A look at some of Ecotronics environmentally friendly toys from Toy Fair 2010 in New York City.
Ecotronics speaks with ToyQueen – Toy Fair 2010 NY
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2010, animals, Ecotronic, Educational, environmental, Fair, flashlight, Friendly, fun, international, intl, Jacob Javits Center, Keri, kids, New York, play, Plaything, preschool, pretend, radio, rocket, Ticia, toddlers, toy, toyqueen, Toys, Wilmont, Wilmot, zoo Leave a comment
Hasbro ToyFair Event New York City
Hasbro ToyFair 2010 Event
Today we had the pleasure of being invited to the Times Center in New York City to preview Hasbro’s newest products for 2010. Though I always knew that Hasbro represented a multitude of brands, seeing them all under one roof and in one room was exciting to think about all the fun to be had in the upcoming year. I never expected to feel so nostalgic since many of the toys I grew up enjoying are still on the market for our children to play with, in a new and improved, up-to-date version for today’s market.
The day began by presentations from Brian Goldner, Hasbro CEO; Jane Pitson Parsons, Hasbro’s Global Consumer 
Insights Leader; and Jerry Perez; Hasbro Senior Vice President Global Brand Leader Preschool Marketing. They all spoke about Hasbro’s plan to Reinvent, Reimagine and Reignite the brand. Not to mention their commitment to the social media space and to parents and caregivers worldwide, to maintain an open dialog, so that Hasbro can be the best they can be to provide an immersive play experience, as well as to foster innovation, ideation and creativity. Read More
Posted in Elementary, Family Games, Fine Motor Skills, Infant 0-12 months, Preschool 3-5 yrs old, Toddler 1-2 yrs old, Toddler 2-3 yrs old, Toys Tagged babies, baby, Candyland, Educational, family, Family Game Night, gloworld, infant, Life, monopoly, Mr Potato, New York City, NY, play, Play-Doh, playschool, preschool, Times Center, toddler, tonka, Toy Fair, ToyFair, toyqueen, Toys Leave a comment
SpinMaster’s Glodoodle Review by Toy Queen
SpinMaster’s Glodoodle Review by Toy Queen
Posted in Elementary, Preschool 3-5 yrs old, Toys Tagged baby, drawing, Glodoodle, infant, Keri, light, Master, pen, preschool, queen, Spin, Spinmaster, toddler, toy, toyqueen, tracing, transparent, Wilmot Leave a comment
Crayola TaDoodles Drop and See Review by ToyQueen
Crayola TaDoodles Drop and See Review by ToyQueen
Posted in Fine Motor Skills, Infant 0-12 months, Toddler 1-2 yrs old, Toys Tagged 1 year, 9 months, babies, baby, ball, beginnings, cause and effect, color recognition, colors, Crayola, Drop and See, hand over hand assistance, handle, Keri Wilmot, lever, play, release, Tadoodles, toy, toyqueen Leave a comment
Sassy Illumination Station!
3 month old Gavin playing with Sassy Illumination Station suctioned cup to booster seat tray
From the moment I opened the Sassy Illumination Station, I personally couldn’t wait to give it a whirl and twirl! It’s so visually appealing with many colors, has many textures to touch and makes a cool rattle noise when it’s spun that Gavin my three month old was immediately interested. It’s very easy to activate all the moving parts with a quick flick of the wrist, and not only does it encourage hand eye coordination, it provides exciting cause-and-effect play for young infants.
I used the suction cup to attach it to Gavin’s booster seat tray, clipped him in and positioned the tray. This may just be par for the course, but being a developmental specialist at heart, I could sit forever and watch him play with a toy, marveling in all of the little tricks he has quickly learned to do in his three short months of life. It’s so much fun to watch his curiousity and thinking skills develop as he repeatedly explores such an inviting toy. Read More
Thank You FedEx!
In mid-December I attended an event, sponsored by FedEx, at one of their FedEx office locations that provided some great strategies with regard to shipping FedEx and to promote the launch of their new Out of Office Blog. At the event we were provided with an item to ship anywhere in the United States to assist with our review, so needless to say my best friend in Florida was pleasantly surprised a few days later to an unexpected package at her door! A store credit was also allocated to purchase items from within the store. I chose to continue the experience with using FedEx services and used the credit to create our family’s first holiday greeting card. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a comment
Fabulous Infant Fun!
I apologize ahead of time that many of my posts over the next few weeks will most likely be infant related. When I return back to work after my maternity leave in two weeks, my mind should think in a broader perspective, but for now this cute little man is my reality!
In an effort to not become cluttered with baby items I put a lot of careful consideration into my choices. I did not register for a full size high chair, borrowed a friend’s old travel swing and bought an Infantino playmat that folds up to be stored to save on floor space.
This morning I was thinking of a way to entertain my 2 1/2 month old so that I could get a few household chores done in his presence with the use of my own two hands! So I decided to open up the First Years “Infant to Toddler Feeder Seat.” Don’t let the name fool you, he’s not ready for food for another two months or so, but he’ll get a great deal of use of this item before then, I know it! Love it already and so doesn’t Gavin. Read More
Posted in Baby Registry, Feeding, Fine Motor Skills, Infant 0-12 months Tagged attention span, babiesrus, bang, cause and effect, chair, Feeding, fine motor, fun, Infant 0-12 months, Infant to Toddler Feeding Seat, infantino, Keri, Keriann, play, rattle, recline, Sassy, strength, The First Years, toyqueen, vision, visual field, Wilmot Leave a comment
Leap Frog Post Holiday Sale
Just found out now through January 14th, ALL software is at least 25% off at leapfrog.com. That means every book for Tag and Tag Junior, every game for Leapster2 and Zippity. Some titles are even discounted as much as 60%. And clearance items are now up to 80% off. More than 50 toys, platforms, and games, all at super-low prices! Buy them up!
Mashable Holiday Party Recap!
@toyqueen, @realtweeter, @gamehouse, & @brett from @mashable
A few months ago we partnered with Mashable.com to assist in planning their Holiday Party at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City. The event was held on December 17, and was sponsored by Ceiva, Gamehouse, Hautelook and Real Player. Over 150 people attended and a great time was had by all!
As Mashable promotes social media for social good, in the spirit of holiday giving, a portion of the proceeds were donated to the Association to Benefit Children (www.a-b-c.org) in New York City.
ABC is an organization that is “dedicated to bringing joy and warmth to disadvantaged children and their families through compassionate, sustainable, comprehensive and integrated services, designed to permanently break the cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness and homelessness.”
I personally want to send out a big thank you to Hasbro (@familygamenight) and Mega Bloks (@megabrands) large toy corporations who donated items for the raffle, as well as a significant amount of toys and games that were donated directly to the Association to Benefit Children for use in their therapeutic programs. First and foremost, as an occupational therapist who works in a similar environment, I can vouch that those toys and games will have such a significant impact for several years both developmentally and socially on many children.
If you are considering an organization to donate to this holiday season, consider ABC (www.a-b-c.org) or even find a local early intervention program or shelter in your community that may benefit from a small toy donation.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged 2009, brett, Christmas, City, December, event, Game House, gamehouse, hasbro, Keri Wilmot, Mashable, Mashable Holiday Party, MegaBloks, Megabrands, New York, Party, queen, Real Player, Roger Smith, Roger Smith Hotel, toyqueen, Toys Leave a comment
ToyQueen’s Top 12 Holiday Toys for 2009
With the holidays fast approaching and in the spirit of gift giving, I’ve created a list of my 12 favorite educational toys. Toys were chosen based on their ability to combine fun, and developmental value over time. Most of these toys have multiple uses and can be used with a variety of different age groups!
There are 3 toys per category including Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Elementary School Age.
Birth to 12 months
1. Fisher-Price Stack & Roll Cups 
For infants, not only do these cups stack and nest, put them together to make a rolling ball! When children get older, these cups would make great sand and tub toys!
A great infant toy that combines a marble track with a fine motor activity box!
What infant doesn’t love dump and fill play, with the ability to generate early social skills by pushing the truck back and forth to a parent or sibling? Trucks will always last a lifetime! Read More
Posted in Elementary, Family Games, Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills, Infant 0-12 months, Preschool 3-5 yrs old, Toddler 1-2 yrs old, Toddler 2-3 yrs old, Toys Tagged 1-2-3 stomp, activities, art, babies, baby, blocks, Blue Orange, books, Candyland, cariboo, CAT, children, Christmas, cranium, Crayola, crayola town, crayon, crayon beginnings, drawing, Drop and See, dump truck, educational games, educational toys, Elementary, elementary school age, Fisher-price, Gifts, Gobblet Jr., hanukkah, hasbro, Holiday, Infant 0-12 months, infants, Leap Frog, list, Mattel, Mega Bloks, Megabrands, music, preschool, Preschool 3-5 yrs old, reading, ride-on, song, Stack and Roll cups, Tag, Tag Jr., Toddler 1-2 yrs old, toddlers, toyqueen, Toys, uno moo, wild planet Leave a comment
ToyQueen visits Santa’s “MEGA” Workshop at MEGA Bloks!
ToyQueen at Megabrands Toy Factory
A few weeks ago, I learned I had been one of 5 bloggers chosen to attend the Mega Bloks Rocks Mommy Blogger Event! On Tuesday, as we boarded the Air Canada flight from Boston, Montreal bound for Mega Bloks, the excitement was “building” thinking of what the factory itself would look like, as well as the curiosity of what some of the new products in development for 2010 would be.
When entering the family owned business, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, there was such a buzz in the air! Being only three weeks away from Christmas with an intense snowstorm brewing outside, many of us felt like we were at Santa’s Workshop! Never mind that we spent the day in the showroom, seated amongst all the new products for 2010! Talk about the ToyQueen being in toy heaven! Our name tags were even built out of micro blocks! Read More
Posted in Elementary, Family Games, Fine Motor Skills, Infant 0-12 months, Preschool 3-5 yrs old, Toddler 1-2 yrs old, Toddler 2-3 yrs old, Toys Tagged Air Canada, battlestrikers, boy, Canada, cars, creativity, elementary school age, fine motor skills, girl, imagination, Keri Wilmot, keriann Wilmot, magnext, MegaBloks, Megabrands, micro blocks, mini blocks, mommy blogger, Montreal, preschool, rose art, Streetz, toyqueen, Toys Leave a comment
25% off at Giftventure.com for followers of ToyQueen.com!
Giftventure.com has offered friends and followers of ToyQueen.com 25% off a Giftventure experience. To benefit from this discount, insert the promo code TOYQUEEN at checkout. Thanks Giftventure.com! Watch the video and read the posts below for more information on this exciting educational experience!
Follow Giftventure on Twitter - @Giftventure
Giftventure.com provides personalized holiday gift adventures!
www.giftventure.com
Then I thought, if it were me, how could I make giving the gifts at a later date a special opportunity, and immediately I thought of Giftventure.com! Read More
Posted in Elementary, Family Games, Preschool 3-5 yrs old Tagged adventure, boys, children, Christmas, Derek Wilmot, entertaining, Family Games, gift, Gifts, GiftVenture, girls, hanukkah, Holiday, indoors, Keri Wilmot, kids, online, outdoors, Parents, santa, surprise, toyqueen, Toys, venture Leave a comment
Disney Toy Story 3 Preview event in New York City for Toy Fair 2010
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story toy soliders decsend from the ceiling at the Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter holds a lego replica of himself
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter poses next to lego replica of himself
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Ratzenberger poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Lasseter poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City
February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City gets shown some of the new toys for 2010 by one of the Disney executives