New Brand: Journey's Edge

Hey everyone,

We have a new brand listed on our site. The name of the company is Journey's Edge, and although they only have a couple of items out of the gate, they look like fun science kits. Not sure what they have coming down the pipeline, but check out their initial product offering. I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Check Out Journey's Edge Now!

Hello Again!

Wow...it's been an insanely long time since posting. The kids got sick, then I got sick, and then they got sick again. But, now I'm back.

And, now that my head is out of a cold medicine fog, I realized this morning that I need to buy fun gift for a friend of my daughter's who is turning 4. This little girl loves Hannah Montana and High School Musical, which means that every present she gets at her party will be Hannah Montana or High School Musical themed. I'd rather get her something different. Here are some of the gifts I'm thinking of getting for her.

Paddock Pals Glamour Girls Ranch by Breyer: This is a great gift for girls who like horses and who like to play with small dolls (think Polly Pockets). It comes with horses, a rider, accessories...oh, and it's purple. Lots of girl appeal with this toy!

Explore the Mystery of Color by Scientific Explorer: This is a great science kit that explains colors to kids in a fun, interactive way. Kids will learn about why rainbows appear in the sky, how our eyes see colors, how colors blend to form new colors, and more. This science kit would be a great activity for kids and parents to play with together.

Bunny Hop by Educational Insights: As you already know, I'm a sucker for a good game. This game is from the maker of Blokus, and it's a blast for the whole family to play. The object is for each player to collect 1 bunny of each color; the first one to do so wins. It sounds simple, but this game is great at helping kids grow their memory skills and to learn their colors.

Lab of Luxury Fun Science Kit by Be Amazing: My daughter's friend loves to play dress up and to play with her Mom's makeup, so I think this might be the perfect present for her. It will let her make her own fun play makeup while teaching her about science.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone out there. I hope you had a great holiday season and that you got everything you wanted! If not, I'll be back in a couple of days with some good ideas for how to spend that Christmas money.

Until then, Happy New Year!

Happy Belated Christmas????

So we all have people that we'll forget to buy a present for. That, or even worse, someone will hand you a gift and you won't have one to give them in return. Yeah, that's ALWAYS uncomfortable. Here are some cool gift ideas for all your last minute, belated Christmas needs:

Automoblox Minis: Automoblox are hot...the minis are even hotter. The supply on these is limited, so if you want one, be sure to get them now! And you can even use the excuse that this present is late because it is in such high demand (and that's technically not a lie).

Millennium PTU: This rotary-powered transportation unit (or flying robot guy, as I like to call him) rocks. He's easy to fly, inexpensive, and a fun toy for anyone 13 and older. Even your hardest to buy for relative will have a blast playing with the PTU.

SkyScout Personal Planetarium: So this is quite possibly the coolest item we offer, and we have TONS of cool stuff. The SkyScout is GPS enabled. You take it outside at night, point it at a celestial object, push a button, and you are told what you are looking at. Think you are looking at Orion's Belt? Bam...wrong...it's the Little Dipper. One of the coolest features is Tonight's Highlights, which is a customized list of the 20 best objects to view for your exact date, time and location anywhere in the world. This is a present with serious WOW factor.

Desktop Sandboxes: These sandboxes are great for anyone stuck at their desk all day. Sure, kids would like them too. But for those of us who stare at a computer screen all day, sometimes a little play break is necessary. The Sand Trap Golf sandbox is fun for your favorite golfer. Have a sister who still fancies herself a princess? Get her the Princess Dreams sandbox. I personally am a fan of the Mermaid & Friends sandbox.

If those ideas aren't enough, let me know...I can give you more!

Game On

I am a game nerd. I admit it. I have 35 different games at home (I counted this weekend). Some get played more than others, obviously. But I love games, and no matter how many I have, I always have new ones on my Christmas and Birthday lists. Here are a few that I have my eye on this year:

Blokus: This game has won more awards than I have time to type out. Everyone from MENSA to Parents Choice has selected this game as a winner. I love games that involve strategic thinking; but, even better, the rules are supposedly very easy to understand. I'd rather spend what time I have playing the game rather than reading the instructions.

Labyrinth: This was one of my favorite games as a kid. I could waste hours trying to get that little ball through the maze of holes. I'd much rather play this game by myself than a game of solataire any day of the week. Since I was unable to convince my parents to give up their "classic" Labyrinth game, maybe they'll be kind enough to purchase this one for me this Christmas.

Chutes & Ladders: So, you were either a Chutes & Ladders kid or a Candyland kid. You might like both, but you definitely favored one over the other. I was a Chutes & Ladders kid. My 4-year old is currently a Candyland kid, but she's never played Chutes & Ladders. I'm hoping to get this classic edition for Christmas and convert her. We'll see...that Peppermint Stick Forest is pretty tempting.

Discovery Edition Wordspot: This game is a new spin on a word-find game. Players get to find hidden words within the board. I love word-find games, and I love Scrabble...this seems like a great combination of the two!

If you want any great game gifts ideas, just post a comment. Game nerd=tons of game ideas!

The "Classics"

I think one of the biggest perks for those of us with children is that we get to play with toys again! We can say that we are playing with Barbies or coloring with our kids to make the kids happy, but let's be honest. Really, we adults get to have a ton of fun playing with toys or coloring in a coloring book.

I have been thrilled this season to see some fun toys out in the market that I played with as a kid. Some people like to call these toys the "classics," but that equates to "old" in my mind...and I'm not ready to go there yet!

Here are some of the toys I've seen that we all had a blast playing with in our youth. Check them out...just be sure to let your kids have a turn playing with these once in a while!

• Deluxe Spirograph: Just like the Spirograph you played with, but now in Deluxe form (i.e. it offers even more stuff to do)!
• Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots: Toy robots that beat each other up? Does it GET any better than that?
• Shrink Art: It's still a ton of fun to color the pictures, put them in the oven, and watch them as they shrink. And unlike the version we had as kids (you'd shrink them, but then what could you do with them???), you can now make jewelry out of your artwork.
• Chutes & Ladders: This is still one of the best games out there. And this Collector Series version makes a great gift for anyone with young kids.
• Rubik's Cube: If you still haven't beaten it, now's your chance!
• Connect Four: Sorry for the bad pun, but this is a great way to "connect" with your kids and teach them about strategy at the same time. I had a great time playing this with my nieces and nephews over Thanksgiving weekend.
• Jacks: Yes, jacks are fun. If you think otherwise and that they are only meant for those born in the 1910s, that means you have never played them. This is truly an addictive game.

I could go on and on, but instead, I'll let you browse the HorizonPlay.com Classic Toys & Games store for yourself. Have fun playing!

This Toy Roks

A bunch of people at work recently told me about a brand we carry called Rokenbok. From their description, I just assumed that Rokenbok was standard, plastic construction blocks. I admit that I didn't quite get their enthusiasm. I decided to check out one of the Rokenbok items we carry at Horizon Hobby to see why people are raving about this toy.

I decided to play with the Conveyor Company Start Set. And let me tell you, the description of Rokenbok being a "construction toy" simply did NOT do it justice. The Conveyor Company Start Set was easy to set up and had tons of action. You can drive the RC Loader Vehicle and pick up a truck-load of Rokenbok Rok Balls. You can then unload the Rok Balls into the loading bucket, watch as they automatically go up the motorized conveyor belt, and then marvel as they get sorted into different buckets. My four year old loved this toy...it was really easy for her to play with after a 1 minute tutorial session. (But, grownups, trust me...you will have just as much fun with this toy as your kids will...I couldn't keep my coworkers away from it!)

Rokenbok is a line of construction system building sets that feature radio controlled cars, trucks, and more. Kids can start with the basic sets and progress and advance as they get older. The imaginative play opportunities with this brand of toys is limitless. Rokenbok has won tons of toy industry awards, and I totally get why!