Play Anytime, Anywhere with Playskool Play-Stow-Go Toys #FMEGifts2015

 Playskool’s Play-Stow-Go toys are a collection of portable toys that collapse to stow away and open up to reveal engaging, colourful toys that encourage motor skill development through play.   These are great for families on the go, just throw in the diaper bag, your purse or even into your jacket pocket depending on the toy.   Now you can bring playtime almost anytime, anywhere. It’s as easy as Play, Stow, Go!

Back in March I introduced to you the Playskool Stack ‘n Stow Cups and now I want to share more great toys from this line.

Playskool Dressy Kids Boy

Let me introduce to you the new and improved “Dapper Dan” who has gotten a new, modern look.

Ava, 22 months old, loves carrying around her soft little “baby” as she calls him.  She is always busy zipping his shirt up and down and attempts to button up his pocket but she isn’t quiet skilled enough to practice the 3 other activities: buckle, fasten and tie.  Of course, these are skills she will grow into, the Dessy Kids toys are meant for kids 2 and up.

There is also a Dressy Kids Girl plush available.

He includes a clip to hang from our diaper bag or my purse which makes it easy to carry him around wherever we go. He is machine washable which is great sine Ava tends to be a little on the messy side.

Ava absolutely adores Dapper Dan, she takes greatvcare of him and loves giving him giant hugs!

Playskool Pop-Up Rollin’ Ramp

When I was a kid one of my favourite toys at church nursery was the Playskool Garage.  You know the one.  It was two levels, had a ramp, an elevator and even a gas pump. Yep.  The Pop-up Rollin’ Ramp seems like a portable version of the modern Racin’ Ramps Garage except made for play on the go. 

What I love about the Pop-Up Rollin’ Ramp is that there is no assembly required at all.  To expand this toy you pull upward on the handle and rotate the handle clockwise.  As it expands you will hear clicks as the 4 sets of red arrows align as the ramp extends to 14 inches tall.  To stow away, just twist counter-clockwise.  Once collapsed the cars park on their side to securely rest on in their respective pegs. 

I do find that it is a bit tricky to get the red arrows to align properly but with a little fiddling around it is ready to go.  The top handle just will not stand upright on our ramp, so I am not sure if the product images are doctored to make it appear like it should or if our toy is defective.  In either case, it’s not a big deal as it does not interfere with play.

As mentioned, there are two cars included, one with a girl driver and the other a boy.   The characters spin as the cars rolls down the ramps or whenever Ava decides to spin them by hand while laughing maniacally.

Ava hasn’t figured out the launcher at the top of the ramp which send the cars down the ramp when their rear wheels are placed on the launcher pad the button is pressed.  She instead prefers to place them just a little bit further down the ramp.  This means that sometimes the cars fly off the ramp as they go.  When I’ve tested using the launcher this was not a problem.  There is also a gate at the end of the ramp so you can choose to have the gate down and stop fly-away cars or keep it open to let the cars continue to race.

Both Keira, 3, and Ave really enjoy playing with this toy together – they absolutely delight in sending these cars down that ramp!  Even daddy sometimes gets in on the action.

Playskool Pop-Up Shape Sorter

Last but not least is a shape-sorting toy in the form of a completely collapsible kitty!    The Playskool Pop-Up Shape Sorter comes with a set of basic geometric shapes that can be sorted through their respective holes.  Pretty straightforward except that it sets itself apart is that it does collapse down to fairly small size.  The pieces actually fit in their compartments when the toy is collapsed and the kitty head flips down to keep them from falling out, making it completely portable.

The tail of the kitty doubles as a handle which is great for little hands.  

The pieces are brightly colour with each shape able to come apart into two pieces which allows your child to sort them as a single piece or separated and inserted individually. 

The bottom of the sorter opens up so you can easily retrieve pieces to start all over again.  I’ve found that the girls are unable to open the bottom themselves so it is often brought to me for this purpose. 

Ava gets so happy and proud of herself when she manages to distinguish where to place the pieces.  Like other shape sorting toys, this is great for teaching shapes, colours, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills.

We actually had a traditional shape sorting toy we got Keira when she was around Ava’s age and ended up getting rid of it shortly after starting to test this one out.  You just can’t beat how compact of a toy this is.  It stores away easily, taking up very little space and I never have to search around for the pieces so that Ava can play.

It seems to be built quite well, and so far has withstood the rough play Ava sometimes puts it through. 

Overall, the Play-Stow-Go collection are a wonderful collection of toys for families often on the go or with mothers who can’t stand clutter and mess.  These make for great toddler gifts any parent would be thankful for – easy to store, safe to play with and very little to no noises. 

 You can find them in store and online at Toys ‘R Us and Walmart.  Some can be found reasonably priced on Amazon.

 Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in order to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.