10% off at Carl & Me

Looking for wooden toys for the holidays? Carl and Me: Exceptional Toys For Boys (and girls!)offers a selection of safe, woden toys from the USA and Europe suitable for children from babies to teens.

NIC Wooden Toys - Creamobil Little Men 'Pico' ($12.00)

Small Stacking Man ($24.00)

Scalino Bell Tower Set ($78.00)

Carl & Me is especially great for unusual construction toys - the kind my older son Merlin loved when he was in elementary/middle school (and still occasionally plays with at almost 21!).  If you have the kind of child who loves to build and make things work, definitely check out Carl & Me.

Sara's Toy Box readers can take 10% off through the holidays with code "SARA".

Carl and Me is having a competition

Carl & Me: Exceptional Toys For Boys is working with a retired carpenter in Georgia. He is employing a small team of workers from an economically disadvantaged area, and they are making handmade toys like this wooden car carrier which will be sold on the website.


Wooden Car Transporter JIMMY ($39.90)



The transporter is 17" long and comes with three removable cars.



The toys are are made of untreated, natural wood that is sanded smooth and can be decorated using paints, markers or food coloring. A playable art project!

As a way to introduce these handmade products, Carl & Me is sponsoring a competition. If you buy one of these car transporters and your child decorates it, send in a picture. Email the picture to karen@carlandme.com

Carl will pick the winner on January 15, 2010.

Linnea and Arielle got to try this out. Linnea could not wait, so she "borrowed" a purple marker and got to work.


Silly, Linnea. That's not what I planned.
I mixed up some food coloring with water to make a paint. Painting is always fun.


And, it requires a lot of concentration.


"What are you looking at?" Linnea likes to mix her colors.


Arielle likes to focus on details.


It's getting pretty...


Almost done!


Linnea invited her car out to lunch.


All done! After a fun morning, the girls had a fabulously colorful car transporter to add to their car collection. Watch out highway, here we come!

10% off at Carl & Me

Carl & Me: Exceptional Toys for Boys offers high quality toys made in the United States and Europe. The cars, trucks, blocks, active toys and building toys are fun for both girls and boys.

Featured brands include Matador, Janoschik, Scalino, Varis and NIC.

Matador - Matador are building toys. The wooden pieces are held together with rods. Tools are included.

Matador Klassic 2A ($74)



Janoschik - These adorable riding toys are made in Germany.

Mina, the giraffe scooter($142)



Skippy, the kangaroo scooter with removable baby ($198)



Scalino - Scalino marble runs are made in Switzerland. There are all kinds of additions such as waterfalls and xylophones to make these marble runs extra fun. Sets can be combined over time to make a toy that grows with your child.


Scalino Sound Staircase Set ($92.00)



Varis - Varis are just like Lincoln Logs. They are made in Latvia.

Varis 111 Parts Set ($60)



NIC - NIC Toys are my dream toy. The Creamobil series includes trucks, building parts and little figures that can be combined for construction play, truck play and general imaginative play.

Creamobil Little Men Maxi($32.00)



They can play in the Creamobil Vario House Base ($92.00)



or,in cool trucks like the Creamobil Sweeping Machine ($68).



NIC also makes Cubio, which is similar to a marble run, but uses balls so it can be used by children as young as 18 months.

Cubio Ball Track ($132)



Carl & Me is offering our readers 10% off on these brands through November 30. The code is "SPIEL".

Baufix Super Barrel

If you have a child who wants to fix or build things, the Baufix Super Barrel ($59.95) is a great deal and would make an excellent Christmas gift. This large bucket is filled with 113 different screws, nuts, wheels and wooden pieces galore. They can be combined in endless ways that are as unique and interesting as your child's imagination. Or, there is a picture book of instructions for a variety of vehicles.

For ages 3-6 although I think older children would still enjoy the set. I know that big brothers do. Here's my 23 year old step-son Frank building a fire engine.



Baufix are made in Germany. Most of the pieces are made of hardwoods and painted with non-toxic paints, but a few pieces are safe plastic. Here's Arielle's creation, she followed the instructions with her big brother's help .



But, she usually builds bird houses (of course!).

Linnea likes to take things apart. The little purple washers also make nice princess rings.

The set is of very nice quality and is one of the nicer building sets that I've seen. Our only problem was that in the winter, the girls like to play near the heating vents. I had to put in metal screens to catch the small pieces. Check out Carl & Me; they have a nice selection of Baufix building sets in various sizes suitable for all ages, and other building sets. Everything is made in the USA or Europe. Shipping is only $5.95 and there is free shipping on purchases over $100.