Category: gift idea

Bouji and Nouna Offer Vintage-Inspired Crib Bedding

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

When I see beautiful nurseries on sites like OhDeeDoh, I’m always inspired by the creativity these parents have for putting together such unique spaces for their babes.  These nurseries always go beyond the blues, pinks and caricatures of teddy bears, instead opting for distinctive patterns and often, gender-neutral shades.

Bouji and Nouna embodies this same style and sensibility with their handmade crib and toddler bedding.  The unique bedding marries mod and vintage styles and hones in on rich shades of color to create some fantastic pieces for baby.


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Lego Encourages Kids to Rock Out with Duplo Jams

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

LEGO aptly describes their construction play sets as catalysts for ideas, and I couldn’t agree more. Like many of you, we’ve sat for hours playing LEGOs, building architectural masterpieces, crazy vehicles and pretend food, among other whatchamacalits… The possibilities are endless, but one thing’s for sure: creative play and LEGO go hand in hand.

At Toy Fair, LEGO once again invited bloggers to their booth for an after-hours party where we had the chance to check out all of the upcoming sets and more. Aside from their beloved bricks, LEGO gave us a peek at their latest foray into the creative play space: Duplo Jams.

LEGO launched Duplo Jams as a new dimension to encourage and inspire creative play for toddlers and preschoolers. The three songs that are currently available are all written and performed by a preschool dad that everyone listen to for free. Duplo Jams has a dedicated iTunes channel and Facebook Page where the free songs can be accessed and are also hubs for future anticipated releases. To encourage further creativity, LEGO says they plan to release a new song every month.

We found the British Pop inspired-songs, “Sort Out the Blues,” “Build with Letters,” and “Stick Together,” to be catchy and cool, and a funky musical backdrop while we play in the playroom. As more parents are realizing the importance of limiting screentime, musical outlets such as Duplo Jams are a fun way to shift the kids’ eyeballs to hands-on play and complement with good kid tunes, where copious sing-a-longs and dance parities are expected.

Many families already engage their kids in kiddie music classes, so I think Duplo Jams is such a great way to reinforce many kids’ natural love of music. We’re a musical family, so we can usually be found jamming out one way or another, and it goes without saying, Duplo Jams is perfect complement to our eclectic playlist.

Be sure to check out Duplo Jams’ latest releases on their iTunes channel—for free!

New Duplo Sets

And speaking of Duplo, have you seen the latest playsets? Here are just a few:

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Happy National Train Day

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy National Train Day, everyone.  National Train Day is a day that celebrates the service that our rail system provides.  As new-ish suburbanites who head into the City several times a week, we rely on NJ Transit to get us around quite a bit.

We can hear the train from our house, walk to the station in a few minutes and get to where we need to go, with almost no effort, thanks to our train system. *Almost*  Aside from loving toy trains, like many other families, trains are a way of life for us.

On the train to the City

Chuggington has so many great things coming up, and as a Chuggington Conductor, I’m always thrilled to share the latest and greatest Chuggington news with you guys!

In honor of National Train Day, I wanted to share some cool news from Chuggington.  As you guys know, Learning Curve offers some of the most amazing toy trains out on the market. In fact, in celebration of National Train Day, Learning Curve is offering a pretty sweet discount on one of our favorites, the Chuggington Interactive Trains.  Have you seen our vlog on YouTube about the Interactive Trains?  (It’s not the best video, but you get the gist of how cool these trains are!)

In celebration of National Train Day, get a Free Interactive Engine (a $13.99 value) with any purchase of $30 or more at Chuggingtonstore.com. Offer expires May 17, 2011 or while supplies last.

To take advantage of this offer, please follow these four steps:
1. Add $30 or more of Chuggington items to your cart at Chuggingtonstore.com.
2. Add the interactive engine of your choice to your cart at Chuggingtonstore.com. (Your subtotal should be $43.99 or more)
3. Enter coupon code TRAINDAY and hit apply. You will see a $13.99 discount reflected in your shopping cart.
4. Checkout.

We’ll be celebrating National Train Day this afternoon with a few neighborhood friends, sharing some fun Chuggington goodies.  I’ll have more Chuggington news later, but I definitely wanted to share this cool deal with my fellow Chuggington fans!

Check it

This year is Amtrak’s 40th anniversary, and to celebrate they will be touring the country with a special Amtrak exhibit train that will be stopping at 40 cities within the coming year. Chuggington will be sponsoring the Kids Depot, which will be a spot for children to read books, watch episodes, and color a Chuggington mural! For more information on this partnership (and to see when the Chuggington Kids Depot will be coming to a city near you), visit www.amtrak40th.com!

Gardening Goodies for Kids

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Spring is finally in full bloom, and I couldn’t be more excited to see the trees, plants and flowers come back to life.  And hello, meet my new garden that the kid helped me grow, of course!
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Along with the changes in scenery, I love that Spring also brings lots of new and interesting toys.  Last week, we were treated with a glimpse of some of the season’s latest and greatest at Time To Play’s Spring and Summer Showcase, and I love that good ol’ fashion outdoor play remains a trend.

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A few companies are honing in on kids’ ongoing affection for gardening and getting their hands dirty. Afterall, gardening with kids isn’t just a great lesson in a plant’s lifecycle and nourishment, but it’s also a rewarding and engaging experience for parents and kids.  Gardening is a great way to get kids and parents to disconnect, and in the end, it gives them a sense of achievement.

In general, you don’t need much to garden, other than some seeds, dirt and gardening tools, but check out these great goodies geared to make gardening even more fun for kids.

Miracle-Gro Kids

Miracle-Gro Kits from Peachtree Toys is a new line of gardening kits for kids.  With starter kits like the 3-n-1 Gardening Set, Terrarium and the Mini Greenhouse, among others, where kids can grow their own flowers or veggies with the Miracle-Gro Gro Mix.  We’re typically organic and old school when it comes to gardening, so I’m a bit apprehensive about the fertilizers involved in Miracle-Gro.  Nevertheless, I do appreciate the nifty kits in this line of gardening sets from Miracle-Gro Kids.

Growums


Growums are one of my favorite gardening kits for kids, yet.  This new line of gardening kits includes six different sets: an Herb Garden, Pizza Garden, Salad Garden, Stir Fry Garden, Taco Garden and Ratatouille Garden that include coco or peat pellets that make these sets a bit more kid-friendly.  Kids add water to the pellets and put them in a shallow dish.  Once the peats are expanded, they add seeds and put the dish in the sun and wait for the seedlings to grow.  And from there, the kids can plant their herbs and veggies in their garden.  But what makes Growums so unique is the online element that engages kids by giving them tips and info from quirky characters like Elvis Parsley. (haha!) I love these sets, and can’t wait to see more from the Growums.

Buddy B Children’s Gardening Tools


Kid’s gardening tools are all over the home improvement stores, but if your kids are going to be doing some serious digging, much like mine does, I can’t speak highly enough about Buddy B Children’s Gardening Tools.  These tools are scaled down replicas of the “real thing,” and they work so much better than the plastic kiddie versions you see everywhere.  We have the hand trowel and kid’s shovel and I have to say, I probably use both of these tools as often as the kid himself.  These tools come in handy and they’re great quality.

Burpee


Burpee gardening products are staples for many beginning and/or experienced gardener.  The biodegradable seedling cups are great for kids, but I’m also a fan of their great selection of organic seeds and other gardening supplies.  It’s my first season gardening on my own, and I’ve had great luck with the flowers so far and we’re crossing fingers on the the vegetables!

3 Sprouts Storage Bins are Sustainable and Cute

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Last week’s Spring cleaning post was a perfect reminder that, not only do we have to finish our remodel so we can dig the rest of our stuff out of storage, but that we also need to organize the entire house—the playroom included.  Toys, toys and more toys!  I’m sure many of you can relate to the toy storage debacle.

Beyond the imminent purging that goes along with Spring cleaning, I’m on the lookout for sustainable, yet functional storage options for the kid’s playroom.
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I first spotted these incredibly adorable storage bins from 3 Sprouts at Toy Fair a few months ago.  The cute pink and blue elephants first caught my eye, but it was the eco-friendly composition and functionality of these bins that completely drew me in.

These circular bins are made of organic cotton canvas and the details are felt appliques made from recycled plastic bottles.  At 17.5″ in height and 17″ in diameter, the bins are roomy enough for laundry and ideal for mounds of toys.  When the laundry or toys don’t require storage, the bins can be folded and tucked away.  Roomy, cute and compact!

The designs of the animals are simple,  modern, and positively cute.  The owl, a prevalent trend in kid prints from last year, is one of my faves. I’m also loving the raccoon’s mysteriousness and that sly fox can’t be overlooked.  Also? How cute are their caddies?  Fill it all with books or layette, and all of the above are baby shower-worthy, without a doubt.

3 Sprouts storage bins retail around $39 and can be found online and in specialty stores, including one my fave NYC boutiques, giggle.

Crafts Go Green: Eco-friendly Art Supplies for Kids

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Crafts are a fun family activity, and one that we love doing outside on our deck.  When we’re painting and doing messy crafts outside, the little artist’s canvas seems limitless, and thankfully, cleanup time is much easier—or so it seems.

Many of my favorite eco-friendly crafts are of the DIY variety.  The kid and I are fans of repurposing old household items and painting scraps of wood from our ongoing remodel.  Even better than recycling the medium is making your own tools.  Aside from DIY crafts, there’s a myriad of eco-friendly and kid-friendly art supplies that make craft time safe and colorful.

Here are just a few of my faves:

Glob Arts and Crafts Paints

Glob Art & Crafts Paints are botanically-based paints that also have fruity scents. These paints are colored naturally with pigments from fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices with natural food-grade ingredients. I love the Glob paints that come in packets; all you do is add water when you’re ready. Whether you and the kids are more watercolor painters or gauche painters, you add water and can determine the desired consistency. Glob also comes in Easy Shake jars, paint sets and other kits.

The color palette that’s offered is pretty basic, but after mixing and matching the paints, the spectrum of colors is seemingly endless. Glob can be used for paints, as well as for coloring DIY play dough, coloring eggs and more.

P’kolino

P’kolino, the makers of gorgeous modern children’s furniture and toys, also have a great line of art supplies.  Through a collaboration with Jovi, P’kolino offers kid-friendly, non-toxic art supplies that includes, Triangle crayons, fingerpaints, markers, colored pencils, dough, creative dough and poster paints.  P’kolino recently introduced their new line of art supplies which are inspired by famed Pop Artist, Romero Britto.  And a coloring book inspired by Romeo Britto?  Yes, please.  The sustainability, bold colors, combined with the modern influence of P’kolino’s products make these art supplies ones to check out.

Stubby Pencil Art Studio

Stubby Pencil Art Studio is the mecca for eco-friendly art and school supplies. This online shop has a plethora of kid crafts and a great selection of supplies that are non-toxic, recycled, fair trade, educational, sustainable or environmentally responsible. I love perusing all of the different crafts and unique supplies, many of which you’d be hard pressed to find at your local big box craft store. Of all the green crafting goodness, however, I’d have to say my personal favorites are the cupcake crayons (!) and the colored Smencils. Ideal for birthday party gifts, the colorful, hand-poured cupcake crayons come in a 4-pack and are made of soy. The Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspaper, sharpen just like wood pencils, and have delicious scents like watermelon, bubble gum and cotton candy!

Changing the World, One Flip Flop at a Time

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Flip flop season is almost upon us; the time of year where many of us bare our toes and opt for the ubiquitous summertime footwear.  At our house, weather permitting, we tend to wear our flip flops from the end of April to October.

I’m such a fan of flip flops, but among our many pairs, I’ve never really considered what happens to the flip flops after we’re done with them.  Donate? Hand them down? Let them collect dust?

How about recycle?

Genius.

There are a few organizations that accept old flip flops to recycle them into something else to give them a new life.  Check out what cool things that can be done with those 10 year old flip flops that have put in many, many miles.

TerraCycle

This forward-thinking company isn’t new to recycling and upcycling.  TerraCycle is the organization behind those cool Capri Sun bags, among other functional items.  I absolutely love what they’re going to be doing with old flip flops.

TerraCycle and Old Navy are partnering in a month-long drive to collect used flip flops and recycle them into four public playgrounds around the country.  The public can stop in any Old Navy store in the U.S. between April 22-May 21 to deposit used flip flops in designated collection bins.

As such a big supporter of getting kids to play outdoors, combined with this innovative recycling effort with a major retail store, I think TerraCycle and Old Navy’s partnership to create playgrounds is simply awesome.  I’m looking forward to hearing more about the playgrounds and the neighborhoods where they’ll go.

My only wish about this program is that I’d love to be able to donate all of our old flip flops to recycle them to create playground mulch for our neighborhood.  Maybe one day?  With kids constantly outgrowing their shoes, I’m sure many families would pay good money for something like that, and truly repurposing objects that would inevitably create more waste in our landfills.

Old Navy will collect old flip flops in designated collection bins from April 22 to May 21.


UniquEco Designs

UniquEco is another innovative organization that recycles old flip flops, but has an emphasis on cultivating social liveliness in more ways than one.  UniquEco, out of Nairobi, Kenya, collects old flip flops and employs talented artisans who create unique consumer goods out of the flip flops. Check out the UniquEco shop.  The Champali bracelets and necklace are currently on my wishlist.


As trash and thousands of flip flops washed up on the shores of Africa, UniqueEco was started in part as a clean up effort, which in turn, became the organization it is today that employs local people who create amazing handmade products.  I love the significance behind UniquEco and think this is such a valiant foundation to support.

Involving kids to donate and collect old flip flops to send to UniquEco underscores the ‘recycling’ and ‘reusing’ lessons they’re taught, but also teaches kids the impact of being socially aware and responsible by contributing to a cause that also provides a sustainable livelihood to those in need.

To send your old flip flops to Uniqueco:
PO Box 15565-00503
Nairobi, Kenya

UniquEco will donate 9% of the sale price for all products sold from your footwear.

Magnetic Alphabet Sets: Easy on the Eyes and the Noise

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

When we first bought our refrigerator, I pretended that we’d be one of those families that would keep it sleek and clean from any kid-scribbled artwork or other child-like paraphernalia.

Yeah, right.

Fast forward a few months later, and our fridge is graffitied with photos of our own kid, other people’s kids, said artwork and now, those ubiquitous magnetic alphabets.  Don’t get me wrong, I love LeapFrog’s Fridge Phonics, but just a few minutes at a time. So, out of personal preference, we opted out of the popular plastic ABCs in lieu of a set of the wooden (and quiet) kind.

As with most families of young ones practicing their ABCs and 123s, the magnetic alphabet has been an invaluable learning resource. Here’s a slideshow of our picks of alternatives to the more popular magnetic alphabet sets, and ones worth checking out.

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Pat Bells Put Music at Kids’ Fingertips

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Colorful, beautiful and eye-catching, Pat Bells from PlayMe aren’t toys, but unique musical instruments that can be played with a slight tap of a wooden knob.  Each handbell in the 8-piece set is a different color of the spectrum, making it easy for kids to make their own music or follow song cards that feature notes with the corresponding bells’ colors.

Designed for kids ages 3 and up, the Pat Bells have been used in a variety of music education settings, including kids with special needs.  As opposed to traditional handbells, there are no handles to hold or mallets needed to strike, so Pat Bells are described as being “easy to play” for younger kids or who have low muscle tone or delayed motor skill development.

When I spotted these gorgeous bells at Toy Fair, I was immediately drawn in by the colors and striking design.  At $150, the bells may not find their way into personal music collections, but I’d love to see these in preschools, music classes and especially in the hands of music lovers of all ages.

Want to see the bells in action? I found a really great video on YouTube that gives a great demo.

Gag-Worthy and Gross: Dino Poop and Dr. Dreadful

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone.  I’m not one for pulling pranks, but I do enjoy laughing at clever gags—from a distance.

For April Fool’s Day, I thought I’d spotlight a few new toys that are sure to elicit a few gags and giggles for those who appreciate the gross factor.  And yes, these are real toys!

Dino Poop

Uncle Milton has a great lineup of new Dinosaur Train toys, but one that definitely caught my eye is Dino Poop.  This pliable dough that looks like, well, poop, lets kids discover what a dino had for lunch.

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