Toys

“Mom, what constellation is that?” “Um, I think it’s the Big Dipper.” “Oh. And that one?” “Uh, also the Big Dipper?” Admit it, if it’s not the Big (or possibly the Little) Dipper, you don’t know what on earth (get it?) is up there in the sky.

Squinting at a star map is hardly a help with a sky that changes with each season. And it’s hard to see it out there in the dark. So why not let your telescope find the stars for you? iOptron’s Astroboy telescope has a scroll-through electronic list of constellations and planets on its side that works almost exactly like a remote control. Pick your favored viewing point, hit “enter, and the Astroboy swivels around until exactly that point is in its sights.

On the other hand, if you don’t want the Astroboy to do its automatic thing, you can use it in old-school mode. It won’t get its feelings hurt.

iOptron Astroboy, $150

We’ve seen robot matryoshkas. We’ve seen punk rock matryoshkas. We’ve seen monster matryoshkas, Rolling Stones matryoshkas, and male matryoshkas. But no one’s ever seen the best matryoshkas of all: the ones featuring your family.

Chalkboard Matryoshkas come blank, with blackboard coating on the outside, and several sticks of chalk to draw yourself (or whatever you like). If you’re a family of 6, draw all the kids inside mommy and daddy, or use the extra to draw pets, friends, or whatever you think would go nicely inside the family pod.

Chalkboard Matroshkas, $15.50

Getting kids to practice their writing can be a real chore for parents, particularly after a long day of school. Few kids really feel like doing homework, and getting them to pick up the pencil for some more writing probably won’t appeal.

What would: sneakily getting in writing practice through a fun pre-writing game like an old-fashioned Spirograph. Most of us had these Kenner toys growing up. Remember, the round and football-shaped clear plastic gears that fit inside circles? You’d push your pen through and create weird, unearthly shapes and drawings.

It’s still just as fun as it used to be, but the set marketed as a Spirograph these days is simply sad it’s so cheap. Do yourself and your kids a favor and either find a vintage set, or shell out $15 for the Hypotrochoid Art Set. It’s smaller than your old Spirograph, and not quite as exciting. But it’s the closest you’ll get these days.

Hypotrochoid Art Set, $15

Everyone, kids and parents alike, love balance bikes like the Skuut. No chains or gears to hurt or pinch, no training wheels to get a young child used to leaning on the back wheels, no pedals to power small children far away, faster than Mom can run.

The drag is that Skuut is short and non-adjustable. Once your child gets much beyond 3 (if he’s really tall) or 4 (if he’s not), you really will see some dragging: His feet dragging on the sidewalk. The Skuut is great, but only for a year or two of your child’s life before she outgrows it.

The Wishbone Bike, on the other hand, morphs as your child develops. It starts as a three-wheeled push-trike, kind of like those little red-and-yellow cars toddlers pedal. Next, when your child has reached balance bike age, it changes into a configuration much like a Skuut. Your kid keeps growing and getting more confident, yet wants to stay with the balance bike concept? The entire frame flips over, and the bike keeps going until the rider rides right into kindergarten.

At $300, Wishbone is about three times more expensive than the Skuut. But it’ll last three times longer, too.

Wishbone Bike, $300

When it comes to coloring, there is a pantheon of crayons. Crayola is your average, typical, middle-of-the-road crayon. They work fine but they’re nothing special. Rose Art crayons are the bottom of the barrel; too soft, waxy, funky smelling, and making weak and washed out color. They’re also the kind you’ll find in every cheap “artist’s set” and at restaurants that offer crayons to keep the kiddies busy while waiting for the food.

But if you want crayons that aren’t just colorful but are actually a pleasure to color with, you want Lyra’s beeswax crayons. If you’re used to paying Crayola prices, Lyra’s may shock you at about a buck per crayon. But since a pack of Lyra’s impeccable-quality crayons will last a frequent color-er for at least a year, it’s really a small investment that pays out in big coloring pleasure.

You’ll notice the difference in Lyra’s crayons as soon as you grasp them. Heavy and triangular (so they won’t roll off the table), they feel solid in the hand and velvety and smooth as they glide across the paper. And the colors! You’ve never seen such bold, bright color in a crayon. The color almost looks like greasy oil pastel coverage, without any mess or smear. Lyra crayons are expensive, and worth it.

Lyra Beeswax Crayons, $13

Magna-Tiles have been a reliable gift for years, because they’re fun to look at and play with for girls and boys of a variety of ages, from toddler right up into high school. But flooding in the Thai factory where Magna-Tiles are made has decimated supply and brought prices up sharply: a 32-piece set of Magna-Tiles is retailing for a shocking $155 new on Amazon, and eBay scalpers are having a field day too.

But the Metropolitan Museum must have bought a truckload at pre-flood prices, or have some kind of inside supply, because at its website, the 32-piece is $52, and the 100-piece is $110 ($47 and $100 for members). Either set makes a solid gift: satisfyingly large to wrap, easy to store, not painful to step on should the pieces be scattered on the floor (I’m looking at you, Legos), immersive to play with for a good, long time. If it sounds like a good bet for one of your kids, cousins, nieces, or nephews, buy today: It’s the last day you can get express shipping guaranteed by Christmas.

Magna-Tiles, $52-$110

One annoying thing about buying children’s toys is that they get too short for kids before they technically wear out. A play stove or work table that’s perfectly sized for your toddler is going to be way too low for him when he hits preschool.

That’s why this Grow-with-Me Tool Bench is such a nifty idea. The concept of play work can linger for a good long time, from the age when she can first grasp a tool and stand until she’s 7 or even beyond, so thanks to the special included leg extensions, the bench will get taller as she does. 

The bench grows to 34 inches in height, and includes all the tools you’ll need, made of sturdy wood and quality plastic, with magnets to hold them neatly in place on the bench. 

Grow-with-Me Tool Bench, $129

Paint by number kits were huge in the 50s and 60s: There probably wasn’t a Christmas tree in North America in 1961 that didn’t have at least one of these beauties nestled underneath. Invented by Palmer Paint (motto: “Every man a Rembrandt”), they sold in the millions during the postwar years, dwindling away in the late 70s. Now Palmer sells only one “nostalgia” kit online, and art manufacturer Faber Castell offers a few kits.

But why put paint by number to rest? Not every art enthusiast can paint a recognizable image, and the durable pleasures of filling in blanks until–egad!–a picture emerges cannot be overestimated, particularly for young artists who have never seen tacky fields-of-flowers or bridges-in-wintertime paintings on their grandma’s wall (unlike you). Anyway, Masterpiece Studio’s genius paint by numbers kit is more camp than low-rent.

Would-be painters get five numbered images: A cable car, a cheerful astronaut, nuzzling flamingos, a big hamburger, and, best of all, a chubby marmalade cat in a pink dress carrying a fish purse. Squee!

Masterpiece Studio Paint by Numbers Kit, $20

Little kids love building small places they can have a tiny bit of privacy: small forts, miniscule “houses.” And they’ll build them out of just about anything they can. But it sure is pleasant to have something you can actually build out of, rather than shifting blankets and chairs and pillows.

Habitadule (it’s French, OK?) comes in a box, a bunch of big red-and-yellow flat opaque squares and discs. Within five minutes, kids will have figured out how they fit together. Within ten minutes, they’ll be hard at work building their new structure. Within fifteen minutes, they’ll be sitting inside their own little place, that they built with no help from you, and which will stand firmly…until the kids destroy it and make a new one.

In between playtimes, Habitadule stores nicely in its box, in small places like under the bed.

Habitadule, $99

Even kids who didn’t grow up with old-school robots like Robby the Robot and TOBOR won’t be able to keep their hands off the Wild Creations line of Retro Robots. These faithful reproductions of toys popular in the 50s and early 60s are just plain cool to touch. Tinny, heavy, and real, they work by means of knobs to pull and clockwork to wind rather than AAA batteries.

There are four robot toys in the line; my favorite is Mr. Machine, a golden oldie from 1960. Turn the big key in the top-hatted man’s back and he walks with swinging arms, ringing the bell on his chest, gears churning furiously (and beautifully) inside Mr. Machine’s clear plastic chassis. Bobby Draper from Mad Men might have unwrapped one of these on Christmas morning of 1960; and Don might have tripped on it on the steps a few months later.

Mr. Machine, $50