As my little ones have gotten older, I’ve quickly learned of the difference in quality of children’s toys. In all honesty, we’ve never really showered them with an insane amount of toys but, over the years through birthdays and holidays galore, we’ve certainly had our fair share of playthings. Having two boys, it has been great to see some items passed down from our oldest to our youngest but, let’s be real, not every toy is going to last that long, through that year, that month, or even that week. Surely, some toys are better than others in regard to quality and sustainability. And, for those of you wondering… no, an item’s quality does not necessarily reflect on its price tag. These days, instead of opting for the greatest “it-toy” of the moment, I do my best to find something long-lasting, something of meaning, something great. And in doing so, oddly enough, I’ve fallen back a few decades into the wooden toy phenomenon.
I’ve always been quite fond of the idea. To me, anything crafted by hand uniquely for you has great value both in its worth and its sentiment. Anyone can grab the same item off of a toy store shelf but, when an item is made with its intended recipient in mind, the thought behind the item is of great value in itself. In addition to being enjoyed by children upon receiving it, the majority of these items can be passed down for generations to come. My own little ones, for example, regularly enjoy adorable wooden toys that once belonged to their father. I would much rather they enjoy toys like this than buy a mass-produced plastic something that’ll break within a week. Not only does the quality draw me toward it but the sweet thought that lies within the crafting of each and every item certainly has me sold.
There are a great number of companies and individuals that provide wonderful, handcrafted items like such but one of my favorites is Smiling Tree Toys.
After living in West Africa while serving as Peace Corps volunteers, Justin and Kathleen found themselves back on US soil and surrounded by modern luxuries. As young parents wanting to follow their own passions while simultaneously working their own little one into the mix, the idea to create beautiful, handmade wooden toys was brought to life.
With an incredible product line ranging from rattles and teething toys to puzzles, building blocks, and more, there truly is something for everyone. With my own little ones being quite keen on anything and everything with wheels, the Smiling Tree Toys Fun on Wheels collection was beyond perfect for them.
Recently, I (or my little ones, rather) had the opportunity to try out a couple of their goodies and I could not be happier. Smiling Tree Toys sent each of my little ones a Jeep vehicle from their Off-Road Adventure Sets:
- 3-Piece Off-Road Adventure Set with Boulder
- 3-Piece Off-Road Adventure Set with Tunnel
- 4-Piece Off-Road Adventure Set with Boulder & Tunnel
Wanting to be able to feature, both, the full sets in addition to the individual vehicles with the personalization option, we opted to share with you the Jeep vehicles from the Smiling Tree Toys play sets. Each of my boys, already Jeep nuts as it is, received their own personalized Jeep vehicle.
Each of the vehicles is crafted beautifully with great care and precision.
“Every Smiling Tree Toys item is handcrafted from certified sustainably harvested hardwood, hand sanded silky smooth, and finished with our homegrown organic oil blend.”
Using only the finest, FTC-certified American grown hardwoods and coating each product with a unique, organic finish, Smiling Tree Toys is sure to provide you and your child with a perfect (and safe!) heirloom piece that can be enjoyed for generations to come.
With these, much like any of their toy vehicles, you and your little one can adventure off the beaten path and into a wondrous world of great imagination. Regularly available in the adventure sets listed above in addition to individual truck, car, helicopter, racer models and a 3-piece vehicle set, there is surely something to spark your child’s interest.
Now, my little guys have a plethora of toy cars, trucks, and things (an entire bucket full to be exact) but since many of them are simple, little matchbox cars I think that there are more broken than intact at this point. They usually go through a favorite car of the day phase; somebody wants the red one, someone picks the monster truck, someone opts for the one with the superhero logo, someone chooses the light-up one, and more often than not they always want the one that is in the hands of one another. With Smiling Tree Toys, however, that problem is no more. Welcome to the world of personalization!
As I briefly touched on before, in addition to each item being specially handcrafted for your child, each item can also be personalized. While some products, like the Keepsake Blocks, offer as much as full names, birthdates, special messages, and more, the Smiling Tree Toys Fun on Wheels products are perfect for personalizing with a child’s first name.
Since receiving our new goodies from Smiling Tree Toys, the little ones have quickly (and finally!) found their favorite toy vehicle. They take them just about everywhere we go from supermarket trips and simple car rides to playground adventures and even making the school show-and-tell rounds.
Whether you’re planning for these to simply be a sweet addition to your baby’s nursery or are expecting some rambunctious play, Smiling Tree Toys are ideal for the masses.
BUY:
You can purchase Smiling Tree Toys, including the entirety of the Fun on Wheels collection directly from their website at www.SmilingTreeToys.com. Prices for this particular collection start at $15.
CONNECT:
Be sure to keep up with Smiling Tree Toys via their social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages to stay up to date on all of the latest news, biggest sales, new product releases, special promotions, giveaways, and more!
And, speaking of giveaways…
How would you like to ride away into the sunset with an amazing win and a brand new handcrafted wooden heirloom toy?
That’s right! Thanks to the generous folk over at Smiling Tree Toys, Eighty MPH Mom readers have the chance to do just that!
THE GIVEAWAY
One (1) winner will receive a personalized Smiling Tree Toys Fun on Wheels collection individual item of their choice from the following:
- Old-School Truck
- Love Bug Car
- Classic Racer
Giveaway open to US residents only. Ends 6/5/14. ARV of $20.
No purchase necessary. Open to residents of US only. Giveaway ends June 5th, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. (PST). ONE ENTRANT PER HOUSEHOLD/IP Address! I check all entries – cheating will not be tolerated. Winner will be notified via email and needs to reply within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Please make sure you check your spam folder – I will not be responsible if you did not receive winning email notification. Winners name(s) will be displayed on the post, and will also be posted on Winners List shortly after drawing has occurred. Winners will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter. Screenshots of winners available by request. Prize will be shipped directly from sponsor or their PR Agency unless otherwise noted. Eighty MPH Mom is not responsible for prizes lost in transit, although every attempt will be made for prize delivery.
**By entering this giveaway, you confirm that you have read and agree to my giveaway rules. Sponsor reserves the right to limit one prize per person/household (of this item/prize pack). Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of prize {though it is usually much sooner}. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Odds of winning: The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. All prizes will be awarded. Void where prohibited by law.
*Randi received the above product(s), free of charge, to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of the reviewer only.
Lacey J
I can’t decide between the asl I love you teether, or the anchor teether! They’re both adorable
Kirsten Rayer
I would choose the wooden xylophone. Our family is a big music family, so that would be a perfect addition!
Robert Brown
I would choose the Florida locally grown teething toy. We have a young one starting to teeth, and that would be a very unusual conversation starter.
michelle r
I like their butterfly teether
Rachel Rich-Shea
I love their alphabet picture blocks- they are absolutely beautiful. Great teaching tool for letters and objects as well as building and stacking skills!
Rebecca Parsons
I would choose the shape sorter because it is great for coordination and shape recognition.
Linda Kish
I would choose the 26-piece picture alphabet blocks set. I love blocks and kids can learn while they play.
Alona Y
I would get the penguin bowling set because it looks cute and fun, or the lacing & tracing toy set because it’s unique and I would have loved it as a child myself.
john
The OCTOPUS PUZZLE is very nice.
Heather B
I would love the personalized letter blocks
darby
I would choose the aligator teether to help with teething pain
Vickie Couturier
three wooden toy cars
D Schmidt
Visited the site and my favorite item is alphabet learning tiles because they are great for my children to learn.
e michelle
I love personalized blocks! they are hours of entertainment and look like they are durable!
Sharon Kaminski
I would chose the 30-piece building blocks set because we had a set as kids and spent a lot of time and had lots of fun with it.
All Natural Katie
I would love to get the wooden block sets.
Linda G.
I would really like to buy the helicopter for my grandson, he loves to play with airplanes.
Jennifer
my son would really enjoy the animal dominoes!
mrsshukra
The Classic Racer is fun and the nephew would like it!
Jillian T
I would pick the 36-piece deluxe alphabet/number blocks set because I like that it combines play and education.
latanya
keepsake baptism block because it is a very significant moment in life
PJ
Wooden toys are so fun.
lena
I would love to get the wooden xylophone for my son because he loves to make music.
polly
I would choose the Alphabet Blocks for my grandson’s 1st birthday
amy
I would choose a Racer personalized with my son’s name! He loves cars and it would be an excellent toy to pass down to future generations.
Sara
I would choose the off-road adventure with boulder and tunnel for my son because we love going trail riding and this would be a nice way to introduce him to it
Sherrie C.
I’d choose the 36-piece deluxe alphabet/number blocks set as a gift for my 6 month old grandson because we love wooden toys and I’m sure it would get played with quite a bit.
Kristen
I’d choose the Bulldog Teether for my friend’s son….as they have a bulldog and would really like this!
Stephanie Galbraith
I like the smiling moon balancer. I think it’s adorable.
Carol
I like the off-road adventure with boulder and tunnel (4-piece set)
Martha
We have a couple of teethers from Smiling Tree Toys, and my daughter loves them. A truck would be perfect for my three year old son.
joni
I would pick the wooden xylophone because our family loves music.
Lacie G
We LOVE Smiling Tree Toys! Would love to add the Love bug car to our collection…since our little girl’s nickname is love bug/doodle bug/lady bug :-)! I know da da would love for her to have the old school truck…looks just like his old school dodge! 🙂
Lacie G
Our Little one is getting the xlyophone and keepsake birth block for her first birthday! 🙂 she already has several other awesome smiling tree toys but could always use more! 🙂
Lori Thomas
memory matching tile game, my son loves to play these types of games
Danielle Johnson
I would choiose the large size building blocks. I have 3 boys that love to build and get creative together.
Deborah
I would choose the Black Bear teether because my grandson is having a tough time teething.
I love the little cars and vehicles. I have a zillion of them that my Dad made over 30 years ago.
Becky VanGinkel
If I could choose any one, I would probably choose the Camera Imagination Toy because my mom is a professional photographer and all of my kids love getting their picture taken, and they love to help Nana take pictures too! Our 14 month old will see a camera and say “Deeeeeese!”… saying cheese.. cutest thing ever!
The Penguin Bowling set is also super adorable and would probably get a ton of use at our house 🙂 Thanks for the chance!!
babydjs_mom@yahoo.com
Lesley M
I love the memory matching tile game!
Tracy C.
I love the blocks
Lisa L
I’m teaching my daughter her ABCs now so the alphabet learning tiles would be nice to have. So cute!
trixx
I like the memory matching tile game. This would be a fun game to play with my little girl
Katrina A.
I would get the 36-piece deluxe alphabet/number blocks set so I could practice letters and numbers with my son.
susan smoaks
i would choose the shape sorter.
Jessica Ruggiero
I would get the classic racer because my daughter loves cars!
Tammie Venne
I love the personalized keepsake blocks
Brittney House
I would love the butterfly teether for my niece.
Erica C.
I like the alphabet blocks.
tina reynolds
I really like the shape shorter cute
Candie L
I like the personalized cross wall hanging. Thank you
Melanie Comello
I would absolutely love the shape sorter for my little girl 😀
Misha Estrada
I like the smiling moon balancer. It looks like a lot of fun.