A few years ago, I fell in love with Schleich animals and we bought a handful of the beautifully painted figurines to occupy my daughter on a long plane ride. Once we had a few animals, they became addictive and that handful became a bag full, and then a drawer full, and then a bin full as we began to collect them for learning as well as playing.
Once my son started really playing with toys, he was immediately drawn to the Schleich bin and we became more serious about our obsession. And, I do mean obsessed. I diligently checked off each purchase in our free Schleich mini-booklet ensuring we didn’t end up with too many duplicates, and the kids would alert me when they found one at a store we didn’t have yet.
We started with their various Wild Life sections, moved on to the Farm Life figures, and finally started on the Prehistoric Animals {with the new dinosaurs with moveable jaws} until we had collected nearly every animal in the Schleich catalog. But while my son is firmly planted in reality and prefers dogs to dragons, my daughter’s love for fairies knows no bounds, and her love for Schleich was renewed when we found the new Schleich Bayala series that focuses on fantastic and magical creatures, big and small.
Like all Schleich, the new Bayala series features well-crafted figurines that simply beg for you to play with them. They are separated into two categories: Iloris {elf children} and Arelan {heroes of Bayala} and each series has its own creatures, beings, scenery packs, and fun add-ons. With each piece hand painted and detailed beyond belief, they are amazingly life-like and beautiful.
Seriously, just look at these faces – how could any child resist playing with these?
My kids went crazy when a package of mythical beings and elves arrived last month to play with and they couldn’t wait to get them out of their display boxes. Can you blame them?
While the favorite of my kids is the Iloris & Leolynn mother/baby figures riding on the horse, the second favorite would have to be the Elf Swing that they use as a slide and swing combo. We really want to add the Elf merry-go-round to go with it, and the kiddos have been watching everywhere for it in hopes we can make our own little fairy playground for the elf children.
It’s fitting that Schleich’s motto is “anywhere’s a playground” as this has been true more than ever with the Bayala series. During every play time at our house, our bench becomes a fairy grove, our couches become a unicorn meadow, and our table almost always obscures an elaborate dragon village with valiant heroes beneath its tablecloth.
Here's a Bayala maypole we created with a magic fairy wand of my daughter's.
Even though the kiddos have no real storyline they are following or movie they are quoting from, I love watching them work together to develop an elaborate scenario with plot points that build for hours and eventually culminate in a fancy party at the king’s castle {AKA the ottoman}. It’s a world where unicorns are real, dragons can be good or bad, and elves dance and play for hours, and make believe is encouraged. And I love it.
As much as I love that the Bayala series adds a whole new reach to the Schleich brand, I also love that their traditional animals can join in the fun as well. Woodland Schleich creatures and forest animals are perfect for expanding your Bayala world, so I’m very thankful we have a whole bin full of animals for even more make believe fun.
Since my son doesn’t necessarily gravitate towards elves and unicorns, I love that wolves, bears, deer and elk fit right in our Bayala world along with the creatures that come with many of the sets. Adding his favorite real animals helps bridge the gap between fantasy and reality and makes Bayala something we can all play with together.
If you have a little Schleich fan or a kiddo who loves make believe, the Bayala series is the perfect catalyst for hours of play. Whether you have a few elves and animals or you have a whole Schleich collection, the Bayala series is an amazing amount of fun for kids and adults alike.
Want even more fun? Head on over to Schleich to see their new additions for 2013 as well as download their super fun {and free} Schleich mobile app that my daughter loves. You've heard of "put a bird on it", right? Well, now you can put a dino on it, take your heroes with you wherever you go, and even learn your letters and numbers!
One lucky Rave & Review reader will win a Schleich Bayala prize pack with the following: 70462 Delicate Lily Elf, 70453 Dancing Marween, and 70459 Magical Asian Being
To Enter: visit http://www.schleich-s.com/ and tell me a figure, playset, or accessory you would love
And, as always, there are extra entries available! {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}
2 Extra Entries - Post on your Facebook wall about this awesome Schleich giveaway {bit.ly/VsN8yl} and tag Rave & Review
2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.
1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter. Retweet this tweet
4 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus. Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup
1 Extra Entry - Comment love on any post, just leave a comment here as well.
On January 25th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 24 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.
Winner, winner! This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered and congrats to: #181 Valerie Taylor Mabrey said... RSS Google Reader Follower
A
big thank you to Schleich for sending some Bayala sets and for offering a giveaway to our fabulous
readers. As I stated in the article, we already own a ton of Schleich, which was purchased by us. Because we're addicted.
