My Little Sandbox from MAPS Toys encourages children to show their creative and imaginative side, without making too much of a mess!Hours of endless fun can be had with this hands on toy, with construction, pirate, mermaid, big builder and beach sets all available.
Considering Liv's current fixation with pirates we plumped for the Pirate set and were not disappointed! My Little Sandbox is a fantastic idea, each playset comes with a grooming rake, digging shovel, 500mm x 500mm playmat and a sturdy hardwood box full of ultra fine easy to vacuum sand.
The Pirate playset comes complete with a ship, pirates, bucket, treasure chest and separate treasure, an alligator, monkey and parrot, even an 'X' for marking the spot!
Very easy to setup, the ultra fine sand (blue for the sea of course!) is bagged and very easy to pour into the lovely, sturdy wooden box. This is where Liv took over, she thoroughly enjoyed raking out the sand to make it resemble the sea and then got stuck in placing all the pirate related items where she wanted them to be. I noticed on the first play this captured her attention for a good 20-25 minutes which for an active 2 and half year old is fantastic!
I was pleasantly surprised that the thick cardboard box that all the items come in had a velcro fastening tab which makes the playset very easy to store when not in use. Though please do take caution and make sure this box is not accidentally tipped on its side! The corners of the actual wooden box are slightly covered which I found helped keep the sand contained if Liv was digging too heavily!
The Pirate playset has been out quite a lot and for a new "toy" has been very well received by Liv and we have enjoyed watching her play and use her imagination. Although it is recommended for children over 3 years old, with adult supervision I had no qualms about Liv playing with her My Little Sandbox. She has surprised me with how careful she is with the playset, ensuring that the sand does not escape (more than it should!) over the sides.
Retailing at £24.99, this is a high quality item that children will absolutely love and keep going back to in order to rearrange to their liking. The educational and development benefits certainly make this a worthwhile product and even as an adult, if you find yourself slightly at odds it is quite therapeutic to rake the sand!
*The My Little Sandbox was sent to us in order to review - the opinions are those of my own after observing my daughter playing with the playset.