The best play kitchen

My little girl is getting bigger every day and for Christmas I wanted to get her a play kitchen. I didn't want just any ol' kitchen set though, I wanted one that would last. As I usually do, I took my search to the internet to find the best price I could get.

I needed something sturdy, because my daughter loves to pull and push on things. She also likes to hold onto things and bounce. Occasionally she'll run herself into things, too. I had to make sure the play kitchen set was sturdy enough that it wouldn't fall on her.

My search finally led me to buying the Large Kitchen by KidKraft and I'll tell you why.

While shopping for the best play kitchen, I came across lots of plastic kitchens that looked cheap and not very sturdy. That's when I decided to go with a wooden kitchen.

Of all the wooden play kitchen sets I looked at, this one was by far the best. The look is attractive and the colors will suite both little boys and girls.

There is loads of storage space for dishes, play food, utensils, pots and pans. This way my daughter will be able to fit all of the extras we get her in her kitchen.

This kitchen also has enough room for more than one toddler to play at a time. This'll be great for when my daughters cousin comes over and they both want to play together. It's worth the extra money for the better kitchen to save the kids from fighting over the toys.

When I got the play kitchen, I knew I had made a good choice. The pieces were great quality and once put together, this kitchen was very sturdy. It did take us about an hour and a half to assemble, but the look on our daughters face when she gets to play with it will make the time well spent.

If you're looking for the best play kitchen, I would go with the Large Kitchen by KidKraft. I did and I am very satisfied.

LEGO Community Workers Set

One of my favorite toys of all time have always been LEGOs. I remember sitting down on the floor with my friends and we would spend hours building things with our LEGOs. We'd build little houses, cars and boats until we had a whole city.

Our cities needed people, and that's where the problems started. Most LEGO sets only come with a couple people, if any at all. Me and my friends would always argue over who got to play with the LEGO people.

Now, kids won't have to fight over the LEGO people any more.

Check out this LEGO community workers set that will provide your kids with more LEGO people than they'll know what to do with.

This set includes over 31 LEGO people from all different occupations. It also comes with an assortment of helmets, 3 bicycles, 4 trikes and other accessories to help you customize your LEGO people.

There are more than enough people here to populate and explore your kids lego creations.

These LEGO people are a great addition to your LEGO collection. Highly recommended for this holiday season. :)

LeapFrog Fridge DJ magnetic learning radio

LeapFrog Fridge DJ

Our daughter got a Fridge DJ from a good friend of ours for her first birthday. Our daughter has always loved music, so this was a great gift idea.

The Fridge DJ is a learning radio with 13 educational songs an 3 learning stations that your children will love. The songs are fun and the LED in the middle will show images, letters and numbers that go along with the songs.

We keep out Fridge DJ on the fridge and it keeps our daughter entertained while mommy makes lunch or snacks. I've come in the kitchen to see them both dancing to the 'Alphabet Song' or 'Pop Goes The Weasel'.

The Fridge DJ is light weight and can easily be pulled off of the fridge to be carried around like a baby boom box. It's easy for young kids to master and the LED is very educational. Luckily, for us parents, this toy comes with two volumes.

If your toddler or baby seems to like music, I highly recommend this toy to you. It will also be a great gift idea for the holidays if you're looking for something fun and educational that will keep a toddler smiling and dancing for hours.

The best board games

Board games are a great way to spend quality time with your friends and family. I can remember playing board games for hours with my mom and dad when I was a kid. I'd also play them at friends houses when I stayed the night. Now that I'm an adult with a family myself, we still play board games.

Here are some of my favorites:

MONOPOLY Here & Now

I really like this updated version of an old favorite. Railroads are now airports and utilities are cell phone and internet companies. The board pieces are modernized and easily recognizable: super sized fries, jumbo jet, commuter coffee mug, hybrid car, cell phone & laptop.

The best part of this game is that the games rules are still the same so you enjoy the classic game play with updated locations such as Jacobs Field and Disney Land and more realistic money amounts.

I think this is one of the best board games for kids and family. It's educational and I think kids will really connect with the updated version more than the old version. If you're a Monopoly fan I am sure you'll enjoy playing.


The Game Of Life Twists & Turns

Real life is full of twists and turns, and so is this fun family board game. This is a game of choices and different lifestyles. Marriage, kids, money & jobs are all things you'll experience along with numerous other unexpected events.

Me and my wife first played this game with another couple doing 'couples teams' and we had a blast! It was easy for everyone to learn and every game we played was different.

The game is fun for the kids too! We played with our neices, ages 6 and 8, and they caught right on! They had lots of fun and now they want to play every time they come over.

With lots of choices and possibilities there are thousands of ways to live your life. Make the best decisions and enjoy a wealthy retirement. I give this fun board game a rating of 5/5.


Trouble Board Game

I've been playing Trouble since I was a kid and think children today will still enjoy this great board game.

You push down on the bubble in the middle of the board and the dice will "pop" and give you a number. You move the amount shown on the dice and the goal is to get your 4 peices around the board to your base.

If you land on a place that one of your opponents are on, their peice gets sent back to the start. Sometimes the kids might get mad but it adds to the fun when you send someone back to the start.

This game is easy for the kids to learn and keeps their attention. It's a fun family board game to play and it's sure to provide hours of fun. I highly recommend the Trouble board game.

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If you're looking for some of the best board games to play with your friends, family, and children, I really hope I gave you a few ideas. When you're doing your holiday shopping this year you should consider the hours of fun that these board games will provide.

Great deals on your toy christmas shopping

I decided to do most of my Christmas shopping online this year. I don't have the time for the jam packed stores and lengthy lines anymore. I also saw it as an opportunity to get started a little earlier figuring I could find lots of discounts and deals online.

I started with the kids, and ended up at Amazon's Toys & Games section. I had heard good things about Amazon and a friend of mine told me you could save up to 50% on the hottest toys for the Holidays. I'm always looking for good deals when it comes to my holiday shopping.

The first thing that caught my eye was something I had never seen online before, video demonstrations of the toys. With Amazon you get to actually see the toy in action rather than the same boring picture everyone has. This brings the store right to you.

One of the many great things about Christmas shopping on Amazon are the discounts. I compared prices from Amazon with most of the major stores online and found an average savings of 10% or more. With a lot of people to buy for this year, that 10% savings adds up to a pretty penny.

Here are some of the offers I came across while I was shopping:

• Save up to 25% on select VTech software and accessories.
• Free Barbie Girls accessory pack.
• Free Super Saver shipping.
• Save 20% among select Fisher Price.

While doing my Toys & Games shopping on Amazon I found it really easy to navigate the store. You can browse the toys by detailed categories, by age range or by brand. This makes it really easy to find the toys you saw on TV or heard about from a friend.

Overall I had a pleasurable experience shopping on Amazon for the kids this holiday and will continue shopping on Amazon for the rest of my friends and family. If you're like me and want to beat the long lines but still get the great deals for the kids, you're going to have to check out the Amazon Toys & Games section.