Puzzles = Family Fun Time!

Puzzles are a staple to our indoor activities. Not only are they fun but they help children learn to solve problems. Watching Miss E manipulate the pieces and determine their correct place, I can just see her "flexing" her fine motor skills. Puzzles also help children learn the value of persistence. Nothing is more frustrating to me than to hear "I can't do it" after only a single attempt. (In fact we have banned the word "can't" in our house!). Working on a puzzle also helps children understand the concept that whole objects are also made up of parts.

We received our first Mudpuppy puzzle last summer, and it quickly became a favorite. Mudpuppy children's puzzles are designed to entertain kids and to help them learn. The designs are bright and fun for children and are created by incredible artists. They also offer puzzles for all ages. In honor of America's birthday on July 4th our featured product is the USA 63 piece puzzle featuring whimsical illustrations by Johnny Yanok.

As part of the Kobold Toys 'Beat the Heat" campaign, you can receive 10% off your purchase of the USA puzzle, as well as any other Mudpuppy item, with the code 7DZJD2. Other Kobold and family favorites include the zoo block puzzle and the new magnetic figures like the "at the Stable" magnetic set.

Kobold Toys wishes you and your family a Happy 4th of July weekend! Have fun learning!

Georgia on My Mind

My family just returned from ten days in Southwest Georgia visiting Papa Charlie and Mimsi. My daughter LOVES it there. Miss E goes fishing, golf cart riding, swimming, and horseback riding. She caught frogs. She rescued a baby blue bird. She caught a huge brim (that is a fish) with her new Spiderman fishing pole. She ran and laughed with her cousins and uncles. It is wonderful to watch the joy on their faces – and I mean on both the faces of the grandparents and my children.

While my daughter was out playing explorer, my son discovered his gastronomic roots. He ate his way through delicious Southern food every day (honestly, we all did - only he did not gain five pounds). Mimsi is a wonderful cook and Papa is an incredible griller. If you like fresh tomatoes, fried okra, white acre peas, ribs, cornbread (in the cast iron skillet of course), peaches, corn, grits and fattening appetizers named “puffs,” then Georgia is for you. Krystal hamburgers, some delicious pastry with cheese and sausage we call the “Moultrie surprise,” the peach shake from Chick-fil-a, pimento cheese and oatmeal cookies from Tommy Mac’s… it was all so mouth watering!

Now at home, my children are back into their little kitchen whipping up meals “Mimsi” style, complete with grits and fried okra. My husband and I are trying to come up with the workout schedule to shed the results of healthy Southern dining!

In honor of our favorite Mimsi meals, Kobold Toys celebrates our favorite play kitchen and food toys.

PlanToys offers a wonderful selection of kitchen toys from their kitchen center and refrigerator to their breakfast tray (minus grits!). Kobold Toys also offers their pretend fruits and vegetables, cooking utensils and dining ware.



Kobold Toys recently added some of HABA's pretend food to our "pantry" of food toys. In addition to the adorable cook bear apron and oven mitts, you can find a grill set, grilled chicken (with removable drumsticks), sweet pastries and black forest cake.



If you child is more into real baking, Little Gourmet offers the cutie cupcake set, baking equipment, aprons and the stainless steel cooking set for the discriminating chef.

Thank you, family, for a fun and yummy vacation. Like the country duet Sugarland sings, “Who says you can’t go home?!” Thank goodness I can.

See y’all soon! ~ Ashley

Color Me Happy! Faber-Castell

I am visiting my family in South Georgia this week, and it is HOT. Seriously hot. We are definitely exploring ways we can beat the heat with indoor activities, so this week's campaign celebrates Faber-Castell!

Faber-Castell was founded more than 240 years ago in Germany as a pencil manufacturer. Today Faber-Castell is world renowned for its high quality, professional art supplies. The safety of their products is of paramount importance. At all stages of development and production, the safety and the quality of their products is a primary consideration, and the result of this is a 31 year track record of excellent performance without recall or safety issues.

Kobold Toys' pick of the week is the Faber-Castell Premium Art Gift Set. The set includes: 12 Oil Pastels, 24 Colored Pencils, 12 Glitter Dough, 6 Broadline Markers, Modeling Clay, 10 Sheets of Watercolor Paper, 14 Fineline Markers, 10 Sheets Drawing Paper, 8 Watercolor Pencils, 1 Paintbrush and and a Sharpener. Everything is organized in a sturdy wooden box with removable trays and metal latch closure. The perfect gift for your budding artist!

As part of our summer 'Beat the Heat" campaign, you can receive 10% off your purchase of the Premium Art Gift Set, as well as any other Faber-Castell item, with the code JLJXT. Other Kobold favorites include the erasable crayons and the glitter modeling dough.

Stay cool, especially if you are in South Georgia, with creative ideas from Kobold Toys. Happy Coloring!

Ooh La La! "Beat the Heat" with Corolle!

Week 2 of our "Beat the Heat" campaign features Corolle Dolls. Corolle is a prestige brand known for creating dolls that look and feel as real as possible, and they consistently demonstrate a commitment to safety and quality. Since its founding in 1979, Corolle has won more than 30 international awards for design and play excellence, including two DOTY awards (Doll of the Year) as well as awards from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Dr. Toy and National Parenting Publications (NAPPA), among others.

Our product of the week is the Paul Drink-and-Wet Bath Baby. This charming all-vinyl baby doll drinks and wets and loves to take a bath! Anatomically correct, Paul is an excellent potty-training aid, too. He comes complete with four accessories: blue potty, pacifier, feeding bottle and disposable diaper.

In my opini0n, Corolle dolls are the most beautiful dolls on the market. Although my house hosts more dinosaurs and pirates than dolls, the three we have are by Corolle, and both my son and daughter love to pretend play with them in between rocket launches and zoo escapes. This week you can purchase Paul Drink-and-Wet Bath Baby and any other Corolle products and receive a 10% discount when you use the code 979HFM at check-out.

Kobold Toys offers a variety of Corolle dolls and accessories. The Corolle Rag Doll is all-cloth and machine washable -- perfect first doll for little hands. Already have a doll lover? Add to the collection with fashionable clothes, diaper bags and a stroller.

A Corolle doll is a wonderful addition to your child's collection of pretend play toys and is a perfect gift for all ages. And, don't forget that Kobold Toys also offers free shipping for orders over $40!

Ideas for Father's Day

Father's Day is fast approaching, and if you are like me you are trying to come up with an idea that does not involve golf balls, blue shirts, or pictures of the kids on mugs. Shopping for the men on my list is NOT easy. Not because they would not love and appreciate more golf balls, more shirts and more pictures of the children, but because I am bored of the same old thing! The team at Kobold Toys happily offers some new suggestions for the Dads, Pops and PaPas on your list.

For the "Crafty Dad" we recommend the Made by Me Kit. This kit comes with four natural wood vehicles (train, tugboat, truck and tractor) that a child would love to put together and decorate with his/her favorite father or grandfather.

For the Game and Puzzle Lover...anything from Ravensburger! The Earthball is a unique three-dimensional puzzle that inspires a world of wonder among both kids and adults. It's specially crafted from sturdy, curved plastic pieces that fit securely in place to form a round, smooth ball. Cool! Once completed, proudly display it anywhere using the included sturdy metal V-shaped stand.

Maybe your spouse or parent wants to unleash their inner Paul Cézanne. Start them off with the Faber-Castell water color brush and paint set. Don't forget the water color pad and the art lessons at the local school or museum!

Have a Dad with a need for speed? Give him the 4M Propeller Racer. Dad and child can construct a propeller racer car with this 4M fun mechanics kit and watch as it blazes a path over smooth surfaces.

My husband is very adept at catching flies. It is inevitable that with two small children going in and out to the backyard that a fly makes his way into our home. My daughter and I do not like flies. at. all. Lucky for all of us I am married to a man who rivals Mr. Miyagi (think Karate Kid). If you married a man who is bug phobic, Kobold suggests the Grab-a-Bug. He can catch the bug, pretend to study it, and then happily release it into the wild without touching it.

The good thing about Dads (or at least my husband, my dad and my father-in-law) is that they just love the "love" on Father's Day and any day for that matter! Gifts or no gifts, don't forget to give the Dads in your life a big hug and a big thank you on June 21st!

Have a great week!

Note to family members who read this blog: The adorable PlanToys grandfather pictured here is in no way representative of Pop or Papa C!

Kobold's Beat the Heat Campaign!

Summer is here (unless you live in the DC metro area, then some strange monsoon season is here)! The worst words a parent can hear are "I am bored." To help you and your beloved "Beat the Heat" and have the most fun under the sun in the coming months, each Wednesday Kobold Toys will feature a favorite toy for the week. For one week you can receive a 10% discount on that item as well as any other item from that brand.

In yesterday's blog, we talked about Sleestaks and crystals from the TV show amd film Land of the Lost. We are kicking off our summer campaign with the Crystal Mining Set by 4M.

Since its inception in 1993, 4M specializes in producing creative play things for curious kids. Their team is dedicated to the development of fascinatingly creative and stimulating products which enliven kid's natural curiosity, giving them the opportunity to experiment in an exciting, but safe way; and more important, to inspire children's thoughts and experiences beyond even their own wildest dreams.

The 4M products range in price from $7.00 to $15.99. These are terrific birthday gifts for all ages! This week you can purchase the crystal mining set or any other cool products by 4M and receive a 10% discount when you use the code AVX2GF at check-out. Kobold Toys also offers free shipping for orders over $40!

Have fun learning and check back next Wednesday for the next toy of the week!

Land of the Lost- Yikes!

Although I am one of those Moms that rarely has the chance to see a movie at the theatre, I have definitely been inspired by the summer releases these past weeks. I remember watching the wacky reruns of the TV show Land of the Lost with my brother. I didn't understand the existence of the Sleestaks. They were so slow and so inept at the use of the crossbow, one would have thought the dinosaurs would have devoured them in no time. There was also the strange little monkey boy. A little creepy... The Marshall family also struck me as some odd ducks. I have to admit I preferred the Lost in Space wackadoodles (aka the Robinson family) to the Marshalls. At least Penny was smart, and they had a cool robot. It is true that if a movie date arises, Land of the Lost is not high on the list; however, the summer movie "du jour" does let us celebrate some of Kobold's favorite toys. If you must see the film with your children, you can help revive some brain cells by linking learning to some of the key plot points.

Dinosaurs are prevalent in Land of the Lost. From the move previews I have seen, Rick Marshall is very misinformed about the T-rex. Be a paleontologist, dig and excavate the skeleton of the gigantic animals which hunted the Marshall family with the Dig-a-Dino kit. Assemble the skeletons. Pose it and display it. It's so cool!Each kit contains a plaster block with the skeletons buried, a special digging tool, a brush and display platform with with fun facts about the related dinosaur and Kidz Quiz (10 questions and answers about dinosaurs).

In addition to smoldering volcanoes and the dangerous jungle, the Marshall family also had to contend with giant insect men. Turn your child into a naturalist with the Bug Hut. The Bug Hut makes a beautiful home for any (size appropriate) bug children can find!

Crystals are a very important feature of the Land of the Lost TV show. I never understood why. Maybe if I had the 4M Crystal Mining Set I could have had a deeper appreciation of their role. The crystal mining set contains 1 plaster block with 8 natural crystals buried inside, 1 specially designed digging tool, 1 brush, 1 magnifier, 1 set display case with cover and base card, 1 pouch bag and detailed instructions with fun facts.

I referenced the strange monkey boy and the Sleestaks. All I can say is they were very interesting creatures. If your child likes the "strange," then try the Mudpuppy Monster Magnetic Toy. With mysterious backgrounds like haunted houses and alien planets and over 40 imaginative monster parts, you have everything you need to create scary, funny, and totally crazy monsters (like those that dominated 60s and 70s television shows).

Rick, Will and Holly Marshall found themselves in the Land of the Lost after a routine expedition went awry. Adventure is fun- but it can be short-lived if you don't have the necessary skills and knowledge to stay alive! Have fun learning!~ Ashley