Kids Products Archives - Page 24 of 62

Our annual tradition: Breakfast with Santa at Northgate Mall

This weekend we got a chance to cross off another family tradition on our list this year: the Northgate Mall’s annual Breakfast with Santa. Every year we look forward to the beginning of December so we can dress up the kiddos in some fancy new clothes from Gymboree and head to Northgate Mall to meet the big guy himself while enjoying a nice continental breakfast. Yes, we could technically see him any day since he has been in the mall for weeks, but there is something special about waiting for the event for the whole experience. Like last year, there were awesome crafts, we ate donuts and had coffee, and there were carolers to make it extra fun and festive.

10 reasons why you should get a Lundby dollhouse

I’ll admit that I never really outgrew my childhood dollhouse. Even when I finally moved it out of my bedroom in my early teens and let my sister play with all of my miniatures, I was more than just a little sad. In fact, I think I spent more time that summer helping her paint and decorate her new dollhouse than she did, which at the time I chalked up to being an awesome big sister. Clearly, it was just an awesome excuse to redecorate a dollhouse one last time.As soon as I found out I was having a daughter, I knew I would one day share with her the joys of miniature building, decorating, and playing. And, I couldn’t wait. When the day came that our Lundby dollhouse arrived and was ready to be decorated, I realized just how much I missed playing with miniatures. Yes, it was still about my daughter and what she wanted from a dollhouse, but it was also about what we could build and do together that got me the most excited. I look back now to that day two years ago and I realize now why people thought it was crazy to bring such a fragile dollhouse into our living space with a 2 ½ year old and a 5 year old, but at the time I was too excited to care. In the years that have passed, I have not only grown to trust them with the house and all its little pieces while supervised, but about a year ago I started allowing them to play with it all by themselves. And, as soon as baby learns "gentle", she's going to be allowed to play with it, too.

Adorable and life-like stuffed animal friends from Aurora Miyoni

Like most kids, my children are obsessed with stuffed animals. They have stuffed animals they have gotten from toy stores during our adventures, dozens from friends and family, still more that they won at fairs and carnivals, and some that they get at events we go to.

And, the level of love that they have for these stuffed animals usually goes in that order. Silly carnival and event animals usually have a 3 month or less shelf life around here before they ultimately get ditched and then thrown in the donate bin, but those given as presents and those from our adventures typically become beloved friends that they play with day after day. One day while they were playing Zoo with all their stuffed animals it dawned on me that most of their favorite stuffed animals for playing with are Aurora Miyoni Signature Series. This isn’t really a surprise considering the life-like detail that goes into each Miyoni plush. My kids have great imaginations, but even they don’t want to play with purple cats and tigers with hats. No, they prefer animals that you can almost believe are the real deal.

Planning an adventure? Meet the Polaroid iE090 dual-screen waterproof digital camera

I’m going to date myself a bit here, but there was a time when us photographers used to take pictures and then it was days, weeks, or even years until we ever saw how those pictures turned out. Crazy, right? So, back in the day, the absolute coolest thing you could have is a Polaroid camera with “instant” photos that you could share, display, or put into albums immediately.

We now live in an era where instant photos are the norm, but that doesn’t mean that Polaroid isn’t still relevant and cool. In fact, the technology has just gotten cooler throughout the years. They now make printers that fit in your pocket that work with your smartphone {yes, really}, fancy digital cameras that can survive a swim, and even retro Polaroid cameras with “instant” film like I fell in love with all those years ago. We got to check out the Polaroid iE090 Dual-Screen Waterproof Digital Camera this holiday season, and I just love it. Since it takes high quality, 18MP images, it’s perfect for when I want great pictures but don’t want to risk ruining my DSLR. Shock proof, waterproof, and sized perfectly for your pocket, it makes it easy to take with you even on the most extreme adventure.

We love the 2015 Hess Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue

My son loves vehicles of all kinds. Big ones he can sit in and pretend to drive, little ones that fit in his pocket, and medium sized ones that he sets up scenes for so he can play make believe all day long. But, although he loves all trucks, cars and vehicles, fire trucks are the epitome of cool to him. So, when I heard that the new 2015 Hess Toy Truck that was released this November was a Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue, I knew it had to be his. A quick look into the “Hesstory” of the company {see what they did there?}, and I already knew this was going to be a yearly tradition with me and my son.

Have you heard of Hess Toy Trucks before? The tradition began in 1964 when the first toy truck was revealed. Each November the new design is released to their eager fans, which includes both collectors and kids alike.

One Big Happy Holiday: celebrating the magic of the season with Gymboree

I have always loved Christmas. The lights, the sounds, the events… everything. But, now with three little kiddos soaking up all the possibilities of the season, the holidays are positively magical. Of course there are the big events that everyone loves, like the pictures with Santa and taking a spin on the holiday carousel, but I think I love the small moments even more. Nothing can top our dance parties as we trim the tree and decorate, matching Gymmies by the fire, or sitting under the tree telling holiday stories. As much as I know the kids love the big stuff, it’s going to be all those little things that they remember most as our family traditions. Gymboree knows that life is full of happy moments, and they launched the One Big Happy campaign that encourages every family to celebrate the special moments, no matter the size.

Finally, you have doctors on your schedule with Amwell. You will never again have to Google symptoms and mom-diagnose or sit in an ER all night. No need to rearrange your schedule to make the only appointment available or waiting weeks without getting seen. And, no piling kids into the car and sitting in traffic, no masks to cover coughs or hand sanitizer to keep healthy kids healthy, and no keeping kids entertained while in the waiting room or in the office before the doctor has time to see you.

Keep an eye on what matters most with the Samsung SmartCam HD

Do you ever wish you could see inside your home when you’re not in it? Or maybe you wish you could see upstairs in your house while hanging out downstairs? If so, you should definitely check out Samsung’s newest smart home solution, the SmartCam HD Pro.

Designed for the security conscious as well as those who need to check on kids, pets, businesses, or deliveries from afar, the Samsung SmartCam HD Pro is as versatile as they get. A 1080p Full HD camera that can be linked to your smartphone wirelessly through the Samsung app, the SmartCam allows you to see everything in striking clarity, remotely.

Dress up with official NFL kid’s costume sets from Franklin Sports

Are you sick of the Halloween costumes made to last one night before they get abandoned? In my house, we won't even consider a costume unless we are sure the kids will use it for dress up even well after the pumpkins have been tossed. This means no cheapie costumes that will rip and fall apart after one use, we need stuff that is kid tough and made to be played in.
So, this year we're going with something we know the kids will wear every Friday and Sunday during football season as we cheer on the Seahawks, the Franklin Sports official NFL deluxe helmet with uniform. Definitely not a one night use item, these make for a fun-filled Halloween and a festive football season.Designed for game day as well as costume parties, we've already gotten good use out of our set and we've only had it a few days. Clearly, this is one costume that is definitely not going to be buried in the dress up bin or tossed after one night.
The set comes with a play helmet that looks just like the real thing, a team jersey, pants and iron-on number kit so you can customize with your favorite player's number. And, whether the kids wear it all together as it was intended or they mix and match so they can wear the jersey to school for Blue Friday, or the helmet with whatever Seahawks clothing they have in their closets, you can bet it's going to be a hit.

Let girls build with Roominate Studio DIY designing kits

Have you taken a stroll down the pink side of the toys stores lately? Slowly but surely, the days when all girls have to play with is dolls and princesses are coming to an end. Recently, there has been a huge shift in girls’ toys, and the result is really awesome.

As the revolution takes place in toy stores everywhere, we are now seeing products specifically marketed towards girls offer so much more substance than ever before. Thanks in part to companies like Roominate, girls are now hearing a message that they should have been hearing all along: girls can build and design, too. The story behind Roominate begins with two women, Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen, who met and became friends in the master’s engineering program at Stanford. When they got to talking about why they had pursued engineering, they both said they were inspired by the toys they played with during childhood. While looking at current toy offerings for girls and boys, they saw huge gaps in toys marketed towards the different genders.

Together they set about to change it by creating a product that was not just pink and pretty, but also had a basis in STEM subjects {Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math}. And, with that, the idea behind Roominate was born.