Best Toys of 2008 - Babies

Best Baby Toys of 2008

These utterly charming "discovery" balls from one of my favorite toy manufacturers, Haba, are bound to be a favorite of most babies. These colorful and very safe wooden balls are fun to roll around. It's fun to watch them roll around as the colors and patterns blend into each other, creating optical illusions. They also have sound effects which appeal to babies. These discovery balls are good for babies and toddlers above the age of 12 months.

When I first tried out the Eebee's Play Mat, I was amazed at the potential behind this relatively simple looking activity playmat. This is a product which will grow with your baby and can be used right till the preschool years. What makes the Eebee's Playmat special is the flexibility with which it can be converted from a flat playmat to a three dimensional structure, complete with walls and a roof. The velcro attachments make this possible. The panels on the playmat have various fun attachments like a mirror, a colorful Eebee face, a window and more.

International Playthings is known for innovative toys and the Yookidoo Musical Kaleidodisk reinforces this characteristic. This amazing toy is actually two toys rolled into one. It has both musical and colorful disks as the name indicates. The combination of mirrors and lights creates a kaleidoscopic effect as each disk spins around. It has attachments which can be installed on a crib rail so that your baby can have fun listening to the beautiful music and looking at the light show. There is also a discovery base which turns into an activity center. Additional components of the discovery base include squeakers, spinners, clickers and more. Meant for ages 0+ months.

Tiny Love's Gymini Playmat has been well loved for nearly 15 years now. Tiny Love keeps improving on this playmat with every new addition to the Gymini family. The latest Gymini Musical Kick Playmat proves to be no exception. It features a baby-activated Musical Kick and Play response pad which plays 10 minutes of classical music. Tiny Love has also increased the size of the mat, which means that more activities are available on the mat to keep your baby busy and active. There are a total of 17 developmental activities. Meant for babies 0-10 months.

The Mega Brands Smart Builders Piano is a real cool toy which most babies will love. The piano plays different tunes and different instruments based on the blocks that your baby chooses to stack on the stackable portion of the piano. It is almost like having two toys in one, blocks and a piano. Each block represents different instruments. The piano will play with that particular instrument sound if the corresponding block is chosen. Without any blocks, the piano plays with a piano sound. Meant for ages 1+.

Eebee's Laundry Time Adventures Deluxe Cloth Activity Book introduces the concept of pretend play in a very entertaining as well as safe manner to your baby. As the name suggests, the theme is built around something we come across in our everyday life - laundry. Each cloth page has a fun activity feature to it including a peek-a-boo washing machine wheel which you can spin around. The quality is great and the toy is not very bulky making it easy to carry around. It has enough pages to keep baby occupied for a while. Meant for ages 9-36 months.

Russ Berrie's Bright Beginnings products are always so cute. I fell in love with both the "Squeeze n'Sound Vehicles" and the "Giggle Balls" collections. These are small, soft, extremely good quality toys produce cute sounds which will appeal to baby. These toys are perfect for little hands. Meant for babies from 0+ months.

VTech's Sit-To-Stand Alphabet Train is a fun and colorful way to teach your baby numbers, letters, colors, songs, stories and more. The best part of this toy is that aside from playing with it, your baby can push it around as a walker or can even ride on it. Meant for ages 12 months+.

Goldberger Dolls have introduced a new Sensitive Baby line of plush dolls. You will be simply amazed to see how soft these dolls are. And you no longer have to worry about allergies anymore. This line of dolls is certified as asthma and allergy friendly as they have been specially designed for asthma and allergy sensitive babies.