Toy Insider Christmas

Being a member of the Toy Insider's Parent Panel has been an incredible experience!  I really enjoy being a regular contributor to their website, participating as a panelist for the Toy Insider Twitter Parties, and serving as a promotional ambassador for the annual Sweet Suite toy expo.  Serving on the Parent Panel has led to me interacting with some wonderful people and provided my family the opportunity to have a lot of fun reviewing a variety of amazing products.

The holiday season is an especially enjoyable time to be associated with the Toy Insiders because their is such an interest in games and toys during this time of the year.  The Toy Insiders always do a stellar job showcasing toys they've researched throughout the year and believe would thrill children to receive as presents through their HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE which is printed within November's issue of the Family Circle magazine and can also be viewed online at thetoyinsider.com.  They also get the Parent Panel members involved by having us do a blog post with each of us highlighting our favorite toy included within the Toy Insider's HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE selections.  Click here to see what each of us picked.

Each of the parents on the panel were also asked to have their kids go through the HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE and create a wish list of their favorite items presumably to be highlighted in a similar write up to the one us adults had recently done.  My kids enthusiastically scrolled through the Toy Insider's online gift guide yelling out toys they'd like Santa to bring them this year.  They're really going to be excited to find out though that instead of using those ideas as part of a blog post, our family had a huge box delivered to the house filled with giftwrapped presents for my son and daughter.  How amazing was that of the Toy Insider for them to do that?!

I'm going to keep these presents a surprise from my kids and we're going to have an extra special Toy Insider Christmas this year.  To avoid my twins getting duplicate gifts from relatives, Santa or mom and dad, I did peel open the wrapping and peek inside each of the gifts.  Do you want to know what was inside all the presents from our Toy Insider's gift box?  Ok ... just between us I'll let you know what I found:

BOYS GIFTS

MAGIC HAT

My eight year old boy is infatuated with magic tricks so he's going to be thrilled to get this MAGIC HAT set from Thames & Kosmos.  It provides the opportunity to learn and perform 35 different magic tricks. There are more than 40 props and instructions to learn tricks, such as making a magic wand float, bend, and grow.

BLACK VOLTRON LION

My son is also really into the Netflix VOLTRON animated series so he'll definitely be excited to unwrap this diecast lion figure from the show.  Playmate Toys sells the 5 lion vehicles featured in the Netflix episodes individually and they can all be combined to create a robot warrior.

LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE

He has been obsessed with the LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE all year long so my son is going to be delighted by this GREEN NINJA MECH DRAGON from LEGO.  I know this toy is going to get a lot of use once it is put together!  The 544-piece mech features articulated snapping jaws, a fully poseable body, a wheel-activated swooshing tail, two leg-mounted stud shooters, and two hidden pop-out thrusters. Plus it comes with four Ninjago mini-figures with assorted weapons.

GIRLS GIFTS

LEGO FRIENDS SNOW RESORT SKI SET

LEGO toys aren't just for boys and my daughter loves playing and building with them just as much as her twin brother does.  She's going to have a lot of fun playing with this winter themed play set. Build the ultimate winter sports resort, featuring a working ski lift, a rock climbing wall, a ski slope sliding function, and more. The 585-piece set includes two mini-dolls and a bear cub figure.

STAR WARS FORCES OF DESTINY DOLL

My passion for Star Wars movies has rubbed off on my daughter.  She went as Rey for Halloween one year and will be so happy to unwrap a doll featuring her favorite Star Wars character.  The 11-inch sized dolls in the Hasbro Forces of Destiny collection are articulated with soft clothing, rooted hair, and battle-ready action moves.

HAPPY PLACES DISNEY COLLECTION

My daughter already has a lot of fun playing with the HAPPY PLACES toy sets she already has; so I know she's going to appreciate being able to add some furniture to her collection from one of her favorite movies, Beauty & the Beast.  Moose Toys has created Disney-themed furniture and home décor to add a special touch to HAPPY PLACES rooms. This play set features two rooms and exclusive Belle home décor accessories.

Have yourself a Toy Insider Christmas by perusing their HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE as part of your holiday shopping routine.  In addition to an overall list of suggestions broken down by age groups (Infants & Toddlers / Preschool / Grade School / Tweens), the Toy Insider also has specific recommendations on the HOT TOYS of the year, plus highlights items specifically in the tech and STEM categories.  Each toy has an informative description included with a picture as well as symbols that designate skill sets that will benefit from playing with it such as motor skills, school readiness and social interactions. Plus you won't be surprised if a toy needs batteries or not because each listing clearly identifies whether or not they are needed.  The Toy Insider website is a great resource to help you find the perfect gifts for the children in your life.

Don't just visit thetoyinsider.com during the holiday season though! They publish informative toy reviews by trustworthy expert staff throughout the year on everything from action figures and dolls to remote control cars and video games.  As well as feature articles by good ole me! Did I mention they also regularly host some fabulous contests and giveaways too!  The Toy Insider's website is one you definitely should bookmark because it is a valuable resource to take advantage of.  You know they have A Geek Daddy nod of approval!

VOLTRON Legendary Defender Toys

Season 2 of DreamWorks VOLTRON Legendary Defender animated television series arrived on Netflix today and Playmates Toys sent us some of the show's themed toys for free to make the debut extra special!  VOLTRON follows the adventures of five young heroes who pilot mechanical lions against the evil Galra empire which is attempting to enslave the population of the whole galaxy.  When their foes present more of a challenge than the five lions can handle individually they can merge together to create a giant super robot with incredible powers called Voltron.  Can this team of heroes restore peace and security to the galaxy against some very formidable foes?  You'll have to either tune into Netflix to watch this animated series from DreamWorks Animation Studio or pick up some VOLTRON toys from Playmates Toys for your kids to engage in their own imaginative play adventures to find out!

My kids had a lot of fun playing around with the Playmates Toys we received while we watched the new episodes of VOLTRON Legendary Defender together as a family.  They pretended to act out the scenes with these toys as we watched the action unfold on the TV screen.  Playmates Toys VOLTRON Legendary Defender six inch basic action figure collection is durably constructed as my kids tossed and threw them about our house and dropped the toys a few times too but they've yet to break.  Available in the assortment are the Blue, Red, Black, Green and Yellow lions featured in the Netflix show, each sold individually, plus a monster they face off against called Myzax.  These lions do not combine though to create a Voltron toy though.  The toy line also includes two 6" variations of the Voltron robot as individual action figures.  One wields a sword and shield while the other has a shooting lion fist action feature to it.

We received a Green Lion -- Guardian of the Forest mech that my son has been playing with quite a bit since we he got his hands on it.  The Green Lion's legs have basic articulation so kids can position them in a variety of poses to pretend leaping or striking its paws at an opponent.  The mouth also opens and closes plus there is a "vine beam" that shoots a plastic bolt to imitate one of the lion's special powers from the television show.  There isn't much force from the item flying out to present a danger but it still will hurdle a few feet so I wouldn't advise looking straight into the mouth with either of your eyes. To activate the missile launching feature just pull back on the shield emblem on the lion's back causing the vine beam to fire so kids can imagine wrapping up an evil adversary.

 

Playmates Toys also sent a Basic Voltron Lion Attack action figure our way.  My daughter has really been playing with this toy a lot.  It is a 6" action figure that is the same size as the basic collection lion toys that in the show streamed on Netflix merge to create it. While it is obviously not to scale, it still portrays the five lions merged together as the robotic warrior Voltron.  A child can imagine the adventures of the giant robot while playing with this toy in the palm of his or her hand. This hand held sized version of Voltron provides plenty of imaginative play punch for kids to have countless hours of fun with it.  It is a great size for storing around the house or taking along with your child while the family is on the go without having to worry about putting away or packing up some giant toy.

This toy has a head and waist that swivels plus it has joints in the knees and elbows so kids can position the arms and legs so that Voltron is in action poses.  The action figure also has a shooting fist feature.  Kids can squeeze the toy's legs to launch a representation of the Green Lion's head which makes up Voltron's left arm.  As with the individual Green Lion toy that is available from Playmates, there isn't a lot of power behind the projectile but it still flies far enough you don't want to aim it straight at anyone's eyes within a few feet of the toy.  Also you absolutely don't want to lose the plastic Green Lion Missile because than Voltron is missing its left hand and the representation of one of the five lions that merge together to create the robot warrior.

 

 Playmates Toys VOLTRON Legendary Defender basic action figure collection is screen accurate to the television show characters, durably constructed, conveniently sized for playing with and priced affordably to collect.  As I've mentioned my kids have really enjoyed playing with these toys that are recommended for children 4 years old and up.  For more information about Playmates Toys VOLTRON Legendary Defender basic action figure collection, please CLICK HERE.