My First Sewing Kit

Sewing is so much more than a delightful skill to have, and it's way much more than a hobby to pass the time. Teach your child to sew, and down the road you have also educated and clothed a family, and saved them untold amounts of money as time goes by.

This wonderful kit supplies your child with all that she/he needs to begin a sewing project immediately. There are lots of very easy projects, pre-cut patterns and a carrying case. You can start sewing right away!! It includes eight colors of embroidery floss, materials to make a notebook cover , materials to create little animals (and stuffing), trims, pins, pin cushion, and lots more.

Once you open the box, you are prepared to get going without another trip to the store, and with time, your child can become an excellent crafts person with a needle. Use your imagination and just picture the custom-made wardrobe to come!

Review By. J. Arena

Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit

I have 3 daughters ages 9, 10, and 12. They have tried making bracelets before and got bored very fast. Not the case with this item. They have had it for over a month now and are still creating bracelets. I have had to purchase more string for them but the foam discs have held up very well. They have also learned different patterns and made their own. This is a great rainy day activity even though my girls have sat on the porch on nice days and weaved away. Easy to learn, hard to put down.

Review By. Connie Baker "jack of all trades"

Fashion Headbands

My daughter, who is 8, loves creative, artsy things. However, often the art sets can be a bit too complicated for a child to understand the instructions or to do with little fingers and require a significant amount of parental help to complete.

She got this for her birthday and it was just the right level for her to do on her own. She is still young enough to want to wear the headbands with fun stuff like bows and feathers on them, and old enough to be able to complete the crafts on her own. Plus, you have the added bonus that she really gets to show off her artwork and wear it to school to show her friends.

There are 10 headbands with the kit and lots of ribbon to make bows or to wrap around the headbands. There is also feather, flowers and jewels to add to them. Glue is included. There are enough headbands in this kit that you could easily buy this and it would make it a great birthday party activity.

I would recommend this for ages 7-9 or so.

Review By Sapere Aude

Perplexus Maze Game

This toy is great for all ages! My 3 year old is surprisingly VERY interested in it and it's so fun to watch him concentrate! He can easily get all the way past #25 and is getting better every time he plays with it. My husband will sit down with it for easily an hour (unusual for him) to try and conquer the maze. My favorite things about it: 1-when the kids are playing it they are concentrating SO hard that they are quiet and engaged for a LONG time. 2-no batteries required. 3-no annoying noises. 4-anybody can play. It's PERFECT for Doctor visits (who likes to wait at the dr's office with nothing to do?), trips in the car, and just hanging out at home! We keep one in the car (for trips AND when we are somewhere like an event that not everyone is interested in watching) and one at home.

Anytime ANYONE is over at our house and this toy is out, they are completely drawn to it. Adults and kids will pick it up and before too long are so engaged with it that they can't hold a conversation because they are concentrating so much. It is WONDERFUL to see children so focused on something other than a video game!!! Almost everyone who has played with it at my house has purchased one shortly after.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this toy to ANYONE! I'm buying 20 of them--family Christmas gifts and friend's birthday gifts for the upcoming year. I have NO problem with any part of this toy and am 110% satisfied with the durability and quality of this product!!! Whoever came up with such a toy is genius! The price is very low for the enjoyment and fun everyone will get out of this product!!!

L. Larson "Larson"

The Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan is an absolutely fantastic family strategy game. I won't belabor my discussion of the game, except to say that my wife (only a 'casual boardgamer', not as hardcore like me) and two boys (ages 8 and 10) have been playing it for over a year, many dozens of times, with continued enjoyment. I have successfully hooked other gamers in my family (brother in law, father) on it as well, so that it shares equal time with Monopoly in our family game marathons over the holidays.

The big point to take away about this new edition of the game is that, without changing any rules, the edition includes some very handy extra pieces, esp. an interlocking set of holders to fit the tiles into, which helps prevent incidental dislocations of the pieces on the board (so common with the older edition). For those of you who have the Seafarers of Catan extension, the holding tiles are much those included in that extension (except shaped to fit the Settlers hex board).

Review By Eric Reinhardt

Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light, Sea Turtle

While this sea turtle is nice; the original turtle is much better: The original: 1) has more stars/constellations to really turn the ceiling into a night sky; 2) it offers 3 color displays (blue, green and orange); the sea turtle CLAIMS to offer 3 colors, but it actually is only 2 and the "third" color comes when you press both the green and blue on at the SAME TIME, thus creating a "blue green" turtle shell. Further, when you do this, TWO displays are cast onto the ceiling (one green and one blue; NOT one blue-green display), it is very weird to see 2 moons and 2 sets of identical stars on the ceiling; and 3) on the original when you press each of the color buttons, the other color will automatically turn off, on the sea turtle if you don't turn off a color, you get that weird double display I was talking about.

Also, as a note, the endangered animals on the turtle only light up ON the turtle's shell NOT get cast onto the wall or ceiling.

If you are considering this, I absolutely would recommend the original turtle instead. Both my sons (2 and 4) LOVE LOVE LOVE it (and their friends all do, too, when they come over). They love to play with it and they love to fall asleep to it.

Review By 3 Dudes and a Mom

TY Beanie Babies

I have purchased other Yo Gabba toys that were poorly constructed and tore out quickly. I ordered one set of these because Ty beanies are so well made that you can usually pick them up at yard sales in near perfect condition. The price was kinda high, but as much as my twins would play with these I decided to splurge for Christmas! When the first set arrived in the mail I decided to order a second set. I think they'll LOVE them. I was impressed by the quality construction and the fact that they are a complete set with all the characters! AWESOME product and well worth the high price of $35 dollars per set. Really quality stuffed toys.

Review By

brwn_eyed_sue

12 Angry Birds and Pigs Figures Set

I have to say that i was a little hesitant to order this product, just because i really don't order too much online, but i had to get these crazy little birds for my son's Angry Birds themed birthday cake. And after having ordered it I'm SO glad that i did!!!!! These figurines are the perfect size for his cake and they are a really good quality. My son saw them and he was so excited that he wanted to play with them, even though we discussed they were for his cake not for playing right now. I will also say that i greatly appreciated this order being shipped so fast, i really didn't anticipate it would get here so quickly. All in all, a great product and even better service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super satisfied!!!!!!!!


Review

By

Kalvin

Monster High Abbey Bominable Doll With Pet Wooly Mammoth Named Shivver

I recently stumbled onto an Abbey in a local store and was actually quite astonished to find her.

Abbey is a doll I initially had no interest in getting, but after seeing her, she really grew on me. She actually has a LOT of awesome details on her that are completely unique to her. She has "claw hands" (which were later introduced to Clawd and Clawdeen dolls) instead of the regular ones.

She has beautiful glittery skin. Every bit of Abbey's skin has glitter on it, which really makes her stand out, and shimmery.

Abbey has tusks instead of fangs, so they point the opposite direction (I think this is a cute touch, personally).

By far, one of the best things about Abbey is her absolutely beautiful hair. Her hair has a new iridescent sort of material which is very sparkly. It's not like the previously used (and typically disliked) tinsel in Cleo's hair, which breaks easily and is frustrating. The new shiny fiber seems very durable, and actually easily withstood me brushing it when I first deboxed the doll and had to straighten her unkempt hair.

This isn't seen on the doll or in any pics I've found so far, but Abbey actually is wearing very detailed snow boots underneath her legwarmers. The soles of her shoes even have treads on them, a very cute little touch.

The only negative thing about Abbey is because of her arm warmers, she can be a little difficult to pose-the arm warmers come up just past her elbows and this makes bending her arms largely impossible. It's really a small annoyance, but it is something some people may dislike. You can get around this if you fiddle with the arm warmers enough, but some people may find this forces her arms back into a down position.

All in all though, a very awesome doll and fairly unique with a lot of "new" features not previously seen on other dolls in the line. I personally really enjoy how creative Mattel is getting with these dolls.

Review By

Lee Taylor

Monster High Spectra Vondergeist Doll With Pet Ferret And Rhuen

I was leery of Spectra. Promo pictures never really sold me on the newest addition to the Monster High line. Since picking her up, however, she has quickly become one of my favorites!

Spectra, the daughter of a ghost, wears a funky hot pink/black/purple dress that really looks neat. The coolest trait about this doll is her see-through limbs. As you look further towards her feet (or top of boots, in this case) or between her elbow to the tips of her fingers, you'll notice her skin is see-through. The effect is *really* neat and done very, very well. Spectra photographs fantastically and looks great with Deuce and Holt. Spectra comes with her pet Ferret, as well as the standard comb, diary, accessory (purse), and stand.

My only problem with this doll is that her Ferret, Rhuen, can't stand on his own. He clasps on to Spectra fine, but he's too heavy to stand alone on his base. I only wish that they'd balanced him better b/c photo ops with the ferret would work better if he stood on his own. That being said, this is only a minor problem.

All in all, Spectra is a great addition to the Monster High line. If you're not sold on her based on promo shots, look for user photos. You won't be disappointed in her!

Review By

Fritosgirl

Monster High Toralei Stripe Doll with Pet Sweet Fang

Toralei Stripe is the latest in the long, popular line of Monster High dolls.

Toralei is the daughter of the werecat, though she never really changes forms, she is always as she appears.

It's worth noting there are some visual differences between the doll and the cartoon character. The animated version of Toralei has visible fangs, and a cat-like nose, and no tail. The doll actually has a tail, but has no painted on fangs, and has a normal human nose. Toralei, like all the other dolls in this line, has her own unique face mold, including the fact her ears are nothing like Clawdeen's or Clawd's. In fact, I suspect a lot of the little changes they made to the Toralei doll from her webisode appearance was to help establish that she is not the same kind of creature that Clawd and Clawdeen are.

Toralei comes with a short bob hairstyle that is firmly held in place by thick styling gel. While it is feasible to rinse this gel out, be forewarned that doing so will result in a more "fluffy" hairstyle, and the stripes painted onto her hair will likely fade, and potentially lose some of their cohesion. However, some people prefer the look with the gel washed out, so your mileage may vary.

As noted, she has a tail, and this pops in and out of an anchor in the small of her back for easier dressing. This also means if you find an outfit you really like on another doll in the line, you can just pop Toralei's tail out and she can wear it as normal. (Toralei's unique outfits have holes or velcro available to accommodate her tail.) She has unique hand molds; they have her gloves molded and painted on, but her gloves also have metal studs on them, which makes them different from previous "molded on glove" style hands we've seen.

Toralei's accents all involve stripes, or cat toys in theme. Her purse is especially adorable to me, because it has what is clearly a cat toy (fuzzball with two feathers attached) charm attached to it. She does a good job of standing out and being unique among a whole line of unique dolls. As the other reviewer notes, she is bright orange (her face is actually two tones of orange, though this doesn't always show up well in pics of her), and most of the other dolls in this line are cool colors, like greys, blues, greens, browns, whites, etc. Toralei is definitely one of the brighter dolls, and this isn't a bad thing.

All in all, if you are a fan of the show, or this line, you will probably be really thrilled with her, even if she is a "bad guy", her doll is simply lovely.

Review By

Lee Taylor

Angry Birds: On Thin Ice Game

This toy is a lot of fun. Children young and old are quite familiar with Angry Birds on their smartphone, tablet, or whatever else. This is a great way to have your kids take a break from the technology and actually interact and play with their hands, instead of just their fingertips on a screen.

The concept is relatively simple of pulling cards of different set-ups to build and then launching the Angry Birds at the structure.

Parents might need to step-in to help little kiddos assemble the structures or provide some guidance on how to work the catapult. Assembling the structure exactly to the picture on the cards takes some doing, but it's not impossible. It's pretty difficult to hit anything with the catapult, but it's fun to try and try again. If you're actually trying to win, it might be good to bend the rules to allow enough tries to hit something, particularly if you have young children. For us, we take turns building it, while the other keeps trying until it gets knocked down. Simple.

Review By

G. Morishige

LEGO Friends Olivia's House

My daughter was very excited to have "girl power" legos, and both my son and daughter love the unique pieces in the kit. The colors are also beautiful. The house was very easy to build and once assembled the house itself has been very durable during play. However, some of the smaller pieces fall apart quite easily (i.e., the cupcakes). The other issues we have had are: the hair doesn't stay on the mini figures and the slippery surfaces on the furniture that give it a more modern appearance combined with the new styling of the figures don't allow the figures to "snap" in place like traditional lego mini figures. My daughter gets really frustrated when they won't "sit" and stay on the chair. Otherwise, it was a great purchase and my daughter loves it.

Review By

Jeff Erickson

Smart Ass

I'm surprised that this game has reviews that are only 3 stars, it is a great party game. It is a blast to play and had all of us laughing. This is not a game for 12 year olds, I would strongly recommend it for people over 18, however. I love that it can be played in only a half hour, I want to scream when other trivia games go over the two hour mark. I thought many of the trivia questions were clever. Bottom line, of the group of four of us, everyone thought this game was awesome.

Review By

Tool Hound

Deluxe Magnetic Responsibility Chart.

I bought 2 of these for my 3 and 5 year olds after reading these reviews. But I couldn't find a review that stated the titles of the responsibilities for those of you wanting to know if it will work for you; which for most it should cuz it covers most. Here they are: get ready for bed, get dressed, take bath, cear table, put toys away, keep hands to self, share, brush teeth,stop whining, apologize, say please, thank you, help with indoor/outdor chores, no teasing, show respect, load/empty dishwasher, put clothes in wash, don't use bad language, set table, take care of pet, do homework, make bed, clean room, take out trash, keep hands to self, plus 2 blank to write your own.

My 5 year old took to it right away as we placed all her responsibilities on the board. She was soooo excited and said I'm going to do that more, etc. She even added some resp. she usually wouldn't do, cuz she wanted to get more magnets; so at the end of the week we count them, assign a monetary allowance for each magnet earned (maybe 5 cents), and she can get a little toy or treat at end of week. I figured with 7 days a week and 10 resp. she could earn around 3.50 week; that's big to her right now!!

Review By

Kristin Lea

LEGO Community Miniature Figure Set

My two sons, both under 10 years old, LOVE Legos and were absolutely thrilled when this set arrived! They have been playing with these Lego figurines daily since we got them nearly a week ago. They create scenes, scenarios which they act out and will spend nearly an hour "trading" Lego people. It's adorable. These also encourage imaginative play and fine motor skills through manipulation of the little Lego pieces and accessories. We can't help but keep purchasing more of these because the boys love to play with them so much. It beats screen time any day.

Review By

lovetoshop

LEGO Ultimate Building Set - 405 Pieces

No they are not cheap. No the box isn't full to even half capacity. But these toys are still around for a reason: they rock. More specifically, they are indestructible, offer immense replay value, encourage creative quiet and thoughtful play, promote fine motor skill development, and they are just plain fun.

Think about the countless cheap $3.99 and $4.99 soft plastic throw away toys you've bought over the years: invariably imported and with unknown lead content, cost pennies to make, including the polly pockets, fairies, mermaids, bratz, little ponies, strawberry shortcakes, littlest petz, etc. All of those toys are very restrictive in the type of play they permit, fall apart, and lose your child's interest after a few days.. until you buy another worthless set for their next "fix."

In the case of legos i would argue that if you just refrain from buying those cheap blister packed toys for a few months you will have saved more than enough to get this or another "flexible" set of legos. I don't care for the elaborate lego sets that have you follow intricate instructions to build a pirate ship, or harry potters house, or a star wars backdrop,etc. Those are just as restrictive and inflexible in their play.

So get this set or something similar as soon as you are sure your kid won't choke on a brick. It is something they will play with now and in the future. You'll beat inflation, you'll have it for future kids you might have, or those who might visit, and it will always have excellent resale value on e_bay.

As for the merits and value of this particular set, i think it is fairly reasonable relative to prices for used, bulk collections you might get on an auction website, or compared to the more expensive, larger, thematic sets - such as the "townhouse", lunar lander, or whatever. It has 4 wheels, 2 axles, 1 figure (a mechanic dude), a set of mini tools for the figure, 1 door, 2 windows, some clear pieces for windshields or windows, a propellor/windmill piece, a radiator grille, a cute mini steering wheel, and assorted bricks including some long ones. The base unfortunately isn't even standard height, but sort of a cheap 1/5 or 1/4 height. So that's a little lame. So it isn't perfect but i can't find a better variety pack for the price. Although the Lego 4+ Basic Bulk Set might be a good second set to consider.

We got this set to augment the pink little girls set with the jump rope on the box. Together they are a reasonable set but its still a small collection. I would contend that similar to the defense department maintaining an army that can fight a war in 2 theatres at once, you should have enough legos to build 2 houses at once. That is unless you have more than 2 kids...

Review By Rocco

LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet

I purchased two leap pads for my 3 year old niece and 4 year old nephew this past Christmas. Had to stand in line for 3 hours in middle of night to purchase one at Toys R us. The 2nd one was ordered from Amazon. The first thing I have to tell you is that this product held the interest of the kids for hours on end. My nephew sits in his bed every night playing games before he falls asleep holding his leap pad. My favorite game is the Disney characterizers art. I've actually learned how to draw icky Mouse, and your kids will also be able to do so with the step by step instructions.

The product appears to be very durable, withstanding the unintentional abuse of a 3-4 year old. They've dropped them, sat on them, and stepped on them, and they keep working. Mind you, I did purchase a buyer protection program from Toys R Us, just in case. It's an expensive gift, and the warranty covers full replacement cost for any kind of damage.

One of the features the kids especially love, is taking pictures/videos of themselves and others. Very easy to use, again, with step by step instructions a child can easily follow.

I would highly recommend this product for children who are inquisitive, but to young to appreciate the functionality and cost of something like an iPad or tablet.

Review By

Virginia E. Mccarthy "jazzaholic"

Qwirkle Board Game

I purchase this for a six year old nephew, and the whole family joined in to break in this game. It was easy to understand, but challenging. My nephew really enjoyed the game, but it was hard for the adults not to be competitive when playing. The game is fun, and it makes you want to out-think the opponents.

From what I hear, my brother's family has been playing the game almost daily since my nephew received it. What better reception could there be for a game?

This game is money well spent. I believe that it will help my nephew develop logical thinking skills and strategy development. The fact that he is smiling all the while, is icing on the cake.


Review

By

Robert Hoff "smoknbob"

Air Swimmer Remote Control Inflatable Flying Shark

This toy is great! It's a pain to set up and keep inflated but my kid loves it. Warning....If you have a small house: This shark is big and will need lots of room to move for your child to get full joy out of it. We used this at a friend's apartment and my child gave up on it after a few minutes. The shark needs lots of room to swim and be maneuver. Without that room, he does very little. Outside or in a big house it is fabulous.

Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether

I know this just seems like a trendy expensive baby toy...... well it is for a reason. Babies/toddlers LOVE it. I got it as a gift because I couldn't justify buying it for myself and now I realize that it was the best gift ever. So... if you are debating for you/your baby... DO IT. ANd if you are looking for a gift to buy...... this will not disappoint.

Review By. Molly Jones

Syma S107/S107G R/C Helicopter - Red

I must admit I was wondering whether the reviews were artificially written by the manufacturers/sellers,.... However, the first flight put me at rest...I am 80 used to fly big birds but this is great fun and now a few of my friends are enjoying the same S107's. Expect quite a few spectacular crashes when people open doors or the airconditioning comes on when least expected. Improvements ...Remove the nose and place a small weight ie. a nut in the nose and replace it to give the forward flight characteristics more momentum...then you can scoot around the room easily. Think I can now impress my wife that I could fly a larger one without destroying the house !!!!!

Review By. John B. Tennant




Order

Angry Birds: Knock On Wood Game

I think the concept of this toy is really fun, and my kids certainly enjoy it although you need to be prepared to search around for scattered pieces if you don't have a restricted area for shooting the birds. I find shooting toward a rug or on a table with a tablecloth keeps them from ricocheting all over the room.
First, the good stuff:
PROS: The rules are simple, easy to explain to younger children, and you don't have to know how to read to figure things out, so that's also great for little ones.
The birds, pigs, catapult, and the structure pieces all seem pretty sturdy. Plus my five year old likes to just play with the game pieces as action figures. We only got this game because he wanted some plastic Angry Birds to play with and this was the only thing we found that fit the bill.
The game builds coordination and (hopefully) a little patience in the best case scenario. But that leads me to the cons...
CONS: This is more a downfall for folks like me who can't stand tedious projects :) but I get a little frustrated trying to build the structures shown on the level cards sometimes. They are supposed to be grouped according to difficulty, but some of the Level 1( ie: allegedly easier) structures are just as difficult as the Level 2 and 3 ones. There are some I think might be impossible to build at all based on the law of gravity, although my husband disagrees and says with enough balance they're all possible.
I'm kind of a fumble-prone mom and I spent more time knocking down half-built structures with my clumsy hands than with birds at first. If you have a child who doesn't have much tolerance for slow, meticulous projects then he/she might be annoyed trying to build the structures.
As far as the actual shooting the birds part of the game, that takes some getting used to and is actually a lot harder than on the Iphone app. in my opinion. That said, it is doable. My five year old and eight year old are fans of the game and have already played with it a lot. One tip: make sure you keep up with all the pieces because losing even one or two of the logs or blocks will seriously hamper your ability to complete the structures on the cards.

Review By S. Goodman

Order