A whole new bunch of toys arrived from Sassy just in time for our holiday list! I love this activity ball–lots of aspects for babies to explore. Not only is this the perfect kind of floor toy to enjoy with your baby and toddler–it’s under $10- which just goes to show that you don’t have to spend a fortune on great toys. Read our full review.
Calico Critters Hedghogs- Amazing!
Even though I absolutely shunned my own colonial dollhouse (sorry Mom)…I really have always loved the Calico Critters (International Playthings) and their houses over the years. The collections always feature what look like storybook animal families and miniature settings that fit them. I am absolutely obsessed with the Hedgehog family (see pic). This year they have a new Country Tree House that has lots of levels and features. Read our complete review.
Calico Critters Country Tree House
Ride on toys for toddlers is always one of the hardest categories we review. Over the past few years we’ve noticed that one of the ways companies have cut back is to do away with steering mechanisms. Now this bumper car also doesn’t steer but because it’s on casters – it does move easily in any direction your child would like to go. What really annoys me are ride-ons where your child has to stand up and move the toy and then sit down again- where’s the fun in that? To read our full review and for shopping info — click here!
Sing-a-ma-jigs
I love these dolls. The harmonizing is fun. Here’s another video where we demonstrate that they each sing a different song. For a full review visit our site, www.toyportfolio.com. I’ll try to stop writing about them…but when the new batch arrives – I may have to post some more.
Blabla Kids Elephants
Delicious! These blabla kids elephants just make you smile. We love the whole collection of animals and girl/boy dolls- just right for toddlers and preschoolers (and their parents!). For a complete review and shopping info visit our site by clicking here.
Ugly Dolls 2010
Ugly Dolls have been around for a while but we thought that they deserved a special shout out this year. The new cast of 2010 Ugly Dolls arrived on a day this summer when were swamped with toys that we just didn’t think kids would play with for very long. As soon as the Ugly Dolls got unpacked, everyone wanted one. They appeal to both young and old (and we count ourselves on the older part of that spectrum!). In fact when we have kids in for testing days–they all want to go home with an Ugly Doll. I think that says something about the inviting whimsy of these soft, huggable zany creatures. If you’re shopping for a hard to buy for tween or teen, Ugly Dolls are usually a welcomed gift. For a review of this year’s dolls and shopping info, visit www.toyportfolio.com.
Leap Frog Cook & Play Potsy
I told Al Roker yesterday that I had a little crush on this toy, to which Al expressed some concern for me – but I really do love this pretend toy! Most concept toys are so boring or they have that same sweet woman’s voice (I think she’s related to the annoyingly perky GPS woman). The folks at Leap Frog have a male actor saying “open” “shut” or “off” “on” -every time you take the lid off the pot or put it back on. But instead of just saying it the same way…you know the guy has some theater background…the tenor of his voice changes. It’s just funny and very welcomed. I do wish that when you put the pieces of food in the pot that the pot recognized them–that would have been very cool, but probably would have made the toy super expensive. Fill and spill toys are always a hit with sitting up babies and young toddlers–so this toy is right on target without the sound effects. I’m not in love with the songs it sings…but the open/shut gets me every time. Watch our video. Read our complete review at www.toyportfolio.com.
After two very intensive weeks of looking at what seemed like a boat load of plastic toys…I finally decided we were ready for a treat. We opened the box from blabla kids. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against plastic toys per se – many are on our top list this year- but there’s something really special about this collection of dolls. They’re both deliciously retro and fresh in design and spirit.
Take a look at just two of the new dolls that we’re reviewing this morning.
We had a preview today of LeapFrog’s new toys for 2010. I’ve seen many of them at an earlier showing (I think I may have blogged about having seen so many promising toys–but they were all embargoed). I’m not big on keeping secrets so showing me toys I’m not allowed to write about for months really doesn’t work for me. Today I was assured that I could write about everything…
New for 2010, Leapster Explorer
Leapster Explorer
If you’re looking for a hand-held game console for younger kids, this will probably be the one to get. We haven’t tested it yet–that said, it’s faster, the graphics are amazingly clear and bright–and the games are varied and interesting. The Leapster Explorer will retail for $69–and while your preschooler will probably still want to play with your iPhone, they will also be more than satisfied to play with the Explorer. In the photo below you can see a demonstration of Sugar Bugs–where you are given the task of getting the sugar bugs out of the person’s teeth. For some reason this really grossed out my mother when we saw it a few months ago–it doesn’t bother me too much–we’ll have to see how kids react. The company will continue the existing Leapster line (at a lower price point) and continue to bring out a few games a year to support it). Some may be disappointed that the Explorer will not play your existing library of Leapster titles.
Demonstrating Sugar Bugs
What I did think was really promising was the on-line expanded experience of LeapWorld….it’s FREE (once you’ve purchased your Explorer)…and the content is not just more ABC drills…there’s lots of wonderful new concepts to explore — a weather app where you can set the temperature, the humidity, etc. and then see how your settings impact the weather on the little town. Maybe because my older son was obsessed with the Weather Channel as a preschooler – this seems particularly fun. There are also educational games that aren’t about right or wrong–but exploring. For example, there is a scale –and you can add more objects to each side to see which weighs more. From what we saw today–there seems to be a happy revival of the what many refer to as the Golden Age of Children’s Software of the ’90s–where technology embraced educational games with innovation and creativity. From a safety standpoint–this also has advantages since your child gets to LeapWorld by plugging in their Explorer to your PC–not by surfing the web. We sat so quietly during this presentation (we’re normally a noisy group) that one of our pr buddies thought we had already left the showroom.
Of course, our intention to behave and be relatively quiet was completely blown when we got to the new baby toys. There were many interesting toys…pretend lap tops (with a blog and email feature) for two year olds, new drums, a new activity table…but then we all saw the following toy. I don’t know why I always think I’m being punked –but today I was sure this was it. So I decided to say nothing at first. I heard a little chuckle from my niece Ali (assistant extraordinaire) and my brother James was leaning an elbow into me in just that way that older brother can…and then I just lost it. I looked around…was this a joke? (My mother was on deadline with another project so she wasn’t with us today – but truth be told I think she would have laughed as well–but she probably would have told us to behave ourselves!)
LeapFrog's Learn & Groove Magic Wand
Here’s the photo and you can watch the video.
Ok, we got over it…
I really liked this new interactive pot, called Potty, –that comes with veggies..my favorite part?…the lid says “open” and “closed’…this will be great fun for toddlers. 
Watch the video!
We also saw more extensions on the TAG and TAG Jr. reading lines (both Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award winners). More titles are promised for both and there will be an interactive USA and World Map to go with TAG that looked like fun for both kids and parents. While there were more licensed titles–we were assured that there would still be more classic storybooks in the growing collection of the TAG libraries– we hope so.
We look forward to testing the new products with kids — and I have a sense that the folks in toyland know that as a family, we take what we do very seriously, but with an appropriate sense of humor…
TAG Interactive World Map
We received this update on Guidecraft’s Magneatos from one of our imaginative testers! In this picture he has created a garage with Magneatos- one of our all time favorite open-ended building sets for preschoolers. If you’re looking for something fun and not structured, we highly recommend these sets. 
For a full review of this Platinum Award winning toy, click here. Our suggestion, put one of these sets in a basket in your family room…building with them is really fun, no matter how old you are! Because there is no right or wrong way to play with these over-sized colorful magnetized pieces–they are also a great choice for kids with ADHD.
