Deglingos are deliciously quirky — and were a welcome treat at toy fair. The rows and rows of collectable dolls were gone this year…the dolls that look like real babies (in a seriously creepy kind of way)…we were just commenting on their absence when we hit the end of a row and found these decidedly off beat (funky meets folk art) dolls that will appeal to both boys and girls. Probably because I have two boys–I’m always sensitive to finding huggables that have that gender free appeal. The Deglingos are a collection of animals – there’s a Cow (Milkos), a Wolf (Bigbos), a Bunny (Lapinos)…you get the idea. We’re looking forward to seeing the new line of Baby Deglingos and sharing them with our testers.
Fun…Deglingos!
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Recycling trucks are back–as they should be. Maybe we’ll have kids less confused by all those recycling bins! This one from Lego is $16.99 and available on at 
With everyone cutting back on their expensive coffee habits, you can enjoy a pretend cafe latte or cappuccino with this new pretend setting from Step 2. The Cafe Barista looks like fun–we really liked the “steamed milk” sound effect. Looking forward to testing this one. Will be available later this year. Be on the look out for more and more toys that focus on food…both real and plastic.
We’re eager to test this new mini projector from 
If you’ve spent any time with a two year old, you know they love to do the same thing over and over again. It’s through that repeititive play, that they develop their self confidence and sense of their own abilities. The other thing you know about toddlers is that finding toys for them can be really challenging. They’ve outgrown their baby toys–and they’re not really ready for most preschool toys with all of those pesky small parts that pose a safety risk. They’re often more interested in seeing if they can climb on a toy at this stage rather than play with it. My son Adam did this with his first garage!
This 8″ soft fabric ball makes that lovely chime sound when it’s rolled back and forth. Just right for encouraging babies to crawl–and fun for back and forth games on the floor with older babies and toddlers. It also comes in pink and part of a larger line that also includes a very cuddly Sweet Chocolate Pillow Bear that opens up to become a flat pillow. When you connect the Velcro underneath the Bear, it looks like a regular stuffed bear. The ball retails for $19 and the bear is $49. 
Last year we spent way too much time flying Spin Master’s little Havoc Helis around our office. We got pretty good at it too–so we’re pretty psyched that they have new flying machines! The Switchblade promises to take off like a UFO and transform in the air–into a hig powered aircraft. We’ll have to go outside for this one…field trip!
We just received a new collection from Mary Meyer called Earthmates. The little Organic Little Sprouts Club here is just 5″ tall, he’s made with organic cotton . There is also a small orange cat and sweet green dog. The tag reads “They are all made without the use of any harmful pesticides, or toxic chemicals or dyes.” What your child will love about them is that they are very sweet and soft. Done in a soft Velour with stitched features, these are safe for infants and toddlers. If you’re looking for something bigger, there’s this 12″ friend Big Bear- he’s not as huggable as the smaller animals–but he is very cheery.
We LOVE this new collection of huggables from Hosung NY. They are just right (and safe) for toddlers – velour bodies with stitched features- and are really very sweet looking. There are three different collections – all produced a round of oohs and ahhs as we went through the box. There is the Long Leg Collection (sans clothes) – they retail for $14.99. The ones in the photo are the Tiny Love Collection and are a very reasonable $9.99. The Tiny Tots Collections are smaller animals (fistfuls really) that have a sense of humor and joy about them. Best yet, the entire line is made from 100% non-toxic cotton. The coloring is from minerals and soy done with the company calls a “low eco-impact” dye process. Unlike many “natural” collections we’ve seen, they are very vivid and don’t have that “ok, it doesn’t look great, but it’s very green and pc”. Each are something you’d be happy sharing with the toddlers in your life….hooray! We’re giving the entire collection an