We are very excited to announce that GIFT HERO now sells newborn gifts!

Among my personal favorites is Oshi Mat, a new, award winning, environmentally friendly, recyclable foam play mat designed for infants. It’s completely lightweight and portable in its nylon carry case. Plus, it’s received rave reviews from Cool Mom Picks.  This will definitely be my next baby gift!

There seems to be a bit of a baby boom around me. All of a sudden, so many people I know are having babies. For many of these families it is a 3rd (or 4th! child) so I know they have pretty much everything they could possibly need. So…I try to give a gift that is special for the new baby.

That is why I’ve been giving Apple Park Blankies. Apple Park creates beautiful organic baby toys that make perfect newborn baby gifts. The Blankies are soft, plush and made from 100% organic cotton, silk and naturally hypoallergenic corn filling. Even the gorgeous packaging is made from 100% recycled cardboard and printed with soy ink.

My go-to for baby girls is the Bunny Blankie (because of its pink ears and nose). For boys, I give the Monkie Blankie.  We also carry a range of other baby toys from Apple Park including soft blocks, plush toys and gift crates. These kids gifts are destined to be favorites of mom and baby!

I’m in love with the Butterfly Alphabet Puzzle from ImagiPLAY. Not only is it gorgeous, but it helps kids learn the alphabet and develop fine motor skills. Plus, it is made from plantation-grown rubberwood (an environmentally friendly hard wood) AND hand-crafted and hand-painted with child-safe paints. It is truly a kids’ gift that keeps giving! It is a perfect gift for 3 year old girls (and gift for 4 year old girls and 5 year old girls).

For boys, we’ve got Puff the Alphabet Dragon (how cute is that name?). It’s got all the same specs as the butterfly and is a wonderful gift for 3 year old boys.

We just started carrying these and other kids’ gifts from ImagiPLAY. Their products are high quality, educational toys that are in the words of their founder “kid friendly and planet safe.” Who could ask for more!

Increasingly, many people like to shop for toys and gifts from eco-friendly companies that promote sustainability and use recycled and/or organic  materials.

At GIFT HERO, we are committed to the environment and sell products from many of these companies, including Green Toys, which makes this adorable fire truck (as well as many other fine gifts for kids and babies) entirely out of recycled plastic milk jugs here in the good old USA.

Another favorite is Blue Orange Games, which, in addition to making some of our favorite qwirky kid games like Pengoloo and Chickyboom, plants two trees for every one used to make their wooden games.

Imagiplay makes beautiful wooden puzzles and toys using natural wood from sustainable sources, as well as organic plush toys like these adorable Pull Along Elephants.

Our reusable, GIFT HERO gift bags are eco-friendly too – made from recycled milk jugs.

I spent too much time this week buying school supplies for Benjamin who is starting first grade. His teacher posted a (very specific!) list of supplies both for his own use as well as for the whole class – #2 pencils, washable markers, composition notebooks, binder, toner cartridges, printer ink, labels…the list was very long.

We are very fortunate that we can afford not only to purchase supplies for our child but to help out the overall classroom so Benjamin and his classmates are never lacking. There are many, many children, however, for whom this is not the case.  I was thrilled to read a wonderful article on Citiscoop, the fantastic blog from our friends at Citibabes, about the Coalition for the Homeless’ Project Back to School.  This is a great way to help many of New York’s 15,000 homeless boys and girls get the school supplies they need to succeed.

It is so easy to participate, there are lots of drop-off locations around the city – including one at Citibabes Soho Club at 52 Mercer Street, 3rd Floor. The drive runs through September 17th.

I discovered these adorable reusable lunch bags called “LunchSkins” this weekend in a little store downtown.  They are made from a special fabric that is lead-free, bpa-free and phthalate free. It is also dishwasher safe.

I have to admit that until now I had used plastic containers for my kids’ sandwiches. It seemed better than disposable plastic bags, but I still didn’t like the idea of using plastic every day. My kids were excited to see the bags in their lunchboxes this morning!

Lunchskins is the brainchild of 3 Green Moms, three moms who wanted to find an alternative to plastic bags for their kids. On their website, lunchskins.com, they also sell smaller snack size bags and larger sub size bags.

In honor of Earth Day, Blue Orange Games is planting a tree for every game sold between today and April 25th. As a regular business practice, Blue Orange plants two trees for every tree they use to make their wooden games.

At GIFT HERO, we sell  Blue Orange’s Chickyboom  for ages 4 and up and Yamslam for 8 and up. Through the end of the month, we will also automatically include a free eco-friendly gift bag when you purchase either of these products.

This year, Benjamin is really interested in Earth Day. He is learning about it in school (including in Spanish class where it is called Dia de Tierra!) and wants to do his part to save the environment. He’s helped separate our recycling, taken baths with less and cooler water, and turned off lights when we don’t need them. We even set our DVR for a Sponge Bob special this Thursday evening (called Sponge Bob’s Last Stand – apparently, he and Patrick fight for the rights of jellyfish ).

To help him better appreciate going green, I’m giving him the Magic School Bus Going Green Science Kit. This new kit is full of experiments and activities that teach kids 5 and up to save our earth. They can recreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, magically make packing peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, form pulp, create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, learn about the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and much more.

This is really a wonderful kids’ gift that gives back!

I am totally in love with the Buddha Board laptop.  Kids paint on the surface with water and their creation comes to life. As the water evaporates, the art changes until it magically disappears leaving them with a clean slate and a clear mind.  Buddha Board is based on the Zen concept of letting things go – and starting fresh.

The laptop is lightweight and folds up – yes like a laptop! It includes a small, built-in tray for water and a brush made from bamboo. We have one that our whole family shares – I love watching the designs fade away with my kids and talking about what it looks like as it changes – after a few minutes of evaporation, a face can look like a flower then look like bees flying around.

Because the concept is so simple and relatively mess-free, I think Buddha Board is great for kids ages 4 and up. It’s sleek design will make it appeal to older kids as well – even adults. Many of us would benefit from having one of these on our desks at work!

At Toy Fair this year, we discovered some amazing wooden toys for young toddlers in the Hape booth. Hape is known for their toys made from bamboo. But they also have a line called Educo that uses natural wood and non-toxic paints. We couldn’t resist adding a few of their new products to the site.

Pictured here is the Creative Peg Puzzle, great for ages 18 months and up.  We love the quality of the craftsmanship and the vibrant colors. It develops problem solving and fine motor skills for toddlers. For ages 2 and up, we also offer the beautiful Rainbow Curve Set from Educo (shown below). In addition to being a great play piece for toddlers, it also looks incredible as a stand alone piece of art on a desk or shelf.