Sneak Peek at the Hottest New Toys for the Holidays

“The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.” – Unknown… I might technically, age-wise, be considered what you call an “adult” – but I definitely don’t consider myself a grown up. No way. Becoming a mom was the best thing that ever happened to me in so many ways – especially because it gave me an excuse to play with toys again :) I seriously love picking out new toys for the playroom – and I’m not sure who has more fun playing with them – me or the kids! So, I was crazy-excited to get an invite last month to visit Sweet Suite ’13 while in Chicago for BlogHer, and get an inside look at all of the coolest new toys arriving on store shelves this holiday season. And of course, I’m here to share that inside peek with you guys too – Keep reading to see some of my favorites…

Skylanders SWAP Force

Ok, you might already know what a big fan I am of Activision… I loved being a part of the Activision Family Game Summit a while back, and love that they create so many great games that are perfect for families to play together. So when I stopped by their booth at Sweet Suite and they showed me their new Skylanders SWAP Force gear coming out soon, I just HAD to try them out on their big screen TV! The boys in my house are huge Skylanders fans – and these are definitely going to be a big hit this fall. I love that they’re a budget-friendly way to buy game characters – just a few of them can mix and match into a ton of cool characters for super cool game play!

My Girl’s Doll house

Seriously – this is so amazing. I’d been emailing with these ladies a bit before the event, and was super excited to see the doll house in real life… And I was NOT disappointed! I am a serious doll house lover – when I was younger, I used to make houses… When I was really little, I would create accessories and furniture from random things – I’d clip the newspaper into small squares to fold into dolly newspapers, paint empty thread spools and trim them in ribbon and lace to use as end tables, or cut and glue cardboard into cool new furniture. Then as I grew into middle school, I built doll houses – the ones from kits. I absolutely adored putting it all together. There was a supply store that would give me wallpaper display scraps, carpet remnants, and other odds and ends, so I could use them to decorate my homes. So – one of the things that I think is so super cool about the My Girl’s Dollhouse is that you can totally customize the design! You choose the style of house – from Cape Code to Country French – and then mix and match wall coverings, floorings and more – until you have created the perfect dream house. And not only is it made to order – but it’s also a piece that feels like real furniture. This is a serious heirloom house that you’ll use for years, and hand down to other lucky little girls too!

Disney Princess Castle and App from Disney Publishing

Speaking of doll houses… Do you remember the Disney Princess Party that we had recently, for Abby’s big birthday bash? If so, then you already know how much we looooove Disney Princesses! So I was totally intrigued to check out this new dollhouse that combined the fun of playing with princess dolls, and the cool high-tech interaction of a princess app. The video explains it perfectly – and after seeing it in action at the event, I can tell ya – little girls everywhere are going to fall in love with this!! It just adds another super fun layer of play to an already gorgeous princess castle.

World’s Tallest Toy Train – from Chuggington

How fun is this?? They used the Chuggington StackTrack pieces to build the world’s tallest toy train – it was HUGE! The Chuggington sets all work together, and can stack on top of each other and still stay sturdy – if they can build THIS, then anything your kid’s imaginations come up with is doable too!

Razor Scooters – Drifter Cart

My nephews are HUGE fans of the Razor scooters – I can’t even count how many I have on my back porch right now. So, when I had the chance at Sweet Suite to take a test drive in these new Razor Ground Force Drifter Kart, of course I had to take them for a spin! They’re a higher-price item – but are so well made, I’m sure you’ll get years of fun out of these bad boys. And if Auntie Meagan were to get a couple of these for Christmas – I’d for sure be the favorite in the family for years :)

TinkerToy – New and Improved

I am so in love with the new version of TinkerToy – seriously! These were one of my faves as a kid – and now that they’re updated into sleek plastic pieces that fit together and really stay together, they’re even more fun. Check out a video of Abby and I playing with them, and the fun you can create – TinkerToys in action

New LeapFrog Toys for the Holidays

I’m a huge fan of LeapFrog toys – we have the LeapPad, the books and maps and interactive pen, the Scout puppy – so many cool interactive learning toys for the kids. I’d heard a little bit about the new LeapFrog LeapPad Ultra Learning Tablet – but wasn’t sure how it would really be all that different from our LeapPad we have now. Well – the big hit for me is that it’s got wifi – no more searching for the cord to connect it to my laptop every time we want to add new games and apps. It also comes with a high-res screen, parental controls, peer-to-peer play {perfect for siblings!} – and a built-in rechargeable battery!

Doc McStuffins new line of toys

Ok… I saved my favorite for last :) We are SUCH fans of Doc McStuffins. Abby started having a seizure disorder about a year ago. After a huge series of ambulance rides, hospital stays, follow up appointments, and seeing specialists over at Seattle Children’s Hospital – she was awfully nervous and wary of doctors. But the introduction of Doc McStuffins made a huge difference in her life… Suddenly, going to the doctor wasn’t so scary anymore! {It doesn’t hurt that her amazing pediatrician looks exactly like a grown-up Doc :)} She has to give us all a check up anytime someone gets any kind of bump or boo boo, and even has a playtime veteranarian set to take of her furr babies too. I loved getting a chance to chat at the Doc McStuffins booth – {that’s me, all the way to the right} and was so totally in love with all of the new toys for fall – watch the video below to see more!

The Doc is in!

When chatting here with Robin here, she told me how Doc McStuffins almost didn’t make it to TV. The TV execs had huge hopes for Sophia the First {which is adorable too} – but weren’t really sure how little ones would react to a female doctor character like Doc. But obviously we all know now that she is a total hit! I totally love the check up table playstation – I got some time to play with it at Sweet Suite, and it’s just so much fun. And I adore the set with the Doc doll and smaller check up table – the way the characters talk and interact are just so sweet. I’ve got all of this on Abby’s Christmas list this year!

Thanks for reading!

I absolutely LOVED my time at Sweet Suite ’13 – brought to you by the Big Toy Book. And I hope you loved seeing a little peek inside the world of the coolest new toys… Stay tuned for a part two next week, since I still have LOADS more cool stuff to show you!

Let’s Chat: What are your favorite kids toys? Fave brands, characters, or types of toys? Anything you’d love to see me feature here? Or, what were your fave toys as a kiddo? Leave me some comments below – I love hearing from you guys!

Want to see more of the Coolest Kids Toys? Check out my super cool Pinterest board.