When I lived in Portland I was lucky enough to work for a locally owned Children's boutique. The owner had her own line of beautiful children's clothing and the shop also carried safe & eco friendly toys and the best books. As employees we were expected to learn about the products; how they were made, what customers thought of them and their age appropriateness. It opened my eyes to how unsafe and unecessary many toys are and how great simple toys can be.
The toys featured above are made by Haba. You can find them online at this store or if you're in Portland-head on over to Grasshopper. Haba is a European based toy company that's been creating toys for almost 75 years. I adore the bright colors and simplicity of their toys. Those shown above were some customer favorites that I hope to get for Baby T.
What are some of your favorite toys out there?
Today we find out if Baby T is a girl or boy....can't wait!
We like Haba and Plan toys, which we can afford. Our daughter has one Naef toy, the little worm, but if we had more cash we would definitely have more since all the kids like to play with Naef toys. Our local science museum has a hands-on section with lots of Naef toys and it is so fun to watch people of all ages play and build.
Posted by: Tiffany | 04/20/2011 at 07:16 AM
I have looked online at Nova Natural toys (no kids here yet). Anything Waldorf- or Montessori-inspired is also very appealing.
Posted by: Kelsey | 04/20/2011 at 07:45 AM
I love Haba toys. I have this one and it's awesome to play with:
www.kangarooboo.com/product/details/1344-Haba-Sunni-Clutching-Toy
It's a clutching toy, but it also makes a good spinning top. I also hold it by one of the pegs, dangle it, and twirl it around with my fingers in front of Sofia's face and she loves it.
Posted by: dawn | 04/20/2011 at 02:52 PM
I've told my family, "no plastic toys, please". they think I'm a little nuts but esp first time toys are going into mouths so much, it's so important to get something safe.
I'm going to add some of these goodies to my registry, love the frog!
Posted by: michella s. | 04/20/2011 at 02:57 PM
We haven't been able to avoid plastic toys (and, frankly, I like some of them--they bring back so many memories! Plus, Henry loves them), but I do love Plan and Haba toys. I also love the Kid O blocks that we received for Henry (maybe more than he does). And lastly, Henry adored Sophie the Giraffe when he was tinier.
Posted by: christine | 04/29/2011 at 06:29 PM