Green Olives & Ham

Holiday gift giving guide: green toys for babies and preschoolers

In a previous post, my three year old toy tester and I gave you our holiday gift giving guide:  toys & games.  We've been focusing a lot on green toys lately and although we still enjoy our Dora toy or ten, we really love eco-friendly toys especially with all the toy recalls recently.  So we've decided to put together our holiday gift giving guide:  green toys for babies and preschoolers.  All of these toys are BPA, PVC, and Phthalate free.  They are also free of lead paint and require no batteries.

Although I don't do everything I can to protect the environment, I do try and do some things like conserve water and electricity.  I do recycle and try reusing and restoring stuff as often as possible.  We bring our own bags to the supermarket and try to buy organic food whenever we can.  So I guess I'm sort of semi-green.

We certainly don't have all of these toys that we have listed, but we have used them whether it be at a friend's house or playgroup.

Toys for infants and toddlers:

Green Sprouts Stacking Cup Set:  This stacking set consisting of 8 cups is by I-Play.  The cups are BPA, PVC, and Phthalate free.  These cups have draining holes so they can be used in the bathtub when you're child is old enough for bathtub toys.

Green Sprouts Ring Cool Soothing Teether:  This teether ring is also by I-Play and is BPA, PVC, and phtlalate free.  It is filled with sterilized water and can be refrigerated to comfort your baby when she/he is teething.

Organic Fruit Tote:  This fruit tote is by Under the Nile and is made with 100% Organic Egyptian Cotton.  This tote includes a banana, pear, watermelon, and grape.  These pieces of fruit are so soft and are the perfect size for small hands.

Toys for preschoolers (ages 3 and older): 

Green Toys Tea Set:  This tea set, as with other Green Toys, are made using #5 plastic that comes from recycled milk jugs.  They also contain no BPA, PVC, phtlalate, or lead paint.  This toy is designed for children 3 years of age and older.

Green Toys Recycle Truck:  I think I mentioned previously that my daughter has the tea set, and we were planning on getting the recycle truck.  We did get the recycle truck.  Of course it is a Christmas gift, so my daughter hasn't seen it yet, but I can't wait. 

This truck is also made using recycled milk jugs, and similar to the above items, it does not contain BPA, PVC, phtlalate or lead paint.  This item is designed for children 3 years of age and older.

Sprig Toys Adventures Dolphin Adventure Playset:  Sprig Toys was founded in 2007 and have been designing a line of eco-friendly, battery-free, and paint-free toys ever since. 

They have trucks and other playsets, but we like the Dolphin Adventure Playset the best because we (or I guess I) love dolphins and anything related to the Ocean.  And my daughter loves any and all water toys.

Another eco-friendly toy maker is Plan Toys, whose toys are made from non-toxic, natural materials such as organic rubberwood.  As of right now, we don't have any experience with their toys, which is surprising because they've been making toys for years and have won numerous top toy awards.

These are just a few of our favorite "green toys".  I'm sure there will be many more because I love green toys, and I'm dreaming of a green Christmas!

- Michelle

Holiday Gift Giving Guide - Toys & Games

With the holidays right around the corner, now is the time to begin your Holiday toy shopping.  Here is a list of some of the preschool toys that we love.  Of course this is just the recommendations of my daughter and I.  We are certainly not "Toy Experts", but we are "Toy Lovers".  These are toys that we either have or have access to at our playgroups and absolutely love!

I will be including links to these items on Amazon.com because (A)  I love Amazon, and I have always had great service and received items very quickly, and (B) Many of these items at Amazon will qualify for free shipping when you place an order of 25.00 or more, and (C) the closer we get to the Holidays, the easier it is to purchase gifts online.

1. LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set

I know that I'm beginning to sound like a broken record because I've talked about this Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set in a previous post (or multiple previous posts).  Well I'm talking about it again because I really do love it.  This has been on our refrigerator for awhile, and my daughter still plays with it all the time.  Not only does it help with letter recognition, but it also helps children learn the sound each letter makes by singing a great tune that goes something like this:  G says ga, G says ga, every letter makes a sound, G says ga.  Who am I kidding, it doesn't sound something like this, it sounds exactly like this.  That tune is always in my head!

2.  Candy Land - Dora The Explorer

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that my daughter loves Dora the Explorer.  So I had to include at least one of the many Dora toys that exist in toyland.  My daughter just recently received this game, and although we don't play it exactly how it's supposed to be played, my daughter loves the cards and the Dora, Diego, Boots, and Backpack pieces.  She wants to play with it because of these "friends".  This is a great beginner's board game and eventually we'll get to a point where we are playing it the way it was designed to be played, but right now we're having fun making up our own rules.

3.  Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Piggy Bank

This Fisher Price Learning Piggy Bank we do not have, but one of my daughter's friends has it.  So every time we go for a play date, my daughter really looks forward to playing with this.  It's a great way to introduce the concept of money, but if your child is too young for this lesson, it is also a great learning tool for counting and colors.  It also helps to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and if you have more than one child playing with it at once (as we usually do at our play date), it's great practice with sharing and taking turns.

4. LeapFrog Scribble and Write

Although I feel that my daughter is a little too young for writing, the LeapFrog Scribble and Write is a great first step.  It's a way for children to learn about letters and shapes.  It helps them eventually learn to draw and/or write by tracing.  This is actually the second toy of this nature that we've purchased.  The first one we bought, which was not by LeapFrog, was ... well not my or my daughter's favorite.  So we got this one, and we love it!

5.  Melissa & Doug Food Groups

This box of "food" we just purchased for our Nutrition theme.  And it's no surprise that we love it (I really love almost all Melissa & Doug products).  My daughter enjoys her play kitchen, so although we haven't gotten into the four food groups, yet, she likes putting this food in the oven and the microwave.  We will at some point talk about the food groups and how there's more than just the rice group, but for now these are great for pretend play.

Wow, that's five already.  Well five is good ... but six is better.  So here's one more:

6.  Colorfelts Play Boards - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I chose this one (even though I still have a lot of other ones in my head) because one of my favorite things when I worked in daycare was our felt board.  It was great making different felt pieces, and using the board during story time.  It's something that I don't see too often anymore.  Not only do I enjoy the felt story board, but I also really enjoy Eric Carle stories.  So this Colorfelts Play Board is a favorite!

And here's one more because this one was so close to making the top six, I just had to add it.

7.  Melissa & Doug Wooden Shape Sorting Clock

My daughter's favorite question lately is "What time is it"?  That may be because of this Melissa & Doug Clock.  And not only is it a "clock", but it is a shape sorter, too.

And here's one more (really this is the last one).

8.  Green Toys Tea Set

I'm all about being green these days, so I love all these "Green Toys" (not that we have all of them), but we do have the tea set.  And by year's end, we will probably have the Recycle Truck because personally I love the recycle truck.

So happy holidays and happy .... shopping!

- Michelle