Lehmans recycled toys review and giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congrats to commenter #15, Gwenn S.

Many of us recycle, which is a very good thing, but have you ever wondered what becomes of those old milk cartons once they're shipped off to the recycling center?

Have you ever cringed when you hear about yet another toy recall due to it containing lead? (Honestly, WHO still thinks it's acceptable to paint toys with lead-based paint?)

Have you ever bought a brand-new toy, only to have it break that very same day, or week?

Well, I can answer "Yes" to all three of those questions, so I was just thrilled to see that one of my favorite companies, Lehmans, recently started carrying these neat, durable, Made-In-America recycled toys.







Lehmans is a fantastic company that sells all sorts of things to help people live a simpler life.

Here's part of their story:
"Founded by Jay Lehman in 1955 to serve the local Amish and others without electricity, Lehman's ships old-fashioned, high-quality merchandise all over the world.
Jay's vision was to preserve the past for future generations. "I was concerned that some day the Amish would not be able to maintain their simple ways of life because these products would no longer be available," he said. His goal was, and still is, to provide authentic, historical products to those seeking a simpler life."
Click here to read more.

Many of the items Lehmans carries are tried-and-true favorites that are no longer easy to find in the stores, such as Smith's Rosebud Salve, which is something I hope to never be without. It's awesome stuff, and my favorite use is when I (or one of my kids) have a cold and my nose is raw from too much wiping. I will literally put some of the salve on my nose before bed and the rawness is completely gone in the morning!



Another favorite of mine from Lehmans is the vegetable peeler I have always hated peeling potatoes, but this little gadget does the job quickly, and with little effort. (AND IT'S LIFETIME GUARANTEED!)



There are also a number of items from Lehmans on my wish list. One of them is the natural peanut butter mixer (to mix in the oil that collects on the top of natural nut butters).



Another is the set of REAL bayberry candles (these are very hard to make AND to find). I'd love to get a set just to burn at Christmas every year!



So, yes, I think Lehmans is awesome and I have been a customer for years and will continue to be a customer for years to come.

But back to the toys.

I contacted Lehmans about these recycled toys when I heard about them, and they very generously agreed to send some out for my boys to put to the test. (NOTE: I did NOT pay for these, just so you--and the FTC--know!) The dump truck and tool set arrived on a rainy afternoon and the boys spent the rest of the day happily playing with them.

There are a couple parts of the tool set that are too small for Jordan, but he can play with most of the tools and he loves to put things in the dump truck, like dead leaves (when he's not tasting them) and the black walnuts that are dropping from the tree in our yard.

Logan has been having fun playing with both the dump truck and the tool set. He likes to pound in the nails and pretend to fix things with the tools. And yeah, sometimes he uses the saw to pretend he's amputating one of my limbs. I don't know what that's all about, but I play along anyway. Maybe he'll be a surgeon one day!







The toys are extremely durable, too. I don't think the boys could break them if they tried. And there's no lead paint, BPA or anything like that to worry about, either.

Perfect!

Lehmans is going to give one of my readers the opportunity to win one of the recycled toys (your choice of the tea set, dump truck or tool set), just in time for Christmas, Santa!

So how do you enter to win? Easy peasy.

Pop on over to the Lehmans Web site and browse around a bit. Then come back here and tell me a couple things you saw there that you found interesting and would like to try. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address in your comment!

Want extra entries?

The following are worth 1 extra entry each:
(Please leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to include an e-mail address each time)

Become a public follower of my blog, or let me know if you already are.

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Tweet this giveaway, with a link (can be done once daily)

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This giveaway will end on Thursday, Nov. 5, so you have just over a week to enter. I will choose the winner using random.org and announce the winner here and will also e-mail the winner, and he or she will have until Saturday, Nov. 7 to get a mailing address to me or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!