Lego Ben Ten

We’ve been watching Ben 10 Alien Swarm tonight, my son’s a huge Ben 10 fan. Did you know Ben 10 has a LEGO collection coming out? The new Ben 10 Alien Force  LEGOs will be available January 1st.

Ben 10 Alien Force LEGO sets will include Spidermonkey, Swampfire, Chromastone, Humungousaur, Jet Ray, and Big Chill, several of Bens Omnitrix alter egos.

I think the new LEGO sets will be a big hit with young boys my son’s age. The Cartoon Network has made Ben 10 into a large franchise, and with LEGO’s popularity I’m sure the line will be on many kid’s wish list.

The new LEGO sets are recommended for children ages 5-12, and most sets have between 16 and 22 pieces.

The some of the Ben 10 Alien Force LEGO sets are available for pre-order at Amazon right now, I’m sure they’ll be available at most major retailers after the first of the year.

Image: Amazon.com

Have You Checked The Black Friday Toy Deals

I’ve been seeing all the black Friday deals showing up, and I’ve been checking out the toy deals. I always enjoy shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. My sister in law and I get up early in the morning and head out shopping. We make a day of it and have a blast.

We shop all day long, chatting away while we wait in the long lines, and taking a nice leisurely lunch break after we’ve hit all the morning door buster deals, and before we head back out for more shopping.

Of course we check out all the Black Friday ads before we head out, so we can plan our strategy, and make our list of stops. I usually get most of my toy shopping done.

Yesterday I shared the Toys R Us Black Friday deals. Today I have a few more Black Friday sales ads to share with you so you can make your own plans.

• Walmart has some great Black Friday deals on toys for the kids, including the Girl Gourmet Candy sweets factory for $15.00, Twilight New Moon Board Game for $5.00, Bakugan Collectors Tin for $9.00, FurReal Friends Tuggin Pup for $9.00 and many more great deals and door busters.
• Kohl’s has everything on sale.
• Kmart has Bakugan toys and Lego sets buy 2 get one free, Crayola Glow Dome for $18.99, the Uno Flash Game for $24.99 and many more great toy deals in their Black Friday ad.

Are you  a Black Friday shopper?

Image sxc.hu

Christmas 2009 Toy Trends~ Bargain Toys

This year retailers are focusing more on lower priced and bargain toys, instead of high end and expensive. Walmart is leading the way with their list of $10 toys, and other retailers are following the trend. There are still higher price tag toys out there, but the consumer is looking for a better bargain for their money. So if a toy has a larger price tag it needs to over deliver on value.

Here are some of the great value toys for Christmas 2009:

• Zhu Zhu Pets are big this year, they’re low on price, but big on fun, if you can find them in stock!
• Invasion of the Bristlebots is another toy I’ve been seeing on top of Christmas 2009 toy lists.
• Legos and other building toys are always a great value for the money (at least in our house).
• Bakugan is a boys favorite, and you can find most of the play sets for under $15.
• This time of year you can find some great bargains on most of the board games, many stores feature them at rock bottom prices during the holiday season.

Are you stretching your toy budget this Christmas season, looking for the best deals for your dollar this Christmas shopping season?

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Life Size Lego House Built~ Then Tore Down?

My son loves to make Lego creations, but this Lego creation tops them all. A life size Lego house was built this August in Dorking, Surrey for the BBC series James May’s Toy Stories. The Lego structure was built complete with a working toilet and shower.

James May wanted it to be placed at Legoland, but a deal to put it there fell through, so the Lego house did not have a long life.

The house took 3.3 million Lego bricks and thousands of volunteers to build. May tried to find someone to take the house for free, but it would cost around $85,000 to move it. There were no takers so the house was demolished on September 22, and the Lego bricks that survived the demolition will be donated to charity.

You can see more photos of the Lego house at Shelterpop, and more pictures of the demolition at The Telegraph. It’s got to be hard to watch for all those Lego lovers out there!

Image: Newscom

Make and Play Toy Farm Sets

When I was growing up I was a total farm girl (tom boy). I loved growing up on the farm, and I loved animals (especially horses). I used to beg for farm sets, or horses when we went to the store. Sometimes I came home with a new one to add to my collection. I would spend hours setting up farms on the floor, outside in the dirt, or on a large piece of board my parents gave me.

After I set up my little farm towns I would spend hours in my make believe world moving the animals and the people around. I love to see that kids (and adults) still create those farm towns today.

The other day I showed you some of the Lego creations at our local county fair. Today I have some of my favorite farm towns. I’ve been trying to talk my son into creating our own farm farm since I saw these the other day. I’m not having much luck. I think if I told him we could add in some Star Wars ships, Lego creations, or a Transformer or two he might be on board.

Many of the farm sets incorporated real grains, dried flowers, dirt, and stones, just like the farms I set up when I was a kid. Maybe I’ll have to make my own for next year. I think it would be a ton of fun.

Think they’d notice if our farm truck was Optimus Prime, or if Chewbacca was feeding the cows?

Images (c) L Gerlach

Fun Things To Build With Legos

Our local fair is going on right now, and one of the things kids can enter into the fair is their favorite Lego(tm) creation. My son and I had to go check them out this afternoon. My son’s always looking for things to make with his Lego sets. He loves to build and create.

His latest creation is a space ship that he created one afternoon, on his own. I didn’t even think about entering it in the fair. Maybe next year!

Here are a few of our favorite creations from the fair. Remember these are supposed to be kid’s creations, not master Lego builders. This first one was the best in show. It’s a Lego town someone put together. Very cool.

You have to have a Lego farm at the county fair! This one was really cute, complete with a palm tree.

Then there was the giant robot Lego monster, and the Lego battle ship.

I’m sure this gave my son more ideas for building with his own Lego sets.

Images (c) L Gerlach

What Will Be The Hot Toy This Christmas?

I know, it’s only July, why am I talking about Christmas already? Because I’m sure all the toy manufacturers out there are definitely thinking ahead and working hard to make sure they have the “next big thing” this Christmas. The toy that everyone is waiting in line for. That toy that everyone wants, and the manufacturer (errr, Santa)  just can’t make enough of.

What do you think it will be? Will it be one of the toys from last year, back for an encore performance? Will it be one of the toys introduced at this years Toy Fair? Maybe the new Rubik’s Touch Cube, or the Barbie B-Nails, or maybe it will be Mattel’s new Mind Flex Game?

What about Kota the Dinosaur, or the latest Baby Alive? Or maybe it will be the new Lego Rockband, I know that one’s on my son’s wish list.

Hmmmm, what do you think the must have hottest toys for Christmas 2009 will be?

Edible Building Blocks

Who says you can’t play with your food? I was in Shipshewana Indiana this weekend, and I bought Edible Building Blox for my son at Aunt Millie’s Candy.  They work like Legos. Your kids can connect them together to build things before chomping the blocks down.

My son loves building and creating, so I think he’ll have a blast with these (before he eats them).

I think they’d make wonderful party favors or cake and cupcake toppers for a kid’s Lego party.

LEGO Game Fans! Here Comes Lego Rock Band

My son loves the LEGO video games from Star Wars to Batman he’s a big fan. He’s also a big Rock Band fan (he loves the drums), so he was super excited last night when I told him they’re coming out with a new LEGO Rock Band. He wanted to go get it now, then I had to explain to him that it won’t be coming out until fall.

LEGO Rock Band is a brilliant combination, how can they go wrong? I’m loving the drum LEGO dude, he’s adorable!

LEGO Rockband will be hitting stores just in time for the holidays later this year.

You’ll be able to rock out with your favorite LEGOs on PS3, 360, DS, and Wii. The game is supposed to be more family friendly, and feature kid friendly songs.

Amy over at Every Joe has the full LEGO Rock Band scoop if you want to find out more.

Images| Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment EMEA

New Lego Electronics Line

Over the weekend I told you about Digital Blue’s recent licensing deal with Bakugan, but that’s not the only new licensing deal Digital Blue is working on.

LEGO has a new line of electronics hitting the market this fall. The electronics will feature items that look like they’ve been built out of LEGO bricks of course.

Digital Blue and LEGO are teaming up to bring out a line of electronics that will be fun for kids and LEGO fanatics of all ages.

• Brick-Built, Portable Electronics: The line features fully functional digital cameras, MP3 players, walkie talkies and USB drives that appear to be built from classic LEGO bricks.
• BIONICLE®: Digital products that bring the excitement and action of the BIONICLE legend to life for boys ages 7-11. This line launches with digital cameras at Toys “R” Us. The remainder of the line is scheduled to be released in fall 2009 in tandem with the BIONICLE direct-to-video feature, and includes a stop animation video camera. It’s designed to appeal to a broad age range, including teens, and features the elemental essence of LEGO style.
• Home Electronics: Boom boxes and alarm clock radios that feature classic LEGO brick elements scaled to oversized proportions.

Sounds like another digital line my son will love!

Image via Digital Blue

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