Last Christmas Kitchens - reviews, thoughts, suggestions?

[niccig]

I know many people bought kitchens as Christmas 2004 and 2005 presents for their DC. How have they held up to regular play with your children? Are you happy with the quality, the amount of space for play and storage, and how your DC plays with it? Is there anything you would do differently?

DS was too young last year for me to even consider this, but he'll be two this year, and I'm thinking of getting him a kitchen for Christmas. Is 2 too young for this toy? We got him the train table last year and kept it in the garage for 6 months until he was old enough, so we could do the same for the kitchen.

Thanks,
Nicci

ETA 2004 to the post as the comprehensive kitchen thread dates from 2004.

[holliam]

We have had the PBK Retro kitchen since Feb when DD was 17mo. She has pretty much played with it daily since we got it and even more and more as she has gotten older. We really are happy with it.

Holli

[Toba]

My son got the three piece PBK Metro set for Christmas last year when he was about 21 months old. It's held up really well and he played with it then and plays with it now.


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*

[mum1day]

We got the kitchen at Costco (kidcraft) and love it. It's the perfect size and has held up well over the last 9+ months. My 2 1/2 DD loves it and I'm sure my DS will love it one day as well! We gave it to her when she was about 20 months old and she has enjoyed it from day one.

[purpleeyes]

We got the Magic cabin kitchen and DS loves it! He plays with it multiple times per day. We love the size (small enough to fit in our kitchen, but not too small for him) and all the accessories.
I don't think that 2 is too young for the kitchen if he shows an interest. DS was playing with our pots and pans for months before he got the kitchen-he wanted so badly to do what we were doing! Now, when I cook, he cooks. :)

Beth

[niccig]

Beth, I was looking into this one. It's the mini-kitchen with green legs? I know it's smaller than other kitchens, width and height wise, but you haven't found this to be a problem? Is there enough room to store all the food and pans? Storage is a real issue for me, so the kitchen needs to have room for all the accessories. How tall is the countertop? DS is quite short, 5%, so maybe I should look at a smaller model otherwise he won't be able to play with all the knobs!
Thanks,
Nicci

[MelissaTC]

We gave DS the Kidkraft kitchen, Learning Express edition. He cooks for us pretty much every day. :)

[new_mommy25]

We got the Kidkraft Costco kitchen. My DS cooks for us every day. DH thought it might be too girly but it hasn't been an issue at all. And now that we have a baby girl it will be used for years to come. So far it has held up well and I consider it a good purchase.

[jillc]

Hi Nicci,

We got DD the Constructive Playthings kitchen set last Christmas, when she was 21 months old. It has held up really well (still looks like new). She plays with it just about every day & it always gets lots of use when we have playdates here. I kind of went nuts w/ordering play food - fruit basket, meat/dairy basket, veggie basket, dry goods - Mostly Melissa & Doug, which is very nice, but in hindsight, we certainly didn't need all of this stuff!

I'd definitely buy this kitchen set again. It was relatively inexpensive, compared to many others, and it has worked out well for us.

Happy shopping!
Jill

[Dcclerk]

We have the Target kitchen and it is played with almost every day. Both kids love to turn the knobs and they both really like the hanging rack to put the utensils and the pots and pans. The rack was not something I had ever considered, but it is a big plus in our world. I like that it is one-sided so it can go up against the wall, and the general size. I have been really pleased with how sturdy it is considering the price, too.

The colors are such that I think that it goes very well with the PBK Metro set. I've been considering getting the matching fridge there for a while. Maybe next Christmas...

[oliviasmomma]

I read the kitchen threads, but would love a review of the small world kitchen if anyone has time, thanks!

[purpleeyes]

I am currently on vacation, so I can't get the measurement info right now! :) There are some photos attached to some other threads of DS playing with it- I will try to search for them and add them. In terms of storage, I guess it depends on how much stuff you have! ;) We store all of his kitchen stuff-spoons, plates, etc. in the fridge and the oven but not the play food. We have two kinds of food-the PBK food groups and the M&D cutting food. My guess is you could squeeze some food in with the kitchen stuff, but not too much more.

HTH!

Beth

Here's the link to the thread with pictures:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=12&topic_id=38101&mesg_id=55547&page=

ETA: add link

[dr mom]

We have the Small World Kitchen, I bought it on Craigslist just after DS turned 2. It had already been well-loved by one child, but aside from some *very* minor cosmetic scratches (which I could probably touch up if I was so motivated) it was in excellent condition. Obviously I did not do the original assembly, so can't comment on what, if any, assembly is required.

DS is growing into it - he loves playing with it, but it was just a little bit too tall for him when we bought it. Besides pretend cooking, his other favorite activities have been jumping on the oven door in the open position (which has not broken - yet!) and he'll pull the sink out, and stand up so that his upper body is protruding from the hole. He thinks this is hilarious.

This is a solid little play kitchen, DS has climbed all over it including bouncing on the oven door, and it's no worse for the wear. My only criticism is that there's a screw in the oven door assembly that controls the amount of resistance in the hinge (how much force is required to open/close the door) and DS keeps unscrewing it and handing it to me. It would be a choking hazard in a house with younger kids. I've removed ours for now - the oven door works fine without it, just a little looser movement and won't stay in the half-open position.

This pic looks like ours (same colors):

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/35193.jpg

[dules]

We have this one too, with the green refrigerator. My DD loves it and it seems very sturdy. The instructions to assemble were not great but all the pieces were there. Probably took DH and I 90 minutes or so to do.

I like that this one is narrower in depth than some others (PBK at least) so DD could reach the sink fawcets easily at 2 years (it was her 2nd birthday gift). At the same time she couldn't reach on the pink PBK display kitchen in our store and it bothered her (though I thought it was a super cute kitchen).

All in all I'd buy it again. We got a great deal from ImaginetheChallenge.com and their CS and shipping were a breeze.

Best,
Mary

[oliviasmomma]

Thank you both!!

I've pretty much decided on the Willow kitchen, but then saw the great price on this one and was tempted. The Willow comes assembled, though, so I think it will win out. Maybe I'm lazy, but 90 min of assembly sounds like a PITA!

[dules]

It kind of was, but it made it easy to hide (flat boxes pre-assembly) and the price difference did it for me. :)

[sdbc]

We got this one a year ago for DD's birthday. It is still like new and played with frequently. We also store some of her other toys in the freezer and microwave. :) For the price, it was awesome. I'd buy it again. I don't know if it will be available at Costco again or not.
Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[The Review Mommy]

I just saw a different (green) kitchen on Oompa. Looks like there's plenty of storage too!

http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/item/WH706910

Rebekah

[niccig]

Beth, thanks for replying while on vacation. I found out that Oompa toys have the same kitchen and they say the counter top is 20". DS's train table is 20.5" and he can't reach too much in the center. He's a pretty short kid, and I don't know if he could play with taller kitchens now. He will grow, but I think he'll always be on the short side. For extra storage, I could always put the food in baskets/bins under the kitchen. We're probably not going to buy a fridge, and it looks like most sink/stoves don't have enough room for all the food, so we would have to do something about that anyway.

Thanks,
Nicci

[niccig]

I saw this one too, but it's not a stand-alone piece. It's to be placed on top of a table. This is what they say

"Please note the DIMENSIONS of this toy. It is intended to be placed on a table top for play and is NOT life-sized." Dimensions for assembled kitchen:14.25 x 16.0 in

This could be a good choice for people that don't have room for a big toy,

Nicci

[lizamann]

We have the Land of Nod (Little Colorado) set, which has held up nicely. If I were to do it over I wouldn't have spent the money, and gotten something cheaper. DD loves it, but she would have loved any kitchen just as much. I certainly wouldn't have gotten the frigde, because IME it has no play value, only storage value, and I could have come up with something else to store the food.

When shopping, I was all about getting a quality kitchen that could be passed on to grandchildren. This one is definitely quality enough, but I realize now that that means I have to store it until I actually have grandchildren, and that isn't something I'm too keen on doing LOL! If dd follows my footsteps, I have 31 yrs left to hold on to it!

[niccig]

Thanks Liza for your opinion. I'm leaning towards a cheaper set-up, mainly because I don't know how long DS will play with it. I've heard of girls still playing with their kitchens at 5 yrs, but I'm not sure if DS will.

As for keeping the kitchen, I know it's a lot to store and if you have the space definitely keep it. My mum just sent DS my old cabbage patch dolls with the clothes she made 20 yrs ago. My dad revamped our old metal tricycles so DS has a garage of cars to ride when he's there. I do love that they kept things for DS, or for that matter any other children that visit them. We have absolutely no storage for things we use regularly, so I don't know how much we can keep. I dream of a basement, but not going to happen in CA. Sigh.

Nicci

[oliviasmomma]

Liza, I appreciate your opinion as well. I've put more thought into this kitchen that I put into my own cabinets. Then the other day someone asked the question about a table and chairs vs a kitchen, and the table won out. I think DD would like it, but it is hard to spend $150 on something I think--you know?

I am now considering one fo these from Willow--it is still handmade, but smaller and meant for a table top. One of these days I'll actually decide--maybe!