BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Three of our beautiful Made in Europe toys are in this week's Toy Box. Up to 40% off!

Constructino from Selecta
reg $65.95 now $46.17

Fantasy Land Jigsaw Blocks from Haba
reg $65.95 now $49.46

Fire Truck from Vilac
reg $34.95 now $20.97

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Get up to 40% off on the toys for the week of Jan 30, 2012.

Jumbo ABC Chunky Puzzle from Melissa & Doug

reg $24.95 now $14.97

Bear Ahoy from Haba

reg $31.95 now $22.37


Activity Farm from Vilac
reg $49.95 now $34.97

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Up to 40% off on toys in the Toy Box the week of January 16, 2012:

Haba Splish Splash Playmat
reg $145.95 now $102.17

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Number Maze
reg $19.95 now $12.97

Plan Toys Stacking Clown
reg $24.95 now $14.97

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Toy Box for week of Jan 2, 2012:

Haba Curtains Rise Mobile
reg $54.95 now $32.97

Selecta Nico Pull Toy
reg $24.95 now $18.71

Manhattan Toy NooBoo See & Sound Mirror
reg $29.95 now $14.98

Deal of the Week - Haba Wrist Rattles

Our Collection of Wrist Rattles from Haba are now 30% Off!

With four different wrist rattles to choose from, you are sure to find one your little will love. A toy that is sure to keep your little one entertained whether they are sitting down, lying down or on the go.

Visit BabyThoughts.ca to see and shop our Haba Toy Collection

Fantasy Building

One of the best toys you can give a child is a set of blocks. Blocks are great at promoting the development of fine motor skills, imaginative play and creativity. They can also be used as educational tools for counting, sorting, pattern making, and learning shapes and colours.

The Haba building blocks certainly achieve all of the above and are sure to capture your child's imagination with their attention to detail and the unique and whimsical designs.

From the Cordoba Building Blocks with its 'Arabian Nights' inspired designs, containing 16 pieces total, in bright saturated colours, some with swirls, squares, arches, domes, dots--even one block with pearl beads rattling around inside.

To the Fantasy Land Jigsaw Blocks with its dazzling design and shapes, contains one piece with a mirror, one with a cat, and more with stars, swirls, and polka dots.

Designed and made in Germany from beech wood and painted with acrylic non-toxic paints. The Haba Block sets are a great addition to your child's toy box, whether on their own, together or incorporated with their existing block collection.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Looking for a great gift to give a special little person who is turning 1 years old? Look no further, I will share with you my top 3 toys that are sure to be loved and more importantly played with over and over.

A big favourite of mine and one of our top sellers at BabyThoughts.ca is the Melissa & Doug Large Farm Jumbo Knob Puzzle. This makes a great first puzzle for little ones because it has large wooden pieces of their favourite farm animals. You can sing along to old Mac Donald while you teach them the names of each of the animals. As well, it is great for their fine motor and cognitive development. It is truly a fantastic first puzzle.

Another big favourite, are the Haba Fantasy Blocks, made in Germany these beautiful and vibrant blocks are sure to inspire little ones to build their own fantasy cities. These blocks will help young children develop their creativity, as well as their cognitive and fine motor skills.

My third choice for a great gift is the Haba Walker Wagon. Hands down this German made, award winner walker is just incredible. It is both beautiful, and so incredibly functional. With its sturdy construction, rubber tires and an adjustable brake, this walker is not only fun but safe. Your little one will love learning how to walk with this wagon.

To see more great toys just right for little ones turning 1, stop by BabyThoughts.ca and choose from our great selection. If you have any questions or need a suggestion send me an email at kzamora@babythoughts.ca

Happy Travels

'Tis the season for family vacations, whether you are able to escape somewhere sunny and warm or just heading a couple of hours out of town to visit family and friends, good travel toys are essential to keep the little ones entertained and in their seats.

We just got some great toys that are perfect for playing in both the seat of a car or an airplane.

The first ones are our newest addition from Melissa & Doug, their new magnetic bead mazes. Both the Magnetic Number Maze and Magnetic Colour Maze will keep your little one occupied for quite some time as they work to slide the beads in the correct hole. Both toys are great for the development of number and colour recognition, as well as matching and fine motor skills.

Another great travel toy is the Mini Bingo from HABA, the classic bingo game for up to four players that comes in a charming tin container. A great assigning game that all will enjoy playing.

A great travel toy for younger children are both books from HABA. Both Alex at the Zoo and Dino and the Dinos are a 3-in-1 toy: they are a book, a puzzle and a game. Younger children will enjoy reading about their favourite dinosaur or zoo animal, while older children will have fun putting together the five jigsaw puzzles and playing the game.

No matter how far you travel this season, these toys are sure to keep everyone happy.

Haba Toy Recall

We have been informed that Haba has issued a voluntary recall on certain baby toys.

They have identified that certain grasping toys, pacifier chains and other toys contain glued on mirrors and/or prisms that may detach posing a choking hazard.

The two toys which Baby Thoughts carries that are affected by the recall are, Clutching Toy Bonita and Pixie's World.

Please remove all affected toys from children and return items to the following location:

For Canadian consumers -

Attn: Recall Returns
Filosofia Distributions Inc.
3250, F.X. Tessier
Vaudreuil-Dorion QC J7V 5V5

For USA consumers, please visit www.haba.de to fill out a recall form.

Please be sure to include your name and address with the returned products. Consumers will receive a free replacement that equals or exceeds the value of the recalled product or a full refund, as well as a refund on cost of shipping.

To view complete list of all products being recalled click here.

To read information for consumers released by Filosofia (Canadian distributor of Haba) click here.

Your child's safety is of the utmost importance to us, should you have any questions or concerns please contact us at inquiries@babythoughts.ca.

Toy Spotlight - Haba Magnetic Puzzles

MAGNETIC FUN

Challenge your little one's fine motor and cognitive skills with the brightly coloured magnetic puzzles from HABA.

Whether it is the Princess Magnetic Puzzle or the Knight Magnetic Puzzle, your little one will love the bright colours, whimsical pictures and you will love that it is travel friendly, ensuring that no pieces are lost or forgotten.

Both the board and all nine pieces are magnetic, making it a fantastic toy to have up on the refrigerator to help keep them entertained while you go about getting things done in the kitchen.

Haba Magnetic puzzles are not only beautiful but also multipurpose.

Exciting New Arrivals at BabyThoughts.ca

Over the past 3 months we have received great feedback from customers, friends, and colleagues on the BabyThoughts.ca website. Based on this feedback we have been working hard to make the website easier to navigate and more informative, and to give our visitors a satisfying online experience. We have also added some great new products that have been lacking in our product selection:

HABA

If I could carry the whole HABA toy line I would, they are just fantastic toys. However, we have been able to add some key items, namely activity mats, mobiles, and a push wagon. One of these is Dwarf's Land Playmat, a colourful soft cloth play mat with playing elements that baby can clutch, push, and remove. It has vibrant trees, houses, and castles that can be popped up or folded down. Dwarf's Land Playmat is for babies starting at 0 months and up.

Another great new item is HABA's Splish Splash Playmat, which has a water filled center with little toy fish that swim around as baby presses down on the mat. Around the "pond" there are fold up houses and a lighthouse that invite baby to play. The Splish Splash Playmat is for babies 6 months and up.

We have also added 2 new colourful mobiles, Sunshine and Curtains Rise. The Sunshine mobile is decorative, while the Curtains Rise mobile has interactive elements such as a foil mirror and detachable mouse and bear plush toys.

Last but not least, we have added a wooden push wagon. This beautiful wagon has sturdy wooden construction, with rubber wheels, and has a small seat up front for baby's "travelers" as well as a cargo area at the back for baby's "luggage".

Manhattan Toy

With their "Imagination at Play" approach to product design, Manhattan Toy always has new items to peak baby's interest. From Manhattan Toy we have decided to complement our existing products in the Whoozit, Cirque du Soleil, and Nooboo lines of toys.

If you are a fan of the Whoozit toys, you will love our Whoozit additions. The most notable is Tizoo, Whoozit's female, heart-shaped companion. We have also added a Whoozit activity center with lots of interactive items such as a bead spiral, squeakers, spinning balls, and crinkle paper. This product is great for teaching baby about cause and effect and is geared for babies 6 months and up. To top it off we have added an interactive spiral toy that can be attached to baby's crib or stroller.

Another great new addition is the Big Top Sounds toy. This amazing toy is a circus tent with plush animals that make animal sounds when inserted or removed from the tent. Baby will hear "Monkey" or "Ooh Ooh, Ah Ah!" when taking monkey out of the tent. It's absolutely fabulous.

For the full selection of toys, including all new arrivals, please visit our store front.

- Frank

What's in a Gift

I have had a number of friends ask me lately what toy I would recommend to give as a gift to a newborn. Now, though receiving blankets, bottles, clothing and other newborn gifts are very useful, a beautiful toy that can stimulate baby and help her develop but it can also go a long way. Personally I find that any of the Whoozit Baby toys make great gifts, though they are not the newest toy on the block they are timeless and baby-approved.

Whether you give the classic Whoozit, the Baby Whoozit, or the the Starz Lights and Sounds Whoozit there is no doubt that the child will play with it for a very long time. My daughter Isabel received a Whoozit as a gift and has played with it since she was just a few weeks old. It is very interesting how she is always discovering new ways to play with it.

Other toys that are beautifully crafted and make great gifts, are the grasping toys made by both Haba and Melissa and Doug. Both these brands make such quality toys that they will be enjoyed by future generations. The Clutching Toy Bonita by Haba is a stunning toy, it has four flowers and each flower has something interesting and special, from a mirror, to a bell, to a shiny jewel.

All the grasping toys by Melissa and Doug are fun and vibrant, be it the Monkey Face, Froggie Face, Wiggling Worm or the Friendly Fish. The primary colours found in each of these toys will certainly attract any little one's interest.

Another great tip that I give my friends is that newborns will not be newborns for long, for this reason it is also a good idea to look at the toys that are for older babies, such as the stacking toys, or the pull and push toys. Parents will really appreciate this because they now have something to take out when their little one is 6 months or older.

Whatever toy you choose, there is no doubt that the child will love it.