Green Toys Review and Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and congratualations to...Becky, comment 105 , who said, "I love my daughter's little tea set she has from this company (she loves it too)."

With the holiday's quickly approaching I know that many of you are already on the search for gift ideas for your children. Today I am thrilled to share with you a company that we love. Green Toys was a company I first heard about and researched back before my daughter's second birthday. We gave her a play kitchen that year, and my parents wanted to make sure she also had a great set of pots and pans and dishes to serve her first pretend meals on.
What drew me to Green Toys was that their toys are made out of recycled milk jugs. I thought that was fabulous, because I always wondered what happened to them after we put them out by the curb with the rest of our recycleables. The second important selling point was that they are made in the USA, and supporting American companies is very important to us. Plus they are so darn cute! I liked the clean lines and soft colors right away. Finding out that their design meant I wouldn't have to worry about lead paint and that they have no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA made me pick them as the choice for our daughter. My parents gave ER the Cookware and Dining Set for her birthday, at my suggestion. It comes with everything your chef needs to start cooking up a storm and serve four hungry guests. ER plays with them almost every day. They were mainstays in the top of the stairway picnics she likes to throw and the feasts she regularly sets up on her table. The only issue we've noticed is that the utensils can bend a little bit with extremely rough playing, we have a three year old who can be quite tough on her things. None have broken, but we do take them away when we see her bending them practically in half.

We also got the indoor gardening set from Grandma Norma last spring. ER's grandma knows I have a bit of a black thumb and am pretty clueless when it coming to keeping plants alive. This kit was so handy and the perfect way to teach kids about growing. The only thing you need is water to grow basil, zinnias, and teddy bear sunflowers. We got a great crop of basil and ER loved having her own plants to care for. She proudly showed off her little sprouts as they came up last summer. I wish that refill kits were available, for convience but we'll reuse them anyway. Sized just right for a window sill, we plan to try growing some herbs in the little pots this winter too.

Even though ER is only three years old, we've already begun talking to her about being environmentally conscious, being green, and recycling. I've told her that her dishes are made out of milk jugs, like the one I pour her morning drink out of every day. She's amazed by that, and it's was a good way to begin teaching her about recycling. The last time I put an empty jug into our recycling box, she asked me with wide eyes if it was going to go off now and grow up into a plate for another kid to play with. "It just might," I told her with a smile.
Giveaway!

Get a head start on your holiday shopping with Green Toys' Dish Set. Shown above, the 24 piece set includes for each of the following: cups, plates, bowls, and three piece utensil sets. Everything you need to serve a family of four and do something great for the planet.

Enter:

Tell me your favorite toy by Green Toys, in a comment on this post.

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Leave a seperate comment for each additional entry. Giveaway open now through November 18th Midnight EST. Open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Green Toys for providing the giveaway product. The cookware and dining set and indoor gardening kit were both purchased for our daughter by her grandparents. This post relates our opinions and experiences with the products, yours may differ.