Toys for Holiday Fun

Yesterday, Phil did not see his shadow, and we’re be happy with the news that brings! This means we can focus our attention to the next fun February occasion – Valentine’s Day! Take a tour with us around the web for some new ideas for celebrating.

Being featured on our blog previously, you already know the Activity Mom has tons of ideas for stimulating playtime for babies to older kids. For a fun way to remember the itty-bitty size of your baby’s hand, or how your kids’ hands grow as they grow up, try one of these valentine handprint crafts. (Photo shown is from ActivityVillage.co.uk.

Happy Clippings, a blog based out of our hometown of State College, recently featured a sleek paper heart garland craft, with great ideas for using what you already have on hand to complete the project.

Another nifty eco-friendly craft comes from the blog, Mama to 4 Blessings, and could be done anytime of year! See the steps to make soda bottle hanging planters from – you guessed it – soda bottles!

While candy seems to take center stage for nearly every holiday, Valentine’s cards make this holiday so special. For a paperless Valentine surprise, send an e-card! The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an assortment of free underwater-themed cards, including this fitting octopus that is “Stuck On U.”

Of course, we won’t leave tasty treats out here. While the blog, Craft-O-Maniac has an endless number of creative craft ideas, here’s a festive plan for a Valentine Lunch that any kid will love!

Finally, here is a great site for anyone looking to cook with their kids – Cooking with My Kid! Last year she featured festive Valentine Hearts Cookies and be sure to visit as she’s putting up new Valentine-related recipes!

For more fun with a Valentine twist, take a look at our special Valentine’s Day category. See additional craft ideas, fun with food (real & pretend), and toys perfectly adorned for the 14th, like this Heart Tin Tea Set!

What role does snow play in your holiday fun? I grew up where “snow” was the one day every three years where white flakes fell from the sky and melted right before your eyes. (Or better yet, we would gather up the frost on the blades of grass to make a single snowball.) Now I live where a 10″ snowfall is commonplace.

Whether you and your family lives or visits somewhere for the holidays that’s blanketed with snow or not, you can still have snow-themed fun thanks to one of the simplest of crafts: snowflakes!

The supplies are simple – paper and scissors. It’s a great way to use scrap paper as well! Simply fold the paper, say in half, then half again, then half again, cut out shapes, and unfold to see what you’ve created! See this handy How to Make Paper Snowflakes slideshow if you want to see exactly how you can get started. But remember – it doesn’t have to be totally symmetrical!

This is a great, extremely low-cost craft for younger kids to learn about shapes and develop cutting skills. A set of My First Scissors would be perfect for these early learners to use!

Now if you want to be truly inspired by what can be done with just paper and scissors (and as she says, with a “dash of craft knife”) take a look at these stunning works of snowflake art by Jenny Lee Fowler. Looking at the thumbnails, you’d have no idea how intricate the designs are, but click through and you’ll see amazing cutouts like people, birds, trees and more.

Are you signed up for our Email Updates? It’s the best way for you to see our news, sales and special offers. Today we share with you a top ten list of great sale prices you can find on our site! See all of our deals anytime by visiting our Savings and Specials section.

You still have time to get your gifts for the holidays – order by this Thursday, December 16th for guaranteed ground shipping by Christmas Eve! Refer to our holiday shipping deadlines to be sure that your gifts arrive in time.

Now – to the deals!

Twilight Sea Turtle Toy $33.95 $28.95 Save 15%

Metal Grocery Cart Toy $48.95 $39.95 Save 18%

Legends of Magic Kit $69.95 $43.95 Save 37%

Pink Sing A Long Microphone $43.95 $36.95 Save 16%

Tickle Monster Laughter Kit $34.95 $27.95 Save 20%

Make Your Own Lip Balm $19.95 $15.95 Save 20%

Mozart Magic Cube $33.95 $27.95 Save 18%

Lift Off Rocket Play Set $49.95 $39.95 Save 20%

Lady Bug Tent & Tunnel Set $69.95 $54.95 Save 21%

Bubble Gum Factory Kit $19.95 $14.95 Save 25%

Welcome to the second installment of our Staff Holiday Pick, my list of top 10 toys for young members of the Zissou Society. If The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was real life and you were shopping for a Ned Plimpton at age eleven and a half—I would suggest these. This unique list is full of toys with exploration, biology, adventure and sea creature themes.

10. The Magic Fish Bowl Toy—Tropical fish specimens swim in a fish bowl for observation. They aren’t real, they’ll never die and no one has to clean the tank. Perfect.

9. Fish Sketch Book and Fish Pastels—Perfect, stylized tools to documenting unique creature finds.

8. World Map Puzzle Ball—Members of the Zissou Society needs to know geography. This spherical puzzle also shows where many different species live.

7. Strange Plants Collection—Discover and grow some of the world’s oddest plants in a home terrarium.

6. Sea Horsing Around Puzzle –A 300 piece puzzle jigsaw puzzle teeming with colorful marine life.

5. River Crossing Game –This brainteaser is perfect training for adventure. A hiker is fighting his way across dangerous waters and it’s up to the player to see him across.

4. Playmobil Shark Diver Play Set—Maybe Esteban wouldn’t have been eaten by that jaguar shark if he played with this toy as a child. It’s pretty neat and the diver gets to be safely within a cage.

3. Ant-O Sphere Kit—This special structure gives ants the right lighting to put them at ease so they act as they would underground and allows kids to study ants from all angles.

2. Planet Earth Game—This DVD trivia game features footage from the beautiful Planet Earth documentary series. Your whole family will learn new animal facts.

1. Duo Lab Microscope and Creepy Crawlies Prepared Slide—A microscope is a must have for young members of the Zissou Society. How else could they fully examine their specimens? Right now (if you are reading this in a timely manner) it’s on sale! And the Creepy Crawlies Prepared Slide Set is a perfect addition to get them started.

An extra-special, Christmas-themed toy stole the headlines earlier this summer. At the James D. Julia Toy, Doll and Advertising auction in July, the “rarest and most important of all early American tin toys” was sold, and at $161,000, became the world’s most expensive toy.

The Althof Bergmann Santa Sleigh features Kris Kringle himself and his blue sleigh. But instead of the iconic reindeer, the sleigh is led by two goats. See other rare toys and what they fetched at auction this year!

Of course, holiday-themed toys of all kinds help ring in the season! Here we put a couple in the spotlight:

Elf on the Shelf Set
The ultimate pre-Christmas gift, the Elf on the Shelf highlights the magic of Santa and provides a fun hide-and-seek game for kids. (Visit our site for a video about this toy!)

Groovy Girl Christmas Christa
One of the Groovy Girls is all set for a holiday party: Christmas Christa!

Christmas Window Art Book
Klutz’s popular Classic Window Art book has been revamped for the holidays! Turn any ordinary window into a “stained glass” masterpiece! The Christmas Window Art Book has peel-off paints and 101 designs.

Happy Holidays!

Santa Sleigh photos accessed from James D. Julia and additional information found at Lap of Luxury.

That first holiday season that I worked at Growing Tree Toys, I was enthralled by the Calico Critters section. What I knew as Sylvanian Families in my youth had grown into quite a village of characters!

For the first installment of our Staff Holiday Picks, it was a no-brainer for me to countdown my 10 favorites in the Calico Critters family. And it’s an exciting time to do so, as we have just added some new friends and accessories to our collection!

10. Pickleweeds Hedgehog Family
These Tina Turner-esque hedgehogs are ready to perform, and you can complete the set with the Pickleweeds Hedgehog Twins (who have even bigger hair).

9. Caravan Camper
One of the newest additions to our Calico Critters family is this three-room camper that even comes with the necessities for any family trip: maps, games, sleeping bags, kitchenware and much more! The camper fits perfectly with the Convertible Coupe (sold separately).

8. Living Room Accessories Set
One of the most popular selections from our rooms and furniture section, this set is complete with a realistic television.

7. Rikki and Magnolia’s Shopping Trip Play Set
I have fond memories of making grocery store trips as a kid, and I still enjoy my weekly tasks of planning a menu, making a list, finding deals and clipping coupons. Young kids can find grocery shopping fun too with this set!

6. Baby Jungle Gym
This is a lot of fun packed into a toy that is less than $10. The new Baby Jungle Gym comes with a slide, doors and cubes and is ready to put together and keep a number of twins busy.

5. Deluxe Village House
While Calico Critters are small (and easy to transport) and can be played with anywhere, they sure do like to play in their house! This 3-story house has nine rooms and even a spiral staircase. See more homes and townhouses for the critters to call home.

4. Persian Cat Family
These cute cats recently made an apperance on our list of Top Specialty and Learning Toys of 2010, and are a one of the many sets of Families and Twins we have.

3. Merry Christmas Santa and Babies
This absolutely adorable Christmas-themed set, featuring Father Fox as Santa along with Honey Hopscotch Rabbit and Alex Caramel Cat, is just perfect for the holidays!

2. Friesian Cow Family
Since I was very young, I have always loved cows, and if anyone told me they’d ever be part of the Calico Critters collection, I would have jumped for joy! Well now I can as the cows are here. I am still buying my set today.

1. Frog and Lion Dress Up Set
It’s very hard to pick one number one for this list. But, in terms of cuteness, I think this is hard to beat. Animals dressed as animals! Here, Benji the Brown Bear Brother and Polly the Polar Bear Sister wear frog and lion costumes, and like all Calico Critters’ clothes they can be removed and interchanged.

See all things Calico, including the new items featured here and a lot more, in the Calico Critters corner of our website! Watch next week for another countdown of favorites from the staff here at Growing Tree Toys.