Toy Whimsy

Wooly Willy - Flash Back Friday

So you might not know this toy from the name, but I bet that checking out this image will give you some flashbacks...

He has a "Magnetic Personality" don't you think?

Here's some information on Mr. Wolly Willy from wikipedia:

The brothers Donald and James Herzog developed Wooly Willy while working in the Smethport Specialty Company, their father's toy production company, in Smethport, Pennsylvania, United States. The company produced tops, horseshoe-shaped magnets, and other toys until the vacuum forming devices of the 1940s and 1950s allowed the company to manufacture air-tight containers of transparent plastic. Such containers kept Wooly Willy's metal filings from leaking out and moisture that would rust the metal from leaking in. The artwork for the first Wooly Willy was created by artist Leonard Mackowsk. Broadfield Toy Co., Inc., of Hempstead, New York, United States created a similar toy called Whiskers in 1925.
Priced at US$0.29, Wooly Willy was successfully launched on the market in 1955 A buyer for G. C. Murphy dime store chain initially purchased six dozen of the toy and expected not to sell them for a year. The buyer called Herzog just two days later and ordered a thousand dozen for nationwide distribution F. W. Woolworth Company also distributed the toy. More than 75 million Wooly Willies have been sold.

As I have said before, and I'll say again, sometimes the simplistic toys are the most fun and have the best longevity in the market.

I couldn't find a commercial but here is some fun animation that shows you how Wooly Willy works if you haven't ever played with one.

Have a great weekend!

--Laura M.

Toy Fair 2010 (Part One): Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen

New York Toy Fair is the largest international toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere. Think of the congested street fair you’ve ever been to. Vendors are hawking products every 10 feet. Chocolate kisses, eco-friendly tote bags and Purell lure you into the booths. Costumed critters like a giant Elf on the Shelf roam the fringes. And the nicest mom-and-pop storeowners are vying for time against mass-merchant buyers, pushy press, and a smattering of celebs.  Now move that image indoors where there’s feverish pitch of sound and not enough bars on your iPhone. Welcome to Toy Fair.  I’ve just spent 5 days skating up and down the aisles of Javits Center looking at and playing with thousands of new toys. My next couple of blogs will break them down into specific categories, but I like to remember each Toy Fair by what I consider the standout products. I have a tried and true method of measurement: Each day I see an average of about 500 toys. I take copious notes in each showroom. If I like something, I put an asterisk (*) next to it in my notebook. Two asterisks means I really like it.  I probably have about 50 picks when I leave Javits each night. On my train ride home, I re-read my notes and highlight any asterisked toys that I still like at the end of the day. Now I’m down to 20. Then I have dinner with my family. Over takeout (no cooking during Toy Fair), I describe the toys I saw and loved.  If a toy still stands out in my mind after 10 hours on my feet, 9 hours of smiling, asking intelligent questions, making upbeat conversation, and 3 hours of commuting from one end of NYC to the outer suburbs, then that toy is probably going to be a winner.  Not only does it get two asterisks and a highlight, I now bold it and put it on my “test this” list. Best case scenario: 3 to 6 greats a day. Enough to dream about while I steel myself for the next day of hard play.
So here are my 12 best and brightest "**'s" from Toy Fair 2010. (Unfortunately, some of the products won’t be on shelves until the fall, but it’s always fun to know what’s coming.)

Perplexus by PlaSmart. A colorful, imaginatively engineered maze housed in a clear plastic ball. Think labyrinth 3.0. I couldn’t put it down.

Washable Dry-Erase Crayons by Crayola. Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? Bright colors, no odor, no caps to lose and they don’t dry out. Bring on the whiteboards!
 

Air Hogs Vectron Wave by Spinmaster. Keep this small but mighty UFO in the air by using your hands as the guide. A state-of-the-art level sensor senses objects beneath it and rises to the occasion. Seems like magic.

Spy Video Trackr by Wild Planet.  This app-enabled r/c vehicle taps into an inner Einstein. Program it to roam from room to room, record, take pictures, even detect motion. Are kids are getting smarter or are toys getting smarter?

Create a Marionette by ALEX. Just when I thought I’d seen every kind of craft kit imaginable, this small surprise jumped out of the box. Three sets let you create and color either a dino, a giraffe, or a princess. Great play…and then more play.

Scrabble Flash by Hasbro. How many words can you create in 60 seconds using just 5 letters? This fast-paced game uses high tech tiles to keep your time and score. A modern take on classic Scrabble.
 

iXL by Fisher Price. This is what the future looks like. The IPad/e-reader-look-alike has a tough, kid-sturdy cover and six functions that let kids read, play, draw, listen to music or stories, write and keep photos. PC and Mac compatible, too.
 
Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright. Take nine dice, each with pictures on every side, toss them, and then tell a story using the images. A win-win imagination builder.

 
Lights, Barbie®, Action!  by Mattel. See and shoot the world from Barbie’s point-of-view with a real video camera inside Barbie’s bod and a lens peeking out from her necklace. Edit with music and special effects using downloadable software.

Why Do I Need A Jacket? by Patch. Part of the Sid the Science Kid line, this simple kit makes science accessible with experiments about weather and temperature that answer questions kids really want to know.

Monopoly Revolution by Hasbro. This 75-year old, best-selling board game has gotten the ultimate makeover. Round is the new square; credit is the new cash. And $200 doesn’t go as far as it used to.


Rubik’s Slide by TechnoSource makes the challenge of Rubik’s Cube doable…sometimes. Working puzzles from easy to harder (10,000 in all!), it uses lights, a timer, and a slip-slide movement to change the game for the better.

Minotaurus and Ramses by LEGO.  These if-you-build-it-they-will-play games let kids use LEGO pieces to create a game board and dice. Both versions have great gaming concepts. The first games are due in stores March 1st and more in the series are coming!   -- Wendy Smolen

Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®.  She has been professionally evaluating toys for over 15 years. Her three children have literally gone from crib to college proving ---or dis-proving--- her theories on play.

TOTY Awards - Get Your Kid a Winning Toy!

Announced last week at the New York Toy fair, here are the winners. There are some expected winners (Zhu Zhu Pets anyone?) and some trusted names (Tonka, Radio Flyer, Crayola) and some you might not have hear of, but really should take a look (University Games, Sprig Toys, Bakugan).  Without further ado, here are your winners...

• Activity Toy of the Year

Crayon Town by Wild Planet
 

• Boy Toy of the Year

Bakugan 7-in-one Dragonoid by Spin Master

• Educational Toy of the Year

Mindstorms NXT 2.0 by LEGO

• Electronic Entertainment Toy of the Year

Rubik's TouchCube by Techno Source

• Game of the Year

Sort it Out! by University Games

• Girl Toy of the Year

Zhu Zhu Pets by Cepia

• Infant Toy of the Year

Crayola Beginings Color Me a Song by Crayola

• Innovative Toy of the Year

Zhu Zhu Pets by Cepia

• Outdoor Toy of the Year

My 1st Scooter by Radio Flyer

• Preschool Toy of the Year

Tonka Chuck My Talking Truck by Playskool

Bilibo by Active People

• Property of the Year

Bakugan by Cartoon Network

• Specialty Toy of the Year

Captian Owen's Dolphin Explorer Boat by Sprig Toys

--Laura M.

Knick Knack Paddywhack Party Ideas - Guest Blogger Lisa Kothari

The book Knick Knack Paddywhack by Paul O. Zelinsky is often a favorite among small children and so this is quite an innovative and inventive theme for a birthday party. If you are thinking about it, here are some ideas to get you moving toward creating your party plan.

Given that the tiny old men pop up from one to ten throughout the book, you can send an invitation that has a number “3″ on it if your child is turning 3. You could use the part of the song, “This old man he played three” and use that as the rhyme on the invitation. It will weave the theme of the party into the invitation. Inside the number 3, provide all of the party details.
This book uses beautiful primary colors; the reds, blues, yellows are wonderful.  Decorate with balloons, streamers, and tableware that mix and match these various colors.
When the guests arrive, have the rhyme continually playing in the background. Have the kids make a number badge based on their ages as well. If they are all three, then that will be easy, but given the book uses the numbers one to ten, numbers other than just three would be fine.

• Given the book has the child on a walk, if it is a nice day take an adventure walk with the kids around your yard, the park (if you are having it there) or around your neighborhood. Definitely have a list of things for them to find. If it is a rock, have the kids find one rock each, then two leaves each, then three, then four… If this is in your yard you can plant things for the kids to find and have enough items.
• Since the old men roll home, you could have a somersault contest and see how many the kids can do in a row. 

• The fact that the dogs chase bones, you can play “Dog, Dog, Bone” much like Duck, Duck Goose.
• Host a relay race with a bone at the end of the race that has to be picked up and taken back to the next kid in line until one team wins.
• Have the kids act out the rhyme themselves. They could put on a little play based on it and bring it to life. Since the paper pop-ups are magical in this book, you could also make some paper crafts. Have the kids make their own numbers, bones, or you could lead some paper origami tricks as well.

A copy of the book is a great favor. Attach a little brown bag full of candy bones to the book as an additional treat as well.

--Lisa Kothari
Peppers and Pollywogs, Inc.
www.pepperspollywogs

Flexible Flyer - Flash Back Friday

The Olympics are a reason for celebration in my house.  Nine times out of ten in our household there is some kind of sports event on the TV , when the Olympics come around, we usually have them tuned in.  With all the sliding, skating, skiing, and racing this week, I thought that Flexible Flyer Sleds would be a great Flash Back Friday Toy.  Here's a little history from an article by D. B. Ryan.

"The Flexible Flyer Sled, the iconic toy of films such as "A Christmas Story," was the brainchild of a Pennsylvania Quaker farm implements manufacturer named Samuel Leeds Allen. Allen worked with his father, John C. Allen, from a crafts barn on "Ivystone," his working farm. The inspiration for the sled came from his love of sledding and his experiences at Westtown Boarding School and Friends' Select School in the late 1850s. Sledding, or "coasting," was a popular winter pastime during the 1800s. S.L. Allen's children served as testers for each new sled design.

S.L. Allen had a practical reason to design sleds, in that he wanted to provide work for his employees at the manufacturing facility. Farm equipment was a seasonal business: it sold well when farmers were not actively involved in working their farms, during the winter months. The summer and fall months left Allen workers waiting for new projects. He did not want his employees to leave for occupations with a full-year employment."

An original Flexible Flyer is even on display at the Smithsonian Institution of American History.

These sleds were made in Medina, OH from 1969 to 1973.

This is a 1969 photo from the Ohio Historical Society where workers pose with some of the sleds made at the plant. Here is a great article from The Gazette from Medina County, OH on the sledding plant's history

You can still get a Flexible Flyer sled today- wooden or a more modern plastic model.  You can check out the full selection here.

Have a great weekend- I am off to Vancouver to catch a little bit of the Olympic spirit!  I'll report back on Monday.

--Laura M.

Toy Fair 2010 Buzz and News

We've been watching the news coming out of Toy Fair this week and are really excited. We'll be bringing you some of the coverage later in the week and next week from Eddie Moore who was able to attend this week.  We are very excited for him to get back to Seattle and share with everyone- but here are some of the products that we have seen around the web this week.

I am very excited for Barbie's new career!  This time around she is going to be a computer engineer.  How awesome! Now my little girl's doll can write code along with me!  Her other new career- as voted on by her fans- is a News Anchor.  Both are very cute and just what I would expect form the Queen of Pink!

The folks over at Woot have been blogging about Toy Fair this week and the sweetest thing I have seen so far is the Emerson House.  It's an amazing looking doll house that has solar powered lights.  I want to live in that house!

Another new product that I have been hearing all about are the Vamplets.  I got the BEST press release right before the show on these little guys because they are sponsoring a blood drive at the show.  Very funny marketing technique- but also very helpful.  A win-win!

adorable aren't they?  I mean- for blood sucking un-dead at least.

and here's one thing many girls out there wish they would have been at Toy Fair to see:

Yes, that's everyone's favorite werewolf- Taylor Lautner.  Could that kid be more adorable?

Here's another shot of Nerf's new products (oh yeah, and Lautner again...)

Another toy that is getting some press around the toy blog are the Hexbug Nanos.  Apparently, they are "robotic creatures that behave just like a real bug!"

ok, that would freak me out if I just caught one out of the corner of my eye!

Another gadget at toy fair that has people all "a twitter" is the Puppy Tweets.  Miss your dog while you are at work?  Well, Mattel has found a way to make interacting while you are apart- easier.  This gadget will "tweet" when you dog moves, barks or naps.

One picture before we go...

I see the resemblance, don't you?  That's right, Hasbro got Robert Downey Jr. to unveil some of their new Iron Man 2 toys.  He looks pleased don't you think?

--Laura M.

Three Little Pigs Party Ideas - Guest Blogger Lisa Kothari

Is one of your favorite stories from childhood The Three Little Pigs?  It’s a classic tale of a wolf and his three little pig friends, one of whom outwits the wolf and saves his brothers too.  If your child loves pigs and this classic story, this would make a great birthday party theme for your child and his friends.

For a party invitation, I love DIY pig cards that will be perfect for this party.  Using square heavy card stock fold it into a large enough card to place a pink medium-sized circle glued atop the front of the card.  Embellish your pig with a snout, eyes, eyelashes, and ears by cutting out black and white shapes to make your pigs.  Write all of the party details on the inside of the card.
For your party decorations, create a barnyard atmosphere creating a red barn door on your front door to the party, spreading hay around the party table, creating a barnyard mural to hang on a party wall, and a sea of red, brown, and yellow balloons for the floor of the barn for the kids to wade through.
Given this is a piggy party, use pink balloons, streamers, and party ware to bring it alive as well.  You can use solid party-ware and draw pig faces on cups and napkins for added budget-friendly decor.  Wolf footprints leading to the party door would also add festivity.
Create an atmosphere of The Three Little Pigs too by creating mini-homes made out of hay, sticks, and brick.  This can either serve as a party activity or to be used in one.
For your Piggy Activities:

• Give out a pig snout and place a bit of dirt on the guests’ faces to get this party started.
• Who sounds like a pig?  Have the kids make piggy sounds together.
• Play Piggy Says like Simon Says.
• Have the kids either build the Three Little Pigs homes out of hay, sticks, and bricks.  See which ones they can huff and puff and blow down the easiest.
• Read the classic tale and have the kids act it out together.
• Hold a Piggy Hunt.  Hide pig stickers throughout the party area and give the group 2 minutes to find them.
• Play Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Designate one child to be the Wolf and have the kids line up in one area, and the pigs must cross to the other line safely without being tagged by the Wolf.  If they are, they join the Wolf Pack as the kids try to reach the opposite side without being tagged.  The game continues until all pigs are wolves.

For your Piggy Party Menu: serve Pigs in a Blanket, Pig Slop (fruit salad), trail mix, and strawberry milk.

For a Piggy Sweet Treat, make a batch of vanilla cupcakes, frost with pink icing, and have the kids create pig faces with chocolate candies.   Send the kids home with their pig snouts, small storybooks, and small burlap bags filled with a piggy trail mix.

Now who exactly is afraid of the big bad wolf?

--Lisa Kothari
Peppers and Pollywogs, Inc.
www.pepperspollywogs

Great Vacation Toys - Because Play Never Takes a Holiday

I don't consider myself an expert mother, but I do consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to toys. As the mother to two kids, a former teacher, and a toy/children's product blogger for 3+ years, I do know a bit about what works and what doesn't.  My family also loves to travel- by car, by plane, camping, in hotels, and everything in between.  Just last week we returned from a week's vacation to Hawaii and I think I have finally hit the jackpot on the perfect toys for travel.  The flight to Honolulu, Hawaii from Seattle was 6.5 hours there and 5.5 hours on the way back.  My kids are 3 and 5, so I knew that the flight time was going to be a challenge.  I also did not want to over-pack (a little habit of mine) since we had two big suitcases, two car seats, and we each had a carry-on.  The kids each had a small backpack and I was determined that I would not pack more toys/snacks/books than they could carry themselves.  So what did I pack? 

My kids love to color, so these mini coloring pages with mini markers from Crayola worked really well.  They were small enough that I could also put them in my purse for dinner's out while on vacation.  I am sure we will still use them now that we are home.  Having 80 pages insured that we never ran out, and having a little place to store the markers inside the case was great and made sure we didn't lose any markers.

Any travel case where you can keep all the supplies together, and fit nicely in a small bag would optimal- here are some more suggestions:

1. Are We There Yet Travel Activity Book

2. Alex Toys Desk to Go

3. Disney's Mickey Mouse Magic Pen Painting Book

4. Marvel Heroes Magic Pen Painting Book

5. Color Wonder Travel Tote

I also took two small containers of toys for my kids.  One was a Snapware Snap n' Stack Craft organizer (I just took the top layer and it slid right into the backpack sideways- perfect size for travel). I love the handles on these because they are perfect for kids to pick up a lot of small toys and carry them around the house or (even better) put them away in the toy closet.

For my son, who just turned three, I took a combination of small toys that he loves.  First, we took four of his Super Hero Squad toys.  These were perfect for the pool and the hotel room.  I could also easily store a couple in my purse for excursions and eating out.  They were also great for me to hand him a couple when we had a longish car ride or two. These super toys are about three inches tall and do not have removable pieces.  They are perfect for beginning super hero fans.

There are also Star Wars themed Galactic Heroes!

Here is a picture of my little guy in the pool with his Super Hero Squad toys. 

He had a great time with these in the pool and also made a bunch of little pals who had a good time saving the day together. 

For my daughter, I packed some perfect little favorites. I had a small metal lunch box container that worked well for her backpack. First, I packed a few of her collection of Polly Pocket toys and clothes.  She loves dressing these little dolls over and over.  Be warned that these are VERY small - my daughter is five, but these are not toys for kids under the appropriate age.

The other small toys that I packed for my kids were Playmobil toys.  I love these toys because of the great pretend play potential.  Again, Playmobil toys are very small and should never be give to young children because of the choking hazard.  They do have Playmobil 123 which are great if you have smaller children under the age of 3. 

The sets we took along all had water themes.  We took the boy with seals, a woman on a pool float, the Deep Sea Diver, a dolphin rescue set, and mermaids.

Here are some pictures we took of the toys at the pool.  The woman on the pool float was great because she really could float along in the pool, as was the deep sea diver who would gently float to the bottom of the pool when you snapped on his metal boots.  The mermaids were also fun for my daughter who loves anything princess-ey. 

OH NO!!!

Deep Sea Diver will SAVE YOU!

The Playmobil toys went down the waterfall, played in the pools, played in the bath and on the plane.  I am sure we lost a few of the smaller accessories but the people survived nicely.  

The last toy that we took on vacation, and that I am not sure Mom and Dad would have gotten any quiet time without, were two Leapster2 learning systems from LeapFrog.  I packed four games in a ziplock bag and put them in the backpack- and each child carried a Leapster2 in their own pack.  They do add a bit of weight but they were great for the plane, and for the hotel room when mom and dad needed a little down time.  I do allow (if all chores are done and the kids get into bed at the correct bedtime) 15 min of Leapster play at bed time while we are home. It turned out that this was a good wind-down activity even on vacation since it was hard for my kids to relax in a strange bed and when so excited on vacation. 

What are your go-to toys on vacation with kids?  Do you have some to share with us? Leave a comment in the comments section below!

--Laura M.

One Monster of a Toy Fair

New York's Toy Fair 2010 starts this weekend.  The event, held at the Javitz Center and sponsored by the Toy Industry Association, is held annually to showcase all the newest toys your child may be playing with in the year to come.  Additionally, awards are given (the Toy of the Year Awards, or the TOTY's) which celebrate innovation in toys brought to market in the past year. 

Toy Fair is an amazing event (similar to the video game industry's E3) and toy vendors go all out to make sure their toys are memorable -- gigantic, decorated booths; actors who perform skits involving the toys; interesting giveaways, etc.  There are even a few toys that are kept secret (sometimes you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to see them) but others leak out on the internet for the whole world to criticize see.  Case in point, Fisher-Price's Bigfoot.  The idea is similar to last year's hit toy, The Imaginext Dinosaur (even the remote control has similarities.)  But, one thing is for sure:  the adults who previewed just an image of the toy over at BoingBoing are definitely not looking at toys the same way a child would.  No wonder so many vendors want to keep their toys a secret.

I'll have more updates on new toys and Toy Fair 2010 in the days to come. -- E. Christian Moore

Toys and The Big Game

So, I keep seeing these teaser commercials for Sunday's big game from car manufacturer Kia.  They feature a bunch of toys enjoying a night on the town, including Muno from the kids' show, "Yo Gabba Gabba" a sock monkey, a robot and something that looks kinda like the Hamburglar and Grimace combined, except hairier.  All will be revealed in the full-length commercial, scheduled to air in the 3rd quarter of the game.  In case you haven't seen any of the the teaser versions, enjoy this:

(By the way, the song is "How you Like Me Now?" by The Heavy.)  -- E. Christian Moore