Yesterday Bea and I went into our local posh kids shop, just to have a look around. It’s always a bit dangerous taking a toddler into a toy store “just for a look”, but I was feeling foolhardy and somewhat under pressure to come up with a really great idea for a Christmas present.
While I browsed around the store, Bea homed in on the toddler kitchen set that was there for kids to play with while their parents shopped. It was really a perfect little kitchen – all lovely wood, with adorable little wooden spatulas and fried eggs and knives to chop carrots held together with velcro. She happily cooked and chopped for ages, ignoring my numerous reminders that we were leaving the shop in five more minutes, two more minutes, one more minute. After hauling her out of the store under my arm like a screaming, writhing sack of potatoes I went home and did a bit of research on wooden toy kitchen sets.
Here’s the one she (and I) fell in love with at the shop: Ma Grande Cuisine. That’s right, $236.00. A bit much for a Christmas present, I think. This one seemed a bit more reasonable: Ma Petite Cuisine. Then Tom noticed the dimensions and we figured that $89 for 35cm of wooden kitchen just wasn’t good value.
As I was about to give up on the idea of a lovely wooden kitchen set beneath the Christmas tree, Tom stumbled upon some amazing links to DIY toy kitchens that parents have crafted up for their kids from old TV entertainment units, a tablecloth, and best of all, Ikea components. I have a love for Ikea that is kind of embarrassing, but I had to admit that Ikea or not, this little kitchen set could be built cheaply, by us, for less than 50 bucks, and it is sooo sweet and the perfect size for a little kid.
This crafty little kitchen appeals to me on so many levels: my earth-conscious side is delighted that we could find another use for the Ikea table we already have sitting unused in our upstairs hallway, and my thrifty side is happy it won’t cost $236.00. My aesthetic sense is delighted with the slick Ikea modern look, and my cancer-phobic side is just happy with the idea of avoiding another hunk of plastic inhabiting our living space. The part of me that loves to make stuff with my hands is happy to have a project, and hopes that by making things myself I’ll teach my kids some practical skills, unlike those kids who are graduating from high school wearing velcro shoes.

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crafts! by michelle