Give children toys that are powered by their imagination, not by batteries. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

As children grow, they grow out of their toys. Some children just happen to get bored of some of their toys. This means those toys end up never being played with and cluttering up your home, chucked away and sent to landfill or ( hopefully) donated. Toys can be a mega source of stress for parents, especially those keen to consume less and embrace more sustainable practices, as well as those who are just plain tired of tripping over plastic tat in every room of the house. A year ago, we as a family made the decision to not buy any plastic toys new. We decided to buy wooden toys, and also buy second hand as much as possible.

Last Summer I came across a company called Toys To U. They are an online company, run by two Mama’s, who rent out toys for a monthly subscription. This is such a fantastic idea as you get new and exciting toys each month, without cluttering up the house or further polluting the planet. Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, with toys playing a large part.

How it works

First, You choose your package. Either pay as you go (£19.99) Monthly ( 3 month minimum £14.99 per month) or Yearly (£140). You then choose your toys ( up to 4 different ones) and then patiently wait for them to arrive! They provide items and toys for children aged around 6 months to 7/8 years old. Honestly, it’s like Christmas morning when they arrive. The joy and excitement on Molly’s face each month was priceless. Also, If you live within the designated area, toys can be dropped off and picked up.

They also have an amazing Holiday service where, if you’re going on holiday and need say, a travel cot or a baby carrier, you can rent these items for up to 4 weeks for as little as £4.99 a week. Perfect if you don’t use or need these items all the time!

Our Experience

We ordered a lot of the role playing items as Molly is very into imaginative play at the moment. We’ve had the wooden tea set, cake stand set, little kitchen, coffee machine, wooden pots and pans. A Drs set, cleaning set and a gardening set. We also received a book each Month which was a wonderful surprise as we didn’t know what book we’d get each month!

Molly had so much over the Summer, playing with her new toys and making us have many, many tea parties and picnics with her, which we were happy to do.

To see her imagination explode and see her play little scenarios just made my heart melt! She’d get her cleaning set and do chores with you. Sometimes she’d clean up by herself if she felt the place needed a spruce! She also helped out in the garden with her wheelbarrow and sheers. Although, we lost a few tomatoes and flowers as she filled her wheelbarrow with them – totally worth it to see her so happy!

Have you ever used a toy subscription before? I’d love to know which one and how you found it!