As a toy designer and a parent, this time of year is fraught with not only finding the usual Christmas gifts, but finding gifts that I admire both as a designer and a mom. It can be a tall order. I have high expectations! Until recently I felt like I had most of the control over what my daughter would play with. These days, as she approaches the ripe old age of 4, I'm realizing my hold on our curated collection of toys is slipping fast. But I have a couple of aces in my pocket to help me along.
One of the easiest ways to funnel her toy interests is to simply show her catalogs from some of my favorite toy shops. Magic Cabin and Fat Brain Toys both send catalogs this time of year. She has fun circling, well, everything, and I feel comfortable letting her dream big with toys I mostly approve of. Or, we look at things online together once in a great while - for the shops that don't have catalogs. Here are my go-to resources when looking for toys, links to these sites and their goodies appear frequently on my own blog too.
Of course, last week she saw a beautifully ugly pink motorized kid-sized car from some randomly discarded Sunday paper ad ... so it's not foolproof! How do you manage holiday gift expectations at your house?
My Sweet Muffin - beautifully curated selection of the best boutiquey toys.
Oompa Toys - European toys in the US, with a great selection of Plan Toys, Haba, etc. Good baby selection too.
Romp Store - Focusing on the art of play, this carefully selected bunch of playful things includes expensive heirlooms and unusual stocking stuffers you won't find anywhere else.
Hearthsong - with a wide selection of Waldorf-inspired toys, there are lots of imaginative choices for kids, but don't forget their games, puzzles, and outdoor choices too.
Fat Brain Toys - The best selection of specialty retail toys out there - from babies to teens. You'll find something for every kid you know at this great site.
Mindware - This site is great for budding brainiacs and older kids, filled with kits, games, and science-inspired play.
(Images: As credited above.)
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Love Fat Brain Toys! My hubby is a tad obsessed with them to the point he made a wish list for our one year old :)
FABULOUS picks Mari!! Adore Fatbrain, ROMP and My Sweet Muffin -- and Magic Cabin is my most favorite of all! Have you ever seen Blueberry Forest? They're online and have many lovely things as well.
NOVA NATURAL! I love their beautiful catalog and all the inspiring and high quality products they sell. I sent a toy boat from them to a 5 year old a few years back and his mom said "he knew from the moment that he opened it that it was a special toy." I have a kiddo on the way and you better believe a bunch of my registry items are from Nova Natural.
www.novanatural.com
Wanted to add Nova Naturals and Palumba for many beautiful, durable toys made in the US or fair trade. Also, so many great vendors on etsy.
Great suggestions!
Beyond Nappies is one of the best online designer toy shops in India.
online shopping toys for kids
There are so many toy stores around, especially when surfing online. I was looking forward to find a store that has uniqueness in to it. I live in Santa Monica and I am pretty close to the 3rd Street Promenade. there I was lucky to find this little cute toy store. It is called Puzzle Zoo.
The good side about that store is their high focus in educational toys and puzzles. the lady who works there, showed me the most rare puzzles that exclusively designed for Puzzle Zoo. If you live in the area, if the Christmas is around the corner, its a must see.