I received complimentary toys from HABA in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

HABA is one of my favorite toy brands. Every toy that I have seen from HABA is beatifully made and durable. Their toys are designed for open-ended play and require no batteries. These are qualities that I learned to look for in toys while taking child development classes. The details that I always see in HABA toys impress me as well. While on the surface their toys may seem basic, the details always prove that they were well thought out. Like my past experiences, I have been really impressed with the HABA toys that I was sent for Drew (3.5) and Kelsie (14 months) recently.

We’ve been playing with Plush Doll Shona, and pretend hot dog, ketchup & mustard. We were also sent a HABA silicone popsicle tray in the penguin design.

I got my first blender a couple of months ago so I have been making smoothies for myself and was excited to get the Silicone Penguin popsicle tray so that I could make healthy homemade Popsicle for the kids. I had some bananas and strawberries on hand so I threw them into the blender. I used two bananas and about a cup of strawberries and this would up being way too much for the popsicle tray to hold (oops!). I could have used about half this to fill the molds. Drew is sensitive to lumps or bumps in his food so I over-blended a little bit to try and remove any solid pieces. While I was successful at getting the mixture completely liquified, it accidentally added more bubbles than I had anticipated which affected the texture of the ice pops (they seemed airy) but they tasted great anyway. The pops are the perfect size for the kids and with the popsicles being made from pure fruit I don’t feel guilty giving them more than one if they ask.

Drew is really into pretend-play right now so I knew he would like the pretend hot dog and ketchup & mustard bottles. For probably a year now we have played a game where he “goes to the store to buy food” and then “cooks me lunch”. So it was well past time that we got some toy food but most of the pretend food that I see in stores appears to be really low quality. I knew that wouldn’t be the case with HABA. Their hot dog is plush and is close to life-size. One of the sides on the inside of the bun has a strip of velcro so that the hot dog, pieces of cheese and pickle slices can be held in place. Drew loves to “sprinkle on the cheese”.

The pretend ketchup and mustard set is easily the cutest pretend condiment set I’ve ever seen. Each bottle has a string inside that coordinates to the color of the condiment. The bottle has an indent spot to show you where to push & when you do, the string pops out as a squirt of ketchup or mustard. I had never seen squirting pretend condiments like this so I thought they were adorable. At 3.5, Drew is capable of getting them to squirt but most of the time he grabs the end of the string and pulls it out manually. He appears to be equally impressed with “putting on ketchup/mustard” that way as he is squirting it. He has really enjoyed the hot dog and ketchup/mustard sets and likes to go around to each adult who is around to ask them what they like on their hot dog and then crafting them their perfect hot dog. HABA has tons of other pretend food toys that I’d love to add to our collection. Some of them are plush like the hot dog set while others are wooden.

We’ve also been playing with Doll Shona from HABA. This is a small (8-9 inch) soft doll that is recommended for ages 3+. I personally decided that I am okay with Kelsie playing with this while closely supervised even though she is under the recommended age limit. Doll Shona is a great size for her to grasp and carry. She’s still not a professional walker yet and falls often, so I like knowing that the doll is soft in case she falls with the doll in her hand. Her hair is rolled fabric which is really soft and won’t get tangled or matted like other types of doll hair. She comes in a suitcase that unfolds to show a yard on the bottom and a bedroom and closet on the top. The closet has doors that open and close. I have a built-in closet in my house that Drew loves to hide in, so he’s been using the Doll Shona suitcase closet to have the doll hide, too. She comes with an extra outfit which is a red jumper/romper.

Buy it: Purchase from HABA Online.

Connect: You can connect with HABA on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Win it: A HABA prize pack that includes Doll Shona ($37.99), Toy hot dog ($9.49) Ketchup & Mustard set ($6.95) and Penguin popsicle mold ($17.09). Total prize package value is $71.52!

To enter: Fill out the GT form below by 11:59pm EST on 5/25/2014. Giveaway is open to the US.

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Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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