Younger Kids  ::  Older Kids

Younger Kids

3 Little Pigs Talking Storyhouse (Kidz Delight) Age 2+, $26.99
This is a very cute little playset that tells the classic story of the three little pigs.  There are three tiny little rubber pigs, one little wolf, and a small house (complete with chimney for children to stuff the wolf down).  Each door of the house opens up to tell part of the story and the entire set can be carried around by a toddler making this a terrific toy to travel with to grandma's house. Each 8 1/2" plastic house requires 2 “AA” batteries (not included).

My Little Pony Crystal Rainbow Castle (Hasbro) Ages 3+, $59.99
Our three little testers were just thrilled to receive this My Little Pony Set to review.  Our mom tester reported that "the girls just love My Little Pony.  It is a great set that the girls played for hours with.  The girls loved that there was "magic", like the drawers opening and the magical dance floor.  As a mom, I loved the fact that everything packed up

neatly after play!"  The set expands and has three floors of play and includes a table with umbrella, vanity, punch bowl, ladle, 2 glasses, 3 canisters with removable lids, 3 perfume bottles, 2 dishes of ice cream, 2 spoons, and china cabinet. Note: We were fortunate to receive some ponies, but they are  NOT included so make sure that you purchase some if you're giving this as a gift!  Requires 2 AA batteries. 

My Little Pony (Hasbro) Ages 3 and up  $5.99
Introduced in the early 1980's the My Little Pony toys were the rage.  Well they are back and the are bigger than ever.  A whole new generation of children are being introduced to these cute little ponies with names like Fizzy Pop, Island Rainbow and Peachy Pie.  Little girls seem to really enjoy brushing their manes while playing with their friends.  

Little People® Lil’ Pirate Ship (Fisher Price) Ages 2+,  $20.99
Once again, Fisher Price has come out with a winner.  This little pirate ship is great fun, especially if you are already familiar with Little People products.  Our mom tester reported, "all the pieces are just the right size for little hands, and the ship is durable.  I know because I caught my two year old trying to stand on it!  His favorite part is putting the little ball in the cannon and pressing the lever to make it shoot out again and again.  The little ball bounces right back to him and he giggles and claps with delight each time.  Another good thing for grown ups is that it doesn't have a lot of pieces and can easily be picked up and taken in the car to play with at grandma's house."

Biggest Littlest Pet Shop (Hasbro) Ages 4+, $39.99
Our 6-year-old tester, and lover of all things "pets" just LOVED this play set.  Our tester who wants to be a pet played with this for hours, reports her father.  "She loved "walking her pets" taking them for snacks and really loved the two pets that came with the set."  Our parent reviewers reported that they really loved that she could bring this set to her grandma's house for overnights and play dates.   This is a great pretend play gift!  The play set includes: two exclusive pets, including one "push 'n play" pet that does a trick when your press on its head. Another great bonus - no batteries required!

Portable Puppets™ Lilypad Pals™ (Manhattan Toy Co) Ages 3+, $20.00
"These are a great pretend play toy" reports our teacher reviewer. "Our testers aged 3+ just had a blast playing with these cute little finger puppets. Although they are great for school, they are also perfect for traveling!" The soft lily pad case holds three frog finger puppets.

Dora's Talking Cash Register  (Fisher Price) $39.99
This is definitely a fun toy.  Our 3-year-old tester's mom reports, " my daughter loved playing with this cash register.  It has a barcode scanner, money and credit cards.  It has the look and feel of a real cash register which gives her the opportunity to 'set up shop' and play!  It's provided hours of fun role-playing opportunities.  Another great feature -- it comes with bilingual phrases!"  Ages 3+

: definitely enjoyable.  Pros: Scanner, money and credit card are really cool - just like a real cash register. Lots of fun role playing opportunities.  Cons: it talks!   

Magic Castle  (Playmobil) $129.99
"This is a spectacular play set" commented our mother of three tester.  The set, which was easy to assemble includes a Prince and Princess, a horse and some furnishings.  "My daughters really enjoyed playing with this - especially since they are into the whole "princess" thing.  What would have made this better (or best) though would have been if all the rooms had been included.  There are enough accessories for the set to be fun right out of the box, but it would have been better if some of the furnishings that are sold separately were included.  If you are giving this as a gift you'll want to make sure you assemble first (for immediate play) and purchase the following accessories:  Royal Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom.  That ups the price but makes this a GREAT gift!"

Superman Inflato Suit (Mattel) $19.99
According to our mom reviewer, "This is a real crowd pleaser!! Boy or Gir, 3 yr old, 6 yr old or 8 yr old -- all 3 of my children loved this interactive dress-up! We had many a laugh as each of the kids tried this on. Very realistic when inflated! Only tricky part was they needed adult help in order to inflate it, even then the mechanism to do the blowing was very difficult to manage. The hand-held fan blower was hard to attach and the fan sometimes fell off while the child was playing, however, that being said, the kids LOVED it!  A fun gift for a Superman or Superhero fan" Ages 3+

Power Rangers Dragon Saber (Bandai) Ages 4+, $39.95
If you have a Power Rangers fan in your family, you'll want this toy that all the boys are seeing on TV.  Our 6-year-old tester thought that this was "the coolest toy ever!"  He loved that he could shoot foam disks at his "enemies" as well as make awesome sounds.  He loved the lights and the full extension sword.  "He's certainly go the moves down," commented his mom.  "It's a fun gift, and certainly has a lot of pretend play value."

Bebe Do My Real Baby (Corolle Dolls) $74.99
Our tester reports, "If you are going to buy your daughter a baby doll, this is the one to buy! She comes tucked in her very own Moses basket, with a little book and bottle. She is just precious. She looks like a real baby and is a perfect size for your child to hold. The only complaint from my 3 year old was that the bottle didn't fit in her mouth, but she soon moved on and it hasn't bothered her since." Age 3+

Diego's Talking Rescue Center (Fisher Price) $39.99
Our mom-tester reports, "This is definitely a BIG hit!"  What makes this great, she says is, "that it comes with many animals, Diego, and vehicles. That means I don't have to rush out to buy more things right away!  Also, every kid who has seen it loves how you can swing the helicopter around above the center.  The rip cord allows my daughter, Abby to "re-create" episodes of the show or play along as she watches.  She loves Dora and for us this is a great alternative to Dora."  Ages 2+ 

Matchbox Mummy's Gold Playset (Mattel) Ages 3+, $19.99  Our testers, a bunch of five-year-olds had a blast playing with this set.  They drove cars through it setting off the Mummy's maniacal laugh, they filled it with cars to see how many it could hold, they played with it with their other sets, and even set dinosaurs on it to ward off the "bad guy."  The sound of the mummy is definitely loud and can make you jump easily if it's left on, but the older kids really seem to think that's funny.  It's well constructed and easy to assemble which is a plus for parents and seems to be fairly durable given the pounding the boys have given it.  

Fisher Price Little Mommy Toddler Doll & Activity Center (Mattel) $38.00 / $49.99
"The interaction with the doll was great for my 3 year old," reports our mom-tester.  "She loved the fact that the doll called her mommy, and loved feeding her the carton of milk. She also enjoyed the activity center, which has a play yard, school house and bathroom all in a foldable unit. The school comes complete with a dry erase board and marker. My advice is to take the marker away unless you trust your little one with a 'real' marker. My daughter colored the whole play system, not just the dry erase board! The best part about this toy is that weeks after receiving it to test it's still played with.  Sometimes my girls play with just the activity center, sometimes just the doll.  It's a really nice grandparent gift" Ages 3+

Savannah Doll House (KidKraft) $159.99
Grandmothers & Moms, do you remember when you were younger longing for a dollhouse?  Well our tester did and she reported that her 3 and 5 year old girls were just delighted to test this beautiful doll house.  She reported that "it has provided hours of pretend play.  The doll house fits many of my girls dolls from their Barbie's to their Polly Pockets.  It has wooden furniture, a staircase, 4 floors of play including a bathroom, kitchen, dining room and attic.  It comes with 14 pieces of furniture which was great - because so many toys require purchasing extra items before you can even play!  This house is sturdy, really well made and was fairly easy to assemble."   Grandparents, if you're giving this as a gift, and you live near your grandchildren our tester recommends you set it up before so play can begin right away!  "This is a great splurge gift for the holidays, birthday gift or any special occasion!"  Ages 3+  Available at BlissLiving.com

Matchbox Delux Pop-up Construction Playset (Mattel) Ages 4+, $14.99  This is a truly portable gift that's perfect for a flight, train ride or road trip.  There are two levels of play which includes quite a bit for such a small area.  There's a wrecking ball, hook, two building roofs to snap on, a car launching cement mixer, and it comes with one car.  When you're all done playing pack it up by fold in the ramps, put the car in place and it snaps shut.  It's durable despite the fact it's a "pop up" and it fits easily into a backpack or under a car set.  It's perfect for traveling fun!  There are a couple of other sets available so if your grandchild likes them get the rest of the sets - Matchbox Pop Up Adventure Set Snake Jungle and Dragon Castle

Build-A-Bear Workshop Experience (Build A Bear)  All Ages
"Build a Bear Workshop is a wonderful experience for the whole family!" reports Megan one of our mom testers.  "It is like no other toy store we have ever been in before. You chose, create, bring to life, dress, and name your new friend - this allows your child to bond with this toy in a very different and unique way. I felt like my children had a sense of responsibility and love for their new animals - I have never seen them truly bond with a stuffed animal!" Read The Whole Story

Enchanted Palace (International Playthings) Ages 18 months+, $39.99
According to our mom tester, "This is really, really cute. It is very similar to the Fisher Price set, but with one big advantage – it has a handle for take-a-long play. This is the perfect toy for my daughter, aged 3 to take to my Mom and Dad’s house. There are enough pieces to make it fun, but not too many for me to keep track of. Working gates are really adorable. Her Disney figurines fit inside for additional character play.  I highly recommend this toy as a great gift.  It makes both kids and parents happy!"
 

Older Kids

Bratz Forever Diamondz (MGAE), $29.99 
Every year Bratz seems to come out with something new and cool and what is more enticing to little girls than Diamonds?  Well the Bratz Forever Diamondz dolls do not disappoint!  Our 9 and 10-year-old reviewers love their "hot fashion outfits" with sparkling "diamonds".  In addition, each doll comes with a real diamond necklace that the girls can wear to. They loved their own "bling bling" as well as the key chain that ever doll comes with on the box.  Our 10-year-old commented, "the Bratz doll was very fun to play with. Her hair was fun to brush with the star shaped brush. I loved the fashionable clothes and the creative places they put the diamonds, like the belt and her diamond studded jeans. It would be fun to collect all the Bratz Diamonds Dolls. I give this five stars."  Our moms thought that they would make great gifts for girls and collectors alike!   Ages 6+

Star Wars Transformers  (Hasbro) Ages 4+, $14.99
Our testers aged 4 and up all love Star Wars Transformers.  First, with these they are Star Wars so how can you go wrong, secondly they come with a miniature action figure that goes in their own cockpit, thirdly they are just plain cool!  Our 7-year-old reviewer just loved the Darth Vader transformer that converted to Advanced TIE fighter mode.  According to his mom "this is one toy that gets a lot of play!"  Younger kids may need help transforming these from fighter but it becomes a good learning process.  If pieces fall off, which they will, just clip them back together.  They are great gift for Star Wars and Transformer fans everywhere!

Grow 'n Style Barbie Fashion Fever (Mattel) $29.99
This is the toy we all grew up with, with an updated twist! Our mom-tester reports, "My two daughters love to brush her hair, clip on the extensions and make her look beautiful. Pressing a flower embellishment allows her hair to grow - very, very exciting! This is the toy every little girl wants. It is a safe bet for any girl when trying to find a special gift! I always save these gifts for the Grandparents to give because I know it will be a sure-fire hit!"  Ages 5+


 

Pirates of the Caribbean Isla Cruces Playset  $29.99
Fun for imaginative play for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.  The kids enjoyed the wheel which dislodges and spins out like in the movie.  The figures are detailed and but are sold separately.  You'll want to note, that this is for kids ages 6 and up.  The pieces do fall off and younger kids might not be able to put them back by themselves.  Designed after the location of key scenes from the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" movie Includes trap door, collapsing ladder, swinging boom and pulley.  Figures are very detailed and start at $7.00   For ages 6 yrs. and up

Mega Bloks: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Captain Jack Sparrow
This cute little set which retails for $6.99 is a great little Halloween treat.  The Pirates of the Caribbean mini-set is great for imaginative play.  The set includes everything you need to build an island, including a 2" Captain Jack Sparrow figure, treasure chest, palm tree, instructions and more. Our tester, a 5-year-old pirate fanatic just had a blast playing with this.

Black Pearl Remote Control Ship (Disney Store) Ages 3+, $49.50
Fans of The Pirates of the Caribbean" will love this remote control ship that moves in all directions, has a retractable cord and has action figures.  If you press a button you even get battle sounds and lights.  Our 5-year-old reviewer, and Pirates fan just loved this ship.  Our mom-tester reports, "my 5-year old loved this toy and he really loved the movies.  He has fun playing with this ship, as do his friends, even those who weren't old enough to see the movie.  I also recommend you get extra figures, for extra fun!" Requires one 9V battery and 4 AA batteries (2 AA batteries are included.)  Where to buy: Disney Store: For store locations in the U.S. and Canada, call 800-757-5933.