Holiday shopping season has already arrived for the enthusiastic and well prepared. I tend to start early so I can enjoy the experience rather than having to rush and tangle up in crowds. Speaking of enjoyable experiences…where you shop can make all the difference. Small, specialty shops tend to have friendlier and more knowledgable staff. Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is one such place. The chain of 15 stores stretches from North Carolina to Colorado. You can find the nearest location here or shop online at www.brilliantskytoys. If you are lucky enough to have a store near you, I highly recommend you go in and check it out! Founders Brent & Sonia Taylor strive to offer an inviting atmosphere and a fun shopping experience.
The store has their own annual best of show called the Brilliance Awards which highlight a handful of specialty toys that shine.
Seven distinct toys, ideal for preschoolers to tweens, made this year’s Brilliance Award list with prices starting at $16.99. Each winner is prominently featured in the colorful 2012 Holiday catalog. Although only seven toys captured this year’s Brilliance Award, the toy chain’s owners selected three other specialty toys as top choices.
We had the opportunity to review one of the toys from the list and right away I could see why it was a winner. All three of my children age 2-5 love their new Boogie Board. This LCD Writing Tablet has a pressure sensitive surface that allows you to create lines of different thicknesses depending on how much pressure you apply with the included stylus. The Boogie Board’s internal battery doesn’t use any power until you erase the board with the simple touch of a button. The battery lasts for about 50,000 erases. The tablet is only 1/8″ think and weighs less than 5 oz making it very portable and easy to travel with. Since no paper or ink is used, you’ll be saving resources and creating less waste.
My three year old is especially attached to the Boogie Board. She takes it to bed with her and draws until she’s ready to turn out the light. Sometimes I bring the Boogie Board along on errands. I keep it in my purse until one of the kiddos needs a distraction. It came with a stylus but my kids lost it almost immediately. There’s no way to attach it to the board. Luckily we had the perfect replacement — a Sesame Street DS stylus which is bigger and easier to hold for little hands.
The Boogie Board is just one example of the innovative and unique toys you’ll find at Brilliant Sky Toys. Be sure to follow the founder’s Facebook page for company news & more!
A complimentary product/service was provided for this review, however, all opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated in any other way. See Mommies With Cents disclosure policy for more details.