The Best Toys for Kids 2013 List

Disclosure:  I received the products below in exchange for sharing my honest opinion and this information.

With the holidays just around the corner, so many parents (including myself) are starting to think about what we are getting our kids for Christmas.  How do we know though what is really worth buying?  Well the American Speciality Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) has just released their 2013 Best Toys for Kids Award Winners list, with over 550 of America’s top independent and neighborhood toy retailers selecting the Best Toys for Kids.  Considering expertise, experience and commitment to fulfilling play, ASTRA members hand-picked the toys that offer the most engaging, unique, fun, open-ended and safe toys for children.  The list is broken down by category and some broken down further with ages.  Oh and I also want to add that ASTRA is a non-profit association so they don’t work for anyone but themselves.

So many of the toys I had never heard of before but they look so fun and since they were hand-picked you know they are going to be good ones to check out.  Now yes everyone has their own opinion but if something is picked out of thousands of others, it is at least something work considering I think.  As I mentioned these toys were picked from neighborhood and local toy stores, you know the ones that are usually smaller but the associates actually care and are knowledgeable about products.  Don’t get me wrong I do shop at mass retailers and big box toy stores, but there is definitely a difference when you shop a neighborhood toy store.  Its just a cozier and more worth while experience, sorry its hard to describe.  So anyways

I got the chance to check out a few toys from the “Best Toys for Kids 2013” list and they are pretty awesome.  I got three toys which actually appeal to each of my three kids.

Squigz

This toy really sucks! Push them together then POP them apart. Squigz stick to virtually any flat surface and leave behind no residue. Using “Suction Construction” and a little imagination, these fun little suckers provide hours of creative building play . Squigz are made from high-grade silicone, feature eight intriguing shapes and are available ONLY to the specialty toy market! Creativity like no other toy!

First off I laughed hysterically when I say the package say “Fun Little Suckers!”  My 2 year old played with these Squigz for about an hour!  They are so cute and they do literally stick to anything.  From playing on their own or sticking to another toy (or all over the house) these are a great example of a toy you wouldn’t see on television or displayed at a big box store, but at a local toy store they are all the rage!

Zingo! Sight Words

Zingo!® Sight Words is a fun and interactive word game that brings fast-paced excitement and learning to the classic game of Bingo! Players learn to quickly recognize and read sight words, which are words with spelling that is not always straightforward. Sight words are the most frequently used words in the English language and make up about 50 – 75 % of all written material. Learning and mastering sight words is a key step in becoming a successful, fluent reader. The sight words used in this game have been specially selected by leading educators as the most fundamental for reading development.

I have a Kindergartener and a 1st grader and Sight Words are huge now in our household.  Zingo! is a great way for my boys to practice and have fun at the same time!  It is a quick game of Bingo but you use sight words instead of numbers.  My boys are recognizing words and  we have a new family game!

Curiosity Kits® Pulsar Powerballs

Create 5 Pulsar Powerballs™ that bounce and soar to amazing heights. Place colourful crystals in the mold, submerge it in water and let it sit for five minutes. Open the mold and your brand new Powerball is ready to play with. Place special lights inside the larger mold to create a Powerball that lights up when it bounces!

My boys couldn’t get this open fast enough!  They love getting those powerballs from the gumball machines, but this is so much cooler!  A great kit for a rainy day or snowy day, which will be here before we know it!  Also, no batteries required!

While you are on the ASTRA website, don’t forget to enter the “I Heart My Neighborhood Toy Store” sweepstakes where you can win toys from the list and grand prize trip for a family of four to the Hard Rock Resort in Punta Cana, Mexico!

Stay Connected With Your Neighborhood Toy Store and ASTRA:

WEBSITE | ASTRA on TWITTER | ASTRA on FACEBOOK