We've been fans of the Handmade Toy Alliance since this organization formed in 2008 in response to Congress's [expletive deleted] Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act. This ill-conceived (and ironically named) law is the impetus for …
I have nothing against boys embracing pink, but when I went to buy a little boy doll for my nephew to love while his mama was caring for a newborn, I found that 99% of the baby dolls in the big toy store were of the female persuasion. Fr…
These so-called " friendly monster finger puppets " bear such a striking resemblance to the Yo Gabba Gabba characters that I had to break down and buy them for my YGG-obsessed daughter's third birthday. I mean, that striped green one doe…
I usually leave the furniture assembly to my husband; not because I don't know my way around a tool box, but because I figure I did all that kid-having so it's only fair that he do all the direction-following and screwing together of 400…
The way I see it, if your kids are going to fall in love with colorful shape sorters and battery-operated talking phones anyway--and trust me, they are--they might as well be from a company like b.toys . This small company used to licens…
Memorial Day is here which means goodbye wool, hello breezy, beautiful linen. Even when it comes to your kids' playthings . Have you ever loved a doll so much that you wanted to hug it? Wait, that's ridiculous, even for a rhetorical ques…
I spent my entire morning browsing the modern Swedish design shop for kids, barnvanligt , and not even the beautiful spring day was been able to tear me away. While the organic cotton robot pillows (below) sucked me in, I think what I ne…
I scream, you scream, we all scream for... well, okay, I lied. I didn't scream over these adorable soft ice cream-festooned beanbags, but I did squeal just a little bit. The Baby Gardner brings us Lisa Bacigalupi's exclusive hand-stitche…
You know, you think a block is a block is a block. Then something like Tegu comes around and suddenly those regular blocks your kids play with just seem you know...like regular blocks. If you haven't heard of Tegu, they're the eco-friend…
I have a true story to tell you--a tale of DOG, and DOG, and DOGGIE, MAMA, DOGGIE. At least, that's how it began. My 17-month-old son says only four words, but I can tell that he understands a lot more. Now, thanks to the U Play Mat by P…
In theory, I love getting breakfast in bed on Mother's Day, but nothing sends my nerves into overdrive like seeing a toddler wobble into my carpeted bedroom with a tray full of orange juice, sticky syrup and things with crumbs. Instead, …
I've been a huge fan of the Kickboard USA scooters ever since I witnessed my then two-year-old take off down the driveway on his royal blue Mini Kickboard. Three years later, if there's anything that could make his ride more fun, it woul…
Happy 40th Birthday, Earth Day ! You look fabulous! Not a day over 29, honest. In honor of this big birthday, a great opportunity to teach our kids about the best ways to take care of this nice planet of ours, the EPA has put out a whole…
I've been to enough birthday parties to have witnessed that infamous phenomenon by which the giftee ignores all the fancy toys and plays with a box instead. And while I wouldn't recommend you wrap up a plain box, I think the recipient of…
Rice dk is a cool Danish company specializing in utterly chic and socially-conscious homewares. I like to think of them as the cooler, slightly under-the-radar version of Ikea. Like the hip older cousin I had growing up who wore a motorc…
So my girls have grown to like princesses just as everyone promised me they would. It's their genetic imperative and I am powerless to resist it. Uncle, uncle! I give in! Even so, I'm always looking out for imagination-building princess …
My kids are still completely obsessed with the Calafant toys Santa left under the tree last year, which means I really shouldn't be eying anything else at all. But considering the prices and the versatility of these cool, cardboard toys,…
I really hate losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings Time, but I'm also thrilled beyond belief that the season of Throwing the Children Outside to Play is nigh. And I'm pretty sure they will stay out even longer if they have somethi…
I'm not very good at math, so I can't tell you precisely how many different forms and figures your child can create out of 25 wooden blocks, but I'm going to say it's approximately a gazillionthousand. The ShapeMaker wooden block set by …
My kids (probably like yours) aren't lacking for stuffed animals. But when I saw the amazingly adorable Jungle House Pillow from Toronto's So Chic Gifts I knew I could totally justify getting them this handmade pillow-and-stuffed-animal …
My son had a stuffed elephant named Tussle that went with him everywhere. In fact, he never knew it, but there were actually two Tussles in constant rotation, just in case one went missing. Tussle has long since moved to the "big happy f…
It breaks our heart when our favorite shops go out of business, for whatever reason, as with Quiet Hours Toys which is shutting its doors this spring. We've featured them so often over the years, always a fan of this mom-run shop's exqui…
We love wooden toys, but let's face it, there's often more room in our kids' hearts (and hands) for those that are cuddly, plush and less likely to leave a mark when you fall asleep on top of one. Evidently the eco-minded designers of No…
I've had a thing for sock monkeys ever since my mother-in-law gave me the one she'd made for my husband when he was a baby . They're some kind of magical combination of goofy, cheerful cuddliness and retro-chic all in one. I always figur…