Oompa Review and Giveaway

Giveaway now closed congratulations to Julie, comment #35 who said...I think the Lucky Sock Dip game from Haba is something my kids would love!
ER's Godmother Alicia, first introduced me to Oompa Toys when we were looking for super cute wooden food to give ER for her second birthday. We loved that Oompa specializes in toys that don't need batteries or have blinking lights and are not cartoon themed. The last one was an especially important point to Alicia, who doesn't like anything emblazoned with a logo or licensed character. She's the one who first introduced me to natural toys made out of beautiful materials with timeless appeal, exactly the type of things Oompa carries. They also strive to ensure that their products are "created in humane and safe working conditions by adults and with absolutely no child-labor."

We knew we already liked the company, but I think we actually squealed with delight when we saw all the food by Haba that they carry. You've seen ER playing with it in a few of my blog posts and I've gotten several emails from readers wanting to know where we got it from. My mom ordered the Basket from Haba through Oompa. It's a great little basket full of a variety of pieces of food from starches to fruit and veggies and even some protein all in the sweetest little basket to carry it around.
My brother got her a half dozen eggs, a cherry ice cream cone, and a chocolate ice cream cone at the same time. After her second birthday party, she started off with a well stocked pantry indeed! Both of their purchases earned them loyalty points, a great way to get the quality toys you want for your child and earn money to save on more.

We've since added to ER's collection and I've found out from shopping around that Oompa's prices are usually at least a dollar and often more like two dollars lower than the per piece price at my local Haba retailers. Those saving add up, because when they're purchased within an order for $65 or more shipping is free.

It's easy to hit that because they carry a fabulous selection of toys from my favorite companies like Green Toys, Kettler, Skip Hop, Haba, Plan Toys, Yellow Label Kids, and Jellycat that we already have in our home. So you can save by finding great prices for specialty toys, get free shipping with a $65 purchase, AND earn more off a future purchase...seems like a win win to me!

We were very excited to get a set of Bajo Dominoes Figures with 28 pieces from Oompa to review with ER. The set is made in Poland and described as:

Domino games become more fun with these oversized dominos! Child-friendly images of common geometric shapes are printed directly onto hard wood. We love the bright saturated hues and size of these dominos. They're far too big to be choking hazards and, because of their size, these dominos are easier for toddlers to play with. Play a game of dominoes or simply stack them up in a row, and knock them down!

Comes with 28 wooden tiles, in a wooden box. Bajo wooden toys, baby toys, cars and furniture are hand-finished in a small village near the Carpathian mountains. These beautiful European toys are made of locally grown apple wood, cherry wood, alder, maple, beech, birch or walnut and are finished with child-safe, non-toxic lacquers. Each piece: L 1.5 x W 0.25 x H 3.0 in.

All the pieces fit nicely into this little box with a sliding lid. Keep in mind that ER's a fairly small 3 year old, only in the 15% percentile, and you can get an idea of how compact the set is. The dominoes have a very slim profile, so if your child is younger than 3, I suggest this thicker looking set as they'll be easier to grasp by little hands.

The game is very well made with very smooth edges and even the box has dove-tailed corners. The pieces are bigger than regular dominoes and the numbers are each in their own shape. Younger children can match the shapes or colors up and older kids can practice counting while playing the game. It has a much more educational feel than regular picture dominoes, which I like. ER is at the perfect stage for it, and to her it's very much a fun game. She doesn't realize it's working on counting practice, as we talk about matching up the five pentagon and the six hexagon. She wants to play over and over and over and over...AND tell me how to play too☺ "No Mommy your red one circle OVER THERE," she'll point if I start to lay it down in what she considers, the wrong spot. So bossy, can't imagine where she gets that from...

To play a two person game, each player draw seven dominoes. The youngest player puts one tile face up to begin play. Players then take turns matching ends up, drawing extra dominoes as needed. First person to be out of dominoes wins. It's a basic dominos game, and perfect for preschoolers while still entertaining enough for older siblings to want to join in.

Win It!

This 28 piece set of dominoes by Bajo retails for $19.99 but you can win a set from Oompa!

To Enter:

Tell me another product at Oompa, not mentioned in this post, that you'd love to give a special child.

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Giveaway open through December 2nd midnight EST, to US residents.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Oompa Toys for providing the review and giveaway product sets of dominoes by Bajo. This review relates my own personal and unbiased opinions and experience, with them. Yours may differ.