Tuff trays

[StephOD]

I was looking at getting a tuff tray for my 4 year old but I've found much cheaper equivalents. My only question really is, how useful is it to have the stand with the tray? The cheaper equivalents don't have the option of a stand but I'm loathed to pay a fortune for a plastic tray.

We always use an under bed storage tub. As a bonus, it fits nicely into the (empty) bath with a space for a kid at either side, which is great for very messy, messy play. Unless you were going to have it set up most of the time, I imagine storing the stand will be more annoying than the benifit of the stand warrants.

I can agree that storing the stand is more hassle than it's worth unless you have a play room where you can leave it assembled (which we dont). Despite having the stand and cover, ours is usually flat on the floor of living room/kitchen/garden depending on level of messiness and the weather. The stand has been out of the box two or three times, we have never used the cover. The only bonus of the stand is when they are painting as they dont climb into the tray and walk through the paint. The actual tuff tray itself has been a great investment though as it is large enough for a range of activities, it also makes a very lazy/quick pool for the garden as it heats up quickly in the sun due to it being black plastic without having to blow up and fill up a toddler pool.

I didn't bother with the stand, easier to store without. Not sure where you are planning on buying from but if you search on eBay for a plasterers mixing tray I got mine for £13 rather than £19.99. X