Santa Claus (*ahem) is coming to town in less than two months. The countdown is on… are you ready? With old man winter spewing frozen ice and snow, getting into the spirit of holiday shopping when it’s miserable outside can be challenging and - let’s face it - often put off until the last minute. But fear not, weary parents, we at Calgary’s Child are always on top of our toy game pre-holiday rush and we laugh in the face of old man winter ‘cuz we’ve already done the shopping for you! From babe to tween, we’ve got top-notch toys for every age and stage in-between.
BABY ON THE GROW
Exclusive Atelier Choux™ Gift Set: Designed in the style of a Parisian ‘hotel particulier,’ Atelier Choux’s signature gift set contains their three best-selling organic cotton, large format ‘carrés. The top floor’s windows open to showcase each carré’s unique print, featuring Atelier Choux’s signature swan and her multi-story château, a clattering clan of Robots in Action, and the wiggly creatures of The Ocean Deep. To purchase this gift set and to also use the code ‘CALGARY10’ to receive 10 per cent off your next purchase, exclusive to Calgary’s Child readers!, visit atelierchoux.com.
Six Sisters Beadworks Hand Stamped Gold Cuff Bracelet: A true classic! This 14K gold cuff bracelet is the perfect keepsake gift for a baby or little girl. Custom-sized to fit. Also popular as a beautiful mother-daughter set. Use the inside for adding a special date, message, or verse. Purchase at sixsistersbeadworks.com.
Fisher-Price® Dance & Move BeatBowWow: The buttons on BeatBowWow’s paws activate fun songs, lights, and dance moves! His head bobs side-to-side, his ears wiggle to the beat, and his soft tail wags back and forth. He will also introduce your babe to colors and counting. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
Mega® Bloks First Builders Block Scooping Wagon: Watch the blocks spin inside the clear compartment when being pushed along. Dump the blocks out and use them to build anything your little one can imagine or build directly to the handle. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
CREATIVE PLAY
Fisher-Price® Laugh & Learn® Let’s Get Ready Sink: A fun toddler play sink to inspire role-play! Turn the sink knobs, pump the soap, or use the toothbrush, toothpaste, and comb. Hear songs and phrases that teach toddlers about daily routines, familiar objects, colors, letters, and more! Purchase at Toys “R” Us.
Little Tikes Cook ’n Learn Smart Kitchen™: Your pint-size chef can cook up a storm! Toddlers and preschoolers will love hearing the knife chopping, eggs sizzling, and water pouring, just like in a real kitchen! Introduce a mobile device and load the free app to take kitchen role-play to a new level of interactive play. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Sears, Indigo, and Walmart.
Fantasma Magic Presto Chango Role Play Set: This set includes everything a beginning magician needs! Set includes a magical top hat that appears from nowhere then magically produces any small item, a cape that includes a magical secret of its own, a floating magic wand, color-changing silks, a bonus set of magic cards, and more! Purchase at Mastermind Toys® and Toys “R” Us.
Disney® Junior Doc McStuffins Hospital Care Cart: This Toy Hospital Care Cart features a light and sound patient scanner with interchangeable X-ray card, a talking EKG area with a printout EKG roller, a kid powered blood pressure pump, a real working drawer, and a patient bed! Also comes with patient Findo. Purchase at
Toys “R” Us.
ANYTIME PLAYTIME
Fisher-Price® Code-a-pillar™: Inspires little learners to think big by encouraging kids to arrange (and rearrange) easy-to-connect spires experimentation, and helps build important skills like problem-solving, planning and sequencing, and critical thinking. Each time kids change and rearrange his segments, Code-a-pillar™ takes a different path. Purchase at Toys “R” Us.
Barbie® Dancin Fun Horse: Barbie can swing up onto her horse and begins to ride in one swift motion! Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and amazon.
DC Super Hero Girls Action Dolls: Inspired by the story of teens with super powers in high school. These dolls’ fashions include elements from original super heroes. Articulation allows for lots of action and poses. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
My Little Pony® Explore Equestria Crystal Empire Castle Playset: This glamorous castle has a rotating light-up feature and reflects three cutie marks at the press of a heart-shaped button. It also has two staircases and areas for play on all sides. 16 fun accessories include a dress, throne, crystal vanity, cradle, and jewels. There are also two closets that have shelves that can spin and a swing! Purchase at Walmart.
Hatchimals™ Electronic Hatching Friend: Hatchimals are interactive magical creatures inside eggs! Who’s inside? It’s a surprise! Care for them and they will hatch themselves with your help. Teach yours to walk, talk, play games, and more as you raise them through multiple stages. Purchase at Mastermind Toys®.
Rubik’s Spark: Addictive fun for everyone! The Spark’s Gyroscopic ‘Bubble’ technology gives you an exciting and interactive gaming experience! Using special built-in sensors, the Spark recognizes where the lights are as you flip, move, and twist the cube. Face-off against friends and family, race the clock, or beat your personal record. Purchase at rubiksspark.ca.
THE NEED FOR SPEED!
Air Hogs® - Helix Sentinel Drone: The Helix Sentinel Drone comes with First Person View (FPV) goggles to attach to your phone and stream the drone’s HD video - now you’ve got the ultimate bird’s eye view! Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, Sears, Amazon, and Mastermind Toys®.
Fisher-Price® Thomas and Friends™ Trackmaster ™ - Thomas Sky-High Bridge Jump: This train set takes Thomas off the track and into the air! Thomas soars over two feet in the air before landing safely on the other side. Features a cargo hopper, waving flags, a barrel cargo piece, and removable Harold the helicopter. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
Hot Wheels® Criss Cross Crash: Kids can launch their vehicles on the track, sending them spinning around, racing closer to an exhilarating collision in three different crash zones. With two launchers, kids can add more cars until they meet up in a dramatic crash. Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
Fisher-Price® Little People® Sit ‘N Stand Skyway: Kids can zip their Wheelies vehicles over the roads and down the ramps of the horizontal town. It can change from a sit-at roadway to a stand-up mountain skyway! Purchase at Toys “R” Us, Walmart, and Amazon.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Remote Control Skateboarding Mikey: Mikey brings the most extreme member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to life with this innovative, remote control vehicle. By using the remote control, you can watch Mikey perform awesome skateboarding moves. He even includes self-righting action, which means if he falls over, you can use the remote to get him back up and keep going! Walmart exclusive.
OVER-THE-HOLIDAY PARENTING READS FOR MOM & DAD
MoMENts: A Dad Holds On by Patrick Hempfing: Patrick, a former CPA turned stay-at-home dad, shares hilarious and poignant moments as he tries to hold on to his precocious child. Patrick conquers the day-to-day challenges of daddy-daughter chaos while embracing the pockets of love, joy, and happiness that make fatherhood so exhilarating. For more information about Patrick Hempfing, visit his website, https://patrickhempfing.com. Purchase his book at Amazon.
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns by Elizabeth Pantley: With this book, you will learn: the things that trick us into disrupting a baby’s sleep; how to identify the perfect moment for a nap; ways to create a sleep-inducing environment; tips to reduce the number of night wakings; and how to set the stage for great sleep throughout babyhood. For more information about Elizabeth Pantley, visit her website, http://elizabethpantley.com. Purchase her new book at Amazon.
Melissa is the Copy Editor at Calgary’s Child Magazine. She is definitely not a true Canadian as she hates the snow and cold - except for that one day out of the year: Christmas day!
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