Buzz Balls and Chatter Stones are Magnificent, Magnetic Marvels

I read somewhere that Einstein was fascinated with magnets. I can honestly say that I share his fascination. There is just something cool about them. Buzz Balls and Chatter Stones are super strong and shiny magnets that are fun to play with. The concept is simple enough: you toss them up separately, and when they collide they make a funny noise. I am not gifted enough to tell you if the Buzz Balls sound like they are "buzzing" or the Chatter Stones sound like they are "chattering," but they both make a cool sound.

The instructions do say that you are supposed to "play above a soft durable surface." I agree. One of our boys dropped one, from a goodly height, and it did break. It was a Chatter Stone, by the way. So, we couldn't really chatter with it, but it still serves as a really powerful magnet. I think the Buzz Ball would survive a higher drop, but I haven't had the urge to do an expirement to see.

Let me just remind you that these magnets are too powerful for the little kids, but you probably already knew that. Check out the magnetic wonderment at Town Square Toys.

Ugly Doll - Ugly Monday Feature: Wage!

Welcome to your Ugly Monday Feature, where you are introduced to the Ugly Dolls. Each Monday, you will get the joy of discovering a little piece of ugly on the ugliest day of the week. Have an Ugly Day!

Wage is a hard worker, just like you! He works at the local Super Mart and wears his apron to serve his customers best. Does Super Mart know that Wage works there? Nope. But Wage doesn't mind. He likes to put things in bags, especially snacks. Wage is best friends with Babo, but there is always room for one more (you). The two of them can often be found on the sidewalk trying to make friends with fire hydrants, phone booths, and other lonely creatures. Wage hates for anyone to be lonely! What's with that look? Is Wage happy? Sure he is! He smiles on the inside. The next time you go grocery shopping remember to take Wage along on your adventures.

Where did UglyDolls come from? Sun-Min Kim and David Horvath met in art school in 1996 and fell in love. After Sun-Min went back to Korea in 2001, they kept in touch by writing letters. David would include a drawing of a little guy named Wage in all of his letters to his love. Sun-Min decided to make a plush version of this little doll for David. He loved the doll and so she made 5 more. He sold the additional 4 to a store owner and they sold out almost immediately. For the next 18 months, David would design and Sun-Min would sew dolls, all while still apart. They met again at Toy Fair 2003 where they got a booth at the bottom level. From that point on, the dolls have been a hit!

A Few Items for Your Bike - by Schylling

This last weekend we bought our daughter her first bicycle. It is a little pink beauty that she loves. I cringe at the thought of her inevitable wrecks and crashes, and yet I smile thinking about how much fun she will have once she masters the two wheeler without her training wheels. Don't worry, she will be all padded and helmeted up. I remember my first bike and how much fun I had on it like it was just yesterday. If you are like me, you can recall when helmets and pads were not even thought of.

Well, the cool part about having a toy store is that we have a few classics that should be a part of any bike. Schylling makes both a bike horn, a bike bell, and handlebar streamers. The bike bell, to me, is the ultimate classic accessory. Just ring the bell around anyone and you will take them back to a memory. The horn may not be as memory inducing, but it is LOUD! It never ceases to amaze me at how loud it is. If you didn't want one for your bike, you could just use it to scare people! The streamers a cute and make me think of summer time.

I know that our daughter wants the bike bell. She may want the streamers too. I am not so sure about the horn. If you have a young boy, though, he will definitely dig it and want one on his bike. Go over to Town Square Toys and check out a bicycle accessory for your bike, or, if you want to, you can get one for your kids too.

Marshmallow Shooters are a Fan Favorite!

I remember when the concept of marshmallow weapons first made an appearance around these parts. The first one I ran into was fabricated from pvc pipes and made to resemble a machine gun of sorts, with two handles. The barrel had an elbow at the back end that stuck up, a bit like a periscope. What you were supposed to do, was load a little marshmallow in the back and blow, thereby launching the confection projectile across the room or yard. Of course all I could think about was a kid running around the yard while trying to blow on this monstrosity, only to trip and crack a tooth on the pvc pipe. Needless to say, the mechanism did not get a lot of play.

Well, the Marshmallow Shooter, by Marshmallow Fun, found the solution to that problem. By adding a pump action air compressor to the design, little mouths are kept away from the hard plastic. And, the Shooters come with magazines, so you don't have to load the marshmallows one by one. Marshmallow Fun also has little, marshmallow sized, foam pellets that you can use if you don't want to cast sugar all over your house. Save the real marshmallows for when you are outside for the bugs to eat or the rain to melt away.

By the way, there is a Marshmallow Blaster for shooting large marshmallows or mixed shots; somewhat of a marshmallow blunderbuss. That is what is pictured above.

We also found that if you let the marshmallows get a little stale, they shoot a bit better. Fresh and sticky marshmallows tend to hug the barrel and not go as far.

As a side note: my nephew likes to dress up as various super heroes and action figures. He often is a clone trooper from Star Wars. His weapon of choice, even though we are out of marshmallows, is the Camo Series Marshmallow Shooter. Cute.

By the way, I chased a proverbial rabbit earlier and found out a bit more about marshmallows on Wikipedia. Did you know that there is a Marshmallow plant? Sounds like something from Willy Wonka! Read for yourself.

PlasmaCars are Fun for All Ages!

When I first saw the PlasmaCars, I didn't know quite what to think. I liked their bright colors and the interesting, curious shape. The scientist part of me wanted to understand the physics behind their movement. The kid in me wanted to start riding one right away. But, I was patient and let my kids go first. Which brings up an interesting point: both kids and adults can ride these things. They are a lot of fun to ride.

You will want to be careful if you or your kids decide to ride one. They work great on any hard surface, but I would not ride on hardwood floors or linoleum; the turning back and forth could scrape up the flooring. When you are just casually riding, the gentle, back and forth motion would be fine. When you get the urge to race, though, that is when the scraping may occur. Sidewalks and driveways are perfect. You will be amazed at how proficient you will become in no time, swinging and steering around obstacles.

I also want to let you know that these are incredibly durable toys. Our kids have been racing and crashing their PlasmaCars for years now, literally. Other than some superficial scrapes, they are still in fine working condition. I just rode one the other day. Go on over to Town Square Toys and check one out today!

Alphabet Avalanche by Lauri Toys

I like the Alphabet Avalanche for a variety of reasons. The letters are bright a colorful, in the primary colors of red, yellow and blue. There is a fantastic selection of letters, both capital and lower case, so you are able to spell almost anything. The letters have an interesting tactile feel, with a smooth back and a bumpy, crepe front. And, finally, and I think most importantly, there are at least 500 letters in this "avalanche."

Having this many letters allows for a wide open amount of play and usability. If I want to spell things in mulitple colors or the same color, mulitple times, I can. If I am playing with my kids, if they are playing together, or if we are learning spelling or sounds - we never run out of letters.

One word of warning; the letters are small and are definitely not for little ones. As the package says, they are not for children under 3.

Head over to Town Square Toys and check them out. There is a lot more information about the avalanche and other Lauri and Smethport toys for you to read up on.

Dripsticks: What a Great Idea!

If you have kids of any age, you know that when your kids eat ice cream cones and popsicles, a fair majority of the sugary sweetness will end up on the kid, rather than in the kid. We live in Texas and it is often quite entertaining in the summer months to see if the kids can eat their melting ice cream faster than it can drip all over creation. What a mess! If only their was a simple idea that could work towards solving this problem.

These things are awesome. They can hold either a popsicle or an ice cream cone. They are made of plastic, so you can use them over and over. They are even dishwasher safe. They come in six different, bright colors. They have a good solid feel to them; something you and your child can really grab onto - it is much easier to hold a Dripstick than a cone that is turning to mush or a small popsicle stick. I truly think that you will love this product and use it over and over.

Check out a more complete description here. Or, go to Town Square Toys and get some for yourself.

Sea Monkeys: Strange and Amazing!

When you were a kid, did you ever see the ad on the back of the comic book for Amazing Live Sea Monkeys? I know I did. I always wondered if they were real or what they were. The pictures that illustrated the advertisements were strange to be sure.

Well, it didn't take much exploring, even before the days of the internet, to find out what Sea Monkeys really were. (I won't spoil it for you.) But, while the mystery was gone, the curiousity of discovery and learning was still there. I don't know why I never sent off for any, but now I don't have to. And, you don't have to buy a comic book and send off for them either. Just go on over to Town Square Toys and order some Sea Monkeys of your very own.

By the way, Sea Monkeys have moved up and are living large now. Used to be you could only order the Sea Monkeys and grow them in your own mason jar or tiny aquarium. Now you have several different places to grow, and raise, and enjoy your Sea Monkeys. There is Sea Monkeys on Mars, Sea Monkeys in the City, Sea Monkeys Hang 10, and Sea Monkeys on the Moon. Crazy!

Town Square Toys on Amazon

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Toys in the Movies: Another Blog

We have a second blog about toys in the movies that you can find at Town Square Toys. You should check it out. Leave a suggestion or two if you would like.