20% Off Melissa & Doug to Fill Your Toy Box!

Melissa and Doug Toys are 20% off now through October 31! It's time to get your Psychobaby that Wooden Pizza Party set they have been eying, pick up a few floor puzzles to keep your brood entertained, or just sit your kiddo down and tell them to browse a "preview of Santa's workshop" you just found on the internet. We don't care if you are stocking up on all of your birthday gifts for the year to come or grabbing a Nail Art Activity book for yourself as a carpool line boredom buster (What? It looks totally awesome!); whatever it is, it is 20% off! 

The name Melissa means "honey bee" and Doug means "dark water," but together Melissa & Doug mean super-duper cool toys! Experts in creating educational learning toys, puzzles, and classic wooden toys, Melissa and Doug know a thing or two about what kids like (they have been making toys for over 24 years). Enter code MD20 at checkout or shop our Melissa & Doug sale at the Psychobaby brick & mortar for 20% off!

We've got Junki in our Trunki!!

We've got Trunki! 

It's true! We've stocked up on the super cute, super practical, super FUN Trunki line and accessories! If you and your Future World Traveler spend a lot of time on airplanes or visiting far (or not so far) away places the new Trunki Ride-Along suitcase and accessories will be a fantastic addition to your family's luggage pile.

As if the Trunki wasn't cool enough on its own, Melissa and Doug have designed a whole bunch of cool accessories to add extra functionality and personality! Make your Trunki stand out in the crowd with a mustache!


Never lose your luggage when you've got your name stickered on. Remember all the cool places you've visited (even if some of them were just in your imagination) with souvenir stickers. The possibilities are endless!

Oh Yeah.... Did we mention how insanely cute it is when tigers and monkeys play with trunkies?!  

We are getting a bunch new styles in the next couple weeks so keep your eyes peeled.

You Don't Need to be British to Enjoy a Good Tea Party!

I was the life of the party...and the only one alive, so...

The tea party was a time-honored tradition in my household. Back during my hostess days, I had a bright pink plastic tea set with a floral print and served my guests fake biscuits made out of grass and flowers and pretty much anything else I could find in our backyard. The next day you could always tell where I had the party set up because of the miniature crop-circles that appeared in the grass from my "cooking".

Imagination was really all I needed, until my father made me promise not to ruin the lawn anymore. Therefore, in honor of the arrival of Summer I have compiled a list of my favorite pretend food toys to keep the little party planners AND all the lawn-loving dads out there happy!

It a good thing that Mr. Bunny and your Jem and the Hologram dolls will never taste the difference.

Alex's Heart Tea Set

Melissa and Doug Felt Sandwich Set

Melissa and Doug's Picnic Basket Fill and Spill

Melissa and Doug Sweet Treat Tower

With any one of these awesome pretend food sets, your tea party will be rocking in no time! So, put the grass down, keep calm and party on.

Pirates ARRR Awesome!

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides come out today and we could not be more excited!

The Psychobaby Crew has been vouching for the coolness of Pirates for eight years now - about as long as the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. After doing a quick count, we have almost 50 pirate-related items for sale at any time! You can find everything from Treasure Chests to Full Pirate Costumes!

We think that only the coolest kids know how to rock the skull and cross bones as well as Jack Sparrow, and we of course want to help them do it! (Minus the eye-liner, of course) If you don't believe us, here is a short list of some of the most interesting real, fictional and dress-up pirates I've ever heard of to inspire your little swashbuckler.

4. Sir Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan was one of the most ruthless and intelligent pirates of all time. He was feared and respected by buccaneers everywhere! You can read more about him in The Dangerous Book of Heroes!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Morgan,Henry.jpg


3. Anne Bonny
One of the very few female pirates to ever sail the high seas.

http://kids-book-club.wikispaces.com/Pirates


2. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow
SWOON. Johnny Depp can make any character cool, even an eccentric, swaggering, eyeliner-wearing pirate.

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2400000/Captain-Jack-Sparrow-captain-jack-sparrow-2485446-1024-768.jpg


1. Barack Obama
Yes, it's true. The current president of the United States once recognized just how awesome pirates can be and showed the world that with the right attitude and determination, anyone can rock a mustache and eye-patch.


Arrr you taking your little treasure-hunters to check out the sweet swashbuckling action this weekend? Let us know if you liked it, would recommend it, or would rather walk the plank then watch it again! Inquiring pirate minds want to know!

Inspired by Design Sponge!

I spent my Friday morning, cup of coffee in hand, meandering through Design Sponge. If you are not familiar with Design Sponge, it is where I find all my decorating inspiration, including DIY helpers. This DIY project is so cute, it makes me want to start combing the alleys for thrown out entertainment centers and deliver new play kitchens to every kid on the block. I'll let you know if I become the summer Santa of toy kitchens, but until then check this out and start cooking a little project in your garage!

Have a great weekend!

Amy K

 source:  design sponge

 Once you get it built, check these Melissa and Doug sweet treats from Psychobaby to keep your teddy bear's stomach happy. 

  

Wooden Bake and Serve Brownies       

 Bake & Decorate Cupcake Set

Ice Cream Parlor Set

Slice and Bake Cookie Set

25% off all puzzles through Tuesday!

Blur the lines between learning and fun with with our wide selection of unique puzzles for babies and kids! Puzzles are a great way to help your little one develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They'll love our selection of brightly colored numbers and shapes, whimsically designed ballerinas, cars and dinos!

Puzzle Me This: Melissa & Doug Puts it Together!

You don’t have to be a Tiger Mother to know that puzzles are a great step in the journey of life-long learning for your children. (And they can still attend a few sleepovers along the way!) According to an article by the Chicago Montessori Learning Examiner puzzles can:

• build hand eye coordination
• develop fine motor skills
• offer opportunities for social and language skills
• encourage problem solving and logical thinking

My love of puzzles started with my dad. His epic puzzles consisted of thousands of pieces that took over the entire living room and took days to assemble! But he always had time to help me with the ABC floor puzzle, or even my favorite Little Mermaid puzzle with 300 pieces!

Puzzles can be a very thought provoking activity for the whole family. It's fun to solve puzzles together, not to mention a great family bonding experience. Get your family started with some of my favorite puzzles tonight:

• Melissa and Doug Musical Instruments Sound Puzzle
• Melissa and Doug Alphabet Chunky Puzzle * YOU PICKED IT*
  
• Melissa and Doug USA Map Sound Puzzle
• Melissa and Doug Farm Fuzzy Puzzle

Our Facebook Fans agree; they chose Melissa & Dougs' Alphabet Chunky Puzzle as this week's pick for 20% off! Become a Fan and help us pick next week's item at 20% off on our Psychobaby Facebook page!

~Melissa

Sources
“Why are puzzles good for children?” February 2010. The Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/montessori-learning-in-chicago/why-are-puzzles-good-for-children

Celebrating Melissa and Doug's New Arrivals with a BIG Sale!

Snow is starting to fall in Chicago and, thankfully, we just received 150 boxes of Melissa and Doug Toys to cheer us up. About 35 boxes in, we discovered beach toys and bubbles as a reminder that this too shall pass. We're thinking about using the cute little cupcake sand mold to make a cupcake snow castle. Thanks to this dynamic duo, we have something fun to do out of the cold and you can too! Stop in for a peek at all the new arrivals from this Psychobaby and customer favorite toy line!