Hot Toys of the Season!

This past weekend Macaroni Kid Fremont hosted a Holiday Toy Preview Party! Several companies sent us new toys and games for the kids to play with and explore. I have reviewed some of them for you here! 

Green & Groovy Crafts: Boy Made by Laurie Goldrich Wolf and the Crafty Princess by Laurie Goldrich Wolf

These books are really “Craft Kits!” Boy Made includes craft sticks, duct tape, kite/fishing line, fake fur and googly eyes while the Crafty Princess includes marabou, glitter, ribbons and gems! Boy Made will guide the little guy in your life to create 75 super-cool projects! From swords and slingshots to ant farms and fishing rods, he’s sure to have lots of fun creating. The Crafty Princess is obviously for the princess in your life. It includes more than 90 creative crafts – from cardboard castles and egg carton crowns to posh purses and re-purposed gowns - simple, yet spectacular (and totally green). Each book includes a nice list of suggested supplies to keep on hand for your young crafters. Seriously, with either of these books and supplies on hand, you should never hear, “I’m bored” again! With help, your 3 year old would have fun with the ideas they include. By about 6 or 7 years old, most should be good to go on their own.

 

Since looking at the book with my own 4 year old princess, she has been on the lookout for pinecones. She is eager to make some mini glitter trees for the holidays. Love gifts that keep on giving throughout the year. This is definitely one of those gifts. I can see us pulling these out on rainy days, no school days or even to help plan some party fun! If you have a crafter on your list, boy or girl, this is sure to be a hit!

Check them out online at http://www.dtbwpub.com/ and "like" them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Bookworks/120657397950240.
 

Barbeque Party Game by Asmodee

 

First off, my family loves playing games together and our 2 and 4 year olds LOVED playing this game! The recommended age is 4+, but our little guy will be 3 in 2 months and was fine playing this game – as long as we reminded him to NOT touch it when it wasn’t his turn so he didn’t accidentally make the grill “pop”! A typical game takes about 15 minutes, which makes it perfect to play just before bed as an incentive to get the kids moving quickly!

The game includes 16 pieces of plastic food and a pair of tongs, which my kids loved using. On your turn, you select a card and it tells you what food item to place on the grill. When a card is selected for a food already on the grill means it’s time to remove it. Collecting 3 removed items first wins the game. BUT be careful… this barbeque grill is touchy! One false move and POP! All the food pops off and you lose a turn!

 

Mom and dad enjoyed that it’s a pretty easily and quickly played game and the tongs are great for improving kid’s fine motor skills through play. The kids loved it when the game popped and food went everywhere. As mentioned earlier, they loved using the tongs!

Check them out online at http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/jeux_versions/barbeque-party.php and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Asmodee-game-News.

 

Vtech Kidiminiz

 

Oh, wow! Thank goodness I had TWO Kidiminiz to review! My little ones are almost 3 years old and 4 years old and I couldn’t get these out of the packaging quick enough for them to get their hands on. Thankfully, they included batteries, so once they were freed from packaging, immediate play was allowed.

 

So what is a Kidiminiz? We received the KidiBunny and the KidiCat – two cute electronic pets. You can customize their faces on the LCD screen and then enjoy the interactive games and enjoy their personality. They sing, move, dance and will even follow and chase the included play piece (carrot for the bunny and fish for the cat). Enjoy the four different mini-games and use the alarm clock to wake your child for school. Another really cool thing? If you have two Kidiminiz pets the toys will recognize each other and talk to one another, sing a duet and play together!

 

My two kids played with these for several hours together. They were delighted in watching them sing together and chase their “food” around. My 4 year old cried when I told her she could not take hers to bed with her.  

Check them out online at http://www.vtechkids.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VTechToys/.

 

Winx Believix Bloom Doll

 

Like many toys these days, Winx Believix dolls are created from characters known to children from a television show. Winx Club is a modern fantasy adventure series following six fashion-forward best friends who attend the finest fairy school together. When trouble arises, the Winx Club transforms into beautiful fairies who use their unique magical powers to fight villains and save the world from evil.  The beautiful 11.5” dolls are pose able and come with a pair of removable sparkly Believix wings to transform the doll from girl to fairy. The wings can be used on all of the Believix dolls. In addition, the dolls come with a magical membership card that unlocks exclusive content on www.nick.com/winx. You can collect all six Winx club members!

 

At our Holiday Toy Preview Party, girls age 4-10 were drawn to the Winx Bloom Doll. They were using the included hair brush to brush her hair and were seen making her fly. If your daughter enjoys the Winx Club series she is sure to enjoy having a Winx of her very own to enjoy at home!

Check them out online at http://www.jakks.com/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jakkspacifictoys?fref=ts.

 

 

Game of Life zAPPed

 

Who hasn’t played the Game of Life? Remember the little cars with the tiny pink and blue families? Great memories, right? We are a family of game lovers and our board games are well used. We played this new version, Game of Life zAPPed with our 16 year old this weekend and we all really enjoyed it. The game comes with a game board and you use an iPad with it for a totally interactive experience. The free app brings the game to life with over 100 hilarious clips from America’s Funniest Home Videos. Just like the original game you move your little family along the path on the board as you select your journey to retirement. However, now you spin, get paid, sue other players and make important decisions all on the iPad. You can even customize your peg character and add a peg-sessory! Suggested for ages 8+.

 

The game is like the traditional Game of Life. The added videos from America’s Funniest Home Videos gave us all some great laughs and enjoyment as part of the game. My 16 year old enjoyed it and said, “It’s more fun that the original!” Anything that helps us spend a fun hour or so together as a family is a positive in my view! Thanks, Hasbro!

You can find them online at http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=1BB09E0D-5056-900B-10A5-B2774C8FEA89:en_US and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#!/Hasbrogamenight.

 

 

 

Sbyke is a hybrid scooter – combining the best of bicycles, skateboards and scooters into a new category   a rear-steer hybrid scooter that gives riders mobility, precision control and a smooth ride. It costs like a bike and carves like a skateboard! A three-wheeled scooter, it uses a large front BMX wheel and patented rear skate truck that provides stability and lower rolling resistance than other scooters or skateboards. The sbyke features a low center of gravity and wide, maple deck allowing comfortable side-by-side foot placement and a hand-brake. It’s built to be durable – crafted from t-6 aircraft aluminum. And with two stem sizes included, sbyke accommodates most riders from age 8-80 and up to 220 lbs and can grow with your child. And while the sbyke itself does not fold, the handle bar turns fully to allow it to lay flat. Not folding increases the strength and durability of the sbyke.

 

Are you looking for something that will challenge your kid’s motor skills? The sbyke does that while keeping them active for hours at a time. This hybrid scooter looks so cool and the videos at the skate parks have my teens begging for one! I love the durable construction and love toys that keep my kids playing outside!

 

Sbyke has been recognized by Parenting magazine as “Best in Play” at the 2012 American International Toy Faire. Dr. Toy awarded sbyke “Best Green Product 2012,” “10 Best Active Products 2012” and

“100 Best Children’s Products 2012.”

Check them out at http://sbyke.com/ and you can find them on Facebook here at www.facebook.com/sbykeusa.

Macaroni Kid Fremont received the toys in this article to review. All opinions and views expressed here are my own honest opinions.