Toy of the month – September 2016

This month we are reviewing a firm favourite in our household, the legendary, one and only, puzzle!!

We adore puzzles and have done since the boys were babes. We have wooden ones and cardboard ones, puzzles with alphabets, numbers,  animals and so much more! What we haven’t seen though are the seriously stunning Australian designed Millions of Monkey puzzles from brand new Australian shop Puggle Post.

Puggle Post launched this week and this online shop is bringing you the best in stylish, eco friendly presents that have an Australian theme for loved ones and family who are overseas. Instead of sending them delightfully tacky cuddly koalas that fall apart in 5 minutes, Carmel, an expat who know calls Australia home, has sourced high quality, gorgeous pieces that will delight and captivate children and show them a little of why we call Australia home.

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One of these stunning gifts is the ‘Night of the Numbats’ floor puzzle by Millions of Monkeys. Millions of Monkeys was started by Eliose Short who is a designer and illustrator who is based in the Blue Mountains, Sydney.

I have to say we have over 20 different puzzles from numerous brands but I have never seen one more beautiful than this Million of Monkeys, the illustration pops out from the puzzle and it truly is a captivating puzzle to construct.

The boys were equally mesmerised as they hadn’t seen a puzzle like it and the 24 piece giant floor puzzle was built with excitedly as they watched the gorgeous illustration take place.
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I found that our 7 year old could construct the puzzle swiftly but our 4  year old definitely needed more time but the giant pieces were great for helping him to construct the puzzle.

The giant pieces also make it great for siblings to share the puzzle and both build it together.

The boys loved the final illustration of the puzzle and we sat looking at it and observing all the beautiful parts of the numbat in the tree and the numbat playing the ukelele, the bird and her nest of eggs. The kids also thought it was fascinating that old newspaper cuttings had been used for the tree in a mixed media illustration.

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In terms of quality which is really important for puzzles as you want them to last the distance especially when kids play with them often, this puzzle is super soft to touch which makes it really nice to construct and the 2mm recycled cardboard is nice and thick which means it shouldn’t bend when kids put the pieces together.

I am really excited to add to our puzzle collection with more Millions of Monkey puzzles from Puggle Post as they are seriously beautiful puzzles. I have my eye on the Flight of the Quolls.  I think they make the perfect gift for any child who loves puzzles and for a parent or grandparent who wants to give a slightly more special present as the illustration by Eliose Short really takes these puzzles out of the norm and into mini pieces of art work.

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Toy of the month – Millions of Monkeys ‘Night of the Numbats’ floor puzzle

Helps to teach kids:  fine motor skills, hand- eye co-ordination, problem solving, social skills such as cooperation and self-confidence, story telling and logical thought and developing memory and concentration.

Great for: rainy days, quiet time, a great puzzle to play with siblings due to the large floor pieces.

RRP:  $29.95 AUS from Puggle Post.

Ages: 3 – 7 years

Designed in Australia and made in the Turkey using 2mm thick 100% recycled board. It measures 48 cm x 68 cm.

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numbat is a small endangered marsupial animal that was native to many parts of Australia but it is now restricted to isolated pockets of south-west Western Australia.  Their appearance is unusual with a ‘bottlebrush’ tail, bold white strips on the hindquarters, a black line running across the eyes and a long snout. They have long sticky tongue that allows them to pick up termites, which they eat exclusively.

They are under threat from the loss of their habitat as well as introduced predators like feral cats and foxes with no fewer than 1000 individuals across 2 locations. Numbats are strictly diurnal, which means they are only active during the day and they live in underground burrows.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post; however I did receive a sample for my review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.