For my sister’s recent birthday, my oldest daughter worked very hard to make Auntie the gift of a potholder for her tea kettle.
Do you remember those potholder looms with the cotton loops? I do! I used to love making potholders. My poor mother was overrun with potholders. Well, apparently potholder-love does not skip a generation since my 7 year-old seems to be as fascinated with her loom as I was with mine.
Unfortunately for my mother, I didn’t realize as a child that there are other things that can be made with these little woven squares besides potholders! The instructions to our loom suggest sewing them together to make a placemat or doll rug, a treasure box or tissue holder, even a purse or a doll sleeping bag. The possibilities are endless.
You might be able to find these little kits at hobby stores, but since we have no hobby stores here, I found ours on Amazon. It is a good one since the frame is made of sturdy metal rather than plastic (ours is by Harrisville Designs). It came with a long metal hook, a crochet hook, enough colorful 100% cotton loops to make several potholders (you can buy wool loops too), and complete instructions. I’ll be sure to provide links to several different kits at the bottom of my post.
Those of you who are more ambitious and “crafty” than I, might be interested to learn that these little looms can apparently also be used with yarn. You can weave yarn squares for afghans, vests, or other projects. See this link for more information on how to do this.
Wondering how to remove it from the loom? Read my post: Removing a Potholder From a Loom.
Open doors, close doors, open doors, close doors, etc. etc. etc. Toddler heaven!
These doors hide farm themed magnets that your little one can move around from door to door. I found this to be a great travel toy. There are magnets that could get lost, however they are not overly small and there are not many of them to keep track of.
The best age for this seems to be 2 to 3 (recommended for over 3 due to possibility of choking, so be careful). Ours has been on several plane and car trips and is still going strong. By the way, this is from Melissa and Doug Toys, so it is sturdy, wooden, and wonderful!
Melissa and Doug, Toy Recommendations, brands, travel activity, wood
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hide and seek game, Melissa and Doug, toddler toys, Toy Recommendations, Toy Recommendations, travel toys, wooden toys
This is such a cool game! You can just feel your brain cells expanding as you play. Since no reading is required and play involves pattern recognition, even younger children (maybe age 6 and up) can learn to play and beat the grownups!
Check out the Set Game website for more info on how to play. The website also has a great online tutorial as well as a puzzle challenge which changes daily.
If you play the online daily game, you might get lucky and win one of the other “Set People’s” card games. They draw a winner randomly every week from amongst all the players. Let me know if you win, since I never have!
Toy Recommendations, cards/card games, family games, games, stocking stuffer, travel activity
| adult games, card games, family games, games, online games, Set Game, Toy Recommendations, Toy Recommendations
We just returned from vacation and a great unplugged travel game that I discovered for the trip home is a cute travel-sized version of the game “Connect Four.” The goal, or course, is to get four pieces in a row before your opponent does. This is such a simple concept, yet it encourages the development of strategic thinking skills and can lead to quite a complex game. Plus I can also highly recommend it since it kept my 5 and 6 year-old entertained for the better part of a 4 hour flight (although we might have lost a few pieces on the plane).
Another really nice one (but a bit harder to find) is Haba’s 4-In-A-Row game. We have this one and my husband and I play it more often than the kids! I should have thought to bring it on the trip because the small size (a 4″ X 5.5″ tin) is ideal for travel. Plus, it is wood so it feels like it will last forever. You can buy it here for $6.99.
Everything Else!, Haba, Toy Recommendations, brands, family games, games, stocking stuffer, tin game (Haba), travel activity, travelling with kids
| Connect Four, European toys, Four in a Row, games, German toys, Haba, tin game (Haba), Toy Recommendations, Toy Recommendations, travel games, travel toys, wooden toys
This clever toy is really a work of art. The manufacturer (The Orb Factory) says: “The multicolored beads represent the many beautiful colors of humanity. As you manipulate this orb, think about the possibility of world peace. The series of seven rings represent the continents and oceans.”
While I would love to imagine that this toy could induce a meditative state in my darlings as they contemplate world peace, I fear that the reality is that they just think it’s cool!
Children can manipulate this wire and bead disk into different shapes or a sphere. Kids aren’t going to take this out at home and play for hours, but it is a good diversion for travel or restaurants and it is small enough to put in your purse.
Adults can’t resist picking it up either. A creative friend of mine actually wears one as a bracelet!
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