Meet Nicolas! The Plush Musical Wolf Kids Love

And WE love Nicolas too!  This whimsical toddler toy is one of the most unique activity plush you'll come across, and he quickly became a big customer favorite since his debut.

So what makes Nicolas so different?

Whimsical french baby toy company, Lilliputiens, is known for producing cool interactive plush toys that appeal to babies and tots 6 months and up.  They even feature a colorful cast of characters, ranging from Arnold the Pirate Hippo, Jef the puppy dog, Ophelie the chicken, and even more plush friends.

Each character comes in a variety of different designs, such as soft rattles, puppets, musical plush, and colorful teether toys.  This particular Lilliputiens toy definitely stands out for its truly unique design and features.  Simply pull up Nicolas' corduroy top hat to switch on an instrumental version of "Humpty Dumpty", while a charming little plush bunny awaits inside his hat to say hello!

But what's our most favorite feature of Musical Nicolas?

His face illuminates with soft twinkling lights as the music plays!  Making it a great sleep aid for babies and tots, this special plush wolf has been a regular favorite for baby shower gifts, first birthdays, and holiday presents.

Nicolas also promotes gross motor skill development and sensory stimulation.  The pull-string top hat helps improve large arm movements, plus young kids are treated to a visual and musical experience as they enjoy a twinkling music show.

What was your favorite plush toy growing up?

The Very Colorful World Of Soft Baby Blocks

Toy blocks that crisp and crackle to the touch are just one of the many beneficial features of today's soft toys for baby.  One of our favorite baby building toys, the wonder soft blocks set, does just that and even more cool stuff. 

Tot's really enjoy the neat sounds and tactile feeling of their favorite soft blocks, but these special German-made wonder blocks introduces a range of intriguing features to help stimulate the senses as well, such as mesh-like textures, ribbed surfaces, soft reflective windows, velcro blocks, a captivating color palette to stimulate color recognition, and a sturdy design for easy stacking.

Soft blocks with little windows and doors that allow kids to discover new images is a fun way to help improve object recognition, like pets, people, natural objects like leaves and trees, elements of a home, and more.

So when is the right age to introduce soft blocks?

Soft baby toys are designed for a variety of age ranges, and early soft block sets are good for kids who're just discovering their clutching and object placement abilities.  Children as young as just 6m can benefit from soft block sets from Apple Park, HABA and Lamaze, just to name a few.  Our favorite wonder blocks set is actually designed for children ages 6m and up and comes with its own accompanying carrying case for quick and easy storage too.

An introduction to more involved wooden building sets, soft blocks help kids improve their manual dexterity and creative thinking to eventually create more complex structures later on.

What are your most early memories of using building toys?  LEGO?  Traditional wooden block sets?  Let us know in the comments below!

Encouraging Imaginative Play With The Chalet Dollhouse

Dollhouses have been a staple of Childhood play for generations of kids.  Allowing children to decorate and arrange their own dollhouses helps inspire creative ideas, like an early fascination with architecture, design, art, and even creative writing.  Dollhouses often serve as a stage for kids to set up their own original plays, craft their dream homes, and even act out ideas of what they want to be when they grow up!

Today there's a wide selection of dollhouse designs to choose from, ranging from that traditional Victorian style to more modern houses with minimalist decor.  Falling into a category of it's own is the sustainable Chalet style dollhouse with that cool and earthy color palette, modern skylights and open design.  These dollhouses aren't confined to one look either and are designed to be arranged in a variety of ways.

There's a lot of room for imaginative play and creativity here.  Kids can choose whether their cascading stairs should belong in or outside the house, turn the dollhouse itself into separate condos, decide on the feng shui of the accompanying furniture, or even add compatible parts to create an epic sprawling metropolis.

Like creative writing, painting, and theater, imaginative play with dollhouses can serve as a creative outlet for kids of all different ages.  Wee ones who're still developing their logical thinking skills, creativity and object recognition naturally take to dollhouses because they allow hem to work out and understand the world around them.

While kids who're growing a little older may see dollhouses as a platform for working out more complex and creative ideas, like coming up with dollhouse decoration plans built around color or themes.  Kids naturally start to pick out their own dollhouse furniture, accessories, and miniature dolls to create more involved worlds.

What are some of your favorite dollhouse memories?  Let us know in the comment section below!