Today a poorly little boy meant that I could not attend the grand unveiling of The Slow Seven at Harrods.

I was really gutted not to be there but being mummy must come first.

I was really excited to have been invited to the reception as I really believe in the ethos of slow toys.

A slow toy is a toy that ignites imagination, inspires creativity and gives children the freedom to develop at their own pace. It is a well-made, good quality toy that stands the test of time and rather than distracting children, a Slow Toy has true play value.
 Must be available in independent stores
 Must inspire the mind
 Must not require batteries
 Must not be solely made from plastic
 It has to stand the test of time
 It has to promise true play value
 It must be a well made toy.

I love wooden toys and for a long time now have been buying them for Esther and William and Matilda.

Esther and William adore their wooden railway made up of track and accessories from Brio and BigJigs and Great Little Trading Company.

This toy is used for hours and hours, day after day, week after week and has been for years. It is a great value, traditional, wooden toy that encourages interaction, imagination, sharing, problem solving and storytelling. It is definitely something that encourages play and learning. It develops creative thinking and allows children to develop their language skills together and with adults. Much of ours was handed down to us from family and friends and I hope that one day we will pass it down again.

I was very pleased to see BigJigs Around The World Train Set revealed as one of the 2013 Slow Seven. Thoroughly well deserved recognition and award.

Also revealed as one of the winning slow toys today was an activity cube from East Coast. Last Christmas I bought one of these made by Ever Earth as a shared present for Esther, William and Tilda. They all adored it and used to explore it and play with it together. When Tilda died I almost put it away as I thought perhaps Esther and William on their own were just too old for it, I am so glad that I did not as Esther and William still love it to this day and they are approaching three and a half.

Slow Toys give so much more to a child than you think they might. Without loud noises and flashing lights children are stimulated but not over stimulated, and they make up noises for themselves. They talk, they sing, they act out different scenarios. It is magical to see and incredible to be a part of. It is wonderful.

One of the things Esther and William love at the moment is playing with small world sets, like this First Fire Station from Haba. This one is a bit young for Esther and William now but I know a certain Baby Tilda that would have loved to ‘Nee Naw’ this around. The Toadstool have this set for sale and I think it would be a wonderful Christmas present for a young toddler.

The other winners at The Slow Toy Awards 2013 revealed today are the Galt Tiny Trike, Moover Wooden Dolls Pram, Meccano Multi Models Set and TWIG from Fat Brain Toys.

TWIG is now at the top of my Christmas list for me!!

Twig! A gratifying new branch to the Classic Building Block family tree! It’s a building set that really offers you the freedom of exploring the-inside-and-the-out of fun designing. Wondering what makes Twig blocks so special? It’s not the green conscious design and packaging, the colors, or even the shapes, it’s your hands and mind in concert with the finest materials for amazing building. With Twig, you create using your mind’s eye… Your mind finds satisfaction in sorting colors, finding solutions for intermixing pieces of varying depth, accommodating diverse interior dimensions and shapes, and making final adjustments to your masterpieces. Twig construction sets refine small motor abilities and helps develop skills in logic, problem solving, visual-spatial ability, creativity and ingenuity, sensory awareness, language & vocabulary proficiencies, cooperative and independent play skills, and artistic expression.

Esther and William love construction toys. It is something that Daddy enjoys too so provides us with really quality time, learning together and playing together as a family. And creating wonderful structures that encourage further learning and play.

As a family we also love being outside and are hoping that this year Father Christmas might bring us a wagon to facilitate and extend our outdoor play and enable us to transport the children and their toys wherever we wish to be.

As a family we love slow toys and the opportunities they provide to play together as a family.

For so many reasons, good, bad and incredibly sad, we will be having a slow Christmas this year.

Will you?

Throughout November and December we will be featuring some of our favourite slow toys on the blog. If you have a product that meets the criteria we would love to test it for you and post a review here for all our readers to see. Please email jennie@edspire.co.uk if my fabulous little toy testers can review a slow toy for you.

All quoted text provided by Bump PR