Back to the Basics

When someone says "classic wooden toys" what comes to mind? For me it's tool benches with little wooden hammers and screws, shape sorters and the rainbow stacker. These are all great toys! The rainbow stacker in particular is so classic. It's bright colored rings and wooden post were always under my feet when my kids were babies. They love to take it apart and put it back together. The first 500 times, of course, it was out of order with one of the bigger rings above the smaller and all wrong. The cool part is they keep trying until eventually they get it and all the rings go on in the right order. Usually by this point, they are saying the colors with you as you work with them. The first 499 times are finally sinking in! It's a great feeling and a great toy. These great toys are still being made and this one is only $4.99 brand new from a very reliable manufacturer. For more info, click here!

Ugly Dolls - Just Ugly Enough to Love

When I first saw Ugly Dolls, I thought they were the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. I guess they named them right! At Toy Fair, there was a huge Ugly guy walking around "greeting" the shoppers. We thought he was weird and went on our merry way. We picked up the Ugly Doll info not thinking much of it. Then we found out how they got started. You cannot hear the story and not want one. At least the 2 of us - gotta love a good love story - sappy female toy buyers couldn't. We were hooked. It's so sweet, long distance love. He misses her. She misses him. She makes a doll. He loves the doll. She makes more dolls. He sells them - you gotta love that part. And the rest is history. We were history. We are now carrying the whole line and have fallen in love with them. How long has it been since you bought into an idea and not just a toy of the moment? These toys have real people behind them who had a dream and are making it happen. Buy one for the story. Buy one for the creators. Buy one cause they're ugly! If you want to read the real story or see the ugly guys - click here!