I’ve always loved toy shopping, even before I had a child. Choosing gifts for nieces and nephews and thinking about what I would have loved (or what I DID love) at their ages gave me a thrill. And I know wasn’t the only adult wishing I could spend an afternoon playing with that Barbie Corvette (well, now it’s probably a Barbie SmartCar) before sending it on its way to the lucky recipient. I know adults who drool over huge LEGO kits. Others covet their kids’ miniature musical instruments, hoping for an excuse to play that mini ukulele. We all have our secret childish longings.

For me, it’s fake fruit.

German toys are widely recognized as some of the most beautiful in the world, and I spent three years living in the toy capital of Deutschland, host to the world’s largest toy fair and an extensive toy museum. HABA, maker of high-quality games and wooden and fabric toys, was my obsession long before I even contemplated having a child. Its beautifully designed playthings appealed to my retro tastes – no licensed characters, simple aesthetics, sturdy construction – and I found that they were some of the few products that were actually less expensive to purchase in Germany than in the USA.

I often found myself straying from my usual shampoo-shopping in Mueller (a German chain that’s about as close to Target as it gets in Deutschland) over toward the toy area. And once I learned I was pregnant, I finally felt like I could indulge my childhood yen. I’d seen the bins of brightly-painted pears and string beans before; now I had an excuse to actually put some in my shopping basket. Each lovely bunch of grapes, each shiny apple cost just a euro or two. So every time I strolled through the store on a mission to find ballpoint pens or razors or, eventually, diapers, I found a bit of delight in picking up another piece of HABA toy food. I brought it home and stashed it all away, impatiently waiting for my son to arrive and then for him to be old enough for me…erm, I mean HIM to play with it.

You can imagine my excitement, then, when my son recently reached his second birthday and I realized he could understand and safely play* with these toys I’d been buying for him since before anyone but his father and I even knew he existed. I presented them to him, knowing that chances were good that he would take one look and turn his back on my favorite morsels in favor of his beloved cars. But, thanks to his healthy appetite, he fully embraced my favorite playthings, baking me a “cake” of carrots, sausage, and a green-leafed bunch of purple grapes.

HABA makes a huge array of wonderful children’s products, but their culinary delights were the first to capture my heart. Their toys conform to high safety and environmental standards. Now that I’ve left Germany, I miss being able to just pick up a sturdy strawberry or breakable egg on my regular shopping excursions. But the good news is that HABA food is widely available individually and in sets all over the world and all over the web.

Bon Appetit!

*As with all toys, especially playthings that look like they could be tasty, pay careful attention to size and durability before judging whether they are safe to give a small child.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Mutsy EasyGrow Review and Discount (1)
• Pedipeds Shoes – Review and Giveaway! (34)
• Janoschik Toys (2)
• Odenwaelder Babynest (0)
• Not So Good Stuff: Bino Wobbly Stacker (0)

Vilac is an 80 year old French toy manufacturer making beautiful wooden toys that are described as works of art that are extensions of their creators’ personalities.  The Vilac websites lists shops and online shops carrying their toys.  Additionally, Vilac is sold by baby-and-friends.com in Germany.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Glueckskaefer wooden puzzles (4)
• Janoschik Toys (2)
• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Gourmandise, the sexiest nursing bra ever? (3)
• The Mooncup Reusable Menstrual Cup (8)

Holztiger is a German toy company that makes brightly colored, hand-carved, hand-painted animal figurines.  There are hundreds of animals to choose from, many available in varied poses, so your child can have a herd of cows, a clowder of cats, or a gaggle of geese.  There are over a dozen trees, a barnyard, and even an arc.  And for wooden toys, they are surprisingly affordable, with most animals ranging between 4 Euro and 12 Euro.

Holztiger toys are available online in Germany, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and the US. You can find a listing of online stores carrying Holztiger toys on the company’s website. There is also a list of shops in these and additional countries.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Janoschik Toys (2)
• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Glueckskaefer wooden puzzles (4)
• What strollers are best for cobblestone streets? (7)
• Vilac Toys (3)

Something else I ran across in Nikolai-Eck during my visit to Leipzig, were Glückskäfer nesting toys.  These are beautiful, German produced, heirloom quality, wooden nesting puzzles.  Glückskäfer has been in business for over 60 years and believes in producing quality over quantity.  For German speakers, they’re available from the Glückskäfer website in Germany.  They’re also available from Fine Wooden Toys in the US, and Laughing Bear Toys in the UK.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Vilac Toys (3)
• Janoschik Toys (2)
• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Odenwaelder Babynest (0)
• Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere! (1)

Last week, I found the most amazing toys in a religious run shop, Nikolai-Eck, at Nikolaikirchhof in Leipzig (if you’re in the area, definitely pay it a visit). I’ll post about them over the next few days. First up is Janoschik Toys (German site, English site).

These are seriously cute wooden toys in the shapes of animals, like the ride on scooters above and the coin banks below. Aren’t those owls just precious?

The toys are hand made of European wood in Germany and seemed substantial and of very nice quality when I examined them in the store. I also think that my photos somehow turned out to represent the actual cuteness of the toys better than the photos on the Janoschik website, and they were even cuter in person (was seriously difficult not walking out of the store with one of those mouse scooters).

The scooters and coin banks are available from Holzfarm.de (site in German) and the scooters only from Artedona.de (English and German). Artedona ships worldwide.

You may also be interested in reading:

• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Glueckskaefer wooden puzzles (4)
• Vilac Toys (3)
• The BVS Top Ten Toys of 2008 (0)
• Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere! (1)

For your playing pleasure, here are the top ten toys of 2008 as judged by the German BVS, Bundesverband des Spielwaren-Einzelhandels (Federal Association of Toy Retailers).  They’re not all available outside of Germany, but most are.  Have fun!

1. Biscuit the Golden Retriever from Furreal Friends by Hasbro - A surprisingly realistic robotic dog.  $179.99 from HasbroToys in the USA, €249,99 in Germany (product page at Hasbro.de). For ages 5 and up.
2. Cosmic Catch by Hasbro - A ball game for 2-6 players where the ball tells you who to throw it to next. Mess up and you’re out! $24.99 from Hasbro.com, €34,99 in Germany (product page at Hasbro.de). For ages 7 and up.

3. Eichhorn Marbletrax from Simba Toys - A wooden train set and marble run in one.  Couldn’t find it in the US, but here’s the English product page at SimbaToys.de, €44,99 for 33 piece set (product page at SimbaToys.de). Ages 3 and up.
4. EyeClops, the TV Microscope by Jakks Pacific - A handheld microscope that magnifies anything by 200 times and broadcasts the images to a television $39.99 in the US (product page at JakksPacific.com), €49,95 in Germany from EyeClops-Mikroskop.de).  Ages 6 and up.

5. Galileo Carnivorous Plants and Grass of the Dinosaurs by Clementoni - Grow real carnivorous plants in a greenhouse.  €27,99 in Germany. For ages 8 and up.
6. MX-81 Hypersonic Operations Aircraft by LEGO - The flagship of LEGO astronauts.  $79.99 in the USA from LEGO.com, €89,90 in Germany from LEGO.com.  For ages 6-14.

7. Silverlit PicooZ TandemZ by Silverlit - Small, stable remote controlled helicoptor that can even be flown indoors.  Available in red, orange, blue and green camo.  €44,95 in Germany at Amazon.de, £24.99 with Europe-wide shipping from from Amazon.co.uk.  For ages 15 and up.
8. Playmobil Ancient Egypt by Geobra Brandstätter - Help your kids discover the mysteries of Egypt.  €79,99 in Germany from Playmobil.de. Does not seem to be available yet on most of the other Playmobil country sites.  For ages 5 and up.

9. Schweine Schwarte by Goliath Toys - How many hamburgers can the pig eat?  Players take turns feeding the pig until he explodes.  Whoever fed him the last hamburger is out.  For 2-6 players. €24,95 in Germany from Amazon.de.  For ages 4 and up.
10. U.B. Funkeys by Radica / Mattel - Collectable figures that unlock a virtual world of fun and games.  Starter set for $14.61 in USA from Amazon.com, €27,89 in Germany from Amazon.de (see also the official German site).  For ages 8 and up.

You may also be interested in reading:

• The BVS Top Ten Toys of 2009 (2)
• Janoschik Toys (2)
• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Vilac Toys (3)
• Splat! (1)

I really, really wanted to be able to write a great review for this Czech-produced wooden Wobbly Stacking Pyramid by Bino World of Toys, but that’s not going to be possible.

We bought this from a local furniture store and it was the first stacker I’d seen that I really liked. Unfortunately, after getting it home, we found that the paint was flaking off the bottom of the base. I didn’t think to take pictures of the defect at the time, but you can see the start of it circled in green in the photo on the right (click the photo for a larger version). We took it back and the store happily exchanged it for another. I was still ready to love it, things like that can happen every once in a while, then we pulled out the new one (no photo, sorry). This time the large yellow lower ring was wedged onto the base and unbudgeable. In addition to this, the orange ring had a large crack.

Now I was annoyed, and in my mama-chaos, I’d misplaced the receipt. I went back to the store, who said they could only provide a refund with a receipt (it was only 9.50 Euro, but I guess rules are rules), so the manager and I took down their entire stock (about 4 or 5, can’t remember) and managed to piece together an undamaged set for me to take home, since we found that they all had a defect. She said she was very sorry about the problems and that they wouldn’t be ordering from this company again.

After about a week, the wooden rod came loose from the base of this newest one. Not only that, but the information on the box led me to believe this was a German-made toy (it says it’s from Bino GmbH, Seitzstr 8, D-79115 Freiburg, Germany) and it wasn’t until I Google Bino for this review that i found out it was a Czech company. That seems a little deceptive to me, not that I have anything against the Czech Republic, I would have bought it anyway, I just find that odd.

I’ll be gluing it back together, and we’ll keep using it because I do like the look and feel of it, and it’s one of Oliver’s favorite toys, but I really wish Bino would work on their quality control. I can only recommend Bino’s products if you’re able to very thoroughly examine the toy yourself for defects before purchase. That said, I probably won’t be purchasing another Bino product myself.

You may also be interested in reading:

• HABA Toy Food (4)
• Good Stuff: Sack-N-Seat (6)
• Pedipeds Shoes – Review and Giveaway! (34)
• Mutsy Grow-Up! Review and Giveaway (23)
• Mutsy EasyGrow Review and Discount (1)