Toy Whimsy

Battle of the Toys - Who Glamps Best?

I am beginning a new series of post pitting similar toys against each other in a kind of toy death match per-se.
Today we are looking at a new word that seems to be all over the news, "Glamping".  That would be, Glamor+Camping="Glamping".  That's right people, last year's "staycation" is this year's "glamping".

So who out there is glamping best in the world of toys?  Let's check out the competitors:

Contestant #1: First the very un-glamorous camping with the weebles.
Weebles Weegoaway Camper

Wobbling is not glam, and it certainly is not safe around a campfire.

Contestant #2-
The very "Euro" camping experiance, the Playmobil Family Camper

While it is very cute, I think it is more "Family" than Glam-ory.

Contestant #3- Camping on the "square":
The Lego City Camper

Well, he DOES have his surf board, that is a little cool and edgy, but I wouldn't say that it is "glamping"-worthy.  We are edging ever closer to the real glamp of it all.

Contestant #4
Well, it is pink, and it talks...but is it glamourous?
The Caring Corners - Happy Camper Talking RV

ok, so it has eyes, but it does fold out and some features include:

• Honk the horn to discover more than 100 activities, sounds, words, and songs about the outdoors
• Swings open to reveal a bedroom, cab sleeper, bathroom, and fully equipped kitchen
• Includes lots of surprises: a hidden doggy bed, detachable slide, removable captains chairs, fold-down TV and a grill that opens to barbeque
• Reinforces positive messages with the kitchen recycling area and bumper stickers that reward real-life good deeds
• Offers ideas for kids and families to explore nature with enclosed adventure passport

Now, this is closer but let's see what our last contestant has to offer...

Contestant #5
The Glamping winner, and still the heavyweight champion of all things "glam":
Barbie's Pink Glamour Camper

Was there ever any doubt really?  Who would win this competition but the Princess of Pink herself?  Barbie is so hot this year, you could fry a tiny little egg on her plastic, crazily arched feet.  The camper she had in the 70s is no more, but she has returned with a pink palace on wheels.  I mean, just take a gander at that toilet! Features include:

• Signature details like a pink pop-out tent with glam chandelier
• Sleep under the stars in the super-cool sleeping bag and fold-out bed
• Sound features include music, sizzling cooking, flushing toilet and chirping crickets.
• Camper moves on four wheels, folds out for fun and folds up for self-contained play!

because what you really need when camping is a chandelier! Duh!

Have a happy 4th of July and Toy Whimsy will return on Monday the 8th with even more great toy news, ideas, and features!

--Laura McMullan

Toy Tips with Marianne Szymanski - Jewelry Making

Editor's Note: Marianne Szymanski is a leading expert in toy reviews, and the founder of the Toy Tips Research Institute.  She is the author of Toy Tips: A Parent's Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices and also the editor of Toy Tips and Parenting Hints Magazine.

I found a new book that has great instruction on how to make handmade jewelry pieces. There are projects for kids (try the backpack tag) and parents to do together which is great for bonding and social play.  But, best of all, kids can make gifts that are memorable to give to those they love.
Each chapter has one super quick project which is a great way to introduce jewelry making.

Read the book and use your own ideas but in the meantime, here are some toy ideas to get your kiddos started..

• Alex Giant Bead Box
• Melissa & Doug Rainbow Crystals Bead Set
• Perler Fuse Beads
• Creativity for Kids Design By You Jewelry Boutique
• Gel Jewelry
• Fashion Angels Fresh Mesh Bracelets
• Shrinky Dinks Jewelry
• Project Runway Fashion Jewelry Sketchbook
• Fisher-Price Color Me Gemz Bracelet Set

For more crafty ideas,  visit toytips.com and follow me on twitter.com/toytips for a daily toy tip!

--Marianne Szymanski

Wolverine Party - Guest Blogger Lisa Kothari

(Ed Note: Lisa Kothari runs a website called Peppers and Pollywogs that specializes in kids' parties and party ideas.  We are thrilled to bring Lisa on as a guest blogger on Toy Whimsy!  She is here to help with all kinds of party ideas and themes for your children's' parties.)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the story of mutant Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman. The fascinating X-Men characters and great story line can combine to make a fun and creative party theme this summer. Invite your child’s friends over for some mutant powers and fun.
Note: This film provides an excellent opportunity for a birthday movie outing. Take your child and a few of his friends to see this movie as an extra-special birthday treat.

For your party invitation, create a Wolverine steel claw using gray heavy card stock and silver pipe cleaners. Write all of the party details on the center of the claw.
Alternatively, create a regular party invitation using heavy card stock, and invite the guests to attend “Xavier’s School for the Gifted.”
Decorate your party area to look like the mutants’ school setting. At the front entrance, hang a sign welcoming guests to Xavier’s School for the Gifted. Hang X-Men and Wolverine posters in the classroom, and play thematic movie music in the background. Also be sure to have some open space where the kids can play games and run around (maybe in your backyard).
Use fluorescent paint to create “Wanted! Mutant!” posters for Wolverine and Magneto. (Note: You will need a black light to view the paint’s full effect.)
Definitely give the party area a festive feel by adding thematic balloons, streamers, confetti, and tableware. To keep it budget-friendly, also decorate with solid colors.
When the kids arrive at your party, have each of them choose a mutation for themselves.  Provide T-shirts and fabric pens and have the kids illustrate their mutations. They can wear their T-shirts throughout the party. These can also serve as the party favor.
Ask the kids to act out their mutant powers throughout the party and stay in character. You could also play Mutant Charades and have the kids try to guess what each guest’s mutant power is.
Hold a mutant trivia contest where the kids must match characters to their mutant powers. See who gets the most correct.
Play a game of Wolverine Tag. Wolverine is a great healer. Let the birthday child be Wolverine, and have the rest of the guests become Wolverines as they are tagged and healed. Another option is to play a game of Freeze Tag, whoever Wolverine touches is frozen.
Set up a Mutant Obstacle Course using chairs, carpet pieces, and other furniture for the kids to move under, pass around, hop over, etc.  See who can complete the course most quickly.
For your mutant party menu, create kids’ party food favorites and name them with the mutants in mind:

• Wolverine dogs
• Storm pizza
• Pyro subs
• Mystique nachos
• Mutant juice (any favorite drink served with flavored ice(man) cubes)

For dessert, make claw cupcakes. Bake a batch of your kid’s favorite cupcakes and frost them with white icing. Provide the kids with candies to make claws on each cupcake. Yum!
The kids can take home their mutant T-shirts, along with packs of X-Men trading cards and goo.
Enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine…it’s sure to be a thriller!

--Lisa Kothari

LEGOland Hiring LEGO Builders? Yes, Says CNN

Wow. Just wow. I was checking out CNN today to see what was going on in the world and saw this story. What starts as a feel good story about LEGOland hiring LEGO builders turns into a tear-jerker.

Now, don't go out and write the screenplay (because I call DIBS right now!) but wouldn't this make a great movie? I have my fingers crossed that Brian got the job. (even though that big duck the recent college grad was making looked pretty sweet)
--Laura McMullan

Revenge of the 80's Toys - Flash Back Friday

Ever wonder what would happen if Care Bears and My Little Ponies clashed? If the Smurfs rose up and fought Gargamel? If Teddy Ruxpin had his own Wes Anderson movie?
Well, here you go, and have a happy Friday:

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

Via- Neatorama.com

--Laura McMullan

Toy Tips with Marianne Szymanski - Color Your World

Editor's Note: Marianne Szymanski is a leading expert in toy reviews, and the founder of the Toy Tips Research Institute.  She is the author of Toy Tips: A Parent's Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices and also the editor of Toy Tips and Parenting Hints Magazine.

Need to brighten up a gray summer day? Add some ummpff to the playroom? Add some toys with color. Color makes everyone feel better!  Toddlers usually learn basic colors from mom and dad and teaching with the basic first, children will begin to understand hues and color change.
Experiment with food dye or show kids colors of pan water after you boil broccoli or beets. A box of crayons always keeps a child busy but for more involved play, take a peek at these:

• Play-doh Case of Colors
• Fish Colors Mix N Match Puzzle
• Bamboo Collection Magnetic Color Tiles
• Hot Wheels Color Shifters Blaster
• Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board
• Tinkerbell Crayola Color Wonder
• Smart Snacks Rainbow Color Cones
• Crayola Color Bath Dropz - 3 Pack

For more colorful toy ideas,  visit toytips.com and follow me on twitter.com/toytips for a daily toy tip!

--Marianne Szymanski

Ninjas, Pork, Poo and Mustaches - Guest Blogger Jeremy Brautman

Much has been made in the last couple years about plush toys and boys. The New York Times even weighed in on it, putting David Horvath and Sun Min-Kim's Uglydolls at the focal point of a "guys and dolls" story. 

 

But there's another tour-de-huggable-force who should be mentioned in any piece on this subject: Shawn Smith, also known as Shawnimals. If the NY Times is correct in equating boys' love for soft toys with "embarking on ninja-type mystery adventures," then the B.S.A. should make a merit badge especially for Shawn. Shawnimals has created over 400 characters since 2001, with the Ninjatown designs being among the most popular. Last year, Nintendo put out a videogame version of Ninjatown for the DS, and the Ninjatown micro-plushes (series 2) hit stores recently. Between adventures with Professor Fliggins, Shawn still finds time to twitter it up. Ninjas, pork, poo and mustaches make up the Shawnimals universe, and one could argue that such a space is also indeed the world of many boys. If you're a dad on the fence about whether it's cool for your son to play with dolls, it just doesn't get more manly than a moustachio plush. Quoth the moustache: "This manly stache inherited tons of machismo from his father, and will pass it down--along with yet another moustache--to his own son someday." A customizable DIY plushform is also available from Shawnimals for boys (and girls) who like to personalize their toys.

--Jeremy Brautman
(Ed. Note. Jeremy Brautman is a recovering toy addict and expert on art toys. He contributes toy culture trends to a handful of blogs, is the former editor of ToyCyte and is currently working on a project to archive doodles and other 'disposable' art.)

Transformers Party Ideas - Guest Blogger Lisa Kothari

Transformers are too cool! These popular toys have inspired a TV show and two movies. The first movie was released in 2008, and now a second movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is set to hit the big screen on June 24, 2009. So, this is going to be a fun and popular party theme again this year!

Transformers is all about the Autobots (the good guys!) v. the Decepticons (the bad guys!), with humans somewhere in the middle. I have to admit; I grew up with these toys and played with them for hours with my little brother. The coolest one, of course, was Optimus Prime (the big eighteen-wheeler truck). He was a good guy, but we just wanted to play and didn’t care which side he was on!

Your kids may also be inspired and enthralled by these robots and want a Transformers-themed party! If you are looking for ways to bring this robotic party alive, here are some creative ideas:

For the Invitations:
Send out note cards inviting the kids to carry out a secret mission:
Are you an Autobot or Decepticon? Whichever you are, meet at the secret base for the mission of a lifetime! The Decepticons are invading and planning to take all of the Earth’s resources and people. Only the Autobots can save the day by locating a secret cyber light stick, which holds the key to defeating the Decepticons!
Be sure to also include the party details.
Attach the note cards to rock-candy lollipops and hand-deliver them to your guests. If you would prefer to mail them, send the note card without the candy.
At the party, have a sign on the front door welcoming the kids to Cybertron.

For the Activities:
When the kids arrive at the party, divide them into teams of Autobots and Decepticons. Have each child pull a Transformer’s name out of a steel (or silver-colored) bowl. The character name the kid pulls will determine which team he is on. The names of the characters are:

For the Autobots: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet.
For the Decepticons: Megatron, Barricade, Starscream, Blackout, and Frenzy.

If you have more than ten kids attending your party, you can double the characters up.
Once you have divided the kids into teams, have them go on a hunt looking for the cyber light stick (this can be a glow stick from last year’s Halloween). Make it a game to see which team can find the light stick first! You may want to hide more than one light stick, but have the “cyber” one wrapped in tin foil. Whichever group finds it first wins!
If the Decepticons find the light stick, have them hide it in a secret place that the Autobots must find before it’s too late! Have the Decepticons play Hotter/Colder with the Autobots until the Autobots find the light stick.
Before the party, draw a large Transformer on a piece of butcher paper (Optimus Prime would be a great one), and cut out wheels to pin on it. Have the kids play Pin the Tire on the Transformer.

Purchase some Transformers gummies, and hide them in your party area. Provide the kids with a clue that leads them to the gummies. For example, you could give the kids one that reads, “Barricade was seen collecting energy cubes on rock mountain,” and then have the gummies spread out over some rocks or the fireplace.

Have a water balloon fight with red and blue balloons, or sprinkle the kids with red and blue cosmic dust!
Make Cybertron planets. Provide the kids with Styrofoam balls, and have them paint the balls to look like the planet their Transformer originated from.

Play with an Optimash Prime Mr. Potato Head Transformer or Bumble Spud—these are too cool! They could be a birthday gift for the birthday child as well!

For the Menu:
Make Energon cubes—blue gelatin—and put sour gummy worms inside them!
Serve food that transforms, such as freeze-dried ice cream, malted milk balls, Pop Rocks (add them to soda for a cool effect!), rock candy, or Gobstoppers.
Cut sandwiches into truck and wheel shapes using a cookie cutter. Fill the sandwiches with grape jelly and cream cheese or peanut butter. Serve up chips with a variety of dips, too.
Take a photo of Optimus Prime, and have your local bakery transfer it onto a sheet cake for the perfect thematic treat!

For the Goody Bag:
Send the kids home with red and blue pencils, notepads, stickers, silly string, Matchbox cars, a mini-Transformer, a CD of the music from the movie, Pop Rocks, rock candy, and glow sticks.

This party certainly is about "More Than Meets the Eye"!  Have fun!

--Lisa Kothari

Meet The Sims 3, or Mi Casa es Su Casa: Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen

                                                                                                                                                

Tired of your same old-same old life? It’s a wonderful world when you can just click to get a new one. The Sims 3, the latest version of the Sims franchise makes your second life (or third or tenth) everything you always wanted. Having only played with Sims a few times, I enlisted the help of my daughter and her friend to immerse me in the Sims experience. First off, the graphics are amazing “Much better than Sims 2,” said my experts. I used the Create-a-Sims tool to make my own Sim. This is serious. I highlighted her hair, chose the size of her muscles, added a beauty mark below her eye, made her slightly clumsy, bookwormy, a light sleeper and family oriented. Then I created a mate for her. Tall, dark and handsome. (Why not?) The two Sims paired genetics and had a child. (Sex Ed 101) They bought a house and furnished it. (Top of the line kitchen!). They almost spent all their money, but evidently the “cheats” are the same as in Sims 2 and my “helper” got us some more cash. (Who said “life’s fair?”) They shopped. And played with their baby. All the while talking that weird Simian language that I don’t understand, but it doesn’t matter. Then they tooled around Sunset Valley--- another new aspect to Sims 3, met other Sims, got hungry, and tried to fulfill their goals. (My female wants to “be popular.”). But wait, there’s more. I can connect to an online Sims community and enter yet another new town of Sims. And I can make and edit Sims movies to prove to my daughter that I can play without her help.  It’s mesmerizing. And addicting. And, yes, I can play it on my iPhone! --Wendy Smolen

Ring-O Flamingo from Gamewright - Tiny Toy Testers Review

Gamewright games sent Toy Whimsy a big box of games and we couldn't be happier to review them.  Families can get a lot of value out of games that can be played by many members of the family.  I fondly remember the times my family would play games together as a child.  It was fun to be included in what felt like a very "grownup" activity.  Check out our Tiny Toy Testers with the new game Ring-O Flamingo below, and then keep reading for the Amazon.com parents' review:
Ring-O Flamingo from Gamewright...

Parents' Review: 5 Stars for Wonderful, 1 Star for Terrible:

Assembly: 5 Stars, "Took only a few minutes – not much to assemble.  The directions were adequate."

Fun Factor:  3.5 Stars, "The kids liked it.  We played it together, and then they played it (while I did the video).  They’ve chosen to pull it out multiple times since then.  However, they (7.7 year old and 4.2 year old) have generally chosen to play with it “freestyle” rather than according to the rules.  I haven’t tried to coax them into playing the way it was designed, so I’m not sure how interested they’d be in that.  They liked playing it that way okay in the initial go-round, for a while, and then wanted to just flip the rings onto the board without regard for color (recycling lost rings from other players), or where they land on the board, etc."

Educational Factor: 1 star "not educational – nothing to learn from it.  just fun.  maybe good for hand-eye (fine motor) skills.  I imagine he’ll play with it periodically for an indefinite period."

Novelty Factor: 5 stars, "we don’t have anything like this.  It all worked just fine."

--Laura McMullan