We’ve mentioned personal gardens before; AeroGarden, Miniature Garden, Organic Dwarf Lemon Tree, Garden Fort, etc., but none were soooo eco-friendly they came in a biodegradable pot! Ha!

These 100% biodegradable pots are made from renewable grain husks, are certified organic, and will hold their shape and size for about 5 years. That’s a long time to grow some delicious herbs. As an added Green bonus, by growing plants indoors they will convert the CO2 you expel into Oxygen for your lungs. Yay for synergy!

Order yours today and choose between Lemon Basil, Lavender, Oregano or Parsley. Remember you can always pick up your own seeds from somewhere else and use those in these organic biodegradable pots. These make great green gifts for teachers, and families with kids to help show us all what goes into growing food.

$15.95

Find more green growing gifts in our Plants and Gardening gifts section.

Posted by Sean in Kids, Household, Green Living
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Many of us think of everyday items like a car, clothes, electrical devices, etc. when we think of a green gift. Mable’s wants to expand your thinking to notice the things that are eco-friendly without the added manufacturing and marketing.

This blog post we are featuring Back to Basics Toys because, they carry a vast amount of wooden toys and games that aren’t just fun, but also educational and award winning. But, how is a wood toy more green?

Reasons why Wood is Good: Longevity of items (say no to planned obsolescence) , Perfect for your child’s development, Non toxic material, and many are American made, which avoids the need for shipping overseas.

Mable’s wants to remind you that everyday is Earth day and every decision we make has an effect, so let’s do the best we can everyday.

Spread the Green love in the form of books! Books have always made an easy gift, and sometimes all it takes is one book to open someone’s eyes to a world of change. So give a green gift to someone to help spread awareness from the Buy.com Green Book Store.

Posted by Sean in Kids, Fun, Green Living
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A few months ago I wrote about the clever developmental toy gift packages at eBeanstalk, and have been watching for sales or coupons ever since. They’re one of those companies that just doesn’t do discounts very often, so when they e-mailed me about a 10% off coupon that’s good for just 1 week, I jumped to tell you guys about it! They just started advertising on TV so you may have heard about them that way, but eBeanstalk has been offering educational, age appropriate toys since 2005.

Amidst the recalled toy controversy, it’s nice to know that some stores will never carry items with questionable or uncertain contents. There is a new message on their homepage that says “At eBeanstalk we are dedicated to a child’s development and learning, and we never compromise a child’s safety. Rest assured that NONE of the recalled toys from Mattel or Fisher Price have ever been sold at eBeanstalk. NOT ONE.”

COUPON: Save 10% off anything on the site. Expires October 15, 2007.

Posted by Lauren in Kids
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Shopping for toys can be so hit and miss. Sometimes you’ll be sure you bought the perfect gift only to watch the recipient wrinkle his nose. Short of bringing your child to the store and saying “just pick something off the shelf”, your best bet in finding a kid-pleasing toy is picking an award winner. These have passed critiques by kids, parents, and industry experts. Gaining praise from iParenting, Oppenheimer, Dr. Toy, and Parent’s Choice, the imaginative Award Winning Toys section on eBay contains some genuinely rad toys. Standouts for me are the Alex Puppet Theatre, and the funky little Whoozit Activity Spiral. Every product encourages imaginative play or is an educational toy, so they’re gifts you can feel good about giving, too.

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Fun
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Living in one of the most sunny climates in North America certainly has spoiled the Mable’s Crew. When June hits, if it’s not 73 degrees outside, we get cranky. Although it’s been pretty steady in the 60’s lately, we’re still dreaming of heat waves and pools. Judging by the reports at weather.com, the rest of the US should be getting excited, too. So the question is, how can you stock up on your favorite water toys to beat the heat but not your wallet?

Leaps and Bounds is making it a lot easier by offering 15% off orders over $100 throughout June. Although they carry a whole bunch of other cool kids items, their new pool toys have really caught my eye. In addition to the water park inspired “Shock Rocker Inflatable Float” shown at right, there are several more rad looking water toys. Don’t have a pool? No worries; all of these “pool toys” are safe for use in lakes, the ocean, or pools. If all you have is a little scrap of yard, you can still set up your very own Family Fun Water Park! There’s even a reusable underwater camera (on sale!) and sea creature shaped Sun Signals UV Sensors for more safe water fun.

Family Fun Water Park

Inflatable Squirter Donut

Slider Island

COUPON: Get %15 off orders of $100 or more. Enter B15JUNE in the promotion code field during checkout to get your 15% discount. Offer expires June 30, 2007.

Posted by Lauren in Sale, Outdoors, Kids
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Add these reversible swimsuits to the why wasn’t this around when I was a kid? category. As a child, I’d pour through the pint-sized racks in search of the coolest swimwear in existence. I knew that if I settled for the cute-ish one in my hand then the absolute best suit would surely be on the next rack. Not much has changed for me when it comes to finding new summer swimwear, and ladies (both young and grown-up) know that feeling. What if I find something cuter later?

Little Miss Matched to the rescue! Each piece from the reversible Little Miss Matched bathing suit line comes with 2 print/color combinations. The one piece suit with cover-up offers 4 options, and the 2 pieces with cover-ups create 8 options! Whether your little girl likes hearts, polka dots, stripes, solids, one-pieces, two-pieces, bikinis, or tankinis, she will find something adorable at Little Miss Matched.

RELATED: Reversible Bedroom Sets

$38-$60

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Clothing and Accessories
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People tend to use the phrase “the gift that keeps on giving” metaphorically. However, eBeanstalk offers a more literal interpretation with their Gift Series, where your child receives a toy in the mail every 3 months matched to their stage of development. This idea is all kinds of brilliant!

• For those of us without kids of our own, it can be a little tricky to select age appropriate toys for the children in our lives. You can skip the educated guesswork with the Gift Series: all the toys are hand picked by 5 child development specialists and 500 moms from around the US.
• Same thing goes for parents or guardians who travel a lot or don’t get to visit very often. When you haven’t seen a child for a few months or when you look back on the development of your own child…they are a different child today than just a few months ago. Each toy is carefully matched with the appropriate stage of development, so you won’t end up with a gift that is too young or old for your child.
• With the continual gift metaphor in mind, you can actually purchase a set of gifts that are delivered over time. This is the gift that actually keeps on giving.
• Save time by purchasing a set of gifts all in one sitting. Never worry about forgetting a special date in the child’s development or having the gift arrive late.
• If you’re the spoiling type (yes, you) then you’ll undoubtedly appreciate how easy eBeanstalk makes it to lavish gifts upon your wee ones. One purchase results in a whole years worth of gifts!
• Best of all, of the nearly 500 quality toys available at eBeanstalk, every one is geared towards helping your child grow. Their Child Specialists identified the stages of development children grow through. They matched 7 core skills- Imagination, Education, Language, Dexterity, Locomotion, Emotion and Social- with the stages of a child’s development, and then categorized each toy accordingly. Ahhh, science: improving childhood playtime and development!

Also, individual toys are available for purchase too, if you’d rather buy a la carte.

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Fun
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Has your child suddenly become interested in pirates and wants to decorate his entire room to look like he just stepped onto the deck of the legendary Black Pearl? (Heck, I want that, too.) Well maybe a hand painted treasure map sign with his name on it would ease his hankerings. It’s personalized with your child’s name and comes at a price any pirate could plunder in half a days work.
$35

Now let’s try a test. Ask your 5 year old what she wants more: a fantastical child-sized pirate ship playhouse… or a college education. Seriously though, if you have the money, this Posh Tots exclusive handcrafted playhouse is going to make a whole neighborhood of kids insanely happy. As the price tag assumes, this is a movie-quality structure that’s got 2 levels, a crow’s nest, sleeping quarters, and it looks amazing. If it was a little bigger, I’d be saving up to get one for myself.
$52,000

If all this talk of kid’s pirate bedrooms has sparked your imagination, then try your hand at entering the pirate contest at Home & Bedroom Furniture. They want you to describe, in 100 words or less, what a real pirate’s bedroom would look like. Winner gets a Pirates of the Caribbean bedding set. What if your bedroom decor is all ready chosen? Why, create a pirate bathroom, of course!

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Splurge, Household
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Pirate ships are a lovely thing. Their tall sails flapping in the salty breeze, and Crow’s Nest with an endless view send our imaginations into overdrive, conjuring images of horizons and adventure. The POTC movies are probably responsible for spawning a whole new generation of would-be sailors, and are definitely the inspiration behind a wave of pirate ship themed toys and entertainment. I think that as the final Pirates of the Caribbean movie and summer weather approach, we’re all more lured by the siren song of the sea and yearning to get outside and play!

Here are some of the coolest pirate ship toys that I’ve found online recently:

Ultra Rad RC Pirate Ship

Pirate Rocker

Venture Tall Ship

Pirate Ship Activity Set

If you’re seeking more adventure than a toy pirate ship can offer, why not sail in a real pirate ship? There are actually businesses out there that offer pirate-themed day and extended cruises in real tall ships! Many of them sail from Florida, but options exist in many locations.

Real Pirate Ships and Cruises:

• POTC Fan Trips
• Captain Memo in Clearwater Beach, FL
• The Pirate Ship At Johns Pass in Madeira Beach, FL
• Sea Dragon Pirate Cruise in Panama City Beach, FL
• Jolly Roger Cruises on the Grand Cayman Island (Home of the annual Pirate Week in October)
• Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake in Annapolis, MD
• Marigalante in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• More Tall Ships through the world…

Happy sailing!

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Fun
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Instilling the love of music in children provides a wonderful base for them to grow upon later in life. Learning an instrument at a young age not only furthers whole brain development, but also opens doors of opportunity while growing up. This award winning pink baby grand piano not only emits exceptional sound quality, but comes with a color coded learning system for ease of learning.

Designed for ages 3 and up, this chromatically tuned Schoenhut baby grand has 30 full sized keys, and high gloss finish for that long lasting appeal. Made of hardwood and hardboard this piano includes matching 9″ bench, songbook, and a color-coded learning system that fits behind the keys to guide small fingers.

Also available in Black or White, a baby grand piano makes an excellent gift that incorporates musical learning into the young mind of someone very special to you. The piano might not travel with them throughout the years, but they will be forever changed having experienced the wonder of making their own music.

Posted by Sean in So Pretty, Kids, Fun
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No, not that kind of pink elephant. I’m talking about the adorably round, mid-century modern, time-telling kind that add fun interest to any room. From design pioneer George Nelson (father of the “marshmallow couch”, modular storage, and the L shaped desk, as well as director of design at Herman Miller for nearly 30 years) comes just such an object: the fingerprint-swirled Vitra pink elephant clock. The simple colors and extreme proportions (the tiny head and feet! the minuscule tail!) are eye-grabbing and oh-so-cute. It would look equally at home in your mod styled office or your wee one’s playroom.

More Elephant cuteness at Design Public:


$38 - $295

Related: Cocktail Pink Elephants, Pink Elephant cocktail Shaker

Posted by Lauren in So Pretty, Kids, Household
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So, I hear that little boys are made (mostly) of snips, snails and puppy dog tails. Not the most flattering description, to be sure, but it’s far less insidious than the product description for the Famous Wee Blocks: “A baby boy loves to take direct aim at you when being changed”. *shocked* You mean they do it on purpose?

In the vein of the Pee Pee TeePees, you can now protect yourself against such little boy joys with the Famous Wee Blocks. The cheeky embroidered phrases are the best part: choose from Wee-Wee Man, Lil Squirt, or Wizz Kid.

$10

Posted by Lauren in Kids
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Develop your child’s musical skills with this uniquely designed musically enhanced table.

The simple modular design of this table is what makes it so versatile. Set up this musical table for kids in a circle and 4 kids can face each other while rocking out. You also have the option of moving the pieces in a row as if the kids were on stage performing for an audience. Since the 4 separate pieces are completely mobile you can set up the band however you like.

8 wooden mallets are included with the 8 xylobells, wooden xylophone, 2 Remo drums, and a 3-tone chime and cymbal. This musical table for kids is recommended for children ages 3 and up.

$249.99 (sale price)

Posted by Sean in Kids, Unique, Fun
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Looking for something to foster more creativity in your kids than video games and movies? So are we, and that’s why I wanted to share this three sided art and activity center with everyone.

Instead of placing a regular easel against the wall, where it would be easily ignored, I’d place it in the middle of the room, or slightly away from the walls in a corner. That way it can’t be thought of as another piece of furniture, but an actual activity center. When they are bored, or feeling artsy, this will call to them with it’s three different mediums for expression. One dry erase board, one chalkboard, and one drawing board with mounted roll of paper for easy access will provide them with lots of opportunities to draw by themselves or with friends. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Great as a gift for another parent, or for your own kid. Act now to take advantage of Hammacher’s sale price and save $50. Shop smarter with Hammacher’s unconditional lifetime guarantee.

Was $199.95, now only $139.95

Posted by Sean in Kids, Fun
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What a snugly treat for your new baby. The Grembo Baby Sleeping Bag is made of organic cotton, and replaces the need for any extra blankets. It’s safer than traditional bedding and comes in two cute shapes and three different fabric weights based on your climate and the time of year. The Winter Snowflake Bag featured at left makes me imagine a snowman baby, which I like. If you’re in a cold climate, this is the papoose for you.

$52.99 - $77.99

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Green Living
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