Hot New Toys To Make Your 2013 Seasonal Shopping Easier

Here’s a chance for my lucky readers to experience a quick peek at some of the new and awesome toys available for the 2013 season from RP Toys.

*There are perks to being Modernista Mama—sometimes it feels like Christmas all year long!

Modernista Mama and her band of trusty toy-testers spent the end of summer testing out some cool new toys.

Here is a list of the three toys we tested and we can honesty recommend, as must-have toys for this season:

1. Hearts for Hearts Girls TM dolls “Changing the world one heart at a time.”

2. Waterbabies & Weebabies Dream to Be “Feels like a real baby.”

3. GLOW CRAZY Doodle Dome TM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart for Heart Girls TM dolls—we tested the doll named Lauryce (from New Orleans):

Lauryce is one of nine dolls, each from a unique region of the world. When you purchase a Heart for Hearts doll,  a portion of the proceeds are donated to children’s causes across the globe through World Vision.

My daughters love Lauryce. She’s an easy to handle size at 14 inches and her eyes are exquisitely crafted to make them life-like.  She is made of vinyl with luxurious wavy dark blonde hair.  Her colouring is unique and inspired my daughters to create a unique ancestral heritage for her, including ancestors from Africa and France. Each doll comes with a code to unlock an online Heart for Heart Community, which is an opportunity for my seven-year old to practice her reading. My daughters have all recently spent time in New Orleans so reading about Lauryce’s life on her online diary is especially interesting for them.

As a mom, I like that each doll promotes the philosophy of girls helping girls locally and globally. The doll’s stories contain realistic examples of how girls can get involved in helping others.

The dolls are very reasonably priced (CAD $30- 35), which, is a quarter of the price of a few of the most popular dolls designed to represent regions in Canada and the USA.

I would purchase a Heart to Heart doll for any girl age six and up.

Heart to Heart dolls can be found at Walmart, Target and ToysRUs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterbabies & Weebabies

Waterbabies proved to be the perfect rescue for my youngest daughter Pip (age 7), who had been experiencing agitation each night for a few weeks and was unable to fall asleep with ease.

A Waterbabies doll arrived (dressed as a baby girl ballerina) in the post and I immediately gave it to Pip. She was thrilled with her new “baby” and named it Orgina. That night, I filled Orgina with warm (not hot) water. Pip cuddled the Waterbabies and fell asleep with no problem.

The soft, warm body is very comforting because it feels like a living little baby. The doll is also perfect for taking in the bath. It is a great little doll for any child who would like to have a little comfort to hold. The small size makes it perfect for night time cuddling! The Waterbabies come in six different girl-baby styles. The smaller, 6” Weebabies come in an assortment of water-inspired, whimsical hats and are perfect for little hands to hold. Pip loves her Waterbabies doll (Orgina) and insists on cuddling with her each night in bed.

The Weebabies come in a great variety of skin tones and even a few wee mermaids! The only thing I would like to see differently in the larger Waterbabies, is that they would become available in a greater variety of skin tones (dark and light) and that the larger Waterbabies include at least one boy-baby.

The Waterbabies and Weebabies cuddly size along with their real-baby feel and cute little faces make them a must-have doll purchase. I would recommend a Waterbabies and Weebabies for a little boy or girl age 3 or up. Waterbabies retail for CAD $20- 25 and Weebabies retail for CAD $10-13. They can be found at ToysRUs, Canadian Tire, Loblaws, and London Drugs.

GLOW CRAZY Doodle Dome TM

The GLOW CRAZY Doodle Dome proved to be a surprise hit with all of the toy-testers ages 6 through 12. At first, I wasn’t sure just how much the kids would get out of sitting in a small dark space and drawing—but let me tell you, they loved it! They spent hours inside the black glow dome drawing and were as quiet as mice! In fact, I had several groups of partnered children waiting for their turn inside the dome. I had to schedule “dome time” to make sure everyone had a fair turn. Even the twelve-year olds were eager for their turn and spent at least an hour in the dome creating. The Glow Crazy Doodle Dome is an easy way to encourage creative/craft time that allows mom a little relax time too!

We discovered that doodle dome has only one wall inside the dome on which one draws with the special pen. The glow-light pen and the image stay on the dark dome wall for several minutes before they begin to fade away.

The GLOW CRAZY Doodle Dome is portable and easy to set up. It provided hours of quiet time for our kids. I would definitely recommend the Glow Crazy Doodle Dome as a great gift idea for any child age 5+. The Doodle dome retails for CAD $30-$35. Glow Crazy Doodle Dome can be found at London Drugs, Canadian Tire and Sears.