My Seven Favorite Finds from New York Toy Fair #NYTF #TF15

I recently made my annual visit to the spectacle of all things kid and beyond at the New York Toy Fair. This gigantic trade show is held at the Javits Center and is literally miles of toys, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, Christmas kitsch, dainty dolls and anything else you can imagine.

I always love seeing the latest and greatest in toys, dolls, stuffed animals, and kids products and this year was no exception. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, over half of my favorites are not even traditional toys, but instead, innovative products geared towards kids. Also, again maybe not a surprise, of the products that made my favorites list, I had only heard of three of them before attending Toy Fair

In no particular order, here are my seven favorite finds from the New York Toy Fair:

1. Shwings - I had just seen these awesome shoe accessories a few weeks earlier at Bank Street Books on the Upper West Side, and had immediately thought my son would like a pair of wings for his sneakers.

 

In addition to wings for shoes, Shwings also has rhinestone decorating kits, and other cool accessories for decorating shoes.

For the young, or the young at heart, I honestly think everyone should have at least one pair of shoes adorned with Shwings. Available online at Shwingsonline.com.

2. Zorbz Self-Seal Water Balloons - That's right, these water balloons self-seal instantly, no tying required! The only self sealing water balloons on the market, they seem like a must-have for summer. Available in packs of 50 and 100; purchase and learn more at ZorbzWaterBalloons.com.

3. I am elemental action figures - Created by a New York City mom in 2013 who was disappointed with the choices in female action figures, these action figures are powerful, and specifically created to provide healthy female action figures for girls. Based on the Periodic Table of Elements, each Element action figure represents a unique power. Purchase single action figures (which come with shields and inter-changeable accessories) or get the lunchbox carry case with all seven. Ages 4+, available online at IAmElemental.com.

4. earZings are pierce-free earrings, especially geared towards girls who don't have pierced ears. These earrings have a unique coil design that makes it possible to easily put on the earnings as well as (according to the founder, I didn't try them) makes them less painful than the usual clip-on or magnetic earrings. Tons of cute designs to choose from, and sure to be a big hit with tweens! Available online at EarZings.com.

5. Plus-Plus - I had spotted these cool building blocks at Sunshine Sam, a battery-free toy store in Bloomfield, NJ previously, so I was already familiar with this great product. This toy from Denmark can be used by kids of just about any age, with older kids building more complex projects and younger kids enjoying the fun of putting the plus-shapes together while developing motor skills. Plus-plus is available in a variety of quantities, as well as building sets.

6. Frogglez - A new innovation in swim goggles, these goggles have a thick neoprene strap that makes them easier to adjust and more comfortable to wear and remove, less hair pulling is one of the features. With a five-year-old son who just started swim lessons, and who cannot seem to get his goggles comfy, this product definitely seems one that will be welcomed by many parents. Available online at FrogglezGoggles.com.

7. Squishables - My tween daughters are obsessed with these adorable stuffed animals, so even though I was pretty sure there was nothing new I could learn, stopping by their booth was a must. I kinda thought it was impossible to top the current adorable creations, like this narwhal, a family favorite,

but one look at new release Hedgehog in Tutu and I knew, there are plenty more lovable creatures coming from Squishables.

Others to be released soon include chocolate milk cow and fortune cat, so really the cuteness is endless. If you don't already have a Squishables habit, now is the time to start one. Available online at Squishable.com, but beware, they rotate styles often, and the tutu hedgehog has not yet been released.

I received press admission to the Toy Fair, and the kind folks at Schwings made sure I didn't arrive home empty handed. My kids loved everything from the butterfly wings to the rhinestone stickcons.

Notes from the New York Toy Fair

One of my favorite events of the year is the New York Toy Fair. I go every year to see what's new in the world of toys. And while I saw a ton of amazing products that I can't wait to write about and also to buy my own kids, I also saw a bunch of stuff I just don't think is good for kids.


There's a ton of pink for girls, and blue for boys which just seems so limited.


There's a ton of Hello Kitty and Snow White and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on decks of cards and board games, which I think would be just as good (i.e., better) without the commercial tie-in.


But alas, pink princesses and Disney characters sell stuff, and so I do get it.

I shared my picks for the best and the worst from the Toy Fair at Barista Kids. You can read Trends and Top Picks from the 111th Annual American Toy Fair HERE.

Basketball Player In the House

When my husband and I got our first apartment together, which had typical New York City railroad style layout, one of my first memories is of us playing hockey. He unpacked his hockey stick and puck, and then surprisingly his other hockey stick, for a totally awesome indoor hockey game - the doorways on either side of the living room/dining room/kitchen served as the perfect goal posts.

I remember him saying, "when we have kids, I'm totally not going to be the kinda dad who doesn't let them play ball in the house."

And he has kept good on that promise, as evidenced by the photos my daughter Kay took of big sister Magpie playing basketball in our not-so-big kitchen just this past weekend.

 

Unfortunately for me, I did not have a similar wish to be the kinda mom who let's the kids play ball in the house.

Oh well.

Also, Big Duckie has shown himself to be a much better player than you might expect at first glance.

Do you let the kids play ball in the house?

31 Days of Halloween: Day 16 - Scary Halloween Dolls

I'm loving looking at Halloween stuff every day, and I thank everyone who is reading along with me and joining the Halloween fun.

Today, I present some of the scariest, creepiest, eeriest Halloween dolls:

From Madame Alexander, The Apprentice Witch ($89.95) -with her very own Beginner's Book of Spells:

From Target, a whole collection of Halloween nutcrackers (mummy, skeleton, vampires) - a holiday fusion I'm not sure we need. Pictured below, the Frankenstein Nutcracker ($12.99):

Mattel has its Monster High Ghouls Rule collection. Pictured below, Draculaura ($24.99):

And last the most fantastical Vampire Doll ever, this stunning creation:

The only doll I'd like to take home with me, and sadly she is unavailable. Absolutely worth a click to see the amazing details:

Happy Halloween!

If there's anything Halloween-y you would like to see, lemme know. And if you have a Halloween post you'd like to scare, er I mean share, just email me at anna at randomhandprints dot com, I'd love to include it in the Halloween postings here!

Not compensated for anything listed, just in case you were wondering.

Update: Kay and Big Duckie Are Emulating... Eric Conveys an Emotion!

Last week I posted these photos of my daughter, her bestie Doofy the Giraffe, and her other bestie, Big Duckie.

Kay is showing the emotions (clockwise from the upper left) of: sleepy, happy, excited, worried, and surprised.

She is emulating the once super-popular website, Eric Conveys an Emotion.

I used to love that website, and so did, like, everyone else. It even has its own Wikipedia Page.

But now, Eric and his emotions are all but forgotten. Oh Internet, you capricious soul.

Though I'm guessing Eric has gone on to new and awesome adventures, and is most likely the founder of some start-up in Silicon Valley, but still I can't believe how quickly that once popular site has faded from memory.

Now that I've revealed EmotionEric.com is the name of the site, does anyone remember it now?

At the MoMA - Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000

My kids have certainly put a crimp in my museum-going aways, and this irony was not lost on me when I made my way to a rare museum visit to see the MoMA exhibit Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000, on display until November 5, 2012.

I'm so glad I found the time to see this fascinating exhibit - and equally glad that I experienced it without my offspring. While the exhibit focuses on the furniture, toys, books and other miscellanea of childhood, it is an exhibit geared towards adults.

When I was at the exhibit I saw many a parent pushing a child riding in a paradigm of modern design, who despite their clearly progressive leanings could not get the kid to care at all about what they were being told to show an interest in by their doting parents.

In addition to displaying stunning objects of design like Art Nouveau playrooms and pull-toys inspired by Keith Haring, the exhibit did a wonderful job explaining why these things took the forms they did, and the many forces at work that resulted in children being treated one way, or another, during the hundred-year span covered by the exhibit.

One of the most interesting shifts was in the 1960s, the first time that kids were viewed as a major economic force in their own right, and marketers began truly in earnest to create products to be purchased by, or for, this demographic. Children's lives, and their position in society, has never really been the same since this shift in outlook occurred.

A few other gems of the exhibit including a video clip of Geometry of Circles which aired in a 1979 episode of Sesame Street, and features an original work by Philip Glass.



And I loved seeing the original set from the Pee-Wee Herman Show, a perfect end to this amazing exhibit.

And last, I would like to note that my children are lucky enough to own - and be allowed to play with on a daily basis - a fair number of the very items on display in this exhibit. And a certain husband (not mentioning any names) should be overjoyed and grateful that his wife scours the Internet for these museum worthy design examples instead of wincing every time a mangled box filled with "used" toys arrives in the mail. Overjoyed, I tell you. Overjoyed and grateful.

You can read my full review of the exhibit at BaristaKids.com, as well as find all exhibit particulars at MoMA.org.

I was not compensated for this post.

Giving the People What They Want: Monsterz

Like a lot of bloggers, I enjoy checking out my search terms to see what search terms bring people to my little cottage on the information super highway.

So I've decided to start devoting Fridays to giving the people what they want, now that the day is open since I've reached the bottom of my drawer of old photos and Old Photo Friday has come to an end - at least for now.

First up, I give the people what they want with... Monsterz.

I get a crazy number of searches for Monsterz (a stuffed animal by Ty), and currently I just have one post that mentions them - and by mentions them I mean mocks them.

I saw Monsterz at the Toy Fair back last February, and while they're not really my thing, they are totally my daughter Kay's thing - she loves all those Ty big-eyed stuffed animals, so I'm not surprised a lot of other people do, too.

There was a huge Monsterz presence at the Toy Fair. Here's everything I got:

Giant Monsterz Sign:

I think her name is Trixie

People dressed-up as Monsterz - and if you look closely, there are tons of the stuffed animal Monsterz hanging off of the person-Monsterz:



And last but not least, a stuffed animal Monsterz with his lil "Luv me" heart.

I gotta admit he is kinda cute.

I was not compensated for this post.

You can buy Monsterz, which I now realize are spelled Monstaz, at Ty.com. Currently, they're $5.99 with free shipping! Hurray, Monstaz for everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Some Bunnies Ready for Easter!

My kids' collection of stuffed animal bunny rabbits. Who actually, now that I think about it, are more likely getting ready for Passover.

Whatever you celebrate, Happy Spring!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for an Awesome Prize Pack of Duck Tape! Low Entries!

Big Duckie Back in the Spotlight!

I've taken a break lately from my Big Duckie perseverations.
Thankfully, my brother took this photo when he was over last week, and thus Big Duckie has returned to her rightful place in the spotlight:

For more photos of Big Duckie, be sure to check out her Pinterest Board.

Annie the Musical Returns to Broadway this Fall!

Annie the Musical is coming back to New York City's Broadway this fall, and I couldn't be more excited about the timing as my daughters at ages six and eight are prime ages to be Annie-groupies.

My eight-year-old has taken to singing Maybe around the house, and I feel like I am just a step away from my hear breaking every time I hear her sing it. So yes, I'm sure I will be taking my kids to see the revival of Annie the Musical when it opens in about 250 days from now.

And if you have a daughter who doesn't just want to see Annie the Musical, but wants to be Annie - here's her chance. Currently auditions are taking place for the part of Annie in several cities as well as online. So get to it, stage moms!

When I was at Toy Fair last month, I saw this adorable Madame Alexander Annie doll, set to be released around the same time the Annie show opens. She has incredible details, and the expression on our face captured the essence of Annie perfectly.

Disclosure: I had always planned to post about the Madame Alexander Annie doll, because well, she's pretty awesome. I would probably have included a link to the Annie show site in my review. But I decided to definitely include the link when I got an email that implored me to link to the Annie website and "if you do help spread this news and respond with a screen shot or link to your post we will invite you to a special insider only event this Spring."

Now I've been at this mommy blogging long enough to know that companies never, ever ask us mommy bloggers to do something for them without doing something super-incredible in return, so I'm guessing this insiders event is gonna be (in the words of my children) epic. Grooming lessons with Sandy? How to polish Annie's patent leather shoes? Who knows? I'll let you know, when I do.

And no, I received no other compensation.

Old Photo Friday: Toys for a Third-Born Baby

When my son Ziggy was born, he was lucky enough to already have in place two older sisters. Helpful older sisters. This photo is Ziggy after his big sisters responded to my request to "Get the baby a toy!"

More endearing? Finding the sleeping baby festooned with his sisters' favorite dolls.

May you always be this good to your baby brother, who (as this is after all Old Photo Friday) not only no longer a baby, but is in fact now even closer to being three than he is to being two.

Toy Fair 2012: Maileg Mice, Maileg Bunny Rabbits and Ty Monsterz

I was surprised at the Toy Fair how much of the Expo Hall was devoted to toys of the plush variety. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised based on my own children's vast stockpiles of stuffed animals.

My very favorite stuffed animals I saw were by the Danish company, Maileg. They have adorable mice that come with their own matchbox beds:

There's even a milk carton mouse house:

And an Indian Mouse, named Moonbeam

who can live in her very own tipee:

Maileg also has fantastic rabbits that come in a range of sizes:

and there are plenty of "boy" rabbits, which I love because these toys are perfect for imaginative play for both boys and girls.

On perhaps the opposite side of the stuffed animal spectrum are Monsterz, the latest offering from Ty Brands (they also make Beanie Babies, and my children's current obsession Beanie Boos).

In contrast to Maileg's beautiful, understated paradigm-of-Danish-design booth, The Ty Booth was huge, overstated and even included these costumed characters roaming the show:

And people really wonder if European kids and American kids are being raised differently?

The American International Toy Fair 2012: The Owls Edition

I was lucky enough to attend the American International Toy Fair in New York City last week for the second year in a row. I've got all of my Favorite Toy Fair Finds over at BaristaKids.com and I'll be sharing more of the awesome toys, dolls, cars and stuffed animals I saw at Toy Fair 2012 here all week long as well.

First today, in honor of the Barista Kids mascot owl, I present some cool owls I spotted while at the Toy Fair:

I love this Madame Alexander Favorite Friends play doll ($44.95) wearing a "playfully pretty" owl print dress:

And here's a close-up of the owl print:

I also love these whimsical Owl Musical Pull Toys ($16) from Brooklyn-based miYim, a company committed to raising eco-consciousness in the home, and which produces only organic toys.

I'll be back tomorrow to share more great finds from the Toy Fair - mice, bunnies and even some monsterz.

A Portrait of Polly (Pocket) in 827 Tiny Pieces

Two weeks ago I photographed my kids gigantic Barbie collection. This week I'm documenting Polly Pocket: A Portrait in 827 Tiny Pieces.

Here, I present the Polly Pocket dolls all twenty-something of them:

But the Polly Pocket dolls are not the main part of the story. The real story of Polly Pocket is the itty-bitty accessories. The nineteen purses.

The fourteen pairs of matching shoes.

And in our case, the thirty-five unmatched shoes:

My mother and I, who are both clearly a similar type of crazy, spend forever matching the shoes. We put them in pairs, in little plastic boxes.

We admonished the children, "Put the shoes back in the itty bitty plastic boxes when you're done!"

We begged the children, "Please, please don't mix-up the shoes!"

Of course, they don't listen. Instead of matched shoes in the itty bitty boxes, there is this:

Sigh.

But what really gets me is who makes these shoes? Are "they" out to drive moms (and grandmas) out of their minds? Who thinks to make eight pairs of hot pink doll shoes that are all different, yes oh-so-very-similar.

Look closely. These are nine more pink shoes. That don't match. Not a one.

And maybe now it's time for me to stop matching shoes, and instead, to take the advice of an older friend, whose children are now grown (and who turned out just fine).

She told me, after listening to a particularly long tale of Polly and her shoe collection, "Quit talking about how the Polly Pocket shoes keep getting lost and get out the damn vacuum. Life is too short."

What do you think - should Polly and her shoe collection get the vacuum?

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny. Because that's what I like to do.

Head over to Kelley's Break Room and My Life and Kids to read a lot of really funny stuff.

Barbies. And more Barbies. And even more Barbies.

For all of you who visited the Polly Pocket retrospective last week, thank you for coming by and for your comments and commiseration.

This week, I thought I'd go ahead and share my Barbie collection woes as well.

I have two daughters. They're ages five and seven. In these years they have managed to amass a boggling amount of Barbies. (And Polly Pockets, but you've already heard about that.)

Yesterday, in an effort to put our home in some sort of order before yet another school year is upon us, I had the girls clean their rooms. And then for fun, I took a photo of all those Barbies. Ten Barbies, plus a Flairy and two mini Kelly-sister-of-Barbie dolls.

Of course, then I realized there were tons more Barbies lurking in drawers and secret hiding places. Are you ready for this? 21 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll (I think from High School Musical), 1 Flairy, and 2 mini dolls.* 

I'll be honest, it didn't really seem so bad.  Then we went downstairs. Where there were more, oh so many more. Final Barbie over-consumption tally? 27 Barbies, 1 Boy Doll, 2 Flairies, and 3 mini dolls.

It's actually sorta funny that my daughters have so many Barbies, as I am not really a fan myself (for all the usual feminist reasons) and Barbies were not a part of my childhood (again, because my mom had the same feminist reasoning).

Magpie and Kay - I can't wait to see what you think of this collection when you're adults, and perhaps, feminists too.

As you may recall, the home clean-up continued with Polly Pocket: A Photo Essay in 867 small pieces. Next up, I tackle my son's enormous car and train collection.

* One of the mini dolls is not photographed here because Kay had to play with her even if it totally messed-up Mommy's blog photo, not to mention the accompanying copy on her blog post.

Let this be proof I didn't let my blog interfere with your playing.

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny. 'Cause I like funny. And Kelley and Anna who run this hilarious weekly party. Follow along on Twitter with #FindingtheFunny

Oh, and I like you. And your hair. Did you do something new?