Outdoor Play Toys

Kids are curious – and that is something that parents should constantly encourage and nurture as their child grows. The more they are encouraged to explore and investigate their environment, the more they will learn in a fun way.

National Geographic products are the perfect toy for the more science and nature oriented child. The collection features kids metal Detectors, microscopes for kids, kid friendly telescopes and more. Everything your budding scientist needs to spend hours outside exploring nature!

Outdoor Play Toys is proud to now be a retailer for this great line of products!

Shop for National Geographic Toys!

Unfortunately, this is one of those things that you really need to see in person to appreciate! This one of our fave finds at the Toy Fair this year and I am pretty sure it will be on of yours too if you give it a try!

Can you guess what it does? You got it! It colors the water in your bath – or if you are an Outdoor Play Toy friend – your pool water can make amazing colors too! Have a child who hates bath time – we bet this will change their mind!

The color tablets can be combined to make multiple colors, are made in America, are completely safe and non-staining and best yet – eco-friendly! The fizzies will make them giggle and the color will make them laugh…..after all shouldn’t bath and pool time be fun?!?!

Check them out at Color My Bath.

Kids want to make money too – and there is no better past time than the Lemonade Stand for the little ones to start their own business.

An old fashioned past time with a modern twist – this Wooden Lemonade Stand from Quality Time Construction will have your little entrepreneur running a successful business in no time!

Every Portable Wood Lemonade Stand can be customized with the included chalk and stickers, or feel free to be really creative and use paints and stencils to create a stand that is as unique as your child.

Whether selling lemonade at the curb, cookies on the baseball field or whatever niche your child is interested, this portable stand will be a great asset to their business!

Quality Time Construction also will be releasing a Portable Wood Kids Workbench and Portable Wooden Activity Center in the coming months as well!

We had the thrill of attending the NY Toy Fair the last few days and found some amazing products! This list is actually a list of the the Award Winners from the Toy Industry – called the TOTYs (Toy of the Year).

1. Toy of the Year (GRAND PRIZE!) Sing-A-Ma-Jigs by Fisher Price.

These adorable plush dolls sing, chatter and even harmonize with each other. You can change modes by pressing their left arm and control tone by pressing tummies. These are just plain fun and are available in 12 different styles.  The Sing-A-Ma-Jigs also took home the Innovative Toy of the Year and Preschool Toy of the Year Awards – so yes, it is that good!

2. Activity Toy of the Year: Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio

Not only can the kids color in their story, but with a choice of over 60 different sounds, then can assign sounds, create stories and play them back! A full imagination station for your creative kid is what you get with the Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio

Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio

3. Boy Toy of The Year:  NERF N-Strike Stampede ECS Blaster

This is a fully automatic NERF Clip System Blaster. The Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS features a new pop-out bipod that also serves as a handle. It also comes with a shield that can be removed to use for different attack modes. High capacity clips can hold up to 18 darts!

Nerf N-Strike Stampede EDC Blaster - Photo: Hasbro

4. Girl Toy of the Year: Squinkies Cupcake Surprise! Bake Shop

Squinkies are adorable mini-dolls that come in plastic gumball bubbles. There are hundreds of different Squinkies to collect! The Squinkies Cupcake Surprise Bakeshop gives the Squinkies a fun place to play.

Squinkies Cupcake Surprise Bake Shop - Photo: Blip Toys

5. Educational Toy of the Year: Leapster Explorer Learning Experience

Leapster has a long reign of award winning products, and this year is no different. The LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System offers the greatest capacity for downloading applications for kids to enjoy and now features touch screen interactivity and the brightest screen they have made yet!

6. Electronic Game of the Year: Scrabble Flash

Take Scrabble add technology and you have a winner with this Scrabble Flash Cubes game!

Scrabble Flash - Photo: Hasbro

7. Infant Toy of The Year: My Own Leaptop by Leapfrog

Six learning activity centers, music, email and more fill out this fun LeapFrog My Own Leaptop laptop for the littlest computer lover.

My Own Leaptop - Photo: Leapfrog

8. Specialty Toy of The Year – HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set

The Specialty category accounts for the best toy distributed to specialty toy retailers. The Hexbug Nano Habitat Set
is designed to challenge a kids imagination! With the physics of vibration these Nanos explore the environment around them, entertaining children for hours.

Hexbug Nano Habitat Set - Photo: Innovation First Labs

and last but not least the

9. Outdoor Toy of the Year – the NERF Super Soaker Shot Blast

With a reach of 25 feet the Supersoaker Shotblast Water Blaster features a long capacity tank for continuous blasting and even includes a tactical rail to line up your shots to perfection!

NERF Super Soaker Shot Blast - Photo: Hasbro

The great thing about these awards for 2011 is that public online voting was taken into account for these winners. Meaning you know have input which makes the judging more relevant to everyday households! So these are all toy ideas that are sure to please!