Hape Cupcakes Wooden Play Food Set Review
Reviewed by David Ashworth
As a father of three and a child of the nineties, I always find myself screaming in frustration at the sheer fragility of the cheap plastic toys my kids play with these days. If you’re a parent you will know exactly what I mean, toys simply are not built to last these days and rarely do they make it out of the box without being cracked or simply falling in bits at your feet. So imagine my delight when upon opening the Cupake play food set from HAPE, I was greeted with good quality old fashioned wooden toys.
Time for a sweet treat. From HAPE comes the cupcake playset featuring a beautifully designed eighteen piece set of four cupcakes, four cups and multiple decorations including a candle, wafer, fruit pieces and garnishes to allow kids aged from three years and over to create intricate and colourful cupcake designs for hours and hours of imaginative play and fun.
HAPE is the world’s largest producer of wooden toys. All toys are made from a sustainable wood source and the company uses key techniques to minimise waste and reduce its impact on the environment as a by-product of their production techniques. Any plastics used in toys are extremely durable to ensure they last for years and years. In addition to food and kitchen related toys, HAPE also produces toys for science, woodwork, music and even toys for younger children and babies such as pram toys. I strongly recommend you check out the full product range at www.hape.com.
Each piece of the HAPE Cupcakes set comes individually wrapped in tissue paper to ensure safe transport and stored in a thick paper grocery style bag which can be reused in imaginative play whilst the kids select the groceries they want to make the perfect cupcake. The set is boxed in a well-illustrated package with advice and instructions as well as images to help and instruct little ones how to get the most out of this set and really get the creative juices flowing. All of HAPES playsets are made from sustainable wood and the company has won many awards for its extensive range of products.
The four cupcakes, cups and multiple garnishes allow children to create numerous different combinations and can be combined with other HAPE kitchen products for a full-on imaginative kitchen experience which will keep little ones entertained for countless hours alone or with friends.
To see my kids playing with these wonderfully designed cupcakes was like a throwback to my own childhood and I could literally hear the phrase “they don’t make them like they used to” marching out the door with tale tucked firmly between its legs. The cupcakes are perfect for little hands to explore and are painted with beautiful attention to detail. There are no sharp edges and the durability means that my kids will get countless hours of fun out of them for years to come.
In short HAPE is the perfect combination of old school toys and modern-day manufacturing practices. The toys are durable and well-crafted meaning they can be handed down from generation to generation. The company is conscientious over its practices, manufacturing policies and waste disposal, as well as operating out of one of the busiest transport harbours in the world. The most important thing for me though, In this day and age of iPads and video games, it was really nice to see my kids being creative and using their imaginations with excellent quality and beautifully designed toys akin to what I would have played with in my youth.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.50
For more information visit www.hape.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
