Have Kids… Need Toys That Travel!
6 Toy Fair Finds That Are Perfect For Family Travel
This year I was welcomed back to the Annual Toy Fair that was held in New York at the Jacob Javits Center and I was on the hunt for toys that are great for bringing on family trips.
The Toy Fair is huge and there is so much to see and learn about. There are lots of new toys that are perfect for a road trip, dinner out, a plane trip, or anywhere you need to go. I was lucky enough to meet with lots of great new up and coming entrepreneurs, who have incredible visions of what kids would love to play with. There were so many to discuss, so sit back and get ready for the toy travel ride…
Mardles, created by Alive Lab, are AR stickers that come to life with an app – they have some incredible interactive activities. They were designed in the UK and have a variety different activities that are great for ages 5 years and up. They have a coloring book, sticker books, action cards, masks and they are launching a book collection. Everything in their collection comes to life through a free app for your phone or tablet. They have a variety of characters that come to life in their own habit depending on your child’s interest. This is a great on the go activity, it is easily portable and provides hours of fun.
US Playing Cards have a few different cards games that are great for travel.
They are; Sharks are Wild, Catch’N Fish, and Piggy Bank, each are for ages 4-6. These games are not only fun, but educational they focus on sequencing and counting. They also have different levels so the kids won’t get bored. My five-year-old son loves these games. He packs them up when we go out and loves playing them. These will be available summer 2017.
The Purple Cow, besides having great educational STEM card games, they have great travel games as well.
The games are magnetic, so everything stays in one place and none of the pieces are loose. We could try the Magnetic Tick Tac Toe & 4 in a row and Magnetic Lettergories, my son enjoyed both games. They have magnetic puzzles, Shake & Go games, 20 Things that are fun, and fairy tale puzzles. There is so much to choose from for different ages that will keep any kid busy.
Wacky Links, these are amazing.
They foster imagination and literally can be made into anything your child can visualize. My son loves these. He was creating all kinds of things from bracelets, rings, and lassos to lasso his dinosaurs. You can cut them to make smaller objects and these are super portable. They come in a small plastic container that can fit anywhere. They are always coming out with new themes and this month they have glow in the dark ones. Amazing.
Once Kids, has this incredible vision to create toys that can be personalized.
They developed wooden building blocks, action figures and vehicles. All products are made from environmentally friendly wood that’s biodegradable and a renewable resource. Moms love this, plus the kids can make color and decorate the blocks which allows them to use their imagination and personalize them. My son was able to explore the eco-bricks and the Playhard Hero Factory-DIY. These are both travel friendly. The eco-bricks come in their own small box, and the hero also comes with a set of 6 markers. I loved that my son could use his imagination to create what his vision was.
Finally, where do you put all of this once you have it? Lay-n-Go to the rescue – they are incredible travel accessories for both moms and kids.
We sampled the Lay-N-Go Lite because we wanted something small for travel. These are light weight and machine washable pouches. They come in different sizes and make great play areas that also keeps all the toys together once play is done. You lay it out, put lots of toys on it to play and you pull a drawstring when you’re done and everything is neatly kept in the bag. It was developed to helped tame all the small pieces of toys that can be left all over the house. They have since developed one for cosmetics and technology equipment. It’s really genius. I would recommend you go and get different sizes. I will be added more to my Lite version.
These toys are well worth purchasing for your next family trip. There are many toys out there to buy, but this selection foster creativity and support a lot of momprenuers/parentprenuers. Stay tuned, I am also writing another blog on a selection of building toys and some of the other cool things I found at the toy fair.
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About the Author: Alisha Rappaport is a consultant for non profit foundations and is a mommy blogger for Wicked Good Travel Tips. She enjoys taking her son on new adventures and sharing her experiences with our readers.
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