Playskool Busy Ball-Tivity Center - Top Christmas Toys

Playskool Busy Ball-Tivity Center
From Hasbro

Customer Reviews

Very entertaining
This toy is great! Other reviewers mentioned the noise being a bit disconcerting, however my daughter hates the vacuum but doesn't mind the toy one bit. Right now she loves pressing the lady bug and throwing the alligator. She plays with the balls and tries to pick up the toy and walk off with it. The best part: she loves to self entertain with this toy. It keeps her interested for a good 30 minutes at a time, not including the time she takes to toss the balls and chase them around the room. This was a great purchase!

Looks neat
Haven't gotten it open yet, but the thing looks really neat! It looks like my lil buddy is going to have a ton of fun exploring the many great features of this toy. Of course he may also like just overturning it, he really likes to do that, that or play with the card board box.

Busy Ball-Tivity Center VS Busy Ball Choo-Choo
This is a really great toy! I bought this for my 9 month old grandaughter but my 3 yr old grandaughter plays with it all the time... the 9 month old crawls after her to get to this toy! There are numerous fine-motor challenges with this toy besides being totally cute! The animals are removable and the kids do play with them independent of the toy itself. It is a toy that the kids can use over the course of several years so that makes it a good value purchase due to usably/motor development challenges... honestly though the biggest factor is they both keep playing with this toy over and over!

The only real downside I can find is there is no master shut-off switch on the bottom like the Busy Basics Busy Ball Choo-Choo, there is just an on/off button on the top which acts as the master switch... to activate the music and motion you push the monkey seen in the pictures.

I bought the Busy Basics Busy Ball Choo-Choo at the same time and the balls can be inter-changed with the Busy Ball-Tivity Center...a definite plus!

IMO: Motor-skills wise the Busy Ball-Tivity Center is GREAT to assist in development, there are challenges a child can seek there; with the Choo-choo there are limited challenges for a child, but it is a very cute toy.

FYI---If you could only buy one THE hands-down favorite of both grandchildren is the Busy Ball-Tivity Center!!! Hope this review helps you make a more informed purchase.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
Treat your baby to some poppin', droppin' funtime with the Busy Ball-Tivity Center Assortment from Playskool. Designed for ages nine months and up, this air-powered activity center will delight babies with its high-rolling balls, exciting sounds, and adorable toys. This fun, stimulating, and durable set entertains baby, while also encouraging hand-eye coordination and healthy auditory and visual development.

The Ball-tivity Center encourages hand-eye coordination and visual and auditory development. View larger.

Hours of Interactive Fun
The Ball-Tivity features cute jungle animals and a ladybug that entice little fingers to grasp and explore. Mom or baby can press down on the ladybug to start the action and keep things moving. As the air starts to flow, lively music plays and animal sounds seem to bring this activity set to life. Parts appear to magically move, making this exotic adventure pure delight for a curious child.

The bright colored balls swirl around the pool. View larger.

Stimulates the Senses and Encourages Healthy Development
The Ball-Tivity engages all of baby's senses, and encourages hand-eye coordination while introducing your child to the relationship between cause and effect. Colored balls swirl around the pool, inviting little hands to reach in and pull them out, then drop them back in to watch them swirl around and around again. You or baby can also place a ball on top of the volcano and see it hover. Stackable palm tree, elephant and alligator pieces all spin, twirl and chomp when placed on their separate ports, or they can be stacked for a different perspective.

The Ball-Tivity Center requires four "D" batteries (not included), and comes with monkey and palm tree snap-in pieces, three balls, three stacking pieces, and instructions. For your child's safety, all plastic fasteners should be removed and discarded before play.

My Christmas Gift List 2008

Amazon Exclusive Bear - Best Christmas Toys

Amazon Exclusive Bear by Gund
From Gund

Customer Reviews

Loved this Free Bonus Bear! Just beautiful!
I love this Amazon Exclusive bear, so soft and plush and very well made, of course it is a GUND bear so it has to be! It comes in a sealed bag which is awesome if you want it to stay in tact, it is a First Edition so this is truly to become a collectible. Happy Holidays!

I love it
This is an exceptionally well made Polar Bear by Gund. This first edition bear is sure to become a collectible as it bears the amazon.com brand on the cap and is exclusive to Amazon.

The bear is super white and very soft. His ears stick out of the cap, and his fur feels "velvety" soft. It looks exactly like the picture. It comes in a sealed plastic bag. Very good since you want this bear to stay as clean as possible when you get it, and it can't stay much cleaner than in a sealed bag. The bear is about a foot tall and will fit in a child's arm perfectly. Snuggleable, huggable and lovable. I love it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A special, first-edition plush polar bear from Gund, the Amazon Toy Catalog Mascot Bear is a fun, lovable addition to your child's nursery or even your office cubicle. This extra-soft white bear sports a long, blue winter cap with white accents on the cuff, a blue and white tassel, and an embroidered Amazon.com logo, making it as cute as can be.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Soft, first-edition polar bear from a name known for exceptional quality The Bad: Nothing In a Nutshell: A huggable new friend for anyone young at heart At a Glance Ages: 12 months and up

This extra-soft Gund bear has details like a knit winter hat. View larger.

This Gund plush toy is made of high-quality, plush materials with an attention to detail; his fur is unbelievably soft, the detailed pads on his paws are designed to last, and his hat is made of knit fabric, just like the cap you pull over your ears on cool days, and features the famous amazon.com logo in bold white across the front. The bear's ears also poke out through an opening in the cap, making him even more adorable.

About Gund: America's Original Plush Toy Company
Gund's classic teddy bears have an appeal that spans generations. Everyone from infants to adults can appreciate the results of Gund's quality craftsmanship. This is much of the reason that, in addition to being great playmates, these well-designed bears have established a track record as collectors items. Unlike many cheaply-made toys, Gund bears are prepared to stand the test of time.

Gund was one of the first companies to design and produce teddy bears. Founded by German immigrant Adolph Gund in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1898, Gund is the leading soft toy manufacturer in the U.S. Their unique teddy bears and other soft toys are internationally recognized as innovative and high quality. A trademarked under-stuffing technique gives Gund plush bears and toys their unique, extra-huggable feel.

Tomy Pop Up Pirate - Top Christmas Toys

Tomy Pop Up Pirate - Top Christmas Toys
From Tomy

Customer Reviews

Great vintage classic fun for everyone!

One of the oldest games still on the market, and has been around for many years. It's a simple, but exciting family game based on pure luck.

Each Player slots one of their swords into the barrel that contains 'Jolly Roger' the Pirate. If you're unlucky, you've chosen the wrong slot, and 'yikes' up pops 'Jolly Roger' - you lose!

This game is great because it's a randomly-chosen slot that's selected by the clever mechanism on every single game, and so nobody can cheat or predict who will win and who will lose! An amazingly simple idea, but it's what makes this game work and so popular.

The components are attractive and brightly coloured, and the barrel itself is extremely robust.

I think I'm right in saying that this game has never been out of production since it was first made - and this only applies to a mere handful of games still on the market today. These include famous titles such as 'Monopoly' and 'Cluedo'.

Fun For All Ages
This is a really excellent childrens game. The construction means you have to hold the barrel with one hand while pushing a sword into it with the other hand so you really get a jolt if the pirate pops out. Everyone from Great Grandparents to 3 year olds love it in our family. It's a great game to bring out onto the dinner table after a meal and everyone can join in. It's completely random who wins each time.
It's very funny and the pirate really does jump out a long way.
Highly recommended.

tomy pop up pirate
This is so much fun, me and my 3 year old son love it. One of the best things about it is the fact that you dont need batteries. The suspense of the game it great and the pop up pirate makes us jump every time no matter how often we have played it. It is so easy to set up my son does it all and feels quite confident and important about that. Putting the swords in the barrel is good for a childs co ordination, counting them into equal groups of differnt colours for each player is also educational.
We love it and are glad we bought it anyway.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
A well-loved classic game of nerve and chance, Pop-Up Pirate is barrels of explosive fun.

To set the game up, there is a small amount of assembly to be done, with stickers to carefully stick on to decorate the barrel and base.

Press the pirate down and he locks into the barrel in such a way that he will be popped up randomly when a sword is pushed in--and nobody knows which sword will be the one!

WEBKINZ - Polar Bear - Top Christmas Toys

WEBKINZ - Polar Bear
From Ganz

Customer Reviews

Love this little guy
The Webkinz Polar Bear is soooo cute. My children love taking turns holding him while on the Webkinz site. The enjoy doing the quizes and jobs on there.

Webkinz lover of webkinz
I love webkinz. I have sixty webkinz and this one is my favorite one of all. He is very cute online, and as a stuff animal. This should be your first webkin pet:)

Nice toy and idea, clumsy and overly paranoid web interface
The toy's great, the website's fine - my kids love getting on the site - but jeez louise, you'd think Webkinz was the Federal Reserve Bank the way they make it so difficult to create a web account, log on, and save your passwords! You can't change passwords, EVER. You can't change the name of your toy, EVER. You can't change the name of the toy's owner, EVER. (I got two of our toys mixed up and registered one of them in the wrong child's name: too bad, no way to ever fix that.) If you lose that slip of paper that came with your toy, you're out of luck, FOREVER - there's no online registration so that you can recover your information. It's almost as if they WANT you to lose your information so that you'll have to buy another new toy and start from scratch. It's those inane and un-user-friendly policies that cause me to rate this toy a three.

Features

• Features a cute plush polar bear
• Made with great care
• Every Webkinz plush pet is unique
• Measures 10" tall
• Recommended age range from 3 to 15 years

Ref: Webkinz I have Part Two by Lily

Webkinz Schnauzer - Top Christmas Toys

Webkinz Schnauzer
From Ganz

Customer Reviews

Kids Love Webkinz
My granddaughter loves these webkinz so I purchased one for myself and it is a great way to stay in touch long distance as we can play together on the webkinz website.

Webkinz Schnauzer
I took a chance and ordered this Webkinz for my granddaughter. It was shipped very quickly and was absolutely perfect. Adorable, well made and also had the "secret code" so you can register the pet on line and do inter-active games and activities. She loves it! And Grandma was very happy with the purchase.

Webkinz Schnauzer
This cute and adorable dog is exactly as it is pictured. It is very soft and cuddly and the webkinz website is a safe and fun place for children to play and learn.

Features

• The virtual version of the plush animal comes alive online in Webkinz world when activated with the special given code
• When you register your pet you can care for it as if it were a real pet
• It is all about style, fashion and having a ton of friends
• It is unique as there is something different that appeals to everyone
• Webkinz World is updated every two weeks so be sure to visit frequently to see what is new and exciting for you to explore

Ref: Webkinz I have Part Two by Lily

LeapFrog Explorer Globe - Top Christmas Toys UK

LeapFrog Explorer Globe - Top Christmas Toys
From LeapFrog

Customer Reviews

Better Than School Geography
My 8 year old daughter knows more about countries and capitals than any 16/17 year old that babysits for us, a fun educational toy, would recommend it to any parent!!

Fantastic toy!
What a great toy! I bought one of these for my 6 year old son for christmas. He plays with it every single day.

The one we received is a different colour to the one pictured and features an Engish voice. My son really enjoys the quizzes - finding the capitals, oceans, countries etc before the time runs out. There are a few levels - fun for all ages, including adluts! The globe will also tell you facts about each country, and plays a song which is related to each country (not sure if these are accurate, but the kids like them)!

So, all-in-all, a great toy. It is expensive, but my son has literally played with it every single day since Christmas. So well worth the money. We are still on the set of demonstration batteries that came with the globe, so they last a long time, and it seems really well built.

Great idea. Shame it was broken!
This globe certainly is a fantastic idea. My seven year old was desparate for a globe for christmas, and this seemed the ideal choice as we would all be able to play with it together over the holiday. How dissapointing then when he opened it on Christmas morning and discovered that it was convinced that most of the northern hemisphere was the artic ocean! We are sendning it back (to Santa) for one more go.

Product Description

Children and parents will be amazed at what this interactive, talking globe can do. Touch the globe with the NearTouchTM pen and listen to what it tells you.

The world's most intelligent talking globe.

Learning about geography is magic!

Touch the Globe and learn amazing facts.

Instant pinpoint global identification of countries, continents, oceans and more!

Provides distance and flying times between two points.

Accurate information on population, currency, music, time of day and more!

Includes challenging learning games that everyone in the family can play.

Progressively helpful hints that lead to the correct answer. 8 Years +

My favorite webkinz plush toys Top Christmas Toys

My favorite webkinz plush toys
By an Amazon.com customer

	Webkinz Plush Stuffed Animal Whimsical Dragon Buy new The webkinz Dragon is new and very popular. I think it is very unique.
	Lil'Kinz Mini Plush Stuffed Animal White Mouse Buy new The mouse is so cute! OMG! If there is a picture of it on the computer, it is just adorable!
	Webkinz Penguin This is one of mine, it is very cute.
	Webkinz Turtle The turtle is awesome! This little guy is the bomb!
	Webkinz Chocolate Lab One of mine too, I like this because it's like pet that people have. I wonder if they're going to make guinea pigs and hamster webkinz. o__O
	Webkinz Plush Stuffed Animal Chicken This is so funny! A chicken!
	Webkinz Plush Stuffed Animal American Cocker Spaniel I have this one as well. True all american dog.
	Webkinz Black and White Cheeky Dog This is mine too. Hey, if you can't get the $1000 one, why not get this one. It's retired too.
	WebKinz Cheeky Dog - Retired - Very Rare!! Buy new: Oh man. If you have one of these you are Soooooo..... lucky! These are the top cash webkinz. And they're cute too!
	White Terrier Lil Kinz Buy new: This is my little cutey star. These are so adorable! Ref: My favorite webkinz plush toys

Webkinz Sherbet Bunny - Top Christmas Toys

Webkinz Sherbet Bunny
From Ganz

Customer Reviews

We Love Webkinz!
Not only huggably soft and lovable, but comes with a code to enter the wonderful online world of Webkinz and create a pet; play fun and educational games to earn points to feed and stylishly clothe and accessorize your beloved pet, as well as furnish its cozy, ultramodern home. Too many and diverse games to grow bored anytime soon!

I have never paid more than $10 for Webkinz...what's the deal?
I can't believe all of these online retailers are selling Webkinz for such an inflated price.......If this was Ebay and someone was dumb enough to bid $50 for one of these dust collectors I'd say fine. Folks, don't spend more than $10 for one of these glorified Beanie Babies...they are cute but not worth more than their suggested retail.

Happy Easter
I gave this toy to my grandson for easter. My grandaughter collects these things and I thought he would love a bunny, and HE LOVED IT!!!!!

Features

• Welcome to Webkinz World where you can make your little critters come alive in a super fun interactive online experience
• !From Bugs Bunny to Peter Cottontail, the cuddliness of bunnies has captivated children for generations. And now with the Webkinz Sherbet Bunny, your little rabbit can come alive in the revolutionary World of Webkinz. Just look at how sweet this little sherbet bunny is.With the softest, fluffiest lavender coat, this lil bunny is excited to use his lil bunny legs to leap right into your heart!
• To befriend your new Webkinz Sherbet Bunny, simply hop your way onto Webkinz World and earn some KinzCash playing fun games with your bunny buddy in the Arcade. Then with your KinzCash, make your Sherbet Bunny happy by buying them their favorite foodwhich is, of course, Creamy Carrot Sherbet. Or you and your bunny could pass the time hippitty-hopping about on a trampoline or picking carrots in the fields.

Ref: Hottest of Webkinz

Webkinz Black And White Panda Plush Hottest of Webkinz

Webkinz Black And White Panda Plush
From Ganz

Customer Reviews

Very Happy
Was extremely happy with the speed in which my order was placed and received and it is so cute! My grand-daughter will love it. Thank -you and I look forward to doing business with you again.

Oh please
This is so childish and dumb. I'm ten years old i can't believe that children older than me like this stuff!I'd say the age range of this toy should be ages 3-8.If you're an older child like me get a ty girlz doll they are so much fun i have three of them.If i were five i would rate everything five stars.

A baby toy not suitable for babies!
I searched for a baby toy, but when it arrived, it was marked "not suitable for under 3 years old." I wished the product description had carried this information as well.

Features

• The virtual version of the plush animal comes alive online in Webkinz World when activated with the special code that comes with every plush animal
• Every Webkinz is made with great care so when you register your pet you can care for it as if it were a real pet!
• Collect all of the cute and cuddly styles - over 45 different Webkinz currently available
• Every Webkinz plush pet is unique. From the floppy ears of the Beagle, to the soft fur of the panda - something different that appeals to everyone!
• Webkinz World is updated every two weeks so be sure to visit frequently to see what is new and exciting for you to explore!

Ref: Hottest of Webkinz

WEBKINZ LOVE PUPPY Top Christmas Toys

WEBKINZ LOVE PUPPY
From Ganz

Hotesst of the hottest!!!

Customer Reviews

We Love Webkinz!
Not only huggably soft and lovable, but comes with a code to enter the wonderful online world of Webkinz and create a pet; play fun and educational games to earn points to feed and stylishly clothe and accessorize your beloved pet, as well as furnish its cozy, ultramodern home. Too many and diverse games to grow bored anytime soon!

Webkinz Love Puppy
Webkinz are one of the best "fun" tools we have come across to teach our children some responsiblities. This love puppy is so adorable and increadably soft! My daughter loves it.

My daughter's favorite Webkinz!
My daughter has several Webkinz. She loves playing with the stuffed animals & also online. It's her favorite thing to do in her spare time. The Love Puppy is her favorite one and we were lucky enough to get it when the price was much lower, but we still recommend this Webkinz to everyone.

Features

• New with Unactivated TAG
• great kid's gift
• Stuffed Animal with code for Website Games & Activities..VERY SAFE :)
• VERY Hard to Find Webkinz

Ref: Hottest of Webkinz