The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2011 Platinum Award winners were announced on the Today Show on September 27th.  Watch Stephanie here.

We're delighted to announce the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards for 2011. (Click here to see complete list of award winners.) We congratulate the toy companies and their designers for producing award-winning products that engaged and entertained our toy testers. As always, we thank our dedicated family testers (all over the country) who take our process to heart.  Once we have looked at toys in terms of whether they work, are fun, and are developmentally appropriate - the toys are then sent out to families for their feedback. These families join us in our mission: to take the guesswork out of finding quality playthings that will entertain your kids. With budgets tighter than ever, we know that no one wants to bring home a toy that is a waste of time or money.  For those of you just discovering us, you should know that we do not take fees from toy companies. This has allowed us to be able to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly in toyland.  You can click on the 2011 Award Page to view all of our winners including Platinum, Gold, Blue Chip and SNAP (Special Needs Adaptable Product) Awards.  

  - All our best, Joanne & Stephanie

Every year, as we look at the best toys for all kids, we keep our eyes open for toys that would be especially useful for children with Special Needs. Click here for our SNAP AWARDS 2011 List.  

We wondered how the toy industry was going to respond to this new category of game play for the toddler/preschooler set...Read Stephanie's Blog's for the latest gadgets on the horizon. Here's one of the less expensive accessories that may save your iPhone from sippy cup damage! Fisher-Price's Laugh & Learn I Can Play Case.

In a matter of months they learn to turn over, sit up, and before long work at crawling and pulling themselves upright. Now, instead of just watching and listening, the sitting up infant is ready to take hold of things and pass them from hand to hand. Toys are not just for gazing at any longer. They need to be tasted, tossed, banged, and examined from every angle. Babies continue to learn through all their senses. For your baby there is real excitement and a new-found sense of power in being able to make things happen. They are beginning to get a sense of cause and effect and thier own active part in that equation. Do they need all of these? No, but here are some good choices.  Click here for several basic learning tools your vertical baby needs:

Basic Gear for Horizontal Babies

People often ask us just what kinds of toys new babies need. With so many choices it's hard for new parents and grandparents to know the basic gear from the glut of merchandise that only adds to the clutter in the nursery. To choose toys that really make a difference you need to think of a baby's developmental style of learning.  It's through their eyes, ears, nose, mouths, fingers and toes that infants begin to explore and interact with people and things. For the early months, bring home a variety of playthings that stimulate their senses. Some of these are tried and true classics while others are new or updates of classics.  Click here for basic gear your horizontal baby needs:

Are you are shopping for Merry Christmas stocking stuffers, multiple gifts for the many nights of Hanukah or Kwanza? Aside from the novelty fads of the moment there are some good choices that will be enjoyed for more than a moment. We've found some with real play value. Click here to find out more.

Joanne and Stephanie take a look at the new Little Blossom line from Manhattan Toy. Watch the video.

Finding great toys that your baby or toddler will really enjoy can be challenging.  The key is to find toys that really fit where they are developmentally-- not an easy trick! 

The good news is that so many  new and wonderful products are arriving every day!  So if  you are shopping for a shower gift for the new baby,  gifts for their first holiday season, a treat for you sitting up baby, or engaging toys for your up and on the go toddler, have a look at some of the new top rated choices.Click here to see our list.

Choosing books to read to babies just got a lot easier. Many classics have been reissued in sturdy board book formats. Some, such as Helen Oxenbury's Baby Love, have been made smaller to fit into little hands. Others, like Karen Katz's Where is Baby's Bellybutton?, have been reissued in a larger format that just seems to sing— read it again! Here are some favorite blue chips as well as some new titles...

Read Stephanie's Blog, Baby Einstein: Not a Ticket to Harvard.