Wooden food or Felt food ? Which kids like best ?

[chrstene]

I've started a previous thread to try to figure out which kitchen set to buy my DD 4.  I really think the accessories are just as important as the set, but I am torn between buying wood or felt food !!!!  

I see some nice Plan and Haba stuff..and wouldn't mind paying a little extra if it is worth it. 

But also hear a lot about felt food.  I have seen even Ikea is carrying felt food now and have heard it's pretty darn cute. 

Do your kids prefer one over the other?  Is one a little more "realistic" to them, or does it not really matter to them ?  

Any info is appreciated ???

p.s.  Melissa and Doug ?  is their wooden food any good ????  seems a lot cheaper than the Plan or Haba?

[serenbat]

we do plastic

the felt did not hold up

M&D stuff chips

and plastic can get washed (another way we play) real looking and cheaper and if you are not dealing with a tiny child that is putting it there mouth and besides those that do put it in there mouths, felt does not wash well and wood doesn't either

selection wise we found more plastic items that were more useful (EX we have plastic sea-food that gets used a lot)- all came used (recycled so to say) YS, flea markets, craigs's list-etc

[Ravensong13]

We have both Haba and Plan food. We also have a felt banana and pancakes. I HATE the felt food. I swear it attracts EVERY stray piece of cat hair and fuzz in the house! I want to get dd a few M&D wooden food items for pretend baking. She seems to play with the wooden fruits and veggies the most, even pretending that the lemons are cakes, etc. The wooden items we have are holding up fairly well even with frequent falls down the basement steps

[ollyoxenfree]

We had a set of wooden sushi that was a lot of fun. I'm sorry, I can't recall the brand. We also had a set of wooden fruit. They still looked great when we passed them along to another family after years of play. DD made some felt food herself.  

As part of a gift, I'd probably get the wooden items, and then help the kids craft some felt items themselves. 

[pbjmama]

We mostly have wooden food and like it alot. I think all of ours is melissa and doug. We have a few felt pieces that are also a hit, especially the felt eggs which we put inside plastic easter eggs to be cracked for cooking.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Ours is a mix of plastic and wooden. The plastic we have is by Learning Resources. It is the stuff you find for play at childrens museums, so it really holds up. We have some plan stuff, and the M&D cutting set. I will say that the plastic stuff hurts a heck of a lot less if it gets thrown by a toddler. The felt food is adorable, but I know it would pick up every single dog hair. I've seen some cute knitted food lately, maybe that would be better?

[mamazee]

We have a mix of felt, crocheted, plastic, and wooden, and darn it if my kids don't like the plastic best.  I like wood second best because it is easier to clean.

[odenata]

The wooden cutting set by Plan Toys gets lots of play, as does a plastic set of groceries with cutting veggies my parents got us and a Betty Crocker play set with muffins.  The only M&D thing we had (a wok set with a few cutting veggies and stuff) chipped pretty easily.  Our HABA and Plan Toys stuff still looks new.  We have some knitted things, but they are never played with.

We also have the Learning Resources Ice Cream set, which is loved.

[crowcaw]

If you have and animal, don't do felt.  I made a bunch that was just too cute but it ends up looking pretty disgusting. 

[Chamomile Girl]

We have mostly plan foods with a few Haba and my kid loves them.  One of the best things we have is the little canvas bag that Haba sells because it makes it easy to clean up all the food (even for my 17mo old).  Plus all the food fits into the bag.

What he loves the most about the wooden food is the huge clatter it makes when he dumps it all out onto the kitchen floor.

[sailorscout]

ds has an educo kitchen, and wooden food by haba he prefers the wooden and it lasts a long time

[zebra15]

Plastic then wood.  DS had tons of Melissa and Doug stuff and it was great.  He loved it but the plastic was easier to clean up.

[Qbear'smama]

We have mostly felt Haba food with some wood and plastic as well. I agree some of the felt stuff has gotten dog-hairy (mainly the little fries from the adorable hamburger and fries set) but we have a short haired dachshund so not a ton of hair and it hsn't been that bad overall and I think the felt is the cutest. DD has the Haba felt pizza with all the little topings, rearranging that is a huge hit, she also has the bread (velour, adorable!), cheese and cold cuts as well as bowtie pasta and she likes to make sandwiches and a melange of all the stuff (incl the gross fries) in a pot and her friends always gravitate to it. But we also have the wooden stew (super cute) and sausages, which are also very cute and very loved. I like how the Haba felt stuff has magnets to hold things together, like the little burger stays together (2 patties, lettuce, tomato) with magnets. Can you tell I love the Haba felt food? I'm getting DD the black forest cake for xmas, I think that will jazz up her tea parties! The older she gets the better the stuff is cared for, too, so that could make a difference, she's had the fries since she was 1 so they've had lots of time to get grubby...

[staceychev]

2 cats, a dog and a long-haired Mama here. No way I'd bring felt food into my house, especially no that my 8 month old has discovered the play kitchen!

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by pbjmama 

We mostly have wooden food and like it alot. I think all of ours is melissa and doug. We have a few felt pieces that are also a hit, especially the felt eggs which we put inside plastic easter eggs to be cracked for cooking.

These were the first felt food that DD made herself. We had eggs that "cracked" open. One day, she took some white felt and cut it into an  amoeba-shaped, irregular round, cut an oval out of some yellow felt and stuck it on the white with some glue. The next time I cracked open an egg while we were playing, I got a little surprise. She was laughing and so excited to "get me".  

[CherryBomb]

We do wood and plastic.  We have animals and felt just gets too gross too fast.

[corrieoseal]

I guess we are the exception. We have two long-haired kitties and our felt food is just fine. (Sometimes I use the lint roller on it.) We don't have a ton of pieces: a soft serve ice cream set, some pancakes, a sandwich, and an ikea set. The Ikea sets are machine washable, which is awesome! My DD prefers the felt to the wooden ones we have, which are Plan Toy. You can get decent deals on the Plan stuff at Amazon if you put it on your wish list and check regularly for the price to drop. You ca usually save 20-30%. If you have an Ikea nearby, I would absolutely pick up a couple of their felt sets since they are so inexpensive...And their dishes are great as well.

[pbjmama]

Several M&D food sets on amazon today for half price!

[verde]

We have a dog and cat and we have felt food. It's done just fine. DD has a wide selection of felt food and really likes it. :)

[MissRubyandKen]

Saw this thread yesterday and wanted to post that there are Melissa and Doug food sets 50% off on amazon today :). We have felt, wood, crocheted, and food made from some other cloth material(?). We love it all. We have cats and hair isn't a big bother on the felt for whatever reason. I am most fond of the wooden food. I love the cutting sets and magnetic sets, too fun! Dd who is almost 3 plays with it all.