*I was sent two toys in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are my own.
MMP Living is an online store that sells housewares, toys, gifts and pet products that has been in business since 2006. They sell products on MMPLiving.com as well as on the MMP Living Amazon store. I love how their store is right on Amazon because I have ordered from Amazon dozens of times and feel so comfortable using the site and checking out. I also love how I can purchase products from MMP Living that include 2 day free shipping seems how I’m an Amazon Prime member. They have hundreds of products to choose from, including a selection of exclusive products. Their selection of products often gets updated with new items to choose from. I’m so indecisive that it took me forever to decide which toys to go with for review. There’s definitely nothing negative about having too many great products to choose from, right? It helped a lot that I could quickly and easily see reviews of products seems how their products are listed on Amazon. It’s so nice to be able to support a smaller business while getting the perks of quick shipping provided by Amazon.
For my review I went with the KidKraft Bucket Top Mountain Set and the Stage Star Guitar as gifts for my nephews third birthday.
I had heard great things about KidKraft train sets in the past but had only experienced them in waiting rooms and such. Drew enjoyed playing with them in those situations, so I thought it would be a great gift for him to have at home. The bucket top mountain set is neat because the lid for the storage container is the “mountain” that that connects with the other pieces to form the track. It comes with a 3-car long train, a firetruck, police car and airplane that all fit into the tracks. It also has a helicopter that doesn’t align with the track.
There is a small landing strip included so the airplane has a place to land, Drew wasn’t familiar with landing strips before so this set allowed us to discuss that which eht hought was neat and he enjoys making the plane take off and land. He also likes to pretend-play with the police station (or jail) and fire station as well. Drew just turned 3 and can piece the tracks together and take them apart on his own but he’s not yet old enough to fully visualize the track that he wants to make. So while he can make strips of track that go together, he doesn’t have the planning skills to piece them together in a way that they will eventually loop back together. So if we want to create a track that doesn’t “break” we have to help show him where to place each piece. However, once we get a track assembled he is pretty content to leave it as is and just play with it that way. His primary interest is in moving the trains around instead of constructing the track itself. Drew really enjoys cars or vehicles of all types and he was really excited when we found out that the tracks grooves are placed the right distance apart so that he can drive his hotwheels and matchbox cars on the track as well, which really extends his play options with the set.
We were also sent the Stage Star Guitar. Drew really likes guitars and had a couple of toy guitar at my mom’s house (his grandma’s) but none for his house. This guitar is unique compared to most toy guitars because it’s aimed at ages 3+ instead of babies/toddlers and it doesn’t have any strings. Instead, it has lots of buttons. I like how the neck of the guitar has a bunch of buttons that each have a unique sound. I was a bit bummed that only one button on the entire guitar plays a full song seems how that is Drew’s favorite feature in other guitars. There are two additional buttons that will play sounds for maybe 5 seconds instead of being a single note, and he does enjoy those as well. The circular button in the center is neat because when you push and drag it makes the turntable scratch type noise. The guitar comes with a headset that has a real microphone in it which is neat for kids who like to sing but Drew is small enough that when he wears the guitar around his neck and puts the headphones on, it squeals really loud from the mic being too close and causing feedback. We tried extending the strap of the guitar as long as it would go so that the guitar was hanging below Drew’s waist and it was still squealing. We have kept the volume low (there is a dial that goes from low to really loud) and let him try to avoid the squealing but he does enjoy playing with it without the headset, too. The strap of the guitar can be completely removed if desired and Drew is able to put it off and back on by himself.
The guitar is big enough that he tends to use it while up against his bed or a couch so that the guitar can lay flat and he just stands next to it to play instead of wearing the guitar. He doesn’t do this with his other toy guitars so I think he’s physically a bit on the small side, perhaps this guitar should be aimed at 5+ instead based on its size though younger children will definitely enjoy it as well, and that might help avoid the feedback squeal because the headset would be father away from the guitar itself. Β He seems to really enjoy it and plays with it both on his own and while encouraging everyone to listen to his songs. He’s even told me that he’s going to write a song. Since getting this toy a couple of weeks ago he’s picked it up to play with every day since, so he definitely has enjoyed it.
Both of these items made nice 3rd birthday gifts for Drew and I plan to go back to MMP Living for gifts in the future.
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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That train set is awesome!!