Play Right: Eco-friendly kids toys for the holidays

169457_471059246265576_1802608079_oFrom perching elves on shelves to building train tracks around the tree, the holidays are a perfect time to share in the fun of kids’ toys. At New Jammies, we love toy manufacturers, specialty shops and online retailers whose goals are to improve our communities and the lives of our children.

Play time is an important part of a child’s development and we love that we can help make it a little better. As the holidays draw near, we’ve found these eco-friendly products that help us meet our mission of developing a healthy lifestyle for our most precious resource – children.

happy_hybridWe start off with one of our New Jammies founder’s son’s favorite toys. He loves this little car, which she purchased at an arts festival in New Jammies Colorado hometown, the Carbondale Mountain Fair. From North Star Toys, the Happy Hybrid all-natural toy car  is made with alder and birch and non-toxic paint is five inches long. The toy features a compact, easy-rolling design with five rainbow passengers (also comes in natural).

North Star Toys, based in New Mexico, has hand-crafted quality, non-toxic wooden toys out of walnut, oak, alder and other fine woods at affordable prices since 1979. With a commitment to environmental sustainability, the company’s durable designs feature non-toxic oils paints and oils to allow the wood’s natural beauty to shine and recycled materials when possible.

We also love North Star Toys’ Baby’s First Animals and Creative Play Sets, perfect for dollhouses, sandboxes, bathtub, car or anywhere. Learn more and shop online at www.northstartoys.com.

From wooden toys including oversized domino sets and horse rockers to train sets and stencil kits, the Magic Cabin, found online at www.magiccabin.com, encourages open-ended, creative, imaginative play with simple, natural toys an135952_471059472932220_556832310_od crafts.  Popular holiday toys include a 100% pure Holiday Beeswax Candle Rolling Kit for fun gift-making with the kids and the Margaret Wise Brown Treasury by the beloved “Goodnight Moon” author.

Educational and eco-friendly kids’ toys can also be found at growingtreetoys.com, where the store’s goal is to teach children the importance of environmental consciousness while providing the same fun and play as other toys. The company discovers products constructed in ways gentler to the environment and from manufacturers committed to helping the earth. The Green Toys Tea Set is a cute 17-piece pretend play toy with made from eco-friendly materials in the U.S. for two years and up.

Kids three and up can learn about gardening and the environment with DuneCraft’s Desert Biodome Terrarium on growingtreetoys.com. The kit recycles water and thrives with minimal care, showing curious kids how to grow 25 varieties of unusual cacti and succulents in a biodome terrarium with natural gravel, sand, and stones.

Arts and crafts, early learning toys, fantasy and dress-up clothes, youth musical instruments, and old-fahioned toys are a few of the popular natural organic toys available at ourgreenhouse.com. A few of our favorites are the Natural Finger Painting 5-Piece Set, great for bath time, and Eco-friendly Stocking Stuffers including aromatherapy bubble bath, wool finger puppets, and felted coin purses.

My Little Green Shop is a hip e-boutique geared for eco-conscious families offering online shopping for eco-conscious toys, puzzles, and games we love. Maple Landmark Environment Memory Tiles  are made in the USA and feature images for recycling, renewable power sources, the seasons and even a hybrid car to exercise kids’ memory skills in a green way. There are also wooden matching,  alphabet, and peg puzzles perfect for fun and education with the kids.

Bunnies Picnica family-owned e-boutique specializing in iteme for babies, girls, and tweens, has a variety of cute toys and doll clothing, donating a percentage of their profits to buy new clothing for foster children in the United States. Bunnies Picnic toys that kids will love to unwrap this holiday season include Hazel Village organic ragdolls such as Annicke the Mouse BallerinaOwen the Fox in Green Waistcoat and Ragtalew Primrose the Pig Mini Ragdoll.

We know Santa would approve.

————————–

46462_471058762932291_1055129273_nVote for New Jammies!

New Jammies is being nominated for the Cribsie Awards here at cribsieawards.com/nominate.

Founded in 2010 and hosted by StrollerTraffic.com, the Cribsie Awards recognize the best products, services, and websites for babies and tots. The Cribsies offer a secure voting platform that limits users to one unique vote per email address, meaning the Cribsies are a true, untainted measure of the public’s opinion on the top parenting brands. With hundreds of thousands of votes cast and a reach in the millions, the Cribsies have quickly become the definitive awards for parents.

You nominate. They select. Parents vote. Support New Jammies today!