Big Sandpit for 2 yr old - any advice please?

Lizbetty

I'm a bit flummoxed as I've done my usual thing of trawling the internet looking at offers for wooden sandpits for my daughter's 2nd birthday, and then I'm wondering whether wooden is best - I hate bright plastic, hence wood being the first choice, and as we have a full garage (slowly but surely being freecycled), it'll have to stay outside come Winter, so wooden would be less hideous. But all adviuce on that welcomed - I have heard that some wooden ones rot, etc, although one I've seen does have a 12yr guarantee against rot.

Basically, we're brassic, but we want to get her a sandpit for her birthday as I know it will get many years of use out of it (we have dd2 who is 21wks and growing quickly), our garden is mainly patio and boring for her, and she keeps digging up the compost in my pots, lol! As the garden's mostly scary hard surfaces, I want to get her a large sandpit she can sit in with plenty of room so it's like being on the beach, and she's less likely to lean over it wobbly stylie and crack her head if she falls backwards (yes, I am neurotic).

I'm seeing it as an investment, lol! But as always, I'm hoping to get the best deal to make sure we don't waste any money for the sake of rushing. Her birthday is June 18th.

All advice on whether plastic or wooden is best, and the best deals, would be so much appreciated, I really would be grateful.
Thank you!
Lucy, Daisy & Lilian

numberonemummy

I got my soon to be 3 yr old niece one for my garden on sunday,

i only wanted a cheap one as she visits me every couple of weeks and it was just to keep her quiet whilst mum and me sunbathed,
anyway i got the apple sandpit from argos (11.99)
it was big enough for her to sit in and bury her legs, kept her quiet for about 4 hours on sunday,
i got 4 bags of sand from tesco £1.97 each, i think 1 more bag will do
so thats £20,
then i got her the bouncy castle for 14.99 from argos, (pump is £20 though)

so for £55 (oh and the £3.97 sand & water set from asdas) she has a sandpit with lid that can be used as a paddling pool then emptied out easily, and a bouncy castle that was surprisingly big for the price,
and they both can go on the patio,

hth

Js_Other_Half

There is a lovely wooden one on ebay - delivered from Germany - with a wooden roof that then is cranked down to cover the sandpit itself - it may be more than you want to pay though. If you do a search for Sandpit a number of options come up.

cuffie

What ever you do, get one with a lid or some sort of cover otherwise cats and foxes will use it as a litter tray, and other little nasties can get in there!!

I would go for plastic if you are desperate and want to get her something for her birthday. At least then you can have a think about how you want to set out your garden, then you are not rushing into anything and spending a fortune on a wooden one. At that age, they are not going to know whether they are sitting in a "12 yr guarantee it won't rot" wooden one, or "I only last a year, but do the same job" plastic one!

This one from woolworths is a paddling pool too (and the paddling pool bit is then the lid for the sandpit when you have finished paddling!!)
http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50837042

This turtle one is cute
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3652637.htm

It will buy you a bit of time before you invest in a big wooden one.

Lizbetty

Thanks everyone! I finally did it...I used this code thanks to Hot Deals UK

http://www.hotukdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?p=588819

then went via Quidco for an extra discount (poss 9%, depending on whether they class it as a toy/game) and bought this

http://www.johnlewis.com/Toys/TP+Activity+Toys/Sand+and+Water/Sand+and+Water/1523/230232836/Product.aspx

which does appear to be out of stock now...thank goodness they had one in, yesterday as it's her birthday on 18th June! Now all we have to worry about is filling it, so on the hunt for cheap sand now! We can use the sandpit as a vegetable bed once they've both finished with it, it looks pretty sturdy so should last.

Came to about £59.15 instead of £80, so well pleased. :T Thanks again everyone, hope this is useful to someone when they get more stock in!

Luce

Lizbetty

OOh and check this out

http://www.turfandstuff.com/product.php?xProd=135&xSec=4&OVRAW='playsand'&OVKEY=play sand&OVMTC=advanced

Has a calculator helping you to figure out how much sand you'll need! Just what I was after (maths was a long time ago for me....)