16 Atlanta Parent December 2016 atlantaparent.com

2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE

We reviewed the coolest gifts for your kids this holiday season.

Here are our top picks for each age.

AtlantaParent

Favorites♥

♥  WellieWishers Dolls by American Girl come in several ethnicities and with the message of “being a good friend.” Five dolls have different looks and interests – animals, performance, art, princess and the ocean. 5-7 years. americangirl.com/shop. $60.

♥  The Manhattan Toy Company’s Playful Pony and it’s Playful Dino take an activity cube to a fun new place! It has multiple play surfaces, bead runs, peg mazes and more. 12 months and older. Brilliant Sky Toys. $68

Reviewed by Felicia Barman, Teresa Farkas, Jordan Lisvosky and Laura Powell. Shop early and check with stores on availability. Prices listed are MSRP.

♥  Dr. Eureka by Blue Orange is a fast-paced game where players must rely on quick thinking and sharp fine motor skills. Pick a challenge card showing which color combinations should go into each test tube, then transfer 6 colorful balls between 3 test tubes without touching them, or letting balls fall out of the tubes. 8 and older. Kazoo Toys, Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop, School Box and Brilliant Sky Toys. $20.

♥  With Seedling‘s Design Your Own Marble Maze kids can build a maze using walls, traps and start and end points provided with the kit. Testers loved using the side knobs to tilt the maze back and forth to guide the marbles to the final hole. Players can download the Maze app on a smartphone to experience the maze through virtual reality. 8 and older. Treehouse Kid & Craft and seedling.com. $60

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♥  With the Spirograph Junior by Kahootz Toys kids can create creative designs with the gears and markers, while improving fine motor skills. The set includes jumbo gears, 5 washable markers and 24 pages of design paper, and the carrying case doubles as a desk. 3 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys, HobbyTown and fatbraintoys.com. $24.99

♥  MiO’s Playing Eating Sleeping Working set allows for open-ended play with dolls, moving rooms and other pieces to let kids imagine a sailboat, house or whatever setting they wish. The 41-piece set is made from mostly natural wood and fabric. 3 and older. Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop and Treehouse Kid & Craft. $100

♥  Do Art Paint with Marbles by Faber-Castell lets you create abstract works of art with paint and marbles. Coat the marbles in paint, drop them into the reusable painting tray and create fun shapes. 5 and older. Shenanigan’s Toys and fabercastell.com. $24.99

♥  The Memory Palace game by Peaceable Kingdom made our testers giggle and get creative. Players create silly stories about 27 animal tokens as they place the tokens face down. The goal is to remember the story and where each animal is hidden without turning over a “Memory Monster.” 5 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys and Target. $15.99

♥  The Rescue Boat & Helicopter by Green Toys is specially designed to float in the water and can be put in the dishwasher. Great for anywhere play including the bath tub. 2 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys, Kazoo Toys and Learning Express $34.99

♥  The Pretend Play Sets by eeBoo promote creativity and imagination by letting children perform different roles like teacher, world traveler, restaurant visitor and more. 3 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys, Greene’s Fine Foods & Treehouse Kid & Craft. $13

Win these Toys! Go to atlantaparent.com/contests for a chance to win prize packs for each age group valued at $150-$250 each.

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2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / BABY & TODDLER

n  Grimm’s Rolling Wheel is made of stained wood, and has bells and wooden balls inside. The toy is easily pushed and rolled around during play. 1 and older. Treehouse Kid & Craft and grimms.eu/en. $40n  Oball’s Go Grippers

Bounce ‘N Zoom Speedway has cars that are easy for small hands to grasp encouraging the development of fine motor skills. It has multiple ramps the cars can fly down and other elements that move the car for increased imagination. 2 and older. Major retailers. $69.95

n  Kids Preferred Amazing Baby Pop-Up Activity Ball has several elements to let babies practice fine motor skills – stimulating prints, sounds, rings and flaps cover the ball. Birth-2 years. amazon.com. $12.88

n  Yookidoo’s Spin ‘N’ Sort Spout Pro is a battery-operated bath spout that attaches to your drain and draws water to create an endless stream. It includes more than 10 different water activities, which introduce your child to sorting, constructing and spinning gears. 9-36 months. amazon.com. $34.95

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2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / BABY & TODDLER

n  The Manhattan Toy Company’s Snuggle Baby Bear is a soft adorable doll that comes with a plush, hooded sleep sack. 6 months and older. manhattantoy.com. $18

n  Fat Brain Toys’ Spin Again is an update from older stacking toys; the rings spin around, and it has interchangeable flat and moving bases. It is visually stimulating and allows kids to practice hand-eye coordination and engineering. 1 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys, Kazoo Toys, School Box and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $30

n  The Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Crawl-Around Learning Center has 20+ activities to keep your child occupied. Your baby can learn to crawl by moving through the arches and then move on to other areas when they grow. 6 months-3 years. Major retailers. $50

n  The Mickey & Friends Beach House by LEGO has multiple pieces for varied play including Donald Duck, Goofy and Mickey Mouse. The set can help develop role-play and imagination through building and rebuilding. Ages 2-5. Major retailers and Kazoo Toys. $35

It’s time for our annualBest of

Family Fun Awards!

The winner will be announced Friday, Dec. 9 on our

Facebook page.

For more information, call 770-454-7599.

Go toatlantaparent.com/bestof and vote for

your favorites.

Vote in at least 10 categories & you’ll

automatically be entered to win $50.

Atlanta Parent’s

BEST OF FAMILY FUN

2O17

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2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / PRESCHOOL

n  The Manhattan Toy Company’s Travel + Comfort Stowies Fox hides away toys and trinkets inside the zipper pouch located on the fox’s tummy. The fox stands on its own and is a good size for small hands. 3 and older. manhattantoy.com. $15

n  Shape Mags by Magnetic Stick N Stack are plastic, brightly colored tiles that stack together with magnets. The 100-piece set comes with two magnetic wheel bases and lets kids create everything from a car to a house. amazon.com. $69.99

n  LeapFrog’s LeapStart Interactive Learning System has different level books available for each stage of young learning. The interactive system has over 200 key skills for your child to learn with sounds and an easy-to-hold stylus. 2-4 years. Major retailers. $30

n  The Irish Fairy Door Kit brings a magical “fairy” into your home. Place the door anywhere in your house or yard, and then register your fairy on the website to access stories and play ideas each week. 4 and older. Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $25

n  The Jumbo Glow-in-the-Dark Magnatab by Kid O is made of magnetic beads and a magnetic stylus that allows children to draw shapes, letters and pictures. This version glows in the dark for nighttime play. 3 and older. Kazoo Toys, Treehouse Kid & Craft and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $35

n  Little Red Riding Hood game by Smart Games lets players use puzzle pieces to make a path to grandma’s house. The game includes 48 challenges, which allows for critical thinking and problem solving. 4-7 years. Brilliant Sky Toys, Learning Express and Kazoo Toys. $24.99

n  The Green Market Spinner Game by eeBoo is a fun way for kids to build vocabulary and sorting skills. Spin the wheel to collect products on your farm stand and match them with the picture on your board. 2-4 players. 3 and older. Greene’s Fine Foods and shop.eeboo.com. $17

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2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / AGES 5-8

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n  Hape Toys’ Space City Quadrilla is a glow-in-the-dark version of a marble maze with loops and turns. It has 176 pieces to custom build the maze and helps develop engineering skills. 6 and older. Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop and Treehouse Kid & Craft. $149.99

n  “Ready, aim, fire!” was the battle cry heard among our 5-, 8-, and 10 year-old testers while playing Kaboom by Blue Orange. Children take turns being the Master Builder or a Saboteur as one player quickly constructs towers with wooden blocks while other players fire wooden dice on catapults to knock down the towers. 6 and older. Kazoo Toys and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $24.95

n  Learning Resources’ Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set lets your child develop coding skills by programming the robot mouse to go through a sequence of steps then race to find the cheese. 5 and older. Kazoo Toys and Toys R Us. $60

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n  The Slackers Ninjaline lets your kids train like a Ninja with seven different hanging obstacles to swing from. Attach the Ninjaline between two trees and attach the different obstacles down the line, then swing from one to another until you make it to the end. 5 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys, Kazoo Toys and Treehouse Kid & Craft. $100

n  The LEGO Medium Creative Brick Box has bricks in 35 different colors to encourage open-ended play. It also includes windows, eyes and wheels for construction play. The set comes in a plastic storage box to keep pieces together. 4 and older. HobbyTown and major retailers. $35

2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / AGES 5-8

n  The Activating Origami Set by Teknikio lets paper meet electronics. Using circuits and conductive tape, you can add light to origami shapes. 3 and older; adult supervision recommended for 7 and younger. Treehouse Kid & Craft and teknikio.com. $24.

n  My First Bananagrams utilizes lowercase letters and word-building to help your child build his or her vocabulary. Place all of the 80 letter tiles facedown and each player takes 15 tiles. Be the first player to use all of your letters in a connected word grid.

Variations of the game are by reading level. 4 and older. Barnes and Noble

and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $14.99

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n  Hasbro’s Simon Air Game is a twist on the Simon game where players need to watch, remember and repeat patterns. This version recognizes when a player follows the color sequence using touch-free technology. 8 and older. Major retailers. $19.99

n  Seedling’s Make a Mini Foosball Table allows kids to craft a portable foosball table that can be played right on the kitchen table. Contains everything needed to build the field, create the players, and play a foosball game. 8 and older.seedling.com. $40

n  Crayola’s Air Marker Sprayer converts Crayola-brand markers into a smooth spray of ink. Users can spray their own designs and patterns or pair with the stencils included. 8 and older. Major retailers. $29.99

n  Nancy B’s Science Club Way to Grow Hydroponics Kit & Gardening Diary by Educational Insights includes a 22-page activity journal and the ability to grow and study plants without any soil. 8 and older. Kazoo Toys, School Box and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $21.99

n  With the Craft-tastic Yarn Tree Kit by Ann Williams Group your tween can create a colorful place to hang necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The kit includes an 18" bendable wire tree and colorful yarn to wrap around. 8 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys and Learning Express. $29.99

n  The SkyPaper Paper Plane Launcher blasts paper planes up to 100 feet. The kit includes 24 do-it-your-self planes and instructions. 8 and older. Toys R Us. $24.99

2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / TWEENS

n  Thinkfun’s Yoga Spinner Game encourages physical activity – players must perform the yoga pose on their card and hold it for 10 seconds; first player to collect a card in each color wins! Our 5-year-old tester loved the game but had a little trouble holding the poses. 5 and older. Learning Express and Shenanigan’s Toys. $14.99

n  Pop ‘emz by Fat Brain Toys has over 200 colorful pieces that suction to windows or mirrors. Kids can create art of many shapes and sizes with the colorful hexagon-shaped suction cups. 5 and older. fatbraintoys.com. $19.95

n  Make your own toy dog with Pup 002 by Paper Punk. This comprehensive paper figure kit doesn’t require any scissors or glue. It comes with over 20 shape templates, stickers and adhesive dots to help customize different figures. Follow the symbols and fold until the figure is built. 6 and older. Target and paperpunk.com. $14.99

AGES 5-8

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2016 Holiday TOY GUIDE / STOCKING STUFFERS

n  Jumbo Tri Color “Mixies” pencils by eeBoo add swirls of color with every drawing creating an ombre effect. 5 and older Greene’s Fine Foods and shop.eeboo.com. $7.50

n  The Super Genius Alphabet learning game by Blue Orange Games allows kids to learn the alphabet in a fun way with corresponding images and letters on flashcards. The goal is to match two similar letters and sound out the illustrated word. 3 and older. Kazoo Toys and Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop. $12.99

n  Firefox’s Paint-n-Fly Glider can be decorated according to your child’s interest. Paint is included with the kit, and the toy can be soaked in water to remove and then can be re-decorated. Put the pieces together and watch it soar. 6 and older. HobbyTown and Kazoo Toys. $10

n  Add water to The Dinosaur Who Lived Inside the Volcano by Seedling and watch the volcano erupt, revealing a big surprise – a dinosaur that grows larger over the next 72 hours. Our testers were fascinated. 3-6 years. Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop and Seedling.com. $5.99

n  The Play-Doh Sparkle collection adds some shimmer to the traditional molding dough. Each color is sprinkled with glitter, and the set comes with two cutters for open play. 3 and older. Major retailers. $8.99

n  Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory Swimming Nemo lets kids re-create all of their favorite scenes from the movie. When submerged in the water the robot fish moves like a real fish. Collect all of the characters from the movie. 4 and older. Toys R Us. $11.99

n  With Plus Plus Tubes kids can free play and build different creations using the bricks inside. The sets come in one color or a variety of colors. 3 and older. plus-plus.us. Brilliant Sky Toys, Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop and Treehouse Kid & Craft. 3 and older. $6.99

n  The original Crazy Foam 3-in-1 body wash, shampoo and conditioner is back with new designs. These include: Looney Tunes, Fairy Tale, DC Comics and more. The colorful foam makes bath time fun. 3 and older. Brilliant Sky Toys and crazyfoam.com. $4.99; set of four, $19.95