chairs, little table and and an easel all from Ikea. Well cheap!

We have both, easel rarely gets played with - may be the odd day in the garden if DS wants to paint. Its an ELC one and big and bulky and has to be set up everytime as no room to leave it set up.

However the table gets used daily, drawing, painting, play dough, clay - its plastic and although a few years old now is still fab. Luckily DS is small for his age so he can still use it.

Definitely starting to sound as though a table is going to be a much safer, and probably more useful, bet

Now the only problem is that MIL has a 20% discount voucher for the ELC and so is pushing their stuff like mad - I do appreciate I'm lucky to have a MIL that cares and wants to contribute, but I also don't want to get stuck with something that's going to annoy me everyday!

I like ELC, we have had lots from there and its all been great quality. Good customer service too.

They do both a plastic and wooden table so she can still use her voucher.

I'd vote for an easel - DS got one at 18months for Christmas. It takes up not very much space, certainly less than a table and is used a lot still now (he's four). It's been everything from a tunnel, to a tent, to a roadsign (!) to something to draw on. Ours was second hand ELC - white on front with roll of paper/ blackboard on back.

Only trouble with easel is if you're painting you get drips!

This is quite nice from ELC. We have an Ikea blackboard that PIL got Tom (they have one round theirs too). I think they have bought some kind of little desk with a light for him for xmas.

This is quite nice from ELC. We have an Ikea blackboard that PIL got Tom (they have one round theirs too). I think they have bought some kind of little desk with a light for him for xmas.

We had an easel from ELC, although it was years ago. It was wooden, folded up flat to fit down the side of a cupboard and was worth every penny as it was used just about every day from around 18 months to around four iirc.

ikea is great. THey have a easle which is very low, and some of the table and chairs are better for littler children, the table we got from ikea (the plastic one )t he chairs are a bit too high for 18 mo. We have the plastic table which is great, but I wouldn't recommend the little stools as they tip over easily.

we have the wooden table and chairs fromn Ikea and they're still going strong 4yrs on. Kids use it all the time and much better than and easle, which we used to have but I sold as it never got used and took up too much space.

Easel great. Also has a little table more for cutting and sticking/playdoh/meals so would say both if you have room.
Ikea easel fairly solid for Ikea and cheap. Roll of paper great for painting and drawing. Buy only washable pens and paints. Even if you train yours not to draw on the walls/floor some little playdate will.

my DDs have this easel which is great, not too big but doesn't fold.

Thanks for the suggestions . I'd come across that easel before, amidaiwish, but hadn't realised it didn't fold (annoying as it looks fantastic otherwise - if only we had the room....)

btw - its not that I don't like the ELC as such, just that I don't want to feel pressured into getting something I'm not keen on just because they sell it. That table and chairs has potential, though - I think its a choice between a little bit of storage like that one or something that folds.

Any more ideas gratefully received