We sell a carefully selected range of beautiful toys, designed to support your child’s wholistic development through the magic of play 

 

Here at Love to Play, we believe that being a parent is the best job in the world. But it’s also the one with the most responsibility, the least amount of training, and the longest hours - right? In fact, there’s probably a very good chance you’re reading this on your phone in a dark room, feeding your baby and wondering if you’ll ever get a full night’s rest again #beenthere! 

 

We’re parents too, and we get it - having a baby can be heart-burstingly beautiful one minute, and then completely overwhelming (and exhausting!) the next.  

 

That’s why we’re here – to take some of that overwhelm away, and to make it easy for you to support the learning and development of your baby or toddler through the fun and connection of play. Our range has been expertly curated by a fully qualified early years specialist and former teacher (who’s also mum to three little people), to offer you the very best toys, at great prices.  

 

 

You know that play is crucial for your baby’s healthy development, but how do you play with a baby? And how do you choose age-appropriate toys to facilitate it?   

That’s where Love to Play steps in. We’ve curated and categorized a range of toys designed for fun and skill-building so you can easily find the perfect one for your baby or toddler, that suits their specific age and developmental stage.  

 

Our high-quality toys have been carefully chosen for their links to skill practise and development -  and also because we know you and your baby will love playing with them! We also love sharing easy ideas for play on our social media pages, so you’ll always have a bank of ideas at your fingertips. 

 

 

What makes Love to Play different from (all) the other online toy stores? 

By now you’ve probably noticed that there’s no shortage of online toy stores, so why should you choose Love to Play? Well, we noticed that most toy retailers categorise their ranges by age, but often the youngest category is 0-12 months – and we know from experience that a baby’s play needs change a lot within the first year of their life. So instead, we’ve broken our range into much smaller age brackets, to make it easy to choose a toy your baby will love. 

We’ve also categorised our toys by skill development, to help you support them through the huge learning curve of their first three years. So, if your little one screams the house down if you even suggest tummy time, just select ‘tummy time entertainer’ from the drop-down list, and you’ll see a whole range of toys that’ll make it much more enjoyable – for them and you! Or, if your little angel has just worked out how to pull your hair (ouch!), you might like to treat them to a toy from our ‘reaching and grasping’ category. We’ve also made our range searchable by price, brand and theme to make it even easier to find something perfect for your baby (and budget). 

By choosing Love to Play you’ll also be supporting a values-focused small business, run out of Melbourne by a fellow mum. 

 

 

Our in-house toy-testers – Albi, Evie and Hattie 

Another thing that makes us different is our highly trained (and very cute!) in-house toy-testing team – who you can see having lots of fun on our social media pages. We’ve had so many toys travel in and out of (and all over) our home in the last six years that we have a pretty good idea now of what’s worth spending money on, and where you’re better off saving it for a nice bottle of wine. We’ve used our three-kids-worth of toy buying and play experience to inform and shape our Love to Play range, so that whatever you choose, you’ll be on a winner. 

 

 

Meet Ellie, head mama at Love to Play 

Hi! I’m Ellie, and Love to Play is my fourth beautiful baby. The first three are Albi (6), Evie (3) and Hattie (1), and I have to say this fourth little bundle of joy has been such an exciting addition to our little family  – and has thankfully let me get a bit more sleep than the first three did!  

 

Play is the most natural thing in the world for babies and children, but sometimes as parents we don’t always know how to use play as a means to  help them develop their skills. Actually, lots of things about parenting are overwhelming, aren’t they? I remember trying to buy a bottle for my first baby, and bursting into tears in the baby shop because every brand claimed to be ‘the best’. How could they all be the best?! 

I can’t help you choose a bottle for your baby - that’s a trial-and-error adventure we all have to go on for ourselves  #funtimes #staystrong.  But, to try and make choosing toys a little easier at least, I’ve spent hours and hours happily searching for the best-of-the-best skills-focused toys to include in Love to Play’s affordable range.  

 

My children, my twelve years as a classroom teacher, and my degree in Early Childhood Education from Cambridge University, have all shown me that play is one of the most important things we can give to our children. Plus, it’s fun – and everyone could do with a bit of that, especially on those days when it feels like all you ever do anymore is change nappies and tackle endless piles of laundry.  

 

So have a look around, and sign up to the email list (at the bottom of this page) if you’d like to become a part of the Love to Play community. I’ll send you updates when great new toys come in, and will shoot through easy play ideas for you to try at home every now and again too.  

Thanks for coming - I’m so thrilled you’ve come to visit the Love to Play site. I hope you find something you and your baby will love. 

Ellie  

 

 

Need another reason to love Love to Play?  

Every time you purchase from us, we donate $1 to a charity that supports equal opportunity for all Australian kids, and you get to choose who we donate to on your behalf. We’ve partnered with Berry Street, St Kilda Mums and Save the Children, and we’re so proud that our vision for Love to Play will make a difference to the development of children all over our amazing country.