What does your family look like? How about the family down the block?

Guidecraft makes beautiful wooden multicultural family figurines that reflect the diversity around us.

Both my preschooler and toddler, as well as visiting kindergartners and school-aged children engage in creative, pro-social play with these chunky blocks for hours on end…

What says Spring quite like flowery sundresses and brightly colored…hair? My preschool daughter, lover of all things pink, will create entire masterpieces in fuchsia. In her self-portraits, she is sometimes a vivid share of electric pink from head to toe. So, she adores her new punky-funky Corolle Les Dollies Pink Doll.

This little charmer has the sweetest little girl face with bright eyes, full, freckled cheeks, and a mischievous smirk. Her so-trendy cotton candy hair is rooted and brushable. Her trendy little sun dress with vivid butterflies…

Nicole Caccavo Kear is a college friend, a fabulous actress, and a stunning writer–plus she lives in Brooklyn and has launched a witty, honest, and insightful blog about motherhood, A Mom Amok. So, she is a natural fit for checking out New York City events for kids and parents. She visited the Hasbro Showroom and found some new twists on classic toys and games…

We love the “new again” trend of packing school lunches in reusable containers–it is a little way even small children can push back against a society addicted to disposables. Plus, many of the containers like the ones at Kids Konserve are so eco-chic!

The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe is, hands down, the most popular toy at our play dates.

We’ve been able to teach the toddlers and preschoolers to line up, inspired by their desire for a turn at the Cozy Coupe…

Ride-ons are toy classics–right up there with blogs and dolls. As soon as man invented the wheel, mom and dad probably thought up the ride-on. We like ride-ons that spark the imagination and get kids moving–here are our picks for Award Winning Ride-Ons from our Hottest Holiday Toys.

If your little ones are crazy for cars, make their holiday dreams come true with this line of exclusive cars from RosieHippo.com.

RosieHippo.com is a top source for organic toys, wooden toys and handcrafted quality toys. All of the toys have been carefully selected by owner Kim Bloom. Kim is a mom, and the line of exclusive cars and trucks came from her son Ethan’s requests.

This is one of my favorite categories of toy. My mom recently brought out an old pull toy of mine and it is a classic that just keeps on giving. Push and pull toys delight babies, amuse toddlers, and occupy preschoolers. Some, like the sophisticated and clever mix-and-match Automoblox, are collectibles suited for older children, teens, and even adults.

The selections from our Hottest Holiday Toys Awards are engaging, interactive, and made from high-quality and often eco-friendly materials.

Kids love tracing. My daughter will set there filling page after page, tracing numbers and letters. In an attempt to save a few trees, I got her a dry-erase book for copying her letters and numbers. Which works pretty well until she forgets to clean it or the pen dries out or her baby brother gets ahold of the marker and tries to eat it.

Even better? The LeapFrog Scribble & Write…