(Corolle ) Alice ($75.98) looks like a birthday or holiday present waiting-to-happen and made-for- loving! Alice in her hot pink dress with a ruffled collar and swan embroidery wears matching shoes. She looks like a party is on the agenda and she’s ready. Alice is a brunette and like all the dolls in this collection comes with a hairbrush. If you prefer a red head, look at Ambre ($74.99) or the lovely blonde, Adele. ($74.99) These two are both dressed in a lighter pink with

(Mindware $26.95) Countdown to a birthday, the holidays, any special event. There's a dinosaur egg behind each of the 12 windows. Soak the egg in water and then with no danger of dust or chips flying, kids use the chisel to dig out a new dino figure. Find it on the guide along with facts about the prehistoric find! A nice choice for developing some fine motor skills, sticking-to-a-task, skills with a payoff that connects science and dramatic play. The fold out calendar beco

(Mindware $16.99) Our six-year old tester loved tossing five dice at a time, understood the rules quickly, and couldn’t wait to fill his playing board with checks made with a wipe-off marker. Feisty Dice is a quick playing game with five dice for five players (you can play with fewer players, however.) Each player has a wipe off playing board and matching dry erase marker. On your turn you roll the five dice and then check off the matching colors, trying to complete a line so

(Mindware $19.99) Our testers loved packing their camper cards with all the “stuff” campers need. In this case, each player has a camper card, as pictured on the back of the box. The Object is to the first to fill your camper. But note: the pieces you need to collect are of different sizes so be careful! How you put the playing pieces on the board that’s where they stay! They can’t be moved. Players take turns but everyone grabs for the matching piece that’s on the card you d

(eeBoo $19.99 each) Need a little springtime? Here you go—simply beautiful images come together with either of these challenging round puzzles. Both have a vase in the center to anchor the glorious flowers. Still Life With Flowers features a blue and white delft style bowl with handles and holds a variety of tulips, lily of the valley and other natural flowers that are dotted with butterflies and colorful birds. Birds and Flowers has a more folk-art look with stylized flowers

(Corolle $34.99 each) We like this multicultural collection of 13” inch dolls. Choose dark haired light brown skin tones, Capucine or Blonde Jasmine. Both dolls wear floral dresses, a matching fabric hair accessory. Their soft bodies are covered in fabric to go with their dresses. These dolls have painted eyes and soft bodies and are designed for toddlers. We think the dolls are very sweet and huggable. We do have some concerns about toddlers and dolls with hair, since twos a