I almost never start my Christmas shopping this early. In fact, this is the first year I have ventured out before Thanksgiving. But in light of the recent lead paint scares and recalls from the likes of Mattel, Fisher Price, and Playskool, I decided to get out there early in search of alternatives. Boy! What an eye opener!!
Try going to Target, WalMart, or Toys ‘r Us and find a toy that isn't imported from either China, Thailand or Mexico and you get a prize!! I went as far as to offer my kids a buck for each toy they could find. They are now 10 and 11 and excited to be the big cousins playing Santa so this was a treasure hunt! They loved the idea until it became crystal clear that no such toy existed, at least not at my WalMart.
My husband found one K'nex that was supposedly Made in the USA. We all got terribly excited. There was a buck I didn't have to pay the kids and I was now on a roll. But wait...if you scrunch your eyes and read the very, very, very fine print, it reads...."Some components made in China." DANG!
Back to square one. I had no idea this would be so difficult. You see, I am past the days of buying toys that my children would be putting in their mouths and while this might be on young parents' radar, it wasn't on mine until today. I have about half a dozen gifts to buy for children under the age of 7 and while I'm not as concerned that the older children will be sticking their Legos in their mouths, I'm much more concerned with the ones under 3. Who knew this would be so difficult?
Once home, I immediately Googled "Toys Made in America" and came up with some great sites - not the least of which included a list by Neil Cavuto of FoxNews. You will be surprised at how many of these wonderful toys look EXACTLY like the ones you may have played with oh so many years ago!
So instead of reinventing the wheel, here you have it - plus a few of my own.
Remember to check to see if any components of the toys have been made outside the USA.
· Battleship
· Bicycle Playing Cards
· Boggle Jr.
· Candyland
· Chutes and Ladders
· Clue
· Connect Four
· Crayola Crayons *
· Life
· Louisville Slugger
· Monopoly
· Mouse Trap
· Operation
· Parcheesi
· Play-Doh *
· Pop-O-Matic Trouble
· Radio Flyer Discovery Wagon
· Scrabble
· Sorry
· Stratego
· Tri-ominos
· Trivial Pursuit
· Yahtzee
• Melissa and Doug U.S.A. Floor Puzzle (Most puzzles are made in the USA!)
* Note: Not all packages of Crayola Crayons and Play-Doh are made in the USA -- please check the label. Also, anything you buy from the American Plastic Toy Company is made in America. You can also find American-made toys on these Web sites:
Source: FoxNews.com
Zome Construction Toys For Kids
Channel Craft Authentic American Toys, Games and Puzzles
Kazoo: Toys That Play With Imagination!
Beka Easles, Puppet Theaters
Roy Toy Real Wood Building Sets
Happy Holidays and Stay Safe!
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