The simple interlocking Xyloba system allows an almost unlimited number of variations. The fun really begins when, in addition to building, one starts composing. Carrillon notes of various pitches can be built into the marble run. Tracks of different lengths correspond to note lengths: minims, crotchets and quavers. Melodies are composed by arranging the way the marbles hit these metal sound modules.

Xyloba is a creative marble run for building and composing at the same time.
Xyloba develops motor function and spatial imagination, and facilitates a creative approach to music.
This melodic marble run is also used as an educational tool. It visualizes the musical process and combines it with the pleasure of playing.
The sturdy interlocking system and its interchangeable pieces allow one to build large marble runs that play complex melodies.
Xyloba‘s high-quality sound modules are tuned precisely and produce a pleasant sound.

Our firm favourite, also from Switzerland is Cuboro. The wooden cuboro marble track is a high quality toy that last a generation (and more).
Now our friends at Cuboro have come up with a new marble extension set! In a wondrous manner, “cuboro mysterycube” lets the marbles roll from one level to the next – upwards. Finally, the eager wish of many cuboro fans for a “marble elevator” for the cuboro marble track system is fulfilled in the most spectacular way.
See for Yourself here!

So what is all this hype about?
A wooden bike with no pedals for young children.
Does it actually teach them to ride a bike when they are not even three? Well yes! Amazing how it might seem but these do actually exactly what it says on the tin.

A wooden balance bike is fun, easy to take with you and young children love to push themselves forward on them.
And because their legs are actually hanging close to the ground they learn to use their legs for balance and get a great feel for how speed and gravity work.
Fast forward to when they get their first “proper” bike and they will not even need stabilizers.
What a fun way to start learning how to ride a bike in your own back garden (or even indoors!).

wooden balance bike in action

So what to look out for when buying a balance bike.
Well most important is the quality as you do want a safe product. This is closely followed by the feature of the adjustable saddle, start off with a low ride height and adjust it to go higher as your child grown. This will also make sure you can use a balance bike for a good few years.
We would advise to have soft rubber or foam ends on the handle bars as children do drop their balance bike and bump into things so that makes it safe and practical.

As for looks, well there are various different models, from trikes to scooter look a like to ones with flags and bells and in all different colours of the rainbow.

We at Cloggies toys sell a variety of wooden balance bikes for girls and boys!

So what can you expect in the next few weeks from us:
• On the 2nd of December it is late night shopping in Market Harborough. A great festive evening where all the shops are open until 9 pm and there is so much to see and do, music, games, mulled wine and all sorts of activities in town, a great way to get ideas for Christmas.
On this evening we will also have a real father Christmas upstairs in our shop waiting to greet children. So bring your wishlists or letters and give them to Father Christmas
• Our shop will be open right until the end of Saturday the 24th for those late shoppers

And don’t forget, if you want your gift delivered, the last date to receive your items is if you get them ordered before the 17th of December.
Have a great magical Christmas and enjoy this wonderful time with all of your family wherever you are.

See you next year!

All of us at Cloggies Toys

sledge pull cord

The traditional wooden sledge

Sledges were first used as long ago as 7000BC, not for recreation or sport but simply to drag loads too heavy to carry. First pulled by humans, later by cattle and not always on snow either but along ground and the grassy steppes for instance in what is now Russia.
Native Americans used them to transport hunting catches and to move through the snow when the paths were inaccessible.
That is where the name Toboggan comes from, the natives of Canada used to name their sledges “tobakun”.

The difference between a toboggan and a sledge (also called sled (American) or sleigh (a large sledge)) is that a toboggan normally does not have any runners but has a flat bottom to slide on in contrast to the sledge which usually does sit on runners.
In the late 1800’s sledging became a recreational sport and today it has been adopted to even be used in Olympic sports such as the bobsled and skeleton race.

These days sledges are mass produced from plastic but we at Cloggies Toys stick to the traditional wooden sledges (sometimes referred to as Davos sledges).
These are made using old techniques to steam bend the wood into shape but also fully tested for safety to modern standards. Our lovely German build wooden sledges are made to last and are robust enough to carry one adult and a child.

We also supply wooden backrests so your younger child can safely sit back and enjoy being pulled along and our lovely wooden handled pull ropes are available separately as well.

A traditional wooden sledge is an investment and with proper care will last many generations!

Our sledges can be pre-ordered or look on our website or in the shop for the current models available, starting from £79.99.

The 10th of September also saw Art Fresco in Harborough, coinciding with our opening which meant new visitors to Market Harborough and a chance to promote our wonderful old town which does have a lot to offer and still prides itself to have so many independent shops. If you haven’t been, just drop by one weekend, there is free parking and lots to see.

Inside our shop, Scares and Sparkles face painting made sure the young ones were looked after on the day with some great creations and meanwhile parents could browse the new products. Even a temporarily power cut could not spoil the fun!
Overall the verdict was very positive and one boy even said “this is the best shop I have ever been in”. Now that is a compliment, thanks!

Now we will try to make the new products available online as soon as possible so our customers can browse our shop from the comfort of their homes.
Soon we will also offer gift vouchers in store and we will need to get ready for Christmas which only seems around the corner..

The usual feedback was that more and more parents find that their children spend more and more time in front of the television or game computer and some parents do not know how to change this.
Parents complain that they lack time and feel too tired to commit time to play with their children yet research show that 44% of families are at their happiest when they play together.

These days we are all busy and careers are important, but surely more important is the future of our children.
It is important for parents to set time aside to play with their children, spend quality time and engage in games, learning and sporty play.
This does not take much time, from a quick game of hide and seek, to reading a book together or a visit to the park in the weekend. This not only takes parents away from the daily routine of work and other distractions but also gives both parents and children the sense of fulfilment and achievement. What better way to start the week feeling like that!

There is help online for parents who want more info and ideas, see www.maketime2play.co.uk on a great campaign to raise awareness of the importance to playtime and to prevent a future generation of child robots.

Now as our first customers have started to shop for their Christmas presents (really!) we at Cloggies Toys are looking at our 2011 Top Christmas Toys.

2011 top toys for boys:

Cuboro wooden marble track.
A fabulous Swiss made wooden marble track, or marble maze as it features tunnels, chutes and double tracks for racing. A quality item that will last for generations and because you can easily move the cubes, you can make all sorts of new tracks. From high ones, to long ones, hidden tunnel ones and race ones. And with expansion sets really anything is possible

Metal ride on speedster.
The retro ride on that beats all others! Vintage race cars looks, robust and suitable for in and outdoors make this a firm favourite with both boys and Dads. Finally a toy that looks good in a lounge!

Wooden railway
The classic wooden train set. Perfect to build in variations and play for hours in those dark winter months. Additional tracks and accessories are available to expand and to ask for Christmas without breaking the bank.

2011 top toys for girls:

Dolls house
What an amazing dolls house! And this cottage comes with all the dolls and furniture ready to play in one box. The front opens in 2 sections and is lovely decorated. The roof also flips back for easy access and all the windows and doors open to have the ultimate pretend play house.

Cuboro marble track
This high quality Swiss made marble track combines playing and learning and encourages logical and three dimensional thinking. A great one to share between siblings and guaranteed hours of fun building a variety of tracks.
It is precision made and the 54 quality blocks in the standard set will get you hooked in no time!

Wizard of Oz doll set
These beanie dolls are just the best representation of the original film and superb quality. From the red slippers of Dorothy to the watch on Tin man and even little Toto, they are detailed and have a good height of circa 25cm. Perfect to collect all five.

So for now we can look forward and start making wish lists (Cloggies wish lists soon available in store) and save up for what we really want, proper toys that last!

In the end we have all had bumps, scrapes, eaten worms and dirt from the garden while exploring, got toys thrown at us and most of us have grown up just fine, haven’t we!

All our toys have been tested to EN71 standards and the age label on products is just a guidance, helpful yes but not by any means a fixed thing.

Enjoy playing!

The best thing for children,  a dreaded busy time for parents?

As children we could not wait to be off school, play outside all day for what seemed forever.

For some of us that meant staying at home playing in the fields or back garden. For others it meant long car journeys or if we were very lucky, getting on an aeroplane and looking forward to discovering new places and making new friends.

Here at Cloggies we have got a variety of pocket money toys to keep the little ones entertained in the back of the car, bus or on the plane as we as parents all know how long these journeys take. So good news for parents who want to keep those little screamers in their seats and quiet.

For outdoors we have got various toys and games to keep them busy. Garden games like skittles and croquet and for the more active diablos, kites and bow & arrow sets.

And for indoors we have creative sets, various pretend cooking items, puzzles and marble runs.

So make sure you are prepared to have those children at home day after day and keep them happy and busy.

Plan ahead and enjoy!

a float on te parade

Market Harborough Carnival

Today, the 11th of June 2011 meant the day of the Market Harborough Carnival.

And it was great!

Being sceptical as so many of these great British traditions have disappeared, we here at Cloggies expected circa 5 floats and some music. But we were pleasantly surprised to see almost 20 of them all dressed up by various schools and groups.

The weather was fab, and people lined the streets to see the parade come by.

How wonderful to see these things still happening. Village fetes, Maypole dancing, summer fayres, festivals, bonfire night, pancake day, St George’s day or the more obscure St Swithin’s day (to celebrate rain) and the forgotten Winter Solstice.

All there to remind us there is more to life and one should enjoy the past, present and future.

Lets hope we keep these traditions alive for our children’s children to celebrate and enjoy just as we did!