TOY STORY

WE WON’T TOY WITH YOU—BUT WE WILL GIVE YOU A PEEK AT SOME OF THE COOLEST PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW IN OUR TOY GIFT GUIDE

Handmade Organic Play Dough, The Natural Toy Box
Organic play dough—yes, it exists, and yes, your children will love it (and hopefully do more playing than ingesting—if my time working in a daycare taught me anything, it’s that play dough is very appealing as an afternoon snack). Manufactured in the USA, this high quality, nontoxic crafting clay is made with 100 percent plant-based dyes. There are five great colors (spinach green, pumpkin orange, sunny yellow, beach white and pinkalicious), all in an organic cotton drawstring carrying bag. For an extended shelf life, be sure to store it in a Ziploc bag.
($19.99, www.thenaturaltoybox.com)

art2believe
Looking for an outlet through which to share your kids’ drawings besides the refrigerator door? Try art2believe, which translates children’s artistic masterpieces into a pillow or doll. Through soft materials, hand-stitching, colorful threads and beading, drawings come to life. Check out the galleries online to see how absolutely impeccable the detail is—this is one keepsake that your little one will hang onto far beyond her childhood years.
($175, doll; $195, pillow; www.art2believe.com)

Elephant Ride-On, Apricot & Ivy
A vintage-feel piece that will look great in any child’s room, this gorgeous toy from French-based Vilac starts out as a rocker, then morphs into a ride-on with wheels once Baby is done rockin’ and ready to start rollin’. Find other great toys at Apricot & Ivy, handily divided by age, brand and type.
($125, www.apricotandivy.com)

Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit, Nubius Organics
This gardening kit is perfect for all families—even those urban dwellers sans yards—since it can be used in the comfort of your own home. Eco-friendly (it’s made from recycled plastics) and educational, the kit will help your kids learn about being green, where food comes from and how to care for plants. In just days, they’ll have flowers and fresh herbs as a reward for their hard work—and with any luck, a blossoming eco-conscious outlook.
($29.75, www.nubiusorganics.com)

Leo Pyramid by Lilliputiens, Kobold Toys
Learning toys are everywhere nowadays—but Leo the Peacock just might be the cutest one we've seen. This colorful and plush stacking bird features four rings, an oversized tail, a magnetic topper head and a large mirror. Our fine feathered friend brings just enough noise to get—and keep—Baby's attention, thanks to his crackling tail and top ruffle, squeaking and cheeping wings and head that sounds off with a pleasant bell. Complete with a zip-up carry bag with handle, this engaging toy is the natural choice for little ones, ages nine months-plus.
($44.99, www.koboldtoys.com)

Ceramic Swirl Art, Budget Art Kids
Your kids can swirl and whirl their way to pretty pieces with this gizmo. Each kit contains a ceramic spinner, three colors of ribbon (for hanging up the works of art), four square tiles, four round plates, four plate stands, five bottles of ceramic paint and—best of all for parents—a splash shield. It’s a dizzying good time every time with this Better Homes & Gardens “Best Toy of the Year.”
($28.50, www.budgetartkids.com)

Plan Toys Wooden Tea Set, Hazelnut Kids
Pinkies up! Hearken back to simpler times with this wooden tea set, specially designed for little hands and play kitchens. It’s got all the ingredients—a teapot, a sugar bowl, a milk pitcher, two tea cups and saucers, two teaspoons, two tea bags and two pieces of sugar—for a make-believe tea party even the Queen of England would be happy to attend.
($27.90, www.hazelnutkids.com)

Automoblox
With fully interchangeable parts and no complicated instructions, Automoblox cars enable kids to create their own vroom-vroom vehicles. The toys, developed with a child psychologist, help teach children shape recognition and color matching, and develop their problem-solving, visio-spatial processing, and gross and fine motor skills. The cars are so fun to play with, though, that kids will have no idea they’re being driven to learn.
($10 to $45, www.automoblox.com)

Blunders Board Game
Please and thank you—they’re not always easy to get your child to say. But with Blunders, a board game all about good manners and etiquette, you can help your young’uns learn how to be polite through fun and interactive questions. Kids who have great table manners, good phone etiquette, and know not to bully and tease? Yes, please!
($24.95, www.blundersmania.com)

Fortamajig, The Happy Kid Company
Nothing’s more fun than building a fort, a special retreat that can serve as anything in a child’s imagination—a cave deep in the woods, a home away from home, or just a no-girls-allowed clubhouse. With just one square of material, kids can build a fort, a tepee, a tunnel, a canopy—pretty much anything they can think of. Plus it’s portable, so pack it up for vacation and visits to the grandparents’ to keep your little ones entertained.
($69.95 to $89.95, www.happykidcompany.com)

Chop Chop Chicken by Voila, Gummylump
Kids, ages 3 and up, can dish out a plate full of fun with yummy-looking play food like this wooden (read: no BPA) roast chicken, featuring five removable parts and a wooden knife. The set comes complete with a roasting pan that doubles as a serving plate and just enough make-believe flavor to get your budding chef's imagination cookin'. Bon appetit!
($15.96, www.gummylump.com)

Nyokki! Egg Pet Plant and Supply & Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey, Wizard Sleeve Toys
Sure, toys are often thought of as child’s play—but there’s no reason parents can’t have a little fun, too. Enter the irreverent Nyokki! Egg Pet Plant. The adorable container is filled with a grass seed, which reaches full height in less than two weeks. Style the hair or cut it, and start the process all over again. Totally weird? Yes. Totally fun? Definitely!

For something a little more grown-up (but not stuffy), pick up Supply & Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey. This is the guy behind that iconic red, white and blue image of Barack Obama during election season that spawned a million Facebook copycats. But he’s not new to the art scene by any means, and this 20-year retrospective gives you an in-depth look at his many avant-garde creations.
($9.99, Nyokki! Egg Pet Plant; $59.99, Supply & Demand; www.wizardsleevetoys.com)