Free game at Nico and Zoe

Earthday is over, but Nico & Zoe are still celebrating. Spend $25 and get a free Plan Toys recycling game;spend $50, and get a Recycling Game and a HUGE Plan Toys reusable bag.

Pamela says the game is simple, but really cool. They opened one up and sevden-year-old Zoe had to put it together and play it at least 5 times!

Nico & Zoe offers a selection of handmade toys, European toys and toys made in the U.S.A.. They have a great selection of toys under $10 and toys under $20.

I'm looking for travel toys right now, so I like this:

Zoe's Baby Magnetic Doll Set ($12.00)



I imagine it would keep little girls busy in the car. I also found harmonicas and lacing shapes.

PADiLLY

If you head over to PADiLLY you will find page after page of beautiful toys. You can almost hear the delighted squeals on Christmas Day! As you browse the site keep in mind that PADiLLY has generously shared a coupon code with us. To redeem it enter SARAToysPADiLLY when you check out.

While I loved so many toys at PADiLLY the following represent my favorites:

Haba Egg Race (Made in Germany)

This toy would make the perfect party game! I can also see it chasing away the winter blues. What could be more fun than racing around the house with a clown's head on a stick? Small toys that encourage activity are perfect in my book.

Quadrilla Basic Set (Made in China)This set is made in China. However, I have included it as it is made of sustainable wood and is colored with water based stains. I showed my six-year-old this picture and his jaw dropped. "This is going on my list for sure!" Love at first sight! This 99 piece set is currently on sale at $47.99.

Glueckskaefer Green House of Doors (Made in Bosnia-Herzegovina)

This many doored house is just adorable. The play possibilities are endless. Is it a fairy house, a horse stable or a garage? Let the kids decide. I know that my two toy hounds would find a million ways to use all those doors. The house is painted with water based paints and has a slightly rough, earthy texture.

Eco Fair 2008

It was my pleasure to bring my love of cloth diapers and natural toys to Wichita Falls, TX during EcoFair 2008. Our green living fair is the only one of its kind in our area and I can't wait for next year! I was fortunate enough to have a booth at the event and speak about cloth diapers and natural toys. The event was a success!

This success was due in large part to some amazing companies who were gracious enough to donate items to be given away in a drawing. I am featuring them here, right before Christmas, with the hope that you will check out their products. I am sure you will love them as much as I do.

Baby Beadz are developmental necklaces designed to help the nursing child focus on nursing and not tear her mothers hair out! Handcrafted by our very own Sara, they are beautiful and come in an array of designs and colors. Sara is too modest to post about them but I just adore them and own several of my own. This beauty was given away to a lucky Texas mama:

By far my favorite online toy store is A Toy Garden. It is immediately apparent that every item is carefully chosen. Every toy is just as beautiful as it's description. Sonya was kind enough to send two toys, the Rainbow People Bath Boat and an Organic Striped Pocket Doll. Both are just beautiful and found homes with two very happy little girls!

Green Toys is a company that produces made in the USA toys out of 100% recycled milk jugs. They come packaged in recycled and recyclable cardboard, something I find very important. Green Toys donated their Sand Play Set. My two kids went nuts for it, and it broke their hearts that it went to another family. It is just perfect for little hands and is a must have for sand play, bath play, or a day in the garden.

Jeanine Behr Getz is the author of an amazing book, Think Green. This book has captivating illustrations, done by Jenny Nightingale, and an engaging and important message: THINK GREEN! What really impressed me was the fact that it is printed using soy based inks on recycled fiber/post consumer waste paper and processed chlorine free. In addition, the book is printed and published in the U.S.A. This interactive book found a home with a lucky little homeschooled girl. It's a perfect match!

We reviewed the PHD Pocket Disc a few months ago and just loved it. In fact, we still do. It's a must have at the park as when Jackson wings the disc, it doesn't hurt a soul! Alli would like to add that it makes a terrific hat for her babies. Three discs were graciously donated, and they all found their perfect matches...kids with killer arms!

Last but by no means least, is Stubby Pencil Studio. Sigh. What can I say? I adore their philosophy, their products, the whole shebang. I was sent a ton of printed cards and some smooth as silk soy crayons. These found their way to our local non-profit Nature Center, where they were appreciated more than you know.

A huge enormous mammoth thank you to all who donated their products for the good of the green here in Texas. Please visit these generous companies, I can guarantee you will find something that just has to go under the tree this year.

Toys in the car

I guess car safety is one of my obsessions. I have completed EMT training, my husband is a volunteer fire fighter/EMT and I've had many close friends who have been first responders of some type. I've seen and heard so much about the injuries that can occur from having loose objects in a car, and I'm very strict. For more about missiles, read this or visit http://www.car-safety.org/ which has tips on everything related to safe driving.

Of course, the flip side to having an empty car is that mom isn't nearly as safe of a driver when kids are bored and whiny. My solution is to allow soft, lightweight toys. A big favorite for my children are cloth books like the that rear-facing Linnea is "reading" in the picture.

Amazon.com has a huge selection as does Borders. A few I really like are the Usborne cloth books like Mouse and Snail ($12.26), which have bright simple illustrations and fun textures, and the Roger Priddy cloth books like Snowy Bear and Friends and Fuzzy Bee and Friends ($8.95), which also have a variety of textures as well as crinkly parts and flaps and bits to pull. Haba-lovers might find it worthwhile to spend $15.99 on a Catherine Caterpillar or Max Mole. These books include a soft finger puppet and are available from Oompa.com. I don't have these books and they received primarily poor reviews on Oompa.

Cloth books are a hit with both Arielle (3) and Linnea (11 months - today!).

Linnea has this airplane which fastens to her strap and has soft rings for chewing. There is also a bear in a car. The airplane has gotten mixed reviews from Linnea. It is very cute and is chewable, but doesn't hold her interest as long as a book or doll.

I know, I know! It has both plastic and is MIC (as are most of the board books), but it is made by a French company with an excellent safety rating and European standards require safer plastics. In the car, I think that potential missiles and unhappy children are greater safety hazards than unpainted toys that are made in China by companies with a good reputations. If anyone has other options that are not MIC, let me know!

Arielle loves dolls. Our Nicki dolls ($19.99) more or less live in our car seats. These are made in Germany out of all natural materials. We've had Nicki dolls around since Arielle was a baby, and these 8 inch, light-weight dolls are great companions in car seats, diaper bags, restaurants, and at home. Arielle still enjoys "Baby" after three years. I love the Kathe Kruse Poupe Rose ($16.99, also available in a boyish blue/green) for babies who still drop things.

A no cost option is to bring the smaller of the numerous stuffed animals that magically accumulate around a child out to the car and store them in a cloth bag. Make sure they are machine washable (as are all my suggestions, as they will fall into puddles and get stepped on/spilled on).

And, of course there are Arielle's ever present finger puppets, but that is another post.