Review: Rave for Huggy Buggy letters - and the company.

[Judegirl]

After searching for MONTHS (I know, I know...) for quality wooden magnetic letters, I bit the bullet and bought these from Hooray - they're natural latex covered with a soft, fuzzy nylon coating:

http://www.itsybitsybabies.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=letters&osCsid=ab06525dda281aabba25bebf3d456cf1

I was not optimistic - and they're expensive, but I was desperate. I called the company to ask some questions, and the reps there were fabulous, so I went ahead and bought them. Hooray/Huggy Buggy even sent me an extra "R" since Rory (and Riordan) needs two Rs, and I bought them from ItsyBitsy, not from them! :)

They arrived a few days ago, and they're just fabulous! I can't wait to play with them, LOL. The colors are bright and vivid and I love the texture (we never had a Huggy Buggy car, but it's the same coating.) I have no idea how the fabric will hold up; it seems it might wear away if she chews or picks at it, but hopefully it'll last. They letters are huge - the alphabet will take up our entire fridge, LOL, but they're just great, and Rory is going to love them. :)

HTH someone!
Jude

ETA: They also have a numbers set ($15) and a combination set ($50), but ItsyBitsy doesn't have each one - I found them pretty easily, though.

[nicoleandjackson]

DS is a BIG, BIG, fan of all things Huggy Buggy! We haven't had the fridge magnets yet, but he has MANY vehicles. They are all that same flocked coating with squishy rubber wheels. They are INDESTRUCTIBLE! We love the "bouncy cars"! :)

Nicole
Mommy of Jackson 4/30/02


Who's the Biggest Boy? It's Jackson!
http://lilypie.com/baby4/020430/1/2/1/-6/.png[/img][/url]

[WitMom]

These look really neat! Do you think they would be appropriate for a 13 month old to play with? My daughter loves playing with the magnets on our fridge, so I was hoping to get her something (anything) magnetic for Christmas, but everything I have found is so small. In your opinion, would these be appropriate for a child that still mouths toys a lot?

[Judegirl]

The size won't be an issue at all; they're huge, unless she can really gnaw off a piece, which would be probably impossible if you're looking at her even once every 10 minutes. :) But she might not want to mouth them, since I'm thinking they would feel funny in her mouth - they're fuzzy. But if she did, the only potential issue I can foresee is that the fuzzy coating would wear off, which would mean that a) your product would disintegrate, and b) she'd be eating nylon fuzzy stuff.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to call and ask if the coating comes off when children mouth them - they were great when I talked to them. www.huggybuggy.com

HTH,
Jude

[smilla653]

DH is in love with the Huggy Buggy UPS truck, but when we examined it in the store, the packaging specifically said that huggy buggy toys are not suitable for teething. I think it's an issue with the flocking. So, sadly, our DS will have to wait a few years for Huggy Buggy products.

[daniele_ut]

We got a Huggy Buggy from a friend for DS's first birthday and he definitely still mouths things. Before I realized it, he had bit off part of the flocking. I would definitely wait to buy him more of these, though we really love the one we have!!

[WitMom]

I am sort of disappointed and relieved all at that same time. These looked like so much fun, but we absolutely do not need another gift for her at this point. I think I will hold off, and tuck this idea away for when she's a little bit older. Thanks for all of the input everyone.