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Unique & totally adorable plush toys

Shanalogic | plush toys
I love this company’s selection of plush toys. Shanalogic is a small artful boutique out of Ann Arbor, Michigan that offer limited edition runs of custom plush toys for kids and grown-ups alike. Most are standard fleece and polyester fiberfill plushes (a few like Squidlet are crocheted or yarn knit), but the designs set them apart from the rest of the toys on the shelves.

Marshmallow Bunny – Special Love Edition $28 bucks
Squidlets $18 bucks
Loveye – Limited Edition $40 bucks [+shipping]

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Clint Eastwood Minimates Action Figure

January 5th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in cool schtuff, dad recomendation, kid stuff, toys

Clint Eastwood Action Figure

Based on a classic Eastwood western, the Clint Eastwood; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Minimates Box Set features entertaining characters from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Don’t let these gunslingers get away!

They have put the Mini-mates spin on this classic Western! Bring your favorite Wild West gunslingers to life with this Minimates box set based on the 1966 spaghetti-western classic! Featuring the Good Blondie, the BadAngel Eyes and the Ugly Tuco as they search for buried gold, this set also includes Showdown Blondie from the epic final standoff! Sculpted and designed by Art Asylum, each 2-inch tall Minimate features 14 points of articulation and sculpted accessories!

So cool.

Clint Eastwood; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Minimates Box Set at Amazon.Com ($16 bucks [+shipping])

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Lethal Snow Globes, Faulty Ski Bindings and Other Holiday Recalls

recalled snow globes from Hallmark Cards

Now that the gift wrap has been thrown away and hopefully those sugar “highs” have passed, you think you have a moment to kick back on the couch and watch the kids fight over play with their new toys – wrong. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a six pack of recalls on items that may have sitting under your tree or in your kid’s room, so please read on.

Regarding Christmas decorations, there are two recalls – one with an obvious design flaw and the other one maybe not so obvious. We should all know this from 9th grade Science class, if you have a big enough snow globe in the sun for too long it will magnify the sun’s rays and potentially ignite a fire. Hallmark’s Jumbo Snowman Snow Globe (Stock #1XAG5093, measuring 11 by 12 by 17 inches) for a suggested retail price of $99.95, has been recalled due to a potential risk of fire.

Gardner’s Supply Company has voluntarily recalled their Candle Powered Christmas Pyramid (*pictured above). The candle carousels generate heat which rotate the fan blade and can cause the center platform to spin. The candle holder placement on the base of the carousels is too close to the structure, allowing the candle flame to come in contact and ignite different parts of the carousel, including the fans, trees and deer, posing a fire hazard.

Munire Furniture | Newport Rubbed Black Crib

Munire Furniture Company is in trouble again this year, they had a sizable recall a few months ago for there Majestic, Flat Top, Essex, Brighton/Sussex, and Captiva Cribs. Now it is there 4-in-1 Newport Rubbed Black Convertible Crib and matching furniture. The red paint beneath the black rubbed paint has been found to have excessive amounts of lead in it. There has been one report of a child ingesting the paint and being diagnosed with lead poisoning. The combined number of units involved in the two sets of Munire recalls is 34,000 so if you have anything with the Munire name on it in you nursery or kid’s room, please read this twice.

In the sports arena there are two additional recalls. Foursquare Outerwear, of Irvine, CA, made a classic fashion faux pas by More »

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Time Honored Toys for the Holidays

December 18th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in dad recomendation, fyi, games, simplify, toys

barbie

When I talk to people about buying kids gifts for the holidays the conversation seems to swing one of two ways, toward whatever toy is getting the biggest buzz (heaven forbid Oprah mentions a toy on her show!) or commercial air-time or the discussion becomes a friendly debate about the most beneficial toys or “smartest” toys based on current studies or some recent research or article.

Lately though, I find myself rediscovering the magic of some of the time worn classics. You know the toys, you grew up with, you know – the good ones. Little green plastic army men, matchbox cars, alphabet blocks, Legos (don’t get me started!), Play-Doh, the list goes on.

Recently the Strong National Museum of Play had three more inductees into their hall of fame; the baby doll, skateboard and my personal favorite, the stick. Can you imagine your kid’s face when they open their gift on Christmas morning and it’s a stick from the backyard! Priceless.

A lot of strong ideas conjure up when you stare at their list of 41 inductees. If this list doesn’t do it for you, I highly recommend you popping over to the Holiday Gift Guide put out every year by the Parents’ Choice. Here’s something to jog your memory while you’re trying to figure out what to get you grandson, niece or daughter; [* in alphabetical order]

  • alphabet blocks
  • Atari 2600 game console
  • Baby Doll
  • bicycle
  • Barbie
  • cardboard box
  • Candyland
  • checkers More »

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Beautiful Blocks with a Twist

November 18th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in dad recomendation, eco-friendly, non-toxic, simplify

non-toxic wooden tilt kitclassic letter blocks
Almost everyone selling toys these days tries to tell us that their toys are educational. But these eco-friendly and non-toxic classic action block sets from Haba are the real thing. Children, playing and experimenting freely, inventing their own rules and structure as they go along or using no rules at all, will acquire and maintain new motor, cognitive, and creative skills when they engage in genuine play with almost any toy offered at TurnerToys.Com.

An explicitly didactic toy is boring. A toy with a predetermined set of goals, with a “right answer”, is not a toy at all. It could be argued that play with such a “toy” is not play, but work. An automated toy holds attention for a while, but pretty soon, after it has done its thing, a child gets bored with it and moves on (it’s a closed system, of course). It is the toy that requires thought and effort from a child, and rewards new efforts with new effects, that really teaches. There is a place for real, structured learning even in the life of an infant. But such behavior is never play and shouldn’t be confused with play.

These classic alphabet blocks feature real embossed (not just printed) letters and numbers. This standard set now includes 28 blocks, providing 4 complete alphabets, 3 sets of numerals, and 28 different animal pictures.If that doesn’t do it for your tots, try adding motion and excitement to your unit blocks with our rock maple ball tilt. Infinite variety of kinetic and dynamic designs unleash a child’s creativity in all four dimensions: length, width, height, and time.   Excellent medium for enhancing problem solving abilities.

These are all simple and beautiful classic toy solutions for kids this holiday season!

$30-75 bucks [plus shipping] at TurnerToys.Com

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Teddy Bear Redux

October 27th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in cool schtuff, dad recomendation, eco-friendly, kid stuff, toys

Tedde Bears

Tedde is giving the traditional teddy bear a makeover with updated designs, mischievous personalities and even a new spelling. Tedde believes that a teddy bear should not look and feel like it just fell off an assembly line and its mission is to rid the world of factory-made bear clones.

The Tedde collection includes Teddes, Tedde Gold, Bear Food and Tiny Teddes for your pocket. Teddes are limited production and constructed by hand with textiles like mohair, felt, wool, hand spun yarn, vinyl, silk, canvas, recycled cotton, linen and cashmere.

Average cost about $35 bucks (+shipping) at Tedde.Com

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