Monday, September 19, 2016

My Favorite Toys at Blogger Bash Sweet Suite



 In July I attended a premier event – Blogger Bash in New York. It was an extraordinary two days.  This is the second blog post covering the event.  See the last post featuring baby items here.  This post is exclusively featuring new toys seen at the Sweet Suite segment. Most are new and available for the first time now. 

As always this highlights post is as seen from a grandmother’s eye.  I always am drawn to versions of toys that we played with or our grown kids did and toys that we can enjoy with our grandchildren.  Although I recommend these items  whatever your relationship to a child is, these reviews are through a grandparent lens.

Science X Smartscope from Ravensburger
This is a wonderful new product which incorporates interest in microscopes that we all remember having as kids with the ease of use and greater capability of today’s technology.  Frankly, it is ingenious.  The best way to understand how this works is to view this video by TTPM.



Basically you put the specimen that you want to view whether it be sugar crystals or a bug – on a plastic slide in the smartscope.  Then you put your smartphone on top of the smartscope and you can view it on your phone.  This means you get to see the item magnified, adjust the focus, no squinting and several of you can view it at the same time.  It is pretty cool.  If you enjoy experiencing science projects with your grandchildren you will love this and it is very reasonably priced.

Magic Sets by Thames and Kosmos
 

We all remember watching magic shows performed by our kids.  These two new magic sets both get excellent reviews.  Magic is a wonderful activity for grandparents to introduce to grandchildren and makes an excellent grandchild sleepover activity.

Calafant – Distributed by Haywire

Calafant is an inexpensive cardboard building and drawing project.  There are a variety of set in three levels of difficulty.  This is a creative arts and craft project that also makes an excellent grandchild visit project. It incorporates building and decorating skills - good for grandma or grandpa. Other available sets include The three Little Pigs, The Palace, The Pirate’s Ship and more. Very reasonably priced.

Peppa Pig and George Giggles n’Wiggles by Jazwares
Everyone loves Peppa Pig and these new plush are sold together so you have both characters.  So cute and love the giggles and wiggles.











I know that some grandparents provide a costly holiday gift that the grandkids want or the parents want for the kids.  Here are a couple that may be on your holiday list.

TNMT Out of the Shadows Playset
Yes this is one of those over the top playsets – both in size and price.  But if you know a super TNMT fan who enjoyed the Out of the Shadows movie and can play for hours with TNMT figures and playsets this may be on your list.   Here is your first look.

Family House by Brio

Brio is a high end small building line most well know for their railroad sets.  This newest set is Family House and it is an excellent complement to a railroad set.  You can follow the plans provided or build your own family house.  It includes people figures and accessories for the house - great for lots of quality imaginative play.










Check back soon.  I am attending two blogger toy events in the next couple of weeks and I’ll have more highlights for the coming holiday season to share.



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