12 Toys of Christmas

Kidwinks' 3rd annual "12 Toys of Christmas", and we look forward to it each year because it gives us another way to help out our fellow busy moms with some fabulous gift ideas, and also gives them a chance to win some of the toys!

Beginning Monday, November 28, 2011, and continuing each day for the following 11 days, we will reveal one of the 12 great toys that have been hand-picked by us after conferring with a few local, independent toy store owners. We will be holding periodic contests during this 12-day series to win some of these toys, too! All announcements will be sent by email, so make sure to sign up for our 12 Toys of Christmas Email List so you don't miss out.

Got Friends With Kids? Use our Share buttons in the upper right, yellow portion of this screen to share this with your friends who may also be looking for gift ideas. This is one of the few things we do that is not specific to the Chicago area!

Click here to see 12 Toys of Christmas 2010 - they're still great ideas!

1st Toy of Christmas 2nd Toy of Christmas 3rd Toy of Christmas Win the 1st Toy of Christmas Win the 3rd Toy of Christmas

Big Orange Bouncy Thing

Ok, so Big Orange Bouncy Thing is not the official name of this great toy, but its how my kids refer to it. Its actually called the Tandem Space Hopper and its fantastic!

My kids ride it alone, they ride it together, they fight about whose turn it is to ride it! They have bounced through the house on the wood floor and on carpet with no problem. They brought it to Grandma's house on Thanksgiving and bounced with their cousins! Its the kind of toy that you keep going back to because its not only so much fun to ride, but it just looks fun!

Its made from the same sturdy material as an exercise ball and it has horns to use as handles. You can ride it alone or with two people. Riding with two people is a little tricky as you need to get your bouncing in sync, but that is part of the fun. Its aimed at kids 10 and over, but all of my kids have had no problem controlling it .... ages 5, 7, 9 & 11.

It comes with a hand-help pump and was very easy to blow up. I stayed out of the way and the kids blew it up and put the plastic sealing pin in by themselves.

We're keeping it inside for more fun this winter and then Big Orange Bouncy Thing will get to see the backyard once spring hits. You can find more great toys like the the Tandem Space Hopper here, as well as get great ideas on the 2011 12 toys of Christmas!

Create a Lego Scene

The Lego Storage bin made by Neat-Oh company is a great way to store a small to medium amount of Legos if you are traveling, even if its just from room to room in your own house! The inside of the bin opens up to a playmat that can become part of the Lego scene that your kids are building. They are made from a washable vinyl material with very sturdy zippers on all sides. They are a great way to do a quick cleanup of Legos that are cluttering up your entire family room floor! Just throw them in the bin and zip it up!

My boys have been playing with the standard yellow bin that has a landscape scene inside .....

And the dinosaur bin ..........

The bins we have are the smaller size. There are larger bins available also.

My kids are Lego fanatics and are always creating scenes, so the concept of these are a great idea. Here's the only problem we had ..... when we tried to put Lego buildings or characters on them they would fall over pretty easily. The mat is slightly uneven because it has been folded and is made out of a cushiony material. I think the solution for that is to use the larger Duplo blocks instead of the regular small legos, which is what we tried. The larger blocks have a bigger base and would have no problem standing. With that said, the age range for this product is probably about 4-6, for kids that are playing with bigger blocks.

They would also work out great for any type of small toy .... matchbox cars, small figurines, etc. My youngest son used the dinosaur bin to create a prehistoric scene. The mat worked great for this:

All in all, this would be a good Christmas present to go along with larger legos, cars or figurines, and a great way to store the toys while they are not in use. You can find other great Christmas present ideas here!

TerriLee Doll a Hit!

My 5-year old daughter has been playing with the TerriLee doll and loves her!

She thinks the doll is “very pretty” and I agree! She is a great traditional 15” doll for a little

girl ..... simple and not too over the top, as some of the girl toys can be! Her clothes are made very well and are all separate pieces - shirt, skirt, sweater, bloomers, knit hat, socks and shoes. My daughter likes to dress her and is able to take the clothes on and off by herself. Because they are made so nicely, there is no worry that she will rip the velcro or fabric.

She comes with a plastic hairbrush that is just the right size for my daughter’s small hands to comb the doll’s long hair. We have only been playing with her a short time, but the hair seems manageable. Overall, she is a great doll and will likely be played with for a long time!

If a TerriLee doll isn’t something that you’re looking for, you might find more toy ideas here!

I Found My “Can’t Wait to Give It” Gift

I just received My Very Merry Christmas Board Book in the mail, and one look through it, I knew it was my “can’t wait to give it” Christmas gift. You know there’s always one or two gifts each year that make you giddy with anticipation to see the recipients' faces when they unwrap their presents.
  

This year it will be my 3-year-old niece’s face I’ll get to watch light up when I read to her from her new book, “Jocelyn’s Very Merry Christmas.” The only problem is her 6-year-old sister may be disappointed she didn’t get one too.

The book is recommended for children 0-6. So while I missed it for Jocelyn’s sister and another 6-year-old nephew, I won’t despair. The Christmas title is the 11^th personalized children’s book from the award-winning company, I See Me! Inc. The company got its start nearly 12 years ago when its founders received a personalized book for their own child and thought they might be able to create a better product.  

I’d say they succeeded in creating a quality product for kids of all ages. The illustrations are beautiful. The Christmas book has a quaint, patchwork quilt look to it. I am no art expert, but I know what I like. Each page makes me feel like I’m enjoying a cup of hot cocoa, sitting in front of a warm fire with Grandma’s hand-knit afghan wrapped around me and all the people I love nearby. Yeah, really, like that.

The story is simple and sweet and Jocelyn’s name is inserted in a natural way, not forced like in some personalized books I’ve read.

The World According to Me is another title from the company and is geared toward the 4-12-year-old reader,  the original title is My Very Own^© Name, and there is A Hanukkah Bear for Me book as well. A few of these books are likely to find their way into the hands of my other nieces and nephews for upcoming birthdays and holidays.

My Very Merry Christmas Board Book retails for $24.95. Check it out at I See Me Personalized Books.

Imaginets: A Toy Worth Fighting Over

The value of a toy, to me, a mom of three very busy young boys, is its ability to entertain, educate if possible, and to do it without much interaction from me. Just being honest.

The “Imaginets” from MindWare was the perfect toy for my guys on a recent overnight trip, when we were up too late and crowded in too small of a hotel room.

With its wooden traveling case, containing 42 magnetic wood blocks and 50 full-color design cards, the toy became a fast favorite of my 5-year-old and fought over by my nearly 10-year-old. Plus, a few days later, the toy was the exact distraction my 2-year-old needed while I hosted a book club meeting in my home but didn’t have childcare on hand.  (The toy is recommended for children 3 and older due to its small parts.)

The cards give easy, visual instruction of how to arrange the wooden blocks, easy enough for the 5-year-old to follow, but there are enough different blocks to allow for kids’ own creative designs.

The traveling case makes it easy to pack in the car or take on an airplane. So if you’re just looking for something for your kids to do at home or while traveling, I highly recommend “Imaginets,” priced at a reasonable $29.95.

For more ideas for toys and gifts, check out the www.Kidwinks.com shopping guide!http://www.kidwinks.com/ShoppingKidFun/Gifts/Toys/

No One Will Sleep Through Goodnight Moon - The Musical

Fast-paced, funny and full of visual chicanery, Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Goodnight Moon The Musical Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre, in Chicago, was the perfect afternoon treat for my 5-year-old. Though not too scary, it offered enough elements of surprise, paired with a fair amount of loud sounds and live music, to keep my son on the edge of his seat with anticipation about what Bunny, Mouse, Cow, Bears with Chairs and the Little Old Lady Whispering Hush might do next.

My middle guy wants
to paint his room green now!

The repeated references to bed bugs are timely, albeit discomforting, and I’m hoping CTC will post a video at its website  with directions to the Handshake Tornado, because that alone was worth the ticket price ($36 adult/$26 child).

My 5-year-old asked if we could go back an upcoming Friday (Nov. 11, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16), when the Theater hosts “pajama parties;” and he said he wished we’d brought his almost-3-year-old brother with us. “Andy would love this,” he said. (Feel free to donate new pajamas to the theater’s pajama bin … pjs will benefit children awaiting adoption, while Scholastic Books will donate an equal number of early learning books for disadvantaged youths. More info at www.pajamaprogram.org.)

Mouse was my guy's fave character.

Playing through Dec. 23, performances of Goodnight Moon the Musical are Tuesday through Friday at 10:15 a.m., Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and the special Friday night 7 p.m. pajama party performances. For more information or to purchase tickets follow the link and click View Website.

Overall, Goodnight Moon the Musical is a fun 65 minutes for children of all ages, although CCT recommends it for children four and older. 

Learn about more things to do with kids in Chicago at www.kidwinks.com.