5 Under $10: Preschool Toys to Donate this Christmas

 Christmas, Giving Back  1 Response »
Dec 082015
 

This shop and my suggestions for preschool toys to donate has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BIGDeal #CollectiveBias

I’ve always felt it was important to teach Bubbles to have a kind and giving heart.  Small acts of kindness go a long way in this world, and I want her to think of others and not just herself.  I also want her to know the joy of brightening someone else’s day.

If you need ideas for preschool toys to donate, here are 5 great options!

As a family, we shop every year for gifts that we’ll donate to the various toy drives and angel trees in town.  Friends and family often comment that they would like to do something similar, but had two concerns in common.  One was the cost of giving during an already expensive time of year (and during an already tough economic climate) and the other was a lack of knowledge in what kids might like. Continue reading »

Kids Will Have a Scary Good Time with Monster 500 Toys

 For the Kids  1 Response »
Dec 062014
 

Bubbles is very “girly girl”.  She loves sparkles and glitter, lip gloss and hair ties, skirts and ruffles and dolls and everything else you can think of.  But on the flip side of that coin she loves planes, trains and cars, bugs, and playing ball.

A bit before Halloween I ran across Monster 500 toys and showed them to Bubbles.  She got a huge kick out of the pictures and so when I was offered a few Monster 500 products to check out I knew she’d be excited.  Hubby was impressed as we unpacked the box, too, which is always a good sign.

Monster 500 Flattop Frank Large Vehicle

There are 10 different Monster 500 characters available in the 3-inch diecast vehicles.  Each comes with a trading card that has a code that unlocks a monster car in the Monster 500 Racing App.  Larger vehicles (4″ high and 5″ long) are also available in four monster choices: Zoom Zombie, CrocPot, Lead Foot, and Flattop Frank. Continue reading »

Princes, Princesses, and Race Card Drivers – Oh My!

 For the Kids, For Toddlers, Turning 2 Toddler Birthday Celebration  32 Responses »
Feb 252013
 

Inspire Creative Play with Wow Toys

Twin Race Cars and a Royal Princess Carriage from WOW Toys

Bubbles is at a fun stage with her toy play right now.  You can almost see the little wheels turning in her head as she thinks about how she wants to interact with them.  Blocks have gone from just random stacking and tall towers to creating paths for cars to follow and walls to hide behind for hide and seek.  Baby dolls get fed and tucked in, while her pets get “washed” and go for walks.

Of course not all creative play with her toys makes sense – to me, at least.  More than one princess has found her way into the fridge instead of her toy bins when it’s time for pick up.  Horses sometimes get to drive the tractors while the farmers ride in the wagon.  And some of those dog baths have taken place in the soup pot from her kitchen.  It can be hard not to say “Oh no, honey, here, this is how you do it” (though I do have to occasionally remind her the ice cream cone is just for pretend and please don’t actually lick it).   But I try my best to encourage her creativity, imagination, and role play.

So when her princess and horse-drawn carriage ended up at the starting line with two twin race cars (one driven by the prince that normally steers the carriage) I didn’t bother explaining that a horse was going to be no match for a race car.  I just watched the action!  The race cars are friction-powered so once they’re revved up a bit they definitely can out-race the horse, but she evens the playing field by running the horse down the hall ahead of them.  (She also squeals with delight when I send the cars racing after her.) Continue reading »