Hello, my name is Adeline, and I am a Daiso shopaholic. The ability to buy anything in the shop for just $2 is simply irresistible, and I rarely walk out of the store without making a single purchase. In my free time, I love taking a slow walk through the multiple aisles in Daiso, looking at all the pretty things, and trying to figure out if I need them. (C’s mantra for shopping is the complete opposite of mine. He always tells me, “If you’ve got to think about whether you need something, you don’t.” Pfft. Spoilsport.) Anyway, since I spend so much time (and money) in Daiso, I thought I’d share a list of my favourite purchases, and maybe erm, help Daiso gain a few more shopaholics? Heh.
Most of my purchases are for Noah, especially since I like making my own learning materials for him. I know some friends who buy their materials from Taobao, but until I can figure out how to use Taobao on my own, Daiso will have to be my shopping haven.
1. Stickers and sticker books The day I discovered these stickers and sticker books was a very happy one. There’s quite a good selection of these sticker books, and Noah likes the aquarium and vehicles ones best. I usually pop one into my diaper bag, and pull it out whenever Noah needs to be entertained, be it in the car, or at a restaurant while we’re waiting for our food to arrive. Plus, it’s good for developing his fine motor skills! Initially, Noah had difficulties peeling the stickers off on his own, and tore many of them accidentally. A mummy friend provided this invaluable tip: peel off the “outer layer/border” of stickers first, leaving just the stickers on the pages, so that clumsy little fingers don’t have to struggle to peel the stickers out.
2. Twist Crayons I got the 12-pack for Noah as he kept breaking the normal crayons. Unfortunately, he has also broken one of these, because he got so excited at the prospect of being able to extend the crayon on his own, so I now have to watch him closely when he uses them. Still, they’re cheap and of decent quality, plus they’re “cleaner”, and he doesn’t get bothered by his hands getting dirty when he uses crayons.
3. A5/B6 cases I use the A5 cases to keep Noah’s Wink to Learn flashcards. They’re big enough for two sets of laminated flashcards, and four sets if they’re not laminated. The B6 case is good for smaller flashcards, such as the Letterland ones (which I’ll review soon).
A5 case
B6 cases
4. A4 Clear Pocket Files I use these to keep Noah’s alphabet learning materials, such as the pictures he has coloured. The plastic pockets are rather flimsy, but are fine as long as you don’t try to stuff too much into one pocket, I think.
5. Whiteboard markers We’ve got a whiteboard on our Learning Tower, which he currently uses his erasable crayons on, and I plan to let him use these markers on it too. These will also come in handy when he starts learning how to write, as I intend to make laminated cards for him to trace.
6. Pom-poms These come in various sizes and textures, and can be used for quite a few things. I let Noah sort them using tongs/chopsticks, practise sweeping them up, and even paint with them.
7. Buttons I admit that I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to do with these, but I think they’ll be fun to do some crafts with. I’ve also made a button snake for Noah, but with larger buttons, though I think these can be used as well.
8. Coloured Felt There are two different types of felt sold in Daiso, with very similar packaging, so do look carefully at the description. The one on the left is a seal felt, which comes with an adhesive behind. These can be used during craft sessions, when you don’t want to go through the hassle of using glue, and is easier for younger children to handle. The one on the right is what I used for the button snake, and you can read the instructions for that here.
9. Coloured Zippers I put these into a sensory bin for Noah previously, so that he can practise zipping and unzipping them.
10. Wooden Blocks I’m making name blocks with these for Noah’s classmates, as part of his birthday goodie bag gift to them. Will share photos and a simple how-to post when I’m done with them!
11. Musical instruments When we attended classes at Sparkanauts, Noah loved playing with the drum, and almost always chose it during the song segment. The castanets are good for strengthening his hand muscles, and the triangle requires a certain level of hand-eye coordination to play.
12. Marbles These can be used to teach counting, and can also be used to do some marble painting.
13. Small broom and dustpan set, fishing game, sand play toys, and measuring cup I love browsing at the Toys section, as there’s always something new to discover. I think the sand play toys set is my best purchase of the lot, even though Noah doesn’t actually like playing with sand. He uses them in his sensory bins, both the wet and dry ones, and we even brought these along when we went on holiday in Penang. He also likes using the measuring cup when playing with the sensory bins. I got the small broom and dustpan set so that he can assist me in the clean-up process, especially since he likes pouring the beans out of the sensory bins. The fishing game trains his hand-eye coordination, and keeps him busy during his mini water play sessions in our bathroom.
14. Water beads These are Noah’s favourite things to play with when I allow him to have a water-based sensory bin. He calls them “bubbles”, and loves scooping them out of the sensory bin. He likes squishing them with his fingers, which means I end up with less water beads each time.
15. Plastic container and LED lights I used these to create a light box for Noah recently. Check out the instructions in this post.
16. Long plastic storage container This fits Noah’s ten bottles of Crayola washable paint quite well. (I actually also bought a set of paint palettes and a pail from Daiso for Noah to use when he paints, but didn’t manage to take a photo of them.)
17. Compression bags These are perfect for storing the clothes that Noah has outgrown. The round plastic opening makes it easier to use, as you just have to attach your vacuum nozzle to it.
18. Microfiber Mitten I got one of these because it was so cute so that Noah can help me with the dusting occasionally, but he didn’t want to help! Will keep this for future use.
19. Kitchen Sponges These have been out of stock for a while, but I used to buy them as they’re cheap and durable, unlike some of those that I got from the neighbourhood shops. They come in various sizes too, so I used the smaller ones for Noah’s utensils, and the larger ones for ours.
20. Straw-cleaning Brushes I had a tough time finding cheap straw-cleaning brushes when I first introduced straws to Noah, and wish I saw these then, as they’re cheaper, and come in a variety of lengths.
21. Straws Apart from their traditional purpose, these can be used for crafts too! Check out this site for ideas on drinking straw crafts.
22. Cutting Boards I really like these large flexible cutting boards, because they’re perfect for Noah when he plays with Playdoh! I wanted the biggest ones possible, so that I could keep as large an area covered as possible, which means less mess to clean up.
23. Squeeze Bottles I let Noah water the plants with this, as I think he finds it easier to manage than a spray bottle.
24. Ice Trays with Covers I got these in various sizes when Noah first started on solids, so that I could freeze his purées. These come with covers, which ensure that the purées don’t get contaminated in the freezer.
25. Cookie Cutters I use these as bread cutters, and it’s amazing how Noah will eat bread when it comes in the shape of a car or aeroplane. If I give him the same slice of bread without cutting it into a cute shape, he will refuse to eat it. So annoying!
26. Metal Serving Tray I bought this for Noah’s magnets, since I don’t want to sit in front of the fridge each time we want to play with his magnets. I got a larger (and more expensive) metal baking tray from Ikea before I found this, but couldn’t resist buying this as well, since it’s only $2!
Okay, I think I better stop here, before you think I’m seriously addicted to Daiso. Do share what your favourite purchases from Daiso are!
*This is NOT a sponsored post, but oh how I wish it were!
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