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Buy it: Disney Edition of Guess Who Game

The Disney edition of “Guess Who” is a fun spin on the original game, featuring lots of your child’s favorite Disney characters. This is one of my six-year-old Ally’s favorite games. The game works just like the original Guess Who, with each player choosing a character or blindly drawing a character card. Then players ask each other yes or no questions to see who can guess the other player’s character first. The game has a nice mix of characters from princesses and Tinkerbell to Peter Pan and Dopey. The only drawback of the game is that the characters always remain the same, so once you are familiar with the game, it can go pretty fast. For example – “Is your character a princess?” “Yes.” “Does she have red hair?” “Yes.” “It’s Ariel.” Regardless, this is a great game for young children.

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Buy it: Crayola Spira-Chalk Blaster

The Crayola Spira-Chalk Blaster is a fun new spin on sidewalk chalk – literally!

This toy holds a single piece of chalk and then spins like a top to create spirals with that chalk across the pavement. Each kit includes two spinners, 5 pieces of washable chalk, a chalk sharpener and one launcher.

This toy does not need batteries and is completely kid-powered. You simply put a piece of chalk in a spinner ring, wind it up with the launcher and push a button to release it.

This toy works great and my daughter, who is 5 years old, loves it. But I’m giving it 4 hands instead of 5 because it doesn’t quite make the big, perfect spirals they show on the package. It does spin well, even on our sidewalk which sort of cracked and uneven. But I think the results may depend on the user’s type of pavement. On our light-colored sidewalk, the spirals didn’t show up very well. Maybe on fresh black-top this toy would perform better.

But I do like that the toy continues to work even as the chalk gets dull, so you’re not constantly sharpening it. (Our package was actually missing the sharpener).

The toy is also very durable. It has spun and skidded across our sidewalk over and over again and continues to work just fine. It’s recommended for ages 6 and up.

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Buy it: Hasbro Playskool Honeybee Hop

The Hasbro Playskool Honeybee Hop gets children up, moving and jumping around.

The Honeybee Hop features a bee on a motorized arm that spins in a circle. Children jump or hop over the bee as he flies around. The bee spins at two different speeds. The toy features the song “Flight of the Bumblebee” and fun sound effects when the bee “catches” you.

And it’s hard to resist jumping in once the toy is turned on.

My daughter Ally, 4, usually enjoys playing with dolls, puzzles or other quiet toys. So I was glad to see that this toy had her happily running in circles and giggling as she tried to jump over the bee. It’s also a favorite toy during play dates. Ally and her two best friends love to see if they can outrun the bumblebee and take turns jumping over the bee as he spins near them.

We’ve used the Honeybee Hop both on carpet and wood floor and it works great on both. I only wish that sometimes the sound could be turned off. “Flight of the Bumblebee” can get old after you’ve heard it a few dozen times.

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Buy it: Fisher-Price Loving Family Twin Time Dollhouse

My daughter Ally got the Fisher-Price Loving Family Twin Time Dollhouse for Christmas when she was almost 2 years old.

I had debated about getting her a dollhouse geared more for two-year-olds, with bigger people and furniture. But then I realized she would outgrow that dollhouse within a year. I wanted to give her a dollhouse that she could use for several years. The Loving Family Twin Time Dollhouse was a great choice.

The dollhouse, which is recommended for ages 3 and up, features lots of sweet details, like flowers in the window boxes, striped awnings, a balcony and doors that open and close. It comes with a mother, father, twin babies and a pet cat as well as some furniture. Other furniture and people are sold separately.

Ally, who is now 4, has played with this dollhouse over the last two years and it’s still one of her favorite toys. She loves to arrange the family and the furniture and make up stories. And we’ve added new furniture over the years. The furniture is plastic, durable and features cute details that Ally loves.

I also like that when Ally isn’t playing with the dollhouse, the sides of the house fold in to make it slimmer and easier to store.

This would be a great first dollhouse for any little girl.

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Buy it: Lace-A-Doll Dress Up Set

I loved paper dolls as a kid so when Ally’s grandma bought her the Lace-A-Doll Dress Up Set, I was just as excited as she was.

This set, which is a new twist on paper dolls, comes with three cardboard dolls and a wide variety of clothes to dress them in, such as a wedding dress, a raincoat and hat, a tutu, a party dress and a bathing suit, among many others.

The set also includes three pieces of string, which you use to lace the clothes onto the dolls. Each doll and each piece of clothing has holes in it, which you line up and then lace the string through to dress the doll. Ally, age 4, sometimes gets frustrated with the lacing, but I know it’s a good skill for her to practice. And she loves dressing the dolls and making up little stories with them.

I’ve been impressed with how well these cardboard dolls and clothes have held up to repeated play.

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Buy it: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle

My daughter Ally, 4, is very into princesses, princes and castles. So she was thrilled last Christmas when she received the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle.

This all-wood castle is painted with adorable pink accents and flowering vines and features a working drawbridge, a sliding door, balconies and moveable turrets. The whole castle opens on hinges, so it’s easy for children to set up scenes and move figures around inside.

The one drawback of the castle is that it doesn’t come with any toy princesses, princes, horses or furniture. All of these are sold separately. Luckily, Ally also received the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Castle Dolls Playset and Melissa & Doug Royal Family Wooden Doll Set when her got her castle. Both of these sets are great and feature darling wooden royal characters and horses that fit well in the castle.

Melissa & Doug toys are always great quality. And I love that the castle is a very simple toy and Ally really has to use her imagination. Ally loves creating stories about royal balls inside her castle and has the kings, queens, princesses and princes ride to the castle on their horses, while the knights stand guard and the jester entertains.

This castle is a great toy for any little girl who loves princesses. Melissa & Doug also make a Deluxe Folding Medieval Castle.

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Buy it: Candy Land Castle Game

Candy Land Castle Game is an excellent game with a short shelf life.

My daughter Ally, 4, received this game for Christmas when she was almost 3. And the game is great for 3-year-olds. 

It’s very easy to play. Colorful plastic shapes, such as stars and squares, slide out of the castle door when a player pulls down the candy cane handle (which 3-year-old Ally never grew tired of). Each player has a gingerbread man-shaped card with various shapes on it and they must find the matching shapes from the castle to fill their card. 

When my daughter got this game, it was all she wanted to play. We played this game over and over again all day long. Ally loved playing it by herself too. And it was an easy game to play when Ally had a playdate.

Candy Land Castle would also be a great game for an older sibling to play with a 3-year-old sibling. 

The only drawback of the game is that Ally outgrew it very quickly. Once she turned 4, the game seemed too young for her and didn’t interest her anymore. Now she’s moved on to the regular Candy Land Game and loves it. 

So if you’re looking for a great game for a 3 or almost 3-year-old, this is it. Just know that the game may end up being shelved by the time they turn 4. The game is recommended for ages 3+, but I would say just 3.

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Buy it: Melissa and Doug Magnetic Dress-Up

I don’t think I’ve bought my daughter Ally, 4, a single Melissa and Doug toy that we didn’t both love. And the Melissa and Doug Magnetic Dress-Up dolls are no exception.

These dolls are wooden and magnetic and each comes with several pieces of clothing that can be stuck on to dress them up like modern day paper dolls.

Ally has both the “Maggie Leigh” and  ”Princess Elise” dolls and loves to dress them up over and over again. “Maggie Leigh’s” magnetic clothing includes dresses, jeans, shirts and shoes, while “Princess Elise” has a variety of princess dresses, crowns and gloves. Some of their clothing can be shared but not all of it since the two dolls’ arms are in different positions. If I could change one thing about the dolls, it would be to make them so all their clothing could be shared.

Each dolls comes with a wooden stand to hold the doll upright and a wooden box to store the doll and her clothing.

Melissa and Doug toys are always great quality and appropriately priced.  If your child gets invited to several birthday parties each year, this toy makes a great inexpensive gift. There is also a ballerina doll available and a boy doll, “Joey,” who can be dressed up as a fireman, a knight, a super hero, a pirate, etc.

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Buy it: Cranium Cariboo

Cranium Cariboo is a great game for young children who are mastering letters, colors, shapes and numbers. My daughter Ally got this game when she was 3. At the time, the game was at just the right skill level for her and continues to be fun now that she’s four.

Cranium Cariboo, for ages 3 to 6,  features a plastic box with 15 doors that can be opened with a special key. To start the game, players drop six rubber balls into the box, which are then scattered randomly inside. The point of the game is to open the doors and find which ones have a ball hidden behind them. When the players find all six balls, they use them to open a small treasure chest with a jewel inside. (I don’t know how many times we’ve played this game and opened the chest, but Ally always thinks it’s exciting.)

Each of the doors has a picture, shape, word and color on it. For example, one door has four green circles with apples inside them and the word “Apples” beneath the picture. At the start of each players’ turn, they draw a card, which will have either a letter, number, shape or color on it. So if a player drew either a card with the color green, a circle, the number four or the letter “A” (for apples) on it, they would be able to open the door mentioned above.

The game is designed for 2 to 4 players. It’s easy for preschoolers to play and my daughter has even enjoyed playing it by herself sometimes.

The only drawback of the game is that the balls don’t always get scattered easily inside the box. Sometimes we’ve opened a door to find two balls behind it, or sometimes one of the balls gets stuck at the top of the box (where the balls are dropped in) and we don’t realize it until all the doors are opened and we’re missing a ball. This has been a little frustrating for Ally.

But despite this drawback, I would still recommend the game. It’s a fun, new idea for a “board game” and it’s been a great way to review letters, counting, colors and shapes with Ally.

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Buy it: Hog Wild Zoo Sticks

We bought the Hog Wild Zoo Sticks for my daughter, Ally when she was 3 as a fun way to introduce her to eating with chopsticks.

These colorful plastic chopsticks are connected at the top so kids can just squeeze them together to pick up their food. Each chopstick features an animal shape at the top.

We originally thought that Ally would enjoy learning how to use chopsticks, but the Zoo Sticks had an added benefit. Ally thought it was so much fun using the sticks to pick up her food and showing off to me and her daddy how quickly she had learned to use them that we found she was eating more of her dinner. The chopsticks kept her interested in eating far longer and we were amazed to watch her taking bites without being reminded to keep eating. So if you have a child who loses interest in eating dinner pretty quickly, the Hog Wild Zoo Sticks may help.

To make sure that the novelty of the chopsticks doesn’t wear off, we only bring out the Zoo Sticks once in awhile and Ally is always excited to see them by her plate.

And since the Zoo Sticks are inexpensive, they would be great for kids’ party favor bags.

The Zoo Sticks come in a variety of colors and animals, so there is sure to be one that will please your little eater. They are dishwasher safe.