Adult Toys

What child doesn’t love to listen to stories?! Here at Hazelnut Kids , we decided it was time to offer some audio entertainment to our collection of inspiring toys for children. We were pleased to discover Smart Dreamzzz , and we think you will be too! Smart Dreamzzz was created by a parent of two young children, and an expert in child psychology

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Win a Smart Dreamzzz CD!

EarthLust Leaf Stainless Steel Water Bottle Stainless Steel is an industrial looking material that is known for its strength and safety with food products. There is something amazing about how EarthLust has taken this masculine material and transformed it into visually delicate pieces of usable art! EarthLust is an environmentally responsible company born out of California. The owners were inspired by the birth of their child, and quickly committed themselves to protecting his health as well as the environment

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New EarthLust Stainless Steel Water Bottles – with Soft Designs and GIVEAWAY!

Kathe Kruse Nature Conservation Angel Congratulations to Wendy Cray Kaufman for winning our Earth Day Giveaway. We are so pleased with our friends who posted their Earth Day commitments on our blog and inspired us to do more to protect the earth. In fact, each one of them will receive $10 to spend at www.hazelnutkids.com .

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Earth Day Winner

As Earth Day approaches I am overwhelmed by all the Earth Day specials, Earth Day sales, and Earth Day advice. As a retailer of earth friendly toys, Hazelnut Kids is obligated to take advantage of such a great day of recognition, but the girls (Bridgett and Shannon) and I have also decided to TAKE ACTION! Tracy, Shannon, and Bridgett “One Day Without Shoes” We are each advocates for protecting the earth, we are each mothers of young children, and we each believe in living a simple and sustainable life. Is there any wonder we found each other here at Hazelnut Kids?

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Earth Day – Take Action and Win

I have wanted to try natural Easter egg dying for a while now. This year, I happened to receive a recipe for it in the mail – so I decided to go for it! My friend and I divided up the grocery list, and made plans to tag team the challenge. Between the two of us, we actually had everything we needed already at home.

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Natural Easter Egg Dying, a Lesson Learned

Jackson hiding his loose teeth and Ivy showing off that mega green bow! I was downloading some pictures from my camera and found the ones I took on St. Patrick’s Day for our $50 giveaway on facebook . I had never done a random drawing before and wasn’t quite sure how to take 361 fans and put them in a hat

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Lucky Number 8

At Hazelnut Kids , we use beautiful, 100% post-consumer recycled gift wrap . The only problem is – we are left with lots of scraps after lovingly wrapping our gift orders with this paper

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Reuse Gift Card Project – with Clementine Art

Perfect Life Cycle Teaching Tool! Now that March has hit, Spring is threatening to come. Living in Northern Michigan – we are certainly ready to welcome it! At Hazelnut Kids , we decided to add a couple 5-Layer Puzzles that would help take advantage of the learning opportunity that Spring presents (as well as a few people layer puzzles )

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New Beleduc Layer Puzzles

As I was sitting at my computer last night, I began thinking about all the negative, selfish thoughts I had throughout the day. I started out grumpy because my six year old son woke me up a half hour early. Later in the day I complained that my husband never likes to attend social events at the school and only wants to hang out with me and our two children

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Nothing like a natural disaster to make you stop whining

Sometimes, the most simple things are what last the longest. Take the classic building block toy, for example. According to Wikipedia , they originated around 1693 in England

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Building Blocks Develop Important Skills

While we have managed to avoid printing a paper catalog for Hazelnut Kids , this past holiday season I realized we may be in the minority!  Each day I checked the mail at my home, I had to make a stop at the recycling bin to drop in the 3-4 catalogs that were received that day.  The mound grew, and I realized there were many duplicate catalogs.  The cover may have been different, but the company was the same, and for the most part – so were the products featured.  I think catalogs certainly have their place – not everyone has computer access believe it or not, and sometimes you just want to be able to flip through tangible pages while looking at products – but the duplicate mailings do more harm than good when they just get tossed.

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Catalog Epidemic

So, as the holidays are behind us, and the gift wrap has cleared – the true test begins.  Do the kids actually play with the quality toys they received from Hazelnut Kids, or do the Legos and Barbies prevail?  As we had many new products this season, I updated my kids’ wishlists and watched as their grandparents ordered the new products.  Would they be a hit?  A break from school has allowed for much time at home for Jack and Isabelle to explore their new gifts, and I decided to describe their experience with each below to perhaps help with some gift giving decisions for our customers. Received by Jack, 6 years old Jack received this Kinderkram – Wooden Race Car , and I have to admit – I was skeptical.  Does it really work?  Will it be boring?  I was astonished how fast it zipped across the wooden floor!  He giggled with delight, and I am sure he will put many miles on this classic automobile!  Downside :  Jack wound it up a bit too much and the rubber band snapped.  However, it only took once to learn how much was too much, and with 3 extra rubber bands included, it was no problem at all! Both kids have been interested in checkers lately, so I thought a Chinese Checkers inspired elf game would be lots of fun.  We gave it to Jack, but Isabelle is the one that has been playing it with me!  She seems as addicted to the strategy of the game as I am.  It is hard to pull yourself away.  As soon as we finish one game she is already saying, “let’s play again!”  It is a great game that adults can really enjoy with their children, and kids love improving on their skills.  Downside :  The pieces are pretty small, so sticking to the age suggestion of 5 + is a must.  You have to have good fine motor skills to place the little pieces where you want them to go.  Isabelle is 8 years old, and it suits her age very well

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New Products: Kid and Parent Approved!

I am a child of the generation who sent our parents scrambling in search of the original toys that caused a shortage at Christmas time: remember the Cabbage Patch Kid ? Parents would do anything, short of auctioning off the child that the doll was for, to get their hands on a Xavier Roberts creation. To this day, I remember that my doll’s name was Jobie Minna (ok, I was just learning to read and could have messed up a couple of letters in the name, but the point is that she was so special I still remember what I thought her name was).

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Holiday Toy Shortages? Bring Back the Classics!

Artist – Jack, 6 years old So my son has been the same blue Easter egg shaped piece of chalk on his blackboard since last Easter.  Needless to say, I was very excited to see Hazelnut Kid’s new Mercurius Blackboard Chalk come in!  I promised him that I would bring him home a set, and today I did.  He received them with a giant, “Thank you so much Mom!” and then got right to work. The colors are unbelievable.  Yes, you pay for what you get.  What you get is a super high quality set of chalk – they blend so well, and the colors jump off the blackboard.  The smiles your child produces as they create are priceless, however. Not only is my son thrilled at the potential he has for greatness with this color wheel of pastels

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Mercurius Blackboard Chalk – 12 Colors . . . Endless Possibilities!

My family and I had the pure luck of stumbling upon a fantastic Art contest in Grand Rapids, Michigan this past weekend.  ArtPrize consists of over 1,000 artists displaying their work all over the city.  It is a powerful outlet for them to speak their mind and make a statement.  One particular piece I found to be very relevant to our concerns at Hazelnut Kids.  Lisa Yarost’s work was entitled “ Recyclable Container for Humans – plastic bales .”  The concept (in short) is that we consume more than we realize, not considering the resources gone into creating these items that are all too disposable.  The conatiner consists of plastics about to be recycled.  It encloses around the people that enter the structure – hopefully giving the viewer a much needed perspective of mass consumption.  A kind of ‘in your face’ visual where every turn you make you see the result of your consumption.  However, there is no roof, giving the viewer a glimpse of hope as they look to the sky. It is easy to keep consuming in a disposable way – we’ve all done it – paper plates for pizza to avoid doing dishes, plastic baggies so we don’t have to spend money on reusable ones , or plastic bottles when we’re on the go.  It is easy to toss and forget, but standing in this maze of discarded plastics, I was forced to stop and think about how my consumption affects our environment.

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Recyclable Container for Humans – A New Perspective

Classic toys are really popular right now and nothing is more classic than a traditional old fashioned rocking horse ! Radio Flyer Classic Wood Rocking Horse $79.00 This is a classic toy no child should be without! The wood rocking horse has natural solid wood construction with a smooth finish, soft molded saddle and a wide rocker base for safety and stability. Add to the decor of your home with this collectible, inspire your kids imagination and pass it down for generations to come

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Classic Rocking Horses

Hazelnut Kids is proud to announce that we made top ten for the Green America People’s Choice Awards !  We are so grateful to our loyal customers for supporting us (and, of course, we would be even more grateful if you support us again and vote one more time!). We are proud to be a company truly built on the principle of providing safe, quality, easy on the environment toys to our customers.  This recognition means a lot to us, as we are focused on making our footprint smaller – not just making our piece of the market larger. So thank you friends, for doing your part by choosing the path less traveled, and taking steps  towards a greener life – one toy at a time! Bridgett, Manager – Hazelnut Kids Natural Toys 

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Hazelnut Kids made Top Ten for Green America’s People’s Choice Award!

Here are five awesome learning toys for babies and younger toddlers at affordable prices! Fisher-Price Interactive Baby Grand Piano $44.50 Little ones can rock out with their very own Baby Grand Piano! This pint-sized piano teaches numbers and colors, as well as exposes them to musical concepts like tempo, pitch and style. Baby is encouraged to play and learn with the eight light-up keys and four activities with four songs led by a dancing character and “magic” music book

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Top 5 Fun Learning Toys for Babies and Toddlers

Hazelnut Kids is proud to announce our decision to reuse boxes.  This has been a consideration for some time.  We take pride in how our orders are received by customers, and have always wanted to ensure safe arrival of these packages to our customers.  The time has come, however, to put cosmetics aside – and make our footprint just a bit smaller as we begin reusing cardboard boxes for shipping.  We will choose only boxes that we feel will be a safe and sturdy vessel for our orders, and when you see the “previously loved box” sticker – you’ll know your footprint has been made smaller as well! So if you receive a less than perfect box from us, just know that it is in the name of preserving our Earth for generations to come – and that our commitment to quality remains the same.  We care about each package we send out, and that remains  true – even more so – as we take yet another step in the “green” direction! Bridgett, Manager – Hazelnut Kids Natural Toys

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Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

For awhile now we have carried Haba’s Japanese House Blocks , but recently we decided to add almost the entire line of Haba Architectural Blocks .  We of course love the smooth, sturdy quality of all Haba blocks, but we are especially fond of these sets.  We believe it is important to offer our children every opportunity to explore other parts of the world, and expand their knowledge of cultures beyond their own.  These blocks offer children a fun, tactile  way to explore other areas of our world.  Whether they are building the great ancient Roman Coliseum , or solving the mystery of how the Pyramids of Egypt were built years ago – these sets will offer a starting point for a great history lesson.  We can learn so much about a culture from their architecture, why not let your kids recreate it?! Just the other day, my kids’ Grandfather was referencing the Leaning Tower of Pisa , and I thought, “how neat would it be for them to actually build one!”  Now you can offer that opportunity to your own kids. Check out our new Haba Architectural Blocks , and make an investment in your child’s education.

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Haba Architectural Blocks – a Healthy taste of Culture in your own Home!

  In an age where kids have everything imaginable – toys that have more lights than Vegas at sundown, and a mind of their own – it’s nice to know that the classics still have their place.  We recently went to a family member’s first birthday party.  He had received a couple gifts from Hazelnut Kids .  One was the Plan Toys Punch and Drop , and the other was the Plan Toys Walk n Roll .  Both were a big success!  In fact, Oliver, the guest of honor, was so enthralled with the Punch and Drop that he seemed slightly uninterested in some of the other gifts in its comparison.  I may be partial, but the boy lit up with that toy!  He loved punching the balls through the holes, and also enjoyed sticking them in his mouth!  It was nice to have peace of mind knowing the size and finish on the balls made it safe for him to do so.  Oliver’s mother has said that since the party, he has found some new ways to use the toy and likes to turn it on its side and try to punch the balls through that way.  Sometimes, it is the simple toys that allow kids to flourish in their creativity – what a joy to watch! He enjoyed the Walk and Roll as well, but at 1 year old, that is a toy he will grow into.  It is always nice to receive a gift that he will love in 6 months! I was happy and pleased to see our quality toys received so well!  I found myself, once again, proud to be a part of such a wonderful company that does more than just sell toys.  Hazelnut Kids inspires and encourages creativity and growth, and offers confidence in purchasing safe toys to be enjoyed for years to come! So next time you have a party to attend or a gift to give, think about what you want to give that child, and if it is a whole lot more than just a toy visit our site and let us send a gift with love. Bridgett, Manager – Hazelnut Kids Natural Toys

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Best Birthday Gifts!

Kids learn best when they don’t know they’re learning.  Science and discovery toys are great because they teach children how things work in a comfortable and non-intimidating way.  All of these toys are for school aged children and will keep their minds fresh over the summer break and help them to get ready for the new school year. Discovery Kids Glow Star Globe   $34.99 The Star Globe has two great functions in one:  a planet Earth globe and a glowing star map.  It has all of the regulation markings on the Earth globe and all of the major stars and constellations.  Not only is is educational, it’s really cool and decorative and since it illuminates a whole room, it’s a great night light too! StarScope Telescope $125.55 The StarScope is just like having a real astronomer by your side as you observe the night sky!  An advanced-design telescope with unique computer software to help you experience the night sky like never before!  Install the software on your computer to get coordinates.  Set your telescope with these coordinates to target planets, stars and constellations.  No more frustration over whether you are pointed at a star, a planet, or even a street lamp with this high-quality, high-tech telescope.  Load the included software onto a computer and it provides young stargazers coordinates to find the star field, planet, or solar system they want to investigate.  It features 38X and 103X magnification

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Cool Science and Discovery Toys

My daughter is almost 2, and she loves to pretend to cook like Mommy and Daddy.  Up until now we’ve been letting her clank around in the pots and pans we use, but recently we’ve decided to buy her a play kitchen .  I remember how much fun I had with my play kitchen when I was little.  First, I started checking out yard sales.  It turns out play kitchens are in such high demand they are almost impossible to snag!  So, I started looking online and I’ve found some adorable choices… KidKraft Large Play Kitchen : $114.99 Oh, how I love this!  Why can’t I have a pink refrigerator for my real grown up kitchen?!  I love that it’s solidly built from wood and big enough for a few kids to play with at once.  Check out the pretend ice dispenser! Melissa and Doug Deluxe Kitchen Play Center $224.89 Melissa and Doug are known for making toys that are extremely high quality and educational, and this is no exception.  I love how this kitchen looks so realistic down to the “magnets” on the fridge and the colorful “tile”.

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Six Adorable and Affordable Play Kitchens

It’s that time of year—when parents everywhere open the windows, put away the Wii , and tell their kids in no uncertain terms:  “It’s a beautiful day!  Go outside and play!”  My mom used to lock the doors behind us until approximately dinner time.  Times have changed!  Even so, fun is still to be had and here are some great outdoor toys to keep your kids busy: Crayola 3D Giant Chalk Set : $11.99 This is the must have chalk set for kids this year.  Every kid I know wants this!  The chalk set comes special chalk and 3-D glasses.  When worn, the glasses make the sidewalk designs pop out in 3-D.  Very cool.  Plus, it all washes off with water. Banzai Wiggling Water Sprinkler : $14.99 Fun for all ages!  The sprinkler has an extra long hose and 15 wiggly sprayers.  Water your lawn and entertain your kids at the same time! Little Tikes Auto Pitch Batting Trainer : $24.98 For beginners this is a standard easy T-ball set.  It can change into an automatic pitch-up machine or kids whose skills are a little more developed.  Push the foot switch to release five time-delayed balls.  It plays a sound to tell your child the ball is coming.  Great for developing muscle coordination and motor skills and so fun too! Wham-O Slip‘N Slide Double Wave Rider: $19.00 The Double Wave Rider lets two kids slide at once.  Perfect for hot summer days.  Kids can race each other or take it slow and enjoy the cool water.  The slide is huge: 16 feet long!  It is sure to bring lots of laughs! Little Tikes EasyScore Basketball Set: $22.84 This one is for the little people!  Toddlers love this basketball set.  You can keep it indoors too!  It’s great for developing motor skills

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Go Outside: 6 Fun Summer Toys

My son’s 5th birthday is coming up, so I have been browsing our selection at Hazelnut Kids to decide what to give him.  One item that caught my eye was the “ King of Numbers ” game by Haba.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t help me with Ryan’s gift because we already bought it for his older brother when he was 5, but since we like the game so much I thought I should spread the word.

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Great gift for a five year old

Dora the Explorer has been the favorite Nick Jr. show among preschoolers for the last several years, but a new show is set to take the top spot.  Yo Gabba Gabba is a half hour show hosted by “DJ Lance Rock ” and the story lines surround the interaction between the “Gabba Friends” : Muno (a red cyclops), Foofa (round and pink with a flower on her head ), Brobee (a little green monster), Toodee (a blue cat-dragon) and Plex (a yellow robot).  The episodes have musical segments (with bands that mom and dad probably like!) and animated stories.  There is lots of dancing and lessons about how to be a good friend, being polite, sharing, etc.  The characters are lovable and cute and kids LOVE them . YouTube – Watch

Coastal Living magazine’s May 2009 issue featured the Haba Wooden Magnifying Glass and Tin from Hazelnut Kids in their “Tide Pool Party” article.  They wrote “ Magnifying glass :  Some tide pool critters are no bigger than a grain of rice.  Make sure you can see all of them.”  We are honored to have been mentioned in such a beautiful magazine. The magnifying glasses are fabulous, but they were discontinued by Haba (insert our weeping sounds here), so get them while you can (quantities are limited!). Sheri Novak, Owner – HazelnutKids.com

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Coastal Living Magazine article

We had such a fabulous time at our Plan Toys – Hazelnut Kids Earth Day event on April 22.  It was great seeing so many of our customers and giving everyone who came by a free recycled cardboard Eco Home 3D Puzzle.  Several of our customers have written to thank us for the homes, so we thought we’d share a few of their pictures and kind words: “Thanks again for the adorable eco houses!  Jackson and Ivy (and I) were entertained for hours, and it led to some great conversations about alternative energy.  WE LOVE HK!” “Thanks for a fun and cool project.  My daughter and I really enjoyed putting together this cute house.  She loves it!” Another customer wrote:  “I wanted to tell you thanks so much for the Earth Day goodies last week!  We put the houses together as a family and had some great conversation about wind spires and solar panels and being kind to our living breathing earth!  The boys loved it!” Thank you to Plan Toys for the wonderful Eco homes and to all of our customers for supporting the Earth through your purchases of natural toys. Sheri Novak, Owner – Hazelnut Kids Natural Toys

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Plan Toys Earth Day Event