Reviewing Toys

It’s hard to find any Yo Gabba Gabba online unless you go right through the company site. Many of us shop online and try finding a bargain or we shop at certain places, one of those places is TysToyBox.com. How many of you shop there?

Well they’ve just landed a contract to sell merchandise from the YoGabba Gabba! preschool show. Now if you have a child that loves this show they can get their own Plex, Foofa, DJ Lance, Toodee or Brobee.  Now you can prepare to get those gifts for under the tree in just a few short months.

Ty’s Toy Box will have sweatshirts, t-shirts, hoodies and more. Here’s a list of some of the items with prices:

Yo Gabba Gabba Groovin Guitar- $19.99

Yo Gabba Gabba Dancy Dance Brobee $34.99

playsets with Plex (buggy) $20.99

Foofa silly head plush $17.99

plush Toodee $8.99

plush pals Muno $8.99

plush pals Plex $8.99

Okay, as the big day draws closer more and more of you are going to be searching for those really hot lists of toys for 2008 so I’m getting those prepared and I’m going to do it from as many companies that I can so you can see a large variety. Sure you’ll get the HOT toy list that everyone in the world sees, but I’m also going to show you the NEW toys that came out this year that haven’t had a chance to be noticed before the "HOT LIST" was made.

I’ll bring you lists from toy companies like HASBRO, Vtech, etc and of course toy sites like Amazon, Toys R US, KB and more. Each place has a different set of 10 or 15 they’d like to share with you. You’ll be notified, here on this blog, about toy sales and deals that might interest you.  If I can I’ll try getting interviews with toy makers/companies, etc.  I’ll also bring you reviews of some that I actually have around here or that were sent to me to try out. I’ll let ya know if they break or stand up to my four kids.

The holidays is a time that is suppose to be enjoyed, so lets not worry about those toys anymore. Ready to play?

Hasbro dropped me an email showing me their brand new YouTube video for their special summer event. Guess what it is? Ready? It is their campaign for the Toys For Tots this year and of course they have a Marine Drill Sargeant in the front lines.

Now what the video doesn’t tell you is that for every toy/game purchased between now and August 2 (my daughter’s birthday) they will match it up to $400,000. That’s a whole lot of toys for the Toys for Tots. Can you imagine the smiles on those little girls and boys? Even on the teens they will please this year? 

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Did you know today is Barbie’s Birthday? Barbie turned 49 years old today, the first launch of the fashion icon, Barbie, was in 1959. Some of us weren’t even born, while others joyful got the first doll on their birthdays. Were you one that got a 1959 Barbie doll?

Today, there are tons of Barbie dolls and accessories to choose from, but those very first years were very limited. The dolls were straight armed with a slight bend, legs that didn’t bend and a bathing suit. The dolls of course had the long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The first dolls were created by co-founder of Mattel (like they are today), Elliot Handler. Actually it was his wife Ruth that came up with the idea after seeing her daughter playing with paper dolls. Why wouldn’t children want to play with a toy “barbie?” That’s the shortened version of the birth of Barbie.

Happy Birthday Barbie!

Barbie, barbie doll, happy birthday, birthday

By now you’ve surely heard of Monopoly, whether you played it as a child or have played it once you were grown. It’s a game of buying up real estate and seeing who can own the most places without going broke. It’s a great way to show kids the reality of money and how taxes are added up and even how some are lucky in business while others go bankrupt.

There have been many versions of Monopoly created, from movies like Simpsons to the Electronic (with ATM card) Monopoly. Disney and Junior Disney Version as well as Transformers, Spiderman, SIMS and even the classic one.

Hasbro has decided to make yet another version, this one will be called, “Monopoly Here and Now : The World Edition.” But they need you to vote on the cities that will be featured on the board game. Head over to Monopoly and vote for your 10 favorite cities. You can even nominate your own town, even if its a rinky dink place no one knows.

Monopoly, Disney, Hasbro

A Texas Mom to twins thought of a really neat toy service. Before I get into that though I want to ask you a few questions and really think of the answer.

Does your child have a lot of toys?
Do they become uninterested in them after a period of time?
Do they still look new?
What do you do with your child’s old toys?

Every year parents are stuck with going through their children’s toys, either during the spring or later in the year near the holiday season. Why? Parents like to take out broken toys or make room for more toys. I’m a crime of this myself, however I have four children and tend to hand down toys to the younger ones. Thankfully the toys are never torn up, if they are they are headed for the giant green bin outside.

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This year I plan on going to one or two toy fairs, last year I missed them as I didn’t know the dates. So, whether you are a parent or someone that likes to stay on top of toys here’s a list for you.

Event: Toy Fair 2008
State: New York
Date: February 17-20
Where: 7 West 34th Street between 5th & 6th Avenues

Some exhibits that will be there are: Discovery Toys, Hasbro, Books-a-Million, inc, Estee Lauder, Disneyland, EduPlay, Fancy That, Little Treasures, Little People Company, Gottschalks, Hastings Entertainment, Happy Toys,

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It seems that every week there is a new toy being ripped off the shelf because of another toy recall. Just in time for the holidays? Are there any toys out there that are safe these days?

Shocking news to consumers as this time it’s a toy company that doesn’t have lead, instead it can be much more fatal. This time it’s a toy that consists of a drug…a date rape drug called gamma hydroxy butyrate. The beads in this toy are what is so harmful.

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The bad news is we have another Thomas the tank recall, but there is a bit of good news. If you happened to have one of these items, they will give you a replacement, plus a free gift. How great is that? Now, for all those worried parents out there, it seems that due to the NEW standards that is why the recall. Thank goodness, I know.

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Fisher-Price has sent out an email to all those that subscribe to their newsletter with an official statement from Bob Eckert this afternoon. With so many different recalls this week they wanted to be sure everyone knew they were on top of things and wanted to thank us for sticking by them.

Here is the copied and paste version I got in my inbox:

Don’t forget by clicking on the icon you’ll be able to enlarge the picture.

Toys, toys, recalls, toy recalls, fisher-price, Bob Eckert