Our Generation -- Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck

** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free to review **

Spending more than $100 on a doll for a child can be out of reach for many family budgets.  Fortunately there is a great alternative to expensive brands in the Our Generation dolls available at TARGET for cost conscious consumers.  These 18" dolls cost between $20 and $35 each and come dressed in themed outfits aimed to delight the girls that play with them.  All of Our Generation's dolls, clothes, and accessories are made with safe, high-quality materials that are carefully-chosen by Battat, a family-run company that has been in business for over 100 years.  Our Generation dolls have been one of my daughter's favorite toys to play with for the last several years.

She's been struggling recently with some assignments at school and worked extra hard to do well on a reading and writing evaluation test.  When she exceeded our expectations on the test, I wanted to reward her for the diligence put into improving on those skills.  Knowing my daughter's an Our Generation fan, Battat generously sent A Geek Daddy some dolls and their brand new Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck to provide her with a super special surprise!

Supporting girls being empowered through education is a core value of Battat.  For every Our Generation doll, outfit, or accessory purchased, a portion of the sale is donated to WE Charity's (previously known as Free The Children) Power of a Girl Initiative.  Millions  of children (70% being girls) in third world countries cannot go to school often times because there isn't one available or family responsibilities prevent it.  This program builds schools and supports sustainable villages through healthcare, water programs, and alternate income projects for moms and dads that give children the opportunity to get the education they need.  Also demonstrating a sense of corporate responsibility and to set an example for our next generation, Battat has made all of its Our Generation product packaging from recycled materials, printed with environmentally friendly soy-based inks, and these packages are 100% recyclable themselves.

To say my daughter was thrilled to get a Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck would be an understatement.  This vehicle for these dolls is truly amazing!  It includes 128 pieces ranging from doughnuts and sundaes to the miniature dollar bills needed to pay for these treats.  Spoons, cups, bowls, even a napkin dispenser are included to spur on imaginative play.  To further encourage creativity, one side of the ice cream truck features a chalk board.  Kids can write up their own menus or decorate the side of the truck with the included colored chalk.

The inside of the truck definitely has plenty of shelf and counter space for preparing deserts.  Battat has provided a lot of attention to detail including a sink that has a turning faucet and handle, a deep fryer with basket, a cup dispenser, and fridge, freezer and cupboard doors that open and close.  Plus the glove compartment has a glove compartment that opens to stash all the miniature dollar bills that a successful ice cream truck will be raking in.  One side of the truck also flips down to create a nice counter area for children to pretend serving customers.

In addition to lots of wonderful accessories and a nice layout, the Our Generation Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck has some really great interactive features:



Turning the steering wheel left or right will activate turn signal lights. It also has working headlights and windshield wipers.  Plus press down on the brake pedal and brake lights at the rear of the vehicle will flash.  Of course you can't have an ice cream truck that doesn't play music to attract the neighborhood kids to flock to it.  Press the music button on the dash board to play 3 different songs.  The ice cream truck comes with 3 AA batteries to power these features which I really appreciated because it is always a drag to unbox a toy for a child then have to run to the store for batteries.  The toy comes in "sample" mode and to get all the features to work properly you need to flip a switch located on the bottom of the truck underneath the front license plate to put it into "play" mode.  For example the wind shield wipers won't work if you don't have that switch in the proper position but some of the other features work so that people can try them out at the store without wearing out the batteries too much in sample mode.

My daughter's ice cream truck actually had a Tex-Mex theme to it as she played with it alongside her  Our Generation Arizona doll.  Wearing a lace shirt and a denim blouse she completes her rodeo look with cowboy boots and a hat.  Our Generation really does a nice job in providing extraordinary detail when it comes to their dolls, clothing, accessories, vehicles, and playsets.   After finishing her shift on the Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck, Arizona rode off into the sunset on the Our Generation horse that Santa Claus left under the Christmas Tree last year.

For producing an excellent product at an affordable price for the average family that will provide girls in the age range of 4 to 10 years old with countless hours of enjoyment, Our Generation's dolls and Sweet Stop Ice Cream Truck have earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval.

For more information about Our Generation products, please visit ogdolls.com

The Toy Insider Holiday of Play

Now is the time of year when images of toys are dancing around in kids' heads as they imagine what they want to add to their holiday wish lists.  My friends at The Toy Insider have published their 2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE to help parents sort out the must haves from the busts when toy shopping this year.  As a member of The Toy Insider's Parents Pan who contributes monthly advice and tips for their website, I was invited to attend their holiday gift guides release party in New York City where many of its featured items were on display.  Having a chance to check out a room full of toys during The Toy Insider's Holiday of Play event really has a remarkable effect on bringing out the inner kid in you!

The Toy Insider's Holiday Gift Guide is full of brand new toys that have just been released this year.  In addition to highlight fun and entertaining products, this guide also explores the educational and developmental benefits of toys.   Look over the toy skill key included with the guide and see which of its attributes such as development of motor skills, school readiness, and tech smarts are identified next to each of the featured products inside.

The Toy Insider's panel of expert reviewers identify their picks for the hottest toys for this year's holiday shopping season within the guide's HOT 20 list.  Additionally take a look at the guide's Top Tech 12 list that provides a look at the most innovative tech toys on store shelves.  Plus take a look at their STEM 10 list which features toys that will enhance a child's knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math.  All these lists of must have toys are subdivided by age categories (0-2 / 3-5 / 6-8 / 9+) to assist parents, family members and friends in picking out an appropriate gift for any child.  CLICK HERE to check out all the recommendation's in the The Toy Insider's 11th annual Holiday Gift Guide.

Here are some of the highlights of my attending The Toy Insider's Holiday of Play event to celebrate the release of their annual gift guide. I'm a huge NFL fan! Sunday afternoons between September and January are reserved for watching football games.  So I was thrilled to meet Giants great David Tyree who is known for making one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history during The Toy Insider's Holiday Gift Guide release party.  The NFL Players Association invited him to attend and brought out a bunch of NFLPA licensed toys for attendees to check out.

UBTECH Robotics were one of the highlights of the event for me.  I was really impressed by their new line of STEM-friendly Jimu robots -- they are both educational and entertaining plus they can really dance!

PJ MASKS seems to be the popular TV show with the preschooler crowd so parents of children in that age range will want to keep an eye out for the new toys that have just come out featuring the popular characters from the Disney Jr. animated series.  I had a blast hanging with the PJ MASKS crew.

I had a nice chat with Shark Tank veteran Alice Brooks who enticed Mark Cuban to invest in her STEM-based building sets that are now being distributed for sale by PlayMonster.  I can imagine lots of girls like my own daughter have fun building their own carnival rides with these playsets.

If you are shopping for a teen or tween than you know music is something they'll be interested in.  BOSE showed me how kids can make their own Bluetooth speakers with a BOSEbuild kit.

I love ice cream! Look at this giant ice cream truck for the Our Generation doll collection produced by the Maison Joseph Battat company.

These are just a few of the great items that were on display.  Peruse through The Toy Insider's 2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE to ensure the children in your life have a holiday full of play.  While you are looking through the guide take advantage of the Wish List feature.  On each gift guide page on thetoyinsider.com you'll see a green "Add to wish list" button.  Parents can compile items on a list that can be shared on social media and sent via email.  Send it to family and friends who are holiday shopping for your kids or keep it as your own gift giving checklist.  The wish list shows a small image of the product, the product name, its age recommendation and Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).  Plus there's an easy "buy it now" button, that will allow gift givers the opportunity to purchase the products online right away.  The Toy Insiders are making holiday shopping as easy as saying 1,2,3!

I encourage you to check out The Toy Insider's Holiday Gift Guide and while you're on their website check out some of my Parents Panel contributions.  A GEEK DADDY has written on a variety of topics ranging from selecting age appropriate movies for kids to discussing what to do with toys your children don't play with anymore on thetoyinsider.com.