by Jeff McKinney (follow me on Twitter)

We just published a new review in the Video Game section on TimetoPlayMag.com. Following is the first paragraph, you can read the full review by clicking here.

“Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is the current series of Pokémon games, introduced in 2005, in which players play the game as a Pokémon creature rather then a human trainer. The latest installment in the series, Explorers of Sky, is a continuation of the previous games-Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness-and features a similar dungeon-exploring gameplay experience with an expanded story line. In Sky, we learn what happened to Grovyle the Thief and find out how the Wigglytuff Guild comes together. These names might not mean much to you but fans of the series, of which there are many, will want to know all about them.”

Continue reading.

Play Categories: Reviews, Video Games

By Allison McDonald, Founder, No Time For Flash Cards
You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook

I am going to start this post with full disclosure, my child watches TV. I know how easy it is to turn it on, but it’s so much harder to turn it off! Young children learn through play and although they may be yelling at Dora or dancing with the Wiggles, watching TV isn’t play. When they play they imagine, they set rules and boundaries, they practice social skills and so much more.

Here are some tips to limit the TV and maximize the play in your day:

1. Don’t turn it on in the morning if you can avoid it. I know in my house once it’s on… it’s much harder to start playing with toys or an art project or even get out of the house for a play date.  Kids’ shows normally have “Coming Next” half way through the previous show and that has been the death of me more than once. My son notices it and decides that one show is simply not enough. Mama wins, but not without a fight, and really is that any way to start your day?

2. Have an activity laid out the night before. We do art projects most days, but the nights I remember to have it prepared, the mornings are so much smoother. My son will wake up and immediately jump in his chair and say “What’s this? Can I make it?” and we start our day creatively!

3. Rotate your toys! Kids have way more than they need and are often overwhelmed by all of it being out. Limit the toys available and rotate to keep your kids interested in their toys. I have never had to throw a toy out because of lost parts, they stay in better condition too, so your child wants to play with them more as well.

4. Make or gather props for pretend play. We had fun with an elevator (paper with numbers on our family room wall), playing rock band (Swiffer) and lately it’s been all about the salvation army bell ringer (plastic tub and coins). No need to be elaborate, just create enough support for them to play!

5. Play music in the background, it calms, it inspires and dancing is good for everyone!

6. When your child does watch TV try to watch with them, make it as interactive as possible!

Play Categories: Time to Play Guest Blogger

by Jeff McKinney (follow me on Twitter)

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that if you are a regular reader of The Play Forum, then chances are good that you have heard of Zhu-Zhu pets. For everyone that just stumbled across this blog for the first time, Zhu-Zhu pets are a line of robotic hamsters that have become the runaway, must-have, hit of the 2009 holiday season. With the tremendous success of the toy line, the next logical step for the Zhu-Zhu Pets would have to be video games and that’s exactly where these little robo-rodents are heading.

The game company, Activision and Cepia, the toy-maker responsible for Zhu-Zhu Pets, announced that they plan to release a game for the Nintendo DS/DSi next year (2010). We don’t have any details on the game itself but I’m guessing we can expect a Littlest Pet Shop or Nintendogs style game, where kids care for and play with the hamster pets.

We’ll keep you posted on the Zhu-Zhu Pets video game as more information becomes available. In the meantime, there’s just 14 hours remaining until we give away a Zhu-Zhu Giant Hamster City Playset on TimetoPlayMag.com. Click here to enter the drawing and good luck!

Play Categories: Video Games

By Jim Silver (Follow me on Twitter)

So, you’ve purchased the perfect toys and presents for your family; It’s now time to open them up and have some fun. Here are a few tips for making the whole process easier and more enjoyable:

1. Buy all batteries in advance. I can’t tell you the number of parents who still forget the batteries and deal with the frenzy of finding a store to buy them once they realize their error.
2. If it takes batteries, then you need a small screwdriver to open the battery casing. Have the proper screwdriver ready! Have a scissor ready to help get the toys out of a package. Most people think companies are trying to torture the public with the secure toy packaging, however, the truth is they are making sure the product doesn’t get damaged during its long trip before it makes it to your home.
3. If you have a younger child who lacks patience, it’s often better to put a toy together, put it back in the box, and then wrap the present. This is all dependent on your children, how long assembly will be, and if your child likes to be part of the “assembly line”.

Just these few simple steps can make the holidays with kids much smoother and more enjoyable.

Play Categories: Advice, holidays

By Taraneh Guidry, Founder, Seattle Mommy, Marketing and Event Planning Professional

The holidays are upon us, and many of you may be wondering how you can make a difference this year. One of the biggest topics in 2009 was to “be green”. But what does that really mean? Here are a few tips to help you understand why and how you can have a “green” holiday season:

Reduce:

When you hear the word reduce, there are many ways that you can reduce your consumption. Why is this important? If we reduce our consumption and carbon footprint, we are helping to keep supplies up, and thus reducing the costs overall for the manufacturers and consumers. By reducing our carbon footprints, we will help reduce Carbon Monoxide Emissions, and thus help our air pollution. How can I reduce?

Start at home:

Think about your big holiday meal

Try to only buy foods from local farmers. Most foods travel over 1500 miles for each item. Ask yourself, is it really necessary to get food from across the country, or from a foreign country when there are fabulous local foods that are fresher? Not only are you helping your community, but you are being healthier. For more info, visit www.100milediet.org

Also think about food quantity. Most holiday meals are way too big and we end up throwing away so much food. Buy compostable food containers to send all of your leftovers to guests. This will not only help your “waist”, by not having the high calorie foods so available, but it will also help your waste reduction overall from all of the wasted leftovers that people don’t eat. If you don’t have guests at your holiday meal, either invite someone that doesn’t have family in town, or bring them some leftovers. For compostable food containers, check out: http://www.biodegradablestore.com

Gift giving:

Go Vintage: Most of the holiday toys that we give to our children are great on the first day, but then our kids get bored with them easily. Think of what you used to like as a kid the best? Twister, CandyLand, Monopoly. All of these board games are great for kids these days because they get them off the tube, they don’t use batteries or electricity, and they provide interactive family fun! Check out http://www.greenboardgames.com/ for some ideas.

Buy a museum membership: Get your family an annual membership for your local zoo, science center or children’s museum. This is a great way for the family to spend time together, get out of the house (away from television), and it lasts all year long! Museums and science centers are great for rainy days when you can’t take the kids to the playground, but you need to get out of the house. Go to Google.com and type in  Science Center Membership and the name of your city to get information on how to buy a membership.

Make something: There are some great ways you can make something that is actually appreciated for the holidays. Some great ideas are to get a nice container and fill it up with homemade cookies. You can find containers from around your house, or if you need to buy something try to get something that they can use that is compostable, recycled and reusable. For craft ideas: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftsbyproduct/a/trashcrafts.htm

Check out http://www.reusablebags.com for some really cool reusable bags.

Wrapping: During the holidays, Americans produce 25% more waste. This year get reusable wrappers. You can put everyone’s presents in great reusable bags! This will give them two gifts, one inside the other. Also when you are shopping in stores, please bring your own bags. If you want to wrap your gifts in a traditional bag or paper, please choose a recycled option. Check out http://www.greenfieldpaper.com/recycled_gift_wrap.asp

There are many other ways that you can be green, both during the holidays and throughout the year. Try to reduce the number of trips you make, shop online, and support local merchants and farmers. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2010!

For more information: Visit: www.seattlemommy.com or www.treehugger.com

Taraneh Guidry is a Seattle area mom of two. She is a marketing and event planning professional that helps clients manage their online marketing, and does eco-consulting for businesses and families. You can see her website www.seattlemommy.com or Follow her on Twitter. You can also contact her at seattlemommy@verizon.net

Play Categories: Time to Play Guest Blogger

Chris Byrne, the Toy Guy, wrote a guest blog post on MamaCheaps.com, “a little something for everyone”.

Here’s an excerpt from Chris’s post, titled “Only Got A Sawbuck? Go Shopping! Great Gift Ideas For $10 and Under“:

“Okay, the $10 bill probably hasn’t been called a “sawbuck” for a long time, but that’s what my grandfather always used to call them when he’d slip me one. Seemed like a fortune at the time.

When it comes to buying toys, $10 still goes a long way. In fact, the average toy in the U.S. is only about $10 still. When you factor in all the $0.99 Hot Wheels Cars, boxes of crayons and more, you’ll see that ten bucks can go a long way.”

You can read the entire post with a list of some great toys for $10 and less by visiting MamaCheaps.com or by clicking here!

Play Categories: Around the Web, gifts

by Jeff McKinney (follow me on Twitter)

I know money is tighter then ever for many of us this year but I wanted to tell you about Child’s Play Charity. Established in 2003, Child’s Play is a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals around the world with toys and games. The charity works with each hospital’s staff to set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital.

Buying an item from the wish-list is easy, just visit the charity’s website at ChildsPlayCharity.org and select the hospital from a map. You will then be directed to the wish list on a partner site like Amazon.com. The Wish List includes a ship-to address, so you can pick out an item and have it sent to Child’s Play Charity at checkout. You can also make a cash donation through PayPal or by check directly to Child’s Play.

For more information or to make a donation, please visit ChildsPlayCharity.org.

Play Categories: Video Games, charity, holidays

By Chris Byrne (Follow me on twitter)

PR says a toy may be toxic—but only to your peace of mind.

I woke up this morning to news reports that the hottest toy of the season may have toxic levels of dangerous chemicals in it.

“Not again,” I thought.

And, as it turns out, I was right. It’s not true. Instead, a self-proclaimed consumer watchdog site Good Guide was promoting its testing that indicated that the Zhu Zhu pets had toxic levels of aluminum and antimony in them, in excess of current Federal standards.

After all the hysteria of the morning news shows died down, the fact of the matter is that this is very likely nothing more than a craven PR grab on the part of this site. Toys are always “lighting rod” issues, and if you can convince a news director that a toy might be dangerous, that’s a recipe for coverage.

Within hours of the story breaking, it seemed like people all over the country had heard about the Zhu Zhu pets and their potential hazard. To the credit of all the news coverage, however, they presented really balanced stories, saying that Cepia maintains that the toys are safe, and that the toys had passed all CPSC testing.

I was just interviewed for ABC News and said that the methodology of the testing was flawed. The x-ray used tests the surface of the toy. It’s not even a test designed for toys! The real tests use solubility in which the toy is destroyed and broken down in a chemical solution. Moreover, Good Guide said they tested only one hamster toy.

Well, there’s no better way to get headlines than to scare people that their children might be in danger. But I’m not such a big fan of that kind of thing. By this afternoon, Good Guide was back-pedaling, and the comments on their site and the blogs were mostly negative about the testing.

Is there good news out of this?

Sure. First and foremost, it’s highly likely that subsequent CPSC testing and review of all independent laboratory tests will show that the Zhu Zhu Pets are completely conforming.

More importantly, after an initial scare, many people understand that they’ve potentially been played.

Here’s what we recommend: Don’t listen to these self-proclaimed watchdog groups. They’re trying to get you to visit their site by scaring you. Listen to the CPSC. They are the organization that sets the standards, conducts the testing and polices products.

And try not to worry. The only thing toxic in this scenario is the impact on your peace of mind. After the problems of 2007, standards have been significantly tightened. Toys that don’t conform can even get off the boat and into the supply chain. In addition to what manufacturers are required to do at every stage of production, retailers now have their own testing standards that every toy must meet.

There were a number of toys on the Good Guide list, but the only one they chose to promote as being potentially dangerous was the hottest toy of the year. I wonder how sincere they can really be about protecting children?

UPDATE (10:15 am, Tuesday, December 8, 2009)

According to reports on ABC News and in other news outlets, the CPSC has stated that the Zhu Zhu Pets conform to Federal safety standards. The agency undertook a swift review of the toy, following claims by a consumer group that the toys contained non-conforming levels of the heavy metals antimony and aluminum. The consumer group used a testing methodology that tests the surface of the toy, which can easily be corrupted once the package has been opened and admitted that they tested only one of the hamster toys. The CPSC, manufacturers and retailers use solubility tests, which result in an accurate reading of the presence of these metals in the toy.

Play Categories: Around the Web, holidays

By Shannon Shaffer, Blogger, For The Mommas

The holidays are upon us and shopping is in full swing. Kids are making their Christmas wish lists, with every toy and gift they could ever want. As a mom, I want to fulfill their every wish! In reality, I have a budget to stick to.

This time of year can be very hard on your budget, especially in this economy. However, having a budget doesn’t mean that you cannot get some of the best toys on your child’s wish list!

There are many ways to score that great gift without breaking the bank.

Follow these simple tips to keep your budget in check:

Shop Online

• The biggest benefit of shopping online is that you can compare many different prices at one time. You can get the best deal by checking sites for all the retailers that you might normally shop at. Use websites like pricegrabber.com to compare prices for your product before you buy.
• Check online for the price before your go to a physical location. Prices are sometimes cheaper because the retail store has less overhead than their brick and mortar locations. The cost of keeping up a physical location rolls into the cost of what you pay for the product.
• Check out auction sites like Ebay. Don’t forget that Ebay offers a wide selection of brand new products from big retailers like Best Buy. Many times overstock items or outlet items end up on Ebay.

Gift Card Promotions

Many retailers are now offering gift cards to their stores when you purchase items that have fixed price points. For example, Target offered a $50.00 iTunes giftcard when you purchased an iPod. There have also been gift card promotions on Wii.

In addition, many stores are offering a free gift card when you purchase a certain dollar amount. These are great because you don’t have to spend the money on a specific item to earn the gift card.

Use these gift cards to offset the cost of the items you cannot get on sale.

Coupons

Many people tend to believe coupons are for food and drug stores only. This just is not the case anymore. Keep an eye out in your Sunday coupon inserts for coupons on toys and games. Recently, Hasbro and Playskool released 20 coupons for their toys and games.

Retail stores like Target and Toys R Us have issued store coupons for toys as well. These coupons include percentages off, buy one get one free and dollars off a specific purchase. Combine these coupons with great sales for extra savings.

Post Holiday Sales

If you are going to giving gifts after the holiday, wait to shop until after the holidays. Post holiday sales can net some amazing savings. If you cannot wait until after the holidays, give the recipient a gift card to take advantage of the deal.

Price Match

Don’t be afraid to use price matching to score a great deal. If a store is running a sale and is sold out, take their ad to Target or Wal-mart to get a price match. Check your local stores to see what their price match policy is.

Clearance Sales

Sometimes you can find last year’s item or a similar item on clearance for more than 50% off. Be sure to check the clearance racks before you buy the full price item.

Lastly, make sure you keep track of what you spend! Don’t overspend just because you got a great deal. Stick to your budget and you will be happier in January!

Happy Shopping!

Play Categories: Time to Play Guest Blogger