Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Speck Seahorse Sand Ice Cream Play Set For 3+ years

It looks simple and it is. The kids loved this at the beach. They made castles with the bucket, she'll cakes with the lid, ice cream with the other pieces. Now that we're home its the mud pie kit. All the other beach toys are broken or missing and this set has remained together and survived my kids.

My son is at the age when pretend play is so important and sand is always a great medium for play so this is an ideal toy. He loves making the ice-creams and involving others in play. The sand comes out easily and perfectly represents ice-creams. He uses the bucket to run to the water's edge and fill up to make the sand the just right consistency. This toy is a child magnet for other kids at the beach and facilitates some nice socialisation. Surprisingly the shaker is the most exciting part of it for him and he loves filling up with sand or water to play with it. When finished with ice-cream play the bucket, cones and tops make great shapes for traditional sand castles - more so than purpose designed sand play toys for this I must say. I bought 3 sets of sand toys at once and this was the one I was most hesitant about because it looked prescriptive and a bit pricey, but i would recommend it be prioritised based on the play value my son has had with it.

My kids used this at the beach this year. It held up well and they had a blast playing with it! Definitely kept my 3 and 5 year olds occupied for a good chunk of time and we were served countless pretend ice cream cones and milkshakes on the beach :)

We LOVE Melissa and Doug toys. This ice cream sand toy set is absolutely adorable and my two year old daughter is obsessed with it. She plays with it every single time she plays in her sand box! She loves ice cream so this toy was especially fun with her. The pieces are a nice hard, sturdy plastic so I'm confident they will hold up to years of play! Even with my daughter stepping on pieces laying in the sand box, I don't foresee any pieces cracking easily. It's so nice that all the pieces fit in the bucket with a lid so the set can always stay together. My daughters favorite part, by far, is the sprinkle shaker. It is beyond adorable and she goes around shaking "sprinkles" on everything! Would definitely recommend!

Adorable- second set I’ve bought (left other on vacation) ! Endless pebble sprinkles and rock cherries. Worked well at home in colored crayons sand!! So fun.

Like most of the Melissa and Doug products I've purchased, the quality on this is good. The plastic is thick and durable and brightly colored. The little scoops are adorable. My girls love them. I am so glad there are two of the scoops or there would definitely be fighting. I like that everything fits nicely in the bucket. We just got this set so our girls have only played with them in the bath, no beach yet. Even though they couldn't make "ice cream" with them yet, they still enjoyed the set in the tub. The sets are a little pricey, probably should be priced at just less than $10, but are way neater than the cheap plastic sand toys you typically see at the store.Update 12/1/12:We purchased three Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Seaside sets: the Speck Seahorse Sand Ice Cream Set, the Sidekicks Sand Baking Set, and the Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set to take on our 3 week vacation to the Pacific Northwest. The kids played with them almost every day at the beach and/or in the bath tub. Great quality. No broken pieces the entire trip or since we've returned home. Lots of creative play options. I was able to nest the ice cream set pieces inside of the baking set bucket, and store all of the smaller pieces from all three sets along with the cupcake pan in the netted carrier that comes with the cupcake set. The end result was that I was able to get all three sets and the hand full of play dishes (plates, cups, utensils) I brought entirely into one bucket and the net carrier. VERY convenient for storage in the car and carrying to/from the beach. If you were to only pick ONE, I would recommend the baking set as it's pieces seemed to be most universally versatile. But the shaker that comes with this set was a BIG bit with my girls.I posted pictures of all three sets on the Amazon product page for the baking set - search for "Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set"

I bought this for a child who is almost 4 years old. She loves it and especially the scoops with a choice of soft serve or regular scoop shapes. They are so real looking that she can't really resist tasting the "ice cream" from time to time. The pieces seem well made and are sturdy. You do not have to worry about the scoop/shovels bending while digging in wet sand. The colors are also vibrant and it is overall a very appealing toy. The lid of the "ice cream" pail is also a seashell sand mold. I am pleased with the purchase and would recommend it to anyone.

Our friends had this at the beach and it entertained all the kids ages 2-6 for quite some time! We loved it so much we just bought one ourselves. We also got the cupcake set so there are plenty of pieces for all the kids to play with. I love that it comes with its own bucket, but I agree that the lid could be a little tighter. This would make a great birthday present for a summer baby or for any family that goes to the beach alot. Best price on Amazon too!!