Top Toys: Customer Picks

Here is a list of top toys we've compiled from your suggestions over the past few months. Let us know if we've missed one of your favorites!

1. Mozart Magic Cube

Kids love buttons and instant feedback. The Mozart Magic Cube entertains a wide range of ages. Press the buttons to hear a Mozart piece play. You can add and subtract the instruments you hear by continuing to press any of the large buttons on any side of the cube. The lights and sounds are engaging, and it's a great way for a child to dissect the instrumentation of one of history's greatest composers.  

2. Green Toys Stacker

This suggestion for the Green Toys Stacker comes from aMuse mom, Amy. Her daughter, Maddie, enjoys stacking the cups in both directions and loves the fact that they can double as pretend-play tea cups. Some of our customers even take their stackers to the beach and use them as sand molds. All-ages, Eco-friendly fun!

3. Jishaku

Jishaku, Japanese for magnet, is a favorite game among older kids. Be the first to strategically place all of your magnets in the playing board, and you win the game! Easier said than done, as the magnets are super powerful. 

4. Wedgits

Wedgits are great for any age. They will truly grow with your child over the years. This alternative building block set requires an inner structure, which adds an interesting twist to stacking. Wee Wedgits are great for stacking and playing in the bath tub, and classic wedgits are great for creative, open-ended play. For a more guided play for older children, give them a set of design cards to build their puzzle skills. Brilliant!

5. Baby Geomags

Geomags are a magnetic toy for young children. Their over-sized pieces are easy for small hands to hold onto, and their animal designs are great for character play. Fun for in the tub, too!

6. Green Toys Tea Set

For healthy playtime fun that is eco-friendly too, this tea set is made in the USA from recycled milk jugs. Purposeful design that is dishwasher safe.  

7. Doodle Track Car

Create the ultimate course for your Doodle Track Car!  This little sports car will follow the twists and turns on a track that you design with any black crayon or marker. 

8. Magnatiles

Magnatiles magnetic building sets foster patterning, shape recognition and three-dimensional thinking while developing building and fine motor skills. Kids explore basic math, science and creative concepts with this brilliant open-ended toy.

9. Sophie the Giraffe

This classic French teething toy named Sophie the Giraffe has been delighting babies since the 1970's. Colored with non-toxic pigments, her unique texture comes from using natural rubber. She squeaks when chewed on, and her neck is long and skinny enough to reach for those teething molars!

10. Gobblet Gobblers

Gobblet Gobblers is a Blue Orange classic. A unique twist on tic-tac-toe, the winner must get three-in-a-row. But be careful! The larger pieces can gobble up the little ones...

11. Sticky Mosaics

Sticky Mosaics are similar to traditional paint-by-number crafts, but they use stickers in lieu of paint. They are great for guided, independent play and encourage fine-motor development. 

12. Fantacolor Junior

Quercetti has been a leader in skill-building sets for over a decade. Fantacolor Junior is a first mosaic kit that utilizes chunky pegs to illustrate a picture. With a self-storage feature, and 8 interesting two-sided cards, kids as young as two can practice eye-hand coordination and fine motor skill development. 

13. Kickboard USA Scooters

Kickboard USA scooters are awesome. See what some aMuse moms have to say.  

14. Perpetual Commotion

Is an outrageously fast and incredibly addictive card game. Play your cards - as many and as fast as you can - into a common area. To win, you must play faster than your opponents. Perpetual Commotion is one part strategy, two parts speed and a healthy dose of luck-of-the-draw. 

15. Uglydolls

From the creative minds of two love-struck artists, David Horvath and Sun-Min, emerged the Uglydoll family. What started as a drawing of a playful, orange character named Wage, has turned into a whole new world of fun. These colorful and uniquely designed plush friends are oddly charming.

Don't forget to enter to win $150 to spend at aMuse!

Share |

Top 20 Toys of the Season

We hope you enjoyed our Top Toys for under $25 posted earlier in the week! Now we're back for another installment of holiday gift ideas. It was hard to narrow it down, but with a lot of agonizing (because we truly love all of our toys!), we have our Top 20 Toys of the Season.

1. Sustainable Earth Lab

This comprehensive science kit by Thames & Kosmos contains 40 different earth-friendly experiments. Construct your own miniature water treatment plant, make recycled paper and plastic and explore the causes and consequences of greenhouse effect with carbon dioxide tests.

 

2. Strobotop

Strobotop light-phase animator by Eye-Think is one of the coolest new products on the market. Use the flashing LED light and the animation wheel to see the pictures move. You can also make your own animations by using the blank templates that are included with each Strobotop.

3. Magna-Tiles Working Trucks

Your child will love Working Trucks. They are assembled using magnetic connections, so they are easy to connect and rearrange. Kids are able to build traditional style trucks or something from their imagination.

4. My Friendship Bracelet Maker

My Friendship Bracelet Maker simplifies bracelet weaving for any crafty kid. Just clip your thread onto the board and separate the strings. This way you never lose track of what string gets knotted next.

5. Scruble Cube

This brand new word game is interesting mix between Scrabble and a Rubix cube. Align the letters in the cube to create words and earn points based on your letter combinations.

6. HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set

Your kids will love this kit! HEXBUG is a mechanical creature that behaves just like a real bug. It feels its way around sensing objects and responding to loud noises. With this set, you have everything you need to build your own HEXBUG Nano Habitat!

7. Quercetti Fantacolor Junior

Fantacolor Junior by Quercetti is great for building finger strength and dexterity while practicing color recognition and sequencing. Little ones are delighted for hours building the colorful pictures or creating their own unique designs.

8. Terra Kids Microscope

Any serious explorer needs a Terra Kids Microscope set. Its portable design is great for collecting samples in the wilderness so you can analyze them on the spot. Great for any budding field research scientist...

9. Ubertropolis

Uberstix dynamic building sets are the perfect challenge for any seasoned builder. The complex pieces are able to snap into one another in a multitude of different ways, and the pieces can be used in tandem with other mainstream building sets.

10. Wheely Bugs

Prince Lionheart's classic ride-on toy, the Wheely Bug will quickly become your child's best friend. We love them because they're adorable, durable and super fun. Their 360 degree desk chair wheels on the bottom allow your child to scoot around any which way.

11. Treasure, Ready, GO!

Haba's Treasure, Ready, GO! is a fast-paced game that truly is great for the whole family. Complete a series of tasks ranging from charades, to 3-D building to quick memory matching to earn points.  

12. Automoblox Minis

These Italian-designed mini wooden cars have interchangable parts. They are a modern-day classic.

13. Block Crayons

Color and stack! Block Crayons can be used as finger crayons or as colorful blocks.

14. Tegu

These wooden magnetic blocks are like Magformers meets Haba. All of Tegu's unique products are manufactured responsibly in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

15. Quadrilla Marble Runs

This classic marble run is made of dyed bamboo and is infinitely expandable. Marble runs have been delighting people of all ages for the past century.

 

16. Building Blocks Technics

 One of Haba's newest items, Building Blocks Technics is a block set with clips and wheels. As always, Haba's wooden toys are Made in Germany of solid beech wood and dyed with water-based vegetable dye. Building Block Technics is open-ended play at its finest.

17. HABA Curioso Shape Sorter

Some people say, "it's just a shape sorter," but in our opinion, it's the best and most beautiful one there is. Each shaped block is crafted from solid beech wood, dyed with a water-based vegetable dye and is adorned with fantastic sensory stimulating embellishments such as prisms, bells and beautiful patterns.

18. Magformer XL Cruiser

If you ever want to take an awesome toy and make it even more awesome - just add wheels. That's exactly what Magformers did with the XL Cruiser. They took a top-notch magnetic buildling set and turned it into a cruiser.

19. Water Blocks

Water Blocks are so new on the market that we don't even have a picture of them yet. They are a super unique pool or tub toy. Magically, they stick to smooth surfaces when wet so you can have a tub time marble run! They're already a huge hit, so stop by either aMuse location to check out what the buzz is about.

20. Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart

This one's a classic. Melissa & Doug's metal shopping cart is a must for any pretend-play store.

Share |

Top Toys for Under $25

This week we will provide you with lists.  Lists for our top picks of the season and top picks under $25.  Why?  Well, we want to make things easier for you, our loyal customers. 

The holidays are just around the corner and every year we get asked the same questions. Now that we have the blog, we figured we’d answer them for you sooner than later.

Whether you are shopping for gifts for your own kids, or buying for neighbors or family we want to give you the tools and information to buy the right gift for each little (or big) one on your list. 

1. Anomia

MADE IN THE USA. Think! Shout! laugh! Anomia will have everyone laughing out loud while they try to beat each other to the punch.

2. Spot It! by Blue Orange Games

There is always one and only one, matching symbol between ANY 2 cards in this game.  Spot it and you win! 2-8 players

3. Little Labs

Thames & Kosmos makes some of the most comprehensive science kits on the market. Little Labs are a great introduction to simple concepts in science.

4. Zingo Number Bingo 1-2-3

Slide the Zingo Zinger to reveal a number tile, make a match and fill your card to win.  The fast-paced game play and zany Zinger will keep kid’s counting for hours! 2-6 players

5. Pigz Up

Pigz Up by Blue Orange Games is a super fun motorskill refinement game. Be the first one to stack the piggies and get rid of your cards to win the game.

6. Green Toys Blocks

MADE IN THE USA.  This 18-piece block set is made from recycled milk jugs. Over-sized and safe they are easy to stack and unstack, which makes them perfect for any little builder.

7. My Friendship Bracelet Maker Clipboard

My Friendship Bracelet Maker Clipboard simplifies bracelet weaving for any crafty kid. Just clip your thread onto the board and separate the strings. This way you never lose track of which string gets knotted next.

8. ALEX Sticker Factory

Every kid loves stickers, so naturally ALEX's Sticker Factory is one of our favorites. Kids can make their own stickers to decorate their school text books or to add another personalized crafty element to their art projects.

9. Fliptomania Flip Book Kits

Fliptomania Flip Book Kits teach kids the basics of animation. Each set comes with four flip books - two to color, cut and clip together and two that are blank for their own creative storylines.

10. Lego Head Lamp

Every child likes to explore. This little elastic band head lamp is sure to inspire more missions!

11. Hartia Paper Mobiles

MADE IN CANADA. These unique cut and fold paper mobiles are designed by a Canadian graphic design firm. They're a playful and beautiful addition to any space - not to mention super fun to make!

12. Uncle Goose Blocks

MADE IN THE USA. Uncle Goose's beautiful wooden blocks are great for counting and stacking. Each side features a different theme: numbers, trains, buildings and rocket ships are just a few!

13. Quercetti Fantacolor Daisy

MADE IN ITALY. Fantacolor Daisy is creative pattern building at its finest. Use the multi-colored pegs to create beautiful images on the daisy-shaped design board.  

14. Green Toys Fire Truck

MADE IN THE USA. Introduced this past September, this wonderfully designed little truck is made in the USA from recycled milk jugs. It is great for kids ages 1+.

15. Melissa & Doug Cupcake Set

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?  With this little set kids can pretend to run their own cupcake business from home!  They'll make good use of their imagination to decorate and serve these sweet treats.

Share |

Toys With Benefits

My son, Hunter, just turned two but is still not much of a talker. After taking him for several tests, we were pleased to find that he is just a late bloomer and does not have any developmental problems. We have started speech therapy with an in-home speech pathologist once a week. She is wonderful and has a bag full of toys to help Hunter express himself better through simple commands verbally and with hand gestures. After two months of weekly visits, we hadn't gotten as far as I'd like. Hunter didn't really gravitate towards her discount store items. I had noticed his intense concentration, though, while playing with several toys from aMuse that I had gotten him. I asked the therapist to use these toys instead, and we have seen immediate improvement in his expressive skills.

Among the toys we have used are Quercetti's FantaColor Junior. The colorful disks are set aside in play. He must ask for "more" pieces and put them "in" their places. The wide selection of play foods help us to imitate "munch munch" and learn the words "eat" and "drink." Hunter's first real word, ball, came from playing and shaping modeling clay into balls. Alex's craft boxes provide great opportunities to ask for "more," learn colors, and ask for "help"...one of Hunter's weaknesses he probably inherited from me. The Melissa and Doug wooden puzzles have also helped us with the basic commands for "help," "more" and "all done."

While I bought these toys initially for the wonderful skills they build, we have found another priceless benefit to owning such unique and creative tools: keeping our active two-year-old busy mentally and physically.