Gifted Originals

As you may be aware, Gifted Originals likes to think of itself as the purveyors of educational, fun, and creative toys. With this in mind, the addition of Melissa and Doug to our already wonderful collection of products is what some may say as a match made in toy heaven.

Here’s a bit of history from the toy makers themselves:Twenty years ago, we started our company in the garage of the home where Doug grew up — we had to be careful not to disturb Doug’s parents who were still living there! Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to move into a real office down the road, a building that actually has separate ladies and men’s bathrooms! Our philosophy has remained the same over the years–to make each and every customer a happy and permanent member of the Melissa & Doug family, while offering products with tremendous value, quality and design. We’ve always welcomed customer suggestions, and we continually strive to make improvements to our products. We’re honored by the faith you place in us and view it as our responsibility to continue to earn your trust in the years to come!

With similar, organic beginnings, Gifted Originals and Melissa and Doug share the same ethos about what a good, lasting toy means to children. Needless to say, we are chuffed to be stocking their toys and have every faith that they’re going to live up to our customers’ high standards.

As the little one gets older, ideas for birthday parties get that bit harder. In fact, I have one friend who received the same birthday cake every year for 23 years – one suspects it had less to do with tradition, and more to do with an idea shortage.

Hearing your conundrum, ‘mommy’ website, Lil Sugar, has singled out the sixth birthday as the one to worry about. Apparently the proof is quite literally in the pudding when showing the birthday kid that you care, so the cake needs to be up to scratch. Here are a few ideas:

1. Birthday Tower: A layered birthday cake is like a whole tower of birthday fun, especially when you decorate with colorful sprinkles and sweets.
2. Rainbow Bright: Why choose one color when you can have them all? A rainbow cake is sure to make any birthday kid smile.
3. At the Ranch: A cool Western-style ranch or fort is relatively easy to construct and makes for a great birthday party theme, too.
4. In the Jungle: Make your own cub smile with a cake decked out with trees and tigers, and bears — oh my!
5. Two’s Better than One: If you’re baking for a big group or if your little one can’t decide between his favorite colors, make two treats like these awesome Lego cakes!
6. Spell it Out: Spelling out your birthday girl’s name with cake is an extra special way to celebrate the day.

If you want one less thing to worry about, take a look at the Party section on the Gifted Originals website. Here you’ll find all your party needs minus all the hassle!

We’re all aware of how PC childhood has become: sports day banned because of health and safety, conkers prohibited because of, yes, health and safety, and singing ‘Ba Ba Black Sheep’ prohibited because it may cause offence. It’s little wonder some are starting to feel a little hacked off with all this, but one toy maker has took it a step further and is encouraging boys to get in touch with their inner Dennis the Menace.

Bringing back the infamous catapult and the notorious pea-shooter, Mike O’Shea, founder of the Wicked Uncle website which is selling the non-PC toys, said, “We’re fed up with the amount of pointless, weedy toys that are given to kids these days and we’re equally sick of the scourge of video games which waste away the imaginations of kids.

“Kids should be out climbing trees, crawling through brambles and making dens.”

Gifted Originals can’t help but agree. Yes, he’s going to run in with grazed knees, and she also might get dirt under her finger nails, but isn’t this what being young is all about, riddled with a sense adventure which slowly but surely diminishes with age?

While a catapult might not be the best to impress the neighbours, they’ll soon learn they can’t aim and shoot without paying the consequences. Come on people, let children be children and indulge in mischief, adventure, and bonding with their fellow comrades!

A trip to grandma’s usually involves taking a colouring book, a good book, their favourite teddy, and of course, pyjamas. All the other toys have to stay at home until Olivia returns from the treat-galore trip, but what if Gifted Originals told you there’s something else your little one can bring for the weekend away?

Believe it or not, the dolls’ house can also come along, too. You see, the Melissa and Doug’s Fold and Go Dolls’ House isn’t like your usual static one. Equipped with sturdy carrying handles, Landlady Olivia can play with her guests, ensuring the beds are made, tea is cooked, and the bathroom is clean while in the comfort of Granny’s house.

The Fold and Go Dolls’ House comes with two flexible play figures and 11 pieces of wooden furniture, opening and folding at the landlady’s whim or when she’s on the move. Not just for Grandma’s, the house is the ultimate play accessory for those long car and train trips, or even when she wants to relocate from the bedroom to dining room.

Who’d have thought a dolls house could be so portable, eh?

What would your dream job be? If you’re a foodie, perhaps a restaurant reviewer? Or a band guitarist if you love to play the guitar? Perhaps a toy tester if you love toys? Well, that’s the dream that’s just become a reality for one girl from Nottingham.

Before beating thousands, Cleo Williams-Green had to write to the firm explaining why she was the best candidate for the job, and has now become the official toy tester for manufacturing firm Mookie. Testing out their new Tailball range, the 13-year-old school girl will try out a number of toys before giving feedback.

Speaking about her new role, Cleo said, “I was really excited when I found out I was going to be a toy tester, I have got the toys but haven’t had much chance to go out and play with them yet because the weather has been bad.” Blasted weather, eh?

Suddenly the most popular girl on her block, Cleo’s friends want to get in on the toy testing. On the future, she said, “I hope I can do really well because I would like to be able to test more toys in the future. It is a great job to have. It’s a great way to spend time away from school.”

What’s more, the youngster’s suggestions will be incorporated in to the Back Pack Attack, Extreme, Light, Rocket Zoomer and Flyer products when they’re released next year. Guy Orr, head of product development at Mookie Toys, said, “Cleo will play a key role in telling us what she likes about the product and, more importantly, how she thinks we can improve it.

“Who knows, we might even discover a potential toy designer in the making who is lucky enough to see some of their ideas in our future products.”

What are the chances of Gifted Originals writing to their local curry house and explaining why they need them to be a curry-taster?

Gifted Originals cannot tell you the number of times mums and dads have told us how looking at our toys is like a trip down memory lane. While they’re too big to mount the Plush Giraffe, or cruise on the Sky King Trike, the nostalgia and the memories remain.

According to Guyism though, there are eight toys and activities of your childhood that you can still enjoy as an adult. Before listing the eight things, the author tells us: Look, I know it probably isn’t normal, but the same things that made me excited when I was younger still entertain me today. I guess that some activities and people in life just never get old. Some of you will tell me I’m juvenile, while others will tell me that I live a sad and pathetic life, but sometimes it’s re-living the experiences we enjoyed when we were young help us remember how carefree and fun life can be. I mean that’s the reason some people love having kids so much, right? I’d just rather leave kids out of the equation and enjoy these things on my own.

Nobody could ever accuse him of being coy with his feelings! Anyway, see if you agree with the childless adult-child:

1. Big Wheel: ‘Probably the best form of transportation ever invented. It goes big wheels, tanks, and then those little cars the Shriners drive in parades.’
2. Nintendo: ‘Sure, the video game systems today are unbelievable amazing, but that doesn’t mean some of us don’t long to go back and play the classics from time to time’
3. A real General Lee: ‘Now I know that the stars and bars aren’t PC, but when I was setting up jumps for my Matchbox General Lee, I was longing for the days when I’d be able to jump hay bales in my own General.’
4. Bouncy Castles: ‘You know you still look at moon bounces (American version) and are secretly jealous of the kids that get to take their shoes off and go nuts in these things’
5. Laser Tag: ‘Always fun as a kid because it was pretty much as close to a real gun battle as you could get without someone getting pelted with a BB gun’
6. Speak and Spell: ‘Yes, I once used a Speak and Spell to communicate with others one afternoon after a particularly tough football loss. I would mouth, “Do I have to spell it out for you?” as I typed in the letters’
7. Sno-Cone Machine: ‘When I was little I liked getting those multi-colored sno-cones from the Good Humor man or whenever I went to the circus or the fair. When I got to college I realized that sno-cones were good for putting booze in and being able to walk around campus without any law-type people bothering me.’
8. Pop-A-Shot: ‘I got one of these for my basement when I was 12-years-old and I was sinking shots for the next two years. After being only a few feet away for so long, I eventually moved back further from the hoop in order to create a whole different game called “Breaking All the Glassware of Value in the Basement.”’

So what do you think Gifted Originals readers, are you ready to act like a child?

The country’s only toy library has been given £500 from the Manchester-based Cooperative. The Northumberland Toy Library, based in Ashington, received the funds from the Cooperative to help them buy new toys, games and play equipment for local children.

Whereas we’re all accustomed to borrowing books, the lucky children (and parents) can go down to the toy library and for a small cost loan toys and equipment. Offering a one year membership for the whole family for just £1.00, and hiring toys from 10p-50p for two weeks, it’s little wonder the library has over 1,500 members.

Ann Widdrington, from the voluntary organisation, said, “This generous grant from The Co-operative Community Fund will allow us to offer a wider selection of toys and games to organisations and families in Northumberland.

“Beneficiaries include many who are on limited incomes or have children with special needs.”

Gifted Originals cannot understand why there aren’t more toy libraries. Like books, toys are an amazing way to nurture your child’s creative impulses, allowing them to get lost in their imagination, whilst being a useful educational tool. Come on, let’s see some more toy libraries opening!

The arrival of the newborn certainly knocks you off your feet. Decorum and manners are forgotten, and the need to shout it from the rooftops overrides any notion of etiquette.

But, according to Lil Sugar, whether you’re too exhausted or too overexcited, there are six ways to announce your baby.

1. In person: Have your spouse contact your closest friends and family to invite them to meet your bundle of joy in the hospital. Or take your tot and make the rounds once you are released.
2. Telephone: A telephone call from the hospital does the trick. If you have a long list of people to phone, consider constructing a phone tree to share the news more efficiently.
3. Email: A mass email to announce baby’s debut is another quick and easy alternative to individual conversations that can take place later once the new family has settled in.
4. Text message: Make sure your smart phone’s battery is charged so you can type a quick text from the delivery room. This saves a tired new mama from lots of chit chat.
5. Facebook update: Stay connected by logging online and posting a social network update and/or pictures of your newest addition.
6. Mail announcements: Put pen to paper or simply send away for printed announcements that can be mailed to spread word of your wee one’s arrival!

Gifted Originals wonders how an earth parents for hundreds of years have coped with the same dilemma, but without today’s technology. Who knows, the need to be constantly in touch and informed might be part of the problem….

Parents know how hard it can be to juggle everyday tasks while also looking after a tot who’s discovered they can move. Playpens are a fantastic remedy to this conundrum, but Gifted Originals suspects our love of these has gone to one manufacturer’s head.

PopATot’s Portable Activity Centre is said to be “perfect for the beach, game day, camping, travelling and grandma’s house”. Available in an array of colours and patterns, including leopard print, it has (are you ready?): cup holders, toy loops, comfortable seat, safety latch, and a canvas cover. Just in case the little one (FYI, aimed at babies aged 6-18 months) kicks up a fuss – we defy them not to – the sturdy frame will ensure the tot stays in his Trap, sorry, PopATot!

The problem is, while the playpen allows for movement, this creation won’t permit a child to budge. Yes, it’s great for a few minutes, but for a few hours? Surely not.

Few toys are just as exciting for both children and adults – not train sets, though.

Train sets seem to command a loyalty that very few other toys can garner, and make collectors out of children. The rite of passage seems to be from a toy to the more expensive model, models which can command thousands of pounds from eager beaver enthusiasts.

According to Wikipedia, the first widely adopted standards for toy trains running on track were introduced in Leipzig, Germany in 1891 by Märklin, with the earliest toy trains dating from the 19th century. Thanks to one particular tank engine called Thomas, toy trains have in recent years seen a revival in their popularity. These days, toy train engines really are the quintessential children’s toy, along with the dollhouse and toy car.

Purchasing this staple child’s toy couldn’t be easier. My First Train Set comes with 8 pieces of curved track to make a circle 44cms diameter, train and two carriages, 3 houses and 3 trees. What’s more, it’s also compatible with other leading wooden rail systems so as your little one develops, so does the train set!