On Katie’s last trip to visit her grandparents, she came home with everything “little girl” – a Corolle doll, a wicker doll carriage, and the Fisher Price Musical Tea Set. After I got over my jealously (my parents never treated me like this when I was little!), and figured out where to put all this stuff, I had to admit that the Musical Tea Set is a really cute and original version of an old favorite. Every little girl should have a Tea Set, and this one is just perfect!

In perfect “little girl” fashion, the Musical Tea Set is decorated in every cotton candy pastel color known to man (or little girl) – yellow, green, blue, pink, and lavender. The set includes 18 pieces which, at least at this point, seen indestructible. They are made of a heavy-duty plastic and even Katie’ big brother hasn’t been able to harm them – unlike our cheap Target dishes.

The most important, and fun, part of the Musical Tea Set is, of course, the Tea Pot. It’s shaped like a typical rounded Tea Pot. Picture Mrs. Pots from Beauty and the Beast. It’s primarily yellow and is decorated with textured pink butterflies, lavender polka dots, and a lavender handle. The top has an oval hole in it into which a cute little lid easily fits. The lid is decorated to match the pot with blue and green checks around the edge and a pink, yellow, and lavender flower right on top and a soft blue knob right in the middle of the flower. When your little Tea Party Hostess pushes the blue knob an electronic version of “I’m a Little Tea Pot” plays. Plus, every time you tip the pot over to pour tea, another little musical scale plays. It sort of sounds like a musical version of trickling tea. And, if you push the button and tip the tea pot at the same time, both the music and the sound plays at the same time. It’s cute, but can become nerve racking after listening to your little girl do this trick for hours on end!

The lid is the part that makes all of these noises and it works on two watch batteries, which can be replaced by unscrewing the bottom of the lid. Four screws make it impossible for children to get into the compartment, so it’s really safe. Just be sure NOT to lose the lid, or you will be without all those neat sounds! Or, if you are being driven crazy by those sounds, you may want to try to lose it. Actually, the music isn’t really too loud or annoying. It’s just that Katie REALLY likes it so I hear it all the time!

The other pieces that come with Musical Tea Set include 4 cups, 4 saucers, a sugar bowl, and creamer, 4 spoons, and a tray to hold everything. The cups and saucers are solid colors and each set is decorated with a different textured pattern. The yellow set is decorated with tulips, blue decorated with butterflies, green is decorated with hearts, and pink is decorated with flowers. The cups are shaped like little coffee or punch cups, and the saucers are flower shaped. The saucers also have a round ridge in the middle of them, so the cups fit snugly in them. My only problem with the shape of any of the pieces is that the plates have sort of a high ridge on the bottom of them which tends to make them a bit wobbly when Katie tries to put the cups on the plates. One thing that I really like is that the cups and saucers seem to stack reasonable well when I can persuade Katie to put them away in her little kitchen.

There are also 4 cute little sturdy white spoons that have coordinating patterns on their handles to match each set of cups and saucers. The sugar bowl is blue and has the tulip pattern on it, with a yellow lid. The creamer is pink and also has the tulip pattern on it and a little pout for pouring. Actually, I’m not really sure if the yellow lid goes with the sugar bowl or the creamer. It fits on both though.

Finally, the Musical Tea Set includes a little tray so that Katie can come serve me tea in bed in the mornings (I’m trying to train her early!). The tray is oval shaped and about 12 by 9 inches. It has a textured flowered pattern on it, a handle on each side, and a pig white and pink knob in the middle. I have no idea why that knob is needed. It’s nice to have a try with this set, since there aren’t many tea sets that include one. However, all the pieces don’t fit on it. The cups, sauces, and tea pot fits OK, but there is no room for the creamer or sugar bowl. Fortunately, Katie seems to pretty much ignore the tray and usually just hauls around a couple of cups and that noisy teapot.

In general, I can highly recommend the Musical Tea Set for many happy hours of pretend play. I can’t count the number of times Katie has come up to me with a little cup and said, “Pour tea for you Mommy?” I’ve seen several of these sets given as birthday presents at parties we have attended, and all the little girls can’t get into the box fast enough! And while many little boys do enjoy playing with these types of toys, they really don’t seem to care for the fru-fru colors of this one. I’ve seen it in many stores lately – Target, WalMart and Toys R Us. The set is solidly made and would make a great addition to any little girls play kitchen or house collection!







Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $10.00
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months