The BIG Easter Hunt

Did you know: The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds. Wow. Well, we can safely say we won't be hiding an egg that big in the garden this year. Every year the Easter bunny brings a variety of chocolate eggs. Children across the world devour up to 8000 calories worth of chocolate eggs.

We think it's time to change from an 'egg' hunt to a 'gift' hunt...

Wouldn't it be great if Easter gifts lasted past the Easter break? But, Don't worry we Don't want to forget chocolate altogether! So here's our idea: If you like it leave a comment below.

The Easter Gift Hunt:

Mix up the traditional egg hunt & include some toys, books & a letter from the Easter bunny in there too get their little imaginations running wild and excited for the next gift!

What you need:

2-3 Bigjigs Toys. Chocolate egg, bar or buttons. FREE colouring sheet (PRINT HERE) Paints, pens or pencils for colouring in. 2 envelopes & paper for a letter from the Easter Bunny 1-2 Childrens books Baskets for collecting the treasure.

What to do:

1. Wrap up your Bigjigs Toys, books, paints/pens or pencils in bright & colourful wrapping paper.
2. Print out our FREE colouring sheet & pop it in an envelope.
3. Write a letter from the Easter bunny & pop it in an envelope.
4. Hide your treasure throughout your home or garden:
5. Sit back and see the happy Bigjiggers collecting up their treasure in their baskets.

Tips: Hide the gifts high and low - make your little egg hunters work for their gifts. You could even have a couple of extra envelopes with clues to keep them running around. Or, set targets for what they need to do before they get a gift e.g. a relay race, egg and spoon race, assault course. P.S. If you have more than 1-2 children increase the prizes.

Our favourite Easter hunt toys:

Remember to share your Bigjigs Easter Hunts on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram

Have a Happy Easter!

Explore our new range of affordable Kids Gardening Tools! Choose from garden hand tools, watering cans, and more!

Sensory Snow Play with Green Toys

Kids love sensory play! It adds another dimension to play letting little ones explore the world they live in. Enhancing learning through hands-on activities igniting a child's senses. In the summer kids love to get outdoors and play in water, sand or mud. But, this time of year it can be a bit too chilly to enjoy the outdoors for long periods of time. Often, sensory playtime suffers as a result. We have found a solution which requires no hats, coat or gloves! Our sensory play time was centered around some wonderful magic snow* & Green Toys.

Watch the snow grow here in the short video.

[embed]https://youtu.be/YsVKXQAxD5E[/embed] Instant fun! With no time to waste, we were so pleased to learn the magic snow was formed instantly! Simply pour water onto the dry snow and watch it expand into a pile of fluffy white snow! It was an absolute hit with all of us & the children loved it! And what's even better there were no cold fingers or toes! Matilda couldnt get enough of the snow! We couldn't resist getting some toys involved in the snow play. We pick toys which would help to scoop, and move the snow around. Matilda scoopped up the snow into the mini-truck out, transported it delivering a new pile of snow. The fun was never ending! We played with recycled and eco-friendly Green Toys Mini Pick Up Truck, Scooper, and Dumper in the snow and these were an ideal partner because the recycled plastic can be washed after too. If the snow gets on clothing simply shake it off! It didn't ruin anything of ours! We played on a large sheet of felt, but a tuff spot tray would be a good way to keep the snow all in one place, especially if you have carpet.

We used 5 scoops of dry snow to create enough snow to play, but, you can do more or less depending on how much you want!

And the fun can continue because the snow takes ages to dry out, especially when kept cool.

Have a go at sensory play today or over the Christmas break! Share your sensory play picture with us

@BigjigsToys

*We got our magic snow from amazon.co.uk - crucially environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

Just in time for Christmas we are excited to give you our Bigjigs Top 10 Toys! This set of pop-out dinosaurs makes a perfect stocking stocking filler. Ideal for use as fun play characters or brightening up a child's bedroom! Perfect for all the eco-friendly parents out there as they are made from recycled paper and printed with vegetable inks. RRP £8.99 - buy it here Ahoy me hearties! Set sail on the high seas for a swashbuckling adventure on the pirate train! Let young imaginations be inspired for hours with this 42 piece Pirate Train Set. Pass through shark infested waters, but don't forget to beware of the shipwrecked pirates! RRP £39.99 - buy it here This First Rolling Shape Sorter is perfect for introducing shape and colour. The shapes are the ideal size for little hands to grasp and it features a spoke that slides open for easy access to the shapes. A great educational gift for the little ones in your family! RRP £11.49 - buy it here Just push forwards and go! Promoting exercise and encouraging confidence and independence balance bikes provide the perfect stepping stone to a real bike. A balance bike provides an excellent way to improve balance while further developing hand/eye coordination. RRP £55.99 - buy it here These soft and tactile building blocks are suitable from birth and the perfect size for little hands! Made from natural rubber foam they are a great eco-friendly gift option. Rubbabu toys are durable and offer years of imaginative play and learning value. RRP £22.49 - buy it here Bring the magic of Christmas to life with Bigjigs Rail. The elves will help to load the train full of presents in the toy factory before departing ready for an adventure delivering presents around the world! Accessories can be added each year to expand the set to ensure the magic will always last. Bigjigs Rail is compatible with most other major wooden railway brands. RRP £29.99 - buy it here Little ones will be roaring with laughter when they play with this brightly coloured wooden pull along! Have lots of bendy wiggly pull along fun with this fun take on a traditional classic, with colourful wheels and elastic joints. Made from high quality, responsibly sourced materials this will be sure to make a great gifts for the little ones in your family that are on the move! RRP £14.99 - buy it here Set sail aboard the Green Toys Ferry! The perfect bath toy for babies and toddlers and great for outdoor play in the warmer months! The Ferry Boat comes complete with it's own eco-friendly cargo. Green Toys produce eco-friendly toys make from recycled plastic milk bottles, free from nasty chemicals and they are dishwasher safe too! RRP £20.99 - buy it here From great kitchens grow mighty chefs! This wooden toy kitchen is a fantastic way to encourage imaginative role play and inspire mini chefs! The Play Kitchen comes complete with oven gloves, removable cooking utensils, saucepans and more, providing hours of open-ended play. RRP£99.99 - buy it here At No.1 in the Bigjigs Top 10 Toys countdown is the award winning Fire & Rescue Train Set! Race to the rescue through the fire station tunnel and put out the fire or rescue the cat stuck in the tree! This set encourages imagination dexterity and coordination. A great starter set to spark little ones imaginations! RRP £39.99 - buy it here View the complete range here

Cook, Learn & Play with Bigjigs Toys Play Kitchen

It's well and truly the end of summer, winter is officially here! The BBQ is stowed away, the salads have diminished and we've reached deep in to the depths of the cupboard to get the slow cooker out. At this time of year cooking becomes somewhat of a special affair. With lots of family favourite foods to warm the soul. Soups, casseroles and homely comforts like roast dinners and pies. It's essential the whole family gets their dose of seasonal fruit and veg to keep the colds at bay! The kitchen is the heart of most homes. It plays a very important role in our home every day of the year. But, even more so this time of year. The littles ones crowd around you at dinner time wanting to be involved in the cooking. And, we should encourage them to take an interest. Embrace it, enjoy it. We've found a great safe way for the little ones to cook alongside you with their very own kitchen. Inspire your little one to become a budding cook with the colourful Bigjigs Toys Wooden Play Kitchen. The lifelike role play toy kitchen has clicking dials and hanging hooks. It is supplied complete with oven gloves, removable cooking utensils and saucepans. Your mini chef will be cooking up a storm in no time. The fun does not end there though; with a sink area they will be able to wash and clean up too. This is an ideal toy for learning about kitchen safety as well as healthy eating, especially when combined with Bigjigs Toys play food. Little ones can even learn to tell the time with the clock with movable hands. There is also a blackboard to keep track of menus, make notes. And, when you are done, switch it over to the reverse side with a cute window scene. Complement the kitchen with role play foods. A firm favourite is the Healthy Eating Dairy Food Set. It has a selection of 21 foods and 4 crates to keep your kitchen tidy. Learn together about healthy choices and get creative in the kitchen.

Here's a family favourite recipe from a great chef with a growing family - Jamie & Jools Oliver: Jools Sausage Smoky Bean Casserole

Remember to share your cooking, learning & playing with us

@bigjigstoys

/bigjigstoys

Petit Collage: Little books for little bookworms

Little bookworms will love these books. All these books have been tested with little ones and not only do little bookworms love them the parents love reading these the too! All made with FSC-certified paper and printed with vegetable inks, it is good green fun! Start them young, with single words and pretty pictures. Let them learn with touch and feel textures to develop senses. Encourage learning through play and explore colours, numbers and letters. Here is a selection of Petit Collage books: A book which will grow with your child: Petit Collage Day & Night First Words Board Book. This hardcover book features rounded corners and sturdy accordion pages that fold out to reveal first words and bold graphics. Features day activities on one side and night activities (bedtime routine) on the other. A great companion of daily routines from morning to night, this little book grows with your child. Book measures approx. 12.7 x 12.7cm. Made with FSC-certified paper and printed with vegetable inks. Available for £9.99 at bigjigstoys.co.uk. You can develop your little ones senses: Petit Collage ABC My First Touch and Feel Alphabet Board Book. This hardcover book features rounded corners and sturdy pages with bold and iconic Petit Collage signature illustrations. Each letter of the alphabet is brought to life with touch and feel textures, words and pictures that develop sensory and language skills. Made with FSC-certified paper and printed with vegetable inks. Available for £9.99 at bigjigstoys.co.uk. Learn to count with Petit Collage 1-2-3 Count With Me Board Book. Count along with Petit Collage animals! Fold out the book and count along with our 10 animal friends. Can you spot the following? 1 drum, 2 books, 3 flowers, 4 pockets, 5 stripes, 6 polka dots, 7 stars, 8 lollipops, 9 beads and 10 buttons. Book measures approx. 19 x 25.4cm. Made with FSC-certified paper and printed with vegetable inks. Available for £9.99 at bigjigstoys.co.uk.

You can get your hands on these brilliant little books for your bookworm today at bigjigstoys.co.uk.

Eco-friendly mum, Ellie, is an advocate of green living and trying to reduce her family's environmental impact as much as possible. We sent the Green Toys Twist Teether for Ellie's 5 month old daughter. Here's what Ellie had to say: For me and my family we try and keep our environmental impact to a minimum and since having our first baby in April this has only increased. My daughter Arabella is in reusable cloth nappies full time and I buy organic cotton clothing when possible but also buy second hand in order to make sure toys and clothes get the most use. I also try and find natural and sustainable alternatives to high street options in all areas including teething. We use an amber teething anklet for natural pain relief but some days call for a little more help! A few days ago Bigjigs sent me the Green Toys Twist Teether for Arabella to try. She was so excited for her parcel and couldn't wait to try it out. The teether is colourful and easy for little hands to hold. It is made from 100% recycled plastic milk cartons so really great to know it is an environmentally friendly product. The shaped teething tags have different textures making it soothing for sore gums and also really tactile for encouraging development. As well as helping with teething pains Arabella took great pleasure in shaking the teether and hearing it rattle. The Twist Teether is a great quality item and really helps relieve the pain of teething. Green Toys Twist Teether - RRP £9.99 Green Toys manufacture classic toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. This helps to reduce fossil fuel use and each product's box is 100% recyclable too, improving the overall health and happiness of the planet. Green Toys Fun Facts:

• Each Green Toys box that gets recycled saves one gallon of water
• At the time this blog post was written Green Toys have recycled 44,821,128 plastic milk jugs
• Every pound of recycled ,ilk jugs used to to create a Green Toys product saves enough energy to power 3,000 AAA batteries, a TV for 3 weeks or a laptop for 1 month

Today, 22nd September, also known as the Autumn Equinox is officially the first day of Autumn. What better way to celebrate than to go on an autumnal nature bug hunt, or perhaps set aside some time at the weekend with your little ones to enjoy the outdoors and get back to basics with nature. Spend some quality time exploring the outdoors with this Nature Bug Hunt Bingo free download. The Autumn brings beautiful light and colour, textures and shapes - little ones love to dance through paths laden with crunchy leaves. It's a time of change which create a great opportunity to teach children about hibernation, migration and to be aware of the nature that surrounds them. Spiderwebs, conkers and berries - you don't need to live in a rural setting to experience the beauty of Autumn! Many parents are concerned about their children spending too much time in front of a screen as the weather gets colder, but we feel it's important to get outside whatever the weather! According to a an article published by The Guardian this year "Three-quarters of UK children spend less time outside than prison inmates, according to a new survey revealing the extent to which time playing in parks, wood and fields has shrunk. A fifth of the children did not play outside at all on an average day, the poll found." Everyday we hear in the media that children are spending too much time in front of a screen. Learning about the outdoors can be an invaluable experience and will teach children to appreciate their surroundings. We would love to know your thoughts and how you got on with our nature bug hunt! Did you have fun? Did you find all of the creatures and other nature items? Share this blog post on Facebook and Twitter

Have you heard of Playcolor's mess-free Make -Up paint pens but wanted to know more? Head over to the Dad of Design blog where Nick Leighton, a Dad blogger and father to three daughters, reminisces about one of his most memorable childhood activities and tries Playcolor Make-Up. Read all about his fun experience here. Playcolor Make Up offers safe, easy to apply make up for face painting. Each colour can be applied easily and instantly with a colour applicator stick that gives ultimate control over your design creation. Playcolour Make Up is dermatologically and microbiologically tested, free of major allergens and without parabens. Make Up is non-greasy and it can be easily removed from skin using just soap and water! Have Fun with Playcolor Summer's not over just yet! Download this printable colouring sheet here. A perfect rainy day activity to keep little ones entertained. Solid poster paint offers instant application with no need for water or paintbrushes and won't wrinkle paper. Draw and paint on paper, cardboard, wood etc the fun, easy and clean way with Playcolor. Added benefits also include a quick-drying finish that doesn't require a protective glaze. Perfect for little hands to hold and ideal for a rainy day activity, the colours are bright and look great when down on a fresh white page, or coloured paper/card. The paint glides easily across paper and provides excellent coverage. Parents can be safe in the knowledge that there will be minimal clean-up time with these mess-free paint pens. Have you used Playcolor yet? We would love to see your creations!

Sensory Toys: Soft, safe tactile toys ideal for sensory play.

Moments are so important throughout our lifetime we will experience hundreds if not thousands. When children reach milestones in their life these moments should be cherished forever.

Early development stages are all about exploration: Skin is the largest sensory organ and touch is one of the first sensations a baby will experience in their life. This is why sensory toys are so popular because the toys quickly help advance touch sensations into play. From here the journey of childhood discovery continues and so does their development. Rubbabu toys are made from 100% natural foam and coated in a velvety soft nylon flock. The various shaped toys are squishy and suitable for birth+. Every toy in the range has been safety tested: a great harmless way to help little ones discover their senses through touch and play. The sensory toys are available in different shapes and sizes: Suitable for the smallest hands to keep hold of. Parents will be pleased to know the toys are durable and easy to clean. It is suggested that sensory toys including stress balls are great for relaxation and stress relief: Take it out on the stress ball not the kids! The squishable toys are also known to be good for special needs, ADHD & autism. The toys help to introduce different textures, provide a distraction for fidgeting & to help with focus, anger, or anxiety management. Do you want to try Rubbabu's sensory toys for yourself? Let us know why below and we will arrange to send you either a Micro Beetle Car or a Charles The Micro Plane* free of charge*. [contact-form-7 id="2872" title="Why I want to try Rubbabu toys..."]

Watching a child's first smile or laugh is momentous, toys or items which encourage this are creating memories to last a lifetime!

*Whilst stocks last.

Here at Bigjigs Toys we believe in diversity and accessibility of dolls for all children! As a result, we are giving children everywhere the chance to Design a Doll using our summer activity downloadable pack.

It is mission 5 out of 6 for the Play Patrollers and below we have all of the reviews, read on to learn about their experience with the toys including, musical toys, water play, books, sensory toys and rail. For the love of great music this xylophone went down a storm with What the Redhead said and her Play Patrollers. So why not, read more about their musical renditions here... Inside, outside and all around! Watch how Tyler and The Mummy Stylist enjoyed playing with eco-friendly Green Toys Launch Boat & Green Toys Boats Built for Speed. Furthermore, Tyler's new little sister, Play Patrols youngest Play Patroller slept right through her review of Bella Comforter and Bella Cuddly 31cm Soft Plush Toy. Sophie & Lily loved their matching Stacking Fire Engine & Fire Station Train Set racing to the rescue of kittens in trees! And, learning about emergency services! NeeNor, NeeNor! Read their mission review here... Once you master how to play a Bigjigs Harmonica it can become addictive and whats more so, kids can seen playing these day and night! It was certainly the case for our Play Patroller during this mission - Bear, who loved it and even managed to play 2 instruments at once including a Bigjigs Tambourine! WOW! Well done Bear! Watch the review to see more of Bear's clever musical tricks...here Petit Collage puzzling fun! Parents in Touch two Play Patrollers were not puzzled when it came to playing with eco-friendly Petit Collage Story Time Tin Canister Puzzle and Animal & Babies Memory Game. Read their review here... Mummy of Two are loving the summer holidays but what helps keep the Play Patrollers amused is a delivery of Bigjigs Toys! This mission the Play Patrollers have reviewed a variety of age specific toys for each of them including Rainbow Rattle for our youngest Baby A, Candy Floss Food Mixer for Little Miss A & a Junior Tool Set for Little Mr A. Read about their experience here... Ladybug Home have loved this months mission! They received Green Toys Mixer & Green Toys Mixed up Trucks Book. Green Toys are eco-friendly toys made from recycled plastics in USA were loved by both Play Patrollers - watch their story here... My Mummy's World and her little Play Patrollers have been enjoying some of Bigjigs wooden toys including the Carpenters Tool Box and Rainbow Star. Read their review here... Every Saturday evening What Luke Did Next and the Play Patrollers have family game time, so these games fitted in just perfectly with their activities and they enjoyed playing together building the Bigjigs Wooden Stacking Tower and eco-friendly Petit Collage Memory Game. Read about their experience here... Jade and Raising the Rings has had fun reviewing two eco-friendly toys from Petit Collage and Green Toys. The little push along Turtle on Wheels from Green Toys was much loved because it is dishwasher safe, fun and easy to move around. The Petit Collage Wooden ABC Nestling Blocks were enjoyed by both Play Patrollers building the big tower and the pretty pictures. Read their review here...

Remember to check back next month for more reviews from the play patrollers!