As you might have guessed if you’ve ever read my personal blog, I’m not a big fan of ‘quality time’ with my children.
 
When I say quality time, I don’t mean coffee and cake in my local Starbucks – I’m excellent at that – I’m talking proper old fashioned quality time, playing games, baking cakes and gluing bits of old pasta onto cardboard.
 
Sometimes though, just sometimes, I come across games that I actually don’t mind playing. Like dominoes. I don’t know why, but I can play countless games of dominoes before the twitching kicks in. Or any sort of card or memory game, (good for the whole ‘getting old’ thing). Or draughts. But no one will play that with me because I always win.
 
I’m also a big fan of Orchard Toys. (And not just because we have a game from them that makes actual burping noises, although that obviously helps too.) The beauty of Orchard Toys is that they are designed to be educational, so you’re killing two birds with one stone – having fun and making the kids learn stuff. Genius. I also really like the size and shape of the little cards. I know it’s weird but I just do.
 
Their all time bestseller, Shopping List, is a personal favourite. Not only is it a memory game, (check), but it also has really lovely, chunky square pieces. And you know I love that.

Other favourites in our house include Pop to the Shops   and Bus Stop.
 
They really are lovely games, simple enough for even young children to engage with them, and not wander off to watch Cbeebies, and bright and colourful enough to keep even me interested. They are great value too, and make lovely gifts. We’ve given loads as birthday presents in the past - partly because they are so easy to wrap, but also because you look like you’ve surely spent far more than you have.

So, if pasta collage isn’t your thing, Orchard Toys are definitely worth a look.

By Jo Middleton