Recycled play kitchen for Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas (or St Nicolas for the French-speakers) is fast approaching. On Friday, kids in Belgium will be waking up to discover what the Sint (aided by the not-so-politically-correct Zwarte Piet) brought them in reward for being nice the whole year.

This weekend has therefore been engulfed by a shopping bonanza for Sinterklaas gifts, which are typically more important than the ones brought by Santa Klaus (also known as "De Kerstman" or "Pere Noel" in this part of the world).

Bibu, our five-year old, had a very detailed and precise idea of what toy he wanted to ask the Sint, so there was not much we could do to influence his request. For our baby Pingu, who's just about to turn 17 months, I got the idea of getting him a play kitchen, since he loves to play with pots, spoons and pans and is reportedly a big fan of his creche's play kitchen.

I then decided to go the recycled route for the play kitchen, as he's a baby still and has already too many toys and will inherit too many toys from his older brother. Also, I have no clue how long his Jamie Oliver wannabe period is going to last, so the thought of spending tens of euros on a huge play kitchen was not very appealing.

As mentioned before, I really like Les Petites Riens, so last Monday I headed to their Baby Paradise boutique on Rue Americaine in Ixelles to look for a used play kitchen. When I arrived, I was glad to see the shop full of people. There were two play kitchens in the back of the shop, one wooden and one plastic. I went for the plastic one, as it was much lighter to carry around and I reckoned easier to restore, as well. The cooking plates, which had been a sticker originally, had been peeled off and replaced by an array of stickers, so a little restoration work was needed.

I also picked up a couple of trays full of pretend fruit and vegetables and payed the total sum of 9 EUR for everything (yes, for everything you see in the picture)

After arriving home, I first gave the kitchen a thorough wash with detergent and alcohol, and popped the plastic accessories in a mesh bag and washed them in the washing machine (in the "delicates" programme). I then peeled off all the stickers and started thinking how to best restore the cooking plates in a simple yet nice way. In the end, I used two PÅNNA table sets from IKEA, one in black and one in bordeaux. I first took the measures of the cooking plates' base in paper and then cut the black PÅNNA in the correct shape and glued it onto the kitchen, smooth side up.

Then I used the two bordeaux PÅNNA to make the cooking plates. I glued everything onto the kitchen, et voila!

And here, the end result:

I cannot wait to see Pingu's little face when he uncovers his "new" play kitchen that the Sint has brought him!

Donating kid's stuff: Les Petits Riens

Pingu just turned 15 months and he's a baby no more.....sigh....

Now that he's officially into his toddler period, that time has come for the first "baby stuff clean-up".

I believe in "reduce, reuse and recycle", so since birth, Pingu has used Bibu's old clothes. We have bought hardly anything brand new for Pingu, and the few things he did get were presents from other people. Up until recently, as soon as Pingu was outgrowing his clothes, I would pass them along to a good friend of ours, whose baby boy is a few months younger. But now, both boys are wearing the same size and I have no other acquaintances with babies, so it's time to go the donation route!

The same for toys. I kept all of Bibu's old baby toys for Pingu to play, but he has consistently insisted on playing with his older brother's stuff (pfff) So early baby toys were hardly used and also on the list to be donated.

I find the simplest way to donate kid's old stuff is to do it through "Les Petits Riens"/ Spullenhulp. They are a non-profit organisation that collects all kinds of used goods in good condition (mostly clothes and shoes, but also toys, furniture, electronics, etc), which they recondition and sell through their boutiques. With the resulting money they provide shelter to homeless people, among other charity activities.

Their clothes containers (or "bulles") are dotted all around Brussels (there are about 900 in Belgium), so there is bound to be one close to you. In them, you can deposit clean clothes and shoes, inside a closed plastic bag. Here is the "bulle" closest to my place (vandalised a bit, poor thing) :

For other donations, you have to either go to Les Petits Riens donations reception centre in Rue de Prevost 30-32 in Ixelles (very close to Parc Tenbosch) or, if you have a large piece of furniture to donate, make an appointment for them to come pick it up at your place.

This week, I gathered a bag full of old baby toys and threw them in the wash, then bagged them and off I went to the Rue de Prevost.

The donation centre is in the Chatelain area. You recognise it immediately by the three yellow "bulles" standing by the door.

You just need to head inside the garage entry, and there in the back you'll find lots of volunteers sorting through bags and bags of goods. It has to be said that 25% of the donations they receive are in such bad condition that they have to just throw them into the garbage. So please, make sure what you give is clean, not broken and inside a sealed plastic bag.

After unloading my donation into the hands of one of the volunteers, I headed to their "Baby Paradise" boutique in Rue Americaine 97, which sells the donations for laughable prices. They have plenty of baby and toddler clothes and piles and piles of toys and baby paraphernalia such as potties, car seats, car booster seats, playing mats, etc. I saw a brand new Bumbo seat for 3,5 EUR and a Maxi Cosi baby car seat for 18 EUR.

I got a book and a little toy piano for Pingu (which works perfectly) and a toy beetle for Bibu for the large sum of............... 2,5 EUR!!!!

I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to donate and buy from Les Petits Riens/ Spullenhulp. Our kids' unwanted old stuff can become another child's favourite, while helping those who need it more in the process.

If you are interested in donating more than material things, Les Petits Riens are constantly looking for volunteers. Check out their job section.

And to finish, a very nice video from their Christmas campaign of last year.