Archive for the ‘The Toy Insider Mom (Laurie)’ Category
SPRING INTO SUMMER WITH TOP FUN IN THE SUN TOYS!
Monday, April 29th, 2013
The Toy Insider Mom Gets Retro on the Today Show
Monday, April 15th, 2013This morning, Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shared retro toys that make you feel like a kid again on the Today Show. Check out the video below!
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Do you remember these toys and characters?
(Click on the product link to go to the product page on the Big Toy Book for more info!)
1990s
Gosei Great Megazord (Bandai)
Power Rangers 6.5” Morphin Ranger Figures (Bandai)
Deluxe Gosei Morpher (Bandai)
1980s
Cabbage Patch Kids (Jakks Pacific)
Smurf Beach (Mega)
Gooage Spewing Pac-Man (Bandai)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutage Ooze Action Figures and Ooze Cannisters (Playmates)
1970s
Star Wars Anakin to Darth Vader Action Figure (Hasbro)
Battroborg (TOMY)
1960s
Spirograph (Kahootz)
RoseArt Extreme 3-D Spin Art (Rose Art)
Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven (Hasbro)
Mega Bloks Hot Wheels (Mega)
Rock Crawler Extreme (Maisto)
1950s
Play-Doh Frosting Fun Bakery Playset (Hasbro)
10″ Potholder Pro Loom – Pro Size (Harrisville Designs)
Early 1900s
Lincoln Logs Horseshoe Hill Station (K’Nex)
Tinkertoy Transit Building Set (K’Nex)
Tinkertoy 100 Piece Essentials Building Set (K’Nex)
1890s
Berg Buddy (Berg Toys)
BERG Extra AF Sport (Berg Toys)
Craft Toys on the Today Show
Thursday, March 7th, 2013What crafts do you like to do with your kids?
The Toy Insider Mom shared her favorite new craft toys on the Today Show yesterday. Check out the video below!
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
The Toy Insider Mom Shows Off Toy Fair Finds on GMA Live
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
The Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shows some of her favorite finds from Toy Fair 2013 in NYC with Good Morning America Live.
A Day at Toy Fair with the Toy Insider Mom
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013Last week at Toy Fair, our Toy Insider Mom, Laurie Schacht, took ABC World News Now around the Expo floor showing them some of the cool new toys coming out this year.
Just Playing Around
Friday, February 8th, 2013With Barbie’s Dream House on the market for $25 million dollars, she needed a little help moving all those boxes. Luckily, our Toy Insider Mom was at Mattel to help!
Any takers on the house?
Meanwhile, our editor-in-chief Jackie Breyer made some friends with Activision’s Skylanders!
And Playmates found their two newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles recruits in Jackie and Laurie.
The Toy Insider Visits Grand Central for Woman’s Day’s Make It A Woman’s Day Event
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
The Toy Insider booth at Woman’s Day‘s Make It A Woman’s Day event in Grand Central
Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht demonstrates toys and shares giveaways with the crowd
Activision showed off their new Skylander’s Giants games at a neighboring booth
Attendees entered The Toy Insider‘s sweepstakes to win $500 worth of toys
Toy Insider Mom’s Interactive and Educational Toys Ages 9+
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shared interactive and educational toys for ages 9+ with Grandparents.com’s Toy & Gift Finder. Unsure what to buy? Here are her suggestions:
With the grossest, most revolting science kit out there, Scientific Explorer’s Disgusting Science, kids can discover what creatures live on them by collecting bacteria from their toes, nose, home or pets. And then they can watch what cultures grow! They can also make fake blood, mucus, and a smelly intestine while learning about science.
Y-Fliker by Yvolution is the hottest new scooter out there! The Y-Flikers’ innovative three-wheeled light is powered when kids scoot, and side to side motion propels the scooter forward. The convenient built-in hand brake offers a safe and easy way to stop. Folding arm for easy travel & storage There are two versions, Y-Fliker F1 for ages 5 and up, Y-Fliker 3 for ages 7 and up.
We know kids love iHome Fashion Headphones especially when they match the rest of their gear, and these headphones look as great as they sound. Kids will flip for them!
Millions of plankton live in oceans, lakes, and ponds. Kids can toss the GeoSafari Plankton Net by Educational Insigts into any salt or fresh water body of water, sweep back and forth to collect plankton and lift the net to examine them in a transparent bottle. This toy encourages exploration and discovery.
Kids today want real tablets like mom and dad’s. The Kurio7 by Techno Source is a real Android tablet for families that offers parents a more affordable kid-tough option and complete parental control—everything from Internet access and time control, to app access and purchasing control. Parents can create up to 8 different user profiles, and customize profiles for each child allowing access to age appropriate content—as the child gets older, they can allow for more access.
For more gift ideas for other age groups, check out Laurie’s suggestions for kids 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8!
Toy Insider Mom’s Interactive and Educational Toys Ages 6-8
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shared interactive and educational toys for ages 6-8 with Grandparents.com’s Toy & Gift Finder. Unsure what to buy? Here are her suggestions:
There are so many backpacks to choose from….The reason we chose this Monster High Backpack from Mattel: it has everything parents/grandparents should look for. It’s lightweight, has padded straps and padded back for comfort and stability, has a roomy main section plus space for additional accessories, and is reasonably priced. The other thing that really sold us: the brand promotes an anti-bullying message that kids and adults will appreciate.
Now girls can express who they are and their personal style by decorating their lockers to fit their personality with Locker Rockers from Wish Factory! With four different themes “Glam Rock,” “Beach Crush,” “Bohemian Spirit,” and “Scribbles Beat”, collections include locker lamps, rugs, mirrors, wallpaper, and more.
Heroes and villains battle their way, spinning and crashing, Marvel BonkaZonks by Hasbro. Each BonkaZonks 4-PACK comes with three figures—featuring edgy art of favorite Marvel superheroes like Spiderman, Ironman and Wolverine—and one hidden figure, plus a stunt card with an online code to unlock more fun. The Face Case comes with four figures and display tray in kids character of choice.
Easy to understand, PlaSmart’s Hiccups offers frustratingly-good fun! Kids try to pass the ball sequentially from cup to cup without a hiccup. If they drop the ball, they start back at the beginning. Provides hours of fun for all!
La Dee Da by Spin Master is a new fashion doll based in the heart of New York City. Dee is the lead doll in the La Dee Da collection and she and her talented friends go to design school where they design outrageous outfits. Available separately: a La Dee Dah Sketchbook for girls to create their own fashion pieces.
The Encyclopedia Britannica U.S. Talking Puzzle from Tek Nek Toys has a voice that identifies the state name, capital city and nickname for each of the 50 states. With over 150 sound effects and learning opportunities, this electronic puzzle is sure to expand kids’ geographical knowledge in a fun way.
For girls who love to build and create, LEGO Friends Heartlake Stables is one of the most researched and exciting launches this year. Heartlake Stables is the adventures of 5 girls who live, work and play in Heartlake City. Includes 2 mini-doll figures, 2 horses, barn, stables and more. 416 pieces in all.
For more gift ideas for other age groups, check out Laurie’s suggestions for kids 0-2, 3-5, and 9+!
Toy Insider Mom’s Interactive and Educational Toys Ages 3-5
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shared interactive and educational toys for ages 3-5 with Grandparents.com’s Toy & Gift Finder. Unsure what to buy? Here are her suggestions:
An amazing array of colors will magically appear just by using one pen on these cool Wild Notes Index Cards from Crayola. The convenient spiral-binding at the top allows for easy flipping and the perforated cards allow for clean tear-out. These creative note cards are designed for both fun and learning!
Extreme InterAction Alvin-Alvin comes to life around his Dinosaur Train InterAction friends from Tomy; when one of them says the InterAction trigger word, Alvin crouches down low then launches forward at them. Complete with more than 50 fun dino sounds and phrases, Alvin takes InterAction to the extreme!
Kids can take their A-Game everywhere with this Go Sport Basketball Backpack from Neat-Oh!. Ruggedly built to tackle the books, it also makes free time–game time! It has padded pocket for MP3 player and a pass-through for headphones; pocket for water bottle and extra padding for back support too. Best of all: It includes a fabric handle that fits over a door knob and a net hoop so kids can hang and shoot any time! Includes hoop, net and 3″ basketball.
The Tag Reading System from LeapFrog is designed to help young children learn to read by using the small infared camera in the tag pen. The pen reads letters, words and pictures to the children and is designed to introduce nearly 40 essential Kindergarten skills. Includes: early number sense, comparing sets, science, social studies, and activity pages that teach sounds, phonics, word building and more.
This adorable Let’s Play School playset from Nenuco comes with everything kids need to be the best school teacher ever. Includes lesson plans to create a daily schedule, a bell, teacher glasses stickers, makers a toddler girl doll and more.
The Spider-Man Chair Desk from Delta is the perfect place for your little one to color, play or study! The seat opens to reveal storage space for supplies. For younger kids, they can pretend to be like their older siblings in school…and school age kids will love doing their homework here.
For more gift ideas for other age groups, check out Laurie’s suggestions for kids 0-2, 6-8, and 9+!
