Must Have – Hottest Toyz of 2008
Posted by: paulastore on: September 23, 2008
Keep up with the trends in Toy Land with these newest, hottest toys to hit the market. Make your child a trendsetter with the latest toys that all his/her friends can ooh and ahh about! This page is continuously updated, so you may want to add it to your Favorites!
Girl Tech Stylin’ Studio
Most little girls love dressing up. As a parent of a princess-in-the-making, I know this for a fact. So, I was pretty impressed by this little gadget, the Stylin’ Studio from Radica, which allows you to take a picture, modify it digitally and give yourself the look of your choice, complete with makeup, accessories, a brand new hairstyle and a cool background. Wait, there’s no need to stop at just yourself. After you’ve finished having fun with your own picture, you can always start on your friends and family. Now, just imagine your brother with curly locks. This thing really has potential. Wink!
Top 10 Disney Themed Halloween Costumes
Posted by: paulastore on: October 16, 2008
Be the star of the show this Halloween! Dress up in your favorite Disney themed Halloween costume this year. Dress up as Tinkerbell and dazzle everyone around. Looking for something exotic? Jasmine is the way to go! Choose Minnie Mouse or Daisy Duck if you want something traditionally Disney. Want something more “Halloweeny”? There are lots of evil queens and witches just waiting to be picked out. So, read on and get the halloween costume which best suits your personality!
1. Tinkerbell Adult Halloween Costume
2. Cinderella Prestige Halloween Costume
3. Jasmine Halloween Costume
4. Minnie Mouse Halloween Costume
5. Beauty and the Beast Disney Belle Prestige Adult
6. Snow White Queen Halloween Costume
7. Sleeping Beauty Aurora Halloween Costume
8. Ariel Adult Halloween Costume
9. Maleficent Adult Halloween Costume
10. Cruella de Vil Adult Halloween Costume
Get Ready For Halloween…
Posted by: paulastore on: October 12, 2008
Halloween is made up of the weird and the wonderful. Everyone wants to stand out from the rest at Halloween time. A great way to stand out is to wear a striking costume. Aliens are fascinating because we know so little about them. This Halloween, pick up an alien Halloween costume and startle everyone around!
1. Martian G Child
This cool Halloween alien costume includes a light green plastic alien mask, attached dark green bandana with the “A 51″ logo on it, goatee, black eyes with small holes to provide adequate vision and breathing hole in the mouth area, dark green polyester pullover top with “A 51″ logo on the front, green shiny collar and a silver-like spaceship medallion. Priced at $29.99, this costume will help you rock on, outer space styl
2. Parasitic Twin Pre-Teen Costume
Imagine having a creepy weird parasite on your shoulder. Scary indeed! This is exactly what you’re kid can get with the parasitic twin pre teen costume. This unique outfit priced at $26.99 includes a very real-looking, dirty, blue sanatorium smock to which your nasty looking alien partner is attached, and a pair of baggy pants makes this comfortable but ghoulish costume complete.
3. Biohazard Costume
Somebody needs to clean up after all that biodegradable and alien mess out there. The upside is collecting candies and looking so cool and scary in the process. This outstanding outfit retailing at $36.99 includes a creepy futuristic sci-fi mask with wires hanging from the eye sockets, and an attached realistic toy respirator, white fabric fake-bloodstained jumpsuit, fake bloodstained white gloves, and a white matching hood.
4. Alien Child Costume
Halloween is not complete without the authentic alien costume for every sci-fi loving child out there. This out of the world outfit retailing at $23.99 includes a black robe with green and silver accents, attached foam collar, and latex alien mask.
5. Area 51 Costume
All the mystery surrounding the famous area 51 has made it more and more appealing. This costume capitalizes on this interest. The Area 51 Child Costume retailing at $26.99 includes a black jumpsuit (Reads: “AREA 51 No Trespassing”), an alien brain and half face headpiece, and a black hood. Talk about authentic.
Hot Toys 2008 – WoW!!!!
Posted by: paulastore on: October 6, 2008
I often get queries from people wanting to know which toys are “hot” for the year. Invariably, the toy trends for the year are strongly influenced by movies being released that year. Also, almost always, the “hot toy mix” is peppered by a superhero or two! This year, there are some awesome icons vying for our attention – Indiana Jones, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Batman. Aside from these superheroes, the hot toy trends for 2008 also include dinosaurs, robots, musical toys and of course, web connected toys!
1. Indiana Jones Toys
Indiana Jones is really something to look forward to this year. The movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is slated to be one of the hot movies of 2008. It’s no wonder then, that Lego, Hasbro and the rest have jumped onto Indy’s bandwagon! The plot of the movie isn’t yet revealed fully. Still, Lego had some wonderful sets based on Indiana Jones. The Indiana Jones LEGO sets include Indiana Jones Temple Escape, Indiana Jones Race for the Stolen Treasure, Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb and Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase. Some of Hasbro’s Indiana Jones offerings include Mr Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones Sound FX Whip and of course Indiana Jones action figures.
2. Web Connected Toys
We all know and love Webkinz, the pioneer of the “virtual toy” revolution. Webkinz is still doing very well and now has been joined by several other toy manufacturers. Russ’s Shining Stars, TY Girlz, Barbie and now even TY’s Beanie Babies. Aside from dolls and plush toys, there’s a brand new preschool game which nicely incorporates play and technology. It’s called Me2 from IToys. Also worth noting is Clickables, a wonderful line of toys from Technosource. Clickables integrates the virtual world of Disney Fairies with toys for girls. There are a lot of other web connected toys and dolls. My collegue, the Doll Collecting guide, has a great article up on the virtual doll trend.
3. Batman – The Dark Knight Toys
The new Batman movie, The Dark Knight is slated to be released later this year. Mattel has a host of Batman related toys and action figures up their sleeve. The Stealth Batmobile and the Wayne Tech Tri Fire Blaster are must haves. Apart from those two, there are a lot of pretend play options and Batman action figures from Mattel. Lego also has some great Batman themed construction sets for release this year.
4. Dinosaur Toys
Dinosaurs have been around for a while now, (remember the very recent Pleo?), but they certainly made their presence felt at the Toy Fair! Here is one dinosaur which was hard to miss – Kota the Triceratops from Playskool. This friendly creature is pretty tall at approximately 40 feet and is equipped with sensors, which when activated, make him move his head, tail and horns. Kids will enjoy sitting on this playful (and very pricey) creature. Another dino in the spotlight comes to use from Mattel. D-Rex, a remote controlled dinosaur with a lot of different sounds and realistic motions aims to fascinate kids this year.
5. Animated Toys/Robots
Ok, so by now everyone must have heard of Elmo Live, right? Well, the animated toy trend seems to be very prevalent this year with Elmo Live, Hasbro’s Biscuit, Playskool’s Kota the Triceratops, Tomy’s ISobot and more. While I’m on the topic, let me mention that I just previewed an adorable duckling from Hasbro’s Furreal Friends line – it’s too cute for words. Just like me, it seems like everyone enjoys seeing animated animals nowadays!
6. Musical Toys
For the last couple of years, toys based on musical instruments have really grown in popularity. Remember Piano Wizard, Piano Made Easy, I Can Play Guitar, Guitar Hero and the other toys on similar lines? This, along with musical toys based on celebrities like Hannah Montana and hit TV shows like American Idol practically dominated the musical toy scene. This year, the trend continues with some more Hannah Montana toys, new DVD games based on American Idol (KIDDesigns has an awesome American Idol DVD game) and much more. Stay tuned.
7. Science and Nature Related Toys
I noticed a large variety of Science Kits and nature themed toys at this year’s Toy Fair. Elmers (the glue company) had some really cool science kits represented by Bill Nye, the science guy. Scientific Explorer had a lot of fun kits to offer where kids can experiment with fascinating stuff like bubbles, perfumes, volcanoes and more. The biggie in the science category is none other than EyeClops from Jakks Pacific, which has updated versions(read night vision and higher magnification) available. Also, Uncle Milton of the Ant Farm fame had some cool Indiana Jones based products to show.
8. The Incredible Hulk Toys
The Hulk was at a lot of places at Toy Fair 2008. I specially loved the Kid Designs line of Hulk laptops and learning toys. Hasbro has a fantastic lineup of Hulk toys including the much awaited Hulk Smash Hands, a plush animated Hulk toy, conventional Hulk action figures, a Hulk power glow electronic mask, a Hulk dart blaster and much more. Looks like “green” is popular in more ways than one!
9. Speed Racer Toys
S
peed Racer is another big movie franchise on which Mattel has a great lineup of toys. I know that Hot Wheels has a Morph Mach 6 vehicle and an interactive helmet to offer as well as the Speed Racer Sky Jump Track Set among other toy vehicles. The movie should spark off a craze for racing and toy cars which is going to be huge. Lego also had some great Speed Racer kits on display at Toy Fair. Personally, I think this is THE franchise to watch out for.
10. Iron Man Toys
Hasbro has a fantastic line of action figures based on the Iron Man. This is another movie franchise for this year which is going to be popular with Marvel fans.
DVD series – The Adventures of Walker and Ping Ping
Posted by: paulastore on: October 6, 2008
- Great way to introduce kids to Chinese culture
- Helps kids learn the Chinese language
- Nicely paced storyline holds viewers’ attention
- I wish the DVD was longer than 25 minutes
Description
- The Great Wall and The Chinese Market are the DVD titles available in this series
- Check out The Adventures of Walker and Ping Ping online
- The DVDs retail for approximately $11.99 each
Guide Review – The Adventures of Walker and Ping Ping
It’s wonderful to learn about and appreciate new cultures. I fell in love with these charming DVDs and highly recommend them. As awareness about China and Chinese culture continues to grow worldwide, it is a good idea to have your children watch The Adventures of Walker and Ping Ping.
Green Toys – It’s all about going green
Posted by: paulastore on: October 6, 2008
Green toys are so “in” this year! It’s no wonder that everyone is focusing on healthy and safe green play. The “green” theme is predominant with many toy firms promoting their eco-friendly green toys. Green toys are great because they are made from recyclable and renewable materials and are environmentally friendly. Green toys are toys with a nature friendly theme. You’d be surprised at the wide variety of green toys available. Take a look a these wonderful Green Toys!
1. Plan Toys Click Clack Wooden Toy
Plan Toys
2. Insect Lore Earthworm Nursery
Insect Lore Earthworm Nursery may not appeal to everyone, but it sure was a hit with the younger kids I showed it too, especially the boys. You can actually follow the life cycle of an earthworm from the cocoon stage right upto the fully grown earthworm stage. The kit itself is simple, straightforward and easy to do. Read the review of Insect Lore Earthworm Nursery.
3. Stonees Nature’s Building Blocks
Stonees is an unusual toy indeed by anyone’s standards, green or not. Stonees are actual rocks which are colored with natural pigments. You may wonder, what do you do with rocks, of all things! Well, these rocks have clever contours on their surface which means that they can be stacked up and used to construct all kinds of structures limited only by your imagination. Stonees are a perfect example of open ended play products. They’re different and happen to be “green” as well.
4. Idbids Plush Toys
Idbids
5. Plan Toys Tower Pounding Toy
Plan Toys
6. Xeko Trading Card Game
This wonderfully packaged Xeko trading card game is eco-friendly from the word go! Right from the recycled packaging (which looks lovely, by the way) to the very theme of the game, the Xeko trading card game is environmentally friendly. But wait, there’s more! The Xeko game teaches your kids lots of interesting stuff about the earth and it’s inhabitants. I absolutely love the look and feel of this game. Kids who tried this game found it totally cool. It may be a good idea to introduce this trading card game to your kids, especially if they display an interest in their environment and like math and science. The Xeko trading card game has themes like Mission Costa Rica, Indonesia and Madagascar. All trading cards are interchangeable.
7. ImagiPlay Puzzles
ImagiPlay
8. Green Toys Tea Set
Nothing could be more perfect for this green toys article than the company named “Green Toys”! I spotted Green toys at this year’s Toy Fair and though I just stopped by for a few minutes, they left a lasting impression. The selection of toys from Green Toys is simple and sweet. The fascinating part about these toys is that they are made from recycled milk jugs! The select few products from Green Toys include a tea set, a sand play set, a cookware set and an indoor gardening set. Check them out.
Nana Star Books – Everybody loves grandma’s stories.
Posted by: paulastore on: October 3, 2008
Everybody loves grandma’s stories. This is the premise for the Nana Star series founded by Elizabeth Sills and Elena Patrice who wanted to share their grandmother’s simple but poignant stories with the world. Old fashioned values of friendship and love are desperately needed in today’s fast moving world where everyone seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. These simple stories with values such as kindness, generosity and compassion not encourage but provide also for wholesome entertainment.
Guitar Hero Air Rocker
Posted by: paulastore on: September 29, 2008
Music is one of the essentials of our lives, now more than ever. Kids these days have big dreams of making their own music and making their mark in the music business especially with the advent of shows like the American Idol. It’s not really surprising that merchandise relating to music is flying off the shelves.
The Guitar Hero Air Rocker from Jada Toys Inc is the latest addition to this music mania. The Air Rocker allows kids and adults alike to emulate their favorite rock idols. A patented technology is used in Air Guitar consisting of guitar pictures, an awesome belt buckle and a portable mini amplifier. With an air guitar in hand, the user waves the picture over the belt buckle sensor to determine the tempo of the song, which can be heard through the mini-amplifier. An Air Cartridge is included which features ten signature guitar riffs with the skill levels ranging from 1 to 5.
Also included are epic hits that have appeared througho
ut the Guitar Hero franchise and five original Guitar Rocker riffs. A demo mode is also included which allows users to listen to the tracks first, and then master the riffs on their own. Plugging this baby up to an external speaker system will lend an authentic mind blowing experience. Now anyone can step into their favorite idol’s shoes and experience the rock star thrill.
spinz
Posted by: paulastore on: September 27, 2008
SpinZ from Jakks Pacific – Pen Spinning – the latest craze!
Posted by: paulastore on: September 27, 2008
Wow, talk about something different! I was introduced to the idea of Pen Spinning a few weeks back by an acquaintance and was immediately taken in by the idea.
Pen spinning is a form of contact juggling which uses small writing tools like pens or pencils to perform various amazing tricks. It’s all about the dexterity of your fingers. Here’s a link to a pretty cool Pen Spinning website from Jakks Pacific where you can watch pen spinners in action.
For those of you interested in trying out pen spinning, Jakks Pacific has introduced a line of SpinZ pens. They write like normal pens but are specially designed for pen spinners to make their craft easier. They also spare them hours of labor on creating their own pens.
The SpinZ product line also includes ModZ which are accessories to uniquely customize the pens. This fad is rapidly catching on with novices as well as with expert pen spinners who have a diverse collection of tricks at their fingertips. Pen spinning is no longer a casual activity to kill time if you are bored. It is now a skill in itself to be developed and marveled over.
You can take a look at the Pen Spinning from Jakks if you’re interested in pursuing this art, or simply for something different to do once you’re back to school.
My Meebas from Mattel
Posted by: paulastore on: September 26, 2008
Pros
- Games and activities keep kids busy
- Surprise plush toy that pops out is the “grand reward”
- The LCD screen moves up and down
Cons
- Animations are not that great on the tiny LCD display
- Once tube pops open, that’s the end of it
Description
- My Meebas come in different colors
- My Meebas retail for approximately $20
- You can play different games and watch as your Meeba does different things
- The My Meebas will pop and you get a real plush toy surprise at the end of it all
Guide Review – My Meebas from Mattel
A pink My Meebas arrived for me in the mail the other day. Having heard about it on the grapevine, I couldn’t wait to try it out first hand. By the way, there are four colors of My Meebas, signifying different things like love (pink), friendship (blue), intelligence (purple) and happiness (blue/green), with two more joining in later this year.
The My Meebas are basically a little tube with an LCD screen attached. The screen can be moved up and down – actually it’s pretty cool how this is done. There is a control panel with buttons that can be used to guide the little creature here and there within the screen. You can play games, make the little Meeba do various activities like explore the surroundings and watch as it grows.
The first time the My Meebas grew and changed, my little one burst into tears! She was upset and couldn’t understand why her new little Meeba looked so different. She finally got the picture that the Meeba keeps growing as you keep playing with it.
After playing with the Meeba for a while, it is supposed to pop and a plush toy is supposed to emerge. I’m still waiting for mine to pop. I just hope it doesn’t scare my little one this time around!
Search
- Ange - I Buy It Green: This is Great!
- Harry kuperus: We have tested several new toys for all ages from Green Toy Companies. These environmentally friendly toys made from rubber wood meets the safety sta
- Bill Parker: Xeko also just recently released mission China (their 4th expansion) and we love it. I found a great image of the contents that you may wish to use l
Categories
- Toyz – Review (11)
- Toyz – Top 10 (2)
