Day 136: green christmas toy review - circa toys

A while back I decided that I wanted to try and have a plastic free Christmas, a green Christmas and a simple Christmas.  My girls are still young enough that they don't have things they "must" have, there aren't friends to compare toys too and they would have just as much fun playing with the boxes and tissue paper! So I still get to pick out what I want them to have.  And this year my Christmas toy hunting has been occurring a lot on Etsy. I just love the idea of supporting a small business and of getting my children something that was made by an individual's hands; hands that might also have children or be changing diapers, hands that might play parent all day and then stay up late making toys and other things to help their family's finances at night. 

So from now until Christmas I will be showing off some pretty amazing products from Etsy and (hopefully!) a few other places.  I hope you will truly consider going handmade, green or plastic free this Christmas!

Let me introduce you to Circa toys on Etsy.

This is the train and cart!  They are hooked together by just one piece that holds them so firmly, it's amazing.

I grew up in a house with handmade wooden items. Not all toys but we did have handmade toy kitchen pieces, doll beds, rocking horse and wood blocks. My father is a fifth generation contractor so even if he didn't make them it was made by someone in our family.  When I first opened the box from Circa Toys I instantly thought "my dad would LOVE these" it reminded me of my childhood and something that would be made by my family. 

This is the boat.  But the pieces can be interchanged with other toys too.

My first reactions about the actual toys were that the wood was so smooth and there is the most beautiful wide range in colors.  The grain of the wood is just gorgeous. The pieces are simple but the fact that they are all interchangable between the toys and that the whole toy can be taken apart and put back together is incredible.

This is the wagon of blocks.  It can be taken completely apart, including the wheels, and put back together.  The parts can be combined with the train or any other sets.

And the girls loved these toys too! I am all about toys they can play with together and this certainly has that possibility. Sam not only discovered and enjoyed building the toys and pulling them but she stacked and made towers, turned them into musical instruments and a spinning toy for on her finger.  The only criticism that my two year old had was that the pull ropes were not long enough! And I do agree with that, they could be a bit longer to make it easier for them to pull around.

Wood toys are amazing and these top the charts for me when it comes to quality, uniqueness, versatility and beauty. 

Wouldn't you like your kids to have these?  Check out the Circa Toys website or Etsy shop.

But wait! TWO lucky readers will be getting there very own set!!  The boat and the wagon of blocks are both up for grabs.  The giveaway will run from today (November 14 - Friday, November 19th at 9:00pm) To enter the giveaway simply

1. Leave a comment telling me who in your family would enjoy these toys (just once).
   
2. Tweet this giveaway (one time EVERYDAY if you want!) and then comment letting me know that you did.
   
3. Share the giveaway link on Facebook and then comment letting me know that you did (just once).
   
4. Blog about the giveaway and post the link, then comment letting me know about it (just once).
   

So in total that is NINE chances to win if you want to do them all.Be sure to leave your email in the comment or in your profile so that I can contact you if you win.

Giveaway only open to people in the United States (sorry all my international readers these toys are heavy and I think it would cost me a fortune to send it to you!).

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The Nitty Gritty!

Just wanted to share one more thing about this company.  When I opened the first box this flier was on top of the toy.

What you might not be able to see is the handwritten note at the top that says "That's me in 1942!" playing with the original wagon of blocks. This is truly a quality, timeless toy made by hands that are invested in the product.  To think that someone loved a toy from their childhood so much that they decided to turn it into an entire company in their adulthood speaks volumes for that toy. 

Comments

[gina]

Do I get an extra entry for being the first commenter? Kidding! Well, kinda. ;)

My L has a train similar to these. I'd LOVE to get him another item to go along with it.

[gina]

I tweeted about it too!

[amber]

I am in love with these!! Pick me! Pick me! Bryce would adore these and I'm sure Brianna would have fun with them as well!

[amber]

Tweeted today!

[amber]

Facebooked! :)

[amber]

And...blogged...
http://abcarroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/amazing-giveaway.html
can you tell I want to win?? :)

[welcome to our wonderland]

fun my 4 year old sprite would love them

[steph]

I would love to be able to give these to my son for christmas. They remind me of going over to my grandparents house when I was a child and playing with the "old" toys they had (but created the best memories!). I'm laying in bed on my cell phone now, extremely preggo with #2, so I'll tweet and facebook tomorrow when I figure out how to! Haha

[welcome to our wonderland]

I tweeted today gidgetnfroggi

[welcome to our wonderland]

posted on facebook gidget n froggi