Shhh its a secret.. Santa is bringing Connor his own kitchen for Christmas!

For the first time I was totally at a loss as to what to get Connor for Christmas. For a little boy who is the #1 toy tester for a blog finding a gift that will really knock his socks off can be a little difficult. Not to mention I was determined to find something that would really spark his imagination and in the process be safe for the new baby coming not to mention something that would really have a long lifespan and be group play friendly. I went through a ton of ideas and then one day while I was cooking dinner, and Connor was determined to "help" me, it dawned on me... a play kitchen!

One toy that always stuck with me growing up past my toy horses and play cars was my next door neighbor's play kitchen. I used to go stay at their house almost every day after school while I waited for my mom to get off of work and there were tons of hours spent playing with that kitchen. Not just me but my best friend, who just happened to be a boy, as well! On rainy days when we couldn't tramp around in the woods or play cars in the big sand pile in his back yard we spent many afternoons playing with that kitchen and cooking up some very unusual meals. I'm fairly sure we were well outside the recommend age range as well as I remember playing with that kitchen in the second grade.

So when Step2 offered us the chance at reviewing the Lifestyle Partytime Kitchen we were pretty excited. My main requirement in a play kitchen was that it be fairly compact without loosing any features. Though we would have loved to had one of those huge kitchens completed with an eat in area there is just not enough room in this house to accommodate one! The Lifestyle Partyime Kitchen though medium sized for a play kitchen does not lack in features. It has a full range of electronic features including light up burners and a electronic microwave. Much cooler than the really basic set I grew up playing with! The best thing though in my opinion is the storage space. Two small baskets slide into the unit for storing food items, there are drawers for the cooking utensils, and between the fridge, stove, and microwave you can store away all your food items pretty easily.

I have to say I've been hiding this one from Connor as I really want to surprise him on Christmas but it's been really difficult. I can't wait to show it to him and I've been having fun sneaking out and checking it out for myself. Now we just have to find a really cool food set to add to our kitchen as the Lifestyle Partytime Kitchen comes with a pretty complete set of cooking utensils and plates but it does not come with food.

Check out the entire line of kitchen sets at Step2's website as well as the Lifestyle Partytime Kitchen you can purchase them directly from the Step2 website store as well!