Talking About All the Different Ways that We Use a Tuff Tray at Home

Hello Severn Wishes Blog Fans! Today I am bringing you a Lifestyle / Parenting / Hacks / Product Review article I have written all about something I have now owned for well over a year!
And that item is… The TUFF TRAY!

These fantastic trays are usually found in a school setting, especially with younger children like those in a preschool or nursery setting, but due to their versatility they have been becoming more and more popular with mums who are able to do a lot with their children at home.

As soon as I heard about them I knew it would be a great investment for the future. I ordered mine in black but they do come in a variety of colours. I preferred the black due to it not getting stained or if we made any scuff marks with toys they wouldn’t be showing up as easily. Overall I’m really happy with the quality of the tray for what I paid for it. So far it has withstood a toddler doing all sorts on it and in it!
I chose to purchase without the stand so it was then just suitable for laying down on the floor.

Be it Sensory, Messy Play or just toys on a flat surface, the Tuff Tray is ideal for lots of reasons when you have little ones growing up. Here are just some of the many ways that we have used our tray this past year or so! Both in visual form and I made a little list too!

  • 1. Ideal for Craft to keep the craft pieces and mess contained in the tray borders.
  • 2. Great for when you want to do some Messy Play and use paint so it doesn’t get on the floor.
  • 3. Doing some experimenting with foods in toddlerhood? Keep those rice crispies, rice grains and other food stuffs within easy clean up-able reach. You can wipe clean anything off it.
  • 4. Using Glitter today? This tray is ideal to wipe clean after your picture making as the bits will all be contained within the tray walls. Sit your children outside of it and let the mess be inside (mostly).
  • 5. Potty Training? Stick the Potty in the centre of the tray on the floor, and it will be easy to clean spillages off the plastic rather than off your floor!
  • 6. Building Lego or Duplo or Blocks? It can be annoying for little ones if pieces are rolling away or falling over all the while! But on the tuff tray they won’t get far at all! It also means it is a flat surface for the building to become easier on little hands.
  • 7. Doing a Jigsaw? Be it an adult one or a children’s one? Do it on your Tuff Tray and you’ll be able to move it at a moments notice off the floor and then continue it later.
  • 8. Want to do some baking with the kids but you want to do it at their level? It is much safer to do it on the floor where nobody is balancing and this tray doubles as a big flat surface, just clean it with sterilising spray and let it air dry before you start any food preparation.
  • 9. Sensory Play can involve all sorts of things like craft or food stuffs, having it all contained within the Tuff Tray makes life easier for you and if you planned to do it for a few sessions over a week you could even leave it on the tray and just move the whole tray instead of packing everything up.
  • 10. Play-Doh can get messy and easily sticks to hard surfaces like tables or floors, but by using a Tuff Tray base for all of the items they are contained within its sides. If you choose to get a stand with your tray you can even have the tray at a suitable height for your little ones. Or you can do what I do and maintain it on a flat floor, whichever is easier for you.
  • 11. A Tuff Tray can be used outside for a water table or a sand table due to its sides being all the way around with no holes within its surface.
  • 12. Design a World – Use your Tuff Tray and things like chalks or washable paint to create a world, a map or a world for your children to put their toys in to and play. I have drawn a road on mine for my sons toy cars before now and also used elements like sand made of ground cereal to make a beach.


So overall the Tuff Tray doubles up as another useful hard surface within your home and is ideal for playing, learning and food preparing. Young children can safely sit within its boundary or outside of it leaning in in order to play. There are no sharp edges on the Tray and the hard plastic is coated so its easy to wipe clean after every use.
I purchased the standard (medium) size but it is also available in small or extra large depending on the supplier you’re purchasing it from. They are also available in many colours.
Prices range from £11 to £70 and all Tray prices do depend upon the colour, and the size and whether you wish to buy a stand with your Tuff Tray purchase.
They can be used inside or outside but I would recommend you keep them out of direct sunlight and harsh weather conditions and keep them inside a garage or shed when not in use in order to maintain the sturdiness of the plastic.

What do we use our Tuff Tray for the most?

Craft and Messy Play and Sensory Play mainly.

Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope I have inspired you and if I have then I would love to hear what you and your family use your Tuff Tray for!

Enjoy the rest of your February!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Puppy

As part of being an Argos Tester I often get sent items for reviewing purposes. This recent campaign has been surrounding Fisher-Price toys and learning. It has been a great opportunity for me to introduce my son to various new things and build that level of curiosity within play time and learning.

The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Puppy can be a cuddly soft friend for your child that can help them to learn and allow them to have fun doing it too.

The puppy has multiple buttons that when pushed cause a response of talking, singing, noises or well-known phrases. The cute Puppy is a friendly character that will grow with your child, simply hold down his foot to change up to the next stage. The clever aspect of this toy is the repetition and the use of sounds to keep baby’s attention. Any child should find the soft to touch puppy fun to play with. Your child can copy and interact with certain parts too with both the actions and sounds.

I really like how colourful the puppy is with its ABC T-shirt and the light up heart is a fun addition too. Our son has quickly learnt how to press the buttons in order to make the puppy interactive. He enjoys figuring out the sensory aspects and likes to play along. I’m sure this toy will be used for many months to come because he is currently still young enough for Level 1 and 2.

Product Information

Level 1 – Time To Explore – Your Baby can press on the Puppy’s hands, feet, heart, nose or ear in order to hear the words, colours, alphabet and so much more!
Level 2 – Let’s Encourage – Fun phrases reward your little one as they’re encouraged by the Puppy to count, find colors, and find and name body parts! The Puppy will say things like, “Where is my Red Hand?” and will reward baby with phrases like “You did it” when they get it correct.
Level 3 – Let’s Pretend – With sing-along songs like Pat-A-Cake and phrases that engage in a toddlers exciting and imaginative time of play, this setting is the most interactive of the three.

The puppy introduces infants to one hundred words that include shapes and the alphabet as well as numbers and parts of the body.

This toy develops a child’s fine motor and sensory skills.

Size H30.5, W28, D20.3cm.
Requires 3 x AA Batteries (Included).
Age Range 6-36 months.

Here is the link to the Puppy on the Argos website if you wish to see more about it or purchase one, here

Would I recommend this product?

Yes I would. I give it 5 ‘s

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Not only is the Puppy made well with a large expanse of settings it also has many features, the choice is astounding. So many levels with Songs and Fun for many months of play and learning. I think it has great entertainment value for infants as well as good development aids too.

Thank you for reading this review today, for more of my opinions on some of the latest children’s toys then please click the appropriate categories on my main page.

See you on Severn Wishes again soon I hope!

✩ Sabrina ✩