I really liked these construction toys, my 2, almost 3 year old grandson really liked them, he didn't realise at first that they could come apart he was perfectly happy to play with them just as vehicles. When I showed him how he could take them apart he loved it. These toys kept his interest all morning.I initially bought them to play with in the sand pit but we haven't tried that yet, I think they will be great though, they are a good size, not too big, but not tiny, durable plastic and look like they will take the rough play of digging in sand and being washed over and over to get the sand off just fine. Since you can take all the parts off it will be easy to wash the sand off.One reviewer mentioned they come in a plastic bag rather than a box, so they felt they weren't suitable for a gift, however the bag they come in is a sturdy sealed bag and each of the three toys was wrapped in it's own bag too. There was a leaflet showing you how to put each one back together if the child happened to take all of them apart and get the pieces mixed up :D and a small leaflet to join some membership programme. Every parent I know would love the fact that they were quick and easy to open and a minimal amount of packaging to dispose of, no box (other than the Amazon one it was delivered in) no horrible plastic ties or clips holding it in place and no clear plastic bonded to cardboard that need separating so you can recycle them. To give as a gift put them in a gift bag and no child or parent will care there was no box.