Back to School with Jade’s ToyBox!

26. August 2010 · 3 comments · Categories: Product Review, Toys · Tags: , ,

It’s about that time for most of us.  The kids are all set with new school clothes, they know who their teachers will be for the fall, and they’re not entirely happy that their sprinkler-running days are nearing an end.  Well, one thing might make the new school season a little more exciting: Jade’s ToyBox.  In Germany, there is a tradition going back 200 years, and I think it’s a great one.  (A tip of the hat to my German ancestors there!)  The Jade’s ToyBox Green Schultüte is a present given to German children before they go back to school.  Parents fill a cone with all kinds of educational goodies: Pencils, books, and learning tools, fresh and ready.  Jade’s ToyBox has an interesting approach in that all their items are eco-friendly.  The crayons are soy-based.  The wooden items are made of sustainable wood.  Nothing is “Made in China”.  Parents even have a choice as to what language and/or heritage they’d like reflected in their Schultüte if they choose the Foreign Language set!  You can choose from things such as African American, Native American, German, French, Hebrew and more.  (The Foreign Language Schultüte even includes multicultural skin tone crayons!  I love that.) Or go with a theme like the dinosaur one pictured to the left.

So if you’re looking for a little extra somethin’-somethin’ for the kids this school year to maybe ease the pain of the end of summer, you might start a new back-to-school tradition with a Schultüte from Jade’s ToyBox.  For a special dkMommy Spot discount, enter this Coupon Code: SCHOOL at checkout.  You’ll get 15% off the ORIGINAL Schultüte, or 10% off the LARGE Schultüte while supplies last.

Green Toys Sand Play Set Giveaway

24. June 2008 · 126 comments · Categories: Contest, Product Review, Toys, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

We’re in the height of beach weather, and what day at your favorite body of water would be complete without the necessaries for sandcastle building? Green Toys Inc. makes a wonderful set perfect for all us Greenies. Their toys are made from recycled milk bottle plastic as the main ingredient, and what results are quality toys made out of some of the safest, most eco-friendly plastics around.

At the start of spring, I got all excited for my two-year-old to start playing in the sand so I bought him a bucket and shovel. From the – ahem – dollar store. (Yes, me. Mrs. Greenpants.) Between the store and home, a 5-minute ride, he’d already broken the handle to such a degree it could not be fixed. The shovel is not of a sturdy nature and cannot actually dig dirt. And now I have a useless piece of plastic which needs to find its proper recycle bin. But we’ve put our Green Toys Sand Play Set through the ringer by taking it to a local park where we found not beach sand but hard-packed earth. Everything in this play set is very rugged and left the park in as good a condition as it entered it. With the help of his aunt and uncle, my son was building sandcastles in no time, thanks to the sandcastle mold. The set includes a trowel, a hand rake, a sandcastle mold, and a bucket with a rope handle, so everyone had something to play with.

Not only is the quality great, but the packaging is minimal, contained in one piece of cleverly-engineered recycled cardboard. (If there’s one thing that digs my dirt, it’s a toy anchored in multiple pieces of adult-proof packaging. And the twisties! What do they think will happen? The toy will fall out in shipping and be lost in off-coast Chinese waters forever, separated from its instructions?) Add to that the fact that Green Toys are all made in the good old U.S.A. and you’ve got a real summertime winner. So now time to win your own Sand Play Set ($19.99 retail) because I’m not letting go of mine! (Or visit Green Toys Inc. to see where you can purchase one.)

3 Ways to Enter:

1.) Leave a comment after visiting the Green Toys site. Tell me which toy you like the most, or you can tell me something you like about the site in general. (Winners are chosen at random, but if the first winner selected does not claim the prize, the second winner is chosen based on comment originality. So have fun with your comment!)

2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just click here: Subscribe to dkMommy Spot by Email. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail. Only after you verify will your entry be valid.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.

Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Friday, June 27, 2008, to enter.  Winner will also receive one free bottle of Super Echinacea, courtesy of Herb Pharm.

Find all the ongoing dkMommy Spot Giveaways here!

LivingPlaying Hop Ball Giveaway

23. June 2008 · 164 comments · Categories: Contest, Product Review, Toys · Tags: , ,

I never had one when I was growing up.  Neither did my husband.  But boy, did we both want one! So when we got the chance to try a Hop Ball from LivingPlaying, an online toystore filled with green goodies, we jumped at the chance. (Yeah, that was a bad one.) The Hop Ball is made in Italy out of a latex-free vinyl, and it’s very easy to set up. As is my experience with European-made toys, the packaging is minimal. Just pump it up and hop on!

My son is a little young for this one yet, so mom and dad did the test run.  While LivingPlaying recommends a load of no more than 100 pounds, the instructions with the ball say no more than 300.  Since we both meet the weight requirement (must be all those green smoothies), and since I’m all about putting these toys to the test, we bounced away.  The ball seems very sturdy, and the exercise you get from one of these is enough to keep mom in bikini-wearing shape.  For the kids?  This will keep them outside and entertained, away from the computer games and having fun!

I have one orange Hop Ball ($27.99 retail) to give away. It’s size 45 which is an 18″ ball.  This size is recommended for children 3 and up, and although it’s the smaller of the three sizes, older children can easily sit on this and bounce till their heart’s content.  I managed just fine myself.  I have the butt muscles to prove it.

3 Ways to Enter:

1.) Leave a comment after visiting the LivingPlaying site. Tell me which toy you like the most, or you can tell me something you like about the site in general. (Winners are chosen at random, but if the first winner selected does not claim the prize, the second winner is chosen based on comment originality.  So have fun with your comment!)

2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just click here: Subscribe to dkMommy Spot by Email (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail. Only after you verify will your subscription register you to win.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.

Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Thursday, June 26, 2008, to enter.

The lucky winner will also receive one bottle of Super Echinacea thanks to our friends at Herb Pharm.

Note: Jen from LivingPlaying is so pleased with your wonderful comments that she’s offering a special 10% off coupon just for you!  It’s good through 06/30/08.  Enter code: AKidAgain08