Must-Have Creative Toys

FAMILY Magazine editor, Amy Bevins, shares her favorite “Must Have” holiday toys, along with the help of a few elves.

Hi! I'm Amy Bevins. I am an Editor for Family Magazine, a writer and educator and I am also a mom. Today, we're talking about must have holiday toys. We're going to be looking at creative toys. These are toys that foster imagination, creativity, art music. All these wonderful things that help your child grow. One product that I found is fantastic are the Guidecraft Unit Blocks. Build a castle or stable, a rocket or a lion, your imagination is the only limit to what you can create. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio says, a number one must-have toy for preschoolers is a set of unit blocks. These blocks are created to an exceptionally high standard, finely sanded with rounded edges. They resist resist dents and dings. They are splinter-free and are guaranteed for life. This particular set I happened to have since my children were very small. They have been in our house about eight years and there are few dents in them. They held up through years of tower building, crashing, tumbling. We make castles and forts. They even became wonderful for hamster not too long ago. So there is all kinds of playability and versatility with these. These are the kind of toys that will grow with your children and not only that, that you'll save for your grandchildren. They have that level of quality. Guidecraft Unit Blocks make a great gift for the holiday season and something your kid can enjoy for years to come. Next, we're going to look at DragonBonz. These quirky anatomically incorrect creatures are something that your kids can create using all kinds of different parts that come in the box. Movable jaws, rattling tails, posable eyes, glittery wings. All the parts you need to build your own fearsome or friendly dragons. With the specially designed hooks and included monofilament you can even watch your dragons creations fly. The Dragon Bonz set is compatible with other sets in the bones line up including the Glo Bonz, Bonz Deluxe and Seabonz. Next, we're going to look at the book of 'Artrageous Projects'. This is an incredible book where art comes to life for kids. Give your kids the keys to unlock the treasures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this amazing collaboration between the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the editors of Klutz. Your kids will learn the skills, practice by the masters. This book provides visuals for incredible hands on art experience. Copper foil, light sensitive paper, color pigments, rice paper, a paint brush and incredible variety of stickers and more. Your kids won't just read this book. They will live it. Lamaze Chime Garden. It's a wonderful award winning toy that helps babies and toddlers learn about cause and effect and it's also an absolutely delightful musical creative toy. It has wonderful chimes you simply press the flower to activate the chimes. It has wonderful crinkled petals in different shapes and textures. It also has three different play modes. When you switch play modes the first one is simply a chime mode. Next, you'll have an opportunity to play parts of a song so babies can learn to play one piece then the next. And then if you press the different flower. And the last mode allows you to play it as a continuous song. One of the great things about this toy is it's also a wonderful travel toy because as you can see all of the faces light up when they are pressed. So even if you are on a long car ride and it's gotten dark, babies are still entranced by the lights. That light up when they press the buttons. This is also an Oppenheim Portfolio Platinum Winner making it a great holiday season toy. Jumbo Jungle Animals. Close your eyes. Can you hear the lion roar, the elephant trumpet and the giraffe. Well whatever giraffes do. With these Jumbo Jungle Animals your child can imagine, she is exploring the deepest, darkest jungle. Hunting on the savannah, playing with animals at the zoo, or visiting wherever her imagination leads. The oversized elephant, giraffe, lion, tiger and gorilla are all made of durable non-toxic dishwasher safe plastic for hours of animal play. Pair them with other jungle animal sets such as PetsFarm Animals or Ocean animals and you can have an animal kingdom full of fun. To find out more information about where to purchase these toys or any of the other toys you've seen in today's video, simply click on the link to my website. You'll also find information about other top holiday picks for this season. Next, we're going to be talking about travel toys which are great for on the go fun, whether you're in the car or at grandma's house.