Little Tikes Cookin' Creations Kitchen Review

We have several Little Tikes products in our household - from the matching pairs puzzle game Miss H is currently obsessed with, to the Riga Swing we reviewed earlier in the year. We have always loved their products and they have lasted us for two boisterous and often heavy-handed toddlers. Little Tikes are known for their bright, fun toys, particular their Cozy Coupe, and sets that encourage role play and building imaginations.

For the last couple of weeks we have been very fortunate to try out their Cookin' Creations Premium Wood Kitchen playset, and I have to say that the children have been thrilled at the opportunity. We bought a play kitchen for Miss H when she was eighteen months old, however it was a pretty basic one and whilst it got lots of use at the time, it was quite flimsy. It is now situated in the playhouse outside and gets battered every summer with pretend BBQ's.

This kitchen is in a completely different league. You can tell straight away, when you are building it what high quality it is going to be. The pieces are made of solid wood, with beautiful images on it of the clock and microwaves and muted primary colours making it not too garish. Even the worktop has a marble effect, which is a lovely touch.

It features a microwave, oven, dishwasher and washing machine, all the appliances you can find in your own kitchen so your little ones can be just like mummy and daddy. However I think my husband counted  screws, so beware it does take a couple of hours to put together.

My children were so excited when they walked into the room to see the kitchen complete. Miss H immediately set to organising all the accessories whilst Little J preferred to repeatedly fill a cup from the tap and drink from it. The kitchen comes with three utensils, two pans with lids, three spice jars, a telephone and a basket. We added our own collection of play food to this, meaning they had tons of options for play.

Since that initial try of the kitchen, it has been a primary feature in their play time at home. We had a friend over at the weekend and her little girl also joined in on the play, with both girls cooking up a storm.

From a parent's point of view I think the kitchen is really excellent quality, and because the colours are muted it fits in our room quite well without looking too ostentatious. There are plenty of opportunities to play and if you are one who likes to think outside the toy-box, you could add lots of sensory fun with this by trying dried pasta or rice, or even coloured shaving foam or bubbles for the more brave ones amongst you.

I'm not going to lie, though, at £169.99 it is on the higher end of the market. However I think that if you are looking for a beautiful piece of furniture that will last years in your home, then it is worth the price. With the slow toy movement, with many parents preferring wooden toys over plastic, this ticks all the boxes. The only thing I would like to see if maybe a few more accessories added - some play food would be nice.

To have a better look at the kitchen and watch it in action, have a look at the video below.



If you would like to find out more about the kitchen and other Little Tikes toys, then have a look at their website. Alternatively you can find them on Facebook or Twitter.

*We were sent this toy FOC in return for this review, however all opinions are my own.