VTech: Durable, Educational and Fun

Disclosure: I received products to facilitate this review.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

This year I decided that all of the kids Christmas gifts had to be either durable and fun or durable and educational or all three.  Either way, durability was not a quality I was willing to sacrifice.  I don't know about you but when I pay for something, I expect it to last.  I don't buy them toys year round-usually just Christmas, birthdays and a little something for Easter.  Therefore, I try to really invest in things that will last and that they will get lots of use out of.

And when it comes to toys that are durable, educational and fun, nobody does it quite like VTech.  It seems that over the years they have mastered art of making toys that kids will love playing with but also helps them learn in the process and can withstand tumbles and bumps that toys are surely to suffer when played with. We got Moo a VTech laptop two years ago and between her and JJ it has definitely gotten a lot of use and taken a lot of tumbles, but still works like it's fresh out of the box.  So, when they told me that they wanted to send some toys for the kids, I was like "Sweet!"

The kids thought it was Christmas morning when they woke up and saw the three huge boxes the UPS had dropped off.  Moo and JJ couldn't wait to rip open the packages and see what they got.  They already knew that something special was coming, but they didn't know what.  Here's a closer look at what they got.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels Construction Playset

First off let me say that I love that the pieces are so colorful.  JJ has been showing an interest in colors.  So, I've been asking to point different colored track pieces.  For example, I'll ask him to point to the color orange and he'll either point to one of the corner track pieces or the crane tower.  Speaking of the crane tower, it has little shape cutouts on the sides.  

This set comes with a triangle, round and square boulder that kids use the crane clip to pick up and send the down the slide or they can put them through the cutout hole and watch them fall into the grey catcher on the side.  Moo loves the talking the dump truck and operating the crane.  I also loved that this was very easy to snap together and you can take it apart after they finish playing with it.  It doesn't have a million and one pieces either.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels 2-in-1 Race Track

This comes with two race tracks-a circular one pictured below and the jump ramp pictured on the box above.  Moo and JJ enjoy playing with the circular track the most.  It has lights, makes sounds and the flag serves as a lever to magically make the cars race around the track.  That's JJ's favorite part.  

I like the race track because it's a two player toy and helps to encourage sharing through imaginative play.  And that is something that we are definitely trying to work on with JJ.  The manual elevator lift and turning car platform help with motor skills while the different sounds and phrases helps with language development.  With JJ in speech therapy, the language development is very important. 

This was also easy to put together.  And the best part is that you can connect it with the construction set to make one bit playset!

Grow & Discover Tree House

This is hands down the best thing since sliced bread to JJ (and Moo).  Build for toddlers up to 36 months, the Grow & Discover Tree House features a ball slide, peek-a-boo door, talking clock, canopy, turning gears and more.  JJ is obsessed with the ball slide as you see in the pictures below.  Although Moo is a little too big for this as you can see, she enjoys playing with it too.  I'm seriously hoping they make a taller version for older kids soon.

There's so much kids can learn playing with this.  They can learn about time, numbers, colors, and nursery rhymes.  They've played with all of these everyday since we got them last week, but the tree house is what they play with the longest.

I definitely recommend that if you have a child between the ages of 1 and 5, that you look into getting them on of these or visit VTech to see what else they have.  Trust me they have a variety of toys for all ages.  Check out their official website: http://bit.ly/tHKlfD.  You can like them on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/iIPfUE) and follow them on Twitter (http://bit.ly/Q7J7vM) to stay up to date on the latest product releases, sales and deals!