I miss my kids being little. It’s not only because I can’t help but look forward with dread towards the day “spread their wings” and “fly the coop.” I want to keep them young forever.
During the holiday season I can’t help but think about Christmases past when they were all excited about Santa Claus coming and waking up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning to open presents.
Shopping for my kids was more fun when they were little too. There are so many cool toys available that I know they would love to have. Shopping for teens is not nearly as fun. It seems like my daughter’s holiday wish list suddenly went from dolls and Barbies to Michael Kors handbags and an iPhone 6S. Sigh… My son is no better. He went from wanting every car and truck imaginable to nothing. That’s right – nothing. He doesn’t have a wish list. He told us to buy him some clothes – that’s it. How boring is that?
Thankfully I work with kids and we have friends with young children too, so I am still able to buy gifts for little ones.
I have a fun time shopping for toys. I often feel like a big kid too wishing I could play with the toys.
Are you familiar with the brand HABA? HABA sells brand name toys and products for children of all ages – from newborns to 8+ years old.
HABA carries award winning toys, educational toys and games as well as top baby shower gifts.
HABA carries their own brand of toys as well as Götz, Lilliputiens, Spielstabil, Moover and Lassig. I’m assuming these brands are from Europe.
HABA sent me a few products that they carry on their site to review.
I chose two products from HABA and two from Lassig.
From HABA I chose toys that I could donate to the children that I work with. I know they love puzzles and games, as well as things they can do with others, or play with on their own.
This is a cute game that can be enjoyed alone or as a group. It’s designed for multiple players, but I have seen children play with this on it’s own. It’s recommended for 2-4 players.
Animal Upon Animal comes with adorable, colorful wooden animals.
According to the brand;
Crocodiles, frilled lizards, sheep, toucans and monkeys, hedgehogs and snakes… you’ll never find such a motley mix of animals in any other game, and it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary: Animal Upon Animal from HABA! The entertaining stacking game was first released in 2005 and has since sold over 600,000 copies! One of HABA’s most popular games, this game is a winner of the Major Fun! Award and recipient of the Mr. Dad Seal of Approval. Players race each other to be the first to place all of their wooden animals upon the animal pile before any of the other players. A roll of the die tells the players how many animals can be placed or whether they can add to the alligator base. This game fosters hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
It’s fun to try and stack the animals on top of one another without them toppling over. For the most part they stay but sometimes they might slide and all the animals come falling down. Sometimes they fall down if they are accidentally bumped. I think that is where the eye/hand coordination comes in – you have to stack the animal on top without bumping the structure, plus you have to put it on just right or it can all come falling down.
The pieces could double as play toys too.
Angles to Angles Arranging Game
I chose this game because it looked like something that would work both as a toy/game that can be played individually or with another person.
Angles to Angels comes with an assortment of colorful blocks in a “wave” shape.
Arrange and build with patterns galore. The angle blocks can be arranged horizontally or vertically, sorted by colors or all mixed up, stacked or placed! Many different creative options stimulate your child’s imagination. Thanks to the unique design and different colors the 32 blocks can be made into fascinating patterns can be created over & over again. Made in Germany of solid beech wood.
I have watched the kids I work with play with this toy and they come up with some pretty elaborate designs.
The blocks can be placed side by side, end to end and on top of each other. The possibilities are endless.
This is a great toy for “quiet time” play. I play with these blocks too sometimes. I find it relaxing – similar to coloring in a coloring book. You can just let your mind be as creative as you want. There are no “rules” to follow.
I have another HABA product that was not sent to me to review. I purchased it on my own. It’s one of their dolls. I purchased Baby Lucas to use with a miniature Red Rider wagon that I have.
I LOVE the comic Calvin & Hobbes. I have a miniature red wagon and a Tiger that looks a lot like Hobbes. I wanted to find a little blonde hair doll to dress up like Calvin. I even purchased black shorts and a red shirt for it. Sadly the clothes I bought were too big for the HABA doll (Baby Lucas). I ended up donating the doll to my former place of employment.
All of their dolls are absolutely adorable. If we had a larger home I would collect them because they make me smile every time I look at them.
Are these not the cutest dolls?
Let’s not forget the other awesome toys and games available on the HABA website. Many of these toys are also found at retailers across the country. Visit the HABA website to find a location near you.
They also have some wonderful play food should your child happen to have a toy kitchen.
When it comes to the holiday season we cannot forget the littlest members of our family. HABA has plenty of delightful gift ideas for babies too.
Two of my suggestions (which would make a wonderful gift when combined together) are the Lela Plush Deer and Lela Bibs.
I was sent both to review.
The bibs are darling. My apologies for the photos not coming out too clearly.
The Lassig Lela Small Bib Value Set comes with three adorable and soft baby bibs. They are available in blue or pink. Each bib features Lela, a sweet little baby deer, in different positions.
These bibs are made with a polyester/cotton blend with a special waterproof layer. They also have a convenient hook and loop fastener on the side making it easy to put on and take off.
These bibs are recommended for babies ages newborn to six months.
Lassig also has a Lela plush deer – available in two different sizes. I was sent the 6″ Lela Plush Toy. She is the perfect addition to the bib set. Also available is a larger (10″) Lela Plush Deer, Lela swaddles and burp blankets, dish set, board book and a few more items.
The Lela Plush Deer is darling! So soft and cute. He/She would make a wonderful new friend for a baby. This is the type of toy that a child would cherish for a long time. Due to her tiny size it makes her portable so that she can be toted around where ever your child (or grandchild) goes.
Lela products make perfect baby shower and newborn gifts too.
As luck would have it our neighbor recently gave birth to a little girl, so we gifted the Lela products to her.
If you would like to learn more about HABA and Lassig toys and games (or the other brands mentioned earlier in the post) visit HABAUSA.com. You can find them across social media as well. The links are found at the bottom of their website.
Are you a fan of the HABA, Lassig or other brands mentioned here? What do you think about their toys and games?
Kimberly
*I received free product samples (except the Lucas doll – I purchased him on my own a long time ago) in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Barbara Seeger says
I am in love with the dolls. I have never seen or heard of the brand before. None of the brands for that matter.
My granddaughters love playing with dolls. They would make great gifts for them. Do you know if the dolls fit standard size doll clothes?
Emily says
Thank you for this review. I’ve been looking for gift ideas for my nieces and nephews. I love the dolls. They are cute. I also like the puzzle game. I think I could have fun with that.