Aww, where do I start at with this amazing blog post? I guess I should start at the very beginning but sometimes it is fun to skip ahead to the super fun part!
Let's start off by thanking Step2, thank you to Step2 for letting me test this item as part of the Step2 toy tester program.What an amazing idea, especially right before Christmas! The only thing I'll add to this is that I received it mid December, around the 15th or 16th, I'm surprised there wasn't a huge push to get them out sooner because I'm huge supporter of toys I love and I would have loved to pimp this out for Christmas! That date left almost no time for ordering online and I've yet to see a Step2 wooden toy product for sale in a local brick and mortar sale and I love frequent the toy departments often, especially the play kitchen aisle, which I will assume is where this will be found! I might have a play kitchen problem and still have 3 remaining in my house! I mean who doesn't love a good choice of play kitchens to play with !
This is how the box will arrive. It's great that it doesn't give away what is inside with a picture yet looks so boring. Probably good for delivery services with all the theft now a days. It's a pretty good sized box, not extremely heavy but definitely a good bit of weight to it.
Next, I laid out all the pieces! I guess you could say I was checking to make sure everything was there, but really just wanted to show you'll exactly how this came packaged and what you were dealing with when putting it together. No worries, it wasn't bad at all!
This of course was inside the box. I understand from a companies standpoint why they do this but as a consumer it is frustrating as all get out if something is indeed missing. Lego is the biggest offender with this, it took over 3 months for me to receive missing part from my Wall-E build! Who wants to sit and wait 3 months!! FYI, it was a whole bag missing, it was missing, not just lost! Thankfully all the parts were included so we didn't have any frustration with Step2.
I loved this part! Each bag was labeled with what part was inside. Usually when I purchase something I have to figure out which screw they are talking about. Go Step2!
Here is a picture of the instructions, step 1 is extremely thorough, it is telling you to just put in the wooden pegs. Now, had it said that it might have been a little nicer. Can we use some words please? Like place wooden pegs in holes as shown? The instructions were very Ikea like with just pictures.
All the kidlets were at school so it didn't take long to put together, under an hour and my husband and I had it all done. Very few tools needed, maybe just screwdriver. I don't remember using anything else.
All the pieces are also labeled with #'s. Yes, that is a nick on my brand new, just popped out of the box wooden clean sweep laundry center. It was perfectly wrapped and lots of styrofoam therefore it had to have happened at the factory. IF I had paid for this I would NOT have been a happy camper. Things happen, but come on, front and center. If you know us, we take care of our toys here. There is not one nick on any wooden play toy in this house!! I let it go and I really don't want to take away from a wonderful review but this is not okay. I'm fairly sure Step2 won't appreciate this comment, but honesty is honesty and honestly, I'm the last person you want to boycott toys or show my displeasure for! I'm sure this was accidentally overlooked and again, I'll let it go.
Ta da! Seriously, how cute is this!!!
I was a bit skeptical about a wooden Step2 toy. I had just never seen one before or had any experience with them. I would love to see a wooden play food line from them with lots of accessory sets for sale! We love wooden play food here!
Dallas was first home and pretty enamored with it. Okay, maybe not exactly the right word, but he wanted to check it out right away and couldn't wait for Adrian!
Now, on to the bigger review more about the product itself and not just putting it together!
Look at this happy little face! He ran in the door, threw off his shoes and ran right over to it. Seriously, look at his face!!
I'll start off this part with telling you that I absolutely toys and I LOVE Step2, probably more than anyone I
know! Great company, started by a great guy!
I absolutely love and adore
this piece, the wood is quality and will outlast many children staying in perfect shape to be able to
pass on for generations, one of the best things about Step2 toys! I was a
bit disappointed in the lone back piece to the hanger and hamper area,
it was a nice thick cardboard? or something, I would have been much
happier with that one piece being wood like the rest of the center but
it is nice and sturdy and no issues with it. It also came with pieces to attach the toy to the wall. I find that a bit overkill for us and I like to move stuff around often, plus we are past having any climbers but a nice thought to include it.
The wooden iron is amazing
but with saying that the handle on the washing machine is plastic. Spend
a few $ more and give us all wood, especially there! Again, I love this
toy and I'm willing to overlook those 2 flaws in my eyes. I'm sure kids
won't care.
I also LOVE that it sits up off the ground on little
plastic pieces (plastic approved here). It makes it super simple to drag
around the room or pull out from the wall easily.
When Adrian saw it he went nuts! I have a lot of toys! I mean, he has a lot
of toys, but the excitement was so cute. The first thing he did was
grab the broom and dust pan off the side and start sweeping. I
appreciate the nice hooks that make it easy for the kids to keep track
of and put right back when done cleaning up. I tossed in a few towels
and items to hang and he was one happy camper playing with it for hours
on end. Not to mention the 9 and 11 year old also got into playing with
him and even the 14 year old was okay with it! It truly is a toy great
for so many ages!
Adrian grabbed the broom and dust pan immediately and went to work!!
He immediately went looking for some dirt to clean up! Thankfully I had some by the front door! Check out that AMAZING vintage Step2 locker in the background!! I wish had one more.
Then it was on to ironing! I did move the Step2 Clean Sweep Laundry Center over in front of the tree for cute pictures, but the rest was on Adrian. I just snapped as he played away.
Tossing in the laundry!
Gotta start the wash!
Smile! I want to take a picture! He was extremely happy once I grabbed some items for him to hang up on the hangers!!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this toy or any other Step2 toy! While I won't consider myself an expert I'll consider myself pretty darn close! LOL!