toy

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the publishing of A.A. Milne's children's classic, Winnie-the-Pooh, Steiff has released a limited edition, plush Pooh bear. The bear is the largest yet made by the company and is 32-in. tall. He is made with blonde mohair fur and wears a suede vest. The details are hand-sewn. Only 1,000 of the fully jointed bears were produced, making them highly collectible for Steiff fans, as well as for fans of the book. Price: $775.

And if you're going for Pooh bear, don't forget to pick up his buddies Eyeore ($315), Piglet ($235) and Tigger ($235), too!

[via bornrich]

The NY Times personal shopper pointed out that a toy caddy of some kind would be a good addition to a kids' room after Christmas so that there will be someplace to keep all of their holiday goodies. Shelves seem a little too functional to inspire kids to use them on their own, but the BB2 Toy Caddy they recommended nicely bridges the gap between toy and storage unit. Made of natural, finished wood and measuring 23" high x 15" wide, the caddy can be used as a chair or toy cart, which just might be enough to motivate child to use it for storage, rather than just leaving everything for you to put away. But if that's a little too optimistic, at least you're getting a cute, multi-tasking piece of furniture in the bargain. Price: $250.

Last year I picked up one of Starbuck's truffle-filled advent calendars, but I usually get my daily holiday chocolate fix from one of the inexpensive advents sold at Trader Joe's. Each day, you open up a little door on the calendar to reveal a chocolate treat and count down the days until Christmas. It's definitely not a luxury item, but the little Swiss milk chocolates are satisfying all the same. More traditional advents don't necessarily have chocolates, but little figurines or toys instead, like this Handmade Wooden Advent Calendar from FAO Schwartz. Crafted in Germany, the calendar is solid wood and is of heirloom quality. Each numbered window reveals little figurines inside the hand-painted house. Granted - it's not chocolate, but it certainly is far more decorative and even at $1,125, it won't prevent you from spending $2 on one of the chocolate ones at TJ's.

Beds, whether they are for pets or not, are not really seasonal items, though it is hard to resist the appeal of a sleigh bed in the winter, when the very name manages to make it sound more romantic. This pet-sized sleigh bed has a powder coated brown iron frame and plush, hand-sewn cushions. The cushions are done in a machine-washable leopard print fabric and have concealed zippers, which prevents any fur from accidentally getting caught in the zipper's teeth. The beds are made-to-order and are available in three sizes: 10-lbs, 25-lbs and 50-lbs. Prices range from $220 to $450, depending on size.

What child wouldn't love to have an ice skating rink in the back yard? Hammacher Schlemmer has a 37-foot portable ice rink that can be set up anywhere and is perfect for practicing for winter sports or just skating for fun. The frame keeps the water in the rink even if the temperatures get too high to sustain the ice, ensuring it will be ready to go whenever the weather gets cold, and the rigid PVC at the bottom protects the rink from skate damage if the ice gets too thin.

If only I had had one of these to put in the yard growing up! Actually, it wouldn't have helped me to become a more accomplished figure skater because, portable though it is, it still needs to be below freezing to properly form the 2.5-inch thick ice layer and that is something you can't necessarily count on in most of California. Price: $700.

There seems to be no point at which appliances can be too specialized and Bosch must have been thinking about ways to appeal to various niche markets of dishwasher buyers when they hit up on this idea. The Lego Edition Bosch dishwasher was developed with the toy company and is the first dishwasher that is completely toy-safe. Toys, often made of relatively thin plastic, are too delicate for the heat of most wash cycles, but a cold cycle, even with soap, is not enough to kill any germs even when dirt is washed away. This model solves both problems with a special 40°C washing cycle that will not melt the toys, but is hot enough to kill any germs on them. It also comes with a special tray to hold smaller objects, like Lego bricks, to prevent them from falling during the wash cycle. Price: $1,136.

[via appliancist]