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Let's
Make Merry MusicNSI,
Ltd.
Here is a fun afternoon of together time in a box.
Small musical instruments are included in each kit along with paints and
stickers for decorating and personalizing them in your own inimitable way.
Kids loved painting on real things with no right or wrong guides.
The stickers, which are music oriented, are colorful and fun as well.
The kit comes with music activity ideas to do when you are done with the
decorating, but we found that our kids didn't need any help at all, they were
off and playing in no time. This is
a great rainy day activity for you and your toddler to share.
Suggested Age: 3 and up
Price: $14.99
Binney
& Smith
Color Wonder was a run away hit in our testing centers,
literally. Children would run away
when parents tried to pry if from their hands when it was time to go.
The magic of this drawing playset is in the magic markers that look like
clear felt tipped pens, but when applied to the magic paper, the colorful effect
is quite dazzling and exciting. Included
in the Color Wonder coloring book are pages to color and games to play, all of
which add up to a great creative experience.
Parents gave high marks for the Fun Desk's easy portability explaining
that it would be a perfect car companion. The
ability of this playset to hold the attention of their children amazed many of
our testers.
Suggested
Age: 4 and Up
Price: $16.99
Let's
Make Picture PalsNSI,
Ltd.
Craft kits for young children have the difficult task of
being entertaining without being too difficult or time consuming.
NSI together with Parenting magazine understood the challenge and Let's
Make Picture Pals is a great result. Each
boxed kit comes with a small, stuffed, white bear and dog.
Using the 3 included markers (parents told us they would add more
non-toxic fabric markers from their own collection) your child can personalize
and create his or her own unique animal friend.
The real kicker is the clear plastic sleeve on each character's tummy,
perfect for inserting a picture. Our
testers told us that they felt these would make great gifts for grandparents or
friends. We couldn't agree more.
Suggested Age: 3 and up
Price: $14.99
NSI,
Ltd.
If you a looking to spend some fun creative time with your
little one here's a box full of fun and smiles. Our testers told us that they have made all kinds of craft
projects over the years but never slippers so they were excited to see what was
inside. What they found was a
simple project to complete in an afternoon together and the final result were
some pretty adorable slippers to boot! The
sewing aspect is well presented and the ball tipped needle was perfect for
little hands to manipulate and certainly a lot safer. The kit comes with two pairs of slippers each of which were
worn proudly after completion.
Suggested Age: 3 and up
Price: $14.99
Crayola
Color Wonder MarkerBinney
& Smith
Playing with Crayola's Wonder Markers is a real eye
opening experience. You'll know
what we're talking about the moment you first place a wonder marker on the
special paper and see the exceptionally cool coloring effect. Crayola's magic paper transforms before your eyes when the
wonder markers are applied. The 8
markers act like magic wands leaving color surprises behind. The included pad of paper has games, coloring projects and
freeform opportunities. Everything
packs away neatly for a great traveling companion toy.
If that all sounds great wait until you hear this, the markers will not
mark up skin, walls, carpet or clothing! Our
testers all thought it was way cool, we think you'll agree,
Suggested Age: 4 and Up Price: $14.99
Crayola
Make Your Own Cards
Binney
& Smith
What sets this unique craft kit apart from others on the
shelf or even in our testing centers is the package it comes in.
We know that it's supposed to be what's inside that counts but here is
the exception to the rule. The hard
plastic molded mailbox really turned on our testers.
Instantly a world of imaginative play opened up.
Mail has never been so exciting. We
had hard working mailmen ready to deliver come rain, snow (well, it was summer
but you get the idea!). The idea of
sharing thoughts and ideas and then mailing them really excited our young
testers. The mailbox will long
outlast its contents, but no matter because at $9.99 this is a great value.
Suggested Age: 4 and Up Price: $ 9.99
ALEX/Panline
USA, Inc.
Discovering your family history is an important lesson for
all children and this ALEX kit is a fun exercise that brings the concept of a
family tree to life. The exercise
opens up wonderful opportunities for family storytelling and together with the
experience of placing photos on the tree the concept of each person's place in
your family's history comes alive. This
develops a fascinating sense of self. The
final product is an attractive hanging banner that parents told us they would
display with pride in their children's room
Suggested Age: 6 and Up Price: $15.00
Motorworks
EngineNSI,
Ltd
For many of us, the extent of our knowledge when it comes
to automotive engines is turning the ignition key and hearing it roar to life.
How or why it does this is way off our radarscope.
What lies beneath the hood of a car is actually quite an impressive
contraption and when our testers were given the opportunity to build a working
model of an engine from scratch they jumped at the opportunity.
There is a very well thought out and well illustrated instruction manual
that uncovers the mysteries of the combustion engine. The finished product spins, whirs and thoroughly delighted
our testers. Parents also told us
that they were drawn to the Popular Mechanics association with the kit.
Suggested Age: 8 and up Price: $29.99
My
People: Stuff Directory
Kids have been telling us for years now how they love
having their own special place to keep track of their friends.
This very personal, fun, hip phone book has everything that they are
looking for. Room for the usual
information such as phone and address but Swingset didn't stop there.
Each card has space for pictures, personal information, fax numbers,
email addresses and more. The new
expansion packs allow for different kinds of friends such as those made at camp,
on vacation and on sports teams. This
a product geared directly at the age category known as tweens and our tween
testers loved this directory.
Suggested Age: 8 and Up Price: $14.95
My
Ultra Secret Stuff JournalGoing the lock and key one better, this ultra secret
journal can only be read with the aid of a black light.
Since we've left the 70's long behind its a safe bet that there aren't
too many of those floating around, so you can trust that your most secret
thoughts are well guarded. Kids absolutely flipped over these journals, embracing the
idea of the privacy they could achieve from the prying eyes of their siblings or
other undesirables. The pages
appear blank until the magic purple/black light is applied. Our testers loved writing with the magical glow around them,
they told us it made them feel mysterious.
Suggested Age: 8 and Up Price: $19.95
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Last Update: August 15, 2000