I have a dollhouse-obsessed five year old...and I'm not complaining a bit. I love the fun creative play and imagination it inspires. (Currently, the little girl who resides in the dollhouse is named "Frodo.") If you're more interested in…
Let me rattle off a few words for you to chew on: heirloom, handmade , safe, affordable . Also: pretty . These Heirloom Baby Rattles from Windfall Boutique on Etsy are everything you could possibly want in a baby toy--but at half the pri…
Before I was a cool mom, I was a cool aunt with very high standards. Lucky for me, being a cool aunt in New York City isn't tough, as fabulous boutiques beckon from just about every other corner. But one in particular really captured thi…
I'll admit it--puzzles don't normally pique my curiosity. But when you combine a beautiful painting with intricate laser-cut wood pieces that are works of art in themselves, you have me grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Artifact Puzzles is p…
There's an avalanche waiting to happen. Somewhere in your house, a pile of drawings and paintings is teetering, just waiting to collapse and terrify the cat. At least, that's what happened to me. Here's a better way to honor your kid's c…
First, the bad news: when you get all these block animals lined up just right, there will be no fireworks over the Kremlin. The good news: they're seriously cute and probably won't obsess you like Tetris. Oh, and your kid can play with t…
If you're a Yahtzee fan, but your kids aren't quite old enough to keep track of it all--or you just have trouble keeping track of those darn pads--you'll probably love this awesome new dice game, Tenzi. Plus, it's from a cool little comp…
Since a shiny new box of crayons is de rigeur for back to school season, I am loving this awesome set of crayons that might make a perfect "You'll do great, honey!" gift for a new preschooler or kindergartener. And of course, her mom can…
While we're all still on this post-Olympic London kick (man, aren't you dying to go right now?) it was great timing that we discovered this brand new children's line straight out of London. [ don't miss a fantastic limited time discount …
For all the complaining I do about the tiny bricks scattered all over the living room floor, I adore LEGO bricks for how much they fully engage my kids even more than the latest video game. So we're delighted to you a very Happy 80th Bir…
Though enjoying the Olympics means that we are all watching about 2000x as much television as we normally would on a nice summer's day, I love how inspired my kids' play has become. Whether they are turning the couch cushions into hurdle…
If you'll be doing some packing before you hit the road this summer, chances are you don't want the kids to help too much, lest you end up with six pairs of socks and no pants in their suitcases. So try channeling their I can help! persi…
Imagination is in no short supply around these parts. One of our toys can have half a dozen alter egos and we love and encourage the unstoppable creative flow. And so when we were introduced to the Clump-O-Lump crew of stuffed animals th…
There's something that seems to be universally fascinating to kiddos, generation after generation, about playing doctor - and by that, I mean the kind with stethoscopes and tongue depressors and a plethora of toilet paper "bandages." My …
I've got four words for you: Steampunk. Lego. Monster. Fighters. I haven't even gotten to the part about the castle. Thank heavens I was alone when I found the new Lego Monster Fighters display at Target this week. Why? Because I blurted…
Poor Bun-Bun. I received the stuffed pink rabbit at my first baby shower for my first baby, and he's been around and loved ever since. Two houses, two kids, and one horrifying overnight stay in the litterbox had turned Bun-Bun from a che…
Between the heatwaves and the crazy downpours, I feel like we've been getting more use out of our creative indoor toys this summer than our scooters. And now here's one more that I'm just smitten with, because it's more than just a build…
I jumped through many hoops to get my son to finally use the potty: candy rewards, sticker charts, pleading. But I never did try a potty-training doll since I found most of them to be kind of unappealing as a doll that you'd want to snug…
While you're still allowed to love your American Girl, we're all in favor of international love and acceptance amongst our treasured dolls. And now there's a new doll in town, ready to put visions of Paris, croissants and classic French …
When my kids were little, they had a bunch of plastic "tools" that they could use around the house. But once they outgrew these toys and actually wanted to "saw" something, I was at a loss since our real tools were just too big and dange…
For those of you like me who spent far too many hours playing Tetris on your Gameboy (RIP), you'll know instantly why I thought these blocks for kids were a fantastic idea. The Tetris Blocks by Kubix come with 50 colorful, geometric bloc…
Finding that Higgs Boson particle is pretty cool, I guess. But maybe it's time to go back to the roots of invention and adventure that make America so great. Namely, dirigibles, freeze rays, lasers, and zombies. all of which come to life…
We're about to head on one of our annual summer road trips , which means packing plenty of toys for the car. We try to avoid the DVD--and generally succeed if we've planned ahead. Here, some of my favorite toys for the car for toddlers a…
Puzzles are the new family time favorite of our preschooler who is outgrowing her wooden pegged farm animals for more complex designs. I am happy to indulge her, but I refuse to throw down any more money on unimaginative cartoon characte…