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To be honest, I paid zero attention to these things (MP3 players) until my nieces wanted them. I had no idea what they were let alone why anyone would want one. One of them brought an MP3 player to me so I could hear her idea of the latest from Alvin and The Chipmunks. The part that struck me as important was that this tiny little thing could hold as much music as it could and that you could take it anywhere in your pocket or purse. That amazed me since I come from an older crowd.

Now, on to the Mix Stick MP3 Player! This particular player comes in a variety of colors. I particularly like the ice blue chrome ones. It features 512MB of memory but you can add more to bring it to 1 GB of memory! It is capable of eight hours with WMA-files or up to four hours with MP3-files. Either way, there are hours of entertainment and tunes. If you use it with Disney Mix Clips, no computer is necessary.

Included are a USB connector, earbuds, lanyard and software. Disney Mix Clips sold separately. Disney says it’s recommended for ages 7-12 years but I saw what both my nieces were like with MP3 players. I doubt it matters too much in the teen years as long as they like Disney.

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Hasbro is recalling their Nerf N-Strike Recon Blasters due the possibilities of injuries to children. This particular toy is yellow with a black handle and orange plunger, trigger, and reload clip. The word Nerf is in black lettering on each side of the toy. Hazards on the blaster are from the plunger which will pull a child’s skin during use. It can result in injury to the face, chest and/or neck. There is a report of injuries to 46 children from ages 4-12 and it resulted in bruising, abrasions, pinching/pinch marks, blood blisters and welts.

These toys were sold at Walmart, Toys R Us and Target as well as toy stores all over the nation from November 2007 through August 2008. Model number 63552 and UPC codes 653569272021 and 653569311218 can be found on the packaging. Only blasters with an exposed orange plunger are included in this recall. The toy was manufactured in China.

The toys must be taken away from the child immediately and you can contact Hasbro for a free cylindrical cover to prevent additional injuries. For information concerning this recall of the Nerf N-Strike Recon Blaster, contact Hasbro toll-free at (800) 245-0910 or go to the web site at www.hasbro.com/nerf.

EDIT NOTE: I went to the website and found this link to click on at Hasbro for the recall info.

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This toy is designed to allow your child to imagine prehistoric creatures in a way that brings the child into the prehistoric world. Baby Triceratops comes alive with sounds and motions. It has a hidden handle for your toddler to hold onto while riding. Stomping sounds come from Kota as he works his way through the world. If you talk to him, he roars back with eye movements, head, tail, mouth and horn moving in a realistic fashion. You can make him laugh by tickling his belly or chin. He will sniff your hand if you touch his nose. Kota will get hungry so feed him his leafy veggies! He has four different themed adventure tunes as well but with volume control, you can either play it or turn it off altogether.

Not sure about this one since I have two different sources that say different things but it stands either 2 and a half ft or 3 ft tall. Maximum weight 60 lbs. Needs 6 D batteries. Comes with leafy snack and instructions. Recommended for ages 3-6 years.

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When you’re searching for good toys especially for Christmas since we are getting into that season, I recommend visiting the websites of the manufacturers and hot toy sellers just to see what is the hot deals are. Sometimes, the hottest toys are not the best values. In our family, we must watch for those toys made in China. It’s very hard to find out what is and is not made there. For instance, I had no idea that the Nerf blasters were coming from China until yesterday when I noticed the recall.

You will want to find all sources of where they were manufactured, something that is not always shown on the info pages of the descriptions. I try to give you all the information that is pertinent for each item. Not all information is available though. Research is the key. In my case, I will not be as able as you are to search out information on the individual toys like you can since you are buying for a limited number of children.

The manufacturers sometimes have a specials of the week page. So do the major toy sellers. That can give you both the best deals and the hottest toys available. And speaking of availability, you might want to start buying now those toys or games that are hot right now. For instance, get the Wii while you can. It will be impossible to find them in December. Just a thought. Any hot toys and games will be scarce by the end of November or early in December. Some are already scarce so if you find what you are looking for, do not hesitate or it will be lost to you.

Remember, the key to getting the best toys available for the best prices is RESEARCH! (I heard that! Yes, it may sound like an extremely DUH statement but some people are brand new to searching out the best toy deals.)

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Our family just loves The Chronicles of Narnia with all the talking animals, the “not a tame” Lion, Aslan, and the four children that go through the wardrobe into a new land. This game is only for the Wii console. In this game, you can take on the role of any of the 20 characters including Narnians (non-human). You can go to the locations that are in the movie. The time is one year after the original trip into Narnia for the Pevensies but 1,300 yeas have elapsed in Narnia. It is a time of hardship and hiding for the Narnians when Prince Caspian finds the kids. The land is savage and evil rules in the form of the tyrant Miraz.

Two players can co-operate in this game to team up. You may also team up with characters to combine abilities. This is a combo of action combat and puzzle solving game play. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

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Remember that commercial? Well, you would have to be old enough to have kids in their 30s if you saw the first ads. But they are one of those pre-schooler and very young school kid toys that is timeless. Although they are no longer on the market in their original form in toy stores and discount stores, they are still available and memorable. I like where these toys originated since they came from a television show that had been around since the 50s, Romper Room. Hasbro bought the television show back in 1969 and got the idea for Weebles from the bop-punching bag on the show. Weebles came on the market in 1970. Kids had hours and hours of fun with them. My daughter sure did love them.

Originally, they were made short and round with peelable stickers that wore off quickly but the fun remained. The original family comprised of father, mother, brother, sister and baby. After the tree house and cottage were introduced they became much more popular. Other accessories including vehicles were quickly following. After a time, Disney also produced character Weebles sets like the Magic Kingdom, Winnie the Pooh treehouse and cottage sets, Winnie the Pooh circus, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set and many more characters.

In 1978, a new set of Weebles came into being called the Tumblin’ Weebles. While the other Weebles had a fixed weight in their bottoms, this type had a free motion weight thus making it easy for them to tumble when the child tipped them. Sets came out with them as well. In the 80s, they came out with Sesame Street characters Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster and, of course, Big Bird. A Sesame Street playground was available then too.

Weebles are still available through the Playschool brand at Hasbro though not in their original form. They are recommended for ages 3 and up (preschool).

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On this blog, I intend to give you all the information that I can on the toys available. Sometimes, that will not be much. At other times, I can give you more. My aim is to make you more aware of what’s out there, what might be recalled for whatever reason and other pertinent information. For that reason, I am talking about Shining Stars toys that normally I would not mention.

Shining Stars toys are a product of China. Frankly, with all the recalls coming out of China, I am ready to not buy a single thing that comes out of there. Recently, they had yet another recall on chocolates from an extremely well known brand. You would definitely recognize the name. I cannot in good conscience recommend these toys.

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Your child can be miles ahead on technology with this racer kit. This particular car is the miniature of the real cars being developed for the future. H-Racer, a fuel cell car, has a fuel cell system connected to the electric motor, onboard hydrogen fuel tank and hydrogen refueling system linking the car’s onboard fuel tank to an external hydrogen refueling station. Since the car is as small as your palm, the car is totally safe. It only uses a small amount of hydrogen at a time to fuel the car. The best thing about this car is that it runs on clean, renewable fuel. The fuel is produced by a miniature sun-powered hydrogen refueling station that changes water to hydrogen.

I could not get the recommended ages for this particular toy. But for more information on this remarkable science kit, it can be found on the Discover This website. It has a large number of other science toys that look fascinating to me. Kids would love these toys.

Technorati Tags: fuel cell car, miniature cars, hydrogen, H Racer H2, hydrogen cell cars

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Now this is truly a vintage toy. Chatty Cathy is, from what I can tell, only available through collectors as she is no longer for sale in regular toy stores or department stores. Chatty Cathy was born in 1959, made by Mattel, and introduced into stores in 1960. She was a lively talker speaking 11 different phrases when you pulled the ring in the upper part of her back. By 1963, she was speaking several more phrases adding up to 18. One of the revolutionary dolls of the time, her speech came from a phonograph in her belly that activated when the string was pulled. Chatty Cathy was introduced as a Caucasian blond, blue-eyed doll and as an African American doll with brown skin tones the first year. Later, a brunette and redhead were made available.

Her accessories included two types of clothing, a shoehorn, storybook and a paper wrist tag that was a warranty. The first six years on the market, she was the second most popular doll after Barbie, also made by Mattel. With the success of Chatty Cathy, others were also put onto the market such as Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Brother, Charmin’ Chatty and the last to be called Chatty was Singin’ Chatty in 1965. Several of the Chattys were redesigned and reissued in 1970 looking completely different from the first ones. Those dolls were on the market for only two years.

Mattel once again issued a Chatty Patty who looked different from all the others 1984. They also released special editions of Chatty Cathy in 1998 and in 2001. Those dolls were made to resemble the original Chatty Cathy dolls of the 1960s. This time they were only sold in specialty stores and toy stores with a price tag of $99. Other versions of Chatty Cathy were made for Canada and England. Having looked at a page from a collector’s group, there were others that spoke different languages.

This doll is no longer available in regular stores. Chatty Cathy is truly a vintage toy that collectors find extremely valuable. Some dolls are being sold for thousands of dollars. There you have the history of Chatty Cathy.

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Tonka is a name I remember from way back. The Tonka brand trucks were manufactured for the first time in 1947 in a factory meant for garden tools. Mound Metalcraft Company was located in the basement of a school house in Mound, Minnesota near Lake Minnetonka. The first year, 6 people put together 37,000 trucks in that basement factory. Naturally, the baby boomers loved the toys so there was an immediate success story. All of the first production was sold out in a short few months. The creators of Tonka trucks believed that toys should be durable and long lasting. And now 250 million trucks later, they are still making sturdy, durable toys.

For more information on this rather extensive line of toys, please go to the official website for Tonka where they have far more than just a list of toys. There are games and puzzles for the kids, coloring pages, videos, demos and much more information than I could give you here.

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