Part of Walmart’s Amazing Thanksgiving Online Specials is the Little Tikes Home & Garden Playhouse for just $99. We are not sure if this special price will carry over into Black Friday.  It’s a great playhouse with unique features – a fence to build, a flower box that can be planted with real flowers, a mailbox, kitchenette, tools, and sand and water activities.  Very cool for toddlers 18 months and older.  It is also available at amazon for $116 and directly from Little Tikes at the retail price of $159.  Most parents are giving the playhouse 5 star reviews.

Find the Little Tikes Playhouse and more great Outdoor Toys for Kids!

Find Justin Bieber Singing Dolls and other Top Dolls for the holidays.

The Justin Bieber Singing Dolls have not even been released yet.  Amazon is showing them as available on 12/1 and Target shows 12/15.  Both Amazon and Walmart are sold out on pre-orders (they may get more stock, hard to say). Target is still accepting pre-orders for Justin Bieber Singing Doll “Baby” and Justin Bieber Singing Doll “One Less Lonely Girl.”  If you want them, grab them today, we don’t expect that they will last through Black Friday.

Links to purchase can be found here:  Top Dolls for the Holidays.

NOTE: The 2011 Toy of the Year Awards were for products popular for the 2010 Holiday season.  To find the popular toys for the 2011 Holidays, check out:

2011 Best Toys for Boys

or

2011 Best Toys for Girls

For the 2011/12 awards, see the 2012 Toys of the Year!

On 11/22/2010, the Toy Industry Association announced the nominess for the 2011 Toy of the Year Awards.  It’s a little confusing but these popular toys are from the 2010 holiday season.  They will be voted on over the next couple of months and the winners announced in February.  For the first time ever, the public gets to vote for Toys of the Year!

There are over 70 toys nominated this year. There are so many wonderful products and all of them are priced under $100.  Some of our favorates are in the Educational Category.  We like:

Playskool Alphie – he’s a fun and educational robot for ages 4 and up. He sings, plays music, teaches letters, math and more.

There are several new handheld learning systems this year and all of them are receiving great reviews from kids and parents. Nominated for awards are the  Fisher-Price iXL 6-in-1 Learning System, LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System, MobiGoTouch Learning System, and the VTech V.Reader Animated E-Book System.  All of the learning systems are targeted towards the same age group, 3 years old and up. 

Find the complete list of Toy of the Year nominees!

One of the hot toys this year are the Sing-A-Ma-Jigs dolls.  They come in bright colors and unique outfits. There are three play modes of chatter, singing their own song and singing in harmony with other Sing-a-ma-jig friends.  They typically run from $15 to $20 but Walmart has them on sale today for just $9.00.  The reviews from parents are great. Some comments: “I know this is a toy for toddlers but it would make anyone smile.” “My 6 year old daughter received this as a gift and I have to say that the thing is just mesmerizing.”  It’s even more fun if you have 2 or more as they harmonize together.

Find the best deals on the Sing-A-Ma-Jigs and more great Toys for Girls!

Walmart.com continues to provide great prices on toys! This week the Sesame Street Bounce ‘n Sounds Baby Jumper is only $25.  It’s a bouncer for the younger set.  One mom says, “My daughter loves this! It’s just the right size to set up in the living room or outside. I would say it would hold two 2 year olds comfortably.”  This bouncer even has electronic sounds.

Find a huge selection of Children’s Bouncers, from small inexpensive bouncers to large bounce houses – great for parties!

The toy deals and sales are starting early. No need to wait until black Friday to do your shopping.  Discovery will have daily deals (they may not all be toys).  Today they have their exclusive Deluxe Touch Screen ATM Machine on sale for $49.99.  It’s a cool gadget toy for the pre-teen/tween age group (8 and up).  It works just like a real ATM machine with an ATM card and secret pin.  A great way to encourage savings.

Find the ATM and more great Discovery Store toys!

The hot new water slides this year are all from Banzai! We describe some of the popular ones below, find the complete list of Banzai Water Slides and Water Parks.

Banzai Hydro Blast Water Park – This is one of the largest Banzai water slides and has 3 slides for double lane racing and curved sliding. The common lagoon for all slides has a basketball activity and water cannons. This is a water slide that you can put a few kids on! Fun for parties.  The retail price was $898 but as of this writing has been lowered to $749.

The Banzai Typhoon Twist Water Slide has a giant curved water slide with large pool, basketball activity and water cannon. It’s a little lower in price at $439.  This new water slide resembles the Banzai Sidewinder Falls which was the top selling water slide for the previous 2 years.

The Banzai Drop Zone Water Slide is a two slide option with a large curved slide or drop zone straight slide.  It also has a split level climbing wall, basketball activity and water blasting cannon.  This Banzai water slide is mid-priced at $598.

All of the Banzai water slides show several kids in the pictures. You do need to check the size and weight limits.  Most of them will only hold a few kids at a time. If you’re planning a birthday party, we suggest picking up some slip n slides too or a bouncer for kids who might not want to get wet.  This may help to alleviate fussing about too many kids on the water slide.

Find these Banzai Water Slides and several more with information on where to purchase.

Find Iron Man Toys and Action Figures on sale and free shipping.

The Iron Man 2 movie arrives on May 7 and early reviews indicate it might not be as hot as the first one. However, Iron Man toys are still popular with the kids and many are a good value as all that we looked at were under $35.

The most popular Iron Man 2 toy at amazon right now is the Iron Man Electronic Repulsor blaster. It’s just $15.99 and qualifies for free super saver shipping.  It’s a toy that the boys wear on their arms with missile launcher and sound effects.  You might want to pick up 2, the kids like to wear one on each arm.

The next most popular IronMan toys is the Iron Man Helmet. Another toy to wear! It shows that boys do like dress up toys too, they’re just different from girl’s dress up play. The Iron Man Deluxe Helmet says cool phrases and has lights and sound effects. It’s just $34.86.

The Iron Man action figure, Iron Man Rocket Boost, is only $21.27 and comes with battle sounds and battle cannon.  It’s recommended for ages 3 and up.

There is also a very realistic looking Iron Man 2 Action Figure based on the designs for the Iron Man 2 movie. This action figure looks more like a collectible than toy but is priced at just $24.27. From the manufacturer: this upgraded Iron Man features top-quality sculpted detail, multiple points of articulation and a bonus deluxe Armor Assembly Station base.

In addtion to the toys, we think the Iron Man Costumes will be a hit with the boys this year.  You might not want to wait until Halloween, costumes can provide great role play fun all year.

Check out the Iron Man Toys and Costumes now!

Looking for a metal swing set for the kids?  Flexible Flyer has some great products at great prices. The Flexible Flyer Big Adventure Metal Swing Set is at a rollback price of just $229 at Walmart. It features a wave slide, two swings, glider swing, see-saw, rocket rider and trapeze bar.  The overall dimensions are 17’9″ wide by 10’10″ deep by 6′ high.  You’ll want to allow another 6′ around the swing set for safety.

If you’re looking for a smaller basic swing set, the Flexible Flyer First Fun Metal Swing Set is just 103″ long by 92″ wide by 72″ high. It features a wave slide, 2 swings and glider slide. This metal swing set is exculsive to Walmart and is just $129. A great starter swing set and you won’t feel bad if you decide to upgrade by replacing it with a larger swing set in a few years.

The Flexible Flyer Triple Fun Metal Swing Set is also a great price at just $186. It features 3 swings, a see saw and slide. The Tri Copter is one of the largest Flexible Flyer swing sets with a slide, glider, 2 swings and unique tricopter ride. It’s just $268.

If you are wondering what the advantages of a metal swing set over a wooden swing set are, here’s a summary:

• Metal swing sets are generally less expensive than wooden swing sets.
• Set up time is greatly reduced. A metal swing set may take 2 – 4 hours, a wooden swing set may take 8 – 12 hours to set up.
• No splinters.
• Possibly more safe, less climbing and high fall worries.

What are the disadvantages of metal swing sets over wooden swing sets?

• They usually do not include a clubhouse. If you are looking for a clubhouse, we recommend picking up something like a Step2 playhouse for the kids.
• No picnic table, sandbox. If you want those other activities, you will need to purchase them separately.

Your swing set purchase decision will ultimately come down to a combination of what you are looking for, how much space you have in your backyard, and your budget.

Take a look at the complete line of Wooden, Plastic, and Metal Swing Sets, available from major online retailers.  Be sure to check tax and shipping charges to determine your overall cost.

We specialize in finding the best deals on outdoor products for kids! All are available from major online retailers and many have no sales tax and free shipping.

Check out our comprehensive list of new for 2011 inflatable water slides!

The most popular water slides for the backyard are the Banzai water slides. However, you might also want to look at the Little Tikes water slide, known for durability and waterslides from Blast Zone and Kidwise which have some great prices. We counted 8 new Banzai waterslides for 2010. Along with these new slides, there are also 8 Banzai water slides from previous years available.  To see them all, visit our page with the complete list: Banzai Water Slide. Some of the new slides for 2010 include:

Banzai Aqua Blast Lagoon Water Slide – This is a large curved single water slide with climbing wal and lagoon pool. It also comes with a basketball activity center.  The picture shows about 5 kids on the slide or in the pool but the manufacturers suggested weight limit is 150 pounds.  So use your judgement. If you’re having a party, you might want to pick up some inexpensive Slip n Slides to help keep the kids entertained and not all on the waterslide at once! You can have some great racing games with prizes with the water slides.

The Banzai Double Cannon Blast Waterslide and Banzai Double Drop Falls are popular slides for parties. The cannon activity is fun and the double racer allows pairs to slide down at once. Both have been around for a couple of years, have great customer reviews, and are also less expensive than the newer slides.

The Banzai Hydro Blast Water Park is the top of the line Banzai water slide with 3 slides – a double lane for racing and a third curved water slide. They all end in a large lagoon and there are water cannons on the edge of the lagoon for added fun.  The picture shows many large kids around the slide and the manufacturers recommendation is up to 400 pounds so you can entertain a fair amount of kids at once.

The Banzai Typhoon Twist Water Slide or Banzai Big Curve Plunge Water Slide are the newest versions of the popular Banzai Sidewinder Falls (which is also still available for purchase). They feature a large curved water slide with spray on the top and cannons below.  The combined weight limit for this water slide is 200 pounds so again, you’ll have to be mindful of how many kids can play at once.

Banzai is not the only water slide in town. Little Tikes has 2 water slides, the Little Tikes Rocky Mountain River Race and the Little Tikes Slam N Curve Water Slide.  The Rocky Mountain River Race has two curved water slides with climbing wall in between and pool at the bottom. The Little Tikes water slides have always been highly rated by parents and kids.

Find where to get the best deals on these water slides and many more at our Inflatable Water Slide sale! We have links to every waterslide on the market!