I know the last week was light on posts, but you know with the holidays here, there were so many gatherings,most involving spiked eggnog, and Philly Mama couldn't always find her way to a computer.
Our particular household celebrates Christmas and let me tell you, was Santa ever good to my son. Over the next week I'm going to highlight a couple of toys that he and/or his cousins received that are particularly charming for one reason or another.
First up are Viking Toys' Chubbies. Now because I apparently have the sense of humor equivalent to that of a 13 year old boy, I can't really say the word chubbies without giggling. But I digress. Months and months ago, my mother gave my son a toy truck and car made by Viking Toys. Both were very cute and well-made. I didn't know anything about the company, but my mother seemed pleased to find that the company was based in Europe. Sweden, specifically, and since she's partially Norwegian, she enjoyed supporting her Scandinavian brethren. It seems that the toys are actually manufactured in Thailand, but whatever.
At any rate, the plastic car and truck were a hit with my son and the truck was the first toy he began saying "Vroom, vroom" with as he pushed it around. Then a few weeks ago, around the same time I was hunting for some small toys for stocking stuffers, I came across this review by Z Recommends. From the photo, I immediately realized that these distinctive-looking "Chubbies" must be Viking Toys.
Now, if you've been reading this site for awhile you know I love me a good, well-made, wooden toy. And I still do. However, as we enter the toddler years, what I've learned so far is that wooden toys really, really hurt when launched at you. So I'm not opposed to trying to find safe, plastic toys as well. After reading the Z Recommends review, I read up on Viking Toys on their website, confirmed that the plastics are all free of phthalates, PVC and BPA. While they use all new materials when making the toys, the toys themselves are recyclable.
I found a box of seven Chubbies at one of my local children's stores, Lolli Lolli. These toys were a little smaller than the Viking Toys my son had previously received. It was the perfect stocking stuffer and let me tell you, these Chubbies are awesome to have around. They are small enough to keep one or two in the car, your diaper bag/purse, wherever you might need a "distraction" toy that doesn't make noise. I even brought one to church. I like that they aren't "blinky-blinky" toys and still require some imagination. Best of all, my little man loves them and we have a ton of fun racing them around the living room.
Good things come in small packages. Check them out.
