We’ve written several posts about this upscale play mat from the Kushies Zolo line. It truly is luxurious. Unfortunately, ours proved a little too attractive to older children. Everyone who came over wanted to play with it. The end result was that one of the plastic hinges on the bar that holds the legs together broke, rendering the play arch useless. We salvaged the toys from the arch, and they are still well-loved by our baby, as is the mat itself, but I’m a little disappointed that it broke so easily. While the hinged arch makes set up a breeze, for this reason, I think I’d rather have the more time consuming, but unbreakable tent-pole-style arches that most play mats use. You can purchase one of these for $119.95 at glammatoys.com. Just be careful with it!

There are lots of activity mats on the market to entertain your baby from birth, but the Shangrila mat from Kushies has got to be one of the most luxurious ones out there.  I cannot emphasize enough how soft this mat is.  The orange fabric is unbelievably plush and silky to the touch.

This mat has lots of other great features too, designed to stimulate all of your baby’s senses.  There are sweet little toys that will grab your little one’s attention and help him to learn to grasp and hold objects; a set of three toy clips allows you to customize the activity mat with your baby’s own favorites; a flip and see sound pod stimulates your child’s hearing, and a gel mat filled with bubbles and fishies provides “water” play without the mess of filling a water bag (an annoying task I came to dread while using another play mat we own).  The mat can also be reversed to a black and white pattern that will stimulate your infant with its high-contrast designs.

One thing I love about this mat is that the portico arch that comes with it is super-easy to put together.  We have had a number of different play arches, and none of them were at all easy to put together (I have put up tents that were less hassle).  All you need to assemble the Shangrila’s arch is unfold the frame and secure it in velcro holders–no bending, stretching, or attaching tiny loops of fabric.  When play is done, the mat wraps easily around the arch and everything stores neatly in a plastic storage tube.  These features alone make it well worth the price.

The Shangrila Activity Mat retails for $120.  You can purchase one at kushiesonline.com.  Use the discount code haup8 to receive a 10% discount on your order from the site.