I have been on a search for good value toys to add to my children’s Christmas stockings, but I am being guided by an ulterior motive: I want to encourage my children away from the television and towards quality playtime together. I was therefore very pleased to find out about the Plasto range of high quality plastic toys. Designed in Finland, these toys are bright, bold and simple to use – perfect! There are two main requirements to be met when choosing toys in our household: my children want colourful toys, and I want toys that encourage creative play: Plasto toys meet both our needs. What I particularly *love* about Plasto toys is that they do not have sound, light or any other battery operated functions. No more tantrums when the batteries run out just before bedtime and no more repetitive sounds played over and over driving mummy and daddy mad! Plasto Toys are designed with your child’s development in mind. By being age-appropriate, these toys encourage self belief in ability and co-ordination – important social and physical skills in all children. These toys invite and inspire children to play, and personally this is very important to me because my kids are just starting to learn to play with each other. Plasto toys are also made to last, and designed for indoor and outdoor use. Perfectly complementing our Australian love of the outdoors, they have a huge range suited to water and sand play, including buckets, scoops, sieves, trowels and wheelbarrows. And the bonus? When you get home you can throw them all in the dishwasher – now that’s cool. My Christmas list so far includes the Garden Party Set and the Carry Along Bucket Set for my girls, and I know that my nephew is going to love the Dumper Truck. Plasto toys are priced from $4.00-$74.95, and you can find them online at Lundby – www.lundby.com.au.