Zach’s Toybox

Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Cookie SetBake up a batch of fun! This realistic wooden set includes 12 colorful, detailed cookies with 18 toppings, plus wooden knife, kitchen mitt and cookie sheet. With over 30 pieces, this set makes a tasty treat for little bakers.

Young children naturally love to pretend they're doing "grown-up" things -- it's a fun and important part of childhood development. The Melissa & Doug Wooden Slice and Bake Cookie Set lets children ages three and up pretend to bake, decorate, and serve cookies, all while practicing fine motor skills, learning number concepts, and more. The set includes a dozen wooden cookies, a dozen wooden decorating pieces, and toy wooden kitchen utensils. Slice and Bake Cookie Set Ages: 3+ What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Educational factor: Novelty factor: The Good: Sturdy, high-quality wooden toy is built to last, offers plenty of opportunity for both independent and interactive pretend play The Challenging: It's a toy with a lot of individual pieces, but it includes handy, clever storage solutions In a Nutshell: Wooden cookie set comes with toy kitchen utensils, providing fun tools to foster imaginary play in preschool-age children Kids love using the wooden spatula to remove their cookie creations from the tray.View larger. "Slice" cookies from the tube of "dough" with the wooden toy knife. View larger. Bake Up Something Good The Slice and Bake Cookie Set features a dozen cookies that are packaged in a cardboard tube that looks just like a tube of cookie dough from the grocery store. Because they're held together with Velcro, the cookies slide out in one piece. Use the wooden toy knife to "slice" the cookies apart -- the Velcro makes a satisfying slicing sound when it separates. The child can then place the cookies on the cookie sheet and pretend the cookies are baking, making sure to hold the "hot" cookie sheet with the oven mitt once they're done. (Note that the toy kitchen utensils are not meant for use with real food or with real kitchen appliances.) Once the cookies are done baking, it's decorating time! The 12 "vanilla" and "chocolate" frosting pieces attach to the cookies with Velcro. They are painted with different, yummy looking sprinkles, candy pieces, and icing patterns, so your child can create a variety of different looking cookies. After the decorating is done, your child can serve them up with the included wooden toy spatula. Perfect for preschool-age children, this toy not only offers plenty of opportunity for imaginary play, it also helps small kids exercise their motor skills. Our preschool-age tester found it challenging, yet fun, to slice the cookies apart. And while our toy tester enjoyed playing with it independently, this toy makes a great parent-and-child activity, too. Adults can place custom orders for cookies, play counting and matching games, and more. If you're at a loss for ideas, Melissa & Doug includes interactive play ideas on the back of the cookie sheet that help you encourage your child to learn while she plays. Sturdy, High-Quality Construction The Slice and Bake Cookie Set definitely has plenty of pieces, so we were glad to find that the cardboard tube is big enough to contain both the cookies and the toppings, making cleanup and organization much easier. We also love the toy's sturdy wooden construction that's built for plenty of rough play. And as with all of their products, Melissa & Doug states that this toy is made with non-toxic coatings and meets or exceeds US toy testing standards. About Melissa & Doug Started in the garage at Doug's parents' house in 1988, Melissa & Doug has grown to become one of the most popular toy makers in the world. Their toys have garnered dozens of parenting and "best toy" awards over the years, and have been featured widely in national print media and on television. One of the company's points of pride is that their toys are thoroughly tested for safety, and meet all US consumer product safety regulations. The toys are tested at the factory of origin during various phases of the production process to ensure that every toy meets the company's stringent safety requirements every step along the way. In particular, the paints and coatings on Melissa & Doug toys are tested frequently to be sure they meet or exceed government recommendations limiting heavy metals and lead in children's items. Since day one, Melissa & Doug has been in compliance with every US consumer product safety regulation and will continue to stay compliant as the laws continue to evolve, assuring parents that their children can have a safe childhood while playing with Melissa & Doug toys. What's in the Box 12 wood cookies, 12 decorative toppings, toy cookie dough tube, wooden cookie tray, wooden spatula, wooden toy knife and oven mitt.

Place the colorful wooden letters in their proper places to spell words on the cut out two-sided wooden boards. Includes 20 playful pictures with three and four letter words to keep learning fun. Includes over 50 letters.

This Sandwich-Making Wooden Play Set includes colorful likenesses of meaty cold cuts, garden vegetables and fresh bread. The entire pieces feature Velcro inserts, so keeping sandwich creations together is no problem. A play wooden knife rounds out the collection. The kit comes packaged in a 12" X 10" wooden crate. Also, it includes 18 mix-and-match pieces total.

The Ice Cream Parlour Set features four magnetic, colorful ice cream scoops, two cones and two magnetic scoopers in a playful freezer storage case. Encourages creative play! Eight pieces.

A sweet treat for a child's imagination, the Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Parlor Set lets children make believe they're running an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. The play set comes with realistic looking, stackable ice cream scoops in four "flavors," two sturdy wooden cones, and two scoopers. Designed for children ages three and up, this charming toy requires no batteries and no assembly, making it a refreshing inspiration for your children's imaginative play. Ice Cream Parlor Set Ages: 3+ What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Educational factor: Novelty factor: The Good: Toy offers sturdy construction that's versatile enough to last several years. The Challenging: We wish there were more pieces for easier group play; also, the wooden cones are a bit heavy for younger children. In a Nutshell: Realistic ice cream cone playset offers plenty of inspiration for a child's imaginative play. Make a yummy, triple-scoop cone creation with the Ice Cream Parlor Set from Melissa & Doug. View larger. This simple, delicious-looking toy is fun and helps develop motor skills. View larger. Scoop 'N' Stack The Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Set features an abundance of nostalgic ice cream parlor charm, starting with its sturdy red-and-white, striped storage container. The set includes four realistic molded plastic ice cream scoops in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and mint chocolate chip "flavors." Two wooden cones and two plastic scoopers with painted wooden handles round out the set. The scoopers, cones, and four ice cream scoops are all magnetic, so the scoopers can actually pick up the ice cream scoops and place them on the cones. They easily release by pressing the lever, like a real ice cream scooper. Magnets in the cones keep the scoops in place, even with a quadruple-dipped cone. (All magnets are located on the interior of the pieces, so there's no danger of the magnets breaking off and posing a serious risk to small children.) Almost Good Enough to Eat This set carries realistic, authentic touches, from the classic ice cream scoopers to the waffle design on the wooden cones. The cones look so good that our child tester almost fooled an adult into thinking her cone was real. With its simple design and sturdy build, the Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Set gives children ideal props to inspire their imaginations -- no batteries, bells, or whistles to limit the possibilities. The toy can also aid in developing motor skills every time a young child uses the ice cream scooper to stack and balance the scoops. But it's a toy that older children will enjoy, too. The toy's sturdy, quality construction helps ensure that it will last through many years of play. Because it comes with two scoopers, this toy is ideal for group play, although some testers wished that the set had a few more pieces. About Melissa & Doug Started in the garage at Doug's parents' house in 1988, Melissa & Doug has grown to become one of the most popular toy makers in the world. Their toys have garnered dozens of parenting and "best toy" awards over the years, and have been featured widely in national print media and on television. One of the company's points of pride is that their toys are thoroughly tested for safety, and meet all US consumer product safety regulations. The toys are tested at the factory of origin during various phases of the production process to assure that every toy meets the company's stringent safety requirements every step along the way. In particular, the paints and coatings on Melissa & Doug toys are tested frequently to be sure they meet or exceed government recommendations limiting heavy metals and lead in children's items. Since day one, Melissa & Doug has been in compliance with every US consumer product safety regulation and will continue to stay compliant as the laws continue to evolve, assuring parents that their children can have a safe childhood while playing with Melissa & Doug toys. What's in the Box 4 plastic ice cream scoops, 2 scoopers, 2 wooden cones.

Mix and match the 8-9 playfully detailed stamps to create hundreds of beautiful scenes, and then color in the pictures with the 5 colored pencils! Each themed set includes 2 colored inkpads. Ages 4+. Each set 8.75" x 8" x 2".

Stamp and sketch to your heart's content with this cheerfully themed collection. When inspiration hits, this simple stamp and pencil set lets budding artists make countless colorful creations. Friendship-themed images include a butterfly, rainbow, teddy bear, various hearts and flowers, and a bouquet of balloons. The set includes five colored pencils for sketching, scribbling, or coloring in the details, and two large pads of washable ink--a blessing for parents of the overzealous stamper. All of the included pieces stow neatly in the sturdy wooden storage bin with transparent lid, so artists always know what's available, and can tidy up after themselves when they're done. --Heather Lyndon

Stamp and sketch to your heart's content with this cheerfully themed collection. When inspiration hits, this simple stamp and pencil set lets budding artists make countless colorful creations. Friendship-themed images include a butterfly, rainbow, teddy bear, various hearts and flowers, and a bouquet of balloons. The set includes five colored pencils for sketching, scribbling, or coloring in the details, and two large pads of washable ink--a blessing for parents of the overzealous stamper. All of the included pieces stow neatly in the sturdy wooden storage bin with transparent lid, so artists always know what's available, and can tidy up after themselves when they're done. --Heather Lyndon

Piece together tons of fun with this puzzle that features an undersea adventure. This colorful, detailed Underwater-themed floor puzzle is made of heavy-duty cardboard with an easy-clean surface that helps keep the puzzle looking new. 48 pieces. Measures 36" x 24".

Beginning puzzlers build dexterity and problem-solving abilities with this colorful, 2-by-3-foot floor puzzle. A green-and-blue ocean-floor background is crowded with colorful and weirdly shaped marine life, from octopus to crab, fish, and coral. The complex image builds matching skills for sure, as children use the box picture to identify and place each of the big, easy-to-clean, 48 pieces. Alone or with parent or playmate, this scene makes a fun challenge they'll turn to again and again. Glued and matted, it'll also make a wonderful wall hanging. --Ava Natov

This 9-piece wooden set of dry goods includes tuna, ketchup, spaghetti, soup, sugar, crackers, pretzels, mustard and cereal.

This playful puzzle features bright, graphic illustrations of colorful safari characters. Made from solid-wood pieces that easily interlock and fit into a convenient wood tray. A wonderful first jigsaw puzzle. 24 pieces. 15.5" by 11.75" Ages 3+

This colorful 48 piece jigsaw puzzle takes you into the wild life of a jungle with its colorful birds, animals and reptiles. It comes in a sturdy wooden tray. Dimensions are 15.75 x 11.75 inches. Ages 4 and up.

These Pattern Blocks and Boards will keep children engaged for hours of rewarding play. They feature 10 simply designed, colorful patterns and over 100 pattern blocks in six different shapes and colors to replicate the pattern shown. Contents store neatly in durable wooden case. Develops shape recognition and spatial relations.