I am a big fan of products that are of high quality, affordable and have a good reputation.  I am not a brand whore, but I have to admit that when I first thought of getting a double stroller, the first thing I looked at was the one produced by Maclaren, the Twin Techno.  Maclaren is an English based brand and maybe I was drawn to the “Made in England” tag on the back of the stroller because I was trying to hold onto my memories of my time London that’s why I couldn’t put it down, or so my husband says.  But I think that what really drew me to the brand was that the stroller looked chic, sturdy and well made.  Hey, I know I am a mom but I still have to look sexy, right? Trust me, this stroller is sexy.

So I’m a big fan. With that said, I took it a step further and “Like” Maclaren in Facebook.  I am a mom that is addicted to my facebook app on my phone. There I said and now I feel free .  Anyway, I followed their status updates across the worldwide facebook universe.  Fast forward to today and guess what ladies?  My girls were lucky enough to be chosen as one of their kid testers.  (Drum roll please and a big YAY!)  I was so excited because I have never been chosen for ANYTHING and this felt like winning the Lotto! (Seriously!)

Ok, when you think of Maclaren, the first thing that comes to mind is that they are the famous makers of the strollers, buggies or prams (take your pick on what you want to call it ).  You will not necessarily think, Maclaren Toys.  Me neither. But yes, the truth is, Maclaren makes toys and not just toys, but a whole line of organic products for mom and baby.  Its funny that this is a surprise because I cannot remember seeing or hearing about Maclaren Toys during and after my pregnancy where I spent a good majority of my free time at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us.  Well, because these stores do not carry the whole line.  They have some of the stroller toys but I would not say it is prominently displayed. The only thing I found during my web search is the “junior stroller” by itself. 

So I was beyond excited to finally receive the following items from Maclaren to try out:

1) Ella the Elephant Organic Toy www.amazon.com/Maclaren-Ella-the-Elephant/dp/B0028XJL84/ref=sr_1_1

2) Mac the Puppy Organic Toy www.amazon.com/Maclaren-Mac-the-Puppy/dp/B002ADGO82/ref=sr_1_1

3) and the Junior Quest Activity Center www.amazon.com/Maclaren-Mac-the-Puppy/dp/B002ADGO82/ref=sr_1_1.  The  miniature version of their Maclaren Quest stroller which they have combined into an ‘activity center’ for the kids to pretend play. This set includes a Quest umbrella buggy a nighttime travel cot with a carrying case and a daytime rocker and matching travel bag.  When I first saw the stuff I said, “Perfect”.  Maybe now the girls will understand how hard mommy works at putting them to bed, entertaining them, pushing, and lifting their buggy! Ok... maybe not since they are only one year old .

Anyway, back to my review.  So, when I told everyone here at work that I was received the organic toys and the junior quest activity center from Maclaren, the first question I was asked was… What is an organic toy?  How do you make an organic toy?  Good question. As a New Yorker, when I think organic, I think of food.  Organic food with no pesticides and a whole lot more expensive.   But toys?  Does that mean it is free of pesticides?  I did not know the answer so I turned to a reliable source to look this up, Google.   Yes, I am one of those people who turn to the world wide web for answer and here is what it says: made of untreated, unbleached, and unprocessed soft, organic cotton velveteen.  So the unanswer is YES, it is free of pesticides.

Now, as a mother of teething one year olds (and when I say teething, they have destroyed their crib and any other toy that comes in their hands!) I was quite happy to get a toy that was not made with chemicals that could be harmful for the girl and because I didn’t have to first give it a bath in my wonderful washing machine. Instead, it went straight in the arms of my girls.  Ella for Bella and Mac for Rileigh. How wonderful is that?  Ok, I contemplated giving the toys a bath but I trust the brand and so I trusted the product.  I got over it pretty quickly and waited and watched to see what the girls would do…

As expected, Bella and Rileigh dropped the toys I gave them and went for which ever one the other is holding!  It was quite a wrestling match with no winners because Mommy had to play referee for the umpteeenth time!  My girls are at the stage of wanting to play with whatever toy the other one is playing with, or should I say, grab without asking and just keep on grabbing even if the other one is crying and protesting.  We are working on sharing but no real progress on that front yet. Stay tuned!

So after grabbing and pulling and tasting the toys, they settled on the playmat, in opposite ends (*WINK*) to play with their new toy, which were still intact. They kept pulling, tugging, chewing, and shrieking while playing which was a good sign that they really like the toy. It was cute and Rileigh kept looking at Mac in his eyes and talking to him.  She was really into it because she kept on going and going.  The toys kept them entertained for awhile which surprised me because the have the attention span of a bee.  But surprisingly because they were easy to hold and grab, they were quite happy to play with Ella and Mac.

After they settled down, I opened the Junior Quest Activity Center and this one they REALLY LOVE!  It was easy enough to put together the travel cot, the only item that requires assembly, which both girls quickly tried to taste (ha ha).  Rileigh walked over with Mac in her mouth (see, she is already imitating the dog) and touched the cot.  But I have to admit that the one toy they were really all over was the Junior Quest Stroller. The girls are at the stage of trying to walk and off they went with the toy with wheels.  At first, it they were tripping up because the stroller is light and when they push, it fell back. It worried me a little bit and I thought I had to take it away, but I waited to see if they can manage and lo and behold, they started to realize that ‘less pressure is more’.  After this, they were unstoppable.  Up and down, they went all over their playroom and the smiles and shrieks coming out of them were wonderful to hear.  I was clapping and I know the stroller is meant for a doll, but I could not resist putting the girls in the stroller and letting them push themselves! Lol the stroller fits dolls from 15-18 inches and let me tell you, it is sturdy enough to hold an 18lbs toddler.  I did not once fear that it would buckle.  The stroller is light and easy to push and as you can see from the picture I attached, that they were just beyond happy!  I wish I can attach more pictures to show you how much fun the girls had but I guess that’s for later blogs :O).

So overall, we are happy with the products and it is the perfect toy for a one year old to play with.  If you are an eco-conscious mom, this is one of the best toys out in the market.  You will not worry about harmful products and you get a good quality toy that will last through many playtimes and play dates. One tip from a mom that has no time to fight the crowds in the mall, check out www.amazon.com for this item and if you sign up for Amazon Mom, you get an upgraded 2 day shipping for free! Also go to Maclarenbaby.com to check out the other toys they have.  You owe it to yourself to at least check out what eco friendly and ‘good for your baby’ toys are out there.

Disclaimer: I received the products I reviewed above from Maclaren at no cost to me and I was not paid for this post.