Toys & Games Archives - Page 18 of 31

Educational and fun toys from Museum Tour

Toys these days are just so cool. Sure, you can still find cheap, plastic junk at just about every big toy store, but there are also a handful of companies still making classic toys and gifts that will delight for decades. The problem is finding those companies is a full time job. Thank goodness I can turn to Museum Tour to find those companies without having to search high and low.

The Museum Tour catalog and website were created by a former museum director and educator in order to help take learning beyond the museum and science center walls. With items chosen to help parents teach their children essential life skills at home, the Museum Tour collection of products includes many previously hard-to-find items and learning toys.

Museum Tour believes that children will want to learn if presented with toys that have been created with both education and fun in mind so they have packed the pages of their catalog with the best of the best in terms of high quality learning toys.

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed when shopping for kids toys, wondering what’s just going to collect dust in the bottom of a toy bin. When I found Museum Tour, it was as if I had curated the catalog myself and I was in heaven with page after page of the good stuff. It’s got the classic, the unique, and the toys that really wow.

Galt Toys offers educational and developmental toys and gifts for kids of all ages

I’m guessing most of you out there are very familiar with Galt Toys, even if you wouldn’t recognize the name. With a history spanning over 175 years and with toys for ages 0-12, Galt Toys has been celebrating the importance of childhood play in Europe and is now moving into North America just in time for the holidays.

From their iconic Ambi Toys collection that I remember vividly from my own childhood to the Galt learning books that are used in schools and homes alike, Galt Toys have been a staple in many homes for generations. Do these look familiar to you?

Giving Corolle dolls this holiday season

I am 100% convinced that every little kid needs a Corolle doll. Regardless of gender or toy preferences, I truly believe that every toddler needs to have their own doll to love. And, as it turns out, the experts agree with me.

It was through our co-op preschool that I first realized the importance of doll play for both girls and boys. The textbooks all agree that not only is doll play fun, but it also helps with social and emotional skills, verbal skills, role play, and helping to grow their imaginations.

An indoor playground with Gorilla Gym

“Go outside and play” was the theme of my childhood, when we would disappear in the morning and not come back until late afternoon. Looking back now, I think this is how my mom didn’t lose all her marbles raising 5 children.

I will admit that I love letting the kids loose on our back porch when they just need a change of scenery and a little exercise in the early afternoon, but unfortunately Seattle weather rarely cooperates this time of year and it’s usually rainy and wet. I wish I had a large covered area I could send them to when they need to get their energy out, but unfortunately this is what most afternoons look like.

I know many local moms feel the same way once the rainy season{s} hit hard, as do all the moms out there that don’t have yards to send the kids to. But, whether you’re lamenting the fact that the cold has descended, have a small urban lot, or no yard at all, I have your solution:The Gorilla Gym.

The Gorilla Gym is a way to make any doorway an active play set, so the kids can get out energy rain or shine. My kids adore swings and I’ve always been really sad that a big swing set doesn’t make sense in our sloped yard that’s already maxed out with a garden, a huge trampoline, a deck, a BBQ area, and various other kids toys, so naturally I chose the Indoor Swing Package from Gorilla Gym.

With no drilling, no holes, and no permanent structure to worry about, the Gorilla Gym can be taken down when not in use – which, for us, is very, very rare. It’s not going to be any surprise that the kids are fully addicted to the Gorilla Gym swing and if they had their choice, it would only be empty when we’re gone or sleeping.

Corolle Dolls holiday gift guide

Have a doll-loving little one like I do? If so, you are going to want to bookmark this page filled with my favorite holiday picks from Corolle Dolls. With prices from $30 on up and for every age and stage, you are bound to find the perfect gift for the holidays.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls toys for the holidays

My daughter loves everything My Little Pony. You may remember how much we adored the MLP movie and RC car last year, but what you don’t know is that the RC car and its pony passengers has been played with almost every day since it arrived. My Little Pony was the first characters my kids ever fell for and they show no signs of giving them up anytime soon.

Especially now that my daughter has found Equestria Girls dolls, based on the new Equestria Girls movie, which is a spinoff of My Little Pony. The basis of the movie and line of toys is that the ponies turn into girls by going through a magic mirror and they must learn about life without four legs, magic, or any of the comforts of home.

A Girl for All Time: Clementine, Your 1940s Girl

Know that feeling when someone catches your eye and doesn't let it go? For me, that someone was Clementine. Compared to other dolls she was a few shades more vibrant, more beautiful, and full of personality. Before I saw her, I thought all dolls were pretty, but next to her they all seemed dull and just so… ordinary.

Maybe it was her bright red hair, or maybe it was because her attire was so quaint and old fashioned, or maybe it’s her distinctly British charm, but whatever it was, she really couldn't help but stand out. I knew right when I met her that she was going to be a lifelong friend for my children.

Clementine is the newest doll from A Girl For All Time, maker of beautifully crafted dolls, accessories, books, and more. Each of their beautiful 16in dolls are based on 500 years of the fictional Marchmont family and feature independent, determined women from different eras of the most exciting times in English history.

One look at their website and I was immediately smitten by their exquisite collection of dolls with their beautifully detailed faces and their accessories that looked like something from a museum. It’s not surprising to me at all that A Girl for All Time can’t keep these dolls in stock over in London. The dolls sold out in a mere 10 days at the famous Harrods luxury department store and are selling well now that they have arrived Stateside at FAO Schwarz and a handful of New York boutiques.

But, as much as I loved Matilda, the Tudor girl, and Amelia, the Victorian girl, there was something about Clementine that enthralled me. Clementine is from London in the 1940s and survives the evacuation of London in 1939 as a 12-year-old. She comes in a historically inspired dress with vintage daisy pattern complete with period accessories and trim. After reading her captivating background story online, I knew she had to come home for tea with us.

VTech Premium Kid Connect lets you connect with your kids anywhere {InnoTab 3S}

My kids love to text and call their dad throughout the day while he’s at work, but I hate to leave them unattended with my cell phone. This means I’m constantly guarding my phone and making sure it’s locked down, and the kids try their best to convince me to take their pictures and send it to daddy all day long.

The solution? The awesome Premium Kid Connect available on the VTech InnoTab 3S that helps parents stay connected to their kids when apart. You may remember how much I adore the InnoTab learning tablet for kids and how it saved our Chicago-to-Seattle train trip, got us ready for school, and now offers supplemental learning we can do at home, but it’s way more than that when you connect it to VTech Premium Kid Connect and any Wi-Fi connection.

With the Premium Kid Connect on the InnoTab 3S, your kids can send voice, text, and picture messages right to loved ones' phones in real time. All by themselves.

Make yourself a home with Lundby {SMÅLAND Swedish dollhouse review}

I feel like I should win some sort of award for the fact that I still haven’t shown my daughter her new Lundby house she’s going to be opening on Christmas. It’s been an exercise in self-control to keep it hidden away in my office {which actually isn’t all that “hidden”, but that’s a whole other issue} even though I pass it numerous times a day.

Everyone is posting things on social media stressing about how there’s only 43 days until Christmas and all I can think is how on Earth am I going to be able to wait that long?

And, then when a new shipment of miniatures arrived the other day with a Lundby family and two packages to complete her Lundby kitchen and dining room, I realized this was going to be an even bigger task than I imagined.

Want to be a brilliant gift giver this holiday season? Try Brilliant Sky Toys & Books!

My aunt buys the best kids presents, ever. Growing up, I never had to give her a list of what I would like if her daughter drew my name in the Christmas exchange, because she always just knew what I would love better than I did. Now, when she buys for my daughter, I am always grateful that she includes the gift receipt – not because I’m going to return the present, but because I am dying to know where she shops.

So, want to know where she shops? Hint: it’s not the big toy stores with aisle after aisle of the “popular toys” that changes every week based on whatever movie or TV show is coll at the time. It’s the small stores run with one goal: to offer kids a diverse and eclectic mix of high quality toys that they will treasure for years.

Stores like Brilliant Sky Toys & Books, an amazing toy store that operates in 15 states {and counting}. The first Brilliant Sky Toys & Books was founded by a husband and wife team in 2002 and their goal was to be the finest upscale specialty toy store in America and offer amazing and personalized service with a smile.

In the past 11 years, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books has grown from a single location to one of the fastest growing toy retailers in the country, which just goes to show you that what they are offering is what people really want.

So, what are they offering? They feature more than 10,000 high-quality specialty products and offer a place where everyone can find their way to play. They describe their approach as “vibrant yet warm, exciting yet comforting and exploratory yet safe.” Their stores are designed with rich colors and woods and low sightlines and custom fixtures, to make the Brilliant Sky sensory experience unlike any other.

They say, “Discover, experience, explore, interact, and enjoy. That's the Brilliant Sky way, and it's the way to play”. Seriously, who wouldn’t love to shop here?