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Best Toddler Toy
 Parents
Busy Street Playground (Parents Magazine
Play+Learn) Age 1 and up, $49.99
This toy was tested in a school environment by a group of toddlers aged
18 months and up and it was LOVED by all and that's an understatement.
This toy provides hours of entertainment. According to the teachers the
kids play with it one at a time, or in groups. There is never fighting and
the kids play cooperatively at all times. The teachers were rather amazed
at how much the kids loved it and still love it. It has become a permanent
fixture in their class room and they are thrilled. Kids, parents and
teachers all agree that this is a winner! Available exclusively at Target.
Best Educational Toy (infant/toddler)
Little
Touch Leap Pad
(Leap Frog)
Ages 6 months - 3 years, $34.99
According to our Mom tester, her daughter
"really likes it and gets the concept too." She liked that you
have the option of either music or words and that it fit on her lap. The
only comment she had was that the pages would work a bit better if they were
laminated. If you give this to an infant who is still putting things in
their mouth you'll want this to be a supervised activity. She said, " This
would be a great gift to give or recieve for Christmas."
Best Building Toy
 Zoo
(Playmobil) Ages 4 and
up, $99.99 -- According to our reviewers aged 4 -7 this is
"awesome". Once it's set up there's a ticket booth, pond with
lily pads, and tons of animals. It provides hours and hours of pretend
play. It comes with lots of people, animals and extras. According to
the mom reviewer "there are tons of small pieces and the zoo takes about 1
hour to build maybe a little more. Set yourself up in advance with ziplock bags
for all the pieces you may not decide to use." The mother of our
testers loved the fact that this encouraged imaginative play without the
requirement of batteries!
Best Educational Toy (preschool/school-age)
 Vtech
V.Smile (VTech)
Ages 3-7 years $59.99
"This was a winner the minute it was plugged in," reports
our mom tester of two. Our tester who has a PlayStation commented
that she's often discouraged by the lack of educational play in that
system and was thrilled that this had the "game" feel, but
"educational" properties. Her daughter, aged 6 commented
that many of the games were "too hard" but she was "working
on them." Her youngest child at 4 had difficulty, but is
persisting. The system has great controllers that have large buttons and a
large joystick, and you can even switch the positioning if you're left handed.
The games are on "Smartridges”
and are based on popular characters. The skills involved include
language, math, problem-solving skills and much more! "This is
one gift both the parent and child will be thrilled to receive,"
reports our tester.
Best Game
 Balloon
Lagoon (Cranium)
Ages 5 years & up, $19.95 This game gets rave reviews from all
testers! There are four fast-paced activities that are set up like
carnival games. You spin the carousel to determine the game, press the
button on the top to stop the Carousel try to finish the game before the music
stops. This game will keep kids (and adults) challenged and amused as they
race to collect balloons. It's a great game of skill, thinking, timing and
chance. This game has won many awards and it's easy to see why!
Best Doll
 Cabbage
Patch Kids (PlayAlong Toys)
Ages 3-6, $29.99
Cabbage Patch Kids dolls are back! Our 3 1/2 year-old tester loves her Cabbage Patch Kids doll, Nelida Ollie (each doll has his/her own name and comes with adoption papers). Nelida brought a big smile to our tester's face along with a couple of "wows" when presented to her. Since then, her mother reports that,
"Nelida has remained pretty much constantly by her side: at preschool, at mealtime and at bedtime." Nelida is cute and cuddly and her clothes and shoes are removable, so our tester enjoys undressing and dressing her as well as playing with her hair. This is a perfect gift for a little girl!
Best Craft Kit
 Magic
Touch (Pamela Drake
Int.) Ages 5+ $12.00 All ages will have fun with Magic Touch painting.
We gave this to a 5 year old and a 7 year old to test and they both really
enjoyed it. All you have to do is touch the coated brush tip to the "magic" silk surface of the picture and watch the paint flow to the lines.
The black lines magically stop the flow of the paint. Each kit comes with five colors and a brush. On the back of each package is also a color chart that shows how easy it is to mix colors.
Why does this craft kit stand apart from all the other great craft kits?
Well, this one is so easy for kids to do on their own that they get this
wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Most kids under 8 really need
assistance when doing craft projects - it's nice to open a package and them them
do what they want.
Best Electronic Gadget
 Leapster by Leap Frog
(Leap Frog) Ages 4-8, $79.99 This is our favorite pick two years in
a row and we would be doing a disservice if we didn't mention it again
this year. This isn't only a toy, it's a very valuable learning tool.
It takes the fun of a GameBoy and makes it educational. The screen is large and has good color graphics, the sound is excellent and the games are great. With some
of the cartridges you can even watch educational videos.
Some toys come and go, but this one is being played with all the time. According to the grandmother of one of our testers "it's the best toy I've
ever seen. My granddaughter brings this with her everywhere, in the car, on our recent cruise and what's more - it's helping her learn! If you're still not sure, visit Amazon and read all the rave reviews about this product for
yourself. I wish these were around when I was a kid!
Best DVD (tie)  Elf
(Infinifilm Edition) Rated PG, $29.95
Even if you aren't a fan of Will
Farrell, which I find impossible to comprehend you will still love this
movie. Elf is downright fun. It's clever, well directed and a real
feel good film. Elf is a story of a human, Buddy, adopted by Santa Claus
who returns to the human world to find his father, who is on the naughty list.
Kids have a good laugh at some really silly parts in the movie, and adults will
laugh at the sophisticated stuff that the kids miss. Zooey Deschanel, as a department store worker with whom Buddy falls in love, is
sweet and there's a wonderful scene where the two of them are singing in the
shower. It's a feel good film that's not to be missed.
 Shrek2
(Dreamworks) Rated PG, $29.99
Shrek
was a classic film that both the kids and I loved. Shrek2 does not
disappoint. Shrek is back with his bride Princess Fiona and his friend
Donkey. This time Shrek and Fiona are invited to Fiona's kingdom to
meet her parents. The parents are shocked and horrified to meet
Shrek. Prince Charming (who was supposed to marry Fiona) is in the
picture as is his hysterical fairy godmother. Hired as an assassin to
kill Shrek is a cat who is done remarkably well by Antonio Banderas.
The whole film is great from beginning to end and will be watched over and
over for years - at least in my house!
Best Travel Toy
 Video
Now Jr.
(Hasbro)
Ages 3 and up, $79.99 -- If you've ever gone on a long car trip with your
grandkids and had to listen to incessant whining, you'll appreciate this
toy. Video Now Jr. plays videos of favorite kids characters. It's
made of almost bulletproof construction which is perfect for the most likely
drops, is easy to use thanks to the nice large buttons, sounds great and has a
great picture. Although the image is small for adults it seems perfect for
kids. Our three-year-old tester was memorized while watching Dora and
shouted back at all the appropriate times. Headphones are not included,
but can be used which makes this truly a parents dream.
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